SVOTS elects four new Trustees, Vice Chairman
At their annual meeting November 13–14, 2014, members of the Board of Trustees of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary here elected four new members. Among them were His Eminence, Metropolitan Joseph, who was enthroned as Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America on December 6. Metropolitan Joseph, who will serve as the Board’s Vice Chairman, was recently presented with an icon of Saint Vladimir by the seminary’s Dean, Archpriest Dr. John Behr, and Chancellor/CEO, Archpriest Dr. Chad Hatfield. [See related story.]
Other new trustees include Deacon Michael Hyatt, Theodore Jadick, and James T. Perry.
Deacon Michael, former Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, is now a best-selling author and leadership consultant and chairs of the Board of Ancient Faith Ministries. He is a member of Saint Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church, Franklin, TN. Mr. Jadick is Vice Chairman at Heidrick & Struggles, New York, NY, and Board Director of Calvary Hospital Fund, Bronx, NY. He is a member of Holy Trinity Church [OCA], Yonkers, NY. Mr. Perry is an attorney in private practice and also a member of Yonkers’ Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers
The term for each new trustee will be three years, with the possibility of serving four consecutive terms, according to the new By-laws adopted by the Board at its November meeting.
During their meeting, Board members also honored retiring Trustees Ivan Rudolph-Shabinsky, Eric S. Namee, and Leon J. Lysaght, Jr. Each outgoing member was presented with with a gramota and an icon of Saint Vladimir.
Mr. Rudolph-Shabinsky, who served on the Board from 2000 through 2014, is a Portfolio Manager at Alliance Bernstein, New York, NY. Mr. Namee is an attorney at Hinkle Law Firm, LLC, Wichita, KS, and has served on the Board since 1994. Professor Lysaght is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Detroit, MI. He served on the Board from 1997 through 2014.
Father John acknowledged the enormous sacrifice and deep commitment of the retiring Trustees, saying, “Those departing from the Board have, over their many decades of service, given so much to the seminary, guiding us and helping us grow in many ways, especially with the development of our Statutes and administrative structures. We are where we are today only through their self-sacrificial leadership.”
In commenting on the Board’s history, Father Chad said, “Saint Vladimir’s took an early lead in board development and continuing education when, in the ‘80s, the Lilly Endowment, Inc., awarded our school a generous grant of $30,000.00 to begin an ambitious program of board self-study and renewal, with our Trustees attending six seminars on diverse aspects of trusteeship.
“In the ‘90s, Lilly continued its support, underwriting continuing education programs for board members and extending the benefit of trustee development and institutional advancement to nine other North American Orthodox Christian seminaries, using Saint Vladimir’s as a model and designating it as a ‘Lilly Trustee Partnership Institution,’” Father Chad continued. “We are ever grateful to our committed and highly qualified board members, who make certain our school’s stability and define and ensure its mission.”
A complete listing of Board members may be found here.