LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — August 11, 2004, Page 1

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MINUTES
COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
Teleconference Meeting
August 11, 2004

292. Call to Order and Prayer
Chairman Albert Marcis called the conference call meeting to order and opened with prayer. All members
of the commission were present for the meeting.
293. Higher Education Representation in Election Process (04-2408; 04-2408A)
Two questions with related backgrounds and overlapping answers have been asked of the CCM. In an Emailed letter dated August 6, 2004, the chairman of the current Board for Higher Education/Concordia
University System Board asked:
Question:

As Chairman of the BHE/CUS I am one of four electors for college and university
presidents. On August 24 I will be the BHE/CUS elector to establish a slate of candidates for
the presidency of CURF. On September 15 & 16 interviews will be held at [Concordia
University—River Forest] with an election to follow the interviews. The new [Board for
University Education (BUE)] will not be installed until September 18, and probably will not
organize until after the [Council of Members] meets and elects 3 more members of the BUE.
Will I continue to serve as an elector for the presidency of CURF on Sept. 16, there being no
other person chosen for that position at that time?

Also in an August 6, 2004 letter, the Acting President of Concordia University—River Forest asked:
Question:

Since the BHE goes out of existence on September 1st and Gene Oesch is therefore no longer
its chair, and the new BUE will not be organized until perhaps September 20th, who will be
authorized to cast the BUE chairman's vote in the River Forest election on September 15−16?

Opinion: As indicated in Opinion 04-2398, the Board for Higher Education/Concordia University System
Board (BHE) ceases to exist effective September 1, 2004, and as of that date, a new Board for University
Education and a new Board for Pastoral Education have been assigned various of the duties previously
assigned to the BHE. Under the prior system, the chairman of the BHE participated in the selection of a
university president pursuant to the provisions of Bylaw 6.11, and particularly the election process
described in Bylaw 6.11 f. Since the position of the chairman of the BHE ceases to exist as of September
1, the current chairman of the BHE ceases to have authority to cast a vote in the election of a university
president after that date.
Pursuant to Bylaw 3.905 c, the Commission on Constitutional Matters is charged to “revise the synodical
Handbook immediately after each convention of the Synod to bring it into harmony with the resolutions
or changes adopted by the convention.” In doing so, the Commission will delete all references to the
BHE and replace the existing references with references to the appropriate new board. In the case of
Bylaw 6.11, the role of the chairman of the BHE will be replaced with the chairman of the Board for
University Education (BUE).
The new BUE created by Resolution 5-02A of the 2004 convention includes nine voting members—two
ordained ministers elected by the Synod, one commissioned minister elected by the Synod, two lay