Davidson College board votes to have non-Christian trustees By John H. Adams The Layman Online Tuesday, February 8, 2005 The trustees of Davidson College near Charlotte, N.C., have voted to open membership on the board to non-Christians for the first time in the history of the institution. During a Feb. 4-6 meeting on campus, the trustees changed the institution's bylaws and statement of purpose to allow up to 20 percent of the governing board to be non-Christians. The school's communications staff would not release information about the vote until it was posted on the Davidson Web site late in the afternoon on Feb. 8. The college's press release is titled "Trustee Actions Address Relationship to Reformed Tradition." Those actions included support for a yet-to-be-funded professorship in the Department of Religion. Davidson College, which is rated academically as one of the leading liberal arts schools in the nation, was founded by Presbyterians in 1837 and still maintains official ties with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Until the trustees changed the bylaws and statement of purpose, the college had required that all of the members of that board be active members of Christian churches. Of the 48 members of the board, 24 had to be confirmed by governing bodies, including presbyteries in North Carolina and the General Assembly. The trustees received letters for and against the changes, but none of that was played out on the college's Web site. According to CollegeBoard.com, costs are $37,079, which includes tuition and fees, room and board, books and anticipated personal expenses.

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