Those faculty members are:

• Dr. Katherine Evans: Jesse T. Byler Endowed Chair in Education
• Dr. James Leaman: Longacre Endowed Chair in Business and Leadership
• Dr. Peter Dula: Myron S. Augsburger Endowed Chair of Theology
• Dr. James Yoder: Daniel B. Suter Endowed Chair of Science

Dr. Tynisha Willingham, provost and vice president of academic affairs for 91短视频, said these faculty members were chosen as endowed chairs because of their demonstrated leadership, service, teaching, and research, as well as their capacity to be champions of their programs at 91短视频. 

鈥淓ndowed chairs are a critical component of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 academic vitality,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur goal is to elevate the recognition of our faculty who hold this honor and to celebrate the donors whose generosity helps to support academic excellence in this way.鈥�

The endowed chair positions provide funding for each faculty position within a particular discipline, along with scholarships for students in the discipline and funds for program initiatives. Chairs receive professional development funds to support their research and scholarship. An endowed chair appointment is one of the highest honors a faculty member can receive at 91短视频, supporting their continued excellence in scholarship and teaching, said the Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler, dean of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

Keep reading for bios of each professor.

Dr. Katherine Evans

Professor of Teacher Education and director of the Undergraduate Teacher Education program
Jesse T. Byler Endowed Chair in Education

Kathy Evans is a professor of Teacher Education at 91短视频, teaching courses in educational psychology, special education, and restorative justice in education. She earned her PhD from the University of Tennessee in educational psychology and research. Her research, teaching, and scholarship focus on ways in which educators participate in creating more just and equitable educational opportunities for all students, including those with disability labels, those who exhibit challenging behavior, and those who are marginalized for a variety of reasons, including race, ethnicity, language, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. 

During her 15 years at 91短视频, Evans has helped develop 贰惭鲍鈥檚 graduate program in Restorative Justice in Education (RJE), which supports educators as they create learning environments that promote relational approaches to teaching and learning, justice and equity in schools and classrooms, and transformational approaches to conflict and harm. She is the co-author of听The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education听and has published several articles and book chapters related to restorative justice in education, school culture and climate, and school discipline practices, focusing on the ways in which restorative justice is applied to educational contexts.听

How do you feel to be granted this position?

It鈥檚 an honor to be appointed as the Jesse T. Byler Endowed Chair in Education. The Byler endowment has historically been such a gift to the Teacher Education Program at 91短视频, providing support for pre-service teachers in the way of fee waivers for testing and licensure, conference registration for networking with other pre-service teachers, scholarships, and resources that support their success through their 91短视频 program. We are in a season of growth and expansion and I am grateful for the opportunities I will have in this position to support that growth, both in the recruitment of talented and dedicated teachers and in the ongoing professional development for our faculty. At this moment in time, we need teachers who are committed to justice and peacebuilding. Embedding restorative justice within our teacher education program at both the undergraduate and graduate levels opens up spaces to support educators who want to not only excel as educators, but to be educators who nurture the well-being of each student. The Byler endowment helps us to do that work better.

What do you love about 91短视频?

This is my 15th year at 91短视频 and I am more hopeful about 贰惭鲍鈥檚 future today than I have been since I arrived. The commitment to peacebuilding and justice鈥攅ven when we don鈥檛 fully live into that commitment鈥攎eans that there is a unifying set of values that guide our collective work. I see our students, staff, and faculty working to honor those values and that mission. Our students are amazing and they remind me every day that the work of justice is ongoing, intergenerational, and worth it.

What is a fun fact about you?

When I鈥檓 not working, I might be fishing鈥攂ass fishing at Silver Lake or fly-fishing at Dry River. I find the water so peaceful.

Dr. James M. Leaman

Associate Professor of Business and director of the Business and Leadership program
Longacre Endowed Chair in Business and Leadership

Jim Leaman chairs the Business and Leadership Program, where he teaches undergraduate courses in management, finance, and economics, and graduate courses in organizational and leadership studies. His industry experience spans both private business and nonprofit administration, including 12 years of service with an international non-governmental organization (INGO) in Kenya. The 91短视频 alumnus has a PhD in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

The perspective Leaman adds to his field is analyzing and teaching about the role and impact of business and organizations within ecological limits and dynamic social systems, resulting in an integrated lens of sustainability, stewardship and justice. Leaman researches and publishes in the areas of sustainable housing and energy, and his most recent scholarly work is a management textbook, with which he collaborated with an international team of authors to publish in the creative commons, resulting in lower resource costs for students. 

How do you feel to be granted this position?

It is an honor to hold the endowed chair position in business and to steward the gifts and vision of the Longacre family as the program serves and prepares the next generation of business leaders.

What do you love about 91短视频?

The 91短视频 mission to prepare students to serve and lead in a global context becomes more relevant with each new innovation and global integration.

What is a fun fact about you?

In awe of the vastness and complexity of the universe, I鈥檝e gained an avocational interest in learning as much as I can about the cosmos.

Dr. Peter Dula

Professor of Religion and Culture
Myron S. Augsburger Endowed Chair of Theology

Peter Dula is the professor of Religion and Culture at 91短视频. The 91短视频 alumnus received a PhD from Duke University in theology and ethics in 2004. He is the author of Cavell, Companionship, and Christian Theology (Oxford, 2011). Before coming to 91短视频 in 2006, he was the Mennonite Central Committee Iraq Program Coordinator. He has taught at Lancaster Mennonite High School and at the Meserete Kristos College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was a Fulbright scholar in 2001-02.

This is his 20th year at 91短视频. He teaches primarily in the undergraduate program, as well as one class each year at the seminary and the Bioethics course in the MA in Biomedicine program. He is married to Ilse Ackerman and they have two children, Simon (17) and Nina (15). 

What do you love about 91短视频?

Two things I love about 91短视频 are its smart and interesting faculty colleagues and its location in the Shenandoah Valley.

What is a fun fact about you? 

I planted 500 trees over the last couple of years. The latest Weather Vane issue has . Along with Trina Trotter Nussbaum at the Center for Interfaith Engagement, I organized last month’s consultation on Judaism, the Bible, and Anabaptism. The Weather Vane also has . 

Dr. James Yoder

Professor of Biology and director of the Natural Sciences programs
Daniel B. Suter Endowed Chair of Science

Jim Yoder is the chair of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 Department of Natural Sciences, advising environmental science and biology majors and teaching evolution, ecology, and conservation biology. A 1994 alumnus of 91短视频, he earned his PhD from The Ohio State University, where he studied the effects of habitat fragmentation on ruffed grouse movements at large spatial scales. His research interests include conservation, landscape and behavioral ecology, animal movement, invasive species, stream restoration, nitrogen and carbon footprint tracking, and insect movement using harmonic radar. He has also led multiple intercultural programs to New Zealand, the Navajo Nation, and Washington D.C. (upcoming), as well as three research trips with undergraduates to Australia. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, traveling, and hiking with his wife Kathy. 

How do you feel to be granted this position?

I’m honored to be named the Suter Endowed Chair of Science and work to continue the level of scholarship and teaching Daniel Suter established in the natural sciences at 91短视频. Coordinating the long-running Suter Science Seminar Series with a diverse array of speakers and increasing collaborative research among our science faculty and undergraduate students are two aspects of being Suter Chair that I’m most excited to focus on. 

What do you love about 91短视频?

Wonderful colleagues, a diverse student body, and the beautiful Shenandoah Valley鈥攊t’s a great place to be a field biologist!

What is a fun fact about you?

My wife and I recently moved into a loft apartment in the heart of downtown Harrisonburg above . It keeps us young at heart!  And we are soon to be grandparents for the first time!

On Monday, March 23, Anabaptist and Jewish scholars and religious leaders gathered in the Strite Conference Room of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 Campus Center for a consultation on Judaism, the Bible, and Anabaptism. The invite-only event was planned by Peter Dula, professor of religion and culture at 91短视频, and Trina Trotter Nussbaum, director of the Center for Interfaith Engagement (CIE), and included all-day discussions centering around the work of Matthew Thiessen and Daniel Weiss.

According to Dula, Thiessen, a Mennonite New Testament professor at McMaster University, is 鈥渙ne of the most influential voices in the 鈥楶aul within Judaism鈥� school of New Testament studies.鈥� The discussion of Thiessen鈥檚 work at the consultation centered around four articles of his.

Weiss, according to Dula, is a Jewish professor of Jewish studies and the philosophy of religion at the University of Cambridge, 鈥渨hose work at the intersection of early rabbinic literature and early Christian literature has significant resonances with traditional Anabaptist understandings of violence and the state and critiques of Constantinianism.鈥� Weiss also had four articles discussed.

The morning began with a presentation by Thiessen titled, 鈥淲hat Mennonites Need to Know 91短视频 Judaism,鈥� which introduced the work of Weiss. Weiss then responded, and there was time for some questions from the audience. Following a break, a panel engaged with some of Weiss鈥檚 research, including articles on Christians and Levites, and the possibility that early Christians did not baptize their children, instead letting them be born into salvation.

After a lunch break, Weiss took a turn introducing Thiessen鈥檚 work in a section called, 鈥淩eading the New Testament within Judaism.鈥� Thiessen then responded. A panel then engaged in Thiessen鈥檚 work, including reflections on how to read Paul with an awareness of Judaism, and whether Jesus meant to start a new religion.

Dula was the guiding force in bringing the two scholars together to have the event. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a Jewish scholar writing really perceptively about Anabaptist themes, and you have this Mennonite scholar writing really perceptively about Judaism,鈥� Dula said. 鈥淪o, I thought we should get them together.鈥�

Nussbaum reflected on the efficacy of the dialogue, and how it was in large part also due to the highlighted speakers. 鈥淚t worked because the two scholars we were highlighting shared the spotlight so well,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ow many times did we hear, 鈥榓nd now I want to open it up to you all?鈥欌��

Miranda Beidler, an 91短视频 senior who helped coordinate the event in her role as a student chaplain with the CIE, praised the event and guests for creating 鈥渋nherent dialogue.鈥� She said, 鈥淸The speakers] were so willing and open to talk about their beliefs, their theology, in ways that were open and curious about the others鈥� theology and beliefs, but without imposing their beliefs on somebody else.鈥�

Sara Kennel, another senior student chaplain at 91短视频, was struck by the openness and intellectualism of the event participants, saying, 鈥淚t felt like a gathering of a lot of people that care about understanding differences, but also are deeply intellectual. … I don鈥檛 think that I鈥檝e encountered that many spaces at 91短视频 that are that level of scholarship.鈥�

Nussbaum was struck by the impact of cross-religious dialogue, saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 something pretty amazing that we can see ourselves in another faith. … It was a spiritual love-fest.鈥� Beidler, similarly, connected the event to CIE鈥檚鈥攁nd 贰惭鲍鈥檚鈥攇oals of interfaith work, saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 us putting into action when we say we care about learning from other people and from other cultures.鈥�

The consultation brought together peace theologians and peacebuilding scholars from different Anabaptist institutions for a daylong conversation about the state of their respective fields and to brainstorm how they might cooperate in an interdisciplinary way toward developing a theologically robust theory and practice of peacebuilding.

In the morning sessions, six scholars presented their proposals, with each presentation followed by an invited respondent and time for feedback from the group. In the afternoon sessions, invited guests led open-ended discussions about how to move forward in light of what was presented in the morning sessions.

After a welcome by , Ed.D., vice president and academic dean at AMBS, , D.Min., associate professor of congregational formation at AMBS, began the first morning panel, on peace theology, by presenting a paper titled 鈥淎t-one-ing ordinary harm,鈥� in which she drew attention to the role of forgiveness and reconciliation in response to ordinary, nonmoral harms in contrast to the typical focus in theology and peacebuilding on how to respond to extraordinary moral harms. , M.A.T.S., Intercultural Competence and Undoing Racism coordinator at AMBS, offered an appreciative response in which she noted how Jacobs鈥� analysis can helpfully deescalate conversations about racism and other unacknowledged biases.

, Ph.D., associate professor of theology and ethics at AMBS, then presented 鈥溾�楲et Us Make Them in Our Image鈥�: Gender and the Methodological Considerations of Shalom Political Theology,鈥� in which she asked the question, 鈥淗ow do I draw men as readers into women-centered theological work that鈥檚 intended for every-body?鈥� , Ph.D. student in religious studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, responded by highlighting the ways Berry鈥檚 work helpfully resists 鈥渄isassociation鈥� between one鈥檚 life and scholarship.

To conclude the peace theology panel, Andrew Suderman, Ph.D., assistant professor in theology, peace and mission at 91短视频, presented 鈥淩e-Claiming Our Power: Assuming Political Agency in the Quest for Peace,鈥� drawing on his work as a Mennonite Church Canada Witness Worker in South Africa, where he and his wife, Karen, helped coordinate the Anabaptist Network in South Africa. In response, , Ph.D., associate professor of Anabaptist studies at AMBS, pressed Suderman to develop his account of power and politics further so as to better account for the ways in which the aims of church and state have often overlapped, despite the avowed 鈥渄ivision of labor鈥� between church and state that Suderman attributed to the legacy of Constantinianism.

Timothy Seidel, Ph.D., who teaches politics, development and peacebuilding in the department of applied social sciences and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at 91短视频, kicked off the second morning panel with his paper 鈥淓xploring Religion and the Post-Secular in the Borderlands of Theology and Peacebuilding.鈥� Seidel expressed misgivings about the secular bias in North American and European-centric models of peacebuilding and asked what possibilities have been closed off because of this bias. He argued for breaking down the binary between the religious and the secular in order to better listen to the voices and experiences of marginalized communities. Respondent , Ph.D., director of the Point of View International Research and Retreat Center at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, affirmed Seidel鈥檚 post-secular, decolonial line of thought as it applies to religion and peacebuilding theory and practice.

Johonna Turner, Ph.D., assistant professor of restorative justice and peacebuilding at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at 91短视频, then presented 鈥淲omanist Peacebuilding Ethics: In the Time of #Black Lives Matter and #MeToo Movements.鈥� Turner called attention to what she called 鈥渉olistic anti-violence organizing鈥� as a contemporary tradition of peacebuilding. She offered a post-colonial, womanist, anti-violence theology, with which she found resonance in the Anabaptist foci of community, nonviolence and radical discipleship. By focusing on black women鈥檚 experiences of self-determination, self-agency and storytelling, Turner offered what she called a 鈥渞adical, Anabaptist womanist鈥� theology. Respondent , M.S.W., M.Div., independent scholar, social work practitioner, and founder of Destiny鈥檚 Daughters, described Turner鈥檚 approach to peacebuilding as a process of weaving or braiding a number of strands of hair together. She noted that the process might look messy, but the end result comes together beautifully.

In the final presentation of the morning, , Ph.D., assistant professor of peace studies and Christian social ethics at AMBS, presented 鈥淲itnessing Peace: Becoming Agents Under Duress in Colombia,鈥� in which she drew on her experiences with communities in Colombia to offer an account of constructive agency under duress. Her account juxtaposed what she called messianic 鈥渘ow time鈥� with gradual time, both of which inform the other in the process of creating what John Paul Lederach calls 鈥渏ust peace.鈥� In response, Peter Dula, Ph.D., associate professor of religion and culture at 91短视频, commended Hunter-Bowman for allowing the voices and experiences of Colombian communities to speak into and challenge peacebuilding theories rather than imposing the theories onto the experiences of the people.

In the first afternoon session, , Ph.D., professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, reflected on the voices that were still missing in the discussion. While he commended the presenters for centering marginalized voices, he raised the question of whether marginalized voices were being selectively appropriated and asked whether there were other voices that might challenge some of the perspectives of the presenters further. In addition to voices from the majority world, Schlabach mentioned traditional Amish communities as another resource for peacebuilding.

Nekeisha Alayna Alexis discussed the need to expand theologies of peacebuilding to include the wellbeing of non-human animals and creation more holistically. She also challenged presenters to consider how their own eating practices might align with their peace theology.

To close the consultation, , Ph.D., managing editor of the and sessional faculty in theology and ethics at AMBS, offered concluding remarks, in which he synthesized the presentations into what he called an 鈥渙rdinary, organic theology of anti-violence peacebuilding.鈥�

Participants and attendees were energized by the lively discussions throughout the day. One peace studies professor in attendance said that this was the kind of discussion he had been waiting on for decades. AMBS and Goshen College students in attendance were likewise enthused by the exchange of ideas among their professors. Participants left optimistic about the possibilities of ongoing collaboration between peace theologians and peacebuilding scholars at AMBS, 91短视频 and beyond. By the end of the day, there was discussion about planning a subsequent consultation to continue the momentum.

The consultation was organized by Janna Hunter-Bowman, Peter Dula and Salom茅 Haldemann, an M.A.: Theology and Peace Studies student at AMBS, and was generously sponsored by the .

Rabbi Dr. Niles Goldstein, asked to reflect on the impact of 91短视频’s Center for Interfaith Engagement on its 10th anniversary, called the organization 鈥渁 counterweight to today鈥檚 climate of tribalizm and demonization of the other.鈥�

Its work is 鈥渧ital to mutual understanding, breaking down stereotypes, and building bridges between and among religious and spiritual communities,鈥� said the former Jewish Visiting Scholar, who spent 2013 teaching and facilitating conversations at 91短视频.

Since 2010, CIE has worked to build interreligious and intercultural understanding, knowledge and friendship. Its impacts stretch from campus 鈥� with undergraduate and graduate courses taught by visiting scholars and the implementation of a new interfaith minor, among many other activities 鈥� to the Shenandoah Valley community to other regions of the United States and countries of the Middle East. 

The anniversary year is a time of reflection on past accomplishments and gratitude for 鈥渢hose who made this all possible,鈥� Director Tim Seidel noted, as well as a time to look ahead.

鈥淲e are particularly excited to continue to provide opportunities for 91短视频 students to interact with people of different faiths and to develop an understanding of the importance of interfaith engagement itself,鈥� Seidel said. 鈥淒eveloping the skills and sensibilities to relate across faith difference is critical to any vocation and career they may pursue.鈥�

Spring events

CIE鈥檚 anniversary events this spring and summer include a film series, a University Colloquium March 18-19 with scholar Saher Selod, student-focused sessions on interfaith understanding, and the June 2020 interfaith peace camp for children. 

A campus research project partially sponsored by the Interfaith Youth Core is also in progress this spring, with focus groups among 贰惭鲍鈥檚 growing religiously diverse student body, and a goal of informing future programming.

CIE鈥檚 impact also stretches beyond the Shenandoah Valley. This past fall, staff consulted on programming and attended an interfaith event in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.

Fall events also included an anniversary reception and an October University Colloquium with Amir Hussain, a professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University in California. In November, CIE partnered with the local group Faith in Action and the NAACP to host a Racial Equity Institute training. 

Notable accomplishments

Over the last 10 years, CIE efforts have contributed to historic accomplishments, including:

• the successful application for and hosting of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 first Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, Professor Syafaatun Almirzanah, of State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga;
• Co-sponsorship of , the seventh of its kind over the past 16 years, bringing together Shi鈥檃 Muslim scholars from Qom, Iran, and Mennonite scholars from Canada and the U.S. 鈥� including 91短视频 professor Peter Dula;  
• Support of the Mennonite Jewish Relations Working Group of Mennonite Church USA, including research;
• The founding and ongoing support of a summer interfaith peace camp for children, a model which has been shared with other communities seeking similar educational interactions;
• A 2014 cross cultural trip to Iran for undergraduate and graduate students, a collaboration of 91短视频, Canadian Mennonite University, and the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom.

鈥楤rave and innovative鈥�: tributes from the former director and scholars

The tributes from those involved over the 10 years of its existence are moving testament to the organization鈥檚 far-reaching impact and its important work today:

Ed Martin, who directed the center for its first six years, says 鈥�91短视频 was both brave and innovative in creating CIE.  In our pluralistic society that includes persons of different faiths, it is important that graduates of 91短视频 know something about other religions and are comfortable interacting with people of different faith traditions. Today they will meet them in a variety of contexts.鈥�

Trina Trotter Nussbaum, associate director: When I have the chance to talk to staff and faculty at universities who are interested in doing interfaith work on their campuses, I am often met with several responses. One response is disbelief that a Christian university would have the courage and the foresight to develop and host a center devoted to interfaith engagement when many Christians in the U.S. have a lot of fear about the religious other. Many staff working in both secular and religious universities have expressed their wish to have a center at their university like we do at 91短视频.

I continue to be grateful to those who saw this need ten years ago, developed the possibility for a Center for Interfaith Engagement at 91短视频 and worked to bring it to life. I am excited for what the next ten years will bring. We need holistic and restorative interfaith engagement now more than ever.听

From Rabbi Dr. Niles Goldstein, visiting Jewish scholar in 2013: Working with my colleagues from other faith traditions was an enriching and inspiring experience, and I particularly enjoyed learning more about the Mennonite tradition and the spirit of ecumenical openness that made CIE possible. As a counterweight to today’s climate of tribalism and demonization of the other, the work of CIE is vital to mutual understanding, breaking down stereotypes, and building bridges between and among religious and spiritual communities. CIE has made me a better rabbi and a better man, and I will always be grateful to the men and women I worked with there and who have made such an important, relevant, and unique organization possible.

Amir Akrami, Phd, first visiting Muslim scholar at CIE from 2012 to 2015, sent hopes and prayers 鈥�that CIE will be further expanded and strengthened to be able to continue their wonderful job which aims at building bridges between people of different faiths at a time when more than before the US and the whole world need meaningful engagement, mutual understanding and friendship.鈥�

鈥�May God bless you and your work,鈥� he said.

Share your CIE experience and send congratulations

To share a comment or experience or to send good wishes, visit the comment box at the end of this article. For more information, connect with CIE online at or donate at .

A new book edited by 91短视频 professors David Evans and Peter Dula engages with author Ta-Nehisi Coates from a Christian perspective.

Between the world of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Christianity (Cascade, 2018) includes essays by theologians, ethicists and religious studies scholars responding to Coates鈥� Between the World and Me (Random House, 2015) on various topics, including hope, fatherhood and whiteness.

In his book, a National Book Award winner and the 2017-18 Common Read at 91短视频, Coates challenges readers to examine assumptions about race, history, education, faith and social change in a series of letters to his teenage son about his experiences as an African American male.

The book quickly became the topic of discussion across the nation, including a summertime conversation between Dula, department chair and professor of Bible and religion, and Evans, professor of history and mission at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. At that meeting they first discussed the possibility of creating such a volume, the duo recalls in a .

Just months later, Coates tweeted that 鈥渢he best thing about between the world and me is seeing the engagement from Christians. Serious learning experience for me.鈥� To Dula and Evans, that tweet felt like an invitation.

Although Coates writes in a spiritual way, he is an atheist and has a 鈥渞eticence to engage fully in any kind of metaphysical reality,鈥� Evans says in the video. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 kind of there and wanting, and so we [Christian scholars] have something to say in the midst of that.鈥�

Coates expresses direct criticisms of Christianity that are 鈥渘ot something that theologians like myself can ignore,鈥� Dula says. For theologians to show a non-defensive eagerness to learn from Coates would be an opportunity to have 鈥減otentially really productive conversations.鈥�

Their book, they say, is a model for engaging with Coates, which, as Evans observes, can be no easy task, in part since Coates doesn鈥檛 offer hope and comfort.

That, Dula adds, puts him in the company of Biblical prophets.

Contributors include:

• Cheryl J. Sanders, senior pastor of the Third Street Church of God in Washington, DC and professor of Christian ethics at the Howard University School of Divinity;
• Vincent Lloyd, associate professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University;
• Jennifer Harvey, professor of religion and faculty director of the Crew Scholars Program at Drake University;
• Reggie L. Williams, associate professor of Christian ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary;
• Tobin Miller Shearer, associate professor of history, director of the African-American Studies Program at the University of Montana, and a 1987 graduate of 91短视频; and
• Joseph Winters, assistant professor of religious studies at Duke University with a secondary appointment in African and African-American studies.

Why did you decide to go to graduate school?

听Graduate school quickly emerged as the most appropriate step for me both personally and professionally after 91短视频. I was intrinsically motivated to apply to graduate programs because of my love of school. Throughout my studies at 91短视频 and during my gap year, I was hungry to learn. I could not keep my hands off of theology, religion and history texts from the library. I knew that I wanted to go to a graduate program where I could continue to investigate the subtle contours of Christian thought.

Graduate school also was a smart decision for me professionally because I wanted a degree program that integrates both academic rigor and ministerial training, which is how I landed in the Master of Divinity program at Vanderbilt Divinity School (VDS).

VDS made an impression on me due to its ecumenical status and commitments to social justice. I wanted to be in an environment where I would interact with others who did not bring my same Anabaptist assumptions to the room. I wanted to be in a place where I could stretch myself and engage in conversation with a wider sample of future leaders of faith from across the Christian spectrum on some of today鈥檚 most pressing social demands.

Describe your field of study and research.

听The Master of Divinity degree is the more professional clergy-track route compared to the more research-oriented Masters of Theological Studies degree. My coursework is well-rounded with classes in homiletics, Christian theology, church history, biblical studies and pastoral care providing the foundation of my program.

My research concentration, however, is in 鈥淩eligion and the Arts in Contemporary Culture.鈥� One of my primary research interests is to critically examine how popular culture and media interface with religion. Music, film, and Internet memes have a way of raising everyday theological questions, such as the value of money or suffering, that invite a spirit of playfulness and imagination. I often look to blur the lines in what is conventionally dismissed as 鈥渟ecular鈥� culture in order to see what contributions, critiques and commentaries these artistic expressions are making about religious life.

How did your academic studies and professors at 91短视频 prepare you for graduate studies?

贰惭鲍鈥檚 Bible and Religion Department is a real gem. Working closely with professors Peter Dula, Nancy Heisey, Ted Grimsrud, Linford Stutzman, Christian Early and Carmen Shrock-Hurst each helped prepare me for graduate studies in unique ways. Peter taught me that the beginning of a nuanced position means knowing how to read with charitable criticism. Nancy鈥檚 skills as a researcher and editor helped to strengthen my writing style. Ted always encouraged showing up to class ready to ask at

least one question from our weekly reading assignments. Linford modeled for me how to think more like an anthropologist and not to overlook or undervalue the interdependence of religion and culture. Christian introduced me to some of the most groundbreaking literature in philosophy and science. And Carmen stressed the importance of attending to my spiritual life in addition to my intellectual life. So much of my current program relies on knowing how to read, write and speak with efficiency. The strengths of the Bible and religion faculty became critical ingredients that laid a solid foundation for my communication skills.

What do you think made your application to graduate school stand out among others?

My letters of recommendation were the strongest part of my application, hands down. I felt confident asking my professors to write letters of recommendation for me because of our relationships both inside and outside of the classroom. I knew that they would help to paint a more complete picture of me beyond just my academic potential.

What are some of your favorite memories from your time at 91短视频?

Some of my favorite moments from 91短视频 were all of the times that I stood around talking to my peers and professors after class. I love how our class discussions rarely ended with the period, but rather carried over into coffee conversations, long walks or lunch at the cafeteria. The real power of these more casual conversations is that they always seemed to invite at least one or two people from outside of the classroom to weigh in on the topic at hand. I believe 91短视频 embraced a culture that encouraged both a natural curiosity and a spirit of collaboration, which makes all of these little moments and side conversations stand out in my memory.

What is your advice to undergraduates?

Don鈥檛 sell yourself short on the college experience. Everything that you do is an ingredient to help you grow and mature and be a more thoughtful person in the world. Building strong relationships with your classmates, going to special lectures, and getting involved in the broader Harrisonburg/Rockingham area are all invaluable parts of sharpening your perspective. Most of all, take time to review your perspective regularly and document how it is changing in light of these new experiences. I believe it is important to be upfront with ourselves about how we have changed and appreciating the processes that have contributed to our growth.

As a small liberal arts university, 91短视频 provides a myriad of ways for students to practice leadership 鈥� to learn, experiment, make mistakes and grow outside comfort zones 听鈥� whether through athletics and academics, student government, residence life, campus ministries and more.

鈥淭oday we want to recognize a number of folks who have been engaged in this practice, using their time, gifts and abilities for the betterment of our community,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom my vantage point in student life, it has been inspiring to see up close and personal, the many leadership contributions, of so many on our campus. Today we celebrate with you, and thank you for these contributions.鈥�

Academic Success Center

Senior tutors with the Academic Success Center were recognized: Johanna Burkholder (accounting); Emily Clatterbuck (writing and Spanish, three years), Phoebe Coffie (biology, 1.5 years), Aaron Dunmore (economics, two years), Liesl Graber (writing, three years), Corey Hostetler (history tutor, three years), Austin Huff (math and computer science, three years),听Sammy Kauffman (biology, two years), Maisie Kirkley (psychology, two years), Cerrie Mendoza (environmental science, one year), Susanna Sewall (nursing, two years), Rachel Shenk (core curriculum, two years), Stephanie Slabach Brubaker (nursing, one year), and听Lara Weaver (psychology, three years).

Janae Kauffman was awarded the Tutor of the Year Award for her three-year commitment to students 鈥渨ho often requested her, the ways in which she fulfilled the mission of the writing tutor, and her strong philosophy of tutoring overall,鈥� said Professor Vi Dutcher, director of the university鈥檚 writing program.

Applied Social Science

Josh Good was inducted into Alpha Kappa Delta, the international sociology honor society. Professor Jenni Holsinger presented him with the cords.

Athletics

• Newcomer of the Year awards went to听Rachel Sauder, soccer,听and Brett Lindsay, baseball.
• Athletes of the Year are Michaela Mast, cross country and track and field,听and Connor Faint, track and field.
• Presidents Awards went to Emily Augsburger, field hockey, and Dan Lutz, volleyball.

Other award-winners from the spring semester were also recognized, and can be viewed at .

Bible and Religion

Michaela Mast won first place and $300 in the Haverim Writing Awards contest with her paper, 鈥淭he Wilderness of the Bible in the Age of the Anthropocene,鈥� which traces the theological and cultural constructions of wilderness from Genesis to her own cross-cultural in the Middle East.

Sarah Longenecker earned second place and $200 with 鈥淎rt as Mediator.鈥�

Luke Mullet won third place and $100 for 鈥淭oward Composition: Creatively Performing Scripture in a Dynamic World.鈥�

The awards were made by Professor Peter Dula, who used his remaining time to encourage submissions for next year鈥檚 context with this line: 鈥淚f you want to receive more money for an academic paper than you will ever get in your life, we invite you to participate next year.鈥�

Campus Ministries

Undergraduate campus pastor Lana Miller recognized the following:

• Ministry assistants Lindsay Acker, Victoria Barnes, Sara Byler, Caitlin Campbell, Maya Dula, Larissa Graber, Val Hernandez, Emma Hoover, Yonas Ketsela, Anisa Leonard, Skylar List, Olivia Mbualungu, Bekah Mongold, Caleb Oakes, Meredith Stinnette, Christian Stutzman, Nik Tucker, Matthew Zimmerman.
• Pastoral assistants: Perry Blosser, Rachel Breidigan, Cela Hoefle, Grayson Mast, Austin Sachs, Elizabeth Resto, Amanda Williams, Brittany Williams.

  

Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

Graduate students Samira Abou Alfa, Talibah Aquil, Astur Tahlil听and Mikayla Waters-Crittenton听were recognized for sharing听 their concerns with CJP faculty and staff about prioritizing inclusion around race, gender, sexual orientation and religion as well as making classes and community more trauma-sensitive.

Biology and Chemistry

The following awards were presented by Professor Tara Kishbaugh:

• Outstanding first-year chemistry student: Austin Yoder
• Outstanding second-year biology student: Kevin Sungu
• Outstanding senior chemistry student: Marchelle Smucker
• Outstanding senior biology student: Katherine Lehman and Samantha Kauffman
• Award for Excellence in Biology/Chemistry Research: Braden Herman
• Biology/Chemistry Award for Exceptional Service: Melissa Kinkaid.

Additionally, the winners of the STEM Celebration poster contest were recognized. Click here for those results.

Education

Jasmine Miller, currently on cross cultural, was awarded the Courage to Teach Award.听 The award is modeled after principles in Parker Palmer鈥檚 book, a copy of which is given to the winner. Faculty select this student on several criteria.

The five annual Teachers of Promise from 91短视频 are Emily Clatterbuck, Jessica Longenecker, Keyri Lopez-Godoy, Hannah Shultz听and Alexa Weeks. Read more here.

Language and Literature

• Emily Clatterbuck was awarded the Carroll Yoder Award for Teaching Excellence in honor of a senior or junior who has demonstrated academic excellence in both literary studies and education courses and demonstrates a clear call to the teaching profession.
• Laurie Serrell earned the Ervie L. Glick Award for Excellence in World Language Study, which honors a senior or junior who has exhibited academic excellence as a Spanish major and has show a clear sense of call to pursuing graduate work or using language skills in service to the church.
• Liesl Graber earns the Jay B. Landis Award for Excellence in Literary Studies, honoring a student majoring or minoring in the language and literature field of study who completes an essay, research paper or scholarly presentation for a literature course that exemplifies the components of good literary analysis.
• Liesl Graber also was awarded the Omar Eby Writing Award, honoring a senior majoring or minoring in Writing Studies who demonstrates excellence in the craft of creative writing and who provides insightful critique and support for other writers in creative workshops.
• Kevin Clark earned the Ray Elvin Horst Award for Excellence in Spanish.

  

At the end of her presentation, Professor Vi Dutcher noted that each award was named for an esteemed emeritus faculty member, and she recognized two emeritus professors Ervie L. Glick and Ray Horst present at the event.

Mathematical Sciences

Cameron Byer, Daniel Harder听and Ben Stutzman were recognized for their win in the international Kryptos crypto-analysis competition. Read more about that win here.

Cameron Byer won the 91短视频 Math Competition, introduced by Professor Daniel Showalter as 鈥渁 competition for people who go out of their way to take a math test when they don鈥檛 have to,鈥� a description epitomized by the second-place-tie-winner Andrew Riemer-Berg, who took the test from Latin America where he is traveling on cross cultural. Ben Stutzman was the other second-place finisher.

Music Department

Andry Stultz and Hannah Schultz received the Excellence in Music Education Award.听Perry Blosser earned the Excellence in Music Composition.

Nursing

The following students were chosen by their peers and faculty.

Rachel Breidigan was awarded the Servant Leadership Award for her service to others. She is president of the Student Nurses Association and will be working on the progressive care unit at RMH. 听She chose nursing for many reasons, including 鈥渢he desire to help others, the strong biblical parallels it has, and, of course, job security.鈥�

Stephanie Slabach Brubaker is awarded the Sacred Covenant Award and the award for academic achievement. The first award reflects the high performance of the embodiment of the Sacred Covenant Model 91短视频 nurses use to guide their practice. In the choice of nursing as her profession, Stephanie hopes to 鈥渃ombine my desire to help others with my fascination with how God orchestrated the human body. I find that through nursing, I can comfort others in their time of need.鈥� Next year, she will join Mennonite Central Committee SALT program to work at a clinic in Bangladesh.

Residence Life

Carissa Luginbill and Scott Eyre recognized eight senior Community Advisors: Elizabeth Eutsler, Austin Huff, Ben Durren, Rediet Girma, Victoria Campbell, Keyri Lopez-Godoy and Robert Weaver.

Scott Eyre mentioned that a record number of CAs are returning next year, one way in which this particular group has left a legacy.

The five nominees for Residence Life鈥檚 Transformational Leadership Award, voted by their peers, are Bailey Hall, Capril Mirarchi, Keyri Lopez-Godoy, Jakya Jones and Phoebe Swe. The finalist will be announced later this week.

Psychology

Four students were recognized by Professor Gregory Koop.

Michael Austin and Michaela Mast jointly earned the Galen R. Lehman Outstanding Achievement in Research, judged on the criteria of initiative and ingenuity, public dissemination, and quality of writing.听Michaela鈥檚 research was titled 听“The brain on music: An inquiry of shared music-color associations.”听Austin鈥檚 research was on “Directed forgetting: Examining accounts through negative priming”

Hannah Cash was awarded the Theory to Praxis Internship Award, for her work with The Making Space, a local art therapy program. Along with other responsibilities, Hannah helped to improve social media presence and community outreach, and was asked to continue her involvement as the new secretary to the board of directors.

Lara Weaver earned Best Undergraduate Poster at the Virginia Association for Psychological Science conference earlier this month. Her project was entitled “Role of intrinsic and extrinsic religious motivation and empathy in predicting theological ideation.”

Student Programs

Jack Hummel and Da鈥橨ahnea Robinson were recognized for their work on Campus Activities Council. Jack served for two years, doing 鈥渁ll things technical,鈥� and Da鈥橨ahnea was marketing director 2016-17 and vice president in 2017, among other roles.

From Common Grounds, the following leaders were recognized: Abe Hartzler, the events manager who hosted 70 campus events; Taylor Esau, who spent two years as a barista and this year as operations manager, a human resources specialist who works with 25-plus employees; Tim Callahan, finance manager; and Sammy Kauffman, who worked for one year as a barista and then two years as catering manager.

Tim Callahan was also recognized for his work with Recreational Sports.

Student Government Association

Caleb Schrock-Hurst and Adam Harnish, co-presidents of spring 2018, ceremonially passed the gavel to Mario Hernandez and Nicole Litwiller, recently elected co-presidents for the fall 2018 semester.

Spring 2018 leaders completing their service include:

• Emmanuel Kampanga, vice president
• Erik Peachey, treasurer
• Rachel Holderman, vice president for marketing
• Jeremy Brenneman, Secretary
• Senators Fred Flores, Hannah Nichols, Ruth Reimer-Berg, Susanna Sewall, Emma Yoder, Grant Amoateng, Joshua Curtis, Mario Hernandez, Paul Kayembe, Donaldo Lleshi, Ella Spitler, Austin Tomlin.

Recently elected fall 2018 officers are:

• Nicole Litwiller and Mario Hernandez, co-presidents;
• Paul Kayembe, vice president;
• Ben Zook, treasurer;
• Luke Mullet, secretary.

Visual and Communication Arts

Junior Missy Muterspaugh was awarded the Matthew Alan Styer Scholarship Grant, which honors 鈥渆xceptional skill and dedication to photography and/or graphic design.鈥�

Royals Cup

Andrew Troyer claimed his third consecutive individual Royals Cup title, for attendance at a wide variety of campus events throughout the year. Elmwood gathered the most points to take the Royals Cup.

The event will be from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, in Martin Chapel.

鈥�91短视频 has a long history of interfaith engagement, represented by its diverse student community, institutional commitments to justice and peacebuilding, and many expressions of global and local engagement,鈥� said the center鈥檚 director, Professor Timothy Seidel. 鈥淚ts centennial year provides a good opportunity to reflect on this history as well as look forward.鈥�

The discussion will use as its basis the 10th anniversary of the publication of (Cascadia Publishing House, 2007), edited by Peter Dula and Alain Epp Weaver. Dula is professor of Bible and religion at 91短视频, while Weaver worked for many years with Mennonite Central Committee in the Middle East, and currently serves as director for strategic planning.

Both Dula and Weaver will attend the roundtable, as well as chapter contributor Gopar Tapkida, a Nigerian peacebuilder and graduate of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding鈥檚 . Carol Tobin, from Virginia Mennonite Missions, and Israa Alhassani, a steering committee member for CIE鈥檚 Interfaith Peace Camp, will also contribute.

The book includes case studies by 10 contributors with experience working for Mennonite Central Committee,听a relief, development, and peacebuilding agency of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in Canada and the United States. The essays represent diverse experiences related to how Mennonites have contributed to peacebuilding and reconciliation in multi-religious contexts. Dula鈥檚 closing essay offers a theological rationale for interfaith collaboration.

鈥淲hen it was published 10 years ago, the editors wanted to encourage current Mennonite institutions, whether that was Mennonite Central Committee or mission agencies or colleges and universities, to learn from the rich history of promoting interfaith and ecumenical cooperation,鈥� Seidel said. 鈥淣ow ten years later, we want to explore what Mennonite interfaith engagement looks like? What lessons have we learned? What relationships have been nurtured?鈥�

The 10 contributors, listed here with the region they originally wrote about, include several 91短视频 alumni: Susan Classen 鈥�79 (Latin America); Roy Hange 鈥�82 (Iran); Jeanne Jantzi 鈥�86 (Indonesia); Chantal Logan (Somalia); Edgar Metzler (Nepal); Gopar Tapkida MA 鈥�01 (Nigeria); Eldon Wagler and Jane-Emile Wagler (Egypt and Syria); Alain Epp Weaver (Palestine-Israel);听 Randall Puljek-Shank MA 鈥�99 (southeast Europe); and Jon Rudy GC 鈥�01, MA 鈥�01 (India).

The following day, CIE will host an inter-agency consultation, closed to the public, to develop recommendations for congregations and individuals working at interfaith engagement.

This is the third such consultation on the topic, with participants representing Mennonite Church USA’s denominational office; Mennonite Mission Network, Eastern Mennonite Missions; Virginia Mennonite Missions; Christian Peacemaker Teams; the Center for Interfaith Engagement and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at 91短视频; and Mennonite Central Committee.

Describe your field of study and research at the University of Virginia and Duke.

I am now enrolled in a Master of Arts in Religious Studies, specifically in the Theology, Ethics, and Culture track.

At Duke, I wrote my thesis with the theologian Willie Jennings (now of Yale) and the chair of the English department, Sarah Beckwith. My thesis looked at the modern concept of race as a way of knowing that judges the meaning, value, and humanity of a body simply based upon skin color and other physical features. My research brought the resources of critical race theory into conversation with Wittgenstein and Cavell鈥檚 account of other-mind skepticism as resulting from dissatisfaction with the conditions of knowledge in order to argue that the modern concept of race represents a rejection of ordinary understandings of what it means to know another human being. I then argued that knowing according to race makes it impossible to recognize a raced other to be Christ for oneself.

My research at UVa builds upon my previous research. I am interested in how Christian theology purports that we know and understand our bodies, the natural world, and language. How would understanding the interconnection between bodies, nature, and language change how we think about what it means to be human beings in world created by God? My theological way of thinking is influenced by other disciplines such as linguistic anthropology and cultural geography. My hunch is that because we do not see the connections between our bodies, the natural world, and our ways of knowing and speaking, we are inclined to instrumentalize nature and other human beings. Given the history of theological rationales for violence done to the earth and the callousness with which Christians have displaced countless peoples from their lands, I believe how we think about these subjects matters a great deal.

How did your academic studies and professors at 91短视频 prepare you for your graduate studies/current work?

I came to 91短视频 as a transfer student from Arizona State University, having been out of school for a number of years. When I arrived at 91短视频, I knew that my goal was to use my time there to prepare for graduate studies in theology and I expressed this to the Bible and Religion department faculty. Having the chance to work closely with听 professors Peter Dula, Ted Grimsrud, Christian Early, and Nancy Heisey prepared me for graduate work not only because they were generous with their time, but also because they were willing to offer the rigorous critiques I needed to help hone my academic skills. The Bible and religion faculty were immensely helpful in directing me to critical texts I needed to familiarize myself with–even above and beyond their syllabi–and they were also very amenable to arranging independent studies on specific areas of interest.

I should also mention that 91短视频 does a great job of bringing in important lecturers in a variety of fields. Between the university colloquia, the Justice Lectures, and various other conferences and events, I grew comfortable engaging with top scholars.

What do you think made your application to graduate school stand out among others?

This is a really hard question to answer. First, it strikes me how well-connected the Bible and Religion Department faculty is with the broader academic world. At the American Academy of Religion, Peter Dula seems to know everyone. Many people I met at Duke knew Peter Dula from his time there, and quite a few people had read (at least) one of Ted Grimsrud’s books at some point. Many people in the academic and church world knew Nancy Heisey either from her work with Mennonite Central Committee or Mennonite World Conference.

Second and most importantly, I have been told that many letters of recommendations sound very generic because the constraints of academic life often don’t allow professors to get to know students particularly well. I was confident when I asked for letters from my professors at 91短视频 that they knew my particular interests as well as my strength and weaknesses.

What attracted you to attend 91短视频 as an undergraduate?

I had started my undergraduate studies at another university, but focused most of my time and attention working for a couple of Christian nonprofits. Around the time that I was looking to go back to school to finish my bachelor’s degree, I had become very influenced by peace-church theology. I was not personally familiar with the Mennonites, but I had a friend who went to James Madison University and had attended Community Mennonite Church while there. He encouraged me to look into 91短视频 and after chatting with Peter Dula鈥搘ho I learned had studied with Stanley Hauerwas, a major influence of mine鈥揑 decided to apply and commit to 91短视频. I was looking for a program with a strong faculty in the areas of Biblical studies and theology, but I also did not want to be in a large school. 91短视频, then, was a perfect fit.

What are some favorite memories of your time at 91短视频?

Most of my favorite memories from 91短视频 involve time spent with professors, usually in their offices after class talking about this or that book. Probably my favorite memory though, was going on the Quebec cross-cultural with Nancy Heisey. Montreal was such an amazing city to live in for almost a month, and the topics we studied such as secularism and Quebecois class struggles were fascinating. This also afforded me the opportunity to get to know Nancy Heisey better; I took two or three classes with her at 91短视频, but she we also quite busy as the interim dean.

What do you think makes 91短视频 graduates distinctive?

91短视频 graduates always have a passion for something interesting and important. I think the combination of academic rigor, commitment to justice and environmental sustainability, and Anabaptist convictions shapes students who care for the broader world but also about the local community. This is why you have 91短视频 grads who go work for Mennonite Central Committee in Iraq as well as those who live in intentional communities and work for neighborhood development organizations. In the academic world, I can say that the 91短视频 grads I’ve known have always had a passion for interesting and important topics. They bring not only their intellects to the academy, but their commitment as activists and educators.

Describe your program听at Princeton.

I am completing a master鈥檚 degree in public and international affairs at Princeton University through the Woodrow Wilson School. It has four concentrations: international relations, international development, domestic policy and economic policy. The program gives a lot of attention to quantitative tools such as econometrics (see: statistics!) and economics as well gaining a sense of how our political system works and how human psychology affects how policy is made and received. Many students who graduate go on to run for office, work for elected representatives or in local, state or federal government in the US and many others end up working for the World Bank, the UN, or other large international organizations as well as smaller NGOs.

I think it鈥檚 a program that could frankly benefit from the perspective of Mennonites and graduates of 91短视频 steeped in peacebuilding studies. The program tends towards the status quo and in that sense, can be quite frustrating for those already shy of engaging power. Yet it also grants access to a whole new network of folks who care about what is happening politically in this world and it is a very different and important perspective for those who care about peace to have. Furthermore, everyone accepted to the MPA program is fully funded.

How did your academic studies and professors at 91短视频 prepare you for your graduate studies/current work?

My studies at 91短视频 provided me with a critical peace-focused worldview which has shaped how I approach my past professional and current academic ventures. I have tended to more naturally consider the implications of actions and policies on the poor and less powerful members of society thanks to the focus 91短视频’s peace studies gave me. 91短视频 also helped me be comfortable with developing relationships with professors.

What do you think made your application to graduate school stand out among others?

I think my grassroots experience in peacebuilding and community organizing as well as my clear focus on peacebuilding since undergrad was unique. Many of my classmates have worked in far more typical office-settings but few have done as on-the-ground work as my Mennonite Central Committee and Industrial Areas Foundation background have afforded me. Being a decent essay-writer and speaking multiple languages was also likely helpful.

What attracted you to attend 91短视频 as an undergraduate?

91短视频’s global perspective, social justice lens, peacebuilding major and required cross-cultural as well as its small size and intentionally Christian values were all attractive to me. I wanted a faith-based institution with progressive and peace-centered values.

What do you think makes 91短视频 graduates distinctive?

91短视频 graduates tend to be salt-of-the-earth kind of people. I think they’re emotionally intelligent and well-rounded, by and large.

What are some favorite memories of your time at 91短视频?

There are countless. Some of my most meaningful memories are of organizing with fellow students around anti-occupation work as it relates to Israel/Palestine and advocating for divestment. The community of student activists became my home and I can recall countless dinners, meetings and weekends working with Larisa Zehr, Meg Brauckmann and others trying to put into practice the values we were learning in class and continue to hold to today. I also deeply appreciated Professor ‘s 鈥淓thics in the Way of Jesus鈥� class. I have a wonderful memory of Obama’s first election and coloring in the states he won at Common Grounds and I have wonderful memories of hymn sings and honors group hikes. By a long shot, it is the community I got to become a part of and build at 91短视频 that has been and remains the most important take-away from 91短视频.

Read more about .

Each year since 2013, faculty, staff, and students select a book that relates to contemporary situations and which will generate conversation around important themes. Most of the finalists for this year 鈥渃onnected to themes of race and justice, an indicator of what鈥檚 in the general zeitgeist in our country and on our minds at 91短视频,鈥� said professor and Intellectual Life Committee member .

In the series of letters to his teenage son about his life experiences as an African American male, Coates challenges readers to examine assumptions about race, history, education, faith and social change.

Common Read activities at 91短视频 throughout the year will include conversations about race, diversity and identity, including Anabaptist identity.

Five Thursday noon reading circles, beginning Sept. 14 in the East Dining Room and facilitated by Professor , will jump-start the discussion. Each hour-long conversation will focus on consecutive sections of the book. A second round of reading circles will run for five weeks starting Wednesday, Nov. 1 from 5-6 p.m. in Northlawn Great Lounge.

Social justice activist and civil rights attorney Fania Davis will contribute to those discussions in April when she spends a week on campus as a , sponsored by the .

Toni Morrison calls Between the World and Me 鈥渞equired reading,鈥� and wrote, 鈥淚鈥檝e been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates. The language of Between the World and Me, like Coates鈥檚 journey, is visceral, eloquent, and beautifully redemptive. And its examination of the hazards and hopes of black male life is as profound as it is revelatory.鈥�

The book was chosen long before the that threatened the nation鈥檚 sense of inclusiveness and angered many in 贰惭鲍鈥檚 social justice-oriented community. But Beachy thinks that there is plenty in the book to challenge even this sympathetic, academic culture, from conceptions of whiteness that Coates says is at the heart of racism, to his response to the reverence for non violence in civil rights action in a world 鈥渟ecured and ruled by savage means.鈥�

Coates also rejects the 鈥渕agic鈥� of religious faith: 鈥淭he spirit and soul are the body and brain, which are destructible 鈥� that is precisely why they are so precious,鈥� he writes. However, in their introduction to the collection of original essays Between the World of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Christianity (Wipf & Stock: forthcoming), professors and note a Tweet by Coates in which he said, 鈥淏est thing about #BetweenTheWorldAndMe is watching Christians engage the work. Serious learning experience for me.鈥� Their book, they say, 鈥渃an be read as a response鈥� to Coates鈥� insights.

鈥淭he value of Between the World and Me for all of us in this campus community is that it invites us to see through the eyes of another person as he honestly relates to his son his own, specific experience of what it means to live in a black body in America,鈥� said Beachy.

The final blessing, offered by Undergraduate Campus Pastor , included a prayer for each attendee, the students from all faiths and backgrounds who would begin arriving on campus that day, and 鈥� in acknowledgement of 鈥� for courage to confront 鈥渟ystems of racism that destroy rather than build the Kingdom of God.鈥�

This year鈥檚 theme听鈥斕�淓xpanding the Legacy, Enlarging the Tent鈥� 鈥� emphasized integrating 贰惭鲍鈥檚 history and traditions with a vision for its second century; the conference also officially launched 贰惭鲍鈥檚 celebrations.

Strong vision

President donned three different types of eyewear during her keynote address to illustrate the 鈥渟pecial kind of seeing we do in Anabaptist Mennonite schools 鈥� more clearly, deeply and widely.鈥� [Listen to the .]

91短视频 is well-poised with 鈥渟trong vision and high purpose鈥� for the future, she said.

Merging perspectives of hindsight and foresight with Anabaptist-inspired insight, she noted 贰惭鲍鈥檚 strong and vibrant historic legacy; a robust, holistic and distinctive education that includes cross-cultural study and faith formation; and a cohesive, faith-filled community of faculty and staff.

鈥淲e have just begun to promote a vibrant future of counter-cultural Mennonite education, one that prepares our students for relevant and in-demand careers and meaningful spiritual lives shaped by the reconciling love of Jesus,鈥� Huxman said.

While praising 贰惭鲍鈥檚 entrepreneurial spirit, epitomized in pioneering professor emeritus and philanthropist Margaret 鈥淪peedy鈥� Martin Gehman and Alumnus of the Year , Huxman noted new academic offerings: the program, offered collaboratively with Goshen (Indiana) College, as well as the new four-year and a neuroscience minor.

Approximately 380 new and returning employees participated. The fall semester begins Monday, Aug. 28.

听Many voices

A panel of respondents to Huxman鈥檚 speech included , , and . The final session of storytelling, a much-loved tradition, included , , , and .

Special guest Donald B. Kraybill provided a one-hour preview of his forthcoming Centennial history, 91短视频: One Hundred Years of Counter-Cultural Education (Penn State Press, 2017) to be released at the Oct. 13-15 .

Four breakout sessions highlighted influential programs, themes and concepts:

• 鈥� Professors and traced the history of racial-ethnic diversity at 91短视频, with special attention to current diversity trends and shifting paradigms. They asked, 鈥淗ow could and should paradigms and power structures shift? How can and should our new diversity help us more fully understand and realize the radical nature of our Anabaptist values?鈥� Click here to .

• Drinking in Knowledge at the Source: 91短视频’s Cross Cultural Program 鈥� A panel of five experienced cross-cultural program leaders discussed one of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 most unique academic programs and included , professor and interim cross-cultural program director; , program assistant; , emeritus professor; , cross-cultural leader and adjunct instructor; and professors and .
• Creating a Beloved Community at 91短视频: Organizational Culture as Blessing and Barrier 鈥� Professor discussed culture and sub-culture identities as both assets and liabilities. He invited the group to list both blessings and barriers to 贰惭鲍鈥檚 culture (and multiple sub cultures), noting that you must first understand your own organizational culture before you can听interpret for听鈥斕齛nd thus fully integrate听鈥斕齨ewcomers.
• 鈥淭hy Word is Truth鈥�: Old Song, New Tune 鈥� Professor , associate dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, and Professor discussed 鈥渨ord鈥� and 鈥渢ruth鈥� as the biblical writer imagined these words, and engaged with ways that the motto speaks to听91短视频 at 100 years.

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Applied Social Sciences Department

Rachel Crist, Sarah Boshart, Harrison Horst and Samantha Jacob received honor cords signifying their membership into the Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society from Dr. Carolyn Stauffer and Dr. Jenni Holsinger. 贰惭鲍鈥檚 new chapter joins 650 other college chapters.

Biology and Chemistry Department

Janaya M. Sachs was named Outstanding Senior Chemistry Student, the highest award given to a chemistry/biochemistry major who demonstrates high academic achievement, significant research experience and the potential to contribute to the field. She will be recognized with other outstanding senior chemistry majors by the Virginia Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and was given a Merck Index by the ACS and the Merck Company. Read more about one of听 .

Tyler D. Denlinger and Robert H. Propst earned recognition as the Outstanding Senior Biology students, the highest award to acknowledge exceptional academic, scholarly and service accomplishments throughout a student鈥檚 career at 91短视频. The award also recognizes characteristics of initiative, wisdom, diligence, collegiality and integrity.

Kaylee M. Ferguson was given the Outstanding Service Award. Consideration is given to scholarship across the entire 91短视频 career, including research outside of the 91短视频 context, as well as qualities of leadership, citizenship, compassion, a commitment to working with others and the ability to place their 91短视频 experience with the context of service.

Diego C. Barahona earned the Excellence in Research Award for his exceptional performance in independent research, demonstrating initiative, integrity, knowledge of subject and high technical aptitude. Read more about one of his .

Leah C. Lapp was recognized as outstanding first-year chemistry student. Mario J. Hernandez was named outstanding second-year biology student.

Winners of the STEM poster contest, upperclass division are: first, Samantha Kauffman and Marchelle Smucker; second, Eli Wenger; third, Diego Barahona; honorable mention, Tyler Brenneman; Kyle Johnson and David Nester; Aron Harder, Austin Engle, Dylan Grove, James Paetkau, Ben Zook, Andrew Troyer and Collin Longenecker.

Winners of the STEM poster contest, underclass division are: first, Leah Lapp and Melissa Kinkaid; second, Seth Weaver and Jared Bergman; third, Linda Ouedraogo and Caroline Lehman.

Bible and Religion Department

The winners of an essay contest in the field of Bible, theology, church history and philosophy, sponsored by Haverim, the alumni association of Bible and Religion Department, were recognized. Justine Nolt won $300 and first place for her analysis of Eucharistic theology. Christina Hershey won $200 and second place for her treatment of Lancaster Mennonite Conference鈥檚 decision to leave Mennonite Church USA.听Janaya Sachs was awarded $100 and third place for her exegesis of 1 Corinthians 5.

Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

听The following students were recognized by Executive Director Daryl Byler: Caitlin Morneau, for publication of an article on restorative justice; Kajungu Mturi, for his work with Harrisonburg High School鈥檚 Peer Leaders program; Matt Tibbles, for work with youth at Harrisonburg and Rockingham County Boys and Girls Club; Jennifer Chi Lee, for overall leadership to CJP; and Myriam Aziz, Sho Igawa, Christine Kindler, Agnes Chen and Isabel Castillo for their Arts and Peacebuilding film productions.

Education Department

Five students were selected as Teachers of Promise by Don Steiner, interim department chair: Dorothy Hershey, Rebekah Hertzler, Erick Luna, Miranda Lyle and Amy Nussbaum. Teachers of Promise is a statewide honor recognizing gifted pre-service teachers.

Paul Lankford was awarded the Courage to Teach award, which is modeled after the principles of Quaker educator Parker Palmer. 鈥淧aul was selected for his dedication and effectiveness in teaching, genuine caring for students, value-based and highly principled behaviors, reflective thought and practice and a passion for teaching,鈥� Steiner said. Lankford was awarded a copy of Palmer鈥檚 Courage to Teach book.

History Department

Robert Cook was awarded the Outstanding History Student for his essay on Rockbridge County schools integration. A future social studies educator, he was awarded a copy of A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor.

Language and Literature Department

The following awards were presented by department chair Mike Medley:

• The Ray Elvin Horst Award for Excellence in Spanish: Maddie Gish
• Jay B. Landis Award (Literary essay): Jasmine Miller
• The Ervie L. Glick Award for Excellence in World Language Study: Anna Messer
• James Bomberger Award (TESOL): Jasmine Miller
• Carroll Yoder Award (English teaching): Quinn Kathrineberg
• Omar Eby Award (Creative writing): Kaitlin Abrahams

Mathematical Sciences Department

Junior Aron Harder was the winner of the department鈥檚 mathematics contest. Harder also won this contest as a first-year student. His prize was what Professor Owen Byer described as a 鈥渕ath geek鈥� t-shirt. Second place went to first-year Austin Engle.

Seven members of the Engineers for a Sustainable World club won first place in the first- and second-year undergraduate design team division at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Zone 2 Conference early March in Puerto Rico. Ben Zook, Dylan Grove, James Paetkau, Collin Longenecker, Austin Engle, Ben Stutzman and Andrew Troyer were recognized for their work.

Music Department

Jon Bishop was recognized as the Outstanding Senior in Music Composition Award. Jacinda Stahly earned the Outstanding Senior in Music Performance award.

Nursing Department

Professors Audrey Myers and Ann Schaeffer, Nursing Student Association (NSA) sponsors, presented the department鈥檚 annual awards.

Nina Simmons was given the Leadership Award, for her work in the NSA to involve all levels of students. She will work after graduation in the intensive care unit at Augusta Health.

Abbie Luther was given the Sacred Covenant Award. The sacred covenant is a model of nursing that honors the relationship between the nurse and the patient. 鈥淣ursing has shaped me and continues to shape me into embodying Christ in my everyday life,鈥� said Luther. 鈥淥ne of the biggest reasons I decided to study nursing was because it allowed me to be the hands and feet of Jesus. As my future as a nurse unfolds, my hope is that I stay grounded in this simple truth. Kindness, presence, grace, love and compassion will be my guiding light.鈥�

Leona Good听earned the Academic Achievement Award. 鈥淣ursing school has challenged me to step up because I know that my knowledge and education impacts the care I am able to give others. I am driven by the desire to be the best nurse I can be for my patients. As my journey into nursing begins this next year, I am looking forward to how my career will allow me to offer myself and form relationships with people in their most vulnerable times.鈥�

Visual and Communication Arts and Theater Department

Lila Marks received the Matthew Alan Styer VaCA Scholarship Grant for excellence and dedication to photography. 鈥淟ila is a passionate and compassionate documentary photographer of human encounters,鈥� said Steven David Johnson, department chair. Johnson added that Marks is an excellent student, receptive to critique and already approaching photography with a critical and professional acumen and interest. She is pursuing a vocation in humanitarian documentary photography.

The cast of earned a Certificate of Merit for Ensemble Acting from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The cast includes Jeremiah Hines, Dylan Peachy, Collin Dutt, Abigail Greaser, Emma Roth, Clara Bush, Robert Weaver and Esther Ajayi.

Greaser and Bush earned nominations for the Irene Ryan Acting Competition. Roth is an alternate.

Ezrionna Prioleau was recognized for her outstanding work in stage management for The 39 Steps and recommended for the KCACTF national competition in stage management.

Academic Success Center and Writing Program

Janaya Sachs was honored as Tutor of the Year. 鈥淪he has been a chemistry, mathematics, Bible and general-whatever-I-can-help-you-with-I-will-help-you-with tutor,鈥� said Linda Gnagey, director of the Academic Success Center. 鈥淲e want to thank Janaya for three years of support for many different students at many different academic levels and departments.鈥�

Graduating tutors were also recognized: Kaylee Ferguson (biology), Leona Good (nursing), Jacob Hertzler (computer science), Andre Kalend (biology and history), Lamar Kiser (nursing), Timothy Martin (mathematics) and Sam Miller (biology). Quinn Kathrineberg and Luisa Miller were recognized by Professor Vi Dutcher, director of the Writing Program.

Common Grounds Coffeehouse

鈥淐ommon Grounds Coffeehouse is routinely blessed to be led by exceptional students who give boundless creative energy and passion to their shared work,鈥� said Rachel Roth Sawatzky, student programs director. She recognized three of the five managers who are seniors: Stephanie Anders, events manager; Maddie Gish, operations manager; and Ryan Thomas, finance manager.

Read more about their contributions .

Student Government Association

The spring 2017 executive council was recognized: Quinn Kathrineberg, president; Mario Valladares, vice president; Keyri Lopez- Godoy, secretary; Rachel Holderman, vice president of marketing; and Tyler Denlinger, treasurer.

Spring 2017 senators are Dera Nwankwo, Nicole Litwiller, Rebecca Cardwell, Val Hernandez, Seth Weaver, John Sanchez, Ali Zuercher, Carlos Garcia, Lamar Kiser, Leah Wenger, Luke Mullet, Caroline Lehman, and Victoria Barnes.

Campus Activities Council

Seniors Ali Hartzler and Jeremiah Robinson were recognized by Mike Yoder, assistant director of student programs and orientation for their commitment and dedication to providing creative and positive entertainment that engages the entire student body. Hartzler has been involved for two years with the tech department and as vice-president this year. Robinson joined CAC this year. Both have been instrumental in planning a variety of events, including the Color Run at Homecoming, the Presidents Ball, and Springfest.

Campus Ministries

Pastoral assistants were recognized: Rachel Breidigan, Maddie List, Grayson Mast, Janaya Sachs, Hannah Shultz, Alexa Weeks and Brittany Williams.

Ministry assistants were recognized: Sarah Regan, Bekah Mongold, Madalynn Payne, Nathaniel Nissley, Cameron White, Alex Wissler, Andrew Troyer, Dylan Grove, Austin Sachs, Jenna Lile, Maia Garber, Seth Weaver, Abigail Shelly, Ariel Barbosa, Justin Odom, Taylor Allen, Clarissa White, Lydia Haggard, Lindsay Acker, Kyra Lehman, Janet Spain, and Joseph Harder.

Residence Life

听Seniors and community assistants Eli Wenger and Becky Barrett were recognized for three years of service. Wenger鈥檚 鈥渒ind and welcoming鈥� personality was noted as well as his ability to create enthusiastic participants in community.

Barrett 鈥渆ffortlessly gets along with all of her residents,鈥� said Tyler Goss, resident director. 鈥淪he is driven, organized and not afraid to speak up. She is a strong, grounded and welcoming leader.鈥�

Goss also recognized Matthew Hunsberger, who has been promoted to assistant director of residence life after many years as a residence director.

Athletics

All second-semester athletics award-winners were honored. Their accomplishments can be viewed .

, director of student programs, opened the service: “Every day on this campus, there are great people doing great things, big and small gestures, accomplishments made after long-term commitments and one-off unexpected triumphs. Most of these good deeds are never recognized. We all carry on our work and responsibilities, working hard at doing the right thing because we care and we are people of integrity鈥hat鈥檚 what real leadership is all about.鈥�

While no one works solely with hope of recognition as motivation, Sawatzky said recognition is important 鈥渢o pause and honor these individuals 鈥nd to say thank you to the students who are leaders, scholars, athletes, volunteers, dramatists, future nurses, future teachers, tutors, theologians and advocates.”

She also noted that such students 鈥渟et the bar high for students around them鈥� and provide 鈥渕otivation, energy and meaning to us as professional staff 鈥� You are what makes 91短视频 not just a good place to work and learn, but a great place.”

Language and Literature Department

Department chair presented the following awards, which honor former faculty members and current scholars:

Nathan Peters was awarded the Jay B. Landis Award for Excellence in Literary Studies.

Naomi Scoville was given the Omar Eby Writing Award and the James R. Bomberger Award for Excellence in TESOL.

English education major Rebekah Hertzler earned the Carroll Yoder Award for Teaching Excellence.

The Ervie L. Glick Award for Excellence in World Language Study was given to Teresa Garcia-Bautista, who Medley said “has exhibited academic excellence and a clear sense of calling in using her studies in graduate studies and service to the church.”

Kari King, who was the student representative on the faculty search committee, earned The Ray Elvin Horst Award for Excellence in Spanish.

Education Department

Teachers of Promise Institute are Austin Mumaw, Erin Nafziger, Isaac Driver, Malea Gascho and Ruthie Beck.

The “Courage to Teach” Award was presented to Angelica Diaz.

Psychology Department

The Exemplary Achievement in Psychology: Service and Scholarship was awarded to senior Brooke Lacock, co-president of the Psychology Club, for her impact on the and the campus as a whole, said Professor .

Mackenzie Lapp and Rachel Bowman earned the G.R. Lehman Outstanding Achievement in Research award for their “exceptional dedication” to their senior research projects. Koop praised their “intellectual curiousity and dogged persistence” and predicted future graduate school success.

All three students are among nine psychology majors at the Virginia Association for Psychological Science annual conference April 20-22, 2016, in Newport News, Virginia.

Science Department

Outstanding Second-Year Biology Student was awarded to Samantha L. Kauffman by Professor

Eyan P. Roth and Hannah L. Weaver were named Outstanding Senior Biology Students, especially impressive, said Professor , as both are transfer students and “distinguished themselves in the two years they’ve been here.”

Professor recognized three students: senior , for his entry into the Student Research Competition of the Special Interest Group in Computer Science Education; and first-year students Claire J. Waedelich and Carolann G. Wengerd for their poster presentations at Capitol Region Celebration of Women In Computing. Wengerd earned a third-place award at the undergraduate level.

Three students, all absent on their cross-cultural trip this semester, were recognized. was named Outstanding Senior Chemistry Student. Janaya M. Sachs earned an award for excellence in research. Maria R. Yoder was recognized as Outstanding First-Year Chemistry Student.

Nursing Department

Jess Rheinheimer was recognized by Professor for academic excellence in n studies. Recently named , Rheinheimer is a member of the Honors Program and has been inducted into Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honors Society.

Ann Marie Bauer was awarded the , which recognizes student-nurses who exemplify 91短视频’s “sacred covenant” model : service, empathy, agape love, empowerment, and faith.

Recognition for servant leadership went to Louise Krall, co-president of the Student Nurses Association.

Bible and Religion Department

Professor named the winners of the essay contest as Bekah York and Christian Hershey, sharing first place and a $500 cash prize, and Christian Parks, who won $100, for their scholarly work. Haverim is the alumni group of the department.

Theater Department

Professor recognized Clara Bush, MaKayla Baker and Caleb Townsend for their nominations for the Irene Ryan Acting Competition by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. All three are members of the cast of “,” currently in its final run on campus.

Multicultural Services

Oksana Kittrell, Tae Dews and Christian Parks听 were the student leaders for the first that traveled over spring break. Christian Parks and Philip Watson planned and implemented the first on campus. Londen Wheeler, minister of music, and Christian Parks, choir director, provided leadership to the gospel choir. Brittany Williams, Oksana Kittrell, Kendi Mwongo, Tae Dews and Makora Nyagwegwe led efforts in organizing the first President’s Ball.听 Delight Tigoe and Lynne Cha led the Alpha Omega Dancers for Christ.

Residence Life

Resident director recognized three-year Community Assistants , Andrew Yoder and Sam Stoner, and also senior returning Community Assistants, Valerie Meza-Cooper and Londen Wheeler. Community assistants live and serve in the residence halls.

Academic Success Center

Director presented certificates of thanks to the following student-graduates who provided services in the : Alex Bender (two years, computer science tutor), Tylar Burgdorf (one year, receptionist), Giulio Garner (two years, Spanish tutor), Stephan Goertzen (one year, computer science tutor), Brielle Hoch (four years receptionist), Andrea King (fpur years receptionist and tutor), Jaclyn Kratz (three years, math tutor), Isaac Mast (one year, computer science tutor), Lauren Sauder (one year, writing and economics tutor), and Andrew Yoder (two years, economics tutor).

Kristy Wertz, a two-year nursing tutor, was recognized as Tutor of the Year.

Student Programs

Common Grounds Coffeehouse management team this year was Rachel Schrock, events manager; Abby Dwyer, operations manager; Brianna Kauffman, finance manager; and Valerie Meza-Cooper, catering manager.

Timothy Callahan, Juan Luna and Kegan Yoder served on the Recreation Sports Leadership Council, which oversaw the nearly 500 members of the campus community involved in intermural sports. Terry Dotson and Colton Frey were the Game Room Leadership Council, which helped to set the budget and make decisions regarding programs and offerings for the approximately 2,500 visitors who used the game room this year.

Campus Ministries

, undergraduate campus pastor, recognized ministry assistants in the residence halls:听 Megan Bishop, Perry Blosser, Sarah Boshart, Heyrin (Lynn) Cha, Dylan Grove, Abe Hartzler, Oksana Kittrell, Keyri Lopez-Godoy, Luis Longo, Jasmine Miller, Lydia Musselman, Da’Jahnea Robinson, Austin Sachs and Janet Spain.

Pastoral assistants, who support the MAs, are Jonathan Augsberger, Amanda Helfrich, Christina Hershey, Jolee Paden, Grayson Mast, Lydia Tissue, Courtney Unruh and Wesley Wilder.

Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD) Series II Certificate of Completion

The following students completed a leadership seminar series: Brittany Williams, Alex Miller, Abby Dwyer, Meg Green, Hannah Heishman, Rachel Schrock, Grantley Showalter, Olga Balthazar, Delight Tigoe, Malachi Bontrager, Cameron White, Rediet Girma, Gillian Zehr, Ben Zook, Kegan Yoder, Tae Dews, Oksana Kittrell, Richard Robinson, Mario Hernandez, Alejandra Tejada Rivera, Jesse Reist, Jonae Guest, Makora Nyagwegwe and Heyrin Cha.

Student Government leaders and athletes in winter and spring sports who had earned honors (see w) were also recognized.

Editor’s Note: The following Visual and Communication Arts students were recognized in a separate ceremony April 22: Styer Scholarship, Azariah Cox; photography, Jonathan Bush; studio, Brooke Lacock; video, Jonathan Bush and Caleb Schlabach; and motion graphics, Rachel Cardwell.