In Trust Governance Mentors help seminary plan for the future
Recently Amy Kardash, In Trust director of mentors, spoke to the president and board chair at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary about their use of In Trust Governance Mentor services. In 2009, the seminary requested that an In Trust Governance Mentor help assess the school's institutional and financial health. In 2010, In Trust returned to the seminary to help the board with strategic planning.
In separate interviews in July 2010, Kardash spoke to the Rev. Marcus J. Miller and the Rev. William B. Trexler. She asked them why they have engaged with In Trust's mentors more than once, and how the seminary has been affected by the services they received.
How did you choose your topics for Governance Mentoring?
William B. Trexler, board chair: Our board, like many, is one that tended to just take what we were given without a lot of questions. We needed to get a better handle on finances, particularly in the wake of a greater sense of the fiduciary responsibility that has come upon boards over the last five to ten years.
Why did you return to In Trust for additional mentoring services?
Marcus J. Miller, president: In Trust has a deep understanding of theological education, which is very unique.
Trexler: Our experience with the In Trust mentors at the retreat was outstanding, more than fulfilling our hopes of gaining a deeper perspective of the overall health of our institution. We discovered real threats to our long-term sustainability, resolved to be proactive in addressing our issues, and created our Futures Committee, which developed five key initiatives that promise not only to fulfill our mission more faithfully, but also to do so with financial sustainability.
What benefits have you realized from an ongoing relationship with In Trust?
Miller: It's given us a lot of encouragement to plan for the future and to dream about tomorrow. I think the primary benefit is that it's helped us, in a really fragile and uncertain time, be clear about where we stand — even though it's not exactly where we always want to be — so we have feet planted in a place and we can look at where we need to go from here. It's just given us capacity to plan for the future tactically and strategically.
Trexler: We've received deep insights into our institutional life.
Who at your institution was helped by working with In Trust?
Miller: The board, the administration, and — to a lesser degree — the faculty and students now and in the future.
What effect did working with In Trust have on your institution?
Miller: In Trust helped us with taking the numbers and translating them into information.
Trexler: It's caused us to wake up to a new reality and really necessitated our taking some new approaches in fulfilling our mission.
How would you categorize your relationship with In Trust today?
Trexler: The name says it all; we work together "in trust."
In Trust wins recognition from the Associated Church Press
At the association's May 2010 meeting, In Trust received two awards:
Category: Column — Honorable Mention (third place) to Melinda Heppe for "Spirit Matters," 2009 issues
Category: Professional Resource — Honorable Mention (third place) to Rebekah Burch Basinger for "Nipping Trouble in the Bud: When Board Members Behave Badly," New Year 2009
New grant supports In Trust magazine
The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation has awarded In Trust a grant of $10,000. The new funds will enable the completion ofa comprehensive evaluation of the magazine, and they will also support the development of new section editors for the magazine.
The latest at In Trust Blog
At www.intrust.org/blog, read about governance questions like these:
- Do alumni read alumni magazines?
- How do you measure credit hours for online classes?
- Is the education bubble about to burst?
- Is your seminary stressed?
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