Town Hall Meeting Invitation-October 10 from Saint Paul School of Theology of Overland Park, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 21 September 2016

Town Hall Meeting Invitation-October 10 from Saint Paul School of Theology of Overland Park, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Town Hall Meeting
5:00 - 6:30 PM, Monday, October 10, 2016
Wesley Chapel, Church of the Resurrection
Live feed: www.spst.edu/video
Q & A Phone # to Text: (913) 912-6950
Host: President Neil Blair
Background provided by Michael Parmely, Chair, Board of Trustees
An Invitation
At the April 2016 meeting of the Saint Paul Board of Trustees, a policy was approved that is designed to promote regular dialogue between the trustees, the greater Saint Paul community and those we serve. The trustees invite students, staff, faculty and friends of Saint Paul to participate in a conversation centered on the future location and structure of the seminary. This Town Hall Meeting will be held at the end of the first full day of the Fall Board Meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, October 10, 2016.
The Town Hall Meeting will be held in the Wesley Chapel located at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS, on Monday, October 10, 2016, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM.Please RSVP here for this free event or contact Tracy Miller at tracy.miller@spst.edu or(913) 253-5085 to let us know if plan to attend in person. If you aren't able to attend in person, you may connect with us via video through the live feed (www.spst.edu/video). You will be able to text questions to (913) 912-6950.
Over the past year, the Executive Committee of the Board has engaged in a number of conversations with current and potential collaborating institutions to gauge their interest in developing stronger relationships with Saint Paul School of Theology. These conversations have been far-reaching and candid and have included extending partnerships that would develop new educational programs, consolidating all Kansas City operations in one location on a new or existing campus, merging or embedding in the administrative structure of a collaborating university and/or retaining the free-standing status that has characterized the institution since its inception.
We expect that these conversations will continue into the foreseeable future as they provide an opportunity for Saint Paul carefully to consider its emerging identity, and how we might better serve a changing student demographic and the diversity of educational needs of prospective students with varied career aspirations. The work that the trustees have undertaken to date has been informed by our new Strategic Plan, which you can access on the Saint Paul website, www.spst.edu/strategic-planning. We now feel somewhat better prepared to engage the Saint Paul community regarding these matters and offer the following questions as a means of preparing for that conversation.
Your advice will greatly assist the trustees in visioning the best possible educational sites, collaborations and administrative structures that can assure the growth and relevance of the institution in the future. In preparing for this conversation, we would ask you to consider the following questions:

1. From your perspective, what advantages are derived from being located on the campus of Oklahoma City University?
2. From your perspective, what advantages are derived from being located on the campus of the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood? 
3. What challenges do we face by being located at OCU or Resurrection, especially as these relate to offering the best possible educational experience for our students? How do you see these challenges affecting our educational enterprise? 
4. What advantages might there be in consolidating all Kansas City operations at a single site? Would it matter whether that site were on a church campus, a university campus or a stand-alone campus in the Kansas City metropolitan area? What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of each? 
5. Are there specific steps we might take to improve our educational offerings and student experiences on either the Kansas City area or Oklahoma City University sites? 
6. How do you see any of these potential changes in location or structure affecting the way we organize ourselves to pursue our mission or self-understood identity of Saint Paul School of Theology? In your opinion, which might be advantageous and which should we carefully avoid?
7. What are the financial ramifications of location, structure and governance changes that might be made in the near future? In particular, which would place additional strain on students, faculty and staff?

These questions should not limit the scope of our conversation, but your thoughts about these topics will aid the Board of Trustees in making important decisions it faces at the current time.
We look forward to your thoughts on these and other topics during our conversation on October 10.
Michael Parmely
Chair, Board of Trustees
Saint Paul School of Theology
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STAY IN TOUCH

Saint Paul: UM Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
(913) 253-5000
Saint Paul: Oklahoma City University
2501 North Blackwelder Avenue
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73106, United States
(405) 208-5757
Saint Paul School of Theology

4370 West 109th Street, SUITE 300

Overland Park, Kansas 66211, United States
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