February 11, 2002

Shorter trustees negotiating with convention
___ROME, Ga.--The executive committee of Shorter College's trustee board has rescinded an action taken by the full board to shift the school's assets and control to a self-perpetuating foundation board.
___Leaders of the trustee board and the Georgia Baptist Convention met for four hours Jan. 22 to discuss the matter and agreed to form an ad hoc committee to study the trustee selection process, according to a jointly released statement.
___A few days prior to the meeting, trustees rescinded their earlier action as "a measure of good faith," the statement said.
___Shorter President Ed Schrader stated in an earlier interview with Baptists Today that the November action--revealed to state convention leaders Jan. 8--was necessary to meet an accreditation requirement enabling the trustees to remove one of its own with cause.
___According to the latest statement, the Georgia Baptist Convention Administration Committee has agreed to provide the college with a written procedure for trustee removal. Details of how that process would work were not given, however.
___College officials steadfastly have insisted their earlier action related to accreditation, not Baptist politics. However, Schrader confirmed that the board wants a stronger voice in the trustee selection process to ensure that "independent thinkers" with the best interest of the college will serve.
___Georgia Baptist Convention leaders reportedly agreed to meet early each year with college officials to discuss potential trustees but rejected "any idea that would sacrifice the autonomy of the (state convention's) committee on nominations."

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