Their response, by and large, is that “EMU changed my life.”

“EMU changed my life in terms of values, in terms of lifelong friends, in terms of where I met my spouse, in terms of how we are raising our children,” Huxman said, echoing those answers.

“It’s one of the reasons that we get up, even though our days are very, very full, and do what we do,” she continued. “We have this incredible honor of walking with students on this formative journey in their lives.”

Huxman spoke on the transformative power of higher education and the importance of developing students as “whole people” as one of four area college and university presidents at a panel discussion on Thursday, Aug. 22. The annual Presidential Address, hosted by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, also featured remarks from Mr. Charlie King, interim president of James Madison University; Dr. David Bushman, president of Bridgewater College; and Dr. John Downey, president of Blue Ridge Community College. The sold-out event was held at EMU’s Martin Chapel and attended by about 100 guests. This marked the first time it has been held on a college campus, and will rotate between schools in future years.

The quartet of college presidents was given an opportunity to share their goals for the coming year and provide an in-depth update to the crowd of business and community leaders. Huxman is chair-elect of the local chamber of commerce and will officially begin her term as chair in October 2024.

Huxman outlined two evergreen goals at EMU. One of those perennial goals is to go “all in” on delivering “an exceptional student experience year in and year out,” she said. The other goal is to lean into EMU’s five-year strategic plan, Pathways of Promise, which opens new pathways of access, achievement, action, and alignment for EMU students and employees.

The university is in the second year of its first-ever comprehensive campaign for people, programs, and facilities, and is pivoting to raise more money for financial aid. While the school has seen its graduate enrollment increase by 50%, it has missed its enrollment targets at the undergraduate level.

“And so we are doubling down on additional ways in which we can get people to take a second, a third, and a fourth look at EMU because we are not as expensive as you think,” Huxman told those gathered at the Presidential Address (the average net cost for an EMU student in 2022-23 was just $15,309).

Updates

• The university has received a large amount of grant funding. A $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation supports at-risk student success in STEM. EMU has received more than $2.5 million in grant funding for Eastern Mennonite Seminary, which supports a “Thriving in Ministry” program and Christian caregiving initiative.

• EMU is launching a new Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Peacemaking and Social Change program. The program will become the second doctoral program offered at EMU, after the Doctor of Nursing Practice.

• EMU is responding to a growing need in the community by helping teachers who are on a provisional license get the education they need to keep teaching.

• The school was recently recognized for its commitment to improving experiences and advancing success for first-generation college students. Thirty-five percent of undergraduate students at EMU are first-generation college students.

The Harrisonburg and Rockingham County area, with its four colleges and universities, is “an educational mecca,” Huxman said. Together, the four institutions boast a combined enrollment of about 32,000 students and a workforce of about 4,800 employees.

“We don’t take it for granted at all that out of 185 college towns in the nation, we are in the top 10,” Huxman said. “And that doesn’t just happen automatically. It’s because there is support from the community. It is the fact that we get together. We support one another.”

Following the Presidential Address, guests were invited on a campus tour of the University Commons, the new state-of-the-art track and field complex, and the Suter Science Center.

Read WHSV-TV’s coverage of the event .

Photo by Bridget Baylor

An opening reception for the artist, John M. Bell, an assistant professor of art at Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) in Weyers Cave, Va., will be held 2:30-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, in the gallery.

Bell’s exhibit, titled "An Turas: Ireland Journey," grew out of travels to the west of Ireland in May 2003 and June 2005. His 2005 stay included an international-artist-in-residency at the Cill Rialaig Project in Ballinskelligs, County Kerry.

"The subjects of the paintings are primarily Bronze Age sites that have spiritual significance," Bell said. "At these sites, one finds the ruins of stone structures: circles, standing stones, dwellings and tombs. They all signify in some way the human desire to understand and connect with nature – to find meaning in our existence.

"I found these to be incredibly beautiful sites, both aesthetically and spiritually," Bell said. "They are often positioned high on ridges, with breath-taking views of the surrounding countryside and the ocean."

The artist’s goal, in his words, is "to go beyond the mere representation of the sites to capture the physical, spiritual and historical essence of the locations." He sought to do this through the use of color, texture, juxtaposed images and some degree of abstraction, working with both oils and acrylics with canvas and wood panels as supports.

Bell earned a bachelor of arts in fine art from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master of fine arts degree from James Madison University. His works have been displayed throughout Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and California.

Recent solo shows have included the Cleo Driver Miller Art Gallery at Bridgewater College and Turn of the Century Fine Arts Gallery in Berkeley, Calif. In 2005, his works were included in the 26th annual Roanoke City Juried Art Show (Art Museum of Western Virginia) and the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community annual Juried Art Exhibition in Harrisonburg.

The exhibit will be open for viewing during regular library hours daily through Feb. 3. Admission is free.

Gallery hours:
Mon.-Thur. 7:45 a.m.-11 p.m.
Fri. 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sun. 2 p.m.-11 p.m.

, chair of EMU’s , said the funds will provide a state-of-the-art computerized human simulator and other nursing-laboratory equipment which will enable nursing students at both schools to improve their patient care. Equipment to facilitate transporting the human simulator is part of the grant.

“Anthem will set up an intensive care area at EMU focused on the human simulator,” Dr. Wiens said. “EMU and BRCC officials will determine the best use of the additional health care technology that will be donated with the simulator.”

Nursing faculty at BRCC wrote a letter of support when EMU applied for the grant. Blue Ridge also hopes to use the simulator on their campus.

“We’re very excited about this simulator and expanding our partnership with EMU,” said BRCC nursing instructor Linda Edwards. “The simulator can be programmed to demonstrate real-life scenarios, which will better prepare our students to offer quality nursing care to their patients,” she added.

At EMU, the Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield grant supplements the Lisa Haverstick Fund and Endowment created by Lisa’s family. Ms. Haverstick, a 1991 nursing graduate, died in May of 2003. The Lisa Haverstick Memorial Nursing Laboratory is being established in EMU’s nursing department in her memory.

“EMU nursing majors, faculty, and alumni have generously contributed to the fund along with Lisa’s friends and coworkers,” Dr. Wiens said. “Both funds will provide equipment and computer software to help students acquire basic skills and refine their decision-making and critical thinking in simulated clinical situations,” she added.

“EMU faculty and students are excited about the possibilities this grant offers for us to better prepare nursing graduates for the technological world of health care,” Wiens said. “We are grateful to Anthem and appreciate their recognition of the importance of nurses in providing safe and effective care in hospital settings.”

A 1985 graduate of EMU has returned to his alma mater as the new director of alumni-parent relations.

Douglas J. Nyce, most recently of Lancaster, Pa., succeeds Janet M. Stutzman, who resigned after serving 13 years in that role.

Nyce will work with EMU’s 14,000 alumni and with EMU Parent Relations, an advisory group, to promote Christian higher education. He will also plan fall homecoming weekend and regional alumni events and work with alumni support groups.

For the past 10 years, Nyce was director of the historic Hans Herr House and Museum in Lancaster County, where he directed overall operations, managed a host of volunteers, handled fund-raising and promotion and carried out special events.

Before that, he was associate/youth pastor seven years at Springdale Mennonite Church, Waynesboro, Va.

In addition to study at EMU, the Grantham, Pa., native took classes at James Madison University, Blue Ridge Community College and the Harrisburg (PA) campus of Penn State University.

He served as youth baseball and basketball coach several years in the Conestoga Valley Little League. He attended James Street Mennonite Church, Lancaster, where he was involved in Christian education responsibilites.

Nyce is married to Dawn Mumaw Nyce, also a 1985 EMU graduate. The couple has three children – Travis, 15; Krista, 12; and Daniel, 8.

Dr. James Perkins, president of Blue Ridge Community College, and Dr. Beryl H. Brubaker, interim president of ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř, signing the guaranteed admissions agreement.
Photo by Jim Bishop

˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř and in Weyers Cave have taken steps to become closer partners in higher education for the broader community.

EMU interim president Beryl H. Brubaker and BRCC president James Perkins signed a “guaranteed admission agreement” Thursday, Dec. 18. The agreement will take effect for new Blue Ridge students with the start of the second (spring) semester Jan. 5, 2004.

“This new policy means that new BRCC students who have satisfactorily completed the associate in arts and sciences degree will have met lower-level general education course requirements at EMU and is understood to grant them admission with ‘junior’ class standing,” Dr. Brubaker said.

The agreement notes, however, that admission into certain programs at EMU is competitive and will require program acceptance. Any BRCC transfer student will need to meet EMU’s general admissions and graduation requirements.

BRCC, one of 23 community colleges in the Commonwealth of Virginia, has the highest rate of graduates who transfer to four-year colleges. Blue Ridge graduates have strong local ties and many desire to stay in the community to complete their college education.

“Blue Ridge has had a good partnership with EMU over the years,” Dr. Perkins said. “This agreement will provide a clear path from the outset for our students to move right into completing a four-year degree at a respected private institution in this same area.”

EMU is one of 25 members of the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV). On Dec. 10, 2003, CIVC presented Virginia governor Mark Warner with a briefing using data from the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) to demonstrate the ability of Virginia’s private colleges and universities to enroll additional students.

“SCHEV has estimated that an additional 61,000 students will enroll in statewide colleges and universities by the year 2010,” said Shirley B. Yoder, vice president for enrollment and marketing at EMU. “The gap between supply of Virginia’s educational capacity and future demand is becoming a focus of attention for policymakers.

“The CICV report to the governor also noted that private colleges’ capacity could conceivably be sufficient to address additional transfer demand from Virginia’s community colleges,” Yoder added. “This agreement moves us even closer to that reality.”

More information on the EMU-BRCC transfer agreement is available from Shirley B. Yoder at 540-432-4159; e-mail: yodshirb@emu.edu.