World Church: Tenured Faculty and Board Members at Adventist Institutions Must Be Church Members, Leaders Decide

October 10, 2006 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States …. [ANN Staff]

Tenured faculty and board members at all Seventh-day Adventist-owned educational institutions must now be Adventist church members in “good and regular standing,” church leaders agreed today during an Annual Council meeting at world church headquarters.

In support of the motion limiting tenure and continuous teaching positions to Adventist faculty, several delegates felt it was difficult to transfer the mission and vision of the church to the next generation if professors at church institutions don't fully subscribe to church beliefs.

Despite general agreement to such sentiments, the motion did not pass without considerable discussion. Several delegates pointed out the difficulty of finding and hiring qualified Adventist faculty members, especially at medical educational institutions where highly specialized positions exist. Some even questioned the assumption that employees who are not church members could not adequately reflect Adventist values.

“Some of our non-Adventist faculty members hold as dearly to our mission as we do to our doctrines,” said Dr. Allan Handysides, director of the world church's Health Ministries department. Handysides said he has witnessed the contribution of non-Adventist staff working at Loma Linda University.

Handysides then warned against an obsession with doctrine, but qualified his comments with a general call to Adventist institutions to “guard against becoming businesses in an attempt to ensure their viability. It is becoming ever more important that we appoint people who share our values,” he said.

Delegates also raised questions regarding parts of the world where government regulations demand a certain standard of appointments. The fact that salaries at Adventist schools typically fall below state averages was also addressed as posing a challenge.

Paramount in many delegates' minds was the basic legality of the motion. Many suggested there may be state and national anti-discrimination policies against withholding tenure from non-Adventist faculty members.

Bob Kyte, director of the church's Office of General Counsel, explained the motion already allowed for such circumstances: “If there are any laws existing in a country requiring the hiring of a certain quota of individuals, they would override this doctrinal preference.”

Responding to these and other challenges, Dr. Lyn Behrens, president and chief executive officer of Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center, proposed an amendment to the motion that would grant local school boards the flexibility to appropriately implement the measure within the constructs of civil law and regulations.

“Exceptions to this policy would be discretional and open to the governing boards of each institution,” said Adventist world church president, Pastor Jan Paulsen, articulating the amendment.

Dr. Ella Simmons, a general vice president of the world church, qualified the amendment, stating that the actions of boards would also be “subject to regulations pertaining to accreditations standards, professional licensure, and program approval standards from learned societies.”

After approving the amended motion, delegates moved on to a similar recommendation calling for all board members at Adventist colleges and universities to be made up of members of the Adventist church in regular standing.

Dr. Garland Dulan, director of the Adventist world church's Education Department, said there were no statistics stating how many non-Adventists are currently serving on the boards of Adventist schools. It was decided, however, that such individuals could continue to serve where they are already appointed. In the future, they would be required to serve in board advisory roles.

Dr. Gordon Bietz, president of Southern Adventist University, voiced concern over the motion, saying that it would make Adventist schools “isolated and parochial.”

“There's no suggestion that we drop [current] board members, but that we must aim for a higher principle. Invite others to sit with us in advisory positions,” Pastor Paulsen responded.

Dr. Behrens, agreed, “I feel so strongly that our boards are the keepers of the flame of our Adventist institutions. We have formed advisory [non-governing] boards from the community who have joined us in successful ways.”

Pastor Paulsen reiterated the importance of adhering to the church's mission of spreading the Gospel when it comes to enacting educational policies. “As a global community, there are many issues that are non-negotiable for many church institutions, but in implementing [these] measure[s] we must ever keep in mind the high and sacred calling of the church.

Copyright (c) 2006 by Adventist News Network.