Campus News

CAMPUS NEWS

From left: Lisa McNair, sister of Denise McNair who was one of the four girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, addresses the Messiah chapel audience Jan. 18. The country of Wales donated a stained glass window, later known as the Wales Window of Alabama, to the church after the bombing. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the eulogy for the four girls: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Morris Wesley, Carole Robertson and Densie McNair.

SPEAKER’S LIFE ALTERED BY 1963 BOMBING

MESSIAH HOSTS LISA MCNAIR, SISTER OF 1 OF 4 GIRLS KILLED IN BIRMINGHAM CHURCH

Meet Lisa McNair, the younger sister of Denise McNair—one of the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. She was born almost a year to the day after the bombing.

As part of the 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Events Series at Messiah, McNair served as the guest speaker at Common Chapel and Evening Chapel Jan. 18. As she showed the slides of her PowerPoint presentation, she paused as she showed a photo of the devastation of that infamous day.

“In this picture, you see history,” she said, “but I see family members.”

She says her late parents, devastated by the loss, chose to love instead of hate. Her father was an elder in the Lutheran church across town, another church that proved pivotal in the McNairs’ lives.

“He went to his own church. He was a Lutheran. The membership of that church was … about 200-300 people, and everybody was African-American except for 5 people: the pastor [Joseph Ellwanger], his wife and three kids,” she said. “They gave us the opportunity to learn that all whites didn’t hate us. All white people didn’t want to kill us, and some of them wanted to be our friend. Daddy was an elder in his church, and the Ellwangers were at our house all the time, and we were at their house all the time. So it was a wonderful gift from God to have that.”

JUSTICE DELAYED Although one of the bombers was brought to justice in 1977, there were 4-5 men who had been implicated. In 1997, director Spike Lee made the documentary “Four Little Girls,” which brought new attention to the tragedy.

“This documentary started a dialogue of people saying, ‘Well, what about the other people? What happened to them? Why in 1997 have they not been arrested?’ So the FBI reopened the case, and in 2001 and 2002 the last two people living were convicted of having murdered the four girls. That’s 2001 and 2002, and they were killed in 1963. Think about that,” said McNair.

As she closed her address, McNair asked the audience to remember the four girls’ names: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Morris Wesley, Carole Robertson and Denise McNair.

“They were people that really existed, that made the ultimate sacrifice, whose family lost a child that they’d never get back,” said McNair. “Many of our civil rights stories are not mentioned in our history books. They’re footnotes. They might be a sentence or two or a short paragraph, but these were people who suffered and stories we need to know. They’re our shared American history.”

— Anna Seip

“THEY MIGHT BE A SENTENCE OR TWO OR A SHORT PARAGRAPH, BUT THESE WERE PEOPLE WHO SUFFERED AND STORIES WE NEED TO KNOW. THEY’RE OUR SHARED AMERICAN HISTORY.”

— Lisa McNair

Soccer Shots establishes scholarship for Messiah University OT and PT graduate students

PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO THOSE WHO COACH Soccer Shots (Harrisburg/York) has established an applied health sciences scholarship for Messiah University graduate or graduate-bound students in the occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) programs.

Jason ’98 and Mandy Webb ’98, owners of Soccer Shots, established the scholarship to support their coaches who are also full-time students in OT and PT programs at Messiah.

“We’ve found that PT and OT students can be a great fit with their passion for helping and caring for children and their families,” said Mandy Webb. “The experiences and opportunities that they will have working at Soccer Shots complements what they are learning and growing in professionally during graduate school.”

The scholarship will provide financial assistance to Soccer Shots employees who have coached at least one season and who are Messiah University graduate students in the Master of Occupational Therapy or Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. The scholarship is also open to graduate-bound juniors and seniors in Messiah’s early assurance or accelerated PT or OT program. The award is granted three times per year and up to five recipients may be awarded for each of the three awards. “This scholarship is a great example of how the Messiah community supports one another,” said Jennifer Fisler, dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at Messiah University. “It provides our students with scholarship money and the opportunity to work with a nationally recognized company and allows the Webbs to give back to their alma mater while employing coaches that support their mission.” Soccer Shots is a children’s soccer program with a focus on character development. The company seeks to provide caring coaches who positively impact children’s lives on and off the field through best-in-class coaching, communication and curriculum. — Staff report TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SOCCER SHOTS APPLIED HEALTH SCIENCES SCHOLARSHIP, GO TO MESSIAH.EDU/GRADSCHOLARSHIPS. At the Alumni Awards Dinner March 28, the following guests received honors. They are (from left): George and Barbara Parmer, Alumni Appreciation Award; Wendell Gehman ’89, Alumni Christian Service Award; Glenn Focht ’86, Distinguished Alumnus Achievement Award; and Shauna Nefos-Webb ’04, Young Alumna Achievement Award.

WELCOME CENTER WINS AWARD FOR CONSTRUCTION

PROJECT GARNERS NATIONAL HONOR

The Kim S. Phipps Admissions and Welcome Center, built by Pyramid Construction Services, LLC, earned a national Excellence in Construction (EIC) Pyramid Award March 16. The EIC awards are the construction industry’s leading national competition that honors general and specialty contractors for world-class, safe and innovative construction projects from across the nation.

“The Pyramid team was excellent to work with – from planning to completion. They worked side by side with us, and you could easily see the pride they take in their work. The project had numerous challenges: a COVID shutdown, constructing a building with curved walls in the center of campus with everyone passing by on an hourly basis, utilities running all through the site and the need to save mature trees. This award is deserving of a company that works hard to be sure their client gets the best building,” said Kathie Shafer, Messiah’s vice president for operations.

The project involved the construction of a 28,000-squarefoot, 3-story admissions building positioned among existing structures. The result was the first new standalone building on campus in more 20 years combined with green space now known as the Campus Commons.

The EIC award honors the construction team, including the contractor, owner, architect and engineer. The winning projects are judged on complexity, attractiveness, unique challenges overcome, completion time, workmanship, innovation and safety.

— Staff report