Davidson College trustees to consider opening board to non-Christian members
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, December 17, 2004
The governing body of Davidson College near Charlotte, N.C., one of the nation’s premier academic schools and historically a Presbyterian institution, is considering breaking a long-standing requirement that all trustees be members of Christian churches.
Davidson documents
Davidson College has posted on its Web site the various documents that trustees will consider whether to revise their bylaws and the college’s Statement of Purpose and whether to call for an endowed professorship in the Department of Religion. The following are the links to those documents:
- Proposed Revision to Davidson College Statement of Purpose
- Proposed Revision to Davidson College Statement of Purpose (Showing Previous and Proposed Text)
- Proposed Revision to Davidson College By-Laws
- Proposed Revision to Davidson College By-Laws (Showing Previous and Proposed Text)
- Proposal Regarding Endowed Professorship in Religion Department
- Letter from Alumni Association President Kevin Hanna
- Letter from Ad Hoc Committee
The trustees will vote in February on a proposal to allow up to 20 percent of the members of their board to be non-Christians. The bylaws currently require that “persons elected as Trustees shall be active members of a Christian church.”
The proposed change, which an ad hoc committee of the trustees drafted on Sept. 21, would say: “Historically, persons elected as Trustees have been active members of a Christian church. In order to preserve the religious heritage of Davidson College and in openness to and respect for the world’s various religious traditions, at all times at least eighty percent (80%) of the elected voting members of the Board of Trustees shall be active members of a Christian church.”
On Nov. 22, the committee submitted a revision of its earlier draft that states: “Historically, persons elected as Trustees have been active members of a Christian church. In openness to and respect for the world’s various religious traditions and the variety of religious preferences among the graduates and friends of Davidson, the Nominating Committee and the Alumni Association may recommend persons for the office of Trustee who are not active members of a Christian church but who meet all other criteria for serving as a Trustee. As part of continuing the historic commitment of Davidson to the Reformed Tradition of the Christian faith, the Nominating Committee shall insure that at least 80% of all voting Trustees are active members of a Christian church.”
Both the Sept. 21 and Nov. 22 proposals will be on the agenda for the trustees’ meeting in February.
In addition, the ad hoc committee has proposed a number of changes in Davidson College’s Statement of Purpose. One of the changes would recast a sentence that now states, “Davidson commits itself to a Christian tradition that recognizes God as the source of all truth and finds Jesus Christ is the revelation of that God …”
The committee proposed that trustees make the following revision: “The religious tradition that has shaped Davidson recognizes God as the source of all truth, and believes that Jesus Christ is the revelation of that God … ”
Possibly as a strategy to ward off charges that the college is abandoning its Christian roots, the ad hoc committee proposed that the trustees consider creating an endowed professorship in the Department of Religion. “The area of training and expertise of any holder of this position would be Christian theology in general, and Reformed Theology in particular,” the committee said. “Recognizing that creation of this position would require the minimum commitment of $1.5MM [$1.5 million], the Committee recommends that the Board of Trustees consider a challenge to itself to raise the funds necessary to endow such a professorship.”
Davidson College was organized by Presbyterians in 1837. One of the original purposes of the school was to provide undergraduate training for men who wanted to become Presbyterian ministers.
Today, the 1,700-student institution, which claims 21 Rhodes scholars and is considered one of the top-10 private liberal arts colleges in the nation, admits both men and women. There have been other changes over the years, including discontinuing the former requirement that students attend chapel services.
But Davidson has maintained its Presbyterian ties. It’s bylaws require that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) confirm the elections of eight board members and that the presbyteries of North Carolina confirm the elections of 16 board members. The total of those requiring Presbyterian confirmation is 24 – half the number of trustees.