Provost Fred Kniss spoke about Nafziger鈥檚 many accomplishments and contributions to the university, for which he was honored by the Board of Trustees with an emeritus administrator title.

鈥淜en has helped EMU make important gains in our abilities to serve our diverse community of students,鈥� said Kniss, launching into a list of positive changes Nafziger led in from implementing the program, and expanding career services health services, and multicultural student services, to leading the since its inception in 2005.

鈥淚t has been a privilege to work here with this great group of people,鈥� Nafziger said in his closing comments. 鈥淣one of those accomplishments would have been possible or happened without the wonderful work of my colleagues in the Student Life department鈥� I was fortunate enough to be here at the right time with the right group of people to see a lot of things come to fruition.鈥�

Nafziger and his wife Judy plan to 鈥渢ake a learning break鈥� in Costa Rica to study Spanish. 鈥淚鈥檝e taken special care not to say the word 鈥榬etire,’鈥� he added. 鈥淪ixty is the new 50 鈥� or so I鈥檝e heard.鈥�

Beloved on campus

A host of colleagues took the opportunity to share remembrances, some humorous and many emotional, about working with Nafziger.

鈥淚鈥檝e enjoyed your commitment to developing students, and really all of us, towards personal improvement,鈥� said Dean of Undergraduate Students Deirdre Smeltzer.

Brian Martin Burkholder, campus chaplain, noted the 鈥渟tream of people at your door鈥f it was open and they wanted to meet, you always said, 鈥榶es,鈥� and then when driving by at night on my way home, I鈥檇 see your office light on. You made yourself available even at great personal cost. That was servant leadership and love in action.鈥�

Several colleagues also offered thanks for his skillful and compassionate relationships with everyone in the campus community, whether student, faculty, staff, 鈥渇riend or neighbor,鈥� said administrative assistant Bernadette Griffith, who often accompanied Nafziger to meetings around campus. She praised him as willing to understand differences in individuals, someone who would always take time to talk with students. 鈥淚t was easy to tell how much you love this place and the people here 鈥� I saw this place through Ken鈥檚 eyes, and it鈥檚 quite beautiful.鈥�

A particularly heartfelt thanks came from a faculty member, moved nearly to tears, who spoke 鈥渙n behalf of other parents whose lives you touched鈥� about how Nafziger helped, 鈥渨ith grace and compassion,鈥� her child overcome some difficult issues and eventually graduate from EMU.

In addition to thanking Nafziger for his leadership and care, Director of Counseling Services Pam Comer read aloud the 鈥淭op 10 Things We Will Miss About Ken.鈥� A sampling from this list included praise for his wife Judy鈥檚 food and baked goods at potlucks, his knack for knowing and sharing words in other languages, the speedy way he crossed campus “from meeting to meeting to meeting,” his cluttered desk 鈥渢hat made us feel so much better about the state of our own desks,鈥� and his affection for 鈥渁nything Pennsylvania and Penn State.”

The top reason Nafziger will be missed was mentioned several times by other speakers: 鈥渓eading the cheering with the bouncing program at basketball games.鈥�

Nafziger, who graduated from EMU with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in math, psychology and secondary education in 1979, went on to teaching positions in Virginia and Kenya with Eastern Mennonite Missions before returning to graduate school.

After earning a doctorate at University of Iowa, which included a one-year rotation at an out-patient psychiatry at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, he was a staff psychologist at University of Iowa鈥檚 counseling services and then assistant director of Penn State University鈥檚 Center for Counseling and Psychological Services and an affiliate faculty member in counseling psychology from 1997-2003.