For the past few years I’ve been hearing that something is going quite wrong at Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN, under the leadership of President Alan Cureton.
There’s now a website–Friends of Northwestern College & Radio–that seeks to provide some explanation and documentation of what’s going on there. The most recent posting, I believe, is a letter from five former Trustees.
A letter (PDF) from from the Friends of NWC website :
October 27, 2008
To Friends of Northwestern College and Radio:
We whose names are listed below have all served on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern College and Radio, and we possess a continuing passion for its future and for the glory of Jesus Christ in its ministry. We humbly ask that you read what follows with a prayerful, open mind. What we share is public information, but not all of it is yet widely known.
Over the past year, a total of seven people –about 1/3 of the Board of Trustees of Northwestern College and Radio –have voluntarily resigned from the Board, or have been removed or denied continued appointment by the Board’s majority. Some were among the longest serving trustees. All were thoughtful voices of occasional dissent and consequently considered to be impediments to the President’s leadership. When demanded by the Boar to give the President their “complete and unfettered support,” the seven trustees, in good conscience, could not comply. They had too many concerns to do so.
These, now, ex-trustees are not alone. Many current employees of Northwestern College and Radio share the deep concerns that these trustees attempted to raise at the Board level, but they cannot speak freely. We believe their concerns need to be aired. They raise issues of integrity and leadership performance, as well as institutional direction and governance.
What’s going on? The culture of Northwestern College and Radio appears to be changing rapidly and drifting from a heritage that is firmly grounded in commitment to the authority of Scripture and theological conservatism. The reality of the state of affairs in both the college and the radio ministries is difficult for the public to discern, but indications of institutional change are evident to many within.
The campus is badly divided, and many recognize that thoughtful dissent is neither welcomed nor tolerated. Those expressing concerns are silenced or marginalized. An atmosphere of fear and distrust has been documented by campus surveys. Some employees have been intimidated and pressured to resign. Others have been disciplined after having been promised that they could voice opinions freely without retribution. Still others have chosen to leave and find work elsewhere, yet they remain troubled and prayerful about what’s happening in both Northwestern’s educational and media ministries.
The leadership publicly avows that all is well, that nothing has changed, that Northwestern remains committed to its historic positions, and that any concerns being voiced are coming only from a small group of disgruntled people. We believe the leadership knows otherwise. Our purpose for raising these matters is that Northwestern College and Radio might, by God’s gracious intervention, be spared the fate of so many other institutions that have witnessed the dying of the light because they drifted from and, eventually, abandoned their Christian heritage. We ask that you pray with us for the truth to be known and for Northwestern to truly claim its historical vision, articulated by President Bill Berntsen, to be “a first-rate, trustworthy, dependable, distinctively Christian, faith-affirming, overtly conservative College...uncompromisingly committed and loyal to God’s Word, the Bible…”, for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you choose to explore the matter further, please visit www.friendsofnwc.com. You will find some individual stories and other important materials posted there.
Earnestly and prayerfully,
Galen Call
John Helmberger
Bruce Pearson
Paul Sentman
Gary Shaffer
From the 990 form for the Fidelis Foundation:
Fidelis Foundation
3189 Fernbrook Ln. N.
Plymouth, MN 55447-5320
Type of Grantmaker: Public charity
IRS Exemption Status: 501(c)(3)
Additional Descriptor: Organization that normally receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or from the general public
Financial Data (yr. ended 9/30/07): Assets: $31,383,893; Total giving: $3,003,894
EIN: 300006857
990: 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
Last Updated: 7/27/2008
Purpose and Activities
The foundation helps Christian ministries fulfill their missions by providing financial support for their programs, as well as resources to maximize their effectiveness.
Fields of Interest
Subjects
Christian agencies & churches
Officers and Directors
Note: An asterisk (*) following an individual's name indicates an officer who is also a trustee or director.
G. Craig Howse,* Chairperson
Joseph L. Smith,* President
Garth Warren, Vice President
L. John Buyse
Sam Crabtree
Bruce Pearson
The NWC Column explains the relationship between Vennes and the college:
Former board member implicated in fraud case
A former Northwestern College trustee has been implicated in a multi-billion dollar fraud. Frank Vennes Jr., who resigned from the college board in December, collaborated with Twin Cities businessman Tom Petters, who is currently under federal investigation. Northwestern avoided any financial entanglement with the scheme, but not all local organizations were so fortunate.
Vennes, who served on the Board of Trustees for four years, was described by the FBI as a broker with investors in Petters’ companies. Vennes is quoted in the document, warning Petters and others that if investors were to send auditors to visit warehouses where non-existent merchandise was supposed to be located, “the scheme would implode.”
That statement came in an FBI affidavit used to obtain nine warrants allowing the FBI to search Petters’ Minnetonka business headquarters and Wayzata home. The FBI stated that the money Petters was raising through his equity company, Petters Co. Inc., was actually being used to fund personal expenses and other business ventures. Vennes’ home was also searched.
This isn’t the first brush with the law for Vennes. In May 1987, Vennes was indicted for money laundering, firearm violations and drug offenses. According to the 1994 Court of Appeals case detailing the incident, “an undercover agent, posing as a Chicago investor, contacted Vennes and asked for help in transferring cash abroad. Vennes later admitted that in the next three months he and his codefendants received $370,000 from the undercover agent and transferred it, minus their substantial commissions, to the Bahamas, the Isle of Man, and Switzerland without complying with federal currency transaction reporting laws. In the last transaction, Vennes personally delivered $100,000 to Switzerland, where his associates “lost or stole it.”
Following the loss of the $100,000, the undercover agent told Vennes that he was not a Chicago investor, but rather a member of the Chicago underworld, and that he must recoup the loss, or the Mafia would dismember his children and kill his wife. Vennes claimed that because of these threats he began illegally selling firearms and drugs as a way to make up for the lost money.
Vennes pleaded no contest to one count of money laundering, one count of illegally selling a firearm, in addition to using a telephone to facilitate distribution of cocaine. His attorney urged that Vennes be sentenced to only two years in prison because he became “involved in the drugs and the guns” out of fear that he and his family would suffer if he did not recoup the $100,000. The court, however, sentenced Vennes to prison for five years – three for the money laundering, and one year for each of the other two offenses.
At the time of the 1987 case, Vennes, as part of a plea agreement, pleaded no contest to one count of the money laundering indictment, one count of illegally selling a firearm as well as using a telephone to facilitate distribution of cocaine.
Following his release from prison in 1993, Vennes commenced a Bivens action, seeking damages from unnamed agents for entrapment, outrageous conduct, and willful violation of the tax laws. Vennes tried to once again prove that the only reason he engaged in the illegal actions involving the guns and drugs was due to the outrageous threats given him by the undercover agent. In the end, the Bivens action was denied as the court could not verify Vennes’ claims.
For an institution such as Northwestern, the notion of change, forgiveness and believing in Christ’s ability to bring about transformation in lives certainly isn’t a foreign concept.
Vennes says he converted to Christianity during his stay in prison. Years later, when he was being considered as a member of the Board of Trustees in 2003, the board was convinced of the authenticity of his conversion.
President Alan Cureton commented on the circumstances that Vennes was brought onto the Board.
“None of the VPs were involved in his recruitment as a board member. In fact, I am the only person left on the board who was directly involved in his recruitment. The full board knew of his past and his conversion experience in prison. Disclosure was made. It was not our place to hold judgment regarding his past sins, but we did believe it was appropriate to offer grace and move forward. It is unfortunate what has happened…”
Brook Berry, Vice President of Marketing, was quick to speak of Northwestern’s need to believe in a God who can bring about change and hope in the lives of the hopeless. He stressed this need to forgive, saying: “Northwestern certainly believes in the power of Holy Spirit to transform lives – even the lives of those in prison. God can do miraculous things. Look at Chuck Colson, for example. It is important to remind our campus community that Frank Vennes is a fellow believer."
“We must not be too quick to condemn those who have might have fallen back into self-destructive behaviors. The Church has a long history of shooting our own wounded. Now, more than ever, we need to respond with grace and the hope of redemption. Northwestern should reflect the heart of the Savior who died for the sinful nature in us all.”
The Star Tribune, which originally broke the story of Petters’ indictment on Sept. 26, mistakenly described Vennes as a current member of NWC’s Board of Trustees. Vennes actually resigned from the board last December for personal reasons. The correction was printed in the Star Tribune’s Sept. 28 issue.
In an e-mail sent out to students and faculty Oct. 1, Northwestern’s Marketing and Communications said the college had no financial ties to Vennes or Petters, encouraging members of NWC to “Be assured that none of Northwestern’s investments are in any way involved with the Petters financial crisis.”
This is good news for Northwestern. Not all organizations were as fortunate, however.
Minnesota Teen Challenge, a faith-based, nonprofit organization focused on rehabilitation of drug addicts, invested with Petters. The Fidelis Foundation, a public charity that additionally acts as an investment agent on behalf of other public charities and nonprofits, including Teen Challenge, is facing losses of up to $27.6 million in Petters Co. notes.
Richard Scherber, the executive director of Teen Challenge, told the Star Tribune that Vennes was a member of the Teen Challenge board as well as the financial committee that reviewed the investment proposal with Petters’ business. Scherber says Vennes never pushed the board to make the investment with Petters Co..
The money that Teen Challenge had invested in Petters Co. was given through a single contributor, not through the donations of other contributors, said Teen Challenge’s finance director Ron Goodman.
Scherber told the Star Tribune, “It’s hit us in the jugular. [Teen Challenge] is saving lives. You can imagine financially how this has impacted us.”
Goodman says that Teen Challenge believes it is still owed approximately $5.8 million in principal and interest.
Berry grieved with Teen Challenge’s loss. “Our hearts go out to our friends at Minnesota Teen Challenge. It is a powerful ministry that can provide hope and second chances to young people trapped in desperate life situations. This must come as a serious blow.”
-by Jacob Wielgus, news editor
And don't forget the "dirty money"....
