Update on Enhanced Collaboration

Since late 2018, the CSB and SJU Boards of Trustees have been working toward stronger integration of the governance and leadership structures of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, to simplify processes and decision-making across the two institutions.

Earlier this year, the Joint Strategic Visioning Committee announced a commitment to a single leader and a common board for CSB and SJU.

The move to a single president and a common board is a complex undertaking with far-reaching implications. Our accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), considers the move to a common board and a single president a “change of control,” which triggers a review of a number of legal and regulatory matters. These are complex issues and, according to board chairs Barb Brandes (CSB) and Dan McKeown (SJU), “We are confident that we will find the legal and regulatory way forward, and all parties are committed to the end goal, but we need a little more time and work.”

The HLC has indicated we could begin a search for a single president when we submit our application for consideration of the change of control. However, because we are not yet ready to submit our application, we are holding off on engaging the search for a single president.

For this 2020-2021 academic year, the CSB and SJU interim presidents, Laurie Hamen and Eugene McAllister, have common aligned goals, according to Brandes and McKeown. A priority is implementing key actions toward stronger integration of CSB and SJU, including consolidation of essential functions at CSB and SJU and holding Leadership Team meetings jointly.