THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE CHURCH-RELATED UNIVERSITY TO THE STATE CHARTER OBLIGATION By Elmer G. Million* Before exploring the subject specifically before us at this moment it is important to recognize certain broad truths about all higher education. Generally speaking, all colleges and universities enjoy either a secular or religious origin. More specifically a college is usually founded either by the state or the church. It is assumed by most people that the state or secular institution should have little if anything to do with the church. Conversely it is assumed that the religious or church college should try to hold to a minimum its relationships with the state. As a matter of fact, however, all institutions of higher learning are obligated to both church and state. A given college proceeds by way of foundation from either church or state, and looks primarily to one or the other for support (moral as well as fiscal) but that does not mean that this college owes nothing to the other great agency of human society. By virtue of its very being the college is called to be prophetic vis-a-vis both church and state. When colleges forsake their prophetic role the state becomes unbridled in its seizure of power and the church becomes innocuous in its witness. The college, as society's principal custodian of Truth must stand between Church and Commonwealth, helping each of these latter two to understand and discharge their proper function. 1 Thus, in addressing ourselves to the church college's charter obligation to the state we are not dealing with some aberration or heresy but with an enduring relation ship that has every right to exist. *Dr. Million is the director of the Department of Schools and Colleges, Board of Education and Publication, American Baptist Convention. 1. Geo. H. Williams' booklet, The Theological Idea of the University, N. Y., National Council of Churches, 1958, contains a remarkable historical and theological elaboration of this Church-College-Commonwealth theme. Charter Obligations to State The first massive fact to be noted and kept always in mind is that the very existence of the church college is dependent upon the state. The state has assumed exclusively the right to charter colleges. This chartering may be exercised at the county level, as is the case with Ottawa University and Florida Normal and Industrial Memorial College. Usually it is exercised at the state level, as is the case with William Jewell College. Or the college may, on rare occasions, be chartered by the national government; as was the case originally with Brown University. But regardless of the level of government doing the chartering, it remains true that all colleges are chartered by and hence owe their existence to the state. This existential relationship is reflected very clearly in certain continuing relationships between college and commonwealth. The fact that all charter changes must come before an appropriate governmental agency, usually the state legislature, for approval and adoption is evidence of the prerogatives of the state. The dependence of the church college upon the state is even clearer in those instances where charters are granted for a specific period of time, as was the case with Morehouse and Hillsdale Colleges for many decades. In such cases of charter change or renewal the college is obliged to make its case once again with the controlling state. And always there are requirements and regulations laid down by the state for the conduct of the college. In almost every college charter in the American Baptist Convention one finds a direct stipulation that the college is not to adopt any rule or regulation at variance with the United States Constitution or the laws of the land (including the past, present and future laws of the state in which the college is located.) 2. In the case of Brown University this restriction applies to "the Spirit, Extent, true meaning and intention of the Acts of the British Parliament, or the laws of this colony." In the case of Linfield College, then known as "the Baptist College In the case of Kalamazoo College the charter stipulates that the college shall cooperate fully with any and all legislative investigations. In Maine Colby College is still more closely reined in: "the Legislature of this state shall have the right to grant any further powers to or alter, limit or restrain any of the powers vested in the said corporation as shall be judged necessary to promote the best interests thereof Thus we find both negative and positive requirements laid down by the state with reference to its own life and operation. But there are also stipulations regarding the life and operations of the college itself, At Virginia Union University the president is a member of the Board of Trustees because such is required by Virginia Corporation law. At Bates College "the terms of office of the several classes of overseers shall continue to expire in accordance with the provisions of section 7 of Chapter 92 of the private and special laws of Maine of 1873." At many colleges a proxy can be held and exercised only by another member of the Board of Trustees of a given college because state law requires such an arrangement. In a few instances a Board of Trustees cannot vote by mail or wire on major matters of capital change or educational policy because state law requires an active meeting of a school's Board in such instances.3 In all instances where there is a merger or a discontinuance of a school the procedures followed and conclusions reached are subject to court review and approval. Not only does the state grant the existence of the college and regulate its rela at McMinnville" the restriction provides "that such rules and regulations shall in no manner contravene the Constitution and By-laws of the United States, or of this territory." 3. An impressive theory undergirds such laws, namely, a Board of Trustees is a group reality and not a daisy chain of individuals. Thus individual trustees must encounter each other in group discussion as a pre-requisite to genuine corporate trusteeship. tionship with the state; not only does the state stipulate certain procedures with reference to the inner life of the college but the state also regulates in a broad way the college's relationship to society as such. Such regulation is most clearly seen in the phrase "not for profit." The state exempts from taxes but only on the basis of certain assumptions. Among such assumptions are "the increase of arts and sciences among us" and "the fostering of learning." In other words, a college is chartered for the general welfare of society--to preserve this eleemosynary character of the college the state sometimes restricts the amount of wealth a school may accumulate. Almost always the state requires that no Trustee shall ever profit for any of his service and the college is usually prohibited from offering any stocks or bonds for public sale. Thus the state keeps the college restricted to its task of serving society on a non-profit, altruistic basis. But there is a more positive side to the state's involvement in the collegesociety relationship. In many cases the state offers outright subsidies to church colleges. Thus the Campus of Storer College was contributed to the Free Will Baptists by the federal government, along with certain government buildings! Many colleges in Maine have benefited from government support: Colby College received state appropriations for the erection of certain buildings; Ricker College and Academy continue to receive $10,000 a year in contributions toward the operating budget from the county government. Such subsidies are granted to colleges precisely because 4. In the case of William Jewell Collcge this exemption is tantamount to a munificent gift from the state. A special act adopted on February 22, 1851 in Missouri reads in part: ". . . that all the land and improvements thereon now owned by the 'William Jewell College' in the counties of Clay, of Grundy, Mercer and Sullivan, and all the lands that may hereafter be granted or devised to said college . . . for the benefit of education, be, and the same are hereby exempted from all taxes and assessments so long as said land may be owned by said college." This means that income from regular businesses operated on college owned real estate, other than the campus, is tax exempt! colleges are looked upon by the state as existing for the public welfare. Government subsidies enable the college better to serve this purpose. In this section of our paper we have restricted ourselves to material actually found in the charters of American Baptist colleges and universities and to justifiable interpolations based on these findings. The substance of what we have seen may be summarized thus: 1. The very existence of the church college depends upon state charter. 2. The state regulates the operation of the church college a. in relation to government at all levels; b. in the inner operations of the school; 3. The state enables the college by direct assistance to discharge its obligation to society. Our Present Problem Obviously this review of charter obligations to the state was undertaken in order to enable us as Christian educators better to come to terms with our own situation; a situation in which the church college finds itself hard put to meet its financial problems on the one hand and in which the federal government seems increasingly willing to supply money to our colleges. In this situation we are plagued by such questions as: Should the church-related college accept any government moneys at all? If the college accepts some moneys and refuses others, on what theological bases are such decisions made? Is there a point of obligation to the government beyond which a college dare not go, and if so how does one determine where this point is? My assignment does not call for the discussion of such questions. Nevertheless, I want to offer two items for our consideration. In the first place there seems to be no question in anyone's mind regarding items 1 and 2 in the summary just above. Our |