After some delay, EMU’s centennial steering committee met last week to choose a theme for the celebrations, which will last throughout the 2017-18 academic year. “Transformation: Past, Present and Future” will guide the committee’s efforts, chairwoman and class of 1979 alumna Louise Hostetter said Monday.

“The reason we came up with that theme is that, as we look back, the history of Eastern Mennonite School started as a very small, insulated community,” the Harrisonburg resident said. “Over the years, we’ve developed into high school, a university with graduate programs and now [have] become a very global university.”

The nine-person committee, which includes two students and several administrators, began exploring possible celebration ideas in 2008 and commissioned a history of EMU by sociologist and Mennonite cultural scholar Donald Kraybill.

EMU received six proposals from alumni for artistic performances and installations to be featured during the 2017 homecoming weekend. Proposals had to be for theatrical or musical performances, but ideas for incorporating the visual arts were welcomed.

Submissions included a 30-minute original orchestral piece, a musical, a play and an art installation. Hostetter said that although the steering committee did not receive as many proposal requests as expected, members would not reopen the submission process.

“We’ve received some very good proposals, and we feel comfortable with what we have to work with,” Hostetter said. The committee’s centennial budget is “still under development,” she said, and members will meet again next month.

In the meantime, the committee hopes to produce audio and video interviews of alumni and others connected with the university for archival purposes and centennial events.

“Technology provides with us with ways to capture a lot of the memories, as well as people, that have been very important and instrumental in the development of 草莓社区,” Hostetter said.

Although EMU is not the insulated institution Hostetter said it once was, the ideas of service and peacebuilding have “remained consistent throughout all those changes.” She emphasized the increase in international student membership and global academic partnerships.

In October, of the 1,870 students enrolled, 37 percent identify as nonwhite or international, administrators said.

Hostetter said one of the steering committee’s student members was deliberately chosen to represent the interests of multicultural students. EMU remains a Mennonite institution and emphasizes Christian principals, but according to its website, only about 43 percent of the school’s current undergrads have a Mennonite background.

Events will be scheduled throughout the 2017-18 school year but the homecoming weekend for EMU and Eastern Mennonite School will be the centerpiece of the celebration. Because EMU grew out of Eastern Mennonite School in 1917, the two locations will combine their events for the first time.

Diana Berkshire, EMS associate director of development, said a committee was in place to design EMS’ centennial events, as well as those at the university, but the agenda is not final. Normally, Berkshire said, EMS’ homecoming weekend involves sporting events, performances and as many as 15 class reunions.

“We share a common history,” she said. “There’s so much to celebrate – it’s 100 years.”

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, Jan. 27, 2015

鈥淲e would like to debut a major theater or music production 鈥� or both 鈥� for our centennial celebration,鈥� said Louise Otto Hostetter 鈥�79, chair of the planning committee.

, October 17-19, 2017, will be a pivotal point for the celebration, but commemorative activities will be held throughout the 2017-18 academic year.

Other artistic ideas are also welcomed, Hostetter said, such as wall murals, fresh art for EMU鈥檚 gallery spaces, photo-journalism projects, and film productions.

鈥淚deally, we鈥檇 like to commission a member of our alumni base to serve as the centennial playwright or composer,鈥� said Hostetter. 鈥淏ut we are open to proposals from any sources.鈥�

To submit ideas or proposals, visit emu.edu/centennial, click on 鈥淪ubmit proposals, ideas, photos,鈥� and fill in 鈥淐entennial Celebration Ideas Submission Form.鈥� Or email centennial@emu.edu.

Submissions are due January 1, 2015. The centennial committee鈥檚 selections will be announced on August 1, 2015.

Already underway is a fresh , the nation鈥檚 best-known writer on Amish and Mennonite culture.

The centennial committee is encouraging alumni to upload photos from the history of EMC/EMU for possible centennial-celebration usage. This can be done via the 鈥渃elebration ideas submission form鈥� mentioned earlier.

Eastern Mennonite School K-12 shared its first 50 years of history with EMU. The weekend of October 13-15, 2017, will be a joint celebration. In addition, the school and the university will host their own anniversary events during the year.

Retiring librarian is 鈥減roudest鈥� (her word) of the many researchers she has helped in her 45 years at the historical library. In addition, she has cataloged thousands of books, including many rare and foreign titles. With a masters degree from Harvard University and a second masters from Catholic University in rare book librarianship, Bowman is EMU鈥檚 longest serving faculty and staff member, beginning in 1962.

鈥淥ne of the jewels of EMU鈥檚 crown is the Menno Simons Historical Library which Lois has helped to create,鈥� , director of the Sadie Hartzler Library,聽said at a retirement reception for Bowman on June 11. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a jewel not only because of the materials Lois and others have collected but also because of the in-depth knowledge and interest of its staff. Ask her anything about Mennonites or related groups or about genealogy or the Shenandoah Valley, and Lois will shower you with information. She enjoys talking with visitors. She鈥檒l proudly show you the rare book collection too, a collection that is second to none on the East coast.鈥�

Looking ahead to her retirement, Bowman says of her library work, 鈥淚 don’t expect to miss any of it, because I plan to continue as a volunteer, doing the work I enjoy most.聽The rest I won’t miss!鈥�

Her successor Simone Horst is a 2012 graduate of EMU. This May she completed a master of library and information science from the University of South Carolina. She is co-director of EMU鈥檚 digital conversion project and since 2008 has worked as an assistant in EMU鈥檚 archives.

The university鈥檚 2017 centennial 鈥渉as placed a well-deserved spotlight on our special collections,鈥� says Horst. 鈥淗opefully it will allow us to share the many hidden gems we have with a broader audience.鈥� Sociologist Donald Kraybill, , is using the EMU archives as a primary source of university history.

Equally at home among rare old books or fresh digital scans, Horst is excited about the opportunities to extend the reach and utility of the historical library.

鈥淭he library staff has worked since about 2011 on a project to digitize items from EMU’s special collections and make them available online,鈥� says Horst. 鈥淚t’s been a learning process for everyone, but it has been exciting to see the fruits of our labor in the recent months! We have teamed up with information systems and other departments on campus to ensure that our digitized materials are maintained for the long-term and made easily available now for those who want to use them. The digitization of library and archival materials is something I am very passionate about. Digital collections offer many new opportunities for libraries and library users.鈥�

A link to EMU鈥檚 digital collection (publications such as early Weather Vanes, the Bulletin and student handbooks) is at or at the .

鈥淲e are delighted that Louise is willing to share her people skills, organizational gifts, eye for detail and enthusiasm with EMU at this important time in our history,鈥� said , EMU鈥檚 director of marketing and communications.

Hostetter will work with those giving leadership to various aspects of the year鈥檚 celebrations, including large-venue events involving music, theater and art; alumni gatherings; worship services; academic department gatherings; storytelling; and displays. She will oversee the master schedule and manage the centennial budget.

鈥淓MU began with the vision of relatively few people and has grown over the past 100 years to a global community,鈥� said Hostetter. 鈥淲ith the resources of those who are currently involved with EMU as well as those with past connections, we can explore and honor the history of EMU with a variety of events in 2017-18 as well as celebrate the vision going forward.鈥�

Hostetter also serves on: the advisory boards for and the arts complex at James Madison University; the church council of ; and the board of .

In 2011-13 she co-chaired the capital campaign for the and in 2010-11 she was president of the EMU Alumni Council. From 1999 to 2012 she was an intensive individualized instructor at .

Coming to EMU from Arcola, Ill., Hostetter majored in English education and met her future husband, Alden Hostetter ’79, a pathologist. All three of their sons have attended EMU.

A 10-member planning task force began meeting in 2008 鈥渢o plan for a centennial plan,鈥� said Wenger. The task force , a 1967 graduate who is the nation鈥檚 best-known writer on Amish and Mennonite culture. A sociologist by training, he is a professor at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania and the author of dozens of publications.

A page on the EMU website, , invites submissions of stories and photographs for centennial celebration use and ideas for the centennial committee to consider.

The centennial celebrations will last throughout the academic year of 2017-18. The biggest gathering will likely be during Homecoming & Parents Weekend in October. A worship service on Oct. 19 will mark exactly 100 years since the start of classes in 1917.

More information

The world was stunned and outraged at the senseless, unprecedented assault on the one-room Amish school that took the lives of five children and wounded five others on Oct. 2, 2006. Forgiveness? So quickly and for such a heinous crime?

Donald Kraybill ’67

A symposium on "forgiveness" with a focus on understanding the Amish response will be held Friday, Oct. 10, 10-11:30 a.m. in Lehman Auditorium.

Two Lancaster area men who spoke on behalf of the Amish community in the aftermath of the tragedy and fielded hundreds of media queries will speak and lead a question and answer period.

Speakers

Donald B. Kraybill, distinguished professor of sociology at Elizabethtown (PA) College, and Herman Bontrager, president/CEO of Goodville Mutual Casualty Company, will reflect on Amish beliefs that prompted them to forgive, show compassion and respond graciously, despite their deep pain.

Dr. Kraybill has written 20 books, many on Amish life, including The Riddle of Amish Culture (1989/revised 2001).

He is a 1967 Bible and sociology graduate of EMU.

Herman Bontrager ’72

Bontrager, a 1972 alumnus, is secretary-treasurer of the National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom and was instrumental in establishing a fund for victims of the West Nickel Mines shooting.

The program will launch homecoming and parents weekend at EMU.

The Alumni Association will honor Kraybill as "alumnus of the year" and Bontrager will receive the annual "distinguished service" award during a worship service 10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 12 in Lehman Auditorium.

The symposium is open to the public free of charge.