THE PRINCIPIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES

FEBRUARY 2, 2007 OPENING REMARKS

            I am Willard Hanzlik, a member of the Board of Trustees, from Austin, Texas.  I will serve as moderator of the meeting.

Helen Elswit – Los Angeles
Katharine Bullock – Boston
Michael Sharples – Sarasota
Tuck Spaulding – Kansas City
Bill Hays – Dallas
Chris Towle – St. Louis

Not attending:
            Margaret Foerster – Los Gatos
            Andy Hunter – Boston
            Stuart Jenkins

            Psalms 46

            S&H                444:10-12
                                    410:14-17
                                    242:15-20
                                    473:7-10
                                    454:18-19, 22-24
                                    494:10-11
                                    254:10-12
                                    495:20-24
            EAP                 129:2-13 (Eighth edition, 2000)
            S&H                497:24

Our first obligation as Trustees is to uphold the Purpose and Policies of The Principia and to ensure that the community lives and abides by the high standards expected of us as Christian Scientists….. and to follow the example of our founder, Mary Kimball Morgan.

When there are problems at Principia, we expect them to be addressed directly and honestly. 

We expect all members of the Principia community to abide by the Matthew Code and to take the steps provided therein whenever seeking to address issues, small or large. 

We have no objection to differing opinions and we are fully prepared to address concerns and differences.  We will take appropriate actions if changes are found to be in the best interest of Principia when based on principle, proper deliberation, facts, and prayer.

It is entirely inconsistent with everything this institution stands for for anyone to falsely accuse, mislead, or otherwise agitate in order to advance any agenda, regardless of the issue. 

We can not condone behavior by anyone who fails to respect an individual’s right to privacy and that results in character assassination.

We seek healing. 

Over the past few weeks a couple of issues have been used to raise doubts about the integrity of this Board and the CEO.  As more and more fuel of speculation and hearsay has been added to the fire, the flames have raged higher and higher.

The Trustees are not going to join in a battle of words. 

It is time to stop and think.  What can each of us do right now to bring healing?

Mrs. Morgan’s advice to her workers seems particularly timely, when she said “Bring to the meeting only those thoughts that God can use to reveal Himself”.

Let’s keep Mrs. Morgan’s advice in our thought today.

In our letter inviting you to this meeting, we said that we wanted to get together with representatives of both campuses to address your concerns and answer questions.

We’ve asked that minutes of this meeting be recorded and shared with the community.

We are expecting serious, reasoned dialogue where we can work together to bring understanding and healing to this community.

We have received a lot of questions.  Many overlap, but there are three major issues that have stirred up the most controversy.

They are:                     CEO Compensation
                                    The College president’s departure
                                    Governance

We’d like to start with these three issues, discuss them as long as you wish, and then move to other concerns if you wish to do so.

Before we begin, although we have known many of you for years, we don’t know all of you, so it would be helpful if you would state your name and what you do at Principia before speaking.

As moderator, I’ll serve as timekeeper.

Let’s begin.