December 2, 2002
Shorter breaks ties with Georgia convention
___ROME, Ga.--Trustees of Shorter College, a Baptist liberal arts school in northwest Georgia, voted Nov. 22 to reject the eight new board members recently elected by the Georgia Baptist Convention. They also approved an effort to seek capital improvement and other funds being held by in escrow by the state convention and the Georgia Baptist Foundation.
___Trustees earlier had approved 16 potential candidates for the eight vacancies on the board as required by a bylaw change made last May. However, the state convention's nominating committee presented its own list of eight candidates.
___In the called meeting Nov. 22, Shorter trustees voted to restructure the college to allow for a self-perpetuating board. The decision is expected to sever all formal ties between the college and the convention. The convention previously provided 5 percent of the college's annual operating budget and currently holds $8 million in capital improvement funds for the college in the foundation.
___Shorter President Ed Schrader said the trustees' actions do not alter the mission or daily operation of the school.
___He said the decision was necessary to protect the school's accreditation now under review. The validity of those concerns, he said, was verified in a recent meeting with the assistant executive director of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accreditation agency.
___State convention leaders, however, have said the college is seeking independence out of fear of a fundamentalist takeover. The Georgia Baptist Convention's Executive Committee is expected to react to the college's decisions at a Dec. 10 meeting.
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