Date: June 7, 2007
Contact: pr@andrews.edu
Website:
Phone: 269-471-3322

At a special meeting of the Members of the Corporation (constituency) for Andrews University this past Sunday, June 3, the constituency overhauled the Corporation’s bylaws with significant changes made to the composition of both the constituency and the University’s Board of Trustees and to the process of selecting trustees.

The special meeting was called in order to hear the report of an ad hoc bylaws committee appointed by the Members in October 2005.  Following the committee report, the Members made a number of amendments to the committee recommendations and voted in a new set of bylaws.

One important change is the cutting of the size of the membership approximately in half.  Up until the meeting, the membership consisted of 558 individuals, consisting of:
     • 284 from the General Conference (GC) Executive Committee
     • 6 from the GC, North American Division (NAD), and Lake Union Conference (LUC)   educational directors
     • 35 from the LUC Executive Committee
     • 17 from the Illinois Conference Executive Committee
     • 13 from the Indiana Conference Executive Committee
     • 18 from the Lake Region Conference Executive Committee
     • 13 from the Michigan Conference Executive Committee
     • 22 from the Wisconsin Conference Executive Committee
     • 7 Andrews alumni
     • 8 AU Board of Trustees members
     • 135 AU employees

Now, the membership has been reduced to approximately 275 as follows:
     • 102 from the GC Executive Committee
     • 36 World Division executive officers
     • 35 from the LUC Executive Committee
     • 15 from the local conference executive committees within the LUC
     • 35 Andrews alumni (minimum of 75% lay-employed)
     • 15 AU Board of Trustees members
     • 37 AU employees.

The Andrews University employee Members consist of:  19 faculty members (at least 10 of whom are on continuous appointment), 10 full-time staff members (at least seven of whom are salaried), and eight from university administration (three of whom must be academic deans).

The membership also made changes to the composition of the Andrews University Board of Trustees, increasing the size of the board from 38 to 41 and balancing the board between lay and church-employed trustees.  The membership voted to make the changes to the board of trustees effective at the 2008 annual meeting of the Members. 

Currently, the Board of Trustees consists of:
     • 5 from the GC Executive Committee
     • 4 World Division presidents
     • Up to 5 union presidents
     • 2 Lake Union officers
     • 5 Lake Union local conference presidents
     • the AU president
     • 2 AU alumni
     • 14 members not employed by AU.

After the 2008 annual meeting of the Members, the Board of Trustees will have 41 trustees, as follows:
     • 6 from the GC Executive Committee
     • 5 from the NAD Executive Committee
     • 8 from the LUC Executive Committee
     • the AU president
     • 20 non-denominationally employed trustees, at least 5 of whom must be AU alumni.

The new Bylaws adopted by the membership also provide for procedural changes to the way trustees are selected.  From this point forward, a nominating committee will do its work in advance of membership meetings with guidance from the corporation secretary and input from the board chair and corporation president.  The Bylaws also provide for a Governance Committee of the Board which will have a role and responsibility in identifying prospective trustees as well as examining the effectiveness of individual trustees and the Board as a whole.

Under the new Bylaws, the Members will meet annually and the Board of Trustees will meet a minimum of three times each calendar year.

After the special meeting of the Members adjourned in the early afternoon of June 3, the University’s Board of Trustees met.  At its meeting, the Board heard various reports from campus departments. These included a report from the President; from Advancement on the progress of the fundraising campaign; from the Provost on strategic planning and from Enrollment Management. At this point in the summer, undergraduate applications are up, and there is an increase in both undergraduate and freshmen admissions. Graduate admissions are stable, but with no significant increases.

 Financial Administration also gave a three-part report on 1) the current financial status of the university; 2) financial goals for the next few years; and 3) Board approval process for upcoming capital projects. Currently, projections indicate that the fiscal year will end with approximately a $2.4 million budget surplus. Financial goals for the next few years include areas such as an increase in annual revenue, working capital, debt, and capital project processes.

The Board approved the renovations of the bathrooms in Lamson Hall (women’s residence hall) and requested to see the final plans and total cost for the new entrance, the milking parlor, and the renovation of Dining Services before making a final approval.

Faculty and staff appointments were approved by the Board and included:
     • Alba Abrahams, enrollment recruiter
     • Silmara Ferreira, international enrollment coordinator
     • Cheryl Kean, Bookstore manager
     • Dana Kendall, assistant professor of psychology
     • Chris LeBrun, senior development officer
     • Brandon Lowry, PC support specialist for ITS
     • Teona Martiashvili, assistant professor of music
     • Andrea Moskalova, church-based enrollment coordinator
     • Pierre Quinn, annual giving coordinator
     • Lawrence Schalk, vice president for financial administration
     • Allen Stembridge, dean of the School of Business Administration
     • Carmelita Troy, associate professor of accounting
     • Jason Webster, strategic marketing coordinator for Enrollment
     • Kathleen Wolfer, special projects manager for the Center for Adventist Research
     • Stephanie Wylie, Strategic Marketing Systems Coordinator for Enrollment

The following rank and title changes were also approved:
     • Sallie Alger, James White Library, assistant to associate professor
     • Lena Caesar, Speech Language Pathology & Audiology, assistant to associate professor, continuous appointment
     • Kathleen Demsky, James White Library, non-continuous to continuous appointment
     • Claudio Gonzalez, Music Department, assistant to associate professor
     • Joon Hyuk Kang, Mathematics Department, non-continuous to continuous appointment
     • Susan Murray, Social Work Department, assistant to associate professor
     • Shelly Perry, Social Work Department, non-continuous to continuous appointment
     • Michael Wright, Social Work Department, assistant to associate professor, continuous appointment
     • Jim Jeffery, School of Education, associate professor to professor
     • Ray Ostrander, Teacher Education, associate professor to professor
     • Emilio Garcia-Marenko, registrar; associate vice president for academic administration to registrar, associate provost
     • Charles Tidwell, director, Affiliation & Extension Programs to dean, Affiliation & Extension Programs
     • Jerome Thayer, Educational & Counseling Psychology Department, professor emeritus

The next meeting of the full board is scheduled for October 2007.