Those faculty members are:

• Dr. Katherine Evans: Jesse T. Byler Endowed Chair in Education
• Dr. James Leaman: Longacre Endowed Chair in Business and Leadership
• Dr. Peter Dula: Myron S. Augsburger Endowed Chair of Theology
• Dr. James Yoder: Daniel B. Suter Endowed Chair of Science

Dr. Tynisha Willingham, provost and vice president of academic affairs for EMU, said these faculty members were chosen as endowed chairs because of their demonstrated leadership, service, teaching, and research, as well as their capacity to be champions of their programs at EMU. 

“Endowed chairs are a critical component of EMU’s academic vitality,” she said. “Our goal is to elevate the recognition of our faculty who hold this honor and to celebrate the donors whose generosity helps to support academic excellence in this way.”

The endowed chair positions provide funding for each faculty position within a particular discipline, along with scholarships for students in the discipline and funds for program initiatives. Chairs receive professional development funds to support their research and scholarship. An endowed chair appointment is one of the highest honors a faculty member can receive at EMU, supporting their continued excellence in scholarship and teaching, said the Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler, dean of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

Keep reading for bios of each professor.

Dr. Katherine Evans

Professor of Teacher Education and director of the Undergraduate Teacher Education program
Jesse T. Byler Endowed Chair in Education

Kathy Evans is a professor of Teacher Education at EMU, teaching courses in educational psychology, special education, and restorative justice in education. She earned her PhD from the University of Tennessee in educational psychology and research. Her research, teaching, and scholarship focus on ways in which educators participate in creating more just and equitable educational opportunities for all students, including those with disability labels, those who exhibit challenging behavior, and those who are marginalized for a variety of reasons, including race, ethnicity, language, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. 

During her 15 years at EMU, Evans has helped develop EMU’s graduate program in Restorative Justice in Education (RJE), which supports educators as they create learning environments that promote relational approaches to teaching and learning, justice and equity in schools and classrooms, and transformational approaches to conflict and harm. She is the co-author of The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education and has published several articles and book chapters related to restorative justice in education, school culture and climate, and school discipline practices, focusing on the ways in which restorative justice is applied to educational contexts. 

How do you feel to be granted this position?

It’s an honor to be appointed as the Jesse T. Byler Endowed Chair in Education. The Byler endowment has historically been such a gift to the Teacher Education Program at EMU, providing support for pre-service teachers in the way of fee waivers for testing and licensure, conference registration for networking with other pre-service teachers, scholarships, and resources that support their success through their EMU program. We are in a season of growth and expansion and I am grateful for the opportunities I will have in this position to support that growth, both in the recruitment of talented and dedicated teachers and in the ongoing professional development for our faculty. At this moment in time, we need teachers who are committed to justice and peacebuilding. Embedding restorative justice within our teacher education program at both the undergraduate and graduate levels opens up spaces to support educators who want to not only excel as educators, but to be educators who nurture the well-being of each student. The Byler endowment helps us to do that work better.

What do you love about EMU?

This is my 15th year at EMU and I am more hopeful about EMU’s future today than I have been since I arrived. The commitment to peacebuilding and justice—even when we don’t fully live into that commitment—means that there is a unifying set of values that guide our collective work. I see our students, staff, and faculty working to honor those values and that mission. Our students are amazing and they remind me every day that the work of justice is ongoing, intergenerational, and worth it.

What is a fun fact about you?

When I’m not working, I might be fishing—bass fishing at Silver Lake or fly-fishing at Dry River. I find the water so peaceful.

Dr. James M. Leaman

Associate Professor of Business and director of the Business and Leadership program
Longacre Endowed Chair in Business and Leadership

Jim Leaman chairs the Business and Leadership Program, where he teaches undergraduate courses in management, finance, and economics, and graduate courses in organizational and leadership studies. His industry experience spans both private business and nonprofit administration, including 12 years of service with an international non-governmental organization (INGO) in Kenya. The EMU alumnus has a PhD in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

The perspective Leaman adds to his field is analyzing and teaching about the role and impact of business and organizations within ecological limits and dynamic social systems, resulting in an integrated lens of sustainability, stewardship and justice. Leaman researches and publishes in the areas of sustainable housing and energy, and his most recent scholarly work is a management textbook, with which he collaborated with an international team of authors to publish in the creative commons, resulting in lower resource costs for students. 

How do you feel to be granted this position?

It is an honor to hold the endowed chair position in business and to steward the gifts and vision of the Longacre family as the program serves and prepares the next generation of business leaders.

What do you love about EMU?

The EMU mission to prepare students to serve and lead in a global context becomes more relevant with each new innovation and global integration.

What is a fun fact about you?

In awe of the vastness and complexity of the universe, I’ve gained an avocational interest in learning as much as I can about the cosmos.

Dr. Peter Dula

Professor of Religion and Culture
Myron S. Augsburger Endowed Chair of Theology

Peter Dula is the professor of Religion and Culture at EMU. The EMU alumnus received a PhD from Duke University in theology and ethics in 2004. He is the author of Cavell, Companionship, and Christian Theology (Oxford, 2011). Before coming to EMU in 2006, he was the Mennonite Central Committee Iraq Program Coordinator. He has taught at Lancaster Mennonite High School and at the Meserete Kristos College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was a Fulbright scholar in 2001-02.

This is his 20th year at EMU. He teaches primarily in the undergraduate program, as well as one class each year at the seminary and the Bioethics course in the MA in Biomedicine program. He is married to Ilse Ackerman and they have two children, Simon (17) and Nina (15). 

What do you love about EMU?

Two things I love about EMU are its smart and interesting faculty colleagues and its location in the Shenandoah Valley.

What is a fun fact about you? 

I planted 500 trees over the last couple of years. The latest Weather Vane issue has . Along with Trina Trotter Nussbaum at the Center for Interfaith Engagement, I organized last month’s consultation on Judaism, the Bible, and Anabaptism. The Weather Vane also has . 

Dr. James Yoder

Professor of Biology and director of the Natural Sciences programs
Daniel B. Suter Endowed Chair of Science

Jim Yoder is the chair of EMU’s Department of Natural Sciences, advising environmental science and biology majors and teaching evolution, ecology, and conservation biology. A 1994 alumnus of EMU, he earned his PhD from The Ohio State University, where he studied the effects of habitat fragmentation on ruffed grouse movements at large spatial scales. His research interests include conservation, landscape and behavioral ecology, animal movement, invasive species, stream restoration, nitrogen and carbon footprint tracking, and insect movement using harmonic radar. He has also led multiple intercultural programs to New Zealand, the Navajo Nation, and Washington D.C. (upcoming), as well as three research trips with undergraduates to Australia. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, traveling, and hiking with his wife Kathy. 

How do you feel to be granted this position?

I’m honored to be named the Suter Endowed Chair of Science and work to continue the level of scholarship and teaching Daniel Suter established in the natural sciences at EMU. Coordinating the long-running Suter Science Seminar Series with a diverse array of speakers and increasing collaborative research among our science faculty and undergraduate students are two aspects of being Suter Chair that I’m most excited to focus on. 

What do you love about EMU?

Wonderful colleagues, a diverse student body, and the beautiful Shenandoah Valley—it’s a great place to be a field biologist!

What is a fun fact about you?

My wife and I recently moved into a loft apartment in the heart of downtown Harrisonburg above . It keeps us young at heart!  And we are soon to be grandparents for the first time!

Dr. Dycus has spent 15 years working in learning communities and ministry settings, including the past six years at EMU. She served as dean of students from 2019-2023 and as vice president of student affairs and dean of students from 2023-2024 before being promoted to her current role where she oversees the Student Life, DEI, and Athletics departments—and nurtures a co-curricular vision of social accountability, holistic well-being, and academic success for all students.

Dr. Dycus’ selection as interim president was approved by unanimous vote from the EMU Board of Trustees at a meeting on March 26. The decision followed a national search process that began after Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman, EMU’s ninth president and first woman president, announced her retirement in October 2024, effective June 30, 2025. The Interim President Search committee included diverse representation from across the EMU community and was co-chaired by Dr. Jim Leaman ’86, associate professor of business and director of the business and leadership program, and Jane Hoober Peifer ‘75, MDiv ‘98, vice chair of the board.

“Shannon has proven her outstanding ability to set vision, listen well, and execute the best way forward as an EMU administrator, and she is a trusted and gifted spiritual leader,” said Peifer. “Shannon is committed to preparing EMU students to be peacebuilders in the world, and her collaborative and decisive leadership is needed in this climate of ever-changing higher education realities.”

“Despite the headwinds in higher education, EMU has established terrific momentum,” said Manuel (Manny) Nuñez ‘94, chair of the board. “A key piece of our success standing out in the world as peacebuilders is achieving academic excellence while maintaining fidelity to our Anabaptist faith tradition. Shannon brings both spiritual depth and strategic vision to the role of interim president—qualities that will serve EMU well in this season of opportunity.”

“I have always seen my own call to lead communities, in both education and ministerial contexts, toward our growth and becoming in relationship with each other and God,” said Dr. Dycus. “I look forward to leading EMU through this transitional moment and continuing its commitment to a values-based education that inspires achievement and compassion.”

Dr. Dycus has “made it a priority to support EMU students as they arrive on campus and to navigate barriers in their education” since 2019 when she created and led the C.A.R.E. Team, a proactive and coordinated response to addressing students and their well-being. In 2020 and 2024, she was awarded Department of Justice sexual violence prevention grants to fund EMU’s Safer Together office. She has worked with EMU Counseling Services to increase staffing and training for mental health support, and has been a staunch student advocate for peaceful responses to global injustices.

Dr. Dycus serves as a board member for Eastern Mennonite School and On the Road Collaborative. She is a Women in Leadership advisory board member for Mennonite Church USA. Prior to her time at EMU, Dr. Dycus served as an academic adviser and adjunct faculty member at Franklin University of Ohio (Indianapolis campus) and as co-pastor at First Mennonite Church in Indianapolis.

She received her doctor of ministry in public theology from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, a master of divinity from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, and her BA degree in middle and secondary education from Butler University.

Rooted in the values of academic excellence, peace and justice, and an active faith shaped by Anabaptist-Mennonite beliefs and practices, ��ݮ���� offers undergraduate, graduate and seminary degrees that prepare students to serve and lead in a global context. A leader among faith-based universities, EMU was founded in 1917 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and has a site in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; students can study in person or online.

Visit Interim President Search for more information.

It’s probably no surprise that the time and money spent on a college degree is one of the best investments you can make in your lifetime. But, seeing the raw numbers — just how much more money a college graduate earns versus someone with only a high school diploma — can be eye-opening.

On average, college graduates with a bachelor’s degree earn $580 more per week, or $2,500 more per month, than those with a high school diploma. That’s according to Jim Leaman, director of the Business and Leadership Program at EMU, who crunched the numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Leaman delivered a presentation on his findings at EMU’s Admitted Student Day earlier this month.

Paying it back ‘pretty easy’

The average total debt for EMU graduates who have taken out loans is $35,000. For those graduates, their increased earnings — $30,000 more per year than high school graduates — make it “pretty easy to service that debt load,” Leaman said.

“That $35,000 debt feels like a lot to a 22-year-old coming out of college who’s just getting started in their career; it feels enormous,” he said. “But, I’d much rather be in that position than not having gone to college, from a financial standpoint.”

With the current 5.5% interest rate on subsidized loans, the cost of repaying $35,000 in student loan debt over 20 years equates to a $240 payment each month, Leaman said. 

“If you’re making $2,500 more per month because you have a bachelor’s degree, you’re very willing to have a $240-per-month expenditure on your debt,” he said. “You very easily make that trade-off.”        

And, that’s just for graduates who carry on debt. Roughly 28% of students leave EMU without borrowing money, he added.

Earning a four-year degree is still relatively rare. Only 33% of the U.S. labor force has at least a bachelor’s degree. And, it’s still something employers value. According to 2022 BLS statistics, the unemployment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree was 2.2%, compared to a 4% rate for those with a high school diploma. 

More than money

Of course, the benefits of a college education extend past a salary. 

Students at EMU explore big questions of faith and meaning, develop social skills, discover their passions, gain confidence and mature in just about every way imaginable. Graduates also are more likely to live longer.

found that 25-year-old Americans who graduated college have about 58 years of life remaining (for a life expectancy of 83 years). Their peers who lack a college degree have about 50 years of life left after 25 (a life expectancy of 75 years).

Likely culprits behind this mortality gap include: differential access to health care, a greater likelihood of unhealthy behaviors among people without college degrees, a difference in the safety of living environments, and more “deaths of despair” involving suicide, drug overdoses and alcoholism, .

So, what’s not to love about investing in a college degree? In addition to gaining all the skills needed to become contributing members of society, college graduates earn significantly more, live nearly a decade longer, and — at least for EMU grads — are well-positioned to pay off their debt.

“The moral of the story,” said Leaman, “is that education is a fantastic investment.”

What will a post-pandemic world look like? How is COVID-19 affecting each of us differently, and what are our responsibilities to one another in the face of those disparities? What do we know about the biology of the virus? And are there things that are changing for the better because of this crisis?

A free seven-week online course offered at ��ݮ���� this summer will delve into those questions and more. Community members are welcome. Students can opt for a pass/fail grade and will have online access to readings, videos, and other materials before each class. 

The course meets each Tuesday evening, beginning June 30, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. for seven weeks, with a different pair or trio of faculty and staff from different academic fields leading each class.

The lectures and Q and A will be recorded and available for viewing later.

The course is co-led by language and literature professor Kevin Seidel and chemistry professor Laurie Yoder.

“What pulled me in at first was the possibility of teaching with faculty from all three schools – sciences, social sciences, and humanities – talking together and learning from one another about the virus,” Seidel said. When the pandemic hit, he started fervently gathering information and perspective: from scientists, from fictive literature, and from poetry, trying to make sense of “this strange new world.” 

Week 1 | June 30, Tuesday, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Treating COVID-19

What do we know about the biology of COVID-19? What’s next in vaccine development? What public health measures are working to slow the spread of COVID-19?

Kristopher Schmidt, Associate Professor of Biology

Kate Clark, Assistant Professor of Nursing

Week 2 | July 7, Tuesday, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Pandemic History and Data

What can we learn from past pandemics about life after this one? What can we learn from visual presentations of data about the pandemic? 

Mary Sprunger, Professor of History

Daniel Showalter, Associate Professor of Mathematics

Week 3 | July 14, Tuesday, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Politics and Collective Trauma

Why has the U.S. response to COVID-19 been so contentious and uneven? What is collective trauma and what might it have to do with that response?

Mark Metzler Sawin, Professor of History

Ryan Thompson, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Trina Trotter Nussbaum, Associate Director, Center for Interfaith Engagement

Week 4 | July 21, Tuesday, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Zoonotic Viruses, Wet Markets, and the Economics of COVID-19

Where do coronaviruses come from? What are the links between environmental degradation and pandemics? What does COVID-19 have to teach us about how our economy is connected to the natural world? What are the economic impacts from a pandemic?

Jim Yoder, Professor of Biology

Jim Leaman, Associate Professor of Business and Leadership

Week 5 | July 28, Tuesday, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Our Life with Animals, Our Life with God

Why are so many people taking refuge in nature during the pandemic? Why is that refuge harder to come by for some people? What do the scriptures say about how our life with God is related to our life with animals? 

Steven Johnson, Professor of Visual and Communication Arts 

Andrea Saner, Associate Professor of Old Testament

Week 6 | August 4, Tuesday, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Systemic Racism in the U.S. before and after COVID-19

Why has COVID-19 hit African-Americans harder than other groups? Why does rural Navajo Nation have the highest infection rates in the country?

Jenni Holsinger, Associate Professor of Sociology 

Matt Tibbles, Teaching Fellow, Applied Social Sciences

Jim Yoder, Professor of Biology

Week 7 | August 11, Tuesday, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Resilience, Repair, and Transformation after COVID-19

How do we carry forward what we’ve learned about COVID-19, trauma, and restorative justice? 

Johonna Turner, Assistant Professor of Restorative Justice and Peacebuilding

Katie Mansfield, Lead Trainer, Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR)

A political science major and revised minor and a global studies major and minor will be offered beginning this fall.

“These new majors reflect an expanding awareness that community, which EMU has long emphasized, also happens at national and global levels,” said Provost Fred Kniss. “With these new majors, students will develop knowledge and skills that will help them effect positive change in diverse settings.”  

Political science

The political science major will train students to apply their research and analytical skills to current political affairs and offer students real-world learning through internships. It will prepare students to pursue further studies and careers in fields such as law and public policy.

“This major will closely align with EMU’s core mission,” said Professor Mark Metzler Sawin. “While many universities offer political studies, our program will be distinctive in its embodiment of our university’s values.”

Students will learn to think critically and analytically about power, authority and legitimacy, examining “the traditional role of relevant political actors, institutions, and mechanisms through a critical lens,” said Professor Ji Eun Kim. In addition to developing theoretical and moral ways of understanding political events, they will gain critical oral and writing skills for “speaking and understanding the language of these key actors” based on rigorous reasoning and dignity and respect for others.

Its interdisciplinary approach and diverse curriculum includes course topics such as human rights and dignity, political reconciliation, international relations, American politics, and peace and security in East Asia.

The major also requires a term at the Washington Community Scholars’ Center in Washington DC, where internships offer real-world extensions to classroom learning and vocational experience in policy, politics, advocacy and law. WCSC internship sites in these fields include working on Capitol Hill with the Catholic social justice lobby NETWORK or Mennonite Central Committee’s Washington Office; and working to increase civic exchange political dialogue with the Faith and Politics Institute. [Learn more about internship sites in these fields.]

Global studies

The global studies major is fitting for a university that for 35 years has required students to have cross-cultural experience. In the program, students will identify a regional and language focus to prepare them for cross-cultural engagement, in addition to further study and careers in fields such as international development, human resources, intelligence and research analysis, and education in public and private sectors.

“EMU’s identity and history positions us to create and offer a global studies program to undergraduate students in a unique way,” said Professor Tim Seidel, who helped develop the major with vice president and undergraduate academic dean Deirdre L. Smeltzer, cross-cultural program director Ann Hershberger, and professors Adriana Rojas, Jim Leaman and Ji Eun Kim. “Graduates will be equipped with solid knowledge and relevant skills – and be equipped for postgraduate study and for professional opportunities including working in governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector.”

With three areas of concentration – sustainability, justice and peacebuilding, and societies and cultures – the major will focus on intercultural communication and the role of faith in global studies while exploring global political and economic actors beyond the state.

The curriculum will include course topics such as globalization and justice, biblical theologies of peace and justice, and cultural anthropology. Region-focused studies may include, for example, history and culture of Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

The major was developed with funding from a United States Department of Education Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Languages grant.

For the past four years, graduate students in ��ݮ����’s residential MBA program and its affiliate program, the , have done just that during an eight-day international residency course.

Professor Jim Leaman created the course specifically for the Collaborative MBA program, a joint program of EMU, Bluffton University, Canadian Mennonite University and Goshen College. The online program features three residencies at the , middle and end of the two-year program.

“The Costa Rica residency happens in the middle of that curriculum, which helps to connect students who have met just once before and have then been working together online,” Leaman said.

EMU’s residential MBA curriculum also requires cross-cultural immersion; students have the option of choosing the Costa Rica course or a similarly themed 8-day course in Appalachia.

Students regularly say that the immersive cross-cultural experience — shared with classmates bringing leadership experience from a variety of fields — is among the pivotal, transformative points of their educational journey.

“Many of our students reflect that learnings and reflections from the one-week residency continue to reverberate months and years later,” said Leaman, a professor of business who created the residency course. “Getting out of that embeddedness in one’s own business culture and viewing it through the lens of another helps to focus attention and reflection on how we might better serve the common good through the decisions we make and the interactions we have.”

Learn more about the online  and EMU’s MBA program here.

Learning from other professionals

Based in Atenas not far from the capital city of San Jose, students participate in a busy itinerary, packed with site visits to a variety of businesses, including health care providers, eco-tourism sites, and agricultural cooperatives; Q & A sessions with owners, employees and community leaders; and opportunities to interact with the culture and customs of Costa Rica.

Students bring various perspectives and interests to their experience, which broadens the learning for all involved. For example, Petra Mbugua is a Slovakian native who supervises housekeeping services for a major resort in Virginia. She was attentive to the recycling, energy and water conservation practices in Costa Rica’s hospitality industry, which brings in $3.8 billion annually.

“We allocate significant time for employee customer service development,” she said, “but not enough on educating employees on improving environmental sustainability practices, and we also need to think about how to extend the message about sustainable practices to our guests as well.”

Marcus Ebright Zehr, a nurse anesthetist and health care administrator from Goshen, Indiana, found himself comparing not only the health care provider systems of the two countries, but the values he witnessed.

“Costa Ricans seems to care a lot more for things that really matter,” he reflected in an audio diary. “Every presenter and place we visited seemed to hold caring in common: caring for their parishioners, their laborers, their farmers, their neighbors, their families, their schools, their elderly, their dying, their food, their land, their water, their trees, their planet, their visitors.”

Witnessing such high levels of emotional and societal commitment, Ebright Zehr reflected that in the American society, “there is not enough care beyond ourselves. There is no doubt which values are more sustainable for our world — us, growing and improving together versus the value of me, striving and taking as much as I can.”

What does it mean to be a global citizen?

Eliciting personal reflection about global citizenship – on values, decisions, cultural norms, and the shape and substance of American capitalism — is one goal of the course, titled “Sustainable Organizations for the Common Good.”

“Our aim is to be there and dig down into the values that are part of the culture that inform decisions made at the personal, commercial and policy levels,” said Leaman. “That idea of global citizenship and the common good is at the heart of this course and the program, that whatever I do and whatever I am has implications on people around the world. We want our business leaders to think about how they make decisions and take actions with full knowledge of those consequences. How do they do business and lead in the business world in a way that aligns with their faith, goals, mission and purpose in life?”

One of Ben Bontrager’s radical takeaways from the residency – he had several – was philosophical. The CFO of Goshen Health in Goshen, Indiana, Bontrager is very invested into helping move his organization towards sustainability goals.

Listening to farmers, parents, politicians and business owners – Costa Rican residents each impacted in their daily lives by climate change – helped him to realize that sustainability was not an achievement or an accomplishment nor was it going to be without conflict.

“Where before I felt paralyzed by the insurmountable size of the problem, today I feel clear about the response: the change starts with me,” he said. “It continues with my next choices and grows with my conversations with others.”

More reflection occurred after sharing a meal with a family from a nearby barrio, which helped him to see how relationships are at the core of making progress together. After initial awkwardness subsided and similarities emerged through hesitant conversation and shared humor, “we found common ground in our humanity,” he said.

His takeaway: As Bontrager works alongside others toward building sustainability awareness, he recognizes the value of focusing more on common values instead of letting differences get in the way.

Do you live in Bellefontaine, Ohio, and want a doctor who loves EMU as much as you do? No problem. Advertising services in Salem, Oregon? Check. A restorative justice program in South Korea? Um-hmmm. Barbecue in Souderton, Pennsylvania? Yep – that, too.

“People often want to connect with alumni businesses, because of the value systems that our alumni adhere to and because they know the quality of education that they received at EMU,” said Jeff Shank, director of alumni and parent engagement. “That common ground is invaluable.”

Searchable by business category, internship opportunities and region, Royal Connections is already populated with more than 125 businesses – well over the launch goal. The site also links users to EMU’s career services website, where business owners can recruit Royals.

“Many of our business students seek internships in the summer, and Royal Connections will allow us to connect them with options in their own home towns,” said Professor Jim Leaman, chair of EMU’s Business and Leadership Department. “And when our graduates enter the workforce outside EMU’s region, Royal Connections will provide information that should be of benefit both to applicant and organization.”

Developed by EMU’s web developer and analyst Joshua Lyons with input from Shank, the site integrates various Google Map features. Users can see all of the businesses at once on the map or search by region, business type, or internship possibility – or just use the map to zoom in or out on an area to see what’s nearby.

Shank came up with the idea after a casual conversation with Mitch Troyer ‘93, vice president of Blue Ridge Powersports in Harrisonburg, about connecting alumni to each others’ businesses.

“The thing that people who haven’t experienced EMU don’t understand is that EMU people have a common bond and are good people at heart,” Troyer said. “I like to spend money with people I know and trust, and I’ve got a great chance of being treated fairly and getting a quality job done when I am working with someone from EMU.”

Several alumni-owned businesses that have sponsored the site are featured in rotation on the site homepage: Emotional Health Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, co-owned by Doug Friesen ’91; Peace, Love, and Little Donuts in Harrisonburg, co-owned by Katelyn Troyer ’14; the Valley Roots Team, with Jeremy Litwiller ’97�����Ի���Derik Trissel ’01 of Kline May Realty in Harrisonburg; and Best Western Plus Dutch Haus Inn and Suites in Columbiana, Ohio, co-owned by Grace Witmer Styer ’79 and Nelson Witmer ’87.

Despite her unstable position, Monroy remains steadfast in her desire to assist immigrants in need. For her advocacy and accomplishments as an educator and immigrant rights advocate, she is EMU’s Outstanding Young Alumna/us.

Monroy moved from Torreón in north central Mexico to Fairfax, Virginia, when she was 15 with her mother and little sister. The family entered on tourist visas. Her father had died five years earlier and the family was struggling to survive in Mexico. Monroy’s older sister took the two girls in. Eventually, she completed high school in Harrisonburg in 2006, excelling academically but feeling ashamed of her citizenship status.

Sharing her story through Young Life put her in contact with Eldon Kurtz ’76, longtime physical plant director, now retired, and Jason Good ’05, then director of admissions, who encouraged her to apply for a scholarship for undocumented individuals. At EMU, “I integrated my faith in the Lord in other areas of my life,” she said, expressing gratitude to economics professors Chris Gingrich, Walt Surratt and Jim Leaman for challenging her academically and equipping her professionally. Her economics courses also opened her eyes to the “brokenness of the system” and inspired her to “engage with and be a steward of God’s blessings.” Monroy became socially and politically engaged with Harrisonburg’s poor immigrant communities.

After graduation from EMU and holding an expired visa, Monroy hit her “lowest point.” Unable to move forward professionally, she earned money by babysitting, interpreting and cleaning houses. She applied and attained DACA status in spring 2013, which provided a work permit, Social Security card and driver’s license. That status granted immigration protection and authorization to work for two years, subject to renewal.

She continued to share her life story, encouraged and supported by Isabel Castillo Ressler ’07, MA ’17, nationally recognized for her advocacy of undocumented immigrants. (EMU honored Castillo Ressler with the 2013 Outstanding Young Alumna/us Award.) Eventually Monroy moved to Washington D.C. to work in child and adult education with a nonprofit organization focused on immigrant families. She also began graduate studies in international education at The George Washington University (she graduated in May).

In February 2017, Monroy was profiled in a Washington Post front-page article titled “In Trump’s capital, undocumented immigrants live and work in the shadow of the White House.” She did not hide her name or likeness. Shortly thereafter, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) invited Monroy as her guest to the Joint Address to the Congress (known as the State of the Union address in all but the first year of a new president’s term).

Since August 2017, Monroy has worked as operations manager of The District Church, a nondenominational “Christ centered, neighbor loving, justice-seeking community for transplants, natives and beyond,” according to its website. Monroy is creating a leadership skill development curriculum, with tracks for ministry and for entrepreneurs, and a six-week financial literacy program for low-income parents. She is also a founding member of a proposed charter school for low-income, limited English-proficient adult learners.

Monroy’s DACA status expires in 2019. Recently, three federal judges blocked Trump’s attempt to rescind DACA, but in the current political climate, her future remains uncertain. In the meantime, she’ll continue efforts to help immigrants with less education and fewer options than she has.

Read about the other 2018 alumni award recipients:

• Alumna/us of the Year: Regina Horst Chacha
• Distinguished Service Award: Gilberto Perez Jr.
• Previous recipients

This article was first published in the Spring/Summer 2018 Crossroads. Read more articles here.

The scholarship for local college students recognizes academic achievement, evidence of leadership and future promise. The Virginia Skyline Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants and the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants announced the winners, which also included Monica Linn from James Madison University and Larema Dixon from Bridgewater College, in February.

Sachs is majoring in accounting and economics, which he said will allow him “to pursue both sides of the business spectrum, to be versatile.” He is minoring in psychology.

Last year he began interning at Shenandoah Growers, where he helps reconcile balance sheets, makes sales and use tax filings and more. Controller Tom Reed called Sachs “one of the sharpest accounting students I’ve had the pleasure of working with” over the last 12 years.

“His work habits and innate intelligence indicate that he will be able to go as far as he wants to go in the accounting field,” Reed said.

That phrase – “as far as he wants to” – just might mean a great distance.

Sachs, who describes himself as “an optimistic and a big-picture planner,” is considering three post-graduation possibilities: a master’s degree and career in corporate finance, a doctorate with the goal of public policy or United Nations economic development work, or master’s degrees in peacebuilding and economics, for a career in politics or with the United Nations.

“When I was in elementary school, I loved math and money,” Sachs said. “When other kids wanted to be professional athletes, astronauts, president or the normal young child dreams, I always said ‘CFO.’ The little I knew of business drew me to the financial operations of companies and eventually the top of one.”

At EMU Sachs found a bridge between his academic and other passions, including a concern for the environment.

In the classroom, a highlight was the environmental and ecological economics course taught by Professor Jim Leaman. Outside of the classroom, Sachs initiated an online pledge “EMU for a Sustainable Campus” that invited the university community to take voluntary steps to positively impact the environment.

Another class, Leaman’s “Investment Club,” “gave me the tools and knowledge on how to properly invest, so that I can have financial freedom to pursue my passions no matter the salary,” he said.

The Virginia Skyline Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants provides continuing education programs and networking opportunities for accounting and finance professionals in the region. The Blue Ridge Chapter of the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants is dedicated to professionalism of, advocacy for and strategic partnership among its members.

“Marketing is the most dynamic sub-field in business and one of the strongest areas of job growth globally,” said Professor Jim Leaman, business and economics department chair. “The organizational leadership major, too, will prepare graduates for an expanding area of need, as specialists in managing people systems are also in strong demand.”

The employment outlook for both areas is positive, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Marketing jobs are expected to grow by 10 percent – and management jobs by close to that – through 2026.

As with many majors at EMU, the new academic programs offer internships and practicum experiences. Students wishing to double-major in accounting or economics – or to add minors such as nonprofit management – will find that the programs integrate well, Leaman said.

Marketing a “natural intersection”

The marketing major – a collaboration between the visual and communications arts (VACA) and business and economics departments – places EMU among the only 12 percent of four-year private institutions in Virginia offering the degree.

But like other majors at EMU, it comes with the university’s significant and unique emphasis: global and cultural perspective.

“Marketing impacts larger cultural forces, and can be part of social change, advocacy and getting unique and challenging messages into the social dialogue,” said Professor Jerry Holsopple, who teaches digital media. “Students with cross-cultural ways of knowing and collaborative ways of working will be valuable beyond their technical or theoretical skillset.”

The major has two tracks: media and design, and management. Each includes curriculum from the traditional marketing and business perspective as well as the arts, and will prepare students for careers at nonprofits, businesses, nongovernmental organizations and institutions of higher education – or start-up businesses and design and media enterprises, Leaman said.

Within the media and design track, students will acquire a set of skills that enables them to create media forms ranging from the single image to visual and text campaigns and longer-form video storytelling. The business-leaning management track will prepare students for marketing management and oversight roles. Course topics include consumer behavior, sales and e-commerce, strategic marketing management, branding and design, and communication strategy.

“Prospective students are really interested in marketing,” said Matt Ruth, director of admissions. “They are digital natives and many have dreams of becoming entrepreneurs and blazing their own paths.” The portfolios of work they amass in the program’s courses will reflect “the natural intersection of design and business,” he said.

“Organizations are scrambling to meet new opportunities in a rapidly changing environment as recent advancements in technology, networking, and electronic media have shifted the field of marketing to the intermediary space between business and visual and communication arts,” Leaman said. “It’s exciting to work in the creative space of a cutting-edge field, to collaborate across disciplines and departments to offer a nimble and demanded major, and to advise students into a growing and vibrant field and career.”

A marketing minor is also offered to students seeking orientation to the essential skills and concepts of the field.

Organizational leadership for ‘people systems’

The organizational leadership major will equip students to manage human capital and organizational systems. It will draw heavily on psychology and applied social sciences courses to prepare graduates for middle management or project management early in their careers.

“Leadership and organization are social constructs that continuously evolve,” said Leaman. “With this focus on the personal, interpersonal, and group systems in the workplace, students who have a strong interest in the ‘people systems’ of organizations now have a better fit with a major credential.”

Students in the program will gain skills in project management, team dynamics and team-building, interpersonal conflict and mediation, and personal leadership development. Course topics will include leadership theory and practice, human resource management, social psychology, applied behavior analysis, psychology of interpersonal relationships and more.

The result was a second-place award, but more importantly, a better idea of what it means to make business a calling. This year’s convention theme was “Business as a Calling: Building Bridges to Enduring Livelihoods.”   

MEDA is an international economic development organization whose mission is to create business solutions to poverty. Students from EMU have attended for the past several years, according to the business and economics department chair .

Read about the 2016 convention.

The 2017 conference included a wide variety of seminars and speakers, including Dr. , humanitarian, founder of and author of Damned Nations; Wally Kroeker, recently retired MEDA director of publications; and Tareq Hadhad, founder of .

Lucas Miller, a junior economics major, said that the conference “opened my eyes to career opportunities and connections I never knew I could possibly reach.” He came away inspired by Hussein Hallak’s story about “forging his own success” with , a Vancouver-based tech incubator that supports startups.

Isaac Brenneman, too, counted as a highlight Hallak’s advice for future entrepreneurs. Brenneman, a self-described “adrenaline junkie” and junior business administration and recreation leadership and sports promotion double major,  hopes eventually to start his own business, “possibly in the adventure sports industry.” He said that the convention was “a great way to network with other entrepreneurs and learn about what MEDA is doing in the world, and how to get involved.”

Ryan Faraci, a senior accounting and business administration double major, recommends that other students also attend the conference to network across industries and learn about MEDA’s “mission to fight poverty,” he said. He plans to become a certified public accountant.

Faraci and Miller both highlighted learnings from a seminar on the economics of United States and Canada, in which Leaman was a co-presenter. Faraci learned about “some of the economic bubbles to watch out for.” Miller, too, came away from Leaman’s presentation with “good insight into the context of our current economy and potential dangers in the coming years,” he said.

After Leaman’s presentation, Kyungho Yu, a junior economics major who hopes to support education through microfinance, noted that “the Canadian government has different economic perspective from the South Korean government: Canada focuses on the middle classes to increase the GDP, in part through efforts to increase equity through a high minimum wage.”

The MEDA pitch contest, in which entrepreneurs under 30 have five minutes to showcase an international development business idea, focused on innovations to reduce extreme poverty in developing countries. The EMU team took second place with “Better Health, Better Wealth,” a proposal to train Liberian community members to address mental health concerns using methods based on the “direct connection” of mental health to agricultural output in rural Africa.

MEDA, an international economic development organization whose mission is to create business solutions to poverty, convenes annually. Founded in 1953 by a group of Mennonite business professionals, it partners with the poor to start or grow small and medium-sized businesses in developing regions around the world. Its 2018 convention next November will be in Indianapolis.

With the theme of “Women Changing the World,” keynote speakers included two with EMU connections: Nobel Peace Prize winner and graduate , as well as Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary president Sara Wenger Shenk, a 1975 graduate and former Eastern Mennonite Seminary dean. The third, Canadian journalist Sally Armstrong, is a filmmaker and three-time Amnesty International award-winner.

MEDA acts as the business arm of the Mennonite church and is committed to finding business solutions to poverty. At the convention, business owners, entrepreneurs, and CEOs gather to collaborate on these solutions.

, department chair, said the presence of more women in the program than usual benefited his students and other participants, both males and females. “It was confirming and helpful to be reminded of the positive and considerable influence women have on the business world,” he said. “It was outstanding for young women to see role models and to understand some of the challenges and struggles.”

“Leymah Gbowee spoke about how it’s impossible for one to see the big picture by closing one eye, meaning there is no way to deal with development issues without involving women,” said junior and business administration major Delight Tigoe.

The MEDA convention provides students from Mennonite-affiliated schools to connect with one another and potential employers and job opportunities.

Junior Roy Wenfeng, a business administration, and accounting major who wants to own a business, said: “I saw so many outstanding people that encouraged me to work harder. One of my big takeaways is to do one good thing that that could be risky or that you are previously unwilling to try each day.”

Two teams of EMU students participated in MEDANext Talks —ten-minute presentations on an economics or business topic. The eight students split into two groups and gave presentations on food as a resource. The men talked about how college students live sustainably as a result of their limited resources. They touched on how college students address issues like overuse of resources, dependency on oil and food waste by living in community, dumpster diving and biking. {View their .]

The women addressed God’s call to be good stewards of the earth and care for those in poverty. They then presented solutions for food waste and helping those in poverty to a better chance at life.

Leaman said the convention prepares students for the future in three ways: it exposes them to a wider range of jobs, it opens up the idea of working for a non-government organization, and it gets students thinking about becoming a donor. He also encountered internship ideas for future EMU students.

“Being at the conference really gave me a good idea of what spending some time at a Mennonite organization like MEDA could do for my career after college,” said junior Aaron Dunmore, an economics major with minors in honors and math. He said seeing others start a successful career after spending time with MEDA and Mennonite Central Committee seems like a good fit for him.

Besides workshops and informational sessions, conference participants could also tour businesses putting sustainable practices to work, sample local cuisine, visit the famous Riverwalk and take in historic sites.

“As they started looking at where they wanted to launch this campaign, they chose us as the first site,” Director of Campus Ministries says. “They wanted a place where they thought the message would resonate.”

It will be at least the third time Claiborne has , most recently in 2013. Burkholder says that Claiborne—a noted author, speaker and activist whose books include “Jesus for President” and “The Irresistible Revolution”— “connects well” with the EMU community and with EMU’s mission.

“His theology and his take on faithful living resonates pretty deeply with Anabaptist theology and yet encourages and challenges us,” Burkholder says. “It moves us beyond complacency.”

Claiborne and Hanauer will both share during the , a public forum with Q&A at 7 p.m. in Lehman Auditorium. They will address the theme “Jubilee: The Bible’s Vision for a Just Economy.”

Hanauer will also speak at a chapel service on “Jubilee Economics” at 10 a.m., followed by a talk-back session with Claiborne over lunch, and Claiborne will share with the campus community at a dinner gathering focused on “Doing What Jesus Said” at 5 p.m. Hanauer will join Claiborne again for a late-evening residence hall dialogue time.

Claiborne’s work with Red Letter Christians—an organization he founded with prominent Christian speaker Tony Campolo “to take Jesus seriously by endeavoring to live out His radical, counter-cultural teachings as set forth in Scripture”—and with community in Philadelphia meshes well with Jubilee USA Network’s emphasis on “building an economy that serves, protects and promotes participation of the most vulnerable.”

“It’s apparent now that the inequity between the super-rich and super-poor is one of the most pressing ethical issues of our time,” Claiborne says. “All of that looks very different from the patterns of scripture. A lot of us, particularly people of faith, know that the world doesn’t have to be this way.”

EMU was a natural place to launch the initiative, he says, because it is an institution “known for its work with things like reconciliation and doing something about racial injustice.”

As for Jubilee USA—a coalition of more than 650 US organizations, faith communities and global partners—Claiborne provides a known and respected voice that can raise their visibility and draw greater attention to Jubilee USA’s work, especially on college campuses.

“They want to engage with Christian young adults around the idea of jubilee economics—debt reduction and all kinds of things about reshaping policy around kingdom economics,” Burkholder says. “Including Shane in the campaign means more interest and a higher level of engagement.”

It’s also a “unique opportunity,” Burkholder adds, for business students and others to explore the relationship between the areas of business and economics and the areas of faith, an intersection that doesn’t always receive a great deal of attention.

Business Department chair J notes, “The core message of Claiborne and Jubilee USA resonates with EMU’s perspective on business as a holistic social enterprise that has the potential to serve the common good.”

For students like Nika Hoefle, whose family had moved from Minnesota to a small city in northern Thailand when she was 14, that question doesn’t quite work like the simple ice-breaker it’s supposed to be. Telling people she’s from Thailand – which she considers home – can be awkward. It can almost come off arrogant. It often just brings the conversation to a halt.

“People don’t really know how to interact with you,” says Hoefle, a senior majoring in as well as . “The questions that people ask once they’ve figured out that you’ve lived abroad can be vague and difficult to answer.”

E.g: “Oh… What was that like?”

How are you supposed to answer something like that?

Hoefle is what’s known as a , or TCK. The term was coined decades ago to describe someone who’s spent a “significant part” of their formative years living in a country or culture different from their parents’. The “third-culture” bit refers to the mixed identities they develop as a result, neither fully belonging to their parents’ culture, nor to the one(s) in which they’ve lived.*

About dozen on campus

The definition of a TCK is somewhat nebulous, and EMU doesn’t track official enrollment numbers of students who consider themselves to be TCKs. But based on participation in a special orientation held prior to the start of each academic year, more than a dozen TCKs are now studying at EMU.

One of Hoefle’s classmates and fellow TCKs, Alena Yoder, lived in Kenya from second to seventh grade. Though the two lived overseas in entirely different parts of the world, they share the experience of feeling like outsiders, at times, in the country where they hold citizenship.

“For a long time, I just didn’t fit in,” says Yoder, a senior history major.

She struggled to make friends and recalls her eighth-grade year after her family’s return to Indiana as the worst of her life.

Hoefle and Yoder are co-presidents of a that meets monthly on campus to discuss their experiences of adjustment, challenge and growth. About 10 students have been active in the club this year.

“It’s definitely a support group,” says Hoefle. “What we try to do as a club is be a safe place for people to talk about what’s going on … Without that strong support group at EMU, I don’t know how my transition would have gone. I can’t really imagine it without those people, even though we were from such different places.”

More than 20 TCKs among faculty and staff

, an education professor and faculty sponsor of the TCK club, said the group “provides that safe space for challenging each other but also for providing support during the challenging times.”

“I think it is [also] a place where they can experience a sense of home – home that lies in relationships, not in geographical location,” she added.

Leaman co-sponsors the club with her husband, , a business professor who grew up in East Africa and is among the nearly 20 EMU faculty and staff who are TCKs. Lori Leaman says the large presence of TCKs across the entire university community, along with the focus on cross-cultural understanding that permeates the curriculum, makes EMU a particularly supportive place for TCK students. (The Leamans also spent 12 years in Nairobi, Kenya, where both of their children were born.)

“I think the emphasis on ‘the common good’ for every single person on this globe resonates with TCKs,” she continues.

A ‘comfortable’ place

As their graduation rapidly approaches, Yoder and Hoefle both say they’ve had great experiences at EMU.

“There are people here on this campus who very much understand that TCK narrative,” says Yoder, who plans to stay in Harrisonburg after graduation. “It feels comfortable here to be a TCK.”

As a legacy of her past, Hoefle expects she’ll always have an unconventional notion of “home,” one that’s not necessarily rooted to one specific place.  Sometimes, she says, she’s jealous of peers who have deep, deep roots in one particular community. Other times, she’s grateful that her life has been so varied.

“I don’t think it’s better or worse to have lived abroad,” Hoefle says. “It just depends on what you do with it in the end.”

Read Hoefle’s opinion piece published in the Weather Vane, “The Truth About Being a Third Culture Kid.”

* Definition adapted from: Pollock, David C. “Being a Third-Culture Kid: A Profile.” Raising Resilient MKs: Resources for Caregivers, Parents, and Teachers. Colorado Springs, CO: Association of Christian Schools International, 1998. 45-53.

The experience propelled Brubaker to formalize that “on-the-fly” leadership training with an MBA and a PhD. He eventually joined the faculty of ��ݮ����’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) in 2004 with a specialty in organizational development.

Next summer, he’ll take what feels like a natural next step in that trajectory when he becomes director of EMU’s , where he’s taught a course in organizational behavior for each of the past nine years.

“What most excites me about the MBA program is the focus on ‘Leadership for the Common Good’ that current director has brought to it,” said Brubaker. “To lead with a primary concern for those who work with you and the community in which you’re located is a very important addition to the narrow focus on the bottom line.”

Stewardship, justice are among program’s core values

In recent years, the MBA program has been developing a defined identity around its long-held emphasis on business leadership that looks beyond profits to measure success.

Leaman said the writings of University of Manitoba professor Bruno Dyck (an undergrad at EMU for one year in the early 1980s) have been particularly influential to the program’s developing philosophy that places values like stewardship and justice at the core of profitable, sustainable businesses.

“I’ve seen students really respond to that,” said Leaman, who has directed the MBA program for the past five years. “It’s like this breath of fresh air to be able to say, ‘You mean business isn’t only about maximizing shareholder value?’”

Holistic focus

Over that same period, CJP and the MBA program have been collaborating more closely in response to interest from CJP students who, as Brubaker once did, want to improve their leadership skills.

“Peacebuilders are increasingly asking for more education in organizational leadership, as well as entrepreneurial skills to help sustain their work,” said graduate dean .

With the MBA program simultaneously developing a niche around a more holistic understanding of business, Smucker anticipates that Brubaker’s move from CJP will strengthen the growing bond between the departments.

Leaman, who also became chair of the undergraduate business department at the beginning of this academic year, will continue in that position after Brubaker becomes MBA director.

In his new role, Brubaker will work closely with , who directs the newer program, now in its second year. More than 40 students are enrolled in the two programs this fall.

Continued leadership

As he wraps up 12 years of teaching at CJP, Brubaker will co-host, with colleague , a three-day conference in spring 2016 at EMU on “.” The event convenes 24 speakers, including organizational expert Peter Block, for sessions on innovation, shared vision, resilient organizations, leadership ethics and other topics.

A specialist in the resolution of church conflict and the facilitation of congregational change, Brubaker is a member of Cooperative By Design, a consortium of peacebuilding practitioners with EMU ties that focuses on helping churches through change. He is also on the roster of the Congregational Consulting Group, which emerged from the reorganization of The Alban Institute. Brubaker will remain involved with both after the transition to his new job.

He had been contemplating moving on from CJP when the opportunity to direct the MBA program arose, and recognized it as new outlet for his own professional interests. Given the converging directions of the two programs, the idea simply “made sense,” Brubaker said.

“I think the most exciting development at EMU right now is the increasing collaboration among the graduate programs,” he continued. “And I’m excited to see the MBA program keep developing as one of those hubs within a well-integrated, creative and committed-to-excellence graduate division.”