LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — August 24, 1973, Page 4

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3.

May a board of control in an otherwise duly called meeting properly conduct
business in the absence of the president of that institution from the meeting?

The Commission ruled in answer to the first question that an institutional president is staff and not a
member of the board. It answered both of the other questions in the affirmative. The Commission ruled
that as part of his duties a president is to attend board meetings in an advisory capacity, as indicated in
Bylaw 6.33b, and normally does so in order to carry out his responsibilities. However, this does not
extend to him the right to attend all meetings in their entirety. The board of control in its sole discretion
may exclude him from part of a meeting or from an entire meeting in order to conduct a completely
executive session.
324. Does New Bylaw 6.79 Refer Only to the Teaching Faculty or also to the President of an Institution
(Ag. 468): President Preus raised this question in a letter to the Commission. After extensive discussion
the Commission came to the conclusion that the new bylaw refers to all faculty members, including the
president of the institution, since 6.79b specifically refers to a point of procedure when the president is
accused and 6.79k speaks of removal from the faculty and not simply from teaching activity. Mueller is to
draft a proposed opinion and to circulate it among the members.
325. Tietjen Suspension: This gave rise to a considerable discussion of the implications of the recent
suspension of Dr. Tietjen, an action whose implementation was then held up pending legal and
constitutional rulings. It was reported that a committee of the Board would be meeting on the Sunday
following the meeting of the CCM in order to draft a document which is to be submitted to the CCM for
an opinion or ruling. Because the Board had already requested the CCM to meet as soon as possible on
this item, the Commission decided to schedule a meeting for September 21 at 1:00 p.m. running also
through September 22 if necessary. (Ag. 465)
326. Procedures for Electing River Forest President (Ag. 456): The electors through the Secretary of the
Board of Control, Henry Koenemann, had asked four questions regarding the procedures which are to be
followed in selecting the second person to whom the position of president is to be offered:
1.
2.
3.
4.

The applicability of new Bylaw 6.117 when the election procedure (following
Bylaw 6.123) was already in process before the convention.
When does Bylaw 6.117 go into effect?
Meaning of the word "Candidate" in Bylaw 6.117 -- same or different than
6.123.
What is meant by "consultation with the faculty committee" in Bylaw 6.117.

In answer the Commission decided on the following reply:
a.
b.

c.

Unless stipulated in the convention resolution, a bylaw goes into effect as soon
as it is adopted.
As soon as a candidate appointed to the presidency has declined the
appointment, any revision of a bylaw adopted in the intervening period becomes
operative at that point, namely, when the electors address themselves to making
a second selection.
The word "candidates" in Bylaw 6.123 must refer to the total number
of candidates referred to in Bylaw 6.103. It cannot be restricted
to those select candidates approved by the Faculty Committee for in
that case after one or two declinations the electors would have
no choice. A Faculty Committee may indeed once again propose the same
names, but presumably would add a name or two in each instance of a