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Concordia announces departure of board member who allegedly made objectionable remarks on social media

A Concordia University Chicago board member accused of posting objectionable remarks about women and minorities on social media has departed the board, though university officials won’t confirm how.

In a Monday morning news release regarding the installation of new Concordia University Chicago President Russell P. Dawn, the university announced Eric Arno Hiller as one of five members of the university’s board of regents who have “completed their service.” The release shared no details of the manner in which Hiller and the others left the board. The university also brought on four new regents.

In recent weeks, thousands had signed a change.org petition calling for Hiller’s resignation or removal from the board of regents at Concordia, a private religious university in west suburban River Forest affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The release stated Hiller was a board member from 2013 through 2019 and thanked all departing board members for their “tireless service and dedication to the university.”

When asked in what manner Hiller left the board, Concordia spokesman Eric Matanyi would only say “I am unable to provide additional details at this time.”

Attempts to reach Hiller for comment on Monday were unsuccessful.

According to Concordia University Chicago bylaws posted on its website, a sitting board member can be removed by a two-thirds vote of regents present, unless the board member was appointed by certain church bodies such as the Synod or district. In that case, those bodies would have to remove the board member, according to the bylaws. Matanyi declined to say how Hiller was appointed to the board of regents.

Screenshots of social media posts allegedly made by Hiller began surfacing on a Facebook page of Concordia alumni titled “Concerned CUC Family.” The posts in question do not exist on Facebook anymore and Hiller’s account no longer exists.

Members behind the Concerned CUC Family page said their most recent post made Monday night would serve as their only comment on the matter. The Facebook post also contains a link to a Concordia news release announcing Hiller’s departure.

“We have no further details at this time, but continue to hold the university and its leadership in our prayers,” the post reads. “Thank you for joining us on this journey and we encourage you to continue praying that God’s will be done at this institution we love and hold so dear.”

University officials previously said Concordia publicly has responded to questions about statements posted on a personal social media account by a member of the university’s Board of Regents, but would not directly address whether Hiller was involved.

Concordia university officials first released a statement Aug. 8 without commenting on the issue of the alleged offensive comments on social media, though officials later released a second, more detailed statement.

On Aug. 12, Concordia President Dawn said in the second statement that the university does not “uphold ideas and statements that are derogatory to women or minorities,” and cited fall 2018 enrollment numbers that showed Concordia Chicago undergraduate students were made up of 57 percent women, while women made up 68 percent of the student body at its graduate level. More than half of the school’s undergrad students “are from a minority background,” Dawn said.

“I want you to know that we hear and understand your ongoing concerns,” Dawn wrote in that letter. “Some of you expressed that the original message was insufficient because it did not address any specific aspects of the board member’s comments.”

In response to an earlier question asking whether Hiller wrote the social media posts in question, Matanyi responded via email, “I can confirm [the Concordia statement] was ‘in response to written remarks made by one member of the University’s Board of Regents on his personal social media accounts.'”

According to the university, more than 500 faculty, staff, students, alumni, clergy and community members attended Sunday’s ceremonial installation of Dawn as its president, the 12th president in Concordia University Chicago history. Dawn replaces former president Daniel Gard, who retired in July.

In addition to the departure of Hiller, board of regents members Alicia Dietrich (2018-2019), Debra Grime (2010-2019), Mark Muehl (2010-2019) and Mark Stern (2010-2019) were all acknowledged as departing the board.

“Being a regent is a demanding, often thankless vocation,” Dawn said in a statement included in the release. “The regents serve our university with care, skill and a heart for our mission. For that, we are in their debt. As we bid farewell to our departing regents, we also move confidently into the journey ahead toward becoming the best Lutheran university in America.”

Joining the Concordia Chicago board of regents as new members are Rev. Thomas Egger, Carol Ruth Johnson, Christian Kopff and Alison Witte.

With the religious installation ceremony complete, Concordia Chicago will host an academic inaugural convocation for Dawn at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 25 in the Geiseman Gymnasium at its River Forest campus.