A current faculty member, Beth K. Aracena, has accepted a new position at 草莓社区 as /Global Village curriculum director.

The appointment was announced June 13 by Marie S. Morris, vice president and undergraduate academic dean at EMU.

Aracena is currently associate professor of music at EMU. She joined the faculty in 2000 and later took on the additional role of Bach Festival coordinator. In addition, she has served on the teaching team for a course in the Global Village curriculum on “cities.”

Donald Clymer, who served as cross-cultural program director at EMU, is returning to his “first love,” teaching in the . Ann G. Hershberger, who gave oversight to the general education curriclum as core curriculum coordinator, is returning to full-time teaching in the .

“Both positions being vacated at the same time provided an opportunity to bring both areas together in an effort to strengthen the university’s Global Village curriclum through enhanced integration and connections,” Dr. Morris said.

“We believe that Dr. Aracena not only brings vision, academic quality and scholarship to the position but also demonstrated administrative skills,” Morris said.

“I feel honored to have been invited to work collaboratively in strengthening EMU

Approving several new academic programs and taking actions to strengthen the future of the university was the primary focus of the Mar. 24-25 meeting of the EMU .

The school’s governing body heard a summary report with recommendations that followed nearly two-years of comprehensive work by a "prioritization" steering committee.

Prioritization report

The 13-member group, chaired by University President , led a process of evaluating all university programs to ensure that they fit the university’s mission to serve the Mennonite Church and larger world.

Dr. Swartzendruber gave a Powerpoint presentation on the project. The goal of the campuswide effort, he said, is "to experience healthy organizational change that will make EMU a stronger,even higher quality program in the days ahead.

"This has been a transparent process all along, with findings and committee proceedings and recommendations posted on the web site for everyone to read," the president said.

The board took action to approve the prioritization report, with many of the recommendations to be carried out in a gradual, "evolutionary" fashion.

Merging departments

Among the changes, the board approved a recommendation to merge the art and communication departments to form the , effective fall 2006.

Marie S. Morris, undergraduate academic dean, pointed to the advantages to be realized by merging the two departments, noting that "the faculty are young and passionate about their discipline, with a positive effect on students.

"It is important to model a faith-based collaboration in the context of a liberal arts and Anabaptist faith context where students are equipped to engage in creative activity in a variety of media forms," Dr. Morris said. "Students will be enriched by the mixing in classes of students who are working in traditional studio arts and those working in digital applications. The critical analysis, combined with working side-by-side, will push each student to a greater level of excellence," she added.

The board also approved recommendations to add a major in digital media and a major in photography, effective fall 2006. Both programs are in response to student interest and will provide increased collaboration of students and faculty, improved advising and mentoring and more efficient budgeting and instructional space use.

New MBA track

Also approved was a new health services administration track within the program, starting fall of 2006. Allon Lefever, MBA director, said the courses will be offered on-line and will take two-and-a-half years to complete the certificate at one course a semester.

President Loren Swartzendruber gives a summary of the campuswide "prioritization" process to the EMU board of trustees.
Photo by Jim Bishop

"The courses will emphasize case studies and ethical considerations and will prepare potential managers of nursing homes, retirement communities and other health care systems," Lefever said.

The trustees also approved recommendations to discontinue several academic programs with low enrollment, effective fall 2006 – the German major and minor, the economic development major and minor and the marketing minor.

"We weren’t certain when this process started where we’d end up, and in fact, we’re far from done at this stage," Swartzendruber said. "This huge task will mean little if we don’t continue working on it on an annual basis."

Other business

The trustees also:

–Approved a preliminary operating budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year of $25.5 million, a 3.6% increase. The new budget includes $ 5.5 million in student scholarships, a one percent wage increase for faculty, staff and retirees and $1.4 million toward capital projects;

–Approved five-year contracts for 10 undergraduate faculty members and one seminary professor and promotions in rank, effective fall of 2006, for seven undergraduate faculty;

–Heard that revenues for 2006-06 are at $944,520, about $130,000 above the same time last year, with 17 contributions of $50,000 or more received so far the current fiscal year. The board also was told that first-year student applications and deposits are "substantially ahead of 2005."

Students majoring in Spanish at 草莓社区 now have another option for meeting the requirement that they study the language in a foreign country.

Marie S. Morris, EMU vice president and undergraduate academic dean, signed a consortium agreement with the University of Cadiz in Spain that will enable students to study there for a semester.

Prior to this agreement, Spanish majors enrolled in the Brethren Colleges Abroad program in Barcelona or took part in EMU’s Latin American to satisfy this graduation requirement.

Cadiz is a smaller city than Barcelona and a better fit with the EMU-Mennonite ethos,” said Dr. Morris. “It’s more rural and will allow students to live in local homes during their time there.

“The teachers are impressed with the language experiences and seriousness of our students,” Morris said. “They feel positive about the agreement.”

Moira R. Rogers, associate professor of Spanish at EMU, initiated the relationship with the University of Cadiz and is overseeing a group of nine EMU students who are spending the spring semester there. They are taking a full course load at the 20,000-student university after undergoing an intensive language and culture program. The academic year ends June 15.

According to Dr. Rogers, the region of Andalucia, where Cadiz is located, “offers a unique location for exploring the rich cultural heritage that merges Arab and Spanish cultures.” She noted that the university recently opened an office for “solidary action” that offers opportunities for students to get involved in the local community and integrate their learning into their academic experience.

More information on the Cadiz program opportunities is available by contacting Dr. Rogers at moira.rogers@emu.edu.