Western Mission Cluster Strategic Planning Task Forces:
Authorization and Mandate
Adopted by Joint Executive Committees of the Boards
December, 1998

December 7, 1998
To: The Western Mission Cluster Planning Task Force
Copies: The Boards of Directors of PLTS and Luther Seminary
The Faculty Clustering Teams of PLTS and Luther Seminary

From: Timothy Lull and David Tiede

We are grateful to report significant progress toward the implementation of the recommendations which the Executive Committees of our Boards of Directors passed last June and which our Boards adopted in their October meetings. Those recommendations were as follows:

Recommendation # 1:

That the Luther Seminary/PLTS Board of Directors establish and monitor the task force for the development of the educational programs of the Western Mission Cluster as presented in the President’s Report.

The Task Force on Interim Seminary and Cluster Program Development

• Luther and PLTS Academic Deans
• a Luther and a PLTS faculty member chosen by the faculty to lead on clustering

As needed, this four person task force will regularly consult and meet with:

• faculty members with leadership in contextualization and off-campus programs
• faculty or staff with leadership in continuing education
• Deans of Students or Admissions Directors
• Tom Walker representing the Fisher's Net
• The Presidents and board leaders
• students and constituents

Recommendation #2:

That the Luther Seminary/PLTS Board of Directors establish and monitor the task force for the governance of the Western Mission Cluster as presented in the President’s Report.

The Task Force on Interim Governance and Funding:

• PLTS and Luther Board Chairs
• PLTS and Luther Presidents

As needed, this four person task force will regularly consult and meet with:

• the PLTS and Luther Financial Officers
• board members identified with specific responsibilities for the work of the boards
• leadership from the Division for Ministry
• the Deans and faculties
• key constituents

Recommendation #3:

That the Luther Seminary/PLTS Board of Directors establish a strategic planning task force as presented in the President’s Report. The task force members will be:

• The Board Chairs from PLTS and Luther Seminary: Bishop Mark Ramseth and Dr. Mark Knudson;
• The Presidents from PLTS and Luther Seminary: Dr. Timothy Lull and Dr. David Tiede;
• The Academic Deans from PLTS and Luther Seminary: Dr. Michael Aune and Dr. Marc Kolden;
• The elected faculty leaders in clustering from PLTS and Luther Seminary: Dr. Martha Stortz and Dr. Diane Jacobson;
• The Director of Theological Education of the ELCA, as advisor to the plan: Dr. Jonathan Strandjord;
• A leader/facilitator who will chair the sessions.

On December 2-4, 1998, our Board chairs, key board members, and we participated in an In Trust seminar for seminary trustees at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD. This consultation gave us the opportunity to specify the following agreements:

1. Dr. James Boyce, Chair of the Faculty Concerns Committee at Luther Seminary, was named as Cluster Coordinator for the Western Mission Cluster, and the responsibilities for that position were identified as follows:

• Work with the seminary presidents and with a facilitator to design and lead the series of planning consultations authorized by the Boards;
• Collaborate with the academic deans and faculty leadership to design and lead a series of faculty consultations as specified below;
• Coach the planning group to bring a plan to the joint meeting of the Boards of Directors in the Spring of 2000.

2. The presidents were authorized to engage Dr. Boyce and instructed to confer with him quarterly about the arrangements made with him.
3. The presidents were authorized to confer with Dr. Boyce about the identification of a facilitator to assist in the development of the plan.
4. Bishop Mark Ramseth was requested to confer with the synod bishops of ELCA Regions I, II, and III concerning the desirability of a consultation of the planning team, perhaps with additional faculty, and the Bishops on the needs of the synods and congregations for learning systems for leadership in mission, coordinated with the Western Mission Cluster and the Fisher’s Net.

{Nov. 8-9, 1999 has been tentatively set with Bishop Bjornberg in Denver.}

5. The presidents were encouraged to attend the December 4-6 meetings of the continuing education directors and college leaders and to invite their full participation in these initiatives.

{This event has been concluded very successfully at the time this memo is

being written. The group will meet again December 10-12, 1999 to track progress.}

6. The Board leaders and presidents agreed that the plan which will be submitted to the joint board meeting in the Spring of 2000 will a) track with the planning processes of both schools, lagging their implementation by 6-12 months; b) follow the outline of the educational, financial, and constituency (admissions, alumni, development) goals of both schools; and c) include the following:

• A statement of the shared mission of the Western Mission Cluster, coordinated with the mission statements of the two seminaries and focused upon the education of leadership for communities in mission. [Key leaders: seminary presidents, board chairs and planning group]
• A faculty consultation concerning how the curricular strategies of both seminaries and the Cluster serve to accomplish our educational missions in all degree programs and areas of collaboration, including the doctoral programs and ARTOS [Key leaders: seminary deans with their academic leadership teams and faculty clustering committees]
• A faculty development plan for the Western Mission Cluster coordinated with the plans of both seminaries. [Key leaders: seminary deans with their academic leadership teams and faculty clustering committees]
• A plan for coordinated efforts in learning leadership in congregational and other contexts for ELCA Regions I, II, and III and beyond. [Key leaders: academic deans with faculty in contextual education and congregational studies and mission]
• A plan for the further joint development of the Learning Network. [Key leaders: Pr. Thomas Walker and faculty leading in the development of the learning network]
• A plan for assessing the quality or outcomes of the cluster’s educational programs. [Key leaders: Academic Deans]
• A plan for the use, participation, and role these seminaries will play in the further development of "The Fisher’s Net," including

1. The relationships with other learning systems for preparing leadership in congregations, synods (candidacy committees), learning centers, colleges, campus ministries, camps, social service agencies, businesses etc.
2. The relationships between these learning systems and the educational systems and admissions processes of the seminaries.
3. Relationships with the other seminary clusters, the churchwide offices, and the LWF network of Lutheran seminaries.

[Key leaders: Pr. Thomas Walker with administrative teams]

• A plan to coordinate the development, public relations, marketing, constituency and church relationships, and admissions of the two seminaries and the cluster [Key leaders: Luther: Vice President for Advancement Ms. Kathy Hansen, Dean of Students Pr. Nancy Maeker, Dir. of Admissions Pr. Ron Olson; PLTS: Director for Development, Paul Evenson, and Dir. of Admissions, Pr. Brian Stein-Weber]
• A business plan for the cluster, integrated with the financial plans of the seminaries and authorized to distribute ELCA funds directed to the cluser. [Key leaders: PLTS: Bus. Mgr, Ms. Ellen Peterson; Luther: Vice President for Admin. and Finance, Howard Ostrem
• A cluster governance plan [Key leaders: Board chairs and presidents]

7. Upon counsel of the Board Chairs, the Presidents approved the following with respect to churchwide funding and the budgeting process at the seminaries:

• For calendar year 1999, it was agreed that appropriate action will be taken by January 31, 1999, to ask the Division for Ministry to issue separate checks to the individual seminaries (PLTS and Luther) in the same proportions as in 1998. This will ensure that the 1998-99 (last half) and 1999-2000 (first half) budgets are not compromised at this late date, assuming the total appropriation will be maintained or increased.
• In setting up the seminaries’ 1999-2000 budgets, it was agreed that both seminaries will create two revenue line items under ELCA Appropriations, one for the traditional funding amount and one for the cluster allocation. In this way we can begin to budget for the new method. The cluster budget line will include a 20% portion from the 1999 churchwide appropriation and a 40% portion from the 2000 appropriation.
• Also in the 1999-2000 budget, it was agreed that both seminaries will expressly identify expenses that are legitimate cluster expenses that represent the cooperative work we are doing. This will help us in representing this work to our Boards and to the Division for Ministry. Examples would be the stipend for the cluster coordinator, the Fisher’s Net (Learning Network), joint meetings, the Advent and Lenten devotional, etc.
• By calendar year 2000, we will need to take additional action to identify a methodology for the distribution of the cluster grant. This will be a recommendation made in the cluster planning process. We will also need to work more closely to project and manage enrollment and retention for the cluster since our churchwide grant depends on cluster graduates.