LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 274

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274 HIGHER EDUCATION

to implement the resolution to this effect passed at the Mil-
waukee convention in 1971,

However, there also are blessings. opportunities, and
hopeful signs for future work among minority groups. The
school at Selma continues to draw qualified blacks for the
ministerial programs, the number of blacks enrolled in Lutheran
elementary and secondary schools is slowly growing, the Indian
ministries program at Seward continues to show good potential
and some successes, progress is being made in the seminary
level training program for work among Hispanics. and the
colleges generally have made determined efforts to initiate the
changes in program and student life needed to provide more
adequately for the students from minority groups who do enroll.
But the recruitment efforts among racial and cultural minority
groups will need to be given higher priority if the Synod is to
make better use of the opportunities and needs for future
ministry with these groups. An urgent need still exists to add
faculty members from among minority groups.

South America

Enrollment at the seminario at José Leon Suarez. Province
Buenos Aires, Argentina, remains low — about 7 to 10 students.
The instituto on the same campus has about 80 students and
continues to have a recognized excellent quality of instruction.
However, because of the extraordinarily high cost involved in
paying the government-prescribed faculty salaries. the Board
for Higher Education has concluded that the March 1—Nov. 30,
1975, school term must be the last year of synodical subsidy
for Instituto Concordia at José Leon Suarez.

Seminario Concordia at Porto Alegre in southern Brazil
usually enrolls about 100 students and has both a capable
student body and faculty. The physical plant is old and needs
repair. However. before any major expenditures are made on
the facilities, decisions will need to be reached concerning
the possibilities of moving the seminary operation to the San
Leopoldo campus (20 miles) or the now unused Sao Paulo
campus (400 miles).

Faculty

When the last total examination and planning project for
synodical schools was done in 1966—67. part of that program
included an analysis of the system by a number of “outside”
consultants chosen because of their prominence in the American
educational scene and because they represented a wide spec-
trum of experience in public and private institutions. In their
various reports these experts consistently identified the synod-
ical faculty as one of the major strengths of our schools.

The Board for Higher Education feels confident that the Task
Force presently examining the system will reach the same
conclusion. Our church has been blessed with excellent faculty
people.

Almost anyone spending time on one of the synodical college
campuses is bound to be most favorably impressed by the dedi-
cation to students and to the work and by the academic back-
ground, teaching experience, parish experience, and compe-
tency in subject areas among the faculty people.

The seminary faculties, especially our faculty at St. Louis,
have admittedly suffered a most severe setback as a result
of the controversy in the Synod and the formation of Seminex.
This makes it even more urgent that everyone in the church
truly work toward a God-pleasing solution to our doctrinal
problems.

Moratorium on Tenure

During the biennium the Board for Higher Education urged
a moratorium at all schools on granting tenure to faculty people.
This step was taken because of the work of the Task Force and
the possible reduction in staff that might result from its findings,
because of the lack of mobility among faculty people resulting
from declining enrollments, and because of the difficulties that
might result from having too high a percentage of the total
faculty with tenure if overstaffing becomes a problem in the
future. The Advisory Council (college and seminary presidents)
is currently studying the entire issue of tenure policies and
practices and will be making recommendations to the board in
the near future. so that necessary decisions relating to tenure
can be made.

Limitation of Academic Freedom

In keeping with Resolution 3-02 of the New Orleans conven-

tion, the Board for Higher Education developed and distributed
a statement concerning limitation of academic freedom to be
used by the schools at the time of appointments and reappoint-
ments. The statement definitely generated concerned responses
from faculty members at some of the schools. In retrospect,
a much more detailed explanation should have accompanied
the statement when it was first distributed. It is hoped the state-
ment will serve as a genuine help to both schools and individual
faculty members in the future as suspicions and distrust are
overcome.
Faculty Salaries

The Synod in convention has consistently developed and
passed resolutions recognizing the problems created by low
faculty salaries, reminding “the constituent congregations and
Districts of their stewardship privilege and responsibility in this
matter” and urging the “Board for Higher Education and the
Board of Directors to give faculty salary improvement high
priority.”

The Board for Higher Education has used every means it
can find to implement those convention resolutions. The Board
of Directors has consistently given many evidences of its con-
cern for adequate salary structures. However, because of the
very limited amount of total funds available for higher education,
the increases granted in faculty salaries during the past bien-
nium were again less than the increases in the cost of living.

Changes in Presidents

As shown in the accompanying listing of presidents. the
colleges at Milwaukee, Portland, and Seward are the only
synodical schools in the United States and Canada that have
not changed presidents since 1970. At the time of this writing.
requests for nominations for president have been submitted
by Concordia Seminary. St. Louis, and Concordia College,
Edmonton.

First Year

School President in Office
Ann Arbor Merlin S. Pohl 1974
Austin Ray F. Martens 1972
Bronxville Robert V. Schnabel 1971
Concordia Walter L. Rosin 1971
Edmonton Alfred R. Roth (Acting) 1974
Fort Wayne Herbert G. Bredemeier 1972
Milwaukee Walter W. Stuenkel 1953
Portland Erhardt P. Weber 1958
River Forest Paul A. Zimmerman 1973
St. Louis Ralph A. Bohlmann (Acting) 1974
St. Paul Harvey Stegemoeller 1971
Selma Willis L. Wright 1971
Seward W. Theophil Janzow 1962
Springfield Robert D. Preus 1974
Winfield Michael J. Stelmachowicz 1972

In February of this year Rev. Roland Frantz, president of
the synodical school in Edmonton, died suddenly. Professor
Frantz was on a sabbatical leave at the time of his death, having
decided to resign the presidency in June 1975 in keeping with
the Handbook regulation that permits a president to be retired
from the presidency after 15 years of service at a school. Cer-
tainly the Synod has reason to mourn the loss of this leader but
also to thank God for the blessings brought to higher education
and the church through his faithful service.

Program

The various changes and improvements in programs imple-
mented at the schools of the Synod are described in this Work-
book in the reports from the individual institutions. A study of
these materials reveals that the schools have continued to play
an important and legitimate role in the work of the Synod
through their programs and offerings.

Especially noteworthy are the creative and innovative
improvements being made in the “fieldwork” and other outside-
the-classroom learning experiences; the meaningful, unique,
and challenging offerings at many of the colleges, especially
during the interims that have been built into the academic
calendar; the progress toward more effective work with minor-
ity groups especially at Seward, St. Paul, River Forest, and
Bronxville; the greater success at all colleges in relating “head
knowledge” to personal faith and life as evidenced in student