Sattler College Turmoil

[MaxPC]

Typically a nonprofit needs 3 board members. It has 3 board members so that’s that.

It’s very common for a nonprofit to be reliant on a single wealthy donor (whether an individual or an organisation). In fact I would say it’s the norm.

Indeed, a number of Catholic colleges have begun thusly. The most recent one in my memory is Ave Maria in Miami.

New educational institutions have all had histories of "growing pains" in which disagreements between founders may erupt; or outside influences change the mission statement; or ideological differences may conflagrate.

[Bootstrap]

Typically a nonprofit needs 3 board members. It has 3 board members so that’s that.

It’s very common for a nonprofit to be reliant on a single wealthy donor (whether an individual or an organisation). In fact I would say it’s the norm.

Indeed, a number of Catholic colleges have begun thusly. The most recent one in my memory is Ave Maria in Miami.

Ave Maria was indeed funded by a single wealthy donor:

https://www.avemarialaw.edu/history/

Ave Maria School of Law was founded in 1999 through the generosity of well-known Catholic philanthropist Mr. Thomas S. Monaghan. The founder of Domino’s Pizza, Mr. Monaghan, sold the company in 1998 and decided to use the profits to advance several important causes, including Catholic legal education. Ave Maria Law’s first class began studies in August 2000 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In August 2005, the law school received full accreditation by the American Bar Association. Following a multi-year study, the law school relocated to Naples, Florida during the summer of 2009, and resides there today.

But they started out with a board of governors that included at least 8 people, none of them the guy who funded it initially, none of them faculty. I think that's more normal.

The founding board of governors included religious and political figures, including Henry Hyde, Edward Cardinal Egan, Robert P. George, Kate O’Beirne, Adam Cardinal Maida, Bowie Kuhn, Bishop Frank Joseph Dewane, and John Cardinal O’Connor. Robert Bork was an early faculty member, and Antonin Scalia and Charles E. Rice consulted on the structure of the curriculum. The National Catholic Reporter described the school as having “a more conservative religious orientation than any existing Catholic law school in the nation” and “militantly religious.”

Their Board of Governors has 17 members now.

https://www.avemarialaw.edu/board-of-governors/

Sattler has 3 trustees. One of the trustees is also the president. One is also a professor. That seems unusual to me. Not saying it can't work, but one of the purposes of a board is to ensure access to funders who believe in the mission of a university, another is to ensure balance and stability.

I wish Sattler well. They have done some really good things in the way they teach Hebrew and Greek. I don't think they have a typical structure. There are some disadvantages to the structure they have.

[Ernie]

Things at Sattler and FOTW have continued to implode over the last 6 months. I haven't posted here much about it as I wasn't sure what value it would bring. They have canvassed for Board members all over, but the last I heard they were not having success. I'm posting this much to say that if your are considering going to Boston for church or school, I advise you to do a lot of research.

[MaxPC]

Things at Sattler and FOTW have continued to implode over the last 6 months. I haven't posted here much about it as I wasn't sure what value it would bring. They have canvassed for Board members all over, but the last I heard they were not having success. I'm posting this much to say that if your are considering going to Boston for church or school, I advise you to do a lot of research.

Personally I find it sad that an implosion has occurred. The proposed mission of the college seemed to be a promise of a brighter option in the darkness of higher education. Hopefully those troubles can be sorted and the ship righted once again.

[Soloist]

Things at Sattler and FOTW have continued to implode over the last 6 months. I haven't posted here much about it as I wasn't sure what value it would bring. They have canvassed for Board members all over, but the last I heard they were not having success. I'm posting this much to say that if your are considering going to Boston for church or school, I advise you to do a lot of research.

Personally I find it sad that an implosion has occurred. The proposed mission of the college seemed to be a promise of a brighter option in the darkness of higher education. Hopefully those troubles can be sorted and the ship righted once again.

Proposed… I think what was proposed was misleading. The real proposal was in Finny’s book.
I don’t anticipate a fixing of this school unless the goal is clarified and followed.

[Ken]

Things at Sattler and FOTW have continued to implode over the last 6 months. I haven't posted here much about it as I wasn't sure what value it would bring. They have canvassed for Board members all over, but the last I heard they were not having success. I'm posting this much to say that if your are considering going to Boston for church or school, I advise you to do a lot of research.

Personally I find it sad that an implosion has occurred. The proposed mission of the college seemed to be a promise of a brighter option in the darkness of higher education. Hopefully those troubles can be sorted and the ship righted once again.

Proposed… I think what was proposed was misleading. The real proposal was in Finny’s book.
I don’t anticipate a fixing of this school unless the goal is clarified and followed.

How big is FOTW?

From their web site it looks like they have 5 small home-based congregations in the US, one in Canada and one in Uganda? https://www.followers-of-the-way.org/me ... nformation

That wouldn't seem to be remotely large enough of a denomination to generate a critical mass of college students

[Soloist]

How big is FOTW?

From their web site it looks like they have 5 small home-based congregations in the US, one in Canada and one in Uganda? https://www.followers-of-the-way.org/me ... nformation

That wouldn't seem to be remotely large enough of a denomination to generate a critical mass of college students

The original stated goal wasn’t a denominational school.
If you read his book though, he laid out his plan clearly.

[Ken]

How big is FOTW?

From their web site it looks like they have 5 small home-based congregations in the US, one in Canada and one in Uganda? https://www.followers-of-the-way.org/me ... nformation

That wouldn't seem to be remotely large enough of a denomination to generate a critical mass of college students

The original stated goal wasn’t a denominational school.
If you read his book though, he laid out his plan clearly.

That seems to be the problem. From reading this thread it appears that leadership pushed the school towards being more of a FOTW institution rather than an ecumenical one. That is only going to work if you have your own large enough pool of applicants.

[Soloist]

That seems to be the problem. From reading this thread it appears that leadership pushed the school towards being more of a FOTW institution rather than an ecumenical one. That is only going to work if you have your own large enough pool of applicants.

Well Finny doesn’t believe like most Anabaptists and seeks to convert others to his views. The college was a means to accomplish his goals. Change the young and have them change their churches from the inside out. Ambitious and he laid out his plan in his book but he didn’t lay that out in his proposal for his college and this has caused conflict in the board.

[Biblical Anabaptist]

That seems to be the problem. From reading this thread it appears that leadership pushed the school towards being more of a FOTW institution rather than an ecumenical one. That is only going to work if you have your own large enough pool of applicants.

Well Finny doesn’t believe like most Anabaptists and seeks to convert others to his views. The college was a means to accomplish his goals. Change the young and have them change their churches from the inside out. Ambitious and he laid out his plan in his book but he didn’t lay that out in his proposal for his college and this has caused conflict in the board.

It is my understanding that Finny doesn't claim to be an Anabaptist.