February, 1976, CROSSROADS, page 3
According To Abbot Jude
Board Of Trustees May Be Revised
The present structure of the Belmont Abbey College
Board of Trustees is under serious consideration for
revision by the Chapter of the Abbey. The Chapter is
made up of all the finally professed monks.
The proposed revision would convert the present
monastic Board of Trustees into one in which
responsibility is shared with lay persons.
The Board is now composed of seven members, all of
whom are from the monastery. Three are elected
annually and three are appointed yearly by the Abbot.
All are subject to re-election or re-appointment. The
Abbot is the Chairman of the Board, ex-officio.
The other six members of the Board of Trustees
presently include' Fathers Peter Stragand, John
Oetgen, Jerome Dollard, Kieran Neilson, James
Solari, and Raphael Bridge.
In the last few years, the Board of Trustees has
begun to function in a more democratic manner. Since
all the members reside in the same building, meetings
can be called at regular intervals or on almost a
moment’s notice. Any proposal can be approved by a
simple majority.
A most important recent decision of the Board of
Trustees was the approval of an administrative
proposal to make the College co-educational.
However, the issue of visitation has brought about
hesitation and apprehension.
The Board of Trustees also serves as the Seniors of
the monastery. In this capacity, its members must
approve all spending over a fixed amount. They also
act as consultants and advisors to the Abbot.
These seven monks are the Board of Directors for the
Southern Benedictine Society and the Board of
Directors for the Virginia Benedictine Society, which
determines the administrative policy for Richmond’s
Benedictine High School; a majority are also teachers
and administrators at Belmont Abbey College.
These seven men who compose the Board of Trustees
are members of the policy-making body whose
decisions are executed through the President of
Belmont Abbey College, Rev. John P. Bradley. Since
some of the members are also educators and ad
ministrators, they are in the dual and possibly con
flicting roles of being simultaneously “the boss’’ and
“the bossed.” Generally college boards of trustees
play what is termed a “disinterested” role in arriving
at decisions.
At most colleges the Board of Trustees is directly
responsible for producing approximately half the
money obtained in a fund raising drive. However, at
Belmont Abbey College the members of the monastic
board have taken a vow of poverty; thus the outside
monetary support which most private colleges receive
from their boards of trustees is non-existent.
In the present system, a complete membership
turnover is possible every year. This can be
detrimental to any long-term programs the Board
initiates. One objective of any Board of Trustees is the
maintenance of continuity in structure and policy.
Lay persons on the Board would become avenues
which would make the local community aware of the
monastic way of life and the function it serves at
Belmont Abbey College.
Abbot Jude states, “We would select people of
capacity, leadership, talent, and the knowledge of
business operations who wmild incorporate their in
valuable knowledge to help the well-being of the
College. These people of wisdom and accomplishment
in all facets of life will join with the monks in
promoting the betterment of the College.”
“Understandably, the present Board of Trustees
lacks the background in business. However, they do
possess a humanistic and religious concern which
would be complemented if businessmen, educators,
alumni and professionals were added to the Board of
Trustees.”
“It is naive to believe the monks can make all
correct decisions on finance, business, and public
relations.”
“I am thoroughly convinced we need the change, but
it is not a simple question. There are differing views
which the monks must address and reconcile,” said
Abbot Jude.
“All change which is allowed to happen in an
evolutionary way is the best type of change. People
are permitted to live with it a while and get ac
customed to it. Radical change is difficult to accept
because of a natural human reaction against great
change.”
Approximately eight years ago, in January, 1968, the
monastic Board began looking toward lay par
ticipation on the Board of Trustees. Much time has
elapsed since this idea of transition first appeared;
thus, there is not a whole lot more to be known. “We
have done enough looking,” according to the Abbot;
“the problem is deciding what we want to do and how
to make the change come about.”
“At the present, there is question about the best way
to make the transition. There is a big difference bet
ween the theoretical need and the practical im
plementation,” stated Belmont Abbey’s fifth Abbot.
“There are mixed feelings in the monastic com
munity. Some have serious, well-founded reser
vations.”
“They tend to look at St. Leo’s Abbey in Florida.
There, the monks literally gave the college away to a
Lay Board of Trustees. They transferred legal
ownership of the properties and buildings. Animosity
between the college and monastery grew to the extent
that only three or four priests presently teach at the
college. Perhaps, the monks of St. Leo’s Abbey had
lost their appreciation of the college long before they
installed the new Board of Trustees which finally
relieved them of all their responsibility to the college.”
“At St. Procopius in Lyle, Illinois, a more sensible
change was made; yet, there are certain reservations
regarding the wisdom of that change.”
“Although the change is not perfectly accepted by
everyone, in balance with the risks, I feel it is well
worth trying,” concluded the Abbot.
Since discussion of the transition began so long ago,
it now should be easier to achieve, although the exact
procedure is still not clear in Abbot Jude’s mind.
The present proposal visualizes a lay board as a
body consisting of approximately seventeen members.
The Abbot would be a member ex-officio; however, he
wouldn’t necessarily be the Chairman of the Board,
since the chairman would be elected by the board
members. Four or five Benedictines would be included
on the board.
Several questions remain in the proposal.
First, how would the new members of the Board be
chosen? Would the Board or the monastery elect
them? If the Board elected the members, would they
be subject to approval by the monastery?
Would the monastery submit to having the Board
elect the clerical representatives, or would they want
to elect their own representatives?
An ideal if, of course, that the Board be self-
perpetuating. But will the monastery relinquish some
of the controls it has had over the college for a hundred
years?
Also, who would legally own the buildings and
properties - the college or the Southern Benedictine
Society?
Not only how will the Board be instituted, but when,
is another fact that drifts into one’s mind.
According to Abbot Jude, “My best hopes would be to
clear the way in the next couple of months to allow full
discussion and, hopefully, decision on this important
matter. Given approval, we might then have the new
Board in the fall of 1976.”
Although the long-range effect of this transition will
be tremendous, since the lines of responsibility in the
College would be more clearly drawn, the short-range
effects can be foreseen more clearly. Immediate ef
fects of a new board of Trustees would include the
lifting of the “veil of mystery” which has separated
Belmont Abbey from its local community, a more
successful Fund Drive, an improved psychological
awareness both within the Belmont Abbey Community
and on the part of others in the area, and perhaps even
the disappearance of hesitation and apprehension
about the issue of visitation.
Even though these immediate effects can be num
bered, concern for the future improvements of this
school is vital.
In Abbot Jude’s words, “The importance of this
concern is that interest in what is going to happen in
the future is very important. It Ts very important for us
to look to the future for those who will come after us,
just as those who came before were looking out for us.”
B.A.E.T.
What is it?
B.A.E.T. What is it?
These initials stand for
the newest organization
on Abbey campus, the
Belmont Abbey
Emergency Team,
conceived to fill the
emergency and everyday
medical needs of the
campus when the nurse
isn’t on duty.
You may ask why an
“emergency team” is
, needed on a campus of
only 800 students. In the
past, it was noticed that
someone was needed on
campus with first aid
training for when the
nurse was off-duty.
Therefore, the resident
assistants were in
structed in standard
multi-media first aid, an
eight hour course. To
some students though, a
better trained individual
seemed to be needed.
For that reason, the
Belmont Abbey
Emergency Team was
formed. Each Belmont
Abbey Team member
has 61 hours of
emergency first aid
training, which includes
advanced first aid.
The area of coverage
for the emergency team
is the buildings and
campus of Belmont
Abbey. In the future the
emergency team will
offer its services at all
intramural functions and
any special events
happening on the college
campus. Any club or
organization on Abbey
campus which is having a
special event has but to
ask for help. Of course,
all this is in addition to
providing services for the
dormitories at night.
The present members
of the team are Tim
Lawson, 301-C R.A.; Bob
Breiner, 302-B R.A.; and
Fred Moench, 301-D R.A.
, All members are
qualified in emergency
first-aid with emergency
' room experience.