for a fuller picture.) Another piece of good news is that Concord's music program has been revised and a B.A. in music will be available from the University of Winnipeg, beginning in the 1997-98 school year. (See sidebar for more details.)

Issues

The financial picture of Concord College is not as strong as had been hoped for to this date. Although donations for the past fiscal year were above budget and enough came in to offset the cessation of the final phase of Canadian MB Conference funding, the lower enrollment during the last academic year left the college with an operating deficit of $90,000 and an accumulated deficit of $266,000. This is in the form of a line of credit from the Canadian MB Conference. A loan of $150,000 from the Rosenort Credit Union against the moveable assets at Concord has also been secured. Board members have provided personal guarantees for this latter loan. This outstanding debt to the Canadian Conference must be repaid before the transfer of fixed assets (lands and buildings) from the Canadian Conference to Concord College can take place next year. The Canadian Conference asked the four sponsoring provincial conferences, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to guarantee Concord's line of credit, but all four declined because they felt the ownership structure of the College made it not "doable".

For 1996-97, Concord is anticipating revenue of $1.675 million, with expenses to be held at $1.657 million. Of this revenue, $109,000 comes from the Manitoba government as a grant, $77,000 is anticipated from congregations across Canada, $495,000 is expected from individual and corporate donors, and $112,000 from conferences ($100,000 from Manitoba and $12,000 from Ontario).

Ownership of Concord is another contentious issue. At the 1991 Canadian MB Conference convention, a decision was made that ownership of Concord would pass from the Canadian Conference to Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. However, none of the four provincial conferences wishes to assume actual ownership of the college, because the College is not directly responsible to the provincial conferences but to the Concord convention composed of delegates from the churches.

To resolve this problem, a three-pronged restructuring proposal (See sidebar) was brought forward by the Concord College Board for discussion. It would transfer sole ownership of the College to the Manitoba MB Conference. This proposal elicited varied responses from the delegates.

It was indicated that ownership was not an easy concept to define. Walter Dick (board member from Niverville, Man.) stated that ownership should consist at least of the fixed assets; direction of the school could come from just Manitoba, or could be spread over the four provinces. Ron Neufeldt, (board member from Calgary, Alta.) urged that the school be as clear as possible on ownership and stated that Concord would not flourish until it got this message out. It was also stated that to have four owners made decision-making and accountability difficult. However, caution was urged; the three other provinces need to be treated sensitively so that they will remain supportive and not feel pushed out.

The proposal was passed with little dissension.

The third difficult question is the transfer of assets (the land and buildings of the former Canadian MB Conference school Mennonite Brethren Bible College) to Concord College. A recommendation passed at the 1992 Canadian MB Conference convention states that on June 1, 1997 the fixed assets shall be sold to the Concord College Conference for the sum of $1. Underlying all of this is the assumption that Concord College would be financially viable. The Canadian Conference Executive Board decided at its January, 1996 meetings that the line of credit extended to Concord must be repaid before any transfer of fixed assets can occur. The Executive Board also decided to ask for an an independent audit of Concord College and its projections up to the year 2002. This audit, done by Richard Kriegbaum of Fresno Pacific College and Paul Loewen of Steinbach, has now been completed and has been released to the Canadian MB Conference Executive.

Together with the restructuring proposal, two other questions were raised for group discussion at the Concord convention. The first was "What should be the elements and views of the Concord College submission to the Manitoba Review Committee?". The second asked: "How should or could Concord College more fully integrate 'faith formation' into its programs?" The questions relate to a study being done by the Manitoba MB Conference re Concord and Winkler Bible Institute (a Bible school that focusses on faith formation). (See sidebar.)

Faith formation was seen as a very important aspect of education, and Roger Thiessen, Winnipeg, indicated that the testimonies given at the luncheon were evidence of faith formation happening at Concord. However, other participants felt that the liberal arts emphasis has downgraded the Bible training available at Concord.

Concern was expressed that Manitoba can afford only one institution, and that a less academically rigorous faith formation component could perhaps be integrated into the current Concord program.

Other concerns expressed were a) that Concord not follow the example of the University of Winnipeg, which started out as a church college and is now a secular university; b) that not enough is known about the part-time faculty of Concord and that all should agree with the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith; c) that the school should have a Mennonite Brethren emphasis, not only an evangelical emphasis; d) that students leaving Concord should have a strong foundation of faith as they go into other secular education.

Federation

The Federation is still looking at the site of the Manitoba School for the Deaf, across the street from CMBC, as the location for the university. There is a degree of urgency connected with the purchase of this site, as there are other groups interested in the property, and the Federation's two-year period to decide on the property is up in December, 1996. The question was asked, "Who will be purchasing the School for the Deaf?" It was indicated that this had not yet been determined. Victor Neufeld asked "If the School for the Deaf is not available, or is too costly, is there a Plan B?" The delegates were assured that there was no Plan B since the Federation was planning for success. "No bridges have been burned," stated Doerksen. David Dueck, Winnipeg, also asked whether Providence College, a nondenominational school in Otterburne, Man., and MB Biblical Seminary, in Fresno, Calif., had been consulted. He was assured that Providence was being kept informed about the progress of the discussions, and that MBBS was involved in the discussion of graduate studies at the Mennonite university.

DeFehr also assured the convention that the School for the Deaf buildings were sound and would need only some internal changes. Although the enrollment target for the university is a full-time equivalent of 800 students, 500-600 would be needed to operate the school efficiently. Currently, the FTE is 485. President Jim Pankratz informed the delegates that the government is not interested in just another university, but that if the Mennonite university would be distinctive and have a unique character, it would receive support. DeFehr indicated that "the government has said in principle they are working toward the idea that a federated college or university would enjoy a higher level of government support and that's the principle we're working under."

Pankratz also mentioned that the church wants an anabaptist, evangelical, churchly education, education in a Christian context. The question was asked what this university could offer that is not already offered in other universities. It was suggested that all courses taught would reflect an anabaptist perspective and that all Mennonite university programs would require a minimum of 18 credit hours of course work in Christian studies.

When the delegates were invited to share their responses to the discussion about the vision for a Mennonite university, there was much affirmation. Anita Buller responded that she felt so positive toward this plan that she would put away her "egg-and-butter money" so that her two-year-old grandson would be able to attend this university some day. However, a question was asked whether the rank and file of Manitoba Mennonite Brethren would support the liberal arts university because it was too liberal. Concern was expressed for the students who wish to continue classes at the University of Winnipeg as well as at Concord College because of the distance between the two schools after Concord moves to the new location. Anoter questioner asked whether a degree granted by Concord College would be recognized by other universities.

Vic Neufeld, Winnipeg, was concerned that there is a need for faith formation schools, but also a need for a place to train leaders for churches and that this federated school would not be able to meet all those needs. In the end, the decision that was made at last year's convention to support the federation was was again affirmed, with changes to reflect the change in governance to Manitoba; and with the understandings of: the availability of government funds to operate the school; the evidence of adequate student interest and future demand; and the development of an economically feasible financial operating plan. Menno Martens, board member from Swift Current, Sask., stated that "We can agree on the vision. Are there people at the three colleges who can fulfill this vision?" sbb

Sidebar I

Sidebar II

The committee is made up of John A. Janzen and Roland Marsch as co-chairs, Don Boddy, Neil Fast, Mary Friesen, Walter Thiessen, Sieg Wall and Valerie Wiebe. They will survey the constituency and meet with church leaders. Winkler Bible Institute and Concord College boards and administration will also be consulted. The Review Committee's preliminary report is to be ready for the Committee of Reference and Counsel in mid-December, and the final report in mid-January. The report will be on the agenda for information and discussion at the annual Manitoba MB Conference convention February 28-March 1. This will be followed by a special convention March 15 for decision-making. sbb

SIDEBAR III