草莓社区

For the second time, author Dr. Joseph Martin has made his alma mater the site of a book launch celebration.

In 2011, he released 鈥淎lfalfa to Ivy: Memoir of a Harvard Medical School Dean鈥� (University of Alberta Press) at 草莓社区. [Read about this event.]

During the Centennial Homecoming and Family Weekend in mid-October, Martin offered its sequel 鈥� 鈥�,鈥� (Friesen Press, 2017) a collection of 14 essays from commencement addresses and other academic settings where science and religion were relevant topics.

A book-signing event drew more than $43,000 in donations for the . A limited number of signed copies are still available in exchange for a donation to the renovation fund. [See the end of the article for more information about purchasing a book.]

鈥楾he Burden of Integrity鈥�

The first essay to appear in the book, a 1981 commencement address delivered at then-Eastern Mennonite College, provided the spark that eventually led to Martin鈥檚 latest book. He ran across the typewritten text while cleaning out his office after retiring as dean of Harvard Medical School in July 2016.

The words are still 鈥渧ery relevant today,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the burden of integrity, the challenge to live in a world that is in disarray in so many different ways, and we need the kind of people who graduate from schools like EMC/EMU to make the world a better place.鈥�

Other readings come from convocations offered at Bethel College, University of Calgary and McGill University; commencement at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Brown University, University of Rochester and EMU; and two addresses to the medical community.

The book brings together perspectives on science, ethics, medicine, leadership and academic issues such as affirmative action. Each essay is flanked by commentary that situates the essay in its context and 鈥渁 postscript about where we are today,鈥� Martin says.

Love for EMU

Why is EMU such a dear place in Martin鈥檚 heart? It鈥檚 where he met his future wife, Rachel Wenger in 1958. Besides meeting his lifetime companion, Martin says the intellectual, progressive experience of an EMC education 鈥渙pened my eyes wide,鈥� he remembered.

He recalls 鈥渁n intellectual environment, superb teachers and friendships,鈥� many of which have remained strong over the years: in 2015, eight former classmates, all graduates of 1959, traveled to Virginia with their wives for a retreat.

Martin, a native of Canada, came to then-Eastern Men颅nonite College after three years at the University of Alberta, including one year of medical school. He arrived in Harrisonburg by bus, traveling with his cousin. Word got around quickly about the two new Canadian students on campus, and it wasn鈥檛 long before he met Rachel Wenger. Though their first date to climb Massanutten Mountain was cancelled by a downpour, they soon became inseparable (in fact, the Shenandoah yearbook named them “Couple of the Year”).

At EMC, Martin studied mu颅sic, church history, ethics and choral conducting, eventually graduating with a degree in Bible. His academic background made him an attraction to several pre-med majors who became fast friends, among them Linford Gehman, Joe Longacher, J. Daniel Hess, Roy Hartzler, Ed Martin, Bob Hostetler and John Rutt.

鈥淚 was the odd-ball who had been to medical school and they all wanted to know what that was like and I was over here doing seminary鈥� it was a wonderful mix of people,鈥� Martin recalled, adding that several who gathered together in 2015 went on to careers in medicine.

So too did Martin. He married Rachel and earned a medical degree from the University of Alberta in 1962 and a doctorate in anatomy from the Univer颅sity of Rochester in 1971.

Martin has served as chief of neurology at Mass颅achusetts General Hospi颅tal, dean of the school of medicine and later chan颅cellor of the University of California, San Francisco.

In 1997, he was named dean of the Harvard Facul颅ty of Medicine, a role he held until 2007. Today, he continues at Harvard as emeritus professor of neurobiology.

Dr. Martin鈥檚 book is available for purchase directly from . Autographed copies may be obtained by making a contribution to support . Contact Kirk Shisler 鈥�81 at kirk.shisler@emu.edu or call 540-432-4499 for more information.