Crowds of EMU Royals — whether alumni, family, friends, students, faculty or staff — gathered together for Homecoming and Family Weekend 2023 at 48 events over three days. A total of 529 people registered for those events.

Sixty-eight alumni attended the 50th anniversary Class of 1973 reunion, with 206 attending other reunions stretching from 1958 to 2013. Nine members of the oldest class (1958) reunited by Zoom. According to an email from Advancement Office, 169 people registered for the Music Celebration Concert, 180 registered for the opening breakfast and 127 registered for TenTalks.

The most viewed event on Facebook was the Writers Read with Kate Baer, followed by TenTalks at second and the Music Celebration Concert at third.

It would have been impossible to see everything the weekend had to offer, but we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the homecoming highlights, in case you missed it.

• Music Celebration Concert: An Evening with Madeline Bender helped kick off the Homecoming festivities on Friday night. Madeline Bender ’93, an accomplished soprano who’s performed all across the world, provided audiences at Lehman Auditorium with a smorgasbord of musical entertainment. Click here for a longer writeup of the event. A recording of the event can be viewed on the .

• Nearly every seat in the Suter Science Center lecture hall was filled on Saturday, with everyone in attendance on the edge of those seats as they listened to some amazing stories from three EMU alumni at TenTalks. The event, which is modeled after TED Talks, tasks three luminaries with 10 minutes each to impact, influence and inspire the crowd. This year’s speakers were Ryan Gehman ’16, Kevin Ressler ’07 and Madeline Bender ’93. Click here for a longer writeup of the event. A recording of the event can be viewed on the .

• Kate Baer ’07 (right) took the Lehman Auditorium stage on Saturday night to read from her collection of poems, answer questions from the crowd and dispense life and writing advice, all while showcasing her razor-sharp wit. Click here for a longer writeup of the event. A recording of the event can be viewed on the .

• Roughly 250 generous donors and contributors filled Yoder Arena on Friday evening to celebrate another banner year of philanthropy. The five student storytellers recognized at the Donor Appreciation Banquet shared their journey of transformation at EMU thanks to donor giving. Click here for a longer writeup of the event.

• Saturday started off with a bang at the Homecoming Celebration Breakfast held at Yoder Arena. The ceremony honored the recipients of its alumni awards: Andy Dula ’91 (right), Paul and Lisa Zendt Shelly ’89 (left) and Basil Marin ’10 (center). It also recognized this year’s Hall of Honor inductees: Miranda White Terry ’08, Jamie Fraysher Runner ’09, Luke Yoder ’08 and the 2003 women’s basketball team.

• Due to the threat of rain, Fall Fest was moved into the gym, where children barreled down inflatable slides, launched themselves into the air in the bounce house and won prizes from a table of giveaways. Several food trucks fed visitors outside the gym as a cart inside scooped Italian ice into cups. While his three children colored with crayons at a nearby table, Luke Yoder, one of the athletes honored earlier that morning, said it was his first time returning for Homecoming. The Iowa resident said it was fun catching up with friends from his class and seeing all the places he had fond memories of.

• Across the hallway from the gym, people packed the athletic suites to honor Roland Landes and his wife, Darlene. Both were present to receive the recognition. Landes, a legendary coach who helmed the most successful men’s cross country and track teams in school history, served EMU from 1967 to 1998 as coach, assistant professor of physical education and as supervisor of auxiliary services. His tenure includes coaching five different teams in four sports from 1967 to 1983, finishing with a career record of 223-141 for a 0.613 win percentage. His son and daughter spoke about his character, their favorite memories of him and how much of an impact he had on them and the broader EMU community.

• President Susan Schultz Huxman and Mayor Deanna Reed spoke to a group of women in the President’s Reception Room about the mission and goals of Royal Women for EMU. The group, led by the visionary trifecta of Reed and co-chairs Louise Hostetter ’79 and Kay Nussbaum ’78, is a new women’s philanthropy and networking initiative to inspire visible leadership, bold investments and empowering networks to impact EMU’s future. Its goal is to raise $70,000 for student scholarships, of which $20,000 will be used for immediate impact grants and $50,000 will go into an endowed scholarship fund to create lasting impact for EMU students.

• Inside the Black Box Theater, Jackie Font-Guzman, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, led a conversation about the DEI efforts on campus. She said that 43.6 percent of the incoming class self-identifies as either Black, Indigenous or Persons of Color. Thirty-five percent of students at EMU are first-generation students. “So knowing that, we have a responsibility to make sure that when our students come here, when our staff comes here, when our faculty comes here, that they really feel like they belong, and they feel like this is their space,” she said.

• Later, DEI staff met with students and alumni to discuss the creation of an LGBTQ+ advisory board. An advisory board typically might provide support and accountability to faculty and staff and can also offer strategic direction to some of the efforts moving forward. Nicole Litwiller, who facilitated the event, described the meeting as “an inaugural conversation” and brainstorming space. “We want to hear all your voices and incorporate them into how this advisory board gets created,” she told attendees gathered at the old Common Grounds location.

• Upstairs at the Common Grounds coffee shop, a platter of mugs invited former employees to step behind the counter and make their own favorite drinks. Returning to campus for her 15-year reunion, Aubrey Kreider ’08, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was in the mood for a hot chai and thanked the current crop of baristas who helped make it for her. “They ended up making it for me because everything is totally different,” said Kreider, who worked at Common Grounds for four years. “All the technology’s been upgraded, and obviously, since it’s in a different space, I didn’t know where anything was.”

• Across campus at Lehman Auditorium, Chamber Singers alumni shared their favorite memories from their time on the choir and joined in song together.

• A pop-up swag shop inside University Commons sold apparel and other wares to passersby. Cassidy Walker, a junior and Royal Ambassador helping man the booth, said well over 100 items had been sold about three hours into being open. She said the blue EMU crewneck was a bestseller. “I almost bought myself a college parent shirt because I’m like the mom of my friend group,” she said.

• Dymphna de Wild, JMU arts professor, showcased her collection of artist books, digital photographs and collages on Friday during a reception at the Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery for her “Solace of Silence” exhibition. Some of her works included pictures of found objects atop freshly laid snow and a sprawling book of coffee filters that have been turned into art.

• Saturday saw some success on the pitch with the EMU men’s soccer team besting Ferrum 6-0. The women’s soccer and field hockey teams each lost to Roanoke by a score of 0-4.

• The denouement of the weekend arrived Sunday morning with the Homecoming Worship Service held at Lehman Auditorium. The Chamber Singers led congregants in song and the recipients of this year’s alumni awards addressed the crowd. Click here for a longer writeup of the event.

Photos by Macson McGuigan, Jon Styer/At Ease Design & Consulting, and Rachel Holderman

These changes, which focus on enrollment and graduate studies, including Eastern Mennonite Seminary, will take place beginning July 1, 2016.

“University leadership believes these internal changes will position us well to maximize efficiencies and build financial stability,” said Provost . “Rather than embarking on a national search for a new vice president of enrollment at the same time as we are moving through presidential transitions, we believe a better action is to leverage our internal strengths and to work with the tremendous leadership assets here on campus who have been an integral part of our strategic design process over the past several years.”

The restructuring will aid in focusing on the university’s first strategic priority: increasing traditional undergraduate enrollment to 1,200 by 2020, Kniss said.

˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř’s traditional undergraduate first-year enrollment for the 2015-16 academic year was its highest in several decades, while graduate programs recorded a 26.4 percent increase in enrollment. Total traditional undergraduate enrollment for 2015-16 was 945.

“As we approach our centennial year, EMU continues to thrive and change,” said Kay Nussbaum, Board of Trustees chair. “Speaking on behalf of the Board of Trustees, we endorse these organizational changes, made with the goal of advancing our strategic objectives and creating more cohesiveness across our academic and administrative divisions.”

Key changes

The vice president for enrollment position has been expanded to include oversight over areas of undergraduate admissions and financial aid, as well as graduate enrollment.

In addition, connecting recruitment efforts across departments, this administrator will also oversee the athletics division and jointly oversee the marketing and communications department with the vice president of advancement.

, current vice president and dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies, will transition to this position.

A second structural change consolidates oversight of all graduate studies programs. , current vice president and dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, will add to his portfolio leadership of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.

Two associate deans will support King. As was announced in the spring, , professor of Bible and religion, will become associate dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary.

, director of adult learning programs in Harrisonburg and director of the MA in Organizational Leadership program, will move into the position of associate dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.

“These leaders have already contributed to the shape and vision of the university, and we’re confident they will provide strong and dynamic leadership for EMU’s mission in the years to come,” said Nussbaum.

“These structural changes will support EMU’s vision of being a community of learning by permitting greater collaboration and synergy across graduate divisions and between the academic, athletic and enrollment divisions,” said Kniss.

EMU, which celebrates its in 2017, is in the midst of a presidential transition. President retires June 30 after 13 years of service at the university. Interim President , former dean at EMU and former president of Bluffton University, will play an active role in implementing the announced structural changes.

Incoming President , who starts Jan. 1, 2017, is supportive of the changes, Nussbaum said.

With the announcement of the appointment, the also reported that the is proceeding as scheduled. The interim arrangement is expected to last no longer than Dec. 31, 2016, and will allow for adequate transition time for EMU’s next president.

“Dr. Snyder is a well-respected administrator and church leader known for her commitment to Mennonite Church USA,” said Carlos Romero, executive director of Mennonite Education Agency and ex-officio member of the search committee. “We are grateful she has accepted this call. She joins a strong group of professionals in the president’s cabinet to carry on the vision of EMU as the search for the long-term presidential appointee moves forward.”

Snyder brings a lifetime of service to Mennonite higher education to the interim role. From 1996 until retiring in 2006, Snyder served as the eighth president of Bluffton (Ohio) University.

Previously, she was vice president and academic dean for 12 years at EMU. Snyder, who holds a doctorate in American and Victorian literature from the University of Oregon, came to EMU in 1974. Until 1982, she taught part-time in the humanities and in English, and was an assistant in the dean’s office. She was named academic dean in 1984 and then assumed the responsibilities of vice president as well in 1987.

After retiring from Bluffton University, Snyder returned to EMU to serve as interim provost for the 2008-09 academic year.

“This arrangement is in many ways the best case scenario,” said Board of Trustees chair Kay Nussbaum. “Our timeline for naming EMU’s next president is on track and an interim arrangement will allow for a smooth leadership transition. In addition, the institution will benefit greatly from the experience and wisdom of Dr. Snyder, who has devoted a lifetime to Mennonite higher education and is uniquely equipped to lead EMU during this interim period.”

A native of Harrisburg, Oregon, Snyder attended EMU for one year and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon. Later she earned a master’s degree in English literature and linguistics from James Madison University and returned to University of Oregon for her doctorate.

Snyder and her husband, Delbert, taught in Nigeria from 1965 to 1968. Her many board and association assignments include: moderator of Mennonite Church USA, chair of the China Educational Exchange Board, chair of the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA and a member of Mennonite Health Services Alliance Board of Directors. During the 2014-2015 academic year, she served as interim provost at Goshen (Indiana) College. She has also held brief assignments in Asia and Latin America.

Snyder and her husband, who have two adult daughters, now divide their time between Salem, Oregon and Harrisonburg, Virginia. They are members of Community Mennonite Church, in Harrisonburg, and associate members of Salem Mennonite Church in Salem.

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

“This is a historic gathering,” said President Loren Swartzendruber, DMin (EMU ’76 and ’79) in his opening comments. “Never 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.”

Harvard Dean on EMU

“My time at EMU was most formative in my personal and professional journey,” 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. “The opportunity to study ethics and broaden my horizons beyond my small Mennonite community proved invaluable.” 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’s invitation to host the gathering because “it 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,” said President Loren Swartzendruber.

“Dr. 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.”

EMU’s current Suter Science Center, built more than 40 years ago, “does not do justice to the quality of faculty and program of study we offer,” 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 ’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.

“We are in a time of burgeoning potential,” 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’s 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’s visit to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard provided an opportunity for participants to see the country’s top collaborative multidisciplinary research facility. The group heard about the institute’s 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 “white boards,” and community space all inspire creativity, innovation and collaboration, explained Michael Foley, PhD, director of the chemical biology platform at Broad. “We’re here to help you in whatever way we can as you plan your facility,” 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., (’65) and EMU board chair Andrew Dula (’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, “Bringing this campaign to a successful conclusion is my number one goal for these next four years.”

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 ’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 ’76) executive director of development for; Carol Yoder, (EMU ’63 ) civic leader/ volunteer; Charlotte Rosenberger (EMU ’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 ’59), dean emeritus and professor of neurobiology, Harvard Medical School; John “Roc” 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 ’59), campaign co-chair, professor emeritus mathematics, Pennsylvania State University;  Gerry Horst, campaign co-chair and president, Horst & Sons, Inc., New Holland, Pa.; Kirk Shisler (EMU ’81), vice president for advancement;  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 ’94), president of Equinox Chemical Company, Albany, Ga.; Andrew Dula (EMU ’91), chair, EMU Board of Trustees and CFO,  EG Stoltzfus Inc.; EMU trustee Kay Nussbaum (EMU ’78), partner, The MVP Group, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; Henry Rosenberger (EMU ’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.