Stella G. Knicely, 72, of Mount Crawford, passed away Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, at her home. A graveside service was Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, at Pike Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg with Linden Rhodes officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Gideons International, PO Box 734, Harrisonburg, VA 22803.

Memories shared in the comments below will be passed on to her family.

***

Many of us who knew Stella Knicely, longtime administrative secretary of 91����Ƶ’s physical plant, will remember her just as she appears in the feature image above: a slight woman dwarfed by a very large desk and counter, but clearly in charge of everything within her view, more than a little forbidding when you stopped in to pick up a key or or sign out a university vehicle.

Surely, many of us also will smile and nod at learning that Braydon Hoover, who knew Stella both as a student and then in his various roles in the Advancement division, considered it a personal triumph if a joking remark earned the reward of her smile. “I always tried,” Hoover said, “and didn’t always succeed, but when I did, her smile would light up the room.” 

Thanks to former colleagues Eldon Kurtz and Ed Lehman for these photos, which tell their own story of Stella at 91����Ƶ.  

There’s Stella with President Loren Swartzendruber, who made the trip down to the Physical Plant to present her with a plaque in recognition of her years of service because she demurred wider recognition. Her smile is delightful and the fact that a photographer was present to take this photo tells us that her colleagues were just as delighted for her.

And the pancake-flipping? When she retired in 2015, after more than 22 years of service, Stella shared her party with colleague Lewis Driver and insisted on flipping pancakes on the grill to stay out of the spotlight. 

Finally, there’s the photo of Stella with a tea set gifted to her by her physical plant colleagues. Eldon recalls that family was all-important to Stella, and that sharing tea parties with family members was an important and treasured tradition. The 91����Ƶ tea set was, then, also a gift from family.

Eldon remembers Stella as dependable, professional, a stickler for detail and protocols, and with a concern for justice and fairness. “Her colleagues who interacted with her over time came to appreciate her honesty, sense of humor, sensitivity and kindness,” he said. 

Her sterling qualities, especially her capacity to show and share grace, helped her weather many changes in the Physical Plant, and at the university, from 1992 to 2015, Eldon noted, including “a supervisor who was very different from her.”

“Her insights, challenges, and support” were of great value during the 17 years they worked together, “much to my benefit as well as that of the university.”  

Among his cherished memories are moments of deep fellowship, raising candid conversations about faith, hopes and fears with Stella and colleague Loretta Helmuth over the office counter. Stella took those times to heart and offered not only a listener’s heart and counsel if needed but sometimes more: “When Stella said she would pray about something, you knew it was happening.” 

Ed, who was assistant director under Kurtz and now serves as director of the renamed Facilities Management, shares similar memories: “She was very professional with a bit of humor once you got to know her. Always a stickler for following process and policy, she was very organized and knowledgeable about our campus, its faculty and staff, and had a genuine servant’s heart. Her gracious spirit endeared her to those of us who worked closely with her, and she had a way of keeping us at our best, most of the time.”

Stella is survived by five sisters, Hazel Shirk of Rockingham, Rhoda Showalter and husband, Larry, of Seneca Rocks, W.Va., Fay Brubaker and husband, Harold, of Harrisonburg, Mabel Knicely of Mount Crawford and Elsie Showalter and husband, Robert, of Broadway; and two brothers, Boyd Knicely and wife, Mabel, of Weyers Cave, and Wade Knicely and wife, Rhoda, of Mount Crawford. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Preceding her in death, in addition to her parents, are her brother, Fred Knicely and wife, Dawn; brother-in-law, Mervin Shirk; and great-niece, Christine Hobbs.

Despite her unstable position, Monroy remains steadfast in her desire to assist immigrants in need. For her advocacy and accomplishments as an educator and immigrant rights advocate, she is 91����Ƶ’s Outstanding Young Alumna/us.

Monroy moved from Torreón in north central Mexico to Fairfax, Virginia, when she was 15 with her mother and little sister. The family entered on tourist visas. Her father had died five years earlier and the family was struggling to survive in Mexico. Monroy’s older sister took the two girls in. Eventually, she completed high school in Harrisonburg in 2006, excelling academically but feeling ashamed of her citizenship status.

Sharing her story through Young Life put her in contact with Eldon Kurtz ’76, longtime physical plant director, now retired, and Jason Good ’05, then director of admissions, who encouraged her to apply for a scholarship for undocumented individuals. At 91����Ƶ, “I integrated my faith in the Lord in other areas of my life,” she said, expressing gratitude to economics professors Chris Gingrich, Walt Surratt and Jim Leaman for challenging her academically and equipping her professionally. Her economics courses also opened her eyes to the “brokenness of the system” and inspired her to “engage with and be a steward of God’s blessings.” Monroy became socially and politically engaged with Harrisonburg’s poor immigrant communities.

After graduation from 91����Ƶ and holding an expired visa, Monroy hit her “lowest point.” Unable to move forward professionally, she earned money by babysitting, interpreting and cleaning houses. She applied and attained DACA status in spring 2013, which provided a work permit, Social Security card and driver’s license. That status granted immigration protection and authorization to work for two years, subject to renewal.

She continued to share her life story, encouraged and supported by Isabel Castillo Ressler ’07, MA ’17, nationally recognized for her advocacy of undocumented immigrants. (91����Ƶ honored Castillo Ressler with the 2013 Outstanding Young Alumna/us Award.) Eventually Monroy moved to Washington D.C. to work in child and adult education with a nonprofit organization focused on immigrant families. She also began graduate studies in international education at The George Washington University (she graduated in May).

In February 2017, Monroy was profiled in a Washington Post front-page article titled “In Trump’s capital, undocumented immigrants live and work in the shadow of the White House.” She did not hide her name or likeness. Shortly thereafter, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) invited Monroy as her guest to the Joint Address to the Congress (known as the State of the Union address in all but the first year of a new president’s term).

Since August 2017, Monroy has worked as operations manager of The District Church, a nondenominational “Christ centered, neighbor loving, justice-seeking community for transplants, natives and beyond,” according to its website. Monroy is creating a leadership skill development curriculum, with tracks for ministry and for entrepreneurs, and a six-week financial literacy program for low-income parents. She is also a founding member of a proposed charter school for low-income, limited English-proficient adult learners.

Monroy’s DACA status expires in 2019. Recently, three federal judges blocked Trump’s attempt to rescind DACA, but in the current political climate, her future remains uncertain. In the meantime, she’ll continue efforts to help immigrants with less education and fewer options than she has.

Read about the other 2018 alumni award recipients:

• Alumna/us of the Year: Regina Horst Chacha
• Distinguished Service Award: Gilberto Perez Jr.
• Previous recipients

This article was first published in the Spring/Summer 2018 Crossroads. Read more articles here.

The brand-new Campus Center, in 1986, was the first major building project that Eldon Kurtz oversaw on the 91����Ƶ campus. Thirty years later, the new will be his last project. Kurtz, director, will retire at the end of the spring 2016 semester.

Despite his low profile, Kurtz has become an integral part of campus life and earned the admiration of many.

“He’s one of those classic lifelong learners,” said Sustainability Coordinator . “He’s very engaged on campus, on what students are talking about, and on what campus community is buzzing about.”

Sophomore Josh Calderon, who worked with the physical plant as a summer conference and events assistant last summer, echoed Lantz-Trissel’s sentiments. “He brings a different sort of care to the job,” said Calderon. “He not only works here, but if you walk into that stadium during a basketball game, you’ll see him up there. That’s how you know someone loves his job.”

Work-study position starts career

Kurtz’s story begins in 1973, when he enrolled at Eastern Mennonite College as an undergraduate student in the Bible department. Thanks to previous skill in the electrical trade, he immediately began working in a work-study position as an electrician for what was then known as the Building and Grounds Department.

Kurtz also was residence director in Oakwood men’s dorm, where he lived with his wife, Sharyl (their daughter Sara, who would eventually graduate from 91����Ƶ, was born while they lived at 91����Ƶ).

After graduation in 1976, Kurtz moved directly into the director of custodial services role, where he served for 9 months before being promoted into a newly created role of physical plant director where he remained until 1985.

Kurtz then worked with Brunk Mechanical in construction, which included overseeing construction for the new Campus Center.

Afterward, Kurtz parted ways with 91����Ƶ until 1997, when his old job opened up. He was happy to return and has served as physical plant director ever since.

“He was the right person at the right place at the right time,” said Lantz-Trissel. “He graduated from here, and he was a trade person, and all that has been really important.”

Sustainability initiatives implemented

Kurtz reflects that his greatest contribution of many may be the improvements in . “Controls in the old days were much more rudimentary,” he said. “We had a central heating plant and we distributed steam all over the campus. When I came back in ’97, I dug up an old energy report from 1980, and I’ve traced our energy usage, BTU per square feet.”

Since that first report, Kurtz has overseen almost a tripling in heating efficiency, from 140,000 BTU per square feet to the current level of 45,000 BTU per square feet.

”We could easily be spending another $300,000 to half a million per year in energy costs if we hadn’t been operating with the kind of vigilance we have been doing,” he said. “Our department has contributed pretty significantly to the reduction of costs to the university.”

Energy reduction costs have not been the only significant changes ushered in under Kurtz. In his time, 91����Ƶ has transformed its , constructed , built what was at the time the largest in Virginia, and grown in dozens of other ways.

“Even within two years here, so much has changed,” said Calderon, noting that whenever an outdoor lamp goes out, “I see one of these nice new LEDs pop up. I mean, that’s not something they have to do, they probably have extra fluorescents laying around, but he makes it happen anyway.”

Cooperation, teamwork, customer service

Before any of these changes happened, however, Kurtz first wanted to foster an environment of loyalty and friendliness in the Physical Plant. His hard work appears to have paid off.

“Probably the other thing I’m happiest and proudest about is having the good fortune to assemble a team of really excellent people and trying to engender a spirit of cooperation and teamwork and customer service,” said Kurtz. “That was really important to me.”

Andrew Troyer, a first-year work-study employee at the plant, noted the dedication and sincerity of his employers. “A lot of nice people work in the Physical Plant,” Troyer said. “They’re just a fun group to work with. They’ll let you try something out, give you an opportunity, and they’re willing to teach you stuff.”

According to Lantz-Trissel, that receptiveness stems directly from Kurtz. “If you take him some wild idea, he’s going to sit and listen to it,” Lantz-Trissel said. “That means that 91����Ƶ has pushed more boundaries because other schools are more rigid and say ‘no’ more often than they ought. I remember early in my parenting years, Eldon sent me his advice for young parents: ‘Whenever possible, say yes.’ He kind of runs with that mentality.”

Kurtz, on the other hand, pins the success of his department to the people around him.

“Over the years, I’ve been challenged by people that were better than me, but I’ve learned that it’s better to have people who challenge me than surrounded by mediocre people,” said Kurtz.

This June, Kurtz will conclude 19 years as physical plant director and over 30 total years of employment and service at 91����Ƶ.

“It seems like it’s gone so fast, and I love the people here, and I’m so glad to have an environment where you’re trusted, and trusted to do the right thing for your employer,” said Kurtz. “You can make a case for what you want to do, you know, and you generally get support. I’m just leaving to give someone else a chance.”

But more likely, you know and remember…

Built as a gift by the classes of 1946 and 1950, Park Woods Cabin was the central hub of socialization and recreation on 91����Ƶ’s campus for more than 40 years. But over time, as recreation options diversified and Harrisonburg itself expanded, the cabin fell into disrepair, and eventually disuse.

In 2013, students hoping to preserve the cabin and use it again for recreational activities headed up a revitalization effort, including hiring a contractor to pull up asbestos floor tiles, installing a wood stove and fixing the leaky roof. In early fall 2015, the cabin was once more full with students fulfilling the cabin’s original intention: fellowship and socialization around good Mennonite food.

1950: Socials and meetings

In the late 1940s, before the cabin was built, “there wasn’t much doing in Harrisonburg for students,” said Laban Peachey ’52 who later served as dean of students. “The cabin was a very important place for social events.”

Around campus (EMC wasn’t actually in Harrisonburg in the ‘40s) there was little but cornfields and dirt roads. Most students didn’t have cars and even if they did, there wasn’t anywhere to go.

D. Lowell Nissley was senior class president in 1950. He and Jacob A. Shenk drew up the plans for the cabin, which included a native limestone fireplace built by a Harrisonburg local. “We [both the college and high school graduating classes] wanted to do something significant for the school,” he said. “The whole class worked on it on Saturdays when we had a chance.” The class named the finished structure Oakwood. Several years later, the college asked if they could use the name for a new men’s dorm and the cabin became simply “the cabin” and then Park Woods Cabin.

Laban Peachey was a freshman in 1949 and one of the first classes to actually use the cabin.

“In those days there were only about 250 students at EMC,” he said. “Groups of 10, 20, 30 people would use the cabin for class meetings and college socials. We would have marshmallows and hot dogs too – not very often, but sometimes.”

1960s: ‘The Bard’s Nest’

In 1966, the cabin began to be used as EMC’s first coffeehouse. The students, perhaps as a reflection of the folksy vibes of the ‘60s, named it “The Bard’s Nest.” Twenty years later, when (now) 91����Ƶ English professor was a student, the cabin was still used for that purpose.

“We would have open mic sessions, read music and host musical performances,” he said. “It was kind of like what Common Grounds is today, but cooler.”

Gusler likened the Bard’s Nest to a “dive bar” with regulars to whom they served birch beer or homemade hot chocolate. In the early ‘90s, the Nest added an espresso maker. Tables were lit with candles stuck in empty bottles and old burlap sacks served as backdrop to student artwork on the walls.

But by the time Gusler was on the scene, the building already had problems. There was no sewage or drainage tank on site and so no bathrooms. When it rained, the building sometimes flooded. The fireplace took more heat than it put out.

2000: the shift to University Commons

By August of 2000, the first phase of the University Commons was finished and Park Woods Cabin temporarily closed.

“University Commons shifted the focus of the university,” said , director of the physical plant. “The Snack Shop was built with a stage in the corner intended to replace the Bard’s Nest, but it was never really used.”

In part that’s because shortly after, in December of 2001, 91����Ƶ received a grant from the Lilly Foundation to build what is now the coffeehouse known as . “When Common Grounds came around, that met the need the Bard’s Nest had been meeting,” said Kurtz.

It also made the facilities issues down at Park Woods Cabin a little more glaring. But other projects, namely building new residence halls, took priority over the cabin and it was left empty for over a decade.

2013: New life

In February of 2013, 91����Ƶ News published a plea: “We need your help in deciding the next step for Park Woods Cabin. There is student interest in improving the condition of the cabin, which is currently not in use.”

A carpenter’s guild, made up primarily of 91����Ƶ alumni, stepped in and helped refurbish the cabin free of charge. The physical plant provided most of the materials; the students fundraised for the rest.

The cabin now boasts new flooring, a weatherproof roof, a woodstove instead of the fireplace and a clean chimney. A plaque in the wood paneling above the stove commemorates the cabin as a gift of the classes of 1946 and 1950. There is no longer running water (it was too difficult to maintain) and no plans to install pipes or a sewer system.

But on any given weekend, light can be seen spilling from the windows, once more giving the old building a feeling of new life. The most recent use: the hosted a jam session over Homecoming weekend.

Editor’s Note: Some alumni have reported that the original “Bard’s Nest” was located in a building called the Guild, and that the coffeehouse didn’t move down into Park Woods Cabin until the mid-1970’s. Please feel free to comment on this. We’re eager to learn more. –10/15/2015

Weaver Irrigation is currently installing a system that will use non-potable storm water collected by a nearby cistern to evenly and efficiently water the infield and outfield, according to athletic director .

The upgrades, which cost approximately $22,000, will save both time and water, said head coach . Previously, just the infield and dirt basepaths were watered by one sprinkler head, while manually deployed garden hoses and sprinklers were used for the rest of the field, resulting in uneven growth and surfaces.

These methods provided less control over how the field is watered and maintained. The current system enables more efficient use of water during the early morning or late evening when less evaporation occurs.

More improvements planned

Spotts expects the outfield to benefit from the irrigation system, which will support continued overseeding and fertilization to improve quality of the soil. Additionally, the Bermuda grass that was added to the infield last year can now also be propagated and maintained in the outfield.

The irrigation improvements are the first step in a larger renovation project of 91����Ƶ’s baseball facilities, to include new dugouts, backstop, press box, hitting pavilion, and additional seating behind home plate.

The start date for this project hasn’t been announced yet, but King says that the baseball program’s recent growth and improvement has been among several recent highlights of the 91����Ƶ athletic program. In 2014, in just his second year at the head of the program, Spotts led the Royals to the in program history.

“While we know recruits are drawn to Coach Spotts and the program he is developing, we think the upgrades to our current baseball facility will help us attract more top players,” said King.

Sustainable practices link to cistern project

The “greening” of the baseball field fits another 91����Ƶ commitment—to that of sustainable practices, said , director of the physical plant.

Kurtz acknowledges that use of water for irrigation of recreational fields during a time of growing water shortages across the country may be questioned by some.

“In my view, sustainability is often a matter of balancing competing priorities and managing maintenance best practices as knowledge and technology change,” he added.

In this case, Kurtz points to the need for healthy turf to keep athletes safe and to support the athletic programs, while at the same time “increasing the acreage managed as meadows, use of artificial turf and storm water for irrigation, and turf management practices that limits use of chemicals and how short the grass is cut.”

The 100,000-gallon cistern, built next to the physical plant in 2012, irrigates approximately 6.5 acres, including the south soccer fields, softball fields and Bomberger Field. It collects runoff from 15 acres of campus and helps return water to the water table through irrigation. The year it was built, the cistern project won .

When the cistern is dry, irrigation is supplied by the city of Harrisonburg. Additional improvements may extend the irrigation system to the front of campus as well as add a well to provide water during prolonged dry periods.

There was this funny message: “History professors Mark Sawin and Mary Sprunger hope students will find them in their temporary office spaces borrowed from the library.”

Some employees signed up to help colleagues move their office belongings from spaces they need to vacate on campus to other landing spots before classes begin.

A dozen staffers volunteered to clean dormitory rooms on a Saturday morning in July, responding to an emailed request for extra cleaning help. (Physical plant staffers needed assistance to achieve a quick turn-around between two huge summer camps using the residence halls, back to back.)

91����Ƶ’s long-time registrar, David Detrow ’77, was juggling classroom assignments, squeezing classes into all available spaces, awaiting the completion of classroom, seminar and office spaces on the second and third floor of Roselawn, plus those in the east section of the Suter Science Center.

“It’s satisfying to reuse and bring to new life a residence hall that has been under-utilized,” said physical plant director C. Eldon Kurtz ’76, perched atop the three-story-high unfinished elevator shaft attached to Roselawn, surveying a stupendous eastern mountain view with his assistant director, Ed Lehman.

Daryl Bert ’97, who monitors 91����Ƶ’s construction and renovation projects as vice president for finance, noted that inspiration for renovating Roselawn flowed from successfully meeting the needs of 91����Ƶ’s fast-growing Intensive English Program. Before IEP moved to the revamped first floor of Roselawn in 2012, IEP was lodged in a small house near the seminary building on Smith Avenue.

Success of IEP

“After our success with IEP’s space, we began to consider whether we could re-purpose the other floors of Roselawn,” Bert said. He added, however, that IEP’s growth owed more to “the energy and entrepreneurship of [IEP director] Kathleen Roth,” than to its new space, which merely addressed the need for additional space generated by Roth’s efforts.

By the spring 2015 semester, one of the largest classrooms on campus will be on the third floor of Roselawn. It will feature a soaring ceiling, made possible by a “pop-up” structure on the roof of Roselawn, offering a great, naturally lit space for up to 50 people.

Another room will be the hub of distance-learning, with television screens, cameras and seats for 20.

“I expect a lot of our growth in graduate and professional studies over the next number of years to be in the development of distance-learning programs,” said Jim Smucker, dean of 91����Ƶ’s newly named School for Graduate and Professional Studies.

“With a few exceptions, we are saying any new program needs to be able to be delivered at a distance. Our preferred model will be a hybrid approach which will include short-term residencies and synchronous and asynchronous delivery.”

The undergraduate side of the university is also growing, with a 6% increase over the last three years and a 39% increase in applications since 2009. Tallying all of the programs, including graduate students, “we are as large of a university as we have ever been since opening as a school in 1917,” said Luke Hartman ’91, vice president for enrollment.

The second and third floor of Roselawn will bring together a number of liberal arts departments that often collaborate in an interdisciplinary manner – history, applied social sciences, Bible and religion, and language and literature. (Psychology will join this group on a temporary basis, awaiting renovation of the western portion of the Suter Science Center.) A large-sized classroom, medium-sized classroom, seminar room, and gathering area will be shared among these departments.

Two of these departments will be vacating old houses on the southern edge of campus, which will be turned into administrative offices and “intentional community” housing for students. The former language and literature area will be occupied by the department of development and church relations, which is moving from a privately owned house for which 91����Ƶ paid rent.

Meanwhile, renovations on the 45-year-old Suter Science Center are fully underway, with the word “renovations” used broadly. The “head room” on Suter’s southern flank had to be torn down entirely when its foundation proved to be unstable. So that part of Suter Science will be rebuilt from the ground up. Some other parts of Suter have been gutted, as necessary to rework the ducting for heating, cooling and ventilation and to make other changes required for state-of-the-art science laboratories and classrooms.

Most building since 2000

Construction projects this summer are the most extensive undertaken at 91����Ƶ since the northern section of the University Commons was built in 2000 to house the athletic facilities, snack bar, game room, student-life offices, and bookstore. That cost $11 million. The construction budget for the projects underway this summer will total $9.4 million.

For its first 90 years, 91����Ƶ averaged one major construction project every seven years. The pace of new construction and renovations has accelerated in recent years, as 91����Ƶ seeks to accommodate the growing demand for up-to-date spaces.

Cedarwood residence hall was completed in the fall of 2009, along with extensive renovations to Elmwood and Maplewood residence halls – all conforming to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. These dorms have proven to be highly popular for rental by summer groups, which accounts for the thousands of new faces on campus this summer.

In 2011, the Lee Eshleman Studio and MainStage theaters, Margaret Martin Gehman Art Gallery, Common Grounds Coffeehouse, and the Kenneth A. Longacre Sr. Advanced Media Lab were completed, rounding out the renovation of the University Commons.

Renovations to the east portion of the Suter Science Center began in early 2014 – a $7 million project.

“To stay on the forefront of a whole-person education – with graduates who become physicians, nurses, lab technologists, physical therapists, and other science professionals – we are committed to having the quality of facilities needed by our teachers and students,” said Kirk Shisler ’81, vice president for advancement.

“I am deeply grateful to the 465 alumni, friends and foundations that have supported our current renovations,” he said.”^*

Kurtz says Roselawn is proving to be an “amazing transformation of spaces.” Previously, consideration had been given to tearing down Roselawn, since it was not accessible to people with physical disabilities and had no air conditioning or cross ventilation via its narrow windows. But it was built on a solid foundation, with a strong shell, so Kurtz and Lehman worked with Blue Ridge Architects to find a way to salvage the building.

Learning from leed work

Now Kurtz thinks Roselawn might end up being one of the nicest places on campus, with “all the lessons we learned in putting up LEED-certified residence halls being applied to Roselawn. These are standard for us now.”

Like Cedarwood, Roselawn will have its climate controlled through a “variable refrigerant flow” system, used successfully for 20 years in Japan and Europe but fairly new to the United States. The occupants of each room will be able to regulate the temperature to their satisfaction. “We keep adding climate-controlled space, yet our energy usage keeps going down,” said Kurtz. “Saving energy is really satisfying to me.”

Between the construction projects and the high usage of facilities by summer groups, Kurtz said his staff have been stretched thin this summer – “we haven’t budgeted additional positions to take on the extra work.” On the plus, “we’re looking forward to less maintenance on the ancient and obsolete HVAC systems that are being replaced.”

Lest smaller improvements be overlooked amid the big ones, note that night lighting is appearing on the sand volleyball court, with labor provided by physical plant staff and materials partly covered by a grant from the student government association.

“Gasp!” exclaimed one former student. “Noooo,” said another. A third alum recalled his “two great years in that drafty old house.” Yet another: “Sad to see a part of my life is now gone.”

In the 1970s, Martin House was among several sites that became intentional communities for 91����Ƶ students. Normally the communities were led by an older couple who lived in the house. In the case of Martin House, Loren and Pat Swartzentruber were early leaders. Loren is now .

The 86-year-old house, on the corner of a busy intersection at the edge of campus, needed to give way to a future traffic roundabout and a formal entrance to 91����Ƶ. The is planning a solution to the awkward and dangerous intersection of Chicago Avenue, Park Road, and Mt. Clinton Pike. At the same time 91����Ƶ asked an architectural firm to develop options for building a welcoming entrance for visitors who turn into Park Road.

Lewis and Cora Martin built the house in 1927 when they moved from Maryland to the edge of campus to operate what was known for many years as Martin’s Store. It was located across Mt. Clinton Pike from them. 91����Ƶ eventually acquired the store, turning it into a snack shop. Today the former store is part of complex.

Martin House was still structurally sound but needed a new roof, windows, wiring, and plumbing to bring it up to current standards for student housing. “Basically the house needed everything,” said , assistant director of . “It wasn’t worth the cost of investing in Martin House, knowing that its future was uncertain.”

For the last two years, the house stood empty, and its condition deteriorated further. “It’s amazing what happens when a building is not breathing,” said , longtime physical plant director.

The future traffic roundabout will take more space than a normal intersection, but it will be safer, more sustainable, and won’t need stop lights, say Harrisonburg city officials. Roundabouts are common in Europe and becoming more popular in the United States.

But don’t look for the roundabout at Homecoming 2013 or even Homecoming 2014 or 2015. Such major changes occur on a long timeline, involving the coordination of the city, university and multiple other parties.

To make room, in addition to demolishing Martin House, 91����Ƶ has already torn down Village House on the intersection and will demolish Redmond House as well as one of the Village apartments in the near future.

The biggest drawback to the demolitions, according to Kurtz, is the loss of student housing options, especially for intentional communities.

One solution circulating on campus is to transfer an academic department or two from houses to a three-story former residence hall named Roselawn. The departments’ houses would then be available for student housing. Another solution is for older 91����Ƶ students to create intentional communities off-campus, as is already happening.

In the meantime, 91����Ƶ continues to purchase private homes that become available near campus. An entire residential block adjacent to the campus to the north, for example, is now owned by 91����Ƶ, with the exception of two homes. Kurtz and others dream of a “sustainable neighborhood development” that would be a mix of renters and owners who are students, faculty, retirees, and others. The development would include common shared areas.

“We need to continually assess all the spaces we have on campus so that we can use them more efficiently and sustainably,” said Kurtz.

It won’t be long until lights up again with comments on new initiatives.

Committed to eco-great buildings

With the completion of renovations to in time for the Fall 2011 semester, all three residence halls surrounding the “Woods quad” at 91����Ƶ – Cedarwood, Elmwood and Maplewood – have been constructed or renovated to meet LEED Gold standards for environmental sustainability.

and residence halls have LEED “Gold” certifications from the , with the Gold certification for Maplewood pending in the winter of 2012.

As of July 2012, 91����Ƶ’s two LEED Gold-certified buildings were among just 123 such residence halls on university campuses across the country. Besides the ones at 91����Ƶ, there is just one other LEED Gold building on any Virginia university campus, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

Cedarwood, built to replace the old Oakwood residence hall, opened in the fall of 2009 and was the first to receive the LEED Gold certification. Elmwood was renovated in time for the Spring 2011 semester.

Local and recycled materials

Green features of the residence halls include the use of numerous recycled materials, recycling of nearly all construction waste, high-efficiency lighting and plumbing fixtures, extensive natural lighting, low-VOC materials and an emphasis on locally sourced building materials.

Surrounding the buildings is landscaping with native plants that require no permanent irrigation system and the use of “biorentention” beds around the residence halls to control storm water runoff.

Highly efficient “variable refrigerant flow” heat pump systems and other features like efficient exhaust systems afford the two dorms energy cost reductions of about 30 percent compared to conventional new construction. Additionally, after the first year of operation, electrical use in the dorms is more than 15 percent further below those projections.

Each room in the new residence halls is equipped with a switch that automatically turns off the room’s heat or AC when the windows are open, allowing students to let in fresh air without wasting climate-controlled air from the inside.

“Even though we’ve upgraded these dorms and made them fully climate controlled, our energy use across campus has gone down,” says , director of .

Reduced energy consumption

After the new constructions and renovation, says Kurtz, 91����Ƶ added about 80,000 square feet of new air-conditioned space (none of the Woods dormitories were previously air-conditioned.) At the same time, the campus’ total electric and gas bill, which averaged an inflation-adjusted $572,000 per year between 1999 and 2008, fell to $519,000 for the 2011-2012 fiscal year – a 9 percent reduction in campus-wide energy costs since the overhaul of the Woods quad.

, an architecture firm based in Mishawaka, Indiana, designed all three buildings and worked with 91����Ƶ to meet the stringent LEED standards.

From an energy consumption standpoint, heating, cooling and powering buildings on campus consumed about 45,000 British thermal units (Btu) per square foot of building space – a common way of measuring energy use – over the course of the 2011-2012 fiscal year. That’s a 26-percent improvement from 1999 to 2008, when 91����Ƶ used a yearly average of 61,000 Btu per square foot across the entire campus.

91����Ƶ consumed about 49,000 Btu-per-square-foot on campus during the calendar year 2011, according to data from the , or APPA. The average figure that year for 38 American universities with enrollment between 1,000 and 2,000 students that participated in the APPA survey was 89,000 Btu per square foot.

Because of several concurrent sustainability initiatives on campus, however, including the , it is difficult to measure the precise impact of the dorms alone on 91����Ƶ’s total energy use and cost.

A year ago, 91����Ƶ gained the largest solar deployment in Virginia, with 328 photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of its library. Other “firsts” at 91����Ƶ on behalf of the environment include: recycling collected by a bicycle-pulled trailer, biofiltration beds to protect a stream that feeds the Chesapeake Bay, and campus landscaping with edible vegetation.

LEED certification for 91����Ƶ’s new Cedarwood dormitory represents one of the highest environmental standards that construction can reach.

“The gold certification for Cedarwood, along with the pending LEED certifications for the renovated Elmwood and Maplewood residence halls, emphasizes 91����Ƶ’s strategic plan of sustainability,” said , vice president for finance at 91����Ƶ.

The confers its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications—at the basic, silver, gold or platinum level—on buildings that meet its rigorous standards for environmental sustainability.

Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO & founding chair of USGBC, praised 91����Ƶ’s accomplishment: “As the newest member of the LEED family of green buildings, Cedarwood dormitory is an important addition to the growing strength of the green building movement. With each new LEED-certified building, we get one step closer to USGBC’s vision of a sustainable-built environment within a generation.

Cedarwood features

LEED points are awarded for based on the number and type of “green” related systems or designs used in the building process. Cedarwood accumulated 45 points, six more than the minimum ranking for gold.

Cedarwood uses extensive natural lighting; flooring made of recycled and natural materials; a bioretention filtration system to manage rainwater runoff; a bike shed with a “green” landscaped roof; native landscaping around the building itself; and low-flow water fixtures.

Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, 40 percent of energy consumption and 13 percent of water consumption, according to USGBC statistics.

Construction of Cedarwood was made possible through collaboration with several partners—in particular the , long-time architects for 91����Ƶ based in Mishawaka, Ind., and , of Harrisonburg. and contractors, who have been involved in 91����Ƶ projects since 1991, also played key roles.

The total cost of Cedarwood was $6 million.

“The sustainability emphasis of Cedarwood fits with 91����Ƶ’s mission, from Micah 6:8, to ‘do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God,’ with each other and with creation,” said, director of 91����Ƶ’s physical plant. “It’s a place where students experience community as they prepare to serve and lead in a global context.”

More information on Cedarwood and sustainability at 91����Ƶ can be found at

A $6 million residence hall renovation project is under way at 91����Ƶ.

Environmental upgrades to both Elmwood and Maplewood dorms will modernize the building and be complete by summer 2011. (Photo by Marcy Gineris)

The project, funded through student rooming fees, will modernize Maplewood and Elmwood

residence halls, two of 91����Ƶ’s oldest dorms.

Both buildings were built in 1963, says Eldon Kurtz, the university’s director of the physical plant.

The renovations will serve as a total overhaul for both buildings, Kurtz said.

“We feel like it’s more efficient to do a comprehensive renovation of the entire building when we do a renovation, rather than just address a particular concern,” he said.

Environmental upgrades

Improvements for both buildings will range from the addition of elevators and fire alarm and sprinkler systems, to new windows and larger lounges for students, Kurtz said.

The buildings also will have environmentally friendly heating and cooling systems installed, along with lighting and water fixtures, among other features, Kurtz said.

LEED certification

When renovations are finished, the university will most likely seek LEED certification for both dormitories, he said.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Certification comes from the U.S. Green Building Council and features four levels, based on the number and type of “green” related systems or designs used in the building process: Platinum, gold, silver and certified.

“I would be fairly confident that we’d be able to get silver,” Kurtz said.

Redesign of dorm quad

The renovation will also include aesthetic improvements, including a change to the buildings’ silhouettes, he said.

“We’re changing the roof line so that it has a pitched roof … so it will look like other dorms on the campus,” Kurtz said.

That includes Cedarwood, the university’s newest residence hall, which shares quad space with Elmwood and Maplewood, Kurtz said.

The roof lines of Elmwood and Maplewood will more closely match Cedarwood, 91����Ƶ’s LEED-certified dorm that began housing students in 2009. (Photo by Marcy Gineris)

“When we’re done the intent is that those three buildings on that … quad will appear like they might have actually come from a similar era,” he said.

Work to finish by summer 2011

The first phase of the project, which began in May, is expected to be finished in December, Kurtz said.

“Our expectation is to have [Elmwood] completed about Christmas, and then the students that are in the other dorm will move over to the newly-renovated dorm,” he said. “Then we’ll start the process in [Maplewood].”

The entire project should be finished by next summer, he said.

More info

• Maplewood residence hall
• Elmwood residence hall
• 91����Ƶ’s sustainability principles

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That was the mandate that 91����Ƶ administration and architects heard from participants at a Jan.22 forum of some 200 staff, faculty, students, community members, and alumni at 91����Ƶ.

91����Ƶ hosted the event to gather ideas and foster a sense of ownership in plans to renovate the existing into a sustainable learning environment. Participants came to dream about innovation within the context of 91����Ƶ’s core vision and mission, and its long-term commitment to sustainability.

Brainstorming together about green design principles for 91����Ƶ’s building project are, left to right: Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement; Leroy Troyer, LEED certified architect with Troyer group and long-time visionary for 91����Ƶ’s site planning; Cal Redekop, retired sociologist; and Loren Swartzendruber, 91����Ƶ president. Photo by Aubrey Bauman

Cal Redekop, retired sociologist, presented a brief overview of an Anabaptist perspective on earth care, to set the context for the day.

Bill Barnard, LEED-AP accredited architect with Troyer Group, summarized happenings in the green design industry and explained LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. LEED – managed by the U.S. Green Building Council – provides a recognized framework and accountability system for talking about green building.

Participants called 91����Ƶ to think carefully about how students learn best. Is it in a traditional classroom? They called for a building that will be a "living system," have multiple uses round the clock, be flexible for future needs and foster collaboration among disciplines.

Geothermal or other energy efficient heating and cooling systems should be considered to minimize energy use, or even move toward carbon neutrality. Rainwater should be collected for irrigation, toilet flushing and other "grey water" uses.

Noting the surrounding beauty of the Shenandoah Valley, participants called for planners to maximize views, and take advantage of natural light.

91����Ƶ students, faculty and staff debated green design principles and technologies at a Jan. 22 forum at 91����Ƶ about plans to renovate and build new labs onto the 40-year old Suter Science Center. Photo by Aubrey Bauman

In true Mennonite fashion, participants called for all of these things while keeping "simplicity and humility" in the forefront.

Fourteen students — part of a green design class this semester — will research ideas generated at the forum, interact with the architects and learn from the process of participating in the planning and design of this building.

Earlier in the day, 91����Ƶ physical plant director, Eldon Kurtz, reviewed 91����Ƶ’s recognition as an energy efficient campus, detailing measures that have been taken over the past three decades to curb water and energy use.

Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement, summarized the planning process to date. Current projections are for the cost of the project to be somewhere between $25 and $30 million, "by far the largest project 91����Ƶ has ever undertaken," according to Shisler.

The architects noted that the day’s input was invaluable. "Having these kinds of discussions on the front-end can save significant time and money in the long-run," noted Barnard in his presentation.