The Flame YOUR MOUNT VERNON NAZARENE UNIVERSITY NEWSLETTER 800 Martinsburg Road, Mount Vernon, OH 43050
Fall 2018 mvnu.edu • 1-800-367-9294
Rev. James Smith Appointed Vice President for University Relations By Rev. James Smith, M.A.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University has always held a special place in my heart and in the story of my family. My journey with MVNU really began before I was born, when my uncle Ken Smith (’70) enrolled as a part of the Pioneer Class. My dad, Jim Smith (’72) was a sophomore in high school and followed in his older brother’s footsteps two years later. He met a lovely young freshman, Terri (Clouse ’85) Smith the following year and promptly convinced her to marry him and go with him to continue his education at Nazarene Bible College. After several years they returned to MVNU in the fall of 1982 to finish their four-year degrees, but now they had two kids in tow.
My sister, Sunshine (Smith ’97) Sullivan and I (’99) roamed the halls and grounds of this campus over the next three years. We would go to classes with our parents during holiday breaks or after school let out each day. I can still recall Dr. David Cubie calling on me when none of the students were willing to answer his question, but my hand shot up with the answer. We would do our homework in the old library, under the watchful eye of Marv Hoffert. I can vividly remember his office, the cars on his shelves that he let me play with when I got bored, and the way everyone took turns spoiling me. We would attend chapel when we weren’t in school as well, in the old multi-purpose building, and I can still hear the sound of rain on that metal roof drowning out whatever was happening on the makeshift stage. One of my favorite things was the community garden, where faculty, staff, students and their kids worked side by side weeding, watering and picking food. I loved growing up on this campus during my early elementary years. I loved the way students, faculty and staff invested in me. I loved being a part of the community of MVNU and it planted a seed in me for this place and these people.
When my sister and I returned for our college education, a lot had changed. Chapel was now in a new and vastly different building, the R.R. Hodges Chapel Auditorium and Fine Arts Center. Our classes were in that building, along with other brand-new buildings like the Free Enterprise Business Center (now Jetter School of Business) and the soon to be renovated former library in Hyson Campus Center. Following my freshman year, we both helped move that library across the sidewalk and into the new Thorne Library and Learning Resource Center. There were dozens of new apartments across campus and our community garden had now become the varsity soccer field. The things that had not changed included the heart of this place and these people. We were welcomed, taught, led and mentored by the same caliber of godly men and women who provided that type of care to our parents during their time at MVNU.
“The things that had not changed included the heart of this place and these people.”
OUR MOTTO: TO SEEK TO LEARN IS TO SEEK TO SERVE
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