LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 302

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302 HIGHER EDUCATION

I. Governance of the System

The resolution creating the Task Force discusses the need
for an independent review of the role of the Board for Higher
Education and its relationship to the various Boards of Control.
The same concern has been expressed a number of times in
various ways by individuals and groups throughout the work of
the Task Force. A general concern appears to exist as to author-
ity and responsibility of the BHE, the Boards of Control, and the
Board of Directors. Some confusion apparently results from
Handbook provisions that have been adopted in piece-meal
fashion and do not now clearly identify synodical intent as to
authority and responsibilities in the area of higher education
policy and management.

The fact that similar problems exist in most publicly sup-
ported institutions of higher learning is no comfort for the Task
Force. It is evident that in a number of instances considerable
energy is expended with little accomplishment and a great deal
of individual and corporate frustration.

In studying this general concern the Carnegie Commission
found that great care needs to be exercised in influencing and
controlling general policies for higher education as opposed to
the administration and management of an institution within the
broadly established policies. The commission recommends
that limitations be placed on involvement by policy-making
groups in order to permit the individual institution a degree of
freedom necessary to operate in an efficient manner. Though
some of the Carnegie Commission recommendations are not
entirely appropriate for synodical higher education, they are
deserving of detailed study.

The Task Force has been able to identify the following spe-
cific problem areas in need of resolution:

1. Doctrinal supervision:

. Closing of schools:

. Functions of the BHE vs. the Boards of Control:

. The relationship of the BHE to its administrative staff:

Selection of members of the BHE and the Boards of

Control:

6. Potential of establishing Boards of Control for multi-
campus operations, for example by type of school as op-
posed to each school having a separate board:

7. The responsibilities of the Board of Directors in higher

education matters.

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The Task Force Recommends

Il. That the Board for Higher Education appoint a special
committee of qualified individuals to carefully review its func-
tions in relation to those assigned to local Boards of Control:

12. That each Board of Control carefully review its function
in relation to those assigned to the Board for Higher Education:

I3. That the special committee review the powers reserved
by the Synod, the Board of Directors, and others, if any, having
to do with the higher education system:

14, That the special committee study the potential of establish-
ing Boards of Control by type of school rather than separate
boards for each school:

I5. That reports of the Carnegie Commission on Higher
Education: Governance of Higher Education (1973) and The
Capital and the Campus (1971), be used as working resources
in the above reviews: and

16. That the Board for Higher Education, in consultation with
the Boards of Control and others studying the entire organiza-
tional structure of the Synod, prepare necessary and desirable
recommendations to provide clear policies and procedures on
governance for consideration by the 1977 convention.

J. Ministries to Minorities

Frequent recommendations have been made by synodical
conventions on matters concerning minority groups in The
Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod. Many of these recommen-
dations have had to do with priority funding of programs of
ministry designed specifically for blacks, and in recent years for
Hispanics. These two minority groups have become a sizable
percentage of the U.S. population. In 1974 blacks constituted
some 10 percent of the population 14 years of age and older,
Hispanics nearly 42 percent. These two minorities are growing

more rapidly than the balance of the population and make up
large segments of the younger age groups.

At this time opportunities for blacks and other minorities are
virtually unrestricted in the United States. The church needs to
make certain that its programs and its opportunities are likewise
unrestricted and to listen to the cry for educational leadership
for minorities. To do otherwise will create a large vacuum in
leadership personnel at a time when this segment of our popula-
tion is expanding.

The Task Force Recommends

J-Al. That ministries to ethnic groups (especially blacks,
Hispanics, Indians) are deserving of adequate financial support:

J-A2. That the contribution of Alabama Lutheran Academy
and Junior College, Selma, Ala., has been invaluable to The
Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod, but such programs for peo-
ple who intend to work in ministries among the blacks need to
be strengthened and vigorously pursued through coordination
with Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, under super-
vision of the Board for Higher Education:

J-A3. That the educational programs offered at Alabama
Lutheran Academy and College be continued even though the
tuition support recommended for church work students will be
inadequate to supply the needs of the school and that institu-
tional support be made available by the Board for Higher
Education on a priority basis:

J-A4. That programs for ministries to ethnic groups other
than blacks be thoroughly studied and where necessary be
implemented by the Board for Higher Education with particular
emphasis on the practical ministries program suggested for
Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield (Fort Wayne): and

J-A5. That the Board for Higher Education coordinate the
development of a vigorous program of recruiting black and
other minority students.

The calling and placement of black pastors and other black
church workers in the ministry of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod must be accomplished so that their use and
mobility is not restricted to congregations that are predominantly
black. The practice of restricting black church workers to black
congregations does not present an appealing picture for student
recruitment, because it tends to relegate their future placement
to generally weak and subsidized congregations in the Synod.
The Task Force recognizes that placement and mobility issues
are not the direct responsibility of the Task Force, but it is
concerned about these because of the effect they have on
student recruitment.

The Task Force Recommends

J-B1. That the Board of Assignments strive to avoid all
apearance of discrimination in the assignment of black vicars
and graduates:

J-B2. That District Presidents and mission executives chal-
lenge synodical congregations to call candidates, pastors, and
other church workers without regard to race: and

J-B3. That the Commission on Theology and Church Rela-
tions examine the ‘divinity of the call" in relationship to the
various implications involved in the practice of calling black
pastors solely to black congregations and to the image the
church presents to the world when it permits such practices.

The Task Force regrets that lack of time did not enable it to
give sufficient attention to the entire subject of recruitment of
minority and ethnic students into the church’s professional
ministry or other areas of concern related to ministries to the
minorities. This entire area is deserving of a high priority for
adequate study in the next biennium, particularly since the 100th
anniversary of ministry to blacks will be celebrated in 1977.

The Task Force Recommends

J-C1. That a task force be created to develop a strategy for
the recruitment of blacks and other minority students for
professional service in the church:

J-C2. That such task force be composed of persons knowl-
edgeable in these matters: and

J-C3. That such strategy be developed based on the CTCR
examination of the ‘‘divinity of the call.”