Board postpones mission statement revision till spring
MOLLY McVOY
Saint Mary's Editor
The date for Board of Trustees approval of Saint Mary's new mission statement has been pushed back from the board's November meeting to their meeting in April, according to several members of the mission council.
A draft of the new mission statement – which was originally scheduled to be presented to the board at their fall meeting – has been postponed in order to get further input from members of the College community.
This comes after several faculty members were concerned with the process of changing the statement and the present draft that was presented at a faculty assembly meeting early in October.
"We want to get all the feedback we can and begin to redo the revisions," said Jerome McElroy, a faculty member and member of the mission council.
At a special meeting called by the faculty assembly before break, the faculty passed a resolution in support of the College's present mission statement, according to Jeffrey Breese, the chair of faculty assembly.
"We passed a resolution that basically voiced support for the current mission statement," Breese said. "If there is a process for change or discussion the faculty wants more of a say."
In an effort to get input from the faculty, it is likely that an ad hoc committee will be put together at the next faculty assembly meeting that will look into the College's mission and how that relates to any changes made in the mission statement.
In addition, two more members of the faculty have been invited to sit on the mission council in addition to McElroy.
"Good faith is being demonstrated to invite two faculty," Breese said. "The point [of the ad hoc committee] is that these five people will be the conduit to discuss the mission; not to work against the mission council, but with it."
The mission council is meeting with Marilou Eldred, the College's president today to update her on the status of the new mission statement and get her input, according to Sister Roseanne Schultz, the Vice President for Mission and the head of the mission council.
In addition, the council is hosting open forums for students to voice their opinions concerning the mission statement and changes that will be made.
The first forum was held on Tuesday and another will be held on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. in Haggar Student Center.
"We're trying to get feedback from all the other constituents at the college," McElroy said.
All News Stories for Wednesday, October 25, 2000
