鈥淥ne of the most important tasks of the [EMU and MEA] boards is the appointment of a president,鈥� said MEA board chair Judy Miller. 鈥淭he charge to the committee is to create a presidential position profile informed by multiple perspectives including existing statements of strategic direction for the university. The committee will review the position profile with both the EMU and MEA boards and promote the position in order to generate a broad range of candidates. Committee work will culminate in recommendation of a candidate of choice to the EMU and MEA boards.鈥�

Andy Dula, president of the EMU Board of Trustees, said, 鈥淚 am grateful for the diversity of life experiences and perspectives represented by this committee. I am confident that the search committee, led by trustee Evon Bergey, will recommend a president ideally suited for leading and expanding EMU鈥檚 mission to educate students to serve and lead in the global context.鈥�

The committee includes:

• Evon Bergey, current EMU board member and chair of the search committee, Perkasie, Pennsylvania. Bergey is Vice President, Operations Public Sector, .
• Shana Peachey Boshart, EMU board member, Wellman, Iowa. Boshart is conference minister for Christian formation, youth ministry, congregational resources and communications for .
• Steve Brenneman, founder and CEO of , Goshen, Indiana. Brenneman is a graduate of EMU and parent of an incoming EMU student. Brenneman previously served on the board of and as an EMU associate trustee.
• Hannah Chappell-Dick, EMU student, Bluffton, Ohio. This fall, Chappell-Dick will be a senior in the EMU Honors Program with a major in biology.
• , PhD., professor at EMU and former academic dean, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Heisey served as president of Mennonite World Conference from 2003-2009.
• Basil Marin, MEA board member, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Marin is a graduate of . He serves as a pastor for , a member congregation of .
• Cedric A. Moore, Jr., chief executive officer of the , Richmond, Virginia. Moore is an EMU graduate and serves as vice-president of the EMU Alumni Council.
• J. Richard Thomas, superintendent of , Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Thomas is a former EMU board member and former moderator for .
• , PhD., EMU professor of , Harrisonburg, Virginia. Sawin is the director of the EMU Honors Program and serves as a member of the Regional Chapters Committee of the American Studies Association.
• Roy Williams, MEA board member, Tampa, Florida. Williams is a retired bank executive, the pastor of and former moderator of Mennonite Church USA.
• Carlos Romero, executive director of Mennonite Education Agency, Goshen, Indiana. Romero is an ex-officio member of the search committee.

The Presidential Search Committee is responsible to both the EMU board and the MEA board. 鈥淭he 10 search committee members, selected by MEA and EMU board with faculty and student nominations were selected to ensure a wide representation of the voice of the stakeholders,鈥� said Evon Bergey, chair of the search committee. 鈥淭he committee will work to discern the leadership needs for 草莓社区, keeping closely in mind the unique contributions that EMU as a church institution has made 鈥� past, present and future 鈥� to the church, the local community and the world.鈥�

Carlos Romero, executive director of MEA and ex-officio member of the search committee, said, 鈥淚 believe the committee is well-equipped to search for and recommend a president for EMU who will help lead the institution into the future. The breadth of experience and deep commitment to EMU and Mennonite Church USA is a precious gift that each of the committee members brings to the endeavor.鈥� Romero noted that at the first meeting in July, the committee will lay the groundwork for the search process and refine the presidential profile.

Editor’s note: Anne Kaufman Weaver ’88 was added to the committee after publication of this article. Weaver is from Brownstown, Pennsylvania, and works as a leadership coach with Coaching Connection. Weaver has served, along with her husband, Dr. Todd Weaver, on the Science Campaign Steering Committee. She will graduate in 2016 with a master’s in divinity from Eastern Mennonite Seminary.

The November 2013 board decision to suspend personnel actions related to the current hiring policy remains in effect as discernment continues.

In offering his public appreciation to President Loren Swartzendruber ’76, MDiv ’79, DMin, and his leadership team, Andy Dula ’91, chair of the EMU board of trustees, said, 鈥淚 am proud to be part of EMU, a university where contentious issues can be engaged with mutual respect and with Christian discernment and compassion. We are extremely grateful for President Swartzendruber鈥檚 leadership during this challenging time.鈥�

Carlos Romero, executive director of Mennonite Education Agency 鈥� which liaisons with six Mennonite higher education institutions 鈥� said: 鈥淭he process was consistent with how the church engages in discernment around difficult issues.鈥�

The president鈥檚 cabinet invited a wide range of constituents 鈥� including students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and church leaders 鈥� to fill out survey forms giving their views on EMU’s hiring policy, which to date restricts hiring to those who are single and celibate or those in recognized marriages. More than 7,000 people participated in the survey.

In addition, 20 鈥渄ialogue sessions鈥� were held on campus, encompassing about 300 individuals. At least one president鈥檚 cabinet member was present at each session to listen and report perspectives without attribution to the rest of the cabinet. The president and cabinet members also engaged leaders across the church.

鈥淭he listening process was extremely valuable in enabling the president鈥檚 cabinet to gain a deeper understanding of the range of feelings, hopes and fears about extending university employment to persons in same-sex covenanted relationships,鈥� said Dula.

鈥淏ased on this feedback, we acknowledge that the church is currently engaged in extensive discernment over human sexuality. We wish to honor our relationship with the church by not taking a final action now on changing EMU鈥檚 hiring policy.鈥�

Swartzendruber emphasized that the listening process was never viewed as a 鈥渄emocratic process鈥� with the outcome determined by the most votes, but rather 鈥渁s a way of hearing from those who care deeply about EMU.鈥�

Swartzendruber confirmed that views proved to be highly divergent and often passionate, regardless of the stance. 鈥淲e never expected to see consensus on this matter,鈥� said Swartzendruber. 鈥淲e were hoping for respectful dialogue, and indeed this is what we saw within our university community. Internally there was a consistent theme of wanting to maintain unity in spite of our diversity on these and other important issues.

鈥淓MU鈥檚 role as a university is to grapple with the difficult questions of our time,鈥� he added. 鈥淔rom the beginning, we bathed this process in prayer, seeking God鈥檚 guidance. We also received encouragement from numerous church leaders and members to stay engaged with the Mennonite Church as we wrestle with these questions.鈥�

Dula said the board has no definite timetable for making a final hiring policy decision. 鈥淲e鈥檒l consider what emerges in the wider church in making our plans,鈥� he said.

The board鈥檚 official statement, passed by a strong majority vote on June 20, 2014, reads in part:

We reaffirm EMU鈥檚 mission鈥攖o prepare students to serve and lead in a diverse global society鈥攁nd EMU鈥檚 role as a university that fully engages the difficult questions of our time and welcomes diverse perspectives and experiences into the conversation. Out of respect for EMU鈥檚 relationship with Mennonite Church USA and its ongoing discernment of human sexuality, we defer action on formally changing EMU鈥檚 policy on hiring employees in covenanted same-sex relationships.

The November 2013 board decision to suspend personnel actions related to the current hiring policy will remain in effect as discernment continues.

In offering his public appreciation to and his leadership team, Andy Dula, chair of the EMU Board of Trustees, said, 鈥淚 am proud to be part of EMU, a university where contentious issues can be engaged with mutual respect and with Christian discernment and compassion. We are extremely grateful for President Swartzendruber鈥檚 leadership during this challenging time.鈥�

鈥淭he process was consistent with how the church engages in discernment around difficult issues,鈥� said Carlos Romero, executive director of .

The president鈥檚 cabinet invited a wide range of constituents 鈥� including students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, church leaders 鈥� to fill out survey forms giving their views on the hiring policy. 鈥淢ore than 7,000 people responded to our survey,鈥� according to BJ Miller, director of institutional research.

In addition, 20 鈥渄ialogue sessions,鈥� including approximately 300 individuals on campus, were held. At least one president鈥檚 cabinet member was present at each session to listen and anonymously report perspectives to the rest of the cabinet. The president and cabinet members also engaged leaders across the church.

鈥淭he listening process was extremely valuable in enabling the president鈥檚 cabinet to gain a deeper understanding of the range of feelings, hopes and fears about extending university employment to persons in same-sex covenanted relationships,鈥� added Dula.

鈥淏ased on this feedback, we acknowledge that the church is currently engaged in extensive discernment over human sexuality. We wish to honor our relationship with the church by not taking a final action now on changing EMU鈥檚 hiring policy.鈥�

According to Swartzendruber, 鈥淲e solicited feedback through the listening process, not because it is a democratic process but because we felt it was important to hear from those who care deeply about EMU.鈥�

Swartzendruber confirmed that views proved to be highly divergent and often passionate, regardless of the stance. 鈥淲e never expected to see consensus on this matter,鈥� said Swartzendruber. 鈥淲e were hoping for respectful dialog, and indeed this is what we saw within our university community. Internally there was a consistent theme of wanting to maintain unity in spite of our diversity on these and other important issues.

鈥淓MU鈥檚 role as a university is to grapple with the difficult questions of our time,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom the beginning, we bathed this process in prayer, seeking God鈥檚 guidance. We also received encouragement from numerous church leaders and members to stay engaged with the Mennonite Church as we wrestle with these questions.鈥�

Dula said the board has no definite timetable for making a final hiring policy decision. 鈥淢any of us from EMU will participate in the Mennonite Church USA鈥檚 continuing discussions on human sexuality 鈥� we鈥檒l consider what emerges in the wider church in making our plans,鈥� he said.

The board鈥檚 official statement, passed by a strong majority vote on June 20, 2014:

We reaffirm EMU鈥檚 mission鈥攖o prepare students to serve and lead in a diverse global society鈥攁nd EMU鈥檚 role as a university that fully engages the difficult questions of our time and welcomes diverse perspectives and experiences into the conversation. Out of respect for EMU鈥檚 relationship with Mennonite Church USA and its ongoing discernment of human sexuality, we defer action on formally changing EMU鈥檚 policy on hiring employees in covenanted same-sex relationships. The November 2013 board decision to suspend personnel actions related to the current hiring policy will remain in effect as the discernment process continues.

The challenge of money

In God, Money, and Me 鈥� Exploring the spiritual significance of money in our lives (2004), Edwin Friesen wrote: For various reasons, talking about how we personally manage money is frequently a social taboo. Some people struggle with overwhelming debt. Others feel unworthy of or burdened by their wealth. Still others feel entitled to what they have and don鈥檛 want to be challenged. We fear each other鈥檚 judgment as we voice our opinions. But talking about money with fellow believers will reduce its power over us. Together we can seek to put money in its place, a place where it serves as a tool for God鈥檚 purpose, not as a god that rules us. Friesen mainly focuses on individual financial choices in his 83-page booklet (published by the Mennonite Foundation of Canada, available from Everence). He acknowledges Christians鈥� traditional discomfort with amassing great wealth, summed up by 1 Timothy 6:9-10: 鈥淔or the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.鈥� And what about the three biblical passages that say, 鈥淚t is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God鈥�? Yet we all need money, even if we鈥檝e been warned not to love it, not to crave it, and to beware of being rich. So how to strike the right balance between meeting our needs 鈥� and those of others 鈥� without becoming obsessive about money and making it a false god? Here at EMU, it took money to build this institution, with much of it coming from successful business people like Jacob A. Shenk, who attended Eastern Mennonite School in the 1920s, or from generous professionals, like eye surgeon Paul R. Yoder Jr. 鈥�63. And it will take continued infusions of money 鈥� some of it arriving in large chunks and some of it tallied from many smaller donations 鈥撀爐o enable EMU to have the necessary facilities and financial aid to keep producing alumni who are doing good in all walks of life and professions. Friesen suggests that most of us need prophetic-spiritual voices, such as Mother Teresa with her vow of poverty, to encourage us 鈥渢o ignore the all-pervasive cultural influences to buy and consume鈥� and to instead 鈥渇ocus on sharing鈥� and on one鈥檚 鈥渞elationships with God and others.鈥� And yet Mother Teresa welcomed donations from supporters who had not taken her vow of poverty. For instance, she received $1.25 million from Charles Keating, a key player in the meltdown of the savings and loan associations of the 1980s, where about 23,000 customers (many of them retirees living on pensions) were left with worthless bonds. Asked to return the money to those from whom it had been stolen by Keating鈥檚 company, Mother Teresa declined to respond to the official request from a U.S. government lawyer. Yet she did send a letter advocating leniency for Keating when he was facing a prison sentence. In short, even Mother Teresa faced messy challenges in terms of money 鈥� where it came from and how it was ultimately used.

MEDA: Asking, and often answering, the hard questions

Pondering the sometimes-distant relationship between clergy and folks who generate profits, Canadian journalist John Longhurst wrote in The Marketplace, a bi-monthly published by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA): 鈥淏usinesspeople may be reluctant to talk on Monday to someone who was preaching on Sunday about the evils of money, materialism and consumerism,鈥� especially if 鈥渢he only time some businesspeople expect to hear from their pastors is at budget time.鈥� Longhurst wryly adds, 鈥淢oney is the root of all evil until the annual fundraising campaign kicks in. An old adage about Christians and business goes: 鈥業f possible avoid getting into business; but if you do get into business, avoid making lots of money; but if you end up making lots of money, the church sure needs it.鈥欌�� (The Marketplace, March/April 2011, p. 4) With views like Longhurst鈥檚 in the pages of MEDA鈥檚 Marketplace journal, clearly this organization is one place where Christians who know how to make money can find people like themselves 鈥� that is, businesspeople who are interested in linking their gifts for business and finance with their religious beliefs. Some advice in The Marketplace is not too different from that in motivational business books, such as an article in the March/April 2012 issue, published under the headline 鈥淔ailure need not be fatal 鈥� When everything looks bleak, remember apostle Peter.鈥� The piece described the writer鈥檚 experience with a business that went under despite its leaders鈥� best efforts. But other articles in The Marketplace pose questions that might be minimized or sidestepped in mainstream business periodicals, such as: (1) Is there a business model that addresses the needs of the bottom socio-economic third of our society? and (2) What are the downsides of businesses that go public? Stephen Kreider Yoder, a Mennonite who is the San Francisco bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal, gave his answer to the first question at a 2009 MEDA convention in San Jose, California: 鈥淭he capitalism that flourishes so remarkably here in Silicon Valley isn鈥檛 always good at closing those [have vs. have-not] gaps.鈥� The second question was addressed by David Steward, in excerpts from his book, Doing Business by the Good Book, in the May/June 2004 Marketplace: 鈥淭he investment community can apply tremendous pressure to produce quarterly profits. This outside persuasion sometimes tempts management to think short-term, reduce expenditures, and forgo quality鈥�. [T]he demand put on management for three-month gains isn鈥檛 necessarily good for a company鈥檚 long-term interests.鈥� MEDA seems to enjoy cross-fertilizing thinkers who are sometimes at odds with each other, such as social-justice advocates and business leaders. In a provocative piece published in the May/June 2004 issue, two economists based at Bluffton University, James M. Harder and Karen Klassen Harder, deconstructed our common way of measuring economic performance, the Gross Domestic Product. 鈥淚t is often mistakenly assumed that growth and development mean the same thing,鈥� they wrote. 鈥淏ut growth does not guarantee development, nor does development necessarily require growth.鈥� The Harders (a married couple) went on to explain: GDP calculations not only mask the breakdown of the environment, they actually portray that breakdown as gain. Much of what is routinely called growth is, in fact, merely the repair of past blunders. GDP 鈥済rows鈥� when hazardous waste is produced and then 鈥済rows鈥� some more聽when money is spent to clean up chemical contamination, purify water to make it drinkable, or treat cancers resulting from pollution. These economists argued that there are indeed limits to growth due to the finite supplies of most natural resources. 鈥淣o business that wants to last can afford to ignore in its financial statements the depletion of its productive assets, yet that is precisely what the global economy is doing鈥�. Disaster looms precisely because the current economic model has no built-in limits 鈥� no stopping point short of a crisis generated by environmental or social collapse.鈥� The Harders asked us all 鈥撀燾onsumers as well as producers 鈥� to correct our myopic eyesight on this matter by embracing 鈥渟mallness and local control.鈥� 鈥淭his will create manageable zones of mutual accountability and responsibility for self, others, and natural surroundings,鈥� they wrote, adding that 鈥渢he pendulum must swing back from the anonymous, individualistic global economy to renewed cooperation within strengthened local communities.鈥�

Value-based alumni

Karen Gross 鈥�75, a nursing grad, certainly embodies the small-scale approach to responsibility for self and others. She works as a nurse-practitioner one day a week, but the rest of the week she juggles three jobs in the business sector of Atlanta, Georgia. She was one of the founders of the first Ten Thousand Villages store in the Atlanta area 20 years ago. Like all stores bearing this name, this outlet is a non-profit enterprise to provide a living wage for artisans around the world who would otherwise be unemployed or under-employed. Gross handles the outlet鈥檚 finances 鈥� purchasing inventory, paying bills, and doing the payroll and taxes. She also runs 鈥淢y Mama Had That,鈥� an antique business in the suburb of Decatur, whereby she finds well-made vintage items at yard and estate sales and makes sure they get a second chance at life in somebody鈥檚 home. Finally, she helps with Sticky Business, a 12-employee enterprise that produces and installs graphics for vehicles, walls, and buildings. Karen鈥檚 husband, Joel Gross 鈥�76, is CEO, but Karen took over reviewing the balance sheets and income statements, plus managing receivables and payables, after the business had a bout with embezzlement. 鈥淢y home, church, and education at EMU, all stressed values of commitment, integrity, and stewardship of not just one鈥檚 money, but also life work and time,鈥� Karen told Crossroads, by way of explaining the common threads in all four of her jobs. Karen is also active in Berea Mennonite Church. In the Shenandoah Valley,聽Billy Leap 鈥�86,聽CPA, is chief financial officer for Bowman Fruit Sales, a 450-employee apple-focused company owned by a local businessman. Leap had the opportunity 鈥� in fact, he experienced the opportunity for 18 months 鈥� of being part of a much larger enterprise, Bowman Andros Products, a subsidiary of Andros et Cie headquartered in France, whose U.S. operations are outside Harrisonburg. But Leap decided to return to doing the finances for a businessman whom he knew well, Gordon D. 鈥淪onny鈥� Bowman II. Under the name of Turkey Knob Apples, Bowman is responsible for the largest number of apples grown and marketed in Virginia and is No. 1 or 2 in the east for apple production. For Leap 鈥� a self-described 鈥淰alley boy鈥濃�� he derives great satisfaction out of knowing each permanent employee, dealing with local banks, analyzing reports to make recommendations to 鈥淪onny,鈥� and driving past trees that grow the Bowman apples on his way to work in Timberville, Virginia, right beside the 35,000-square foot packing house. This is not just a place Leap works; it鈥檚 his second home. ¹ Kevin Longenecker 鈥�91,聽a CPA who is the chief financial officer at InterChange Group (鈥渨arehousing logistics and development鈥�) in Harrisonburg, appreciates the collegiality of working in a locally owned business with 135 employees, where all six of the management team members are alumni of EMU. 鈥�Devon Anders [company president, 鈥�88 accounting grad] has never 鈥� and would never 鈥� ask me to do something unethical. Our corporate culture is influenced by Anabaptist values. In a small, privately held company like this, it’s possible to take the longer view in building shareholder value, since we’re not pressured to deliver quarterly performance on the stock market.鈥�

Longenecker鈥檚 father ran a small retail store near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when he was growing up 鈥� which is where he got his foundational lessons in how to approach work, treat employees, and make decisions with integrity. Thequestion, 鈥淲hy do we do what we do?鈥� was always in the air. And the answer was not simply: 鈥淲e do it for the bottom line.鈥� In Leola, Pennsylvania, Thomas Verghese 鈥�71聽runs his own insurance and financial services firm (with the help of assistant Rebecca Bucher 鈥�86). Verghese took the unusual step of topping off an MBA earned at James Madison University in 1974 with a year back at his undergraduate alma mater, studying at Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS). 鈥淔aith and values are paramount in my dealings with my clients. My training at EMC, the year at EMS, my church (Forest Hills Mennonite), and the faith community that I am a part of have provided me with a sound foundation upon which to live and work.鈥� Specifically, as an 鈥渋ndependent agent鈥� who can pick and choose among products offered by various companies, Verghese says he takes care to 鈥渕ake sure that the recommendations I make to my prospects and clients are in their best interests in terms of suitability, cost, quality of the product, as well as timing.鈥� Andrew 鈥淎ndy鈥� Dula 鈥�91聽is the CFO/COO of EG Stoltzfus, a construction company based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with 25 subsidiary companies. He is also chair of EMU鈥檚 board of trustees, a volunteer position.

In a 2010 speech to the MEDA chapter in Lancaster, Dula spoke of his life journey, starting with his birth in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His parents are of mixed race and nationality of birth, father being brown Ethiopian and mother being white American. Their marriage in the Mennonite Church of Ethiopia was 鈥渘o small feat in the 鈥�60s,鈥� Dula said wryly in his talk, which is posted on the EMU website. Dula traced his post-collegiate journey through a short-lived family restaurant venture to the drafting and design department of Elam G Stoltzfus Jr Inc. where he carried 4脳8 sheets of plywood on a framing crew the first day and huddled over a drafting table the next. Though Dula is now one of five officers in the company鈥檚 leadership team, he stressed: 鈥淭itles mean nothing to us. Our founder never liked them, nor do I, nor the rest of the senior management staff. Titles merely identify our structure to those outside of the organization. 鈥淲e believe in a flat non-hierarchical structure, which empowers persons to unleash their own entrepreneurial spirit at all levels of the operation.鈥� Dula focused his MEDA talk on the question of who we are as human beings, rather than what we do, though naturally we manifest our true selves through our work. 鈥淟ike many people in business, I live in a world of doing, producing, constructing, expanding and sometimes just surviving,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are often judged by financial metrics and measurable results, as in, 鈥榃hat have you done for me lately?鈥� 鈥淚n the larger scheme of things, however, a more important question is, 鈥榃ho am I becoming?鈥欌��

For Dula, what truly counts are the 鈥渟tories of making just choices, going the extra mile, treating employees as partners, emphasizing our interconnectedness instead of untamed individualism, and practicing moderation instead of excess,鈥� adding that these 鈥渁re part of who I am becoming, rather than anything I am doing.鈥� C. Conrad Martin 鈥�80聽returned to his home state of Pennsylvania in 2001 after spending 12 years working in Africa (Tanzania) and Asia (Bangladesh) on accounting, microfinance, and job-creation projects for several church-affiliated organizations. Along the way, in 1991, he earned a master鈥檚 degree in economic development. After his return to the United States, Martin discovered a fellow graduate from his era, Josephine Histand 鈥�81, who had gone on to get an MBA and to work for the Ford Motor Company. 鈥淚t was an online match. We overlapped a couple of years at EMU 鈥� I avoided the library and she lived in the library, so we didn鈥檛 meet then,鈥� he says with amusement in his voice. The two married in 2001, and she now works as an environmental engineer consultant. 鈥淢y philosophy has always been that I feel best when I am where God wants me to be,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he common thread [for all of his jobs] is that I was working for the church. I have liked whatever setting I was in. I am not looking to be a CEO of a non-profit. My first priority is to be of service to the church.鈥� Today he is director of finance for Franconia Mennonite Conference, handling a budget of approaching $1 million annually. He and Josephine attend Blooming Glen Mennonite Church. Like Conrad Martin,聽John Hess-Yoder 鈥�74聽spent a chunk of his young adult years living and working in foreign locales 鈥撀爐wo years in Laos and three years in Brazil under Mennonite Central Committee. He then pastored a Mennonite church in Oregon for three years before deciding to enter the financial planning arena. Hess-Yoder is a Certified Financial Planner, plus he holds a law degree earned through night school. The CFP is not a one-shot deal, Hess-Yoder explains. 鈥淵ou have to do special ethical training per year and you have to sign ethical guidelines. You can be censured by them [the Organization of Financial Planners, which confers the CFP] for quite a few things that regulators cannot get you for.鈥� If Hess-Yoder were a customer seeking a financial planner, he says one of his first questions would be, 鈥淗ow independent are you?鈥� He would not be comfortable with planners who receive commissions or extra compensation based on promoting certain funds, including in-house ones. 鈥淢y best relationships are fee-based,鈥� he says, in the manner that a lawyer is paid a fee for a specific service rendered. He adds, however, that some clients opt to have him compensated on a commission basis, which may save them money under certain circumstances. An up-and-coming associate of Hess-Yoder,聽Kyle Mast 鈥�07,聽hopes to pass his CFP exam in the summer of 2013. Like Hess-Yoder, he prizes being an independent financial advisor: 鈥淚 am not tied to anyone鈥檚 investment products. I can offer what I believe is best to my client, no matter what.鈥� Mast says that half of his clients ask him to help them choose 鈥渟ocially responsible investments鈥� (SRI) 鈥� though these entail higher management fees because of the labor that goes into carefully screening companies 鈥� and half simply want him to focus on investments that are likely to have the best returns.

Mast credits Everence, the financial-services arm of Mennonite Church USA, with doing one of the best jobs of screening companies: 鈥淭here aren鈥檛 many who do the due diligence that Everence does,鈥� he says. The current 鈥渉ot button鈥� among his SRI-focused clients who are Mennonites? Avoiding companies associated with arms manufacturing and marketing. Larry Nolt 鈥�65,聽an investment manager with National Penn Bank Shares headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, says 鈥渇iduciary advisor鈥� is a term coming into vogue. The word 鈥渇iduciary鈥� highlights the difference between those professionals who are legally obligated to put the needs and interests of their clients first 鈥� such as chartered financial planners, chartered financial consultants, and chartered financial analysts 鈥� and others. Stockbrokers, for example, usually work on high commissions, benefit from frequent transactions (whether necessary or not), and receive outside incentives, such as trips paid by the companies whose funds they sell. Nolt suggests that prospective clients of financial services ask for 鈥渇ull disclosure鈥� regarding how their advisors or planners will be compensated for their work. It may be difficult to tease out hidden charges, such as those that may be contained in insurance policies or annuities. Remember, he says, 鈥渋f a product or investment sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I wouldn鈥檛 go there.鈥� Just as most of us need to partner with healthcare professionals to stay healthy, Nolt believes that the average person needs the expertise of a well-trained, highly ethical financial advisor to manage their money. And even these advisors can get it wrong. 鈥淎lmost all of us [in the field] were buffaloed by Enron,鈥� he says. You have to have strong regulatory bodies keeping watch, he adds, 鈥渂ecause the crooks always move to the latest area of de-regulation.鈥� Part of the beauty of living a 鈥渄iscipled life鈥� as a Christian, and as a member of a church community, says Nolt, is receiving help to curb the human tendency to take advantage of situations and to reach for the utmost profit, regardless of the cost to our fellow humans. 鈥淚 view business as an agent for extending God鈥檚 providential care to humankind,鈥� says聽Spencer Cowles, PhD,聽chair of EMU鈥檚 business and economics department. 鈥淏usiness is simply a way of producing and distributing the things we need. Making a profit is a means to that end. 鈥淎s a stockholder, I want my companies to do well financially, but I also want them to contribute to the social good.鈥� If there was a common thread among the dozens of interviews conducted for this issue of Crossroads, it was this: We are called to be stewards of our resources, financial and otherwise, rather than being heedless gamblers with them; we must always consider the wider impact of the financial decisions we make. 鈥� Bonnie Price Lofton, MA ’04 1. Leap has a 鈥淰alley family.鈥� His wife, Ren茅e 鈥�85, is associate director of EMU鈥檚 financial assistance office; his elder son, Mitchell, is a 2012 graduate of EMU, and his second son, Parker, is a sophomore at EMU. The family worships at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church.

The one-day event included a tour of the Harvard Medical School facilities in Boston, Mass., and the , a collaborative research effort of Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Broad Family Foundation, in Cambridge.

Historic gathering

鈥淭his is a historic gathering,鈥� said President Loren Swartzendruber, DMin (EMU 鈥�76 and 鈥�79) in his opening comments. 鈥淣ever before has such a diverse group of leaders – alumni who have achieved great success in their fields along with business, industry, science and other leaders – come together to think about something this big and transformational for EMU.鈥�

Harvard Dean on EMU

鈥淢y time at EMU was most formative in my personal and professional journey,鈥� said Dr. Martin, reflecting on the year he took off from the University of Alberta to study Bible and ethics at then Eastern Mennonite College. 鈥淭he opportunity to study ethics and broaden my horizons beyond my small Mennonite community proved invaluable.鈥� He noted that the collaboration occurring at EMU and with these leaders was similar to the collaboration that had to occur for the Harvard Medical School expansion under his tenure.

EMU accepted Dr. Martin鈥檚 invitation to host the gathering because 鈥渋t seemed important to us to see what can happen when people who are well trained in the sciences have facilities in which they can thrive,鈥� said President Loren Swartzendruber.

鈥淒r. Martin is one example of hundreds of EMU science alumni who are making a real difference in this world. While these facilities are not a scale to which EMU aspires, we do believe that new labs and a renovated building at the appropriate scale, can facilitate our ongoing exceptional program.鈥�

EMU鈥檚 current Suter Science Center, built more than 40 years ago, 鈥渄oes not do justice to the quality of faculty and program of study we offer,鈥� he said.

Leadership phase

EMU is currently in the leadership phase of its campaign for the new and renovated science facilities at EMU, noted Kirk Shisler (EMU 鈥�81), vice president for advancement. It is a time to focus on lead gifts toward the anticipated $30 million needed to complete two phases. The first phase will include construction of a new 50,000 square foot lab facility to better support the collaborative original research EMU science students complete with professors; renovation of the existing Suter Science Center will follow.

鈥淲e are in a time of burgeoning potential,鈥� said Shisler, noting that as EMU has ramped up communications about the campaign, spontaneous unsolicited gifts are coming in for the campaign.

While these gifts are encouraging and exciting, and currently total nearly $2 million in gifts and pledges, the focus of the day鈥檚 gathering was on establishing momentum toward gifts in the top tier of the strategic funding plan, gifts and commitments in the $500,000 to $10 million range.

Broad Institute tour

The afternoon鈥檚 visit to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard provided an opportunity for participants to see the country鈥檚 top collaborative multidisciplinary research facility. The group heard about the institute鈥檚 vision and structures, and a presentation by geneticist Stacey Gilbert, PhD, about her genetic research among Mennonite populations in Lancaster County, Pa.

Open floor plans, glass walls, entire walls and glass office windows that serve as 鈥渨hite boards,鈥� and community space all inspire creativity, innovation and collaboration, explained Michael Foley, PhD, director of the chemical biology platform at Broad. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here to help you in whatever way we can as you plan your facility,鈥� he told the group.

Closing comments

The recent announcement that President Loren Swartzendruber has accepted an invitation to a third four-year term in his role as president is good news for this project as affirmed by Dr. Martin, EMU trustee Dr. Paul R. Yoder, Jr., (鈥�65) and EMU board chair Andrew Dula (鈥�92). Each of them noted the integrity with which President Swartzendruber serves, the level of trust in his leadership, and the momentum he and his team have established for the campaign.

Acknowledging their supportive comments, Swartzendruber noted, 鈥淏ringing this campaign to a successful conclusion is my number one goal for these next four years.鈥�

In the photo:

First row, left to right: Greta Ann Herin, PhD, EMU associate professor of biology; Provost Fred Kniss, PhD (EMU ’79); Dr. Todd Weaver (EMU 鈥�87), Weaver, Reckner, Reinhart Dental Associates; EMU trustee Anne Kaufman Weaver (EMU 88), leadership coach, Coaching Connection, Brownstown, Pa.; Joe Paxton, county administrator, Rockingham County, Va.; Phil Helmuth (EMU 鈥�76) executive director of development for; Carol Yoder, (EMU ’63 ) civic leader/ volunteer; Charlotte Rosenberger (EMU 鈥�65) civic leader/volunteer, Blooming Glen, Pa.; Pat Swartzendruber, EMU advocate and church-wide leader.

Second row, left to right: Doug Mason, advancement consultant, Gonser, Gerber, Tinker, Stuhr, LLP, Naperville, Ill.; EMU trustee Evon Bergey, general manager, Magellan Health Services, Perkasie, Pa.; Dr. Krishna Kodukula, executive director, CADRE, Biosciences Division, SRI Shenandoah Valley; Dr. Joseph B. Martin (EMU 鈥�59), dean emeritus and professor of neurobiology, Harvard Medical School; John 鈥淩oc鈥� Rocovich, Jr., attorney, Moss & Rocovich and founder and chairman of Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, Va.; EMU President Loren Swartzendruber, DMin (EMU ’76 and ’79); Joyce Bontrager Lehman (EMU ’65), program officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Wash.; Bob Hostetler, PhD (EMU 鈥�59), campaign co-chair, professor emeritus mathematics, Pennsylvania State University; 聽Gerry Horst, campaign co-chair and president, Horst & Sons, Inc., New Holland, Pa.; Kirk Shisler (EMU 鈥�81), vice president for advancement; 聽Laura Daily, assistant for advancement.

Third row, left to right: Doug Hostetler, Hostetler & Church, LLC, Clarksville, Md.; Roman Miller, PhD, EMU professor of biology/Daniel B. Suter Endowed Chair, Doug Graber Neufeld, PhD, EMU professor of biology; Mark Grimaldi (EMU 鈥�94), president of Equinox Chemical Company, Albany, Ga.; Andrew Dula (EMU 鈥�91), chair, EMU Board of Trustees and CFO,聽 EG Stoltzfus Inc.; EMU trustee Kay Nussbaum (EMU ’78), partner, The MVP Group, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; Henry Rosenberger (EMU 鈥�67) farmer and sustainability entrepreneur; Dr. Paul R. Yoder, Jr. (EMU ’63) Rockingham Eye Physicians, Harrisonburg, Va., and EMU trustee; Knox Singleton, CEO Inova Health Systems, Falls Church, Va.

Andrew (Andy) Dula of Lancaster, Pa., chair of the EMU board of trustees, announced at the opening convocation of second semester Wednesday, Jan. 12, that Dr. Swartzendruber has “gratefully accepted” an appointment to serve a third term that begins July 1, 2011 and ends June 30, 2015.

Presidential review confirms ‘overwhelming support’

The EMU board worked with the board of directors of the Mennonite Educational Agency (MEA) of Mennonite Church USA in an extensive review of the work of the president. The EMU and MEA boards formed a presidential review committee to gather feedback and data from internal and external constituents.

In the trustee’s November 2010 board meeting the review committee reported its findings. From a wealth of 363 responses, the committee reported “overwhelming support” for Swartzendruber’s leadership.

Major accomplishments during second term

Major accomplishments during Swartzendruber’s second term include:

• key administrative positions filled, including EMU provost, vice president for finance, vice president/seminary dean, and vice president/academic dean
• a successful re-accreditation for another 10 years by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Theological Schools
• leading the institution through a difficult economic environment while balancing the budget
• LEED-certified building projects
• successful fund raising for and completion of Phase II of the University Commons.

“The EMU board of trustees looks forward to our continuing work with President Swartzendruber,” Dula said.

“We are grateful for his leadership,his deep commitment to God, the church and Anabaptist understandings, for his effective relationships within the EMU community and across the church, for his advocacy of Mennonite education, his sense of financial stewardship and fundraising, his collaborative approach to work and his sense of humor.”

In his response, Swartzendruber paid tribute to his wife of 41 years, Pat Swartzendruber, noting: “Her partnership in this enterprise has been invaluable. Not only is she my best friend and life partner, she is a confidant whose judgments I can trust. I am a better person and leader because of her love and influence.”

About President Loren Swartzendruber

Swartzendruber became EMU’s eighth president on January 1, 2004. He came to EMU from Hesston College, a two-year Mennonite school in Hesston, Kan., where he served as president since 1994. Before that, he was associate executive secretary of the former Mennonite Board of Education in Elkhart, Ind., ten years.

The Kalona, Iowa, native graduated from EMU in 1976 with a bachelor of arts degree in liberal arts and earned a master of divinity degree from Eastern Mennonite Seminary in 1979. He completed a doctor of ministry degree at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2000.

Swartzendruber was ordained to the Christian ministry in 1975 at Lower Deer Creek Mennonite Church near Kalona and was pastor at Salford Mennonite Church, Harleysville, Pa., 1978-83.

This article is adapted from an address to the Lancaster MEDA Chapter. Andy Dula, a 1991 EMU graduate, is chief financial officer at EG Stoltzfus Construction, Lancaster, Pa. In June 2010 he began a three-year term as EMU board of trustees chair.

Andy Dula, a 1991 EMU graduate and current EMU board of trustees chair, is chief financial officer at EG Stoltzfus Construction of Lancaster, Pa.

Like many people in business, I live in a world of doing, producing, constructing, expanding and sometimes just surviving. We are often judged by financial metrics and measurable results, as in, "What have you done for me lately?"

In the larger scheme of things, however, a more important question is, "Who am I becoming?"

And to answer it I need to take account of all the influences that have shaped me. Each of the acts and scenes of my personal narrative impact who I am becoming in this theatre we call life.

Born across the globe

I was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. My mother, a missionary nurse, met and married my dad, an Ethiopian – no small feat in the 60s. My early years were spent in Indiana where my father attended Goshen College.

After he graduated we moved to Philadelphia and spent four years living next door to Germantown Mennonite Church while he attended pharmacy school.

My formative years were shaped by the overwhelming generosity of that community. People cared for my brother and me while my dad studied by day and my mom worked the night shift as a nurse.

Generosity of the church

In 1975 we moved to Lancaster, Pa., where my father accepted a job as a pharmacist at the St. Joseph Hospital. Here too I experienced the generosity of the church, first at North End Mennonite and later Blossom Hill.

I have been fortunate to spend all of my life in a church setting that has been life giving and faith infusing, and has included the witness of people from a wide array of professions and life experiences.

The generosity I received had very little to do with anything I had done, but remains a part of who I am becoming. I am who I am today because people along the way have mentored me in word and deed.

Foray into business

In 1991, fresh out of 草莓社区, I helped to start an Ethiopian restaurant with my father and another partner. My first foray into the real world of business was an adventure in finding my own way. No boss to learn from, no previous knowledge, no experiences of best practices for running a restaurant, no established policies for accounting, managing costs or handling employees.

All I had was an education in business and the liberal arts. It was my first true immersion into doing whatever it took to keep a business alive.

I had come out of college wanting to be a mover and a shaker in the world of business; instead I was washing dishes one night and waiting tables the next. One moment I was performing payroll and the next I was dealing with an angry customer.

But learning to do whatever was needed was shaping who I am becoming.

Business can be a noble enterprise

My restaurant experience stripped me of any notion that business was a glamourous adventure in self-serving motivations and profit-seeking indulgence.

Rather, it showed me how business can be a noble enterprise of service and teamwork to develop communities that are life giving to customers, employees and society in general.

My next career move was as improbable as my first. I took a position in the drafting and design department of Elam G Stoltzfus Jr Inc. Again a real logical move – business degree, restaurateur, construction.

I spent my first spring working on a framing crew carrying 4×8 sheets of plywood one day and sitting at a drafting table the next.

‘Doing’ but also ‘becoming’

Once again I was "doing" but at the same time I was more importantly "becoming." I had no idea then how having a broad understanding of the construction industry would benefit me in the years to come.

By 1994 I was doing estimating and project management, and in 1996 started running our accounting department.

Today I carry the title of Chief Financial Officer of EG Stoltzfus and along with four others provide leadership to EG and its 25 subsidiary companies.

About EG Stoltzfus

Our companies are involved primarily in residential home building and renovations, general commercial construction, historic adaptive re-use of under utilized buildings, work force housing, land acquisition and development, mortgage brokering, and title insurance services.

Each year we build 200-300 homes, renovate 75 residential properties, and construct and renovate 20-30 commercial projects.

Titles mean nothing to us. Our founder never liked them, nor do I or the rest of the senior management staff. Titles merely identify our structure to those outside of the organization.

We believe in a flat non hierarchical structure, which empowers persons to unleash their own entrepreneurial spirit at all levels of the operation. It is one of the mechanisms by which we affirm each individual’s unique contribution and gifts.

My daily work involves providing leadership and support to staff, leading and participating in senior management team meetings, acquiring capital for our multiple companies from banks and individuals, starting and monitoring individual land development companies, assessing the viability of various land projects from both a marketing and financial standpoint, and providing counsel to fellow team members both at the work and personal level.

The social opportunities of business

Business truly is a social science and there are few things more draining and more rewarding than dealing with the human spirit on a daily basis. You have countless opportunities to practice Christian virtues at times when it is least expected and may even seem stupid to do so.

Why would anyone extend grace and forgiveness when someone at best has had a lapse in judgement and at worst has been deceitful in a way that wastes significant resources. It happens, and has happened to us.

Recently our company’s entire staff and spouses had the opportunity to go away to a beautiful historic resort to celebrate our 40 years in business. As we were eating dinner one evening, Colleen, who handles our Human Resources, told us about the process leading up to the retreat.

The resort had given her a list of the best rooms and asked which people from the guest list were senior managers. He wanted to make sure that we got the best rooms.

"No, no," Colleen told him. "Give the senior management team the smallest, least desirable rooms."

There was a pause and the dismayed resort representative said, "You want to give your top management team the worst rooms?"

Colleen explained that some of the people coming on this trip would never again have the opportunity to stay at a place like this. "We want them to have the best rooms," she said.

The manager later told Colleen that his staff had been impressed by the unusual room arrangements. "No one has ever requested that before," he said. "Your company understands what makes a really good company."

Contrast that with some executives who send pictures of themselves in advance so the resort staff will recognize them and give them special service.

Not ‘business as usual’

This isn’t business as usual. The ongoing opportunities I have had to be part of discussions and ultimately make decisions that are at times counter-cultural have had a profound effect on me.

Stories of making just choices, going the extra mile, treating employees as partners, emphasizing our interconnectedness instead of untamed individualism, and practicing moderation instead of excess are part of who I am becoming rather than anything I am doing.

Any so-called success I may achieve will always be more attributable to what I am becoming than to what I am doing.

The particular lens that I have been given via my childhood, my faith and my work experience, continues to shape my inner journey.

‘Vocation is a calling’

Parker Palmer in his book Let Your Life Speak says, "Vocation does not mean a goal that I pursue. It means a calling that I hear. Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am."

That thought undergirds my daily work. Truly the integration of work, faith and life has to come from a place of truly knowing who you are. And upon knowing who I am, I can ultimately do and eventually become who God intends for me to be.

Andy Dula, a 1991 EMU graduate, is chief financial officer at EG Stoltzfus Construction, Lancaster, Pa. In June 2010 he began a three-year term as EMU board of trustees chair.

Godshall, of Elizabethtown, Pa., handed the gavel to her successor, Andrew (Andy) Dula of Lancaster, Pa., at the close of the two-day sessions.

Susan Godshall passes the gavel to her successor as EMU board chair, Andy Dula. Photo by Jim Bishop

Dula, a 1991 EMU graduate, is chief financial officer at EG Stoltzfus Construction, Lancaster, Pa. He will serve a three-year term as board chair.

Godshall, a 1965 EMU alumna, joined the board of trustees as a representative from Lancaster Mennonite Conference in November, 1998, and was elected board chair in 2004.

Alumni following Godly path

Godshall opened the meeting with a devotional based on Psalm 78. She told the board that she recently reviewed old trustee minutes and felt as though she was reading “a developing story” that began with the school’s founding in 1917.

“The vision behind the school’s beginning remains much the same today – training young people in the ways of God and of the Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective on Christian service…to live as God’s people in a society that would pulls us in other directions,” Godshall said.

“I am impressed, in reading EMU’s ‘Crossroads’ magazine, by seeing the difference that EMU alumni are making as their stories connect with God’s story,” she said.

Board adopts budget, reports funds

In board actions, the trustees adopted a preliminary operating budget with $30.1 million in total revenues for the 2010-11 fiscal year, a 6 percent percent increase over 2009-10.

The budget includes funding of $1.3 million for capital expenditures and debt reduction and $4 million in student scholarship funds and calls for $1.8 in contributions to the University Fund by June 30, 2011.

Gerry Horst, chair of the advancement and enrollment/marketing committee, reported that EMU’s University Fund (for annual unrestricted contributions) was running over 6% behind last year’s pace.

“Intensive year-end efforts continue to close the gap by June 30,” Horst said.

Outgoing trustees

Several other trustees concluded terms of service at the June board meeting. In addition to Susan Godshall, the board recognized:

• Steve Brenneman of Nappanee, Ind.
• Shirley Hochstetler of Kidron, Ohio
• Robert Hostetler of Erie, Pa.
• Joan King of Telford, Pa.
• Lillis Troyer of Walnut Creek, Ohio