To Return Concordia University System Institutional Governance to the Synod

WHEREAS, the Concordia University System (CUS) institutions, which are agencies of Synod (Bylaw 1.2.1 [a]), were initially founded by the Synod; and

WHEREAS, Until 1986, all CUS institution board members were elected by the Synod or by a district in convention; and

WHEREAS, In 1986, two board-appointed positions were authorized; in 1992, two additional board-appointed positions were authorized; and in 2007, an additional four board-appointed positions were authorized, with the result that since 2007, the eight board-appointed members (who can vote on other appointed members) have outnumbered the five Synod-elected members of each CUS Board of Regents; and

WHEREAS, Recent actions by the Board of Regents of Concordia University Texas demonstrate that when a board is not primarily accountable to the Synod, it can seek to act primarily for institutional self-preservation rather than in the interests of, and in service to, the broader church (see Concordia University Texas memo, steadfast lutherans.org/wp- content/uploads/2022/11/CUTexas Letter.pdf); and

WHEREAS, The geographic district in which each CUS school is located also elects five members to the board of regents (including the district president), with the result that six districts of the Synod elect regents at their conventions whereas 29 districts do not, even though the CUS schools serve the entire Synod and are not the property of any one district; and

WHEREAS, The seminaries, which likewise serve the entire Synod, have boards with a district president elected by the entire Council of Presidents, and have four board-appointed regents chosen by the elected board members (to avoid creating a self- perpetuating board, appointed members do not vote on other appointed members), which arrangement has been salutary for the governance of the seminaries and has caused no financial, governance, or accreditation problems; therefore be it

Resolved, That in order to re balance the governance of the CUS Boards of Regents, the Synod revise the appropriate bylaws to provide for election of a thirteen member Board of Regents, consisting of four laypersons, two ordained ministers, and one commissioned minister, each elected by the Synod in convention for six year terms, with the terms staggered; one district president elected by the Council of Presidents for a three year term; one representative appointed by the Praesidium of Synod for a three year term; and four persons appointed by the elected members of the board for six year terms, such persons to be ineligible to vote on the appointment of appointed members; such changes to take effect for the 2024 district and 2025 Synod convention cycle, with all current members to complete their current three-year terms.