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BETHANY BOARD APPROVES GOVERNANCE CHANGES, ELECTS NEW MEMBERS
During its regular fall meeting, the Bethany College Board of Directors took several actions to improve college governance.
During Saturday’s meeting, held at the college, the board engaged in strategic planning and discussed ways to improve board governance. The board also approved new governance structures for the faculty and staff.
“The board is very engaged in thinking about the future of the college at many levels. Their planning and changes will make us stronger,” said Paul K. Formo, college president.
A new faculty constitution, previously drafted and approved by Bethany faculty, was finalized by the board. The document establishes a faculty senate to address curricular and faculty-policy decisions. Previously, the full Bethany faculty met monthly to do the business of faculty governance.
“The old system just took too long to make changes to courses and majors, and it took a lot of peoples’ time unnecessarily. The new faculty governance system will be a big improvement,” said Robert Carlson, Bethany professor of business and board member.
The Bethany faculty will elect members of the new senate this month.
Similarly, Bethany’s staff policy committee recommended to the board creation of a staff senate and guidelines for its operations. The board approved the change. The staff senate, elected by hourly staff, will represent the full staff in policy decisions.
The board also elected officers and three new board members.
With the expiration of Bill Gusenius’s term as chair, the board elected Tad Doering as chair of the board.
Doering, Apex, N.C., is a 1981 graduate of Bethany College. He is vice president of R.H. Donnelley. Doering has served on the Bethany board since 2001.
Gusenius was elected an at-large member of the board executive committee.
In addition to Gusenius and Doering, Kathleen Hurty, Oakland, Calif., and Steve Gragert, Stillwater, Okla., will serve as members of the board executive committee — Hurty as vice chair and Gragert as secretary.
Hurty is a 1955 graduate of Bethany College. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkley and works as a consultant. Gragert is a 1972 graduate of Bethany College and is interim director of the Will Rogers Memorial Commission.
New board members include Suzie Ahlstrand, Don Anderson, and Evelyn Wilson.
Ahlstrand, Wichita, Kan., is vice president – community advancement at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce. She also serves on the Bethany College President’s Advisory Council.
Anderson, Lindsborg, is a retired educator and union official. Anderson is a 1961 graduate of Bethany College.
Wilson, Topeka, Kan., is Shawnee County District Court judge. She is a 1982 graduate of Bethany.
In other business, the board accepted an audit report on the fiscal 2005-2006 year and approved the sale of some Bethany property by auction. The college ended the year with a small surplus, the third consecutive time the college has ended the year in the black. The Laubach Center, a downtown Lindsborg property owned by the college, will be offered for sale by auction, per board action Saturday.
“The endowment trustees and the board determined several years ago that it is counterproductive for the college to be in the real-estate business. This is simply another step in our long-term strategy to liquate our real estate holdings and reinvest the funds in ways that don’t require such intensive maintenance,” Formo said.
In reports, the board heard from Formo on the mistaken impression of some in the community that the college does not accept designated gifts. According to Formo in his report, the college staff is developing materials to clearly explain how donors may designate gifts to the college for specific uses.
The board also approved three upcoming faculty sabbaticals.
Greg LeGault, assistant professor of theatre, was granted a sabbatical for spring 2007. During his sabbatical LeGault will work to finish his dissertation, “Confronting the Demon: An Exploration of the Character of the Artist in Twentieth Century American Drama.”
Linda Lewis, professor of English, was granted a sabbatical for the 2007-2008 academic year. She will work on a new book about Charles Dickens’s use of New Testament metaphors. Lewis previously has published two books on Victorian-era literature.
Marlysue Holmquist, assistant professor of education, was granted a sabbatical for spring 2008. She will use the sabbatical to research the role of male teachers in the public schools.
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