wfn.org | [LCMSNews] Outlook better for Ann Arbor, RF

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	May 6, 2003 .............................................
LCMSNews -- No. 33

	Meyer: Outlook better
	for two CUS schools

	By Joe Isenhower Jr.

	Things are starting to turn around for the better for
Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Concordia University, River
Forest (CURF), Ill., Dr. William F. Meyer, executive director of the
LCMS Board for Higher Education (BHE) and president of the Concordia
University System (CUS) told Reporter late last month.

	Earlier this year, LCMSNews carried stories about financial
difficulties that led to River Forest eliminating 57 faculty and staff
positions and a BHE committee recommending that the Ann Arbor school
find new funding for tax-free bonds before it could have an interim
president in place.

	Ann Arbor announced last month that it has secured a $10.7
million loan from the LCMS Michigan District Church Extension Fund (CEF)
and that a donor gave $1.9 million for the universitys business school.

	Meyer said that the CEF loan clears the way for the Concordia,
Ann Arbor, Board of Regents to name an interim president to succeed Dr.
James M. Koerschen, who retired last year.

	The BHE has named one of its members, Dr. Ralph Reinke of
Austin, Texas, as special executive at River Forest. Reinke is a
former president of Concordia Publishing House who was credited with
stabilizing financial difficulties and enrollment declines at Concordia
College, Seward,. Neb., while he was president there from 1988-91.

	Both LCMSNews stories earlier this year cited low enrollments as
one of the factors for financial difficulties at Ann Arbor and River
Forest.

	Of Ann Arbors $10.7 million Church Extension loan, $7.2 million
will replace the tax-exempt bonds, $2 million is for an operating line
of credit, and $1.5 million is for property improvements.

	This arrangement will provide for the ongoing activity of [Ann
Arbor] until fall semester tuition/fee income arrives, Meyer said.

	An April 22 news release from Concordia, Ann Arbor, announced a
12-to-18 month transformation program that the Church Extension loan
will fund.

	That funding gives Concordia, Ann Arbor, the necessary
financial footing to move forward with daily operations while expanding
our educational offerings and growing our enrollments, said Charlie
Caciano, chief financial officer of the BHE/CUS, who serves as interim
chief operating officer for the university.

	Caciano and Dr. Alan Borcherding, director of university
education for the BHE and interim chief academic officer at Ann Arbor,
have been at the campus since last November.

	They have served a tremendous role in helping Concordia, Ann
Arbor, remain a viable institution through these uncertain times, Meyer
said.

	The $1.9 million gift to Ann Arbor is from the Oscar Haab
Charitable Trust, for the universitys Haab School of Business and
Management.

	The March 4 LCMSNews story about Concordia, River Forest,
indicated that the school had total debts of about $43 million.
According to Dr. Alan Klaas, senior vice president for university
advancement at River Forest, that included $25 million in low-interest
tax-exempt bonds, $1 million of debt from dormitory construction, and
$17 million in short-term funding from the CUS and the Lutheran Church
Extension Fund.

	The BHE gave Reinke, as special executive at CURF, the
responsibility to:

	-- develop a balanced budget for fiscal year 2004;

	-- help develop a five-year financial-plan strategy;

	-- oversee the commitment of institutional funds;

	-- lead the search for a new chief financial officer;

	-- review administrative and business practices; and
	-- unify the campus community.

	Meyer said that Reinke and CURF President H. George Heider are
working together in a very collegial way. I have heard from both that
they are quite satisfied with their working relationship.

	One of the BHE/CUS boards objectives for Reinke is for him to
conclude his assignment at the earliest possible date, Meyer said.

	Dr. Reinke did a remarkable job of helping Concordia, Seward,
change for the better, Meyer said. Thats whats needed at River
Forest.

	Meyer said that financial reviews of all 10 CUS schools and the
two seminaries that the BHE staff completed in December indicate that
all our schools should be OK for the 2004 fiscal year.

	Increasing confidence in the economy means that donors keep
making significant gifts to our schools, to the For the Sake of the
Church initiative and to the Joint Seminary Fund, Meyer said. He also
said that projected fall enrollments for all 12 schools are up, compared
with last fall.

	*********************************

	LCMSNews is published by the News and Information Division,
Board for Communication Services, of The Lutheran Church--Missouri
Synod. If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release,
contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

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