UPDATING
SUTER
summer 2013
emu... preparing students to serve and lead globally
vol. 94, No. 1
crossroads summer 2013, Vol. 94, No. 1
Crossroads (USPS 174-860) is published three times a year by Eastern Mennonite University for distribution to 13,500 alumni, students, parents and friends. A leader among faith-based universities, Eastern Mennonite University emphasizes peacebuilding, creation care, experiential learning, and cross-cultural engagement. Founded in 1917 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, EMU offers undergraduate, graduate, and seminary degrees that prepare students to serve and lead in a global context. EMU's mission statement is posted in its entirety at www.emu.edu/mission. Board of Trustees: Andrew Dula, chair, Lancaster, Pa.; Wilma Bailey, Indianapolis, Ind.; Evon Bergey, Perkasie, Pa.; Myron Blosser, Harrisonburg, Va.; John Bomberger, Harrisonburg, Va.; Herman Bontrager, Akron, Pa.; Shana Peachey Boshart, Wellman, Iowa; Randall Bowman, Archbold, Ohio; Janet Breneman, Lancaster, Pa.; Gerald R. Horst, New Holland, Pa.; Charlotte Hunsberger, Souderton, Pa.; Clyde Kratz, Harrisonburg, Va.; Kevin Longenecker, Harrisonburg, Va.; Kathleen (Kay) Nussbaum, Grant, Minn.; Dannie Otto, Urbana, Ill.; Amy Rush, Harrisonburg, Va.; Jeffrey A. Shank, Sarasota, Fla.; Robert Steury, Goshen, Ind.; Anne Kaufman Weaver, Brownstown, Pa. Associate trustees: Jonathan Bowman, Manheim, Pa.; David Hersh, Line Lexington, Pa.; Chad Lacher, Souderton, Pa.; E. Thomas Murphy, Jr., Harrisonburg, Va.; Mark Prock, Virginia Beach, Va.; Judith Trumbo, Broadway, Va. Loren Swartzendruber, president; Fred Kniss, provost; Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement; Andrea Wenger, marketing and communications director Bonnie Price Lofton Jon Styer Editor-in-chief Designer/photographer bonnie.lofton@emu.edu jon.styer@emu.edu Braydon P. Hoover Mike Zucconi Mileposts editor Information officer braydon.hoover@emu.edu mike.zucconi@emu.edu Marcy Gineris Danny Yoder Web content manager Web/social media marcy.gineris@emu.edu danny.yoder@emu.edu Lindsey Kolb Carol Lown Photographer/proofreader Mailing list manager lindsey.kolb@emu.edu lownc@emu.edu Jessica Hostetler Project & office coordinator/ proofreader jessica.hostetler@emu.edu All EMU personnel can be reached during regular work hours by calling 540-432-4000, or via contact details posted on the university website, www.emu.edu. COVER: The Solanki sisters, born in India but living in Harrisonburg since 1988, both majored in biology at EMU. Elizabeth Solanki ’91 (left in photo) is a physical therapist; Susmita Missy Solanki ’92 is a pharmacist. Both have contributed to support the renovation of the Suter Science Center, the location of many of their studies as undergraduates. They have a brother who is a physician and who also graduated from EMU, Madhur Solanki ’93. Photo by Jon Styer. POSTMASTER: Submit address changes to: Crossroads Eastern Mennonite University 1200 Park Road Harrisonburg VA 22802
Cert no. SW-COC-001635
Loren Swartzendruber ‘76, MDiv ‘79, DMin, chats with Daryl Bert ’97 (right), vice president for finance, and Phil Helmuth ’76 & ‘02, executive director of development, in the Suter “head room.”
Proud of the Past, Upgrading for the Future The Suter Science Center has served EMU admirably for most of its 45 years, but we can no longer make that claim. Yes, EMU continues to produce stellar graduates – more than 90% of the students completing our pre-med program have been accepted to medical school over the last 10 years – but they and their excellent, caring teachers have been burdened by having to learn, teach, do research and conduct experiments within our nowoutdated, substandard facilities. We owe future generations of EMU-prepared physicians, nurses, laboratory technologists, physical therapists, and other healthcare professionals, as well as scientists and mathematicians, the resources they need to be as successful and as useful to the world as graduates from earlier decades. In much of the world, there is a shortage of primary care physicians and nurses, especially in rural and disadvantaged communities. EMU graduates who attend medical school often choose careers in primary care, where some of them have received significant recognition for their work in underserved areas. Tim Leaman, MD, our 2013 Alumnus of the Year, is a fine example of such a graduate. Our environmental sciences curriculum prepares graduates to address issues such as pollution, food production, conservation, and community development. In the last five years, EMU has launched new programs in response to identified needs, including a pre-professional health sciences program, STEM program, and two academic tracks for aspiring engineers. We now offer an MA in biomedical science and an MS in nursing leadership and management. Instead of writing more words on our hopes for the future based on our past accomplishments, I invite you to take note of the professions of the alumni pictured within this issue of Crossroads. Though they are at different stages of their lives and may live far from EMU, they are all committed to supporting the renovation of the Suter Science Center. If you have not yet stepped forward, I hope you will do so during this final stage of our fundraising campaign to renovate the facilities. Please turn to Kirk Shisler’s comments on page 1 to see how you can join this important effort.
For more information on the campaign to renovate the Suter Science Center – complete with drawings, floor plans and naming opportunities – visit emu.edu/science-complex, and then help this upgrade come to fruition!
Loren Swartzendruber President
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$1.1 Million More Needed
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Tales from the Science Center
Thankfully, 277 donors and foundations have moved EMU to within 20% of the funds needed for Science Center renovations, but now is the time for everyone else to make any-sized gift or pledge.
Masked men wearing boxer shorts, explosive chemicals, scarce restrooms for females, faculty romances, earrings on the dik-dik, banking services – the Suter Science Center has seen them all.
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Support for the Sciences
10
Reasons for Giving
22
Foundations' Support
In this Issue
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3 10
22
29
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Twenty-seven photos present a sampling of the private donors who have given to the Suter Science Campaign thus far.
“EMU’s medical training spans the world with alumni in the centers of influence and areas of human need," explains one donor-couple. "We want to be part of that legacy.”
Central Virginia foundations plan to contribute a total of $300,000 toward renovating the Suter Science Center.
29
The
Journey to Accounting
The editor of Crossroads reflects on how the evolution of EMU's teaching of business and accounting can be seen in the lives of her neighbors.
30
Come
to Homecoming!
Read about this year's three alumni award winners and register to attend and enjoy Homecoming 2013.
Homecoming and Family Weekend October 11-13, 2013
Healthy Roots, Thriving Branches www.emu.edu | crossroads | 1
photograph by michael sheeler
$1.1 Million
More Needed! A favorite baseball metaphor captures the tremendous momentum of the Suter Science Campaign as this issue of Crossroads goes to press: With 84% of our $7 million goal achieved, we are rounding third base and heading for home! While we offer our deepest thanks to the 277 donors and foundations that have already supported this campaign, the message we hope to convey now – especially to EMU alumni – is this: Please join the Suter Science Campaign with your gift or commitment today! The campaign is scheduled to conclude by December 31, assuming donors enable us to reach or exceed our goal by then. As any alum who has been to campus in the past 15 years knows, the science labs have been in dire need of an upgrade for quite some time. This campaign is crucial to undergird EMU's continuing success in the sciences as graduates achieve high placement rates in medical school, in passing state board exams on the first try, or in securing employment following graduation. In other words, this campaign is an investment in the next generation! Please join the Suter Science Campaign today with your gift of any amount. To augment your support even more, an anonymous donor has recently "stepped up to the plate" with a $500,000 two-for-one matching gift. For every $2 EMU raises now through December, the donor will provide $1 of matching funds. In this way we hope to quickly raise the additional $1 million necessary to bring the campaign to a winning conclusion and to launch the renovation work. — Kirk Shisler '81, vice president for advancement
Advancement v-p Kirk Shisler (6th from right), oversees: (1) development, led by Phil Helmuth (3rd from left); (2) marketing & communications, led by Andrea Wenger (2nd from left); and (3) alumni and parent relations, led by Douglas Nyce (5th from left). Everyone in this photo has contributed to the Suter Science Campaign, for 100% participation in the advancement division.
CAMPAIGN STEERING COMMITTEE GERRY HORST // New Holland PA // Campaign Chair; President, Horst & Sons, Inc. CARL HARMAN ’67 // Harrisonburg VA // Chairman, Harman Construction, Inc. HERTA HARMAN // Harrisonburg VA // Artist & volunteer ELOISE HOSTETLER CLASS OF ’61 // Harrisonburg VA // Retired nurse ROBERT HOSTETLER ’59 // Harrisonburg VA // Professor emeritus of mathematics, Pennsylvania State University CHARLOTTE ROSENBERGER ’65 // Blooming Glen PA // Counselor and minister HENRY ROSENBERGER ’67 // Blooming Glen PA // Farmer and entrepreneur KARL STOLTZFUS ’72 // Bridgewater VA // Chairman, Dynamic Aviation, Inc. PAT SWARTZENDRUBER // Harrisonburg VA // Volunteer, EMU President’s Office ANNE KAUFMAN WEAVER ’88 // Brownstown PA // Life coach TODD WEAVER ’87 // Brownstown PA // Dentist, Weaver, Reckner, Reinhart Dental Associates LOREN SWARTZENDRUBER ’76 (MDIV ’79) // President, EMU KIRK SHISLER ’81 // Vice president for advancement, EMU PHILLIP HELMUTH ’76 & '02 // Executive director of development, EMU COMMISSION FOR THE SCIENCES
For more information about the campaign or to discuss gift and naming options, contact Kirk Shisler at kirk.shisler@emu.edu or 540-432-4499. Gifts can also be made online at emu.edu/science-complex/contributions 2 | crossroads | summer 2013
MARK GRIMALDI ’94 // Albany GA // President of Equinox Chemical Company
KRISHNA KODUKULA // Harrisonburg VA // Executive director, CADRE, Biosciences Division, SRI Shenandoah Valley JIM KRAUSS // Harrisonburg VA // President & CEO, Rockingham Memorial Hospital JOYCE BONTRAGER LEHMAN ’65 // Keene NH // Independent consultant, Financial Inclusion JOSEPH B. MARTIN ’59 // Cambridge MA // Dean emeritus and professor of neurobiology, Harvard Medical School JOE PAXTON // Harrisonburg VA // County administrator, Rockingham County, Virginia JOHN ROCOVICH // Roanoke VA // Attorney, Moss & Rocovich; founder of Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia FRANK SHELP ’80 // Montpelier VA // Former Georgia Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities PAUL R. YODER JR. ’63 // Harrisonburg VA // Ophthalmologist, Rockingham Eye Physicians and Associates, PC LOREN SWARTZENDRUBER ’76 (MDIV ’79) // Harrisonburg VA // President of Eastern Mennonite University; Commission Chair ROMAN MILLER // Harrisonburg VA // Professor of Biology-Daniel B. Suter Endowed Chair, Eastern Mennonite University EMU STAFF SUPPORT: KIRK SHISLER ’81 // Vice President for Advancement PHIL HELMUTH ’76 & '02 // Executive Director of Development HONORARY ADVISOR TO THE COMMISSION: ROBERT GOODLATTE // Congressman for the 6th District of Virginia
science-center
ACID FOG, SUPER-SOAKERS & MYSTERY POEMS photo courtesy emu archives
Tales from the Suter Science Center
Built in the late 1960s, the Suter Science Center is in dire need of renovation today.
LONG AGO, when the grounds of the Suter Science Center were just a cornfield on the east side of campus, and John Spicher ’58 was a biology major taking science classes in the basement of the old “Ad” building – since burned down and replaced by the Campus Center – some forgotten person procured some chemicals for some forgotten educational use. And when, a decade later, that cornfield on the east side of campus sprouted a science building, capped with a prominent white dome to accommodate a then-state-of-the-art planetarium, those chemicals were carted down to the new laboratory supply closets, in the characteristic spirit of Mennonite thrift. And when, many years later, Spicher returned to EMU to work as the chemical hygiene officer, he began a process of general inventory and cleanup of the no-longer-new laboratory supply closets, cluttered over the years by Mennonite thrift and other forces of entropy. And it was then with a sense of nostalgia that Spicher discovered some of those very
bottles procured 50 years earlier when Spicher was an undergrad, and the Suter Science Center (where the bottles had sat just-in-case, like twist-ties in the kitchen drawer) was still a cornfield. But it was alarm, not nostalgia, that arose when Spicher came across an old bottle of picric acid – a chemical useful for staining tissue when diluted with sufficient water concentration. When insufficiently diluted, however, picric acid forms explosive crystals. (A close chemical relative to TNT, picric acid played a major role in artillery science through World War I.) Spicher backed away, well aware that uncorking a crystallized bottle of old picric acid could cost him his fingers, or more. Mennonite thrift in the Suter Science Center had taken a potentially treacherous turn. A Northern Virginia bomb squad was called in. The fire department sent personnel for some explosives training. A hole was dug behind the science center, a fuse was lit, and the picric acid bomb, unwittingly improvised in the chemical closet, was disarmed. In the end, says
Spicher, the bang was small, but it pays to be careful with the stuff. UNDERCOVER POET Daniel B. Suter ’40, for whom the science center was named, joined the science faculty at what was then Eastern Mennonite College (EMC) in 1948. By the time the new building opened 20 years later, his students in the pre-med program enjoyed medical school acceptance rates far above the national average. So valuable was Suter’s recommendation that, according to faculty legend, a medical school candidate who had never even attended EMU tried to finagle a letter from Suter. Suter’s office was in the science center basement, adjacent to the secretary’s office and the lunchroom, where the faculty regularly ate together while skimming the newspapers, telling jokes, chattering and generally enjoying one another’s company. For years, on their birthdays, personalized poems would appear on the lunch table, written by a mysterious poet who published under www.emu.edu | crossroads | 3
Forty years teaching Is that what he said How many functions Are left in his head?
A teacher of Math And The Liberal Arts With much dedication Gave his students some smarts.
photo courtesy emu archives
Salvelinus fontinalis (“Brook trout” in the jargon of scientists). From a poem on the 64th birthday of Wilmer Lehman ’57, who joined the mathematics faculty in 1959:
Eventually, it came out that Salvelinus fontinalis was the pen name of Bob Yoder ’57, an enthusiastic fisher of S. fontinalis. Yoder, who taught in the biology department for more than 30 years, was the resident jokester of the science center lunch bunch; upon his death in 2005, a volume of his collected poems was distributed to his colleagues. WOMEN NEED RESTROOMS TOO! The Suter Science Center reflected its day and age when it opened in 1968. Science was mostly a man’s world then. There were no women on the permanent science faculty, and the college didn’t bother to put in a women’s restroom on the downstairs level; the secretary (always a woman, in those days) and female students had to go upstairs. Before long, agitation against the basic unfairness of this situation began and EMU kept pace with the changing world around it by establishing restroom equality throughout the building. Because energy was cheap back when the building was built, insulation wasn’t much of a priority. When Lehman began to notice light streaming in large gaps that had opened up between the window frames and the block walls in his math classroom, physical plant staff came over to work at some retroactive solution. Still, the classrooms were a nice improvement over the “E Building,” a former egg processing plant on the south side of Mount Clinton Pike that housed the math department before the science center was built. Over his four decades of teaching, 4 | crossroads | summer 2013
Wilmer Lehman '57 was one of the first to teach in the Suter Science Center. He taught math from 1959 to 2000, through four presidents and seven academic deans. Notice the calculating machine with the roll of paper.
Lehman taught just about every math class that was offered by EMU. One of the memories that stands out was the time a student answered a test question with an unexplained Bible reference. Lehman was tickled when he looked up Psalm 139:6 – Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Another long-time mathematics professor, Millard Showalter ’62 loved to encourage creative approaches to problem solving, and thus, routinely offered his Math in the Liberal Arts students an alternative and deceptively simple-sounding way to earn an A in the class: fold an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper in half eight times. The challenge was a fun illustration of exponents; making that eighth crease was like trying to fold 256 sheets of paper at once.
RESOURCEFUL GALEN LEHMAN For years, Showalter’s students tried and failed, until Galen Lehman ’73 marched triumphantly into class one morning, with a look in his eyes that told Showalter his game was up. It had been easy, really. Lehman was supporting his college habit with a job at the Kreider Machine Shop over the hill from campus, where he had access to a 200-ton hydraulic machine press entirely capable of folding 256 sheets of paper. Lehman also earned an A honestly in the class and went on to become Dr. Galen Lehman, chair of the EMU psychology department and the longestserving member of today’s faculty. When Lehman joined the faculty, the department was inconveniently housed on the fringes of campus in the same E
building that the mathematics folks had previously escaped. Looking for a more respectable location, Lehman settled on an unfinished, dirt-floored crawl space beneath the science center’s planetarium that had been presciently excavated to someday accommodate this very sort of future growth. Around 1980, Lehman spearheaded the renovation of the space into what still serves as the psychology department. He personally poured the concrete floor, built a large table still in use in the seminar room, and, while breaking through a block wall to run some plumbing, discovered an empty whisky bottle in the wall cavity, likely hidden by a worker during the building’s original construction. EARRING STUNTS & MORE WITH DEAD ANIMALS But let’s return to Showalter’s paperfolding assignment. Outmaneuvered by Lehman and his machine press, Showalter learned a lesson that science center faculty have been learning over and over since the building opened: never underestimate the dedication and creativity undergraduates will apply to various capers, tricks and other antics. The famous “Head Room” – SC 104, its walls lined with the mounted heads of various mammals – has been the scene of repeated pranks, often involving the dandying-up of these animal heads with different eyewear, headwear, jewelry and other fashion accessories. Some of the faculty found this amusing. D. Ralph Hostetter, a professor of biology from the very earliest days of the Eastern Mennonite School until his retirement in 1966, did not. After retiring from teaching, Hostetter curated the natural history museum, now housing more than 6,000 artifacts and specimens (and now bearing his name). With hardly any acquisitions budget to speak of, he paid for most of the stuffed heads out of his own pocket. A highly meticulous man, he simply didn’t find it funny to discover the dik-dik (a tiny African antelope) wearing glasses and earrings. For years, the sheer size and weight of the 300-lb. American bison specimen on display at the Hostetter Museum
phots by jon styer
science-center
The "head room" in which many generations of students have heard lectures.
American bison specimen at entrance to Suter Science Center.
of Natural History seemed sufficient to keep it in place in the science center, though this too was an underestimation of the undergraduate determination to prank. In 2007, a posse from Oakwood made off with the stuffed bison and attempted to hoist it up to the three-story residence hall’s roof. When things went awry mid-hoist, however, both the bison and a 19-year-old freshman fell from the roof. The student was airlifted to the University of Virginia medical center with a concussion and fractured hip. The freshman healed and the bison was none the worse for the experience. Now he stands in his old position at the entrance the science center on a thick concrete platform, anchored with tamper-resistant bolts. MASKED PRANKSTERS On another occasion, while lecturing in the Head Room, physics and
mathematics professor John Horst ‘60 raised one of the sliding blackboards to discover the one behind it had been covered by a high-resolution enlargement of a Playboy centerfold. After the class regained its composure, Horst made mental note to check for sliding blackboard surprises thenceforth. That was not the most memorable sliding blackboard surprise of his career, however. For years, Horst and several colleagues team-taught a general humanities class covering art, music and literature in history. The large classes were held in SC 106, the biggest classroom on campus; it also saw frequent use as a recital hall, theater and general performance space before other buildings specifically designed for those purposes were built. Hidden all the way behind several layers of sliding blackboards in SC 106 was a chemical hood, a relatively large space where professors could safely www.emu.edu | crossroads | 5
rendering by Blue Ridge Architects Proposed Concourse A within the renovated Suter Science Center, pending sufficient contributions.
demonstrate various experiments and reactions. For some time, Todd Weaver ’87 had been aware that the chemical hood could also be accessed from behind, through a storage room, and early in the second semester of his senior-year humanities class, he and a classmate “hatched a brilliant plan,” as he remembers it. Wearing nothing but boxer shorts and monster masks, and armed with loaded super-soakers, Weaver and his accomplice climbed into the chemical hood from the storage room and waited for class to begin, hidden behind the blackboard. Horst was lecturing in front of the class when the two sprang into action. One by one, the sections of blackboard begin sliding up, eventually revealing the water gun bandits crammed in the chemical hood. “We caused total chaos,” says Weaver, now a dentist active in EMU’s alumni association. They sprayed at least two of the professors in the room, and unloaded their super-soakers on their classmates as they fled up the auditorium’s two aisles. “The goal was to empty the water by the time we reached the back of SC 106 and sprint out the doors and run for 6 | crossroads | summer 2013
the dorm,” says Weaver, who lived in one extra point to make a much-coveted Oakwood and therefore stands proudly “A” for the term, which was needed to in a long and distinguished tradition of maximize his chance of dental school campus mischief. admission, Horst made him squirm in In what turned out to be a serious his office for some long moments and lapse of judgment, however, Weaver had then declared he would receive one more let a few other friends in on the plan. point in recognition of his “energetic And when Weaver and his accomplice class participation.”) reached the back of the room, their prank complete except for the get-away, EXPERIMENTING, LIVING, they found the doors barred with twoBANKING IN THE CENTER by-fours. One damp Saturday morning an “I will never forget Doug Geib ’87 undergraduate chemistry major with a big smile on his face unwilling to named Terry Jantzi ’87 was running unbar the door. I was screaming [at him] an experiment that sent a bunch of to give in and let us out, but he only sulfur dioxide through the lab hood. laughed,” Weaver remembers. Normally it would have drifted off Language and literature professor into the blue Virginia sky. But the Carroll D. Yoder ’62, one of Horst’s cool, humid weather caused the sulfur co-teachers in the room that morndioxide to condense into a heavy fog ing, marched slowly up the steps and that spread across the intramural soccer unmasked the pranksters, who could do field – think “acid rain” recalls professor nothing but stand with heads hangemeritus Glenn M. Kauffman, class of ing, trapped with empty squirt guns at ’60, Janzti’s chemistry prof at the time. the back the room in their underwear. Folks at an auction near the dormitories Ashamed, they walked back to Oakwood, thought the science center was on fire. changed clothes, and returned to catch That same Terry Jantzi is now Dr. the end of the humanities class. (Horst Jantzi, professor of practice associated got one last hurrah. When Weaver apwith EMU’s peacebuilding and developproached Horst and asked humbly for ment program.
There was the time in 1976 that Millard Showalter’s Modern Geometry students got so jazzed about the nonEuclidian material he was teaching that they showed up to the final day of class wearing T-shirts that read “Millard’s Magnificent Mathematicians.” They arranged for a photo, and after class, went up to chapel and set together at the front, as proud as a bunch of athletes after winning a tournament. Chemistry professor emeritus Glenn M. Kauffman, class of ’60, recalls his chemistry department colleague Gary L. Stucky putting money into a satellite dish on the science center roof in the early 1990s. This enabled him to watch concurrently three different TV channels late into the night in a prep room near SC-106, where he liked to pass his time outside of regular work hours. In the early 1990s, too, a dietetics program headed by Janet Harder ’73 moved into the science center and she also spent long hours at the workplace. By the late 1990s, Stucky and Harder were married, re-settling in his home state of Kansas. The Park View Federal Credit Union began in 1969, in the Suter Science Center offices of professors Robert Lehman ’50 (physical sciences) and Joe Mast ‘64 (math and computer science), offering financial services to members in the days before easy access to credit. Many of their science center colleagues were the very earliest members. John Horst still has a single-digit account number at the credit union, and says that the credit union’s assets were said to be approaching $1 million by 1980, when it moved off of campus. (Kauffman remains the proud holder of an account number in the low double digits.) Kenton Brubaker’s two-digit account number – between Kauffman’s and Horst’s – at the credit union gives him away as another early denizen of the science center. A 1954 grad of EMU, Brubaker returned as a horticulture and botany professor well before the science center was built. Up in the old science department, in the Ad Building basement, Brubaker secured grant funding to buy a gas flow analyzer capable of detecting Carbon-14 beta particles. With Brubaker’s help, another colleague,
rendering by Blue Ridge Architects
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Advanced chemistry laboratory classroom envisioned for an upgraded Suter Science Center.
Merle Jacobs, used the tool to examine the low reproductive fitness of homozygous ebony Drosophila fruit flies. The resulting paper – “Beta-Alanine Utilization of Ebony and Non-ebony Drosophila melanogaster” (Science 139 (1963): 1282-1283) – was likely the first science research published in a major journal by EMU faculty. Jacobs soon left for a job at Goshen College, and Brubaker was in the first wave of professors to work and teach in the new science center. The greenhouse had an automatic ventilation system – a big deal at the time. The planetarium was another big-ticket item. The whole building was exciting and new and fantastic. No sooner had the science department moved in than did Kauffman begin writing grants for other exciting gadgetry. A gas chromatograph and a UV-visible spectrophotometer were among the early acquisitions, allowing for undergraduate chemistry research that has continued ever since. (Students now enjoy research opportunities in a variety of science fields, usually collaborating with faculty.) AHHH, THE MEMORIES, THE LEGACIES! By the time Todd Weaver, of SC 106 chemical hood ambush fame, arrived on campus to pursue pre-medical
studies, Daniel Suter was approaching the very end of his years on the EMU faculty. On his first visit to Suter’s office for an advising appointment, Weaver learned that Suter had also been Weaver’s father’s pre-med adviser years earlier, and they had corresponded for years while Weaver’s father was in medical school. Between his graduation and the start of dental school, Weaver got married to Anne Kaufman ’88. Suter – then recently retired – and his wife, Grace were in attendance, and presented the Weavers with an end table. Suter passed in away in 2006. The next year, Weaver was elected president of the Mennonite Medical Association; joining him in the leadership of the organization was Janice Showalter, the daughter of Daniel and Grace Suter. “Life feels like it circles sometimes, especially in a community like EMU,” says Weaver. The end table that the Suters gave him has moved with the Weavers from house to house since dental school. It remains a treasured possession that has been relocated every time in the family car rather than the moving truck, and it largely owes its prominence to the many people and memories that have and continue to inhabit the Suter Science Center. — Andrew Jenner '04 www.emu.edu | crossroads | 7
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WE SUPPORT THE SCIENCES AT EMU! A Sampling of 48 Donors to the Suter Science Center Campaign
ESTHER STECKLE '73 // Bedford OH // Retired nurse
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 9
photo by michael sheeler
science-center
reasons for giving what they can Over many years, seminary professor Nate Yoder has devotedly deducted money from his not-large salary to return as a contribution to Eastern Mennonite University. Now Nate has added a pledge to the Suter Science Center campaign. Nate has been affected physically in recent years by Parkinson’s Disease, but this has not diminished the enthusiasm he exudes in his work as professor of church history and EMU archivist. To accompany the top photo on the facing page, we asked Nate to articulate why he and his wife Miriam (“Mim”) are supporting the campaign to renovate the science center. Here is what he wrote: When I began teaching at the seminary in the mid1990s, I got to move into a new office. Many across the EMU constituency supported what seasoned members of the seminary faculty had anticipated for years. We now join those leading the vision for updating facilities for the sciences. As University Archivist, I deal with the records of capital priorities over the decades. Such campaigns have always involved more than the individual departments or offices that inhabit the new or renovated space. Mim’s being an employee of Rockingham Memorial Hospital means that we both work for institutions that rely on the communities they serve for support. The number of us employees who contribute sends a message to our broader constituencies. We would like to signal to friends on campus and beyond that EMU is worthy of their support. There are also more immediate connections. One of our sons majored in biology. [Biology professor] Roman Miller not only advised him academically but also mentored him vocationally. Mim herself is a nursing graduate of the Adult Degree Completion Program and regularly applies her training in the sciences. For all these reasons, Mim and I support the campaign for the Science Center.
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OTHER REPRESENTATIVE COMMENTS FROM SUTER SCIENCE DONORS I was well prepared for medical school. It's in gratitude that I made a contribution. – Naomi DuBlanica, on facing page, bottom left Giving has always been a part of my life. It’s important to think about what you do with your money while you’re here, and even after you’re gone. – Esther Steckle, pictured on page 8 EMU’s medical training spans the world with alumni in the centers of influence and areas of human need. We want to be part of that legacy. – Henry and Charlotte Rosenberger, pictured on page 12 We believe in the mission of EMU and enthusiastically support the new science building project. Our lives and careers and those of our children have been enhanced by EMU’s science program, and we are pleased to see developments that will meet the needs of future generations. – E. James and Rachel Horst Witmer, pictured on page 16 Our son, Nolan, graduated as a biology major in 2012. He feels very strongly that he got an excellent education at EMU and we agree. However, we do feel that the quality of teaching and the students were not matched by the facilities where the learning took place. It is time to bring the facilities up to date and in line with the caliber of the instruction. – Mark and Janis Prock, pictured on page 16 We appreciate the education that our daughter, Stephanie Miller Lehman (2006), received at EMU that prepared her for a career in chemistry. Now we are pleased to help support this campaign for future generations of science majors. – Leon and Sandy Miller, pictured on page 20
photo by jon styer
science-center
NAOMI '62 & WALTER DUBLANICA // Birdsboro PA // Retirement community chaplain, retired physician & retired electrical engineer, retired computer scientist
photo by justin roth
photo by justin roth
MIM '74 & NATE YODER // Harrisonburg VA // Nurse & seminary professor
ANNA DETWEILER '73 // Phoenixville PA // Senior physical therapist in an acute care hospital complex www.emu.edu | crossroads | 11
photo by bonnie price lofton
photo by justin roth
GLORIA '70 & JAMES '68 ROSENBERGER // State College PA // Human services director & professor of statistics photo by justin roth
KAREN HOERNER '80 // Kennett Square PA // Volunteer nurse
CHARLOTTE '65 & HENRY '67 ROSENBERGER // Blooming Glen PA // Nurse, counselor & farmer, entrepreneur
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photo by michael sheeler
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BECKY WAYBILL '88 // Columbus OH // Admissions coordinator at Dodd Rehabilitation Center, Ohio State U. Medical Center
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 13
photo by michael sheeler
photo by joshua becker
EUNICE '57 & ERNEST '58 KRAYBILL // Chapel Hill, NC // Retired nurse & professor of pediatrics emeritus at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill photo by michael sheeler
LOIS & ART KENNEL, BOTH '53 // Rochester MN // Retired schoolteacher & retired cardiologist; both longtime breeders of llamas
CYNTHIA '77 & ED '76 FREY // Columbus OH // Dentist & radiologist 14 | crossroads | summer 2013
photo by justin roth
photo by jon styer
science-center
LELA FAYE YODER '88 // Harrisonburg VA // Life coach
photo by justin roth
BONNIE ZEHR '86 // Lancaster PA // Pediatrician in group practice
JOHN '50 & MARGARET WEAVER // West Chester PA // Computer science professor emeritus & retired nurse
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photo by michael sheeler photo by Christina Prock
photo by bonnie price lofton
E. JAMES (JIM) '64 & RACHEL '62 WITMER // Alliance OH // Pediatrician & retired nurse
JANIS & MARK PROCK // Virginia Beach VA // Owners of company specializing in human resources and staffing, parents of a biology grad, Nolan '12. 16 | crossroads | summer 2013
BILL '63 & LORETTA HELMUTH // Marshville NC // Medical director of health dept., pediatrician for sexually abused and low-income, high-risk childlren & retired RN
photo by aaron freer
science-center
photo by justin roth
KAY '78 & STEVE '79 NUSSBAUM // Grant MN // President of management consulting firm & global consultant
FLO & DAVID '55 HARNISH // Ephrata PA // Retired nursing instructor & retired general surgeon
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photo by justin roth photo by michael sheeler
SHELBY '85 & DAVE '83 SWARTLEY // Lancaster PA // Social worker in geriatrics & CEO of retirement community
MARTHA & LEROY YODER // Hartville OH // Owners, L.J. Yoder Construction, parents of grads Randy '83 and Keith '89
18 | crossroads | summer 2013
photo by justin rotH
science-center
photo by jon styer
TODD '87 & ANNE '88 WEAVER // Brownstown PA // Dentist & life coach
LOUISE & ALDEN HOSTETTER, BOTH '79 // Harrisonburg VA // Community volunteer, former teacher & pathologist
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photo by justin roth photo by jon styer
STEPHANIE AND JOEL LEHMAN, BOTH '06, WITH STEPHANIE'S PARENTS, SANDY & LEON '68 MILLER // Lancaster PA // Stephanie is pursuing a PhD in bioanalytical chemistry at UVa; Joel is a journalist; and her parents are retired business owners.
JOHN '77 & LINDA BOMBERGER // Harrisonburg VA // CEO of Choice Books & community, church volunteer
20 | crossroads | summer 2013
photo by justin roth
science-center
Career Success, Memories, Spark Giving for Suter This story came to Crossroads via email from Mark C. Stoltzfus, a ’93 chemistry graduate who is now an anesthesiologist in Richmond, Virginia.
photo by justin roth
MARK C. STOLTZFUS '93 // Richmond VA // Anesthesiologist, part of the "Cabin Nine" alumni group, along with Mark Wenger (below). Read his comments at right.
MARK A. WENGER '93 // Fredericksburg VA // Allergist, part of the "Cabin Nine" alumni group, along with Mark Stoltzfus (above).
Nine guys who lived on one floor of Maplewood during 1990-91 bonded so well that, a few years after graduation, they began reuniting for a weekend every year. They initially gathered at a cabin owned by the parents of Jeffrey Shank '95, now a school superintendent in Sarasota, Florida, but lately they have rented a house in rural Luray, 35 miles northeast of Harrisonburg. Stoltzfus wrote: We spend the weekends catching up, playing poker, watching movies, occasionally riding fourwheelers, playing with paintball guns, tossing around the football, playing horseshoes, you name it. . . and consistently go out in the woods/ pasture/riverbank/frozen lake (depending on the location), for a battery of ‘feats of strength,’ which can range anywhere from toppling over a large dead tree, to trust-falls off a high stump, to tossing a rather large heavy boulder into the river. We also have a tradition of "sharing time" where we go around the group and everyone talks about what is going on in their lives. We all really open up with each other, and always feel comfortable discussing joys, fears, insecurities, and vulnerabilities. It’s a very close, tight-knit group of guys who genuinely love and care about each other. They call themselves “Cabin Nine” and have adopted the cause of supporting the renovation of the Suter Science Center in memory of the “head room” (pictured on page 5): “Most of us took many of our classes in that building, and all have fond memories of that particular classroom, or at least fond memories of the décor,” wrote Stoltzfus. He and another member of Cabin Nine, Mark A. Wenger '93, an allergist in Fredericksburg, Va., are pictured at left. Among the other six guys in Cabin Nine, there’s a third in medicine: pediatrician Brad Friesen ’94 of Burlington, Vt. Three of the guys are executives in insurance and financial businesses: Trevor Parmer ’94 of Harrisonburg, Va.; Vaughn Troyer ’93 of Millersburg, Ohio; and Kyle Zehr ’94 of Perkasie, Pa. Steve Rittenhouse ’93 is a schoolteacher in Harrisonburg, Va., and Mitch Troyer ’93 is vice president of a motorcycle and power-sports dealership in Harrisonburg.
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 21
photo by bonnie price lofton As co-directors of The Burford Leimenstoll Foundation, wealth management expert W. Bates Chappell (left) and attorney Bruce L. Mertens strive to uphold the wishes and priorities expressed by its founder, Betty Sams Christian.
Foundational Support for Suter Science Center Foundations based in central Virginia will be contributing a combined total of $300,000, assuming that matching funds are raised in some cases, toward renovating EMU’s Suter Science Center. “The support of respected foundations in the Commonwealth of Virginia testifies to the Suter Science Center’s 45 years of preparing graduates who proceed to become service-oriented professionals in health care and other scientific disciplines,” said EMU President Loren Swartzendruber. “It is our goal to continue meeting critical needs throughout the Commonwealth and beyond by cultivating 'servant-leaders.'” The Burford Leimenstoll Foundation is an example of one foundation supporting the upgrading of the Suter Science Center. This foundation typically supports social welfare efforts, as well as cultural and educational initiatives, ranging from the Frontier Culture Museum near Staunton to the International Emerging Leadership program of Collegiate School in Richmond. The Burford Leimenstoll Foundation also confers some grants for initiatives in health and higher education, as exemplified by its endowed sponsorship of the Betty Sams Christian Child Health Advocacy Program at the University of Virginia Children's Hospital. This foundation was founded in 1991 by Betty Sams Christian, nine years into her 21-year leadership of the Central Coca-Cola Bottling Company, overseeing franchises in Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. By the time she retired from being president and CEO in 2003, her company was the ninth-largest independent Coke bottler in the United States. Christian was born Staunton, the city immediately south
22 | crossroads | summer 2013
of Harrisonburg on I-81, and earned her bachelor’s degree further south in the Shenandoah Valley at what is now Hollins University. After majoring in a challenging scientific field (physics), Christian pursued her concern for people’s wellbeing by going to New York City to earn a master’s of social work degree at Columbia University. Today her foundation is co-directed by W. Bates Chappell, managing director of Kanawha Capital in Richmond (Va.), where he specializes in wealth preservation and investment management, and by Bruce L. Mertens, a partner in the Richmond branch of the 70-attorney firm Sands Anderson PC, where he practices estate planning and administration. “We have continued to support the charities to which the founder [of the Burford Leimenstoll Foundation] made grants in her lifetime,” Chappell told the Crossroads editor for this summer 2013 issue. Mertens nodded his agreement with these words, adding, “Betty was very concerned about social issues and the welfare of people.” Before her death in 2006, Christian chose to contribute, through her foundation, to EMU’s annual fund, known as the University Fund. Chappell and Mertens therefore feel confident that she would wish them to continue supporting efforts by EMU to develop “servant-leaders” in healthcare, education, social work, counseling and other fields beneficial to humankind. Other foundations supporting this capital campaign through challenge grants – in which they pledge to match funds in a specific ratio contributed by private donors – include The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation and The Robert G. Cabell III and Maude Morgan Cabell Foundation, both headquartered in Richmond. “We want to help EMU leverage the private funds they must raise to complete this capital project,” explained the executive director of one foundation. — Bonnie Price Lofton, MA '04, editor
photo by michael sheeler
mileposts
In June, 11 donors to the Suter Science Campaign posed for this EMU photo at the 2013 meeting of the Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship in Goshen, Ind.: (from left) Stanley Godshall '65, MD, & Susan Godshall '65 (former chair, EMU board of trustees) of Mount Joy, Pa.; Joseph Longacher '59, MD, of Harrisonburg, Va.; Evelyn & Dan Nafziger, MD, both '83, of Goshen, Ind.; Phyllis & Elton Lehman '58, MD, of Mount Eaton, Ohio; Shirley '57 & Arlen Delp '60, MD, of Milwaukee, Wis.; Rachel '61 & Joseph Martin '59, MD, of Brookline, Mass.
Faculty & Staff Vernon Jantzi ‘64, professor emeritus of sociology, gave the keynote address at the 14th annual Latin American Conference on Judicial and Forensic Psychology and the first annual Conference on Restorative Justice in Cartagena, Colombia, June 7-8. The conference explored the nature and promotion of restorative justice in Latin America. Vernon’s speech was titled “A Healing Approach: Integrating Peacebuilding, Restorative Justice, and Trauma Awareness.” Carl Stauffer ‘85, MA ‘02 (conflict transformation), assistant professor for CJP, gave the keynote address at the 15th annual Urban Initiatives Conference in Milwaukee, Wis., on May 29. The conference theme was “Restorative Practices: Repairing Harm and Building Community.” Elaine Zook ‘75, MA ‘03 (conflict transformation), STAR program director, and Howard Zehr, CJP professor, presented at the Pikes Peak Restorative Justice Council Symposium, May 9-10 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Elaine presented on “Trauma and Restorative Justice” and
Howard on “Shame and the Implication for Resorative Justice.” Together, they led discussion on high-risk victim-offender conferencing. Lori Leaman ‘88, associate professor of special education, and Judy Mullet ‘73, professor of psychology, presented “Restorative Discipline: From getting even to getting whole,” at the Association of Supervision and Curriculum development’s 68th annual conference in Chicago, Ill. on March 18. Peter Dula ‘92, assistant professor of Bible & religion, was awarded a grant from the Louisville Institute’s Sabbatical Grant for Researchers Program. It will pay for a semester of salary while he is on sabbatical this coming academic year. Ted Grimsrud, assistant professor of Bible & religion, has written a new book titled Instead of Atonement: The Bible’s Salvation Story and Our Hope for Wholeness, published by Cascade books. The book traces the Bible’s main salvation story through God’s liberating acts, the testimony of the prophets, and Jesus’s life and teaching. It then takes a closer look at Jesus’s death and argues that his
death gains its meaning when it exposes violence in the cultural, religious, and political powers. God’s raising of Jesus completes the story and vindicates Jesus’s life and teaching. Joan Griffing, music department chair, performed Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring at the Virginia International Arts Festival in Norfolk, Va., on May 29. The performance featured the Richmond Ballet and the Virginia Symphony. This year marked the 100th anniversary of this seminal orchestral work. Stuart Showalter ‘67, associate director of development, and Robyn Hill, director of planned giving, worked with Mennonite Foundation and 10 other Mennonite agencies to develop and implement a workshop titled “Good Stewardship through Estate Planning” for EMU alumni and friends in Kidron, Ohio, April 25-26.
1960-69
Peggy Heatwole '61 and Jay B. Landis '54, Harrisonburg, Va., have each published books: Kitchenary and Verse Assignments, respectively. In her mem-
oir, Kitchenary: From Birth to Zucchini, Shenandoah Valley native Peggy shares stories of friendship and forgiveness, heritage and hospitality, generosity and gratitude, loss and love, and the people of the lifetime with whom she has broken bread. Verse Assignments is a collection of the poems Jay has written throughout his career, centering on the classroom, family, community, and faith. Both Peggy and Jay will be selling autographed copies of their books at Homecoming in October. Blair Seitz ‘67, West Reading, Pa., shares his journey through the world, the people he has met, the stories he has been told, and how his relationships have led him to believe in a better path of peace for the world in his memoirs titled Turn the World Around: A Photojournalist Discovers Paths to Peace Traveling a War-torn Planet. J. Larry Neff, class of ‘67, South Bend, Ind., president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Michiana, announced that he will retire in December after 40 years on the job. Under his direction, an Industrial Services Department was developed to provide light manufacturing assistance
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to area businesses. Later, vocational services expanded to include the Welfare to Work program. Larry has received recognition for his service to the organization from Goodwill Industries International. Over the years, he has been asked to mentor other Goodwill operations and serve on many local boards. He was inducted in the South Bend Community Hall of Fame in 2005.
Samfee Kamayanoh Doe ’11, in a 2008 photo taken on the indoor track at EMU.
Liberian Med Student Honored in Africa Samfee Kamayanoh Doe ’11 has been selected as one of 28 Milead Fellows from among 2,120 candidates from 44 countries. For this highly prestigious award conferred on African women, Doe was chosen as the sole representative of Liberia, her home country. She is the daughter of Felicia Politee and Sam Gbaydee Doe, MA ’98 (conflict transformation). Her father, now based in New York City, works for the United Nations Development Programme. “The 2013 Fellows are between the ages of 19 and 25, but are already actively leading change on pertinent issues, both at the grassroots and international level,” said a news release from the Milead Fellows program. “From poverty to women’s economic empowerment, environmental justice and political participation, this new generation of African women leaders are proof that Africa can produce the bold, visionary and inspirational leadership needed to lift Africa to its rightful place on the global stage.” Samfee Doe double-majored in biology and psychology at EMU and is now enrolled in St. George’s University in Grenada, pursuing both a medical degree and a master’s in public health. The Milead Fellowship requires her to attend a three-week leadership conference in Ghana, plus conduct a project to benefit the country she represents. Doe likely will be juggling a year-long public health project in Liberia with clinical rotations in the United States, which she expects to begin in the spring of 2014. In 2011-12, Doe was accepted into the Keith B.Taylor Global Scholar program, which enabled her to spend a year at The University of Northumbria in Newcastle upon Tyne in northeast England. There she focused on understanding the national health service in the United Kingdom. Samfee was one of 10 students in her graduating year to be selected for EMU’s top honor, the Cords of Distinction, awarded for “outstanding contributions to the university, community or society.” In addition to her academic achievements, she was a star runner on EMU’s track and field team. “EMU courses prepared me well for medical school,” she said in an email to Crossroads. “I wrote my advisor [biology professor Greta Ann Herin] thanking her after the first month of school.” — Bonnie Price Lofton, MA '04
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Richard ‘70 and Laurel Horst ‘68, Orrville, Ohio have experienced a family tragedy: the death of their 11-year-old graddaughter, Marcia Lynea Horst, following a sudden illness. You may read more about Marcia in the 1990-99 class notes section. Vernon ‘68 and Linda Alderfer Martin, class of ‘71, Harleysville, Pa., hosted the first summit meeting of the Mennonite Early Childhood Network (MECN) Council. The three-day summit included time to reflect on the mission statement, explore current trends in care and education of young children, and brainstorm about ways that MECN can continue to provide support for others in the early childhood field. As an initial outcome of the summit, MECN will invite responses from churches, child-care and education programs, and parents through a needs-assessment survey to learn how MECN can best serve young children through the adults who teach and care for them.
1970-79
Gladys Nolt ‘72 Boettcher, Amarillo, Tex., retired from Northwest Texas Healthcare System in February after working almost 40 years, the last 30 of which were spent as a charge nurse on a medical/surgical floor.
Earl Burkholder, class of ‘72, Las Cruces, N.M., was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the New Mexico Professional Surveyors (NMPS). Earl is a licensed professional surveyor, a licensed professional engineer, and is a fellow and life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The award was based, in part, on Burkholder’s efforts to promote the use of 3-D digital geospatial data for surveying, mapping, and engineering projects. His book, The 3-D Global Spatial Data Model: Foundation of the Spatial Data Infrastructure, published by CRC Press in April 2008, offers a diverging model for the methods for handling spatial data. In retirement, Earl is engaged in several volunteer activities with NMPS and ASCE. Cheryl Weaver ‘74 Landis, Paradise, Pa., was selected to do a poster presentation titled “Bridging the Classroom and Clinical Learning Gap: A Clinical Simulation Design for Caring for the Patient with Chemotherapy-Induced Bone Marrow Suppression” at the Assessment Technologies Institute National Summit for Nurse Educators in Las Vegas, Nev., in April of 2013. She also presented the same simulation concept at the Pennsylvania Association of Practical Nursing Administrators annual conference in Lewisburg, Pa., where she won first place in the Best Practices session. Faith Eidse ‘79, Tallahassee, Fla., adjunct professor of English at Barry University in
Miami, Fla., has captured the vision that drove the 1950’s missionary movement from Southern Manitoba, Canada around the globe in her parents’ memoir titled Light the World, the Ben and Helen Eidse Story as told by Faith Eidse. In it, Faith describes the personal pilgrimage her parents took in partnering with the Chokwe-Lunda tribe of the Congo, learning their language and culture, and empowering them through advocation whenever possible. The book is now in circulation at the EMU library.
1980-89
Marlisa Yoder-Bontrager ‘80, Lancaster, Pa., joined the Mennonite Creation Care Network (MCCN) Creation Care Council in April 2013. She brings a decades-long commitment to sustainable living and creation care with specific interest in living more with less and a full-fledged desire to do as much as possible to take care of God’s creation. When Marlisa is not developing her small, sustainable, urban garden, she is a nurse who works with low-income, first-time mothers for up to two years of their babies' lives as they learn to be good mothers. MCCN welcomed her experience, insight, and energy. Starla Byler ‘81 Fogleman, Belleville, Pa., has been approved by the board of trustees as the new superintendent of Belleville Mennonite School (BMS). She brings a wealth of experience in education and a strong background in working with students and their families. Starla began her career teaching high school English at BMS before being employed as the Title 1 reading specialist for the Mifflin County School District for 10 years. She has taught reading and first grade at Union Elementary school for the past six years and served as building leader for the past five. Having been a BMS student herself in the late 70’s, Starla is excited to return to her alma mater to help strengthen it’s tradition of excellence. Phyllis Good '82 Yoder, Bay Port, Mich., was honored as the state School Nurse of the Year by the Michigan Association of School Nurses Conference (MASN). She is a registered nurse with the Huron Intermediate School District. Each year MASN honors one school nurse who demonstrates excellence in school nursing practice and leadership in school health. Alice Stubbs ‘83 Wisler, Durham, N.C., recently published a book on grieving and loss titled “Getting Out of Bed in the Morning: Reflections of Comfort in Heartache.” It is a tribute to her late four-year-old son Daniel and is filled with prayers, scripture, and thoughts on walking through life seasoned with sorrowful moments. Karl Frey ‘86, Chevy Chase, Md., works for Save the Children, specializing in food security during emergencies. His duties include advising a program in northeastern Kenya that gives pastoralists hit hard by a drought in 2011 an immediate and future source of milk. It would seem that Karl’s life was preparing him for his current humanitarian position. He attributes growing up Mennonite on a 117-acre dairy farm in Lancaster, Pa., with his strong work ethic
and states that it equipped him with the tools he would later need to help improve distribution processes and the quality of the milk in the Wajir district of Kenya. Luke Miller ‘87, Plymouth, Minn., is design manager for Cargill, the largest privately held U.S. corporation specializing in agriculture, food, finance, and industry. He leads Cargill's global process design in the Order-to-Cash space, specifically designing and implementing common processes across the company with particular regard to the customer. Four years ago, he joined Tartan, a project within Cargill with the goal of developing a common way of doing business across approximately 70 business units. John Denlinger, MDiv ‘87, Lancaster, Pa., has taken a new position with Lancaster Mennonite School as advancement associate. He previously held the position of executive director at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center in Mt. Pleasant, Pa. Elizabeth Weaver-Kreider ‘89, York, Pa., a farmer and poet, has published her debut volume of poetry titled The Song of the Toad and the Mockingbird with Skunk Holler Poetryworks. The work examines the act of noticing, whether of the changing season or the flash of color from a passing bird, the shape of an internal mood or the homeland of the self. Her poems are set in the realm of the natural world, in the heart and hopes of a mother, in the mysterious and mythic landscape of the growing and awakening soul. Heidi King ‘89, Wakarusa, Ind., graduated from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary on May 25 with a master of divinity degree. She will pursue administrative ministry.
1990-99
Gary Chupp ‘92, Shipshewana, Ind., former head men’s basketball coach and assistant director of athletics at Goshen College, has been named the athletic director at Bethany Christian Schools (BCS) in Goshen, Ind. Being a 1987 BCS grad, himself, and having served in a number of church-related colleges over the years, Gary looks forward to his new role as administrative leader of the athletic program and has this to say about the new position: “I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to return to my alma mater in the role of athletic director. Transitioning from coaching to administration will be a challenge that I am looking forward to. I have very fond memories of my athletic experience at Bethany, playing for coaches who placed high expectations on athletes while caring about us as individuals. Working with an outstanding coaching staff, faculty, and administration, I hope to continue that culture of excellence surrounding the athletic department.” Valerie Weaver-Zercher ‘94, Mechanicsburg, Pa., priovides a discourse on the allure of Amish romance novels in contemporary society in her book Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance Novels, published by Johns Hopkins University
Press. She combines research and interviews with devoted readers, publishers, and authors to produce a lively and provocative examination of the Amish romance novel and discusses strategies that literary agents and booksellers use to drive the genre’s popularity. By asking questions about authenticity, cultural appropriation, and commodification, Valerie also considers Amish fiction’s effects on Amish and non-Amish audiences alike. At EMU's 2013 Homecoming in October, Valerie will be the keynote speaker for the Language and Literature reception; she also will be selling autographed copies of her book. Kevin Strite ‘95, Goshen, Ind., continues to be employed as a project manager, just at a different place of employment. He accepted a position at the University of Notre Dame in June of 2012. Previously he worked for Everence Financial. David (Dave) Bechler ‘96, Harrisonburg, Va., athletic director and coach at Eastern Menonnite School (EMS), was selected as the Independent Athletic Director of the Year by the Virginia Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. In his two page nomination letter, Paul Leaman ‘86, EMS head of school, had this to say: “Most impressive for me, however, is Mr. Bechler’s commitment to EMS programs, development of student leadership, energetic work ethic and his life example of continuous improvement... As a coach and AD he continually explores, analyzes and tries new strategies for improving player skill and team dynamics... he goes out of his way to build relationships within our community... [he] is an accomplished AD because of his tireless work ethic and ability to rally and empower others to help make a difference.” Laura Brenneman ‘96, MA ‘00 (conflict transformation), Champaign, Ill., had, until recently, been associate professor of religion and director of peace and conflict studies at Bluffton University. She now is an academic and peace activist who teaches as an adjunct for both EMU and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, as well as the University of Illinois, including a program in a local men’s prison. In addition to teaching and writing, she volunteers with restorative justice programs in her community. Dana Shively ‘97 and Ronald Horst, class of ‘98, Orrville, Ohio, have experienced a terrible loss: the death of their 11-year-old daughter, Marcia Lynea Horst, following a sudden illness. Marcia was a fifth grade student at Central Christian School in Kidron. With her parents, she attended Chestnut Ridge Mennonite Church in Orrville, where she was a member of the Junior Youth Group. She enjoyed soccer and softball, and loved animals. She also loved music, singing, and playing her viola and piano. Marcia is the granddaughter of Richard ‘70 and Laurel Horst ‘68 of Orrville, Ohio. Rebecca Wentz ‘98 Smith, Palmyra, Va., was one of six teachers to be honored by Fluvanna County Public Schools as “Teachers of the Year.” She is the foreign language exploratory teacher at Fluvanna Middle
Sixty-three professional musicians from a dozen states performed at the 2013 Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. (2012 photo)
Dozens Return Yearly To Our Bach Festival When violinist Mark Hartman was invited to join the first Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival orchestra 21 years ago, he never thought he’d come back every single year. But when this year’s festival orchestra, made up of 63 professional musicians from a dozen states, gathered June 9-16 at EMU, Hartman was part of the family-like reunion. “This festival operates on the loyalty principle,” said Hartman, who is now orchestra director at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. The festival musicians are “crazy busy,” he said, as they get ready to perform the first Sunday afternoon and then three times the next weekend. Some of them play in smaller groupings at one of the noon concerts during the week in downtown Harrisonburg. This year’s festival opened with five concertos presented in the 17th-century Baroque style, with a smaller orchestra and most of the members standing. Kenneth J. Nafziger, founder, artistic director, and conductor of the Bach Festival, explained to the audience what was going on. The first piece, by Arcangelo Corelli, was performed by a core of three featured musicians surrounded by 12 others, but no conductor. “This is the simplest visual presentation of a concerto,” said Nafziger. “It’s interactive, like watching a tennis match.” Each year the festival features the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, the prolific 18th-century German composer, along with one or two others. This year the others were 19thcentury composer Giuseppe Verdi of Italy and 20th-century composer Benjamin Britten of England. The second major concert at this year’s festival featured seven popular arias from Verdi’s operas, sung by this year’s internationally known soloists – soprano Veronica Chapman-Smith, tenor Kenneth Gayle, mezzo-soprano Heidi Kurtz, and baritone Grant Youngblood. The concert also included Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes” from the opera Peter Grimes. Festival Concert 3 was devoted entirely to Verdi’s Requiem. The full orchestra and featured soloists were joined on the crowded stage by a choir of 88 volunteer singers from near and far. Mary Kay Adams, a flutist and EMU music professor who is the festival’s executive director, said Verdi’s Requiem may have drawn the biggest crowd to Lehman Auditorium in the Bach Festival’s history. — Steve Shenk' 73 www.emu.edu | crossroads | 25
Participants in the 2013 Summer Peacebuilding Institute represented a spectrum of religions, ethnicities and nationalities.
196 Attendees From 43 Nations at Peace Institute Many of the 196 attendees at this year’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) had survived devastating loss and trauma. Yet the final week of that gathering at EMU began with an evening of infectious joy. SPI learners – representing 43 nations over six weeks of sessions, May 6-June 14 – did line and contra dancing, joined an exuberant Syrian circle dance, clapped hands to a spirited maranga, watched a graceful performance by colorfully garbed South Pacific colleagues, and eased into a Virginia Reel. “It’s a nourishment for my soul,” Lilian Burlando said of her near-annual trip to SPI, on the Harrisonburg, Va. campus, from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Burlando, who operates a counseling and interfaith dialogue center, said she felt uplifted by the course “Narrative, Theory and Practice,” which highlighted the importance of stories in daily life. Burlando smiled as she watched granddaughter Mercedes Echazu dance. Echazu, a recent social-work graduate and one of five grandchildren, plus a daughter, have accompanied Burlando to various SPI sessions. In Nigeria, after 15 years’ employment at a bank, Helen Kwuelum decided to work in peacebuilding and women’s empowerment. She attended SPI’s four sessions, joining husband Charles, who is pursuing a master's in conflict transformation. Near their home in northern Nigeria, the couple had fled bombings by the militant Islamist Boko Haram movement. Charles and a colleague hope to befriend young Nigerian Muslims through their organization, Transforming Systems Initiatives. Helen regrets that during the bombings, “I thought all Muslims taught violence.” Discovering “faith in peacebuilding” at SPI, she no longer attributes violence to any faith. Conflict, she said she now understands, “is all about ourselves, not about the religions.” Ana-Latu Dickson of Papua New Guinea studied restorative justice at SPI. Although her nation’s legal courts employ the concept, Dickson – who helps rehabilitate perpetrators of violence against women – said, “I’m learning more about it here.” She and Molia were among 16 South Pacific and five East African participants in the Women’s Peacebuilding Leadership Program. — Chris Edwards
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School (FMS) and has 12 years experience under her belt. Frank Leech, FMS principal had this to say about Rebecca: “Ms. Smith is always willing to go the extra mile for each student. She is organized, creative, and upbeat.”
Seneviratne (Shyamika) JayasundaraSmits, MA ‘04 (conflict transformation), Voorburg, the Netherlands, has successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled “In Pursuit of Hegemony: Politics and State Building in Sri Lanka.”
Christina (Tina) Hartman ‘99 Campbell, Lancaster, Pa., was appointed as Events Liaison at Lancaster Mennonite School. She handles events such as homecoming, the golf outing, the auction, and the phonathon.
Justin Boer ‘04, Lexington, Va., graduated from medical school at the Amsterdam Medisch Centrum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He graduated with cum laude honors and is now scheduled to take the second of the medical boards in July. Justin will be applying for the match program in the U.S. for a residency position as a pediatric specialist, hoping to begin in spring, 2014.
2000-09
Jessica Penner ‘01, Harrisonburg, Va., has published her first novel titled Shaken in the Water with Foxhead Books. The novel follows the life of a Mennonite woman that bears a birth mark known in Low German as Tieja Kjoaw, the Tiger’s Scar, a portent of greatness or tragedy. Jessica earned her MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College in 2006 and has been published in Bellevue Literary Review, Center for Mennonite Writing, Rhubarb, and the anthology Tongue Screws and Testimonies. She won honorable mentions in fiction and nonfiction from Open City and Bellevue Literary Review and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Kurt Schenck ‘01, Lititz, Pa., partnered with Prudential HSG Realty to better assist businesses, investors, public entities and non-profit organizations in the acquisition and disposition of commercial real estate assets. Kurt’s mission is to deliver superior results for stakeholders by putting his client first, collaborating with peers and colleagues in the market, thinking innovatively but acting practically, and providing a rewarding work environment. Carlissa Blosser ‘02, Harrisonburg, Va., was one of eight registered nurses at Rockingham Memorial Hospital to receive an Excellence in Nursing Practice award. Carlissa was honored with the Excellence in New Knowledge and Innovations award. To be nominated, a nurse must promote and advance the nursing profession; display a caring commitment to patients, families, and co-workers; and demonstrate leadership. The Excellence in Nursing Practice awards are given annually during National Nurses Week. Each recipient receives an engraved custom-designed plaque. Donald (Don) Henry, MA ‘03 (business), West Augusta, Va., is the immediate past president of the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association (VVMA), now serving on its executive board. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and established Valley Animal Hospital in Staunton, Va., in 1980, which in 2002 merged with Augusta Veterinary Hospital to form the Augusta/Valley Animal Hospital. Don has also served on the board of the Augusta SPCA, recently completed a six-year term on the VVMA board of directors, and is a past president of the Blue Ridge Veterinary Medical Association.
Larisa Ann Friesen ‘04 Hall, Washington, D.C., has moved from director of major gifts to chief advancement officer at Sojourners, a ministry of Christians and others in different faith traditions that seeks to explore the intersection of faith, politics, and culture. Hadley Jenner ‘05, GC ‘97, Harrisonburg, Va., works part time as a perioperative nurse, caring for patients both before and after surgery. He also volunteers both at an individual and structural level for local agencies that provide shelter to homeless neighbors and coordinating organizations that connect the local faith community and advocacy for affordable housing. Jason Garber ‘05, Philadelphia, Pa., is now software engineer and co-founder at PromptWorks, a software company that creates handcrafted web applications and online products for other businesses through experience, insight, and creativity. Megan Scott, MA ‘05 (conflict transformation), Alexandria, Va., is a reentry advisor for Offender Aid and Restoration in Arlington, Va. She provides pre-release couseling and conflict resolution and anger management classes for individuals at local jails and the Coffeewood Correctional Facility. She hopes to begin reentry circles for families out of Coffeewood in 2013. Caleb Yoder ‘06, Elkhart, Ind., graduated from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary on May 25 with a master of divinity with a concentration in biblical studies. He will serve with Mennonite Mission Network in Ecuador in a theological education program and pastoral accompaniement in a small house church. Leymah Gbowee, MA ‘07 (conflict transformation), was the keynote speaker for the 2013 Ware Lecture on Peacemaking on April 17, hosted by Elizabethtown College in Pa. She also spoke at Lancaster Mennonite High School to a packed auditorium. Liberian peace activist, trained social worker, and Nobel Peace Laureate, Leymah is the Founder and President of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, head of the Liberia Reconciliation Initiative, and Cofounder and Executive Director of Women Peace Security Network Africa. Elizabeth (Liza) Heavener ‘07, Washington, D.C., recently became senior political action specialist at the American Nurses Association.
Jean de Dieu Tshileu ‘07, BakwaTshileu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, is pursuing plans and hopes to lift his home village in a war-torn part of the Congo from desperate poverty through education and sustainable agriculture. In the last few years, many residents of Woodstock, Vermont, have adopted Jean's village as their own cause, contributing funds for livestock and schoolrooms, seeds and other agricultural aid, and soccer gear (balls, cleats, jerseys). Support has come from students at the Woodstock elementary and high schools, the Woodstock Rotary Club, and The Prince and Pauper Restaurant, hydrogeologist Ray Talkington (who went to Bakwa-Tshileu), and dozens of individual townspeople. In a Dec. 22, 2012, email to his supporters (including folks at Hyattsville Mennonite Church and Shalom Mennonite Fellowship), Jean wrote of improved English-language schooling, 30 acres newly cultivated, a new much-used soccer field, and of collective use of these newly acquired animals: 11 cows, 26 goats, 11 sheep and a few chickens. A pressing need was water, which currently is hauled by hands (usually those of girls) from a distance. Jean returns at least yearly to the USA to connect with his support groups, the main one being "Congo Village School Project." For more information, email cvsp.info@gmail.com. Daniel (Dan) Seifert, MDiv ‘08, Harrisonburg, Va., is providing staff supervision and family engagement practices at Harrisonburg Rockingham Social Services. He has developed a reputation for working with challenging families and youth with trauma and has been identified with strengths in the area of grief counseling, integration of family systems theory, and peacemaking strategies.
2010-
Ben Roth Shank ‘10, Harrisonburg, Va., was named boy’s varsity soccer coach by Eastern Mennonite School (EMS), Harrisonburg, Va. He assumes the role left vacant after Coach Kendal Bauman, MA ‘11 (education), announced his retirement earlier this winter after leading the EMS Flames for 20 years. Ben brings almost two decades of experience to the role as he participated in school and club teams in his adolescence, played for the Royals all four collegiate years, assisted EMU Coach Roger Mast ‘85 with annual Kicks Soccer summer camps, and coached the EMS middle school soccer team in a 9-1 season last fall.
Pushpika (Pushpi) Weerakoon, MA ‘10 (conflict transformation), Colombo, Sri Lanka, received the prestigious Rotary International Avenues of Service Citation award from the Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town. She is the coordinator of the National Reconciliation Secretariat at the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat.
Emily Miller ‘11, Harrisonburg, Va., was one of eight registered nurses at Rockingham Memorial Hospital to receive an Excellence in Nursing Practice award. Emily was honored as the Beginning Practitioner of the Year. To be nominated for an award, a nurse must promote and advance the nursing profession; display a caring commitment to patients, families, and co-workers; and demonstrate leadership. The Excellence in Nursing Practice awards are given annually during National Nurses Week and each recipient receives an engraved customdesigned plaque. Boris Ozuna ‘11 and Rebeca Ozuna Barge ‘09, Washington, D.C., met in Bogota, Colombia, in 2003, while Rebeca was on a service trip to the country and Boris was studying at the Mennonite Seminary. After marrying in 2012, they settled in D.C., though they plan to live in Colombia in the future. Rebeca is the director of education at The Family Place, a non-profit community center that serves low-income families with young children. She oversees programs that include Adult ESL Education & Early Childhood programs for Latino families. She is also completing her MSW at Catholic University, obtaining a dual degree in clinical and social change. Boris is the program coordinator for the morning program at Thrive DC, a non-profit dayprogram for homeless men and women that serves hot meals twice a day and provides showers, laundry, and a variety of case management services. The program serves nearly 200 who come each morning. Boris and Rebeca are members of Hyattsville Mennonite Church. Annette Pinnace '11, Verona, Va., was one of eight registered nurses at Rockingham Memorial Hospital to receive an Excellence in Nursing Practice award. Annette was honored as the Preceptor of the Year. To be nominated for an award, a nurse must promote and advance the nursing profession; display a caring commitment to patients, families, and co-workers; and demonstrate leadership in the nursing profession. The Excellence in Nursing Practice awards are given annually during National Nurses Week. Each recipient receives a custom-designed, engraved plaque. Maria Yoder ‘11, Harrisonburg, Va., a fifth grade teacher at Linville-Edom Elementary School, was one of 24 teachers to receive the Rockingham County Teacher of the Year award. Teachers from each school in the county are chosen by their peers. The Rockingham Educational Foundation honored the teachers at a reception on May 23 at James Madison University. Maria had this to say about the award: “It was a huge honor for me to receive it because I work with such quality and dedicated co-workers. I feel blessed to be in a wonderful school with a great principal.”
MARRIAGES
Jennifer Gutshall ‘03 to Alexander de Jesus Rodriguez Rodriguez, Nov. 23, 2012. Jill Stoltzfus ‘03 to Thushan Hemachandra, July 21, 2012.
Nathan (Nate) ‘02 and Kristen Savanick, Scottdale, Pa., Emily Camille, May 6, 2013. Benjamin (Ben) ‘03 and Sarah Gehman ‘02 Bixler, Harrisonburg, Va., Juliet Irene, April 9, 2013.
Rachel Schlegel ‘07 to Andrew McMaster, April 13, 2013.
Stacey Classen ‘03 and Nate Copenhaver, Stevens, Pa., adopted Jaiel Allen, Feb. 13, 2013.
Jacob Derstine ‘08 to Mandy Neumann, Aug. 4, 2012.
Jeremiah ‘03 and Kristine Denlinger, Telford, Pa., Mila WIdders, Dec. 20, 2012.
Aubrey Bauman ‘08 to Tyler Kreider, May 4, 2013.
Justin ‘04 and Kristin Mishler ‘05 Boer, Lexington, Va., Keegan Thijs Willem, May 22, 2013.
Julie Denlinger ‘09 to Tyler Bushong, Sept. 8, 2012. Nathaniel Hevener ‘09 to Kimberlee McPherson, June 15, 2013. Amy Layman ‘10 to Kyle Ledyard, May 12, 2012. Sarah Beck ‘11 to Justin Weirich, June 22, 2013. Boris Ozuna Urueta ‘11 to Rebeca Barge ‘09, Sept. 15, 2012. J. Matthew Dean ‘11 to Kelly Brewer ‘10, June 8, 2013.
BIRTHS & ADOPTIONS
Paul ‘97 and Elizabeth (Beth) Livengood, Keyser, W.Va., Colton Matthew, OCt. 3, 2012.
Marika Nolt ‘98 and Nathan Gillis, Colorado Springs, Colo., Juliana Avery, June 20, 2012. Atieno Fisher, MA ‘99 (conflict transformation) and Shawn Bird, Washington, D.C., Silas Lochlan, Aug. 30, 2012. Karla Stoltzfus ‘99 and Nathan Detweiler, Iowa City, Iowa, Isaiah Joseph Stoltzfus Detweiler, Feb. 25, 2013. Benjamin ‘99 and Krista Lengacher, Charlotte, N.C., Cruz Rowan, Oct. 23, 2012. Andrew ‘02 and Sara Peifer Nissley ‘01, Philadelphia, Pa., Wren Freeman, May 22, 2013. Carl ‘00 and Kristin Yoder ‘01 Kauffman, Harrisonburg, Va., Martin Yoder, June 29, 2011. Robert (Rob) ‘01 and Rebecca Good ‘01 Fennimore, Lancaster, Pa., Henry David, May 3, 2013. LaVonne Wenger ‘01 and Benjamin Heatwole, Harrisonburg, Va., Adrielle May, April 22, 2013. Wendell Shank ‘02 and Lisa Hawkins ‘04 Shank, Harrisonburg, Va., Titus Joseph Hawkins Shank, Jan. 26, 2013. Amy, MA ‘02 (conflict transformation), and Bart Czajkowski, Culpepper, Va., Peter William, Mar. 25, 2013. Matthew ‘02 and Jeannie Eshleman, Baltimore, Md., Asher David, Feb. 14, 2013.
Laura Helmuth ‘04 and Asa Church, York, Pa., twins, Moses Phillip and Shadrach Thomas, Feb. 28, 2013. Jessica Witmer, class of ‘04, and Nate Gundy, Orrville, Ohio, Caleb Roger, June 10, 2013. Rebecca (Becci) Steury ‘05 and Matthew Anderson, Tampa, Fla., Patrick Matthew, Feb. 16, 2013. Jill Leaman ‘05 and Nate Milton, Lancaster, Pa., Isaac Emmet, May 22, 2013. Matthew (Matt) ‘08 and Debra (Debbie) Keiser ‘08 Swartley, Penn Laird, Va., Carter Joshua, Jan. 10, 2012. Michael ‘09 and Rachel Clemmer ‘09 Charles, Lancaster, Pa., Caleb Elias, Feb. 26, 2013. Theodore, MA ‘13 (conflict transformation) and Sharmilla Peiris Sitther, Takoma Park, Md., Santhosh Jeevan Peiris Sitther, April 10, 2013.
DEATHS
Harold William Wert, HS ‘43, Lititz, Pa., died April 4, 2013, at age 87. He was employed for many years as a milkman for the former Queen Dairy in Lancaster, Pa. before owning and operating a franchise of Archway Cookies. He later worked for Horst Group in construction until his retirement. Among his numerous hobbies were furniture building, automobile engine and body work, and hunting, fishing, and spending time at his family cabin in Galeton, Pa. Harold loved to sing. He was a member at Erisman Mennonite Church in Manheim, Pa., and participated as a song leader there and in other churches throughout his life.
George A Mark, HS ‘48, Goshen, Ind., died May 10, 2013, at age 82. George obtained a medical degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill., then served as medical director for Oaklawn Psychiatric Hospital and volunteered as the physician for missionaries under the Mennonite Board of Missions. Traveling was his favorite hobby. He and his wife, Arlene Miller, HS ‘48, attended over 20 Elderhostels and took many cruises, including river boat trips in Europe. He enjoyed classical music and yearly Shakespeare trips to Stratford, Ontario, Canada.
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David C. Brunk ‘50, Sarasota, Fla., died May 7, 2013, at age 84. He began his adult life as a building contractor and later became a business owner of several laundromats. David was an active member of Bayshore Mennonite Church, where he was involved with music and served as deacon and elder.
Children at the Interfaith Peace Camp donned attire appropriate for each religious site visited. (Photo by Brad Striebig)
Interfaith Peace Camp Promotes Mutual Respect A group of elementary schoolers, grades first through sixth, planted a Gold Star magnolia in front of the city’s mosque June 12. It will grow next to another tree planted by a different, though connected, group of children. Dozens of youths from EMU’s Interfaith Peace Camp planted the first tree a few years ago. It now stands taller than many of the students attending this year’s camp. One of the kids, Kate Weaver, a 9-year-old fourth grader at Linville-Edom Elementary School, said she loves “everything [about Interfaith Peace Camp],” but enjoyed the group’s visit to the Islamic Center of Shenandoah Valley most. The campers also visited the Jewish community’s Beth El Congregation, a Valley Friends Meeting (a Dayton-based Quaker group) and Park View Mennonite Church, among other local religious institutions. This year’s theme at Interfaith Peace Camp, which started as a pilot project in 2008, was “One Tree with Many Branches.” Philip Hart, an 11-year-old seventh-grader at Thomas Harrison Middle School, said he enjoys the camp “because there are lots of fun things to do … and we learn about different traditions.” Ed Martin, director of the Center for Interfaith Engagement, said he believes the camp “demystifies” other religions and “promotes understanding and respect.” Before the tree planting, which symbolizes the interconnectivity of different faiths, the students learned about Islam from some of the mosque members. “Islam is about serving `the other,’” Ibraheem Rasoul explained to the group of about 35 students. “In our community here, regularly we try to serve the greater Harrisonburg area.” Rasoul also explained why Muslims often address each other as “brother” and “sister.” “We’re all essentially from the same grandfather and grandmother, and we’re all brothers and sisters.” His message resonated with Weaver, who said, “The coolest thing that I’ve learned so far is that all these churches communicate with [each other, but] they have different Bibles. — Candace Sipos, excerpted with permission from an article published June 15, 2013, in The Daily News Record (Harrisonburg, Va.)
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Elton Moshier ‘52, New Holland, Pa., died March 27, 2013, at age 87. He taught economics and social studies at Lancaster Mennonite High School for 30 years before retiring in 1982. Among other passions, he sold New York maple syrup from his hometown in Lewis County, N.Y., at his stand in Central Market. He was a member of East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church and was involved in a variety of ministries within the Mennonite church throughout his life. Elton and his late wife, Rosa Yoder Moshier, class of ‘52, enjoyed nature and spent a number of years traveling and camping in their RV. James Goering ‘59, Dayton, Va., died May 31, 2012, at age 79. He was ordained to the ministry in 1969, served as pastor in a number of congregations, and was a member of Peake Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Va. James taught at Mathias High School, Bridgewater College, Berea Christian School, and at various Bible schools. He additionally raised poultry on his farm in Dayton, Va. Frank E. Nice ‘62, Harrisonburg, Va., died of Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia on April 23, 2013, at age 80. He was a minister for over 50 years and supplemented his family income with his skills as a carpenter, draftsman, and wood worker. His ministry allowed him to serve in a variety of places along the east coast as pastor, bishop, and overseer for the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Potomac District, and Ohio District of Virginia Mennonite Conference. Upon retirement, Frank served on the pastoral care team for two years at Lindale Mennonite Church, where he was a member, and on various other churchrelated committees, including the EMU board of trustees. Harold C. Miller ‘70, Goshen, Ind., died June 3, 2013, at age 70. A self-employed carpenter, a pastor at Kingman Mennonite Church in Kingman, Kan., and an avid hunter and fisher, Harold was a man of many passions. He enjoyed being active in his church, spending time with his family, and studying the Bible, while encouraging others in their faith. Robert T. Howell ‘70, Lynchburg, Va., died May 17, 2013, at age 66. After graduating from EMU, Robert taught in Iowa before settling in Lynchburg, Va. His career included retail sales and education. Working as a substitute teacher in the Lynchburg City Schools was one of his joys. He was dedicated to this work and continued even after becoming ill. He considered the teachers and administrators not only his colleagues, but his friends. He was a historian and avid researcher. He delighted in making history come alive for others. As such, he was part of several reenactments
of both the Civil and Revolutionary Wars. A talented craftsman, Robert made period clothing and reproduction furniture and enjoyed metal crafting. He shared this talent with others by assisting them in gathering items needed to do reenacting. Laurence (Larry) A. Martin, class of ‘73, Saint Jacobs, Ontario, Canada, died May 20, 2013, at age 63. Larry was general manager of The Stone Crock Inc. for 22 years. He then went on to found and serve as innkeeper at Best Western St. Jacobs Country Inn for 12 years. He lived vigorously, was involved in many community initiatives, and was actively involved in Elmira Mennonite Church. Larry had a passion for the environment, fundraising, golfing, and world travel. Miguel Rivera-Wenger ‘76, Hinton, Va., died May 14, 2012, at age 73. A diligent worker, his careers included teaching Spanish at elementary, secondary, and collegiate levels; teaching and practicing nursing; and directing several nursing homes. Beverly Sulc ‘84 Bourne, Johns Creek, Ga, died on March 21, 2013, at age 52 after fighting bile duct cancer for almost two years. After graduating with a degree in N\ nursing, Beverly served at Emory University Midtown Hospital for 27 years, where her love for her Savior made her a beloved coworker. Beverly enjoyed an active lifestyle, playing tennis for many years. She was an active member of Perimeter Church in the metro Atlanta area. Degree Key CLASS OF - attended as part of the class of a given graduation year. HS - high school degree from era when high school and college were one MA - master of arts MDiv - master of divinity SEM - attended the seminary
Mileposts is compiled by Braydon Hoover '11, who may be reached at braydon.hoover@emu.edu or at 540-4324294. send news directly to braydon or to alumni@emu.edu.
Editorial Policy Milepost entries regarding alumni employment, degrees obtained from other universities, marriages, 50-year and 60-year anniversaries, births, adoptions, and deaths are printed on the basis of submissions from alumni or on the basis of publicly available information. We do not do further research to verify the accuracy of the information that alumni provide us, nor do we make judgment calls on the information that they wish to be published, beyond editing for clarity, conciseness and consistency of style. The information provided to us does not necessarily reflect the official policies of EMU or of its parent church, Mennonite Church USA.
photo Courtesy Mildred Hostetter
The Journey To Accounting, as Seen In My Neighbors’ Lives The spring 2013 issue of Crossroads (emu. edu/crossroads) centered on alumni working with "numbers," predominantly in accounting. This is a follow-up essay. No more than 25 feet north of my home (I live almost adjacent to EMU) resides one of the best neighbors a person could have, Mildred Heacock Hostetter. She graduated from what was then Eastern Mennonite College (EMC) in 1950. Mildred married John Jacob Hostetter Jr., whose desire to study business-accounting prompted him to transfer from EMC to Madison College (now James Madison University) for his last two years of school, finishing with a BS in business in 1956. Mildred tells me that EMC’s idea of teaching business in the late 1940s and early 1950s was instruction in typing and bookkeeping. John taught courses in accounting, economics and business administration during 1956-57 at EMC, then headed to Indiana University where he earned an MBA with a focus on accounting in 1962. The following year he became a CPA. He taught accounting part time at Goshen College, while maintaining an accounting practice serving Goshen and vicinity. His professional brochure from that period said, “Since 1962 our business has been helping others achieve.” He stressed the importance of estate planning and the value of deferred charitable giving. Mildred recalls that EMC president Myron Augsburger invited John in the late 1960s to return to his original alma mater to teach, but John felt that EMC still didn’t value business as a career – and thus had little incentive to provide quality instruction in business and accounting – and he passed up the invitation. In 1983, John died of a heart attack, leaving behind Mildred and seven children, including two EMU alumni, Beverly ’73 and Alden ’79 (in medical school then), plus two sons enrolled in EMC, Loren ’85 and J. Eric ’88. Daughter Ardith ’90, was enrolled in Hesston when her father died. Mildred says the family benefited from her husband’s financial expertise and fore-
In a 1959 photo, accountant John Hostetter (center) posed with his wife Mildred and oldest four children: (clockwise from John) Vaughn, Alden, David and Beverly.
sight – he ensured that they would not be homeless, destitute and uneducated without him. Two decades after John Hostetter’s era as an EMC undergraduate, Daniel H. Martin ’69 had better luck studying business at EMC. He majored in “general business” – taking every accounting course EMC offered, from basic to advanced, augmented by courses like “business law” and “office machines” – but EMC still didn’t offer a major in accounting, with instruction in auditing. Dan had to pursue his CPA on his own later, after graduating from EMC and after doing voluntary service with Mennonite Central Committee for two years. In his first 14 years as an accountant, Dan worked for a Staunton firm. In 1985, he returned to Harrisonburg and became a partner in what is now known as Martin, Beachy & Arehart, PLLC.* One of the other three partners is also an alumnus, R. Scott Beachy ’88, who majored in accounting just a few years after that became an option at EMC. Martin and Beachy work in what was once a gracious home, now renovated into attractive offices, fronted by clear signage on busy N. High St., just a mile and a half from EMU. It’s a street corner that I pass at least three times a week as I head toward Community Mennonite Church, Rocking R Hardware, Greenberry’s Coffee * Martin, Beachy & Arehart, PLLC, provides strategically oriented business advice and a wide range of services, including accounting and auditing, income tax preparation and related planning issues, and long-term business planning.
or downtown Harrisonburg. In contrast to the cumbersome adding machines with rolls of paper that John Hostetter used at the beginning of his career (see one in the photo on page 4), the technological resources of Martin, Beachy & Arehart have made their operations largely paperless. On a personal level, though, one thing has not changed. Like the Hostetters, Dan and Scott have entrusted their children’s education to EMU. The first-born child of Daniel and his wife Ruth Ann, Jonathan Daniel, is a 1997 graduate who is a legislative budget analyst for the State of Maryland. Their daughter, Nicole Ann Stark, is a 2001 nursing graduate who directs student health services at the University of Pittsburgh, Bradford. (She is married to Zachary Stark ’02 who many will remember as a member of the men’s volleyball team from 1998 to 2002.) Scott and his wife Jodi Gerber Beachy ’89, who teaches grade 5 at Eastern Mennonite School, have two children currently enrolled at EMU – Emma, a rising junior who is majoring in biology, and Ryan, a rising sophomore who is who is majoring in accounting, as his father did. “The education I received from EMU gave me a strong base from which to operate,” says Scott by way of explaining his loyalty to his alma mater. “Although it’s been many years since I sat in an EMU classroom, I still remember the integrity displayed by all of the professors with whom I interacted.” — Bonnie Price Lofton, MA '04, editor www.emu.edu | crossroads | 29
ALUMNI AWARD WINNERS
Alum of the Year
Leaman HolisticallyTreats InnerCity Patients in ‘Intense’ Situations In one typical afternoon at his health clinic, Tim Leaman ’93, MD, treated a 9-year-old with a sexually transmitted disease, examined an HIV patient who was in tears about upcoming cancer surgery, and counseled a colleague who was overwhelmed by the needs around her. Leaman is the site medical director at the Kensington Avenue office of the Esperanza Health Center in the economically disadvantaged neighborhood of North Philadelphia. Patients are often in “intense” situations of abject poverty, he says, lacking health insurance while struggling with substance abuse, domestic violence, and HIV-AIDS. Esperanza is the Spanish word for “hope,” Leaman explains. But it’s not the kind of wishful hope he has for the success of his Philadelphia sports teams, he laughs. It is a deep, abiding faith that comes from waiting on God. The health center, a Christian organization, is holistic in its approach, offering spiritual, social, and emotional support as well as medical help. The center meets the needs of its patients through an interdisciplinary team that includes nutritionists, 30 | crossroads | summer 2013
dentists, nurses, counselors, and social workers as well as family doctors like Leaman. Leaman grew up in Philadelphia, where he saw many models of selfless Christian service, including his church-worker parents. “It’s important to me to be in a place where I can make a difference in people’s lives.” He wasn’t always convinced, though, that he would be a physician and that he would work in his hometown. But his professors influenced him to major in biology and minor in missions. He credits the YES program of Eastern Mennonite Missions for instilling a life lesson and a critical skill that he needs in his current work – relying on God’s help and speaking Spanish. Leaman returned to Philadelphia to study at Temple University School of Medicine. He started at Esperanza in 2001. He and his wife Jen and three children are active at Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, where Tim completed 11 years as council chair last year. They live two blocks from Tim’s boyhood home. What keeps Leaman going? “Time alone with God in the practices of solitude and prayer have helped me maintain spiritual vitality and to know God’s heart for our city and my patients,” he says. “Also, transformations in the lives of church friends, neighbors, and patients give me hope and inspiration in the midst of significant challenges.” — Stories by Steve Shenk '73
Homecoming and Family Weekend 2013 Homecoming and Family Weekend 2012 Outstanding Young Alum
Distinguished Service Award
Peachey Devotes Life to Native Peoples in Remote Areas
Castillo Campaigns for Immigration Reform
Ezra T. Peachey ’54 (Seminary '56) left his home in Belleville, Pa., in 1959 to drive 2½ days to remote northwestern Ontario. His initial mission, along with his wife Nannie and her sister and father, was to organize a two-week summer Bible school for native peoples in the small town of Red Lake at the end of a gravel road. The two-week stint turned into 46 years, and Ezra and Nannie did not return to their native Belleville until 2005. During that time they raised three sons among the indigenous people, now called First Nations. The only other jobs Peachey ever had were two years of churchrelated voluntary service in Puerto Rico before college and two years of teaching at Belleville Mennonite School after graduation. In Red Lake Peachey taught at Red Lake Indian School and started churches. The First Nations people that he worked with came from the Ojibwa and Cree reserves. After the school closed in the late 1960s, Ezra established Red Lake Bible School to train future pastors and others. Peachey mentored two First Nations Christians who returned to their reserves to start churches. “I wanted to stay in touch with them and others, but I couldn’t reach them by road,” he said. “So I got my pilot’s license, and our mission bought a plane.” For 20 years he flew a Cessna 180. For 15 years Peachey headed a mission group of a dozen conservative Mennonite missionaries who worked in several towns in the area. Many of the missionaries and their children settled in the area after their terms were finished. They took jobs as teachers, pilots, or mechanics or worked in the two main local industries, logging and gold mining. “Ezra modeled healthy indigenous principles for younger missionaries,” said Clair Schnupp ’59, a colleague and former EMU Distinguished Service Award winner. “An unassuming man, he was gifted in discipling leaders cross-culturally in powerful ways. He seemed to be ahead of his time.”
Still in her 20s, Isabel Castillo ’07 is already a nationally recognized leader of the immigrationlaw reform movement in the United States. She was the commencement speaker at the University of San Francisco, was called one of “the 21 brave thinkers of 2011” by Atlantic magazine, and was featured prominently in the New York Times. Risking deportation to her native Mexico, Castillo is publicly campaigning for sweeping changes in the way the U.S. deals with its 11 million undocumented residents. She is especially promoting a bill in the U.S. Congress – the DREAM Act – that would help people like herself who were brought to America as children by undocumented parents. DREAM stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors. When she spoke at the University of San Francisco in 2011, Castillo received an honorary doctorate “for unwavering advocacy for the passage for the DREAM Act.” She was the youngest EMU graduate ever to win an honorary doctorate. A standout student at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater, Va., Castillo faced bleak prospects for college and employment when she graduated. Many colleges do not admit undocumented students and most employers will not hire someone like her. She does not have a Social Security number. EMU admitted Castillo, but she struggled to pay her way, since undocumented students do not qualify for the usual loans and scholarships. However she managed to graduate in 3½ years with the highest academic honors, earning a degree in social work. Now she travels widely to speak and campaign while working as a server in a family restaurant in Harrisonburg. After speaking with Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia recently, he told Castillo’s story on the floor of the U.S. Senate during debate on an immigration bill. “Every day about 1,000 undocumented immigrants get deported from the U.S.,” she says. “Deportations should end while Congress tries to pass immigration reform.” “I haven’t worked with any other young alum who has accomplished as much as Isabel in such a short period of time,” says Jen Litwiller ’94, EMU’s director of career services. “She has the odds stacked against her and yet she continues to persist and successfully advocate for her cause.”
photo by michael sheeler
photo by jon styer
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