Charter Amendment of 1974

Amendment to the Charter of Incorporation 
October 17, 1974

At a duly constituted meeting of the Board of Trustees of Southwestern At Memphis, held on October 17, 1974 in Memphis, Tennessee, the following resolution relating to the amendment to its Charter of Incorporation, as heretofore amended, was adopted by said Board of Trustees:
 
WHEREAS, it appears that the former Synods of Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., to whom Southwestern has been officially related, have united themselves with the former Synod of Kentucky to form the Synod of the Mid-South, and that the Synod of the Mid-South at its constituting meeting confirmed that Southwestern At Memphis is an official institution of the Synod of the Mid-South (Minutes of meeting held in Birmingham, Alabama, July 31, 1973, p. 25; and August 1, 1973, p. 9), and
 
WHEREAS, it appears further that the Synod of Louisiana of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., to whom Southwestern At Memphis has been officially related, has united itself with the former Synods of Texas and Arkansas-Oklahoma to form the Synod of Red River, and that the Synod of Red River at its constituting meeting confirmed that Southwestern At Memphis is an official institution of the Synod of Red River (Minutes of the meeting held in New Orleans, Louisiana, September 25-26, 1973, p. 31) and

WHEREAS, it appears that the Board of Trustees shall, by petition, seek the consent of the Synods of the Mid-South and of Red River to revise the provisions of the Charter of Incorporation and its amendments as hereinbelow set out.

NOW THEREFORE we, the Board of Trustees of Southwestern At Memphis, apply to the State of Tennessee, by virtue of the general laws of the land, for an amendment to the Charter of Incorporation, as heretofore amended, for the following purposes:

  1. The Synods of the Mid-South and of Red River of the Presbyterian Church, U.S. are substituted for the Synods of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana wherever the four last mentioned Synods are named in the Charter of Incorporation, or in any Amendments thereto.
  2. The first grammatical paragraph of Article 3 of the Amendment adopted March 25, 1924, providing that the membership of the Board shall not exceed fifty, to be determined by the Synods with the power to elect and prescribe the terms of office, is amended so that the membership of the Board shall be eighteen (18) voting members elected by the Synods and eighteen (18) voting members elected by the Board with faculty, student, life and honorary members and one ex officio member as provided by the bylaws of the Board.
  3. The second grammatical paragraph of Article 3 of the Amendment adopted March 25, 1924, providing that the Synods shall have equal representation numerically upon the Board, is amended so that twelve (12) of the eighteen (18) voting members as specified in Article 2 of this Amendment shall be elected by the Synod of the Mid-South and that the remaining six (6) voting members of the Board shall be elected by the Synod of Red River.
  4. The second grammatical paragraph of the Amendment adopted October 19-20, 1966, provided that of eighteen (18) trustees elected by the Board, at least three (3) shall be alumni of Southwestern At Memphis for four-year terms, is amended so that of the full thirty-six (36) trustees there shall be an adequate number of alumni trustees, with terms as provided by the bylaws of the Board.
  5. The second grammatical paragraph of the Amendment adopted October 4, 1927, relating to the selection of the presiding officer of the Board and providing that the president of the institution shall be an ex officio member of the Board but shall not be ex officio the presiding officer of the Board, is amended so that the presiding officer of the Board shall be elected from among the voting members of the Board, and that the president of the College be ex officio a member of the Board without vote.
  6. The first grammatical paragraph of Article 4 of the Amendment adopted on March 25, 1924, relating to the power of the institution to accept and hold and manage as trustee any property purchased, bequeathed or devised to it for any special purposes germane to the objects of incorporation, is amended so as to include property given, conveyed or otherwise transferred to it.

We, James H. Daughdrill, Jr. and S. Shepherd Tate, President and Secretary, respectively, of Southwestern At Memphis certify to the adoption of the aforesaid resolution by the Board of Trustees for the purposes set out therein and further certify that the Synods of the Mid-South and of Red River of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., have concurred in the recommendation of the Board of Trustees to amend the Charter of Incorporation, as heretofore amended, for the purposes set forth in said resolution, and have consented to said amendment and that the Charter of Incorporation is hereby so amended.

WITNESS our hands this the 17 day of October, 1974.

Signed: James H. Daughdrill, Jr, President
Signed: S. Shepherd Tate, Secretary

Amendments to this information requires approval of the Rhodes Board of Trustees.