About the Commission

What does it mean for Presbyterian College, as a liberal arts institution, to be in covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church (USA)?

That is the question facing an independent Commission established by PC President John Griffith and the Presbyterian College Board of Trustees. The Commission, which will be chaired by Dr. Allen McSween, pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Greenville, S.C., and grandson of former PC president John McSween, will examine the college's programs and mission - much like visiting teams from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools analyze accredited colleges and universities for continuous improvement at all levels.

"The college voluntarily enters into a Covenant with the church to specify how PC intends to be faithful in fulfilling its purpose as a church-related college. Likewise, the church expresses in this Covenant how it will support the College," Griffith said. "Not all PCUSA colleges and universities have chosen to enter into a Covenant with the church. We have done so willingly."

Throughout Biblical history, the covenant is the instrument by which God bound himself to humankind. There also have been covenants between people and groups to represent their individual and mutual commitments - agreements that represent a relationship between both parties through promises based upon fidelity, trust, and commitment.

The document "A Covenant between Presbyterian College and the Synod of South Atlantic" is a statement of Christian commitment and church relationship that seeks to define the nature and scope of the relationship between PC and the Synod of South Atlantic. It includes such responsibilities on the college's part as providing educational services to the church, providing leaders for church and society, providing opportunities for worship, and academic instruction in religion. The church's responsibilities under the Covenant include providing trustee leadership, financial support, and recruitment of students.

The Covenant is reviewed every five years with opportunities for yearly adjustments and was last adjusted in 2002 when changes were made to add Florida Presbytery Trustees.

"Establishing the Commission is an opportunity for us to take a critical look at what we are currently doing to faithfully fulfill our Covenant, to identify areas in which we might strengthen our work, and to receive recommendations for our consideration," Griffith said.

"I would hope that our work would first help defuse any tensions in the 'PC family,'" McSween said. "Second, I would hope that we can document what PC is already doing to affirm its close relationship with the Presbyterian Church and Reformed Tradition. I suspect even some of us on the Commission will be surprised with how much is already being done and done remarkably well. Third, I would hope that we can clearly identify areas in which what already is being done well can be done even better, for the sake of the college, students, and church. Fourth, I hope that we can provide a modest model to the church and academy as to what it means to be a church-related college that genuinely honors academic integrity and freedom of inquiry in the context of a Reformed understanding of the Christian faith."

With members representing Presbyterian College's Board of Trustees, church leaders, faculty (from the humanities, social sciences, and science and mathematics divisions), staff, students, alumni, and the Synod of South Atlantic (see committee member profiles), the Committee will be asked to conduct a thorough and rigorous examination of PC and consult with the college's constituencies during the fall semester of the 2004-05 academic year.

Simultaneously, Trinity Presbytery has called for a "consultation" with Presbyterian College and the Synod of South Atlantic on many of the issues to be addressed by the Commission. Thus, the work of the Commission has been structured to ensure open and full communication with the consultation.

"This Commission intends to do its work with openness and integrity, listening to all voice - allowing none to dominate," McSween said. "We seek the church's prayerful support and encouragement as we engage in the exciting challenge before us."

A draft of the Commission's report is expected by February. Throughout the spring, the Commission will sponsor forums to seek comment from the PC community and the church prior to finalizing its report.

"It is my impression that PC is seeking to take its covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church with greater seriousness than a number of other church-related colleges," McSween said. "A part of what makes our work distinctive and so challenging is that we all know examples of how fragile the relationship between church and college can be and how easily it can be lost. The 'dying of the light' in what once were strongly church-related colleges and universities has been well documented. I hope I am not naive in seeing signs that the tide is turning and that a number of church-related institutions are reclaiming their Christian heritage in a way that has great promise for the future.

"When the work is finished, I would hope that people would say '(the members of the Commission) listened well, they asked the right questions, they were unafraid to explore difficult issues, they have helped point PC toward an even more faithful and fruitful covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church (USA).'"

Dr. Tom McDaniel, senior vice president of Converse College and an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Spartanburg, S.C., is working with McSween to design and facilitate the work of the Commission. Dr. Bud Warner, PC's dean of academic programs, will provide administrative support.

"The structure of the Commission is about as well designed as such a commission could be" McDaniel said. "I think the choice of individuals who represent those diverse constituencies will determine just how effective we will be. Because it is a large group, we will be using several subcommittees to focus on main issues under consideration by the Commission. I am optimistic that these able and committed folks will be able to complete the task successfully.

"Any time intelligent and committed people of goodwill examine an institution's purpose, that institution will benefit from a better understanding of itself and its relationship to the larger society," he added. "The work of this Commission will be to strengthen the relationship between Presbyterian College and the Presbyterian Church by way of a process that brings many points of view to the table. PC has been through a long and thorough General Education Program review, and I think the college will benefit as well from an opportunity to reflect on that reform and its implications for the mission of the college and the education of today's college student who chooses a church-related institution for a liberal arts education."

To prepare for the work ahead, members of the Commission are reading a series of books and other documents to understand not only Presbyterian College's covenant relationship with the church, but also the nature of the balance between faith and reason on a national scale within the academy.

The Commission leadership has already completed its reading of Professing in the Postmodern Academy: Faculty and the Future of Church-Related Colleges edited by Stephen R. Haynes, a member of the Rhodes College faculty. That book - the first volume in a series on issues in religion and higher education - is a collection of essays that examines the landscape of religiously affiliated higher education in America from the perspective of faculty members who are critically committed to the future of church-related institutions.

The Commission's focus will be on four areas - student life and campus ministry, leadership development and service to the church, the academic program, and gleanings from the consultation sponsored by Trinity Presbytery.

Presbyterian College emerged from its five-year examination of general education last spring determined to remain a leader among peers in the quality of its educational program. With its focus squarely on updating and improving that program, the PC faculty passed on March 25 a new general education curriculum - an exercise that had not been completed at PC for more than three decades.

That vote points PC in the direction of numerous new programs and opportunities for students, but also raises challenges related to the college's Covenant with the church.

The modified curriculum features six components:

• The Freshman Year Experience: Either a 3-hour or a 1-hour seminar taken in the first semester of the freshman year in which students explore a topic of current relevance and are introduced to the expectations, rigors, joys, and challenges of higher learning.

• The Electronic Portfolio (E-Portfolio): A tool, introduced in the freshman year by academic advisors, for students to use in collecting over four years their best work in such key competencies as writing, analytical thinking, and oral communication.

• The Distribution Requirements: The required courses students take in the various areas of knowledge were reworked in order to better engage the stronger preparation levels and abilities of the current student body, to provide greater choice so that students take responsibility for their education at an earlier point, and to provide for the changing nature of knowledge in some disciplines.

• The Internship or Intercultural Experience: An active learning experience through which students participate in a work experience related to career interests and/or explore another culture.

• The Capstone Experience: A 3-hour course within the major taken in the senior year and designed to be the culminating and synthesizing academic experience for students.

• The Reduced Teaching Load: A reduction in teaching load from 4-4 to 4-3 to give faculty the necessary time to strengthen advising in the freshman and sophomore years, to develop more opportunities for student research, and to explore in greater depth their own pedagogy and professional development.

"I am pleased with so many elements of this new general education program," said Dr. Dave Gillespie, vice president for academic affairs. "And I welcome the Commission which, with the strong leadership it has, will engage us all in a deeper understanding about faith and reason and about our covenant relationship."

Although the college has always offered a rich and sustaining Christian environment, the opportunity exists, Griffith said, for PC to lead by example and create a model that will further strengthen our community's commitment to prepare Christian leaders for service and leadership in a pluralistic world.

"We have formed a Campus Ministry Partnership with area PCUSA churches to fund an expanded campus ministry program. A Board of Church Visitors, organized from the supporting churches, will help us evaluate and promote our growing program," he said. "The partnership funds pre-seminary interns in the Chaplains Office, students who serve as campus ministry coordinators in the residence halls, and an associate minister at First Church, Clinton, who is charged with outreach to our PCUSA students. All of this has resulted in a vital and growing campus ministry program."

Diverse offerings to the campus community include such programs as Celtic Cross, Westminster Fellowship, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Newman Club. Also, PC's Christian Education program continues to produce outstanding leaders for the church at a rate unmatched by other PCUSA-related liberal arts institutions.

In addition to leaders who emerge from PC's Christian education program, the college's recently established Southeastern Center for Intercultural Studies will prepare PC students to work with and beside people of diverse religious traditions, cultures, and nationalities in pursuit of justice, economic well-being, freedom, and peace in the world.

"Our college aspires to be a leader among church-related institutions of higher learning. We intend to be a shining example of how a liberal arts college can be fully in the academic mainstream and a creative and powerful witness to the Christian faith. Keeping faith and reason in the same corral has never been easy for the academy. Most educational institutions have abandoned the effort altogether or have allowed one to diminish the quality and efficacy of the other. At Presbyterian College, we are bold to declare that we can be both a first caliber liberal arts college and a powerful and creative witness to our Christian stance," Griffith said.

Griffith, who serves on the executive committee of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities (APCU), added that he believes our approach to reviewing the covenant may well prove to be a useful model for other institutions seeking to maintain and strengthen their relationship with the Presbyterian Church, USA.

"We will invite APCU and the church to closely follow our efforts and will share the outcome with all interested in this year-long venture," he said.

McSween is also optimistic as the Commission prepares to embark on its mission.

"I certainly hope it might prove to be a model for renewing covenants. The PCUSA is asking its church-related institutions to be more intentional in the process of covenant making and renewal. I would certainly hope that we could play a small but significant role in encouraging others to go through a similar process," he said.