Total contributions were $5,627,312, up $744,555 from fiscal year 2010.

“We are pleased that giving to the University Fund has remained strong, even as donors have begun making significant capital commitments to our campaign for the new Suter Science Complex,” said Dr. Fred Kniss, provost and acting president of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ. “We are also quite fortunate to have an especially loyal core group of alumni and donors who persisted with steadfast support amidst continuing softness in the economy,” Kniss added.

Contributions to the University Fund totaled $1,818,000, an increase of nearly two percent over last year. 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s University Fund provides annual operating support for the institution as well as merit and need-based financial aid to students.

According to Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement, 91¶ÌÊÓƵ received several substantial gifts that made the difference in total giving for the fiscal year. “We successfully completed a $2.5 million theater and fine arts campaign.  Over $520,000 of these funds were received during the year.  This includes naming gifts for a new studio theater, art gallery and advanced media lab,” said Shisler.

Several substantial contributions were also received in support of a campaign to raise funds for a new science facility at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ. “We are in the early phases of fundraising, and anticipate that several years of intensive effort will be required to reach our goal for this major project,” said Shisler.

It was also a strong year for bequests at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ.  Gifts from the estates of 19 donors  amounted to nearly $1.1 million, an increase of 57 percent over the previous year.

“We are very grateful for the continued strong support for 91¶ÌÊÓƵ in the midst of difficult economic times.  We view this as an affirmation of the importance of our university’s mission,” said Kniss.

Total contributions to 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, including restricted gifts and grants, totaled $4,857,757 compared with $6,194,442 in 2009.

"The decrease in total giving is largely due to a windfall bequest of $1 million 91¶ÌÊÓƵ received last year," noted 91¶ÌÊÓƵ President Loren Swartzendruber. noted.

"In recent years, total philanthropic support has hovered around $5 million per year, so this past year has been more typical in that regard. Overall, it was a good year for 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, especially given the continued softness of the economy," the president said.

Over $3 million in restricted gifts and bequests was contributed in support of special projects in both the undergraduate and graduate programs as well as for endowment.

According to Kirk L. Shisler, vice president for advancement, 91¶ÌÊÓƵ received several substantial gifts that made the difference in total giving for the fiscal year.

"We successfully completed a $2.4 million theater and fine arts campaign with nearly $500,000 of these funds received during the 2009-10 fiscal year. This includes $146,000 that was contributed to establish a studio theater in memory of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ alumnus Lee Eshleman," Shisler reported.

91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) was the recipient of several large grants this past year, including $200,000 in special project support from the Kellogg Foundation for the ", a program focused on racial reconciliation among descendants of slaves and slave owners.

91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s endowment fund also received a boost in new contributions of $667,000 during the year. Scholarship support for business and science students were among several program areas that benefited from these new contributions to the endowment fund.

"We are extremely grateful for the widespread support 91¶ÌÊÓƵ received in what has been a very challenging economic environment for fundraising," Swartzendruber said.

James Lyon, violinist, and Timothy Shafer, pianist, will play contrasting selections by Mozart, his “B-flat Sonata,” featuring embellished dialogue between piano and violin, and Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata,” characterized by fiery virtuosity and musical one-upmanship between the two instruments.

The duo will also perform two smaller musical gems from the Far East – “Birds in Warped Time” by Somei Satoh, a piece of tranquil reflection, and Shuhu Xu’s “Song of the Fisherman,” a classic Chinese fish story of the big one that got away.

Lyon and Shafer first met at Penn State University in 1991, where they teach studio violin and studio piano, respectively. Lyon has appeared as soloist with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, the Dallas Ballet and the Amarillo, Genesee, Hershey, Nittany Valley and Altoona symphonies.

Lyon is a graduate of West Texas State University, North Carolina School of the Arts and Eastman School of Music. He also has served on the faculties of the Eastern Music Festival, West Texas State University, and Indiana University Southeast, as well as summer appointments at The Quartet Program at Bucknell University and the University of Siena.

Shafer earned his undergraduate degree in piano performance from the Oberlin Conservatory and received masters and doctoral degrees in piano performance from Indiana University. He is an active performer, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the country for professional music organizations and colleges and is a frequent soloist with many regional orchestras.

Their performances have taken the musicians to South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City. Their compact disc recording, “Outstanding in Our Field,” features works by Stravinsky, Debussy and Strauss. Their performances and recordings have been hailed by The New York Concert Review and Strings Magazine.

Admission to the program is free; donations are welcomed for the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ music student scholarship fund.

Learn more about music at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ

The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ campus community responded to an annual appeal from the department of applied social sciences to purchase gifts with $985 in contributions.

Stephanie DeHart, a senior social work major from Roanoke, Va., gets wrapped up in her work. Photo by Jim Bishop

Around 15 students, all social work majors, used the funds to purchase clothing and toys from local retail outlets and wrapped the gifts.

Student organizers worked from names and “wish lists” of children sponsored for special services by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Department of Social Services (DSS).

The group’s original fund goal was $750 this year. When it appeared that the goal wouldn’t be met, organizers made a second campus wide appeal. The original goal was surpassed, and student organizers had the “problem” of going back to Social Services for several more names.

“Every year this project touches a soft spot in my heart,” said Krista D. Burkholder, who helped organize this year’s effort under the auspices of the student organization, Social Work is People (SWIP). Burkholder is a senior social work major from Lancaster, Pa.

91¶ÌÊÓƵ social work students (l. to r.) Stephanie DeHart, Roanoke, Va.; Anna Woelk, Hillsboro, Kan., Marsha Kanagy, Timberville, Va., and Anna Woelk, Hillsboro, Kan., prepare to gift-wrap presents for delivery to the Harrisonburg- Rockingham Department of Social Services. Photo by Jim Bishop

“This service project offers a tangible way for students to help respond to local needs while it his demonstrates what a generous, caring community 91¶ÌÊÓƵ is,” Burkholder said. “I’m thankful to be part of it.”

The presents will be delivered in time for distribution at the Social Service department’s annual “Visit With Santa” Christmas party on Saturday, Dec. 12.

“We are extremely grateful for the widespread support 91¶ÌÊÓƵ received in what has been a very challenging economic environment for fundraising,” said 91¶ÌÊÓƵ president Loren Swartzendruber.

Gifts to 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s annual fund – known as the University Fund – totaled $1.73 million compared with $1.85 million in 2008 for a decline of 6.9% in unrestricted support. “The shortfall in annual giving is cause for some concern,” said Dr. Swartzendruber. “However, given the larger picture it is very understandable. A number of our alumni and donor friends have experienced economic hardship, and so naturally some have felt compelled to reduce their support.”

In a show of support for 91¶ÌÊÓƵ students, 126 faculty and staff made extra contributions during the year to help offset some of the losses in endowment revenue. Together with some 60 alumni and trustees, $128,000 was given and pledged to establish an Emergency Student Aid Fund. Proceeds from this fund will be awarded as financial aid to students during the 2009-10 academic year.

In the area of designated gifts and grants, 91¶ÌÊÓƵ had one of its best years in the past decade. Nearly $3.4 million was contributed in support of special projects in both the undergraduate and graduate programs as well as for endowment.

According to Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement, 91¶ÌÊÓƵ received several substantial gifts that made the difference in total giving for the fiscal year. “A gift of $971,000 from the estate of Dr. Paul Hill of Virginia was the single largest gift to 91¶ÌÊÓƵ this past year,” Shisler said, noting that the Hill gift will support 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s endowment fund as well as provide financial aid to pre-med students in 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s science program.

91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) received nearly $800,000 in special project support from a variety of sources, including Church World Service, Fetzer Institute, Kellogg Foundation, The Ploughshares Fund and Compton Foundation. Substantial grants were made to other 91¶ÌÊÓƵ programs as well, including an award of $132,000 from The Virginia College Fund and $117,000 for 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s nursing program from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation.

Additional restricted gifts and grants in the $25,000 to $50,000 range benefited 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s music and scholarship programs as well as two new programs at Eastern Mennonite Seminary to provide online instruction and an Hispanic studies initiative.

“It is a special privilege to walk with our students as we prepare them to serve and lead in a global context,” Swartzendruber said. “Our mission simply could not be fulfilled without the involvement of those who are excited about what our graduates are doing all over the world.”