SACS rules do not explicitly bar a larger board that appoints college trustees from also having the right to remove those trustees, but there are specific requirements that must be in place, and a college’s board must always have the independence to make decisions on hiring, supervising and, if necessary, firing a college president.

The trustees of Erskine College voted Friday to turn down a request from its religious denomination — the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church — that church leaders be able to remove the college’s board members.

The vote by the board is the latest development in several years of attempts to redefine the relationship between the church (known by the acronym ARP) and the college, which is the only higher education institution affiliated with the ARP and which includes the denomination’s seminary.

ARP leaders have been pushing for more control of the college, including the ability to fire trustees, but to date the college’s board has won court orders to block such moves. The request from the church and the rebuff from the college were, in contrast to some of the maneuvers of recent years, out of court and polite.

The college issued a statement Friday in which the board chair, Joe Patrick, was quoted as saying that “the supporting reasons for this response are made clear from evidence in historical synod and Erskine documents, matters of law, accreditation standards, consultant advice and practical wisdom learned from other institutions by the diligent and thorough work done by the committee.”

At the same time, he said that the relationship between Erskine and the church “has been mutually beneficial for most of the institution’s nearly 175-year history, and Erskine wants the relationship to continue.”

ARP leaders have substantial influence over the Erskine board in that they appoint trustees. The current conflict dates to 2010, when ARP leaders indicated their interest in removing many trustees, whom they viewed as insufficiently zealous in assuring fealty to church teachings. The board and administrators have been criticized along those lines from some in the church, while some professors and alumni believe Erskine’s leaders (at the behest of the church) have been too rigid, and have restricted academic freedom in the interests of calming the dispute.

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