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the WASC situation. “We all need to
appreciate the difficult task that our
articles and bylaws committee members
have had to complete,” Graham was
quoted as saying in the statement. “During
their nearly two years of study and
review, committee members have listened
to constituency delegate feedback,
and have used care to ensure the revised
bylaws meet current governance needs
while reinforcing La Sierra University’s
clear and unequivocal connection to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church and its
mission and philosophy.”
According to the La Sierra statement,
the voted bylaws task “the board of
trustees with ensuring that the mission
and major policies of the university
reflect the goals and objectives of the
Adventist Church. Other changes recognize
the limitations of expecting a board
to manage day-to-day details of a complex
institution.”
Instead, that daily management
apparently will vest in Randal R. Wisbey,
the school’s current president: “The
president is identified as the university
officer accountable for implementing
the board’s broad policies into daily
operations,” the statement said.
The board, however, “will continue to
appoint the president, provost, and vice
president for financial administration,
and grant tenure to members of the
faculty.”
The bylaw change retains the current
numerical composition of the board,
the school said: “nine ex officio members
(the Pacific Union Conference president,
secretary, treasurer, vice
president; the Pacific Union Conference
education director; the presidents of the
Arizona, Southeastern California, and
Southern California conferences; and
the university president); and 14 members
elected by the constituency.”
Dropped was a provision that allowed
one of the 14 constituency-elected
members to come “from outside the
[Seventh-day Adventist] Church.”
Still under review is La Sierra’s accreditation
by the Adventist Accrediting
GERRY CHUDLEIGH/PUC PHOTO
INCREASED ROLE: Bylaw changes voted
by the La Sierra University constituency on
May 23 give more responsibility to the role
of LSU president, currently held by Randal
R. Wisbey.
Association (AAA), associated with the
General Conference’s Education Department.
AAA is reviewing its endorsement
of La Sierra, an approval that is important
within the Seventh-day Adventist
community and may be linked to church
financial aid to the university.
According to the AAA handbook,
“accreditation is concerned principally
with the improvement of educational
quality in institutions operated by the
Seventh-day Adventist church around
the world. Accreditation of an institution
by AAA signifies that the institution
has a purpose appropriate to service the
educational needs of those in its constituency
and has the resources, programs,
and services sufficient to
accomplish the institution’s goals.”
Lisa Beardsley-Hardy, a veteran Seventh-day
Adventist educator who directs
the General Conference’s Education
Department, told the Adventist Review
that the AAA review is continuing.
“At its October 9, 2013, meeting, the
board of the Adventist Accrediting Association
will consider the report of the
review team that conducted a focused
visit to La Sierra University April 16-18,
2013,” Beardsley-Hardy said. “The AAA
board will also consider the bylaws that
were voted since that site visit, as well as
any other significant matters that may
occur prior to the AAA board meeting. It
will take time to know whether the
recently voted bylaws will strengthen
accomplishment of mission.”
She added that the La Sierra board
has substantial responsibilities in keeping
the school faithful to its mission:
ANN FILE PHOTO
“The board needs to express clearly the
goals, means, and primary constituents
served, and, as a Seventh-day Adventist
institution, explain what makes La
Sierra University distinctive from . . .
secular and private universities. The
board needs to determine and monitor
programs and ensure they are consistent
with the mission and purposes of a
Seventh-day Adventist university. The
board holds administration accountable
for carrying out the mission on a dayto-day
basis. Ultimately the faculty are
essential partners in accomplishing
mission, not only because of the power
they hold based on academic freedom,
PACIFIC UNION LEADER: Ricardo Graham,
president of the Pacific Union Conference
of Seventh-day Adventists, may no longer
continue as chairman of the La Sierra University
board of trustees if he retains his
board chairmanship at Pacific Union College,
according to bylaw changes voted
May 23 by the La Sierra constituency.
but because learning and the integration
of faith and knowledge in the various
disciplines take place under the
direction of the faculty. They need to be
fully converted, God-fearing mentors
and guides who live out the mission
every day,” Beardsley-Hardy said.
Founded in 1922 as a Seventh-day Adventist
academy, La Sierra grew over the
years and became a full-fledged college
in 1946. In 1967 it merged with Loma
Linda University and became that
school’s liberal arts wing, reorganizing
as an independent institution in 1990. n
—with information provided by La Sierra
University
www.AdventistReview.org | June 20, 2013 | (537) 9