LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — March 21–22, 2025, Page 15

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theological seminary of the Synod shall consist of the president, the full-time faculty, and the parttime faculty.” Further, “Part-time or temporary faculty members are distinguished by an
appropriate prefix or suffix (‘visiting, guest, adjunct, emeritus’)”, and “Part-time or temporary
faculty members shall hold nonvoting membership on the faculty.”
Where the Handbook wishes to use the term “faculty” to include less than all of the three faculty
estates (president, full-time faculty, and part-time faculty), it so specifies. See, e.g., Bylaw 2.8.3
(a), which provides that:
For purposes of declaring candidates qualified for placement and recommending them for
membership in the Synod, the Synod considers a “faculty” to be defined as follows:
(a) Seminaries: all full-time faculty members who are in good standing on the
Synod’s roster of ordained ministers.
Otherwise, where the Handbook intends to include only one of the faculty estates, it specifies that
a given Bylaw applies only to the “full-time faculty.” See, e.g., Bylaws 3.1.4.2, 3.10.5.6.2,
3.10.5.7.2, and 3.10.5.7.3.
Bylaw 3.10.5.5 (g) provides the general rule for faculty appointments: “The board of
regents…shall…approve of the appointment of faculty members.” More specificity is given
regarding the election of a seminary president (the first faculty estate) in Bylaw 3.10.5.6.2, and
regarding the appointment of full-time faculty members (the second faculty estate) in Bylaw
3.10.5.7.3; in those cases, the specific provision controls over the general. However, there is no
more-specific provision of the bylaws touching on the manner in which part-time faculty (the third
faculty estate) are appointed.
Bylaw 3.10.5.7.2 (g) provides that:
Each theological seminary shall have established policies and procedures related to
appointments. There shall be two levels of faculty appointments: (1) Initial level, where
the appointment can be terminated with no formal requirement for a show of cause; (2)
continuing level, where termination requires a formal show of cause.
…
(g) Other types of faculty appointments may be established by seminaries as the
need arises.
Both Concordia Seminary and Concordia Theological Seminary make use of contracted faculty,
bearing various titles including “adjunct faculty”, “guest instructors”, “guest professors”, or
“visiting instructors” (hereafter collectively “adjuncts” for ease of reference). …
An individual who has adjunct status serves as a contracted, at-will employee of the seminary. This
means that under the current practices at the seminaries: (among other things) he is not given formal
notice of non-renewal as provided in Bylaw 3.10.5.7.3 (d); he is not given the right to petition for
continuing appointment provided in Bylaw 3.10.5.7.2 (e)(1); and he is not given the for-cause
protections provided in Bylaw 3.10.5.7.6.1.
Question 1:

Do seminary adjuncts fall within the definition of “part-time faculty” as set forth in Bylaw
3.10.5.7?

Opinion:
A similar question was presented to the commission as Ag. 07-2491. In that instance, the
commission was asked whether “visiting faculty” were temporary faculty under Bylaw 3.8.3.8 (b) [which
section has become Bylaw 3.10.5.7 (b) under the current version of the Handbook] and thus not entitled to
vote in faculty matters. In our opinion on that question, the commission explained that Bylaw 3.8.3.8 [now
Bylaw 3.10.5.7] provides for two categories of faculty: full-time and part-time. Bylaw 3.8.3.8 (a) [now
Bylaw 3.10.5.7 (a)] further defined part-time or temporary faculty to include those designated as “visiting.”
CCM Minutes – March 21–22, 2025 – Page 82