LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 182

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7. UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
Proposed Action
Therefore be it
Resolved, that Bylaws 3.10.6–3.10.6.3 be revised, Bylaw
3.10.6.4 be replaced, Bylaw 3.10.6.5 be renumbered, and
bylaws be added as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
F. Concordia University System Boards of Regents
3.10.6
Each college and university of the Synod, with its
president and faculty, shall be governed by a board of
regents, subject to general policies set by the Synod,
including those established by the Concordia University
System. The board of regents governs the institution
consistent with the institution’s mission, which expressly
incorporates the institution’s commitment to conduct all of
its affairs according to the Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions of the Synod and policies of the Synod’s Board
of Directors. The board of regents shall have no authority to
and shall never exercise any power contrary to the
Constitution, Bylaws, or resolutions of the Synod.
3.10.6.1 In exercising its relationship to the Synod and to
the Concordia University System as set forth elsewhere
under Bylaw 3.6.6 and following, the board of regents of
each institution shall consider as one of its primary duties
the defining and fulfilling of the mission of the institution
within the broad assignment of the Synod.In fulfilling its
commonly understood fiduciary duties owed to the
institution, and its governance responsibilities, the board
of regents shall:
(a) serve as the governing body corporate of the
institution, vested with all powers its members may
exercise either as directors, trustees, or members of the
body corporate;
(b) govern the institution at all times according to the
commitment of the institution, in its mission and
otherwise, to carry out its affairs as part of the Concordia
University System and in accordance with the
Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod;
(c) govern the institution with consistent attention to
specific ways that the institution is confessing Jesus
Christ in full accord with the doctrinal position of the
LCMS (Constitution Art. II) and fulfilling His mission in
our world as proper to a college or university of the
Synod under its objectives (Constitution Art. III),
intentionally seeking continual growth as a board in
such governance;
(d) as a whole and as individual members, as stewards
of the institution on behalf of the congregations of the
Synod, embrace and advance with administration,
faculty, staff, and students the institution’s fundamental
purpose as inculcating the faith, as taught in the
Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions (Constitution
Article II), preparing students to live in this faith toward
God and by this faith, in their various vocations, in love
toward the neighbor;
(e) ensure that all faculty receive appropriate formal,
ongoing training in the doctrines of Holy Scripture as
rightly taught in the Lutheran Confessions as they relate
182 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION

to their academic disciplines, to enable faculty to engage
in responsible exercise of their academic freedom within
the confession of the institution and the Synod
(Constitution Art. II);
(f) actively encourage and expect curricula and policies
for student life and behavior consistent with the
doctrine and practice of the Synod, and commit the
institution to the principles of Christian discipline, an
evangelical manner, and good order;
(g) maintain and approve an institutional master plan,
any modifications to which shall be submitted to the
Synod Board of Directors for its approval (Bylaw 3.3.4.5
[e]);
(h) ensure the communication of board-approved
strategic plan documents to the Concordia University
System Institution Advisory Council;
(i) review and approve academic programs
recommended by the administration and faculty, giving
due consideration to the Lutheran Identity and Mission
Outcomes Standards and coordination with other Synod
colleges and universities;
(j) participate fully in the procedures for the selection
and regular review of the president, and approve the
appointment of faculty members;
(k) ensure that its institution and constituent parts
strive to excel in the Lutheran Identity and Mission
Outcomes Standards, and to cooperate fully with
processes for ecclesiastical visitation by the Concordia
University System and for appointment of the
institution’s president;
(l) ensure that its institution and constituent parts
support the proper authorities of the Synod in their roles
of ecclesiastical supervision of called workers,
placement of graduates, and doctrinal review status
appeals, and submit to the Synod’s expectations for
handling of faculty complaints and dispute resolution,
insofar as they apply;
(m) duly consider the common confession, mission,
interest, and cooperative strength of the Synod, with its
congregations, agencies, and other institutions, as it
makes decisions with impact beyond its campus,
especially as it plans new programs, discontinues
existing programs, cooperates and consolidates
operations with other Synod schools, operates in a
worldwide online marketplace, cooperates with the
Synod Board of Directors in the legal defense of the right
to the free exercise of our confession, and interacts with
the ministries and partner churches of the LCMS,
domestically and internationally, in harmony with its
programs and consistent with its protocol agreements;
(n) govern transparently, including, without limitation,
providing to Concordia University System in a timely
manner minutes of board meetings and board and
institution policies adopted or modified, and to both
Concordia University System and the Synod Board of
Directors proposed revisions of institutional governing
documents and policies prior to their adoption, and
responsively, understanding inquiries and suggestions
offered by Concordia University System and the Synod
Resolutions