St. Anselm monks to share power with lay people

MANCHESTER – Benedictine monks at St. Anselm College formally voted this week to share policy and financial power with lay people.

Father Jonathan DeFelice, St. Anselm's president, said a new board of trustees will be in place by March 2009.

After studying such a change for more than a decade, the monastic chapter announced last October that the issue was on hold for four years.

One trustee quit in response, and the board's chairman left his leadership role. Campus leaders also expressed frustration, and DeFelice said some alumni pulled back financial support.

"I think the concerns that were raised by the board of trustees and by some members of the faculty and staff, and the desire to be in conformity with NEASC standards came together," said DeFelice yesterday.

An accrediting panel from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges is due to visit the Hilltop next year, and determine whether the college's current governance structure is out of step with NEASC standards.

The association recommends fewer than half any organization's trustees hold a financial stake as employee or shareholder.

The 25 monks at St. Anselm, as a corporation, own all the school's land and buildings, and have total control over finances.

DeFelice said he doubts the college would have lost accreditation by keeping power over spending decisions within a nine-member governing board of monks. However, the NEASC's recommendations could not be ignored, he said.

"They could say, You must do something,'" said DeFelice. "They could express concern ... and there could be some consequence for that."

DeFelice publicly supported the move to empower lay trustees, but he wouldn't reveal results of this week's monastic chapter vote.

Every monk physically able to attend was there, he said, and only a simple majority was required to pursue the governance change.

The major task during the next year will be rewriting college bylaws and making sure St. Anselm's 16,000 alumni learn about and understand the change set in motion this week.

Students and alumni should understand, said DeFelice, that monks remain fully involved in St. Anselm's daily and long-term operations.

"This is basically broadening the governing board," he said. "The Benedictines are not in any way walking away from the institution."