Day: July 14, 2016
A highlight on Calvin Shenk
Calvin Shenk ’59 does not have to face the existential question of whether he would be willing to die in a nonviolent act to save the life of another person. He would. The test came in 1985. Shenk and his wife Marie were leading an EMU group that was staying temporarily in a Palestinian community … More
Albert Keim: cross-cultural visionary
The world is a laboratory for study. It provides alternatives, new possibilities and challenges…it is learning for life. –Al Keim EMU’s cross-cultural program may never have come to be, had it not been for the efforts of Albert Keim ’63, dean of students from 1977 to 1984. Keim had a passion for education, service and … More
An essay on the advent of the accounting major at EMU
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 … More
Tales from the Suter Science Center
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 … More
The continuing legacy of the Augsburgers
From the mid-1960s through the 1970s – encompassing 15 years of great social change within Eastern Mennonite College and beyond – theologian Myron Augsburger (BA ’55, BTh ’58) led this institution of higher education. “As a well-known evangelist, Myron had the vision and stature to guide EMC from being a rather insular school – one … More
County Registrar Doug Geib to monitor Albanian election
Doug Geib isn’t going into completely unfamiliar territory next week when he travels to Albania to serve as an elections monitor. Geib, voter registrar for Rockingham County, visited the former communist nation in 1996, when it was holding its second presidential election since the socialist state dissolved in 1991. Around that time, Geib had been … More
The Walking Roots Band gives old hymns new life
The Walking Roots Band, a Harrisonburg, Virginia-based band made up of primarily Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) graduates, is taking centuries-old hymn texts and putting them to music that is accessible and appealing to younger Christians. Their first album “Shelter: A Hymn Reclamation Project” was released in June 2013. “There are many really meaningful texts in … More
Amanda Gross knitting community in Pittsburgh
One Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) alum plans to bomb Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Bridge next month – with miles of yarn. More than a year of work involving thousands of volunteers will culminate in the “yarn bomb” that will clothe the bridge in a massive, colorful art project. Amanda Gross, 29, who graduated from EMU’s Center … More
Recent pro Dom Porter takes over men’s volleyball program
Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) announces Dominick Porter as its new head men’s volleyball coach. Porter, a 2007 graduate of the EMU program, will be the eighth head coach in the 24 seasons since men’s volleyball started in 1991. An all-conference performer during his collegiate playing days, Porter continued improving after college and went on to … More
Formerly homeless and drug addicted, father of three completes graduate degree
In 2005 Nathaniel Daniel had lost everything. He was jobless, homeless, addicted to drugs, and involved in criminal activity. His wife had left him, taking their three children with her. This year he will graduate from Eastern Mennonite Seminary with a master of divinity degree. “We are never beyond God’s reach,” says Daniel. “We are … More
Helmuth named Valley Fundraiser of the Year
Phil Helmuth sees no contradiction between his two longtime professions: ordained Mennonite minister and fundraiser for Mennonite-backed causes. Both roles are relationship-based and mission-oriented, he says. Phil grew up in Arcola, Ill., where his father owned a farm-machinery business. He enrolled in Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) for 1972-73, married fellow undergraduate Loretta Kuhns in August … More
Joseph Martin retraces his path to Harvard medical dean
Joseph Martin, a native of Canada and an Eastern Mennonite University graduate, credits a firm foundation in reality, tempered with plenty of humor, as the cornerstone of his tenure as head of one the nation’s most prestigious medical schools. Martin shared nearly 50 years of medical school wit and wisdom with about 75 people at … More