1967

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Another Saint Louis University First
The Board of Trustees Includes Lay Leadership

   On June 23, 1967, 25 of the 28 members of Saint Louis University’s board of trustees gathered together at the University’s Fordyce Education and Conference Center overlooking the Mississippi River about 15 miles south of downtown St. Louis. They had come to Fordyce for a meeting of the board. Now the trustees of the University had met hundreds of times before, but this meeting was very different from any of the previous meetings. What made this meeting unique was the fact that among the 25 trustees present on that June morning were 15 lay people, including the lay chairman of the board, Mr. Daniel L. Schlafly. This new arrangement for the board provided for a mixed membership of lay people and Jesuits. Saint Louis University was the first major Catholic university to give lay people and clergy combined legal responsibility for institutional policy and operations.

   The decision to reconstitute the board was done through careful planning and prayerful deliberation lasting more than two years. Although the chairman of the board of trustees was a lay person, the by-laws governing the board stipulated that the president of the University must be a Jesuit.

   This move to a board consisting of both Jesuits and lay persons was made for four major reasons. First, it was recognized that Saint Louis University is a public trust. Its primary constituencies certainly are the Catholic Church and the Society of Jesus. But beyond them, the University holds its alumni, the business and professional community, and practically every area of society as a constituency. Bringing leaders from these areas onto the board and giving them responsibility for University policies and operations was a logical move. Secondly, the move was in keeping with the spirit of Vatican Council II to give lay people a greater role at more responsible levels in the Catholic Church. Third, the new board conformed more closely to the composition and function of boards of trustees of other respected colleges and universities in America. Finally, the addition of lay people of various backgrounds, professions and areas of the country strengthened the University’s sphere of influence and support.

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