Metropolitan Tikhon presides at STOTS Board of Trustees’ fall meeting
His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, President of Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary [STOTS], presided at the recent fall meeting of the school’s Board of Trustees. Also participating in the sessions was His Eminence, Archbishop Michael, STOTS Rector and Chief Executive Officer.
According to Archpriest Steven Voytovich, STOTS Dean, the meeting was “quite full, beginning with elections for the coming year.” All current Board leadership roles are continuing: Michael G. Herzak, Chair; Mitch VanDuyn, Vice-Chair; Matushka Nancy Gilbert, Secretary; and David Jarrett, Treasurer. Also chosen to serve on the Executive Committee of the Seminary was Deacon Ambrose Powell, J.D.
Several presentations were made to the trustees. Archpriest Dennis Swencki, CFO, presented a detailed review of the school’s finances. Archpriest David Fox, Ph.D., offered his first report as the new Director of Mission Advancement. And a presentation on the work of the Orthodox Church Capital Improvement Fund was given by OCCIF President John Della Monica and OCCIF Board member Popadija Katherine (Kitty) Vitko.
The STOTS Board also welcomed Dean Harbry, a Professional Certified Coach, and founder of Internal Innovations, LLC—an Atlanta-based executive coaching firm, established in 2003. He has worked with over 140 non-profit boards on governance, compliance and organizational best practices. He was invited by Father Steven to assist the Board and Seminary community to engage in follow-up work, after the most recent re-accreditation review by the Association of Theological Schools [ATS].
Mr. Harbry presented to the Board on topics related to shared governance, and guided the whole seminary community in an exercise of working through several hypothetical scenarios designed to reinforce the use of seminary policies and procedures. These areas of emphasis are part of the seminary’s follow-up after the November 2016 ATS site visit.
Later in the afternoon, the Board welcomed the seminary’s outside auditing firm representatives, who had just completed their unqualified audit of this past fiscal year’s STOTS financial records.
The Saint Tikhon’s Board of Trustees, the governing body of the theological school, consists of 21 members and five trustees emeriti. They meet four times each year on the seminary’s campus in South Canaan, PA.