EC Foundation, Inc.

Thanksgiving at the Foundation

As the remarkable year of 2011 winds down and Thanksgiving has come and gone, our effort finds much to be thankful for in our relationships, our supporters, the wonderful generosity of our colleagues who participate on the Board of Directors of this effort, and we are also most thankful for the institution we know as Erskine College and Seminary. We are very pleased to report that our concerns are being heard.

During this fall, we have become aware of several significant events in the life of Erskine.

First, the students seem to be doing extremely well and continue to rank well against their peers in state and national comparisons.

Second, administrators, recruiting personnel and alumni attended a number of information sessions where alumni had an opportunity to hear the latest news about Erskine as well as share their concerns about recent events.

Third, the Alumni Association and Board of Trustees sanctioned an “Alumni Survey” which has now been widely disseminated and the results are now being recorded. There appears to be significant interest by all constituent groups in the use of the results of the survey to help chart a course which achieves a rational balance between the common interests of the General Synod and the Alumni.

Fourth, we would like to mention the recent challenge to the Directors of this Foundation by a group of church sessions in the Second Presbytery of the ARP Church. A memorial was submitted to Second Presbytery at its October meeting by three churches (Spartanburg ARP, Peter Waid, Pastor; Redeemer ARP, Bill Slattery, Pastor; and Unity ARP, Mark Wright, Pastor) seeking to bring ecclesiastical charges against the four Directors of the EC Foundation who are elders in ARP churches in Second Presbytery. One of the primary charges was that the EC Foundation had supported the legal action against the Synod. The memorial did not acknowledge that the action of the Synod was enjoined by the South Carolina circuit judge who heard the case. The memorial was defeated by a 42 to 21 vote. Although this challenge was stressful to the Directors involved as well as to the sessions of their churches, this event proved to provide the EC Foundation with a great deal of empathetic publicity and resulted in a number of contributions to the Foundation’s efforts.

Fifth, our primary objective of enabling Erskine’s Board of Trustees to exercise their independent judgment is now entering a period of discussion between rational and committed men and women of good will. Hopefully each individual will recognize that no one position is universally correct and that working together to achieve common desires is a key to Erskine’s long term success.

Sixth, we are very grateful for our newest Directors and their generosity with their time on our behalf. Dr. Jim Gettys, a widely known Erskine administrator and faculty member, Dr. Joe Lesesne, whose family has had a tremendous impact on education in South Carolina over the last 75 years, Robert S. Galloway, whose family is inextricably intertwined with Due West, Erskine, and the ARP Church on many levels, Ann Clarke Judd, an outstanding alumna with strong family ties to Erskine and Due West, and Dr. Bob Cunningham, a remarkable alumnus and Political Science professor at another institution who has contributed in many ways to Erskine over the years. These men and women give our Board of Directors even greater potential to assist our beloved Erskine.

Our Disclaimer

This Foundation is not authorized by Erskine College and Seminary, and the views of the Directors of this Foundation are not necessarily those of the Administration or Board of Trustees of Erskine. Please know that any gifts which we receive are directed to areas which our Directors feel will help to accomplish our Mission and Vision. Therefore, our funds will be used to help preserve what we consider to be the Traditional Erskine.

Giving to the Foundation

We recognize that a number of alumni and friends of Erskine, who have found reason to object to the current direction of the College and/or the Seminary, have suspended their financial support of Erskine. Some of these individuals have chosen to make gifts to this Foundation, which we have not actively solicited but are nevertheless very grateful to receive. Some of these gifts have been restricted such that we must honor the donor’s wishes. Other gifts are unrestricted and the Foundation Directors are able to direct those gifts to areas which help to accomplish our Mission and Vision.