The new track and field complex is a strategic initiative of the university鈥檚 Forward Together Capital Campaign; $3.05 million has been raised, more than halfway toward the $6 million campaign goal. The new track will include an upgrade from six to eight lanes; the regrading and installation of a 10-millimeter full-pour polyurethane surface; and on-location throwing areas and steeplechase. The complex will support EMU student athletes and coaches, EMU鈥檚 enrollment goals, and the campus and local communities at large.

The event program features comments from EMU President Susan Schultz Huxman, Harrisonburg Mayor and EMU Regional Advancement Director Deanna Reed, and EMU Director of Athletics Carrie Bert 鈥�97. The EMU track and field team will also recognize its 10 seniors during the event.

For more information on the new track and field complex, visit emu.edu/campaign/track-and-field. To livestream the groundbreaking event, visit.

The $7.3 million project鈥檚 first and second phases are complete, and the third stage will begin this month, according to project leaders.

Students will be able to use some classrooms on the south and east sides of the building, including lab facilities. is conducting the work and project manager Welby Lehman said crews have renovated about 17,000 square feet of the building to date, while the third project phase will renovate another 8,000 square feet.

With the renovations, EMU hopes to boost its 鈥� 鈥� research, specifically in biology and chemistry programs.

The first phase included two classrooms, stairwells and elevators, the last of which Lehman said the center did not previously have. The second phase included four classrooms for biology and chemistry, two engineering classrooms and a dissection room.

Crews also widened hallways and made the north-south corridor a 鈥渟cience concourse.鈥� The concourse will have chalkboard and dry erase wall surfaces for students and faculty to write on, and furniture will be dispersed throughout the space.

鈥淲e hope that that becomes the hub of activities for the science building,鈥� Lehman said.

The center鈥檚 south and east wings have larger windows compared to older parts of the building, as well as skylights above the science concourse.

Lehman said he hopes the building will be easier to navigate and will have better natural light with the new design.

, EMU鈥檚 vice president of finance, said the project, which is funded entirely by donations, is 鈥渢rending on budget.鈥� Suter Science Center is nearly 45 years old and Bert expects the renovations to have a 20- to 30-year life span.

Despite a lack of budgetary hiccups since construction began last year, Lehman said crews did encounter some problems with working around faculty鈥檚 schedules and the site鈥檚 soil.

When crews built the new foundation, Lehman said they 鈥渉ad to dig deeper than we would have otherwise,鈥� because of the soil composition, but that it was 鈥渘ot a big problem.鈥�

During the third phase, workers will build three more classrooms and install eight chemical fume hoods, one of which is in a chemistry classroom completed as part of the second phase.

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, Jan. 5, 2015

Groundskeeping staff聽 鈥� including up to six full-time work-study students 鈥撀燾ontinue to pull weeds, mow lawns, care for trees, plant flowers and edible landscaping, repair buildings, and perform general maintenance. In the words of grounds supervisor , 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like the grass takes a break.鈥� Work-study student Shay Whetzel says he enjoys getting to the end of the hard day鈥檚 work, then realizing he helped make the campus 鈥渓ook amazing.鈥�

Other vital contributors include library staffers who take care of one of the best places to study, housekeeping crew members who make sure the facilities stay clean, and dining hall workers who take care of the people taking care of everything else. All these groups have student workers to help out while caring for each other, the campus, and the events that visit the campus.

, with three full-time and eight work-study and/or temporary employees, handles the events that use the EMU campus by coordinating with leaders, communicating with various departments, setting up furniture for use, and making sure everything needed by a visiting group is available.

鈥淲e stay extremely busy over the summer,鈥� says , assistant director for auxiliary services. Generally speaking, he says EMU hosts three kinds of large events, as well as a number of small events. The large events include church, youth, and athletic groups. Churches come to campus for meetings, retreats, and conferences. Youth groups come to worship and learn. Athletic groups come to practice and learn using EMU鈥檚 equipment and fields. Many of these events go on for days at a time, so visiting groups must use the dorm buildings.

Blue Ridge Running Camp is largest

The largest athletic event is , involving 40 to 50 coaches from NCAA Division I, II and III schools across the country. The biggest church group is , involving several Apostolic churches from across the Eastern United States and Canada. These two groups, with populations reaching several hundred each, run back to back.

Auxiliary services prepares for Apostolic Eastern Camp to fill every single dorm room for a week in July, and then spends the weekend afterwards preparing the rooms again for Blue Ridge Running Camp. This weekend might be the most stressful time on campus during the summer.

The largest youth event is a summer camp held by , a Baptist group that involves several youth groups. This event runs early in July.

The events calendar linked to the auxiliary services section of EMU鈥檚 website lists 32 major events running from the first of May to the ninth of August this year.

Outside of church, youth, and athletic events, EMU serves family reunions, wedding receptions, travelers, and other one-time events by renting out Lehman Auditorium, the gymnasium, dorm buildings, or other facilities. Some traveling groups simply need to use the dorms for one night, or some performing groups, such as , may need Lehman Auditorium for a few shows.

Site of four Augusta school graduations

EMU serves Augusta County Public Schools by renting out the University Commons for the graduation ceremonies of four county high schools. Over the course of two days, 8,000-10,000 people pass through the Commons to attend these graduations.

The main EMU-sponsored events after spring graduation ceremonies are the , , the , classes, and the . This year, especially, construction workers are on campus, and renovating Roselawn into office and classroom spaces.

Veurink points out that EMU hopping over the summer is 鈥渁 matter of stewardship 鈥� by using your facilities you generate revenue.鈥� If EMU didn鈥檛 invite others to use the campus, it would be wasting the potential of the campus. The revenues, which hit an all-time high gross of approximately $600,000 in 2012, says Veurink, support EMU鈥檚 general fund. More than that, many of these groups form intimate connections with the EMU community, as about 80 percent of the groups are returning groups. Veurink described the connection by saying that 鈥渢hey kind of become like family to us.鈥�

Lynn Roth, executive director of EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, expresses gratitude for the spacious new CJP classroom and the significant contribution it is already making to the program. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

Amazing what acquiring some additional space can do to energize the learning process.

EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) dedicated a state-of-the-art 1,274 square foot classroom carved out of space on ground floor of Hartzler Library in ceremonies held Tuesday afternoon, May 25.

The JAMAR classroom with adjoining kitchenette facilities was completed in time for the start of the 15th annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI), which began May 10.

What’s in a name?

The new JAMAR classroom name comes from the first letters of the first names of the primary donors and long-time CJP supporters James and Marian Payne of Richmond, Va. The Paynes, both 1958 EMU alumni, are retired educators and church workers.

The couple were founding donors of the CJP program that began in 1994-95 and contributed $100,000 towards the new classroom construction.

, CJP executive director.

“It is hard to imagine the transformation that has taken place in the corner of the library that previously had no windows and was divided into several smaller rooms and hallway,” said Lynn Roth, CJP executive director.

“Already this room has hosted students from throughout the world during the first two SPI sessions for peacebuilding education. This is only the beginning of hundreds who will be transformed through their educational experience in this room,” he added.

Paynes leaders among donors

Roth went on to express appreciation for the leadership that the Payne family has provided through contributions and support over the years.

“Your generous gifts for facilities, scholarships, program innovation and capacity building have been core to the tremendous growth that has made our program one of the premier peacebuilding programs in the world,” he told the Paynes, who were present for the dedication along with four of their five adult children.

Paynes’ dream of creating peace

Long-time CJP benefactors James and Marian Payne check out the new JAMAR classroom made possible by their support. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

In a response, Marian Payne said that she and James “have been blessed by our involvement in the CJP program and in the realization of our long-standing dream towards creating peace.

“My dream and vision of EMC, now EMU, as a lighthouse on the hill for the world in its work for peace and justice is being fulfilled beyond what could have been originally dreamed. This day reveals its fruit,” Mrs. Payne added.

EMU President Loren Swartzendruber unveiled a recognition plaque in honor of the Payne family and led a responsive reading and dedication prayer.

Classroom well-equipped for instruction

Those at the dedication toured the new classroom and received a brief demonstration of the Smartboard and other technology that will allow new methods of teaching and student interaction.

Ryan Beuthin, a master’s student in the CJP program, demonstrates the broad instructional capabilities of the Smartboard to persons gathered in the new classroom. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

About CJP

EMU’s Conflict Transformation Program has seen more than 330 students finish its graduate program and 2,200 attend classes at its Summer Peacebuilding Institute.

Alumni from these programs work in significant peacebuilding roles in over 120 countries.Their successes have caused EMU to be known as one of the top peace universities in the world.

Read Peacebuilder, CJP’s alumni magazine.

That’s the question EMU students, faculty, staff, alumni and guests will tackle at a forum Jan. 22, beginning at 8:45 a.m. in the Suter Science Center that is open to the community. Read more about the event…

The university is hosting the morning-long event to foster a sense of ownership and excitement in plans to renovate the existing science center and create a sustainable learning environment. The “how green?” question invites people to dream about innovation and how sustainable building fits with EMU’s core vision and mission.

“There’s no doubt EMU is committed to building green,” said President Loren Swartzendruber about the upcoming event, noting that EMU is well-known for its energy-efficient buildings.

The school’s historical commitment to sustainable building is well documented, he noted. “Now that we are in the planning phase of a significant building project, we are considering how to mesh our values and dreams with the realities of appropriate funding goals and a booming new field in green technologies,” the president stated.

The forum will include input on Anabaptist theology and sustainability by retired sociologist Dr. Calvin Redekop; a summary of EMU’s track record on sustainability by Eldon Kurtz, director of EMU facilities; an overview of green design and building with Bill Barnard, LEED-AP certified architect with the . The event will also include discussion on EMU’s principles of sustainability.

Current students who are part of a new “green design” class this semester at EMU will also participate. They will gather ideas at the forum to research throughout the coming semester.

Planners hope that a building project that has the backing of the campus and broader community will:

• Model the community’s theological commitment to creation care and God’s mandate in Micah 6:8 to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.”
• Serve the university well from a pedagogical perspective.
• Attract students and faculty who share EMU’s core values.
• Showcase the university’s creativity, innovation and motivation.

The forum will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 12 noon, Tuesday Jan. 22, 2008. It is free and open to all.

The event is sponsored by the university’s Creation Care Council. See more at www.emu.edu/begreen. Email questions to begreen@emu.edu or phone 432-4348.

Former EMU president Joseph L. Lapp and his wife, Hannah Mack Lapp, returned to EMU Friday evening, June 23, to see the unveiling of his official presidential portrait. The Lapp portrait will be displayed in the President’s Room on third floor of Hartzler Library, joining those of the previous six presidents since EMU was founded in 1917.

In his remarks prior to the unveiling, current president Loren Swartzendruber credited Lapp with the strength of EMU today.

Swartzendruber noted that his predecessor moved EMU from being an institution serving mainly undergraduates to being a university with five rapidly-growing graduate programs, a growing endowment, several major new facilities, and a peace program – the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding – that is becoming known around the world since its founding 13 years ago.

Swartzendruber’s wife, Pat, credited Hannah Lapp with making hospitality a byword of EMU, with the president’s home as “one of the most welcoming centers in the university community.”

Lapp, a 1966 EMU graduate, completed 30 years of involvement with EMU on June 30, 2003 – first as a trustee, then as chair of the board and finally serving four terms (16 years) as president. He is now serving as a trust/investment advisor and Mennonite Foundation representative with the Harrisonburg office of Mennonite Mutual Aid.

Lapp was visibly moved by the presence of 130 of his friends, family members and former colleagues at a dinner preceding the unveiling of the portrait. EMU’s current board of trustees was present, along with many former trustee members.

Sam Jones, architect with LeRoy Troyer and Associates, offers well wishes to Joseph and Hannah Lapp at the board of trustees portrait unveiling dinner. Photo by Emily Huffman

In remarks after the unveiling, Lapp spoke of wondering if he could measure up to his illustrious predecessors. He expressed gratitude that three of them, John R. Mumaw, Myron S. Augsburger, and Richard C. Detweiler, were alive and able to act as advisers when he took office in 1987.

Update from the Board

In the closing session of their quarterly meeting, the trustees gave their blessings to a preliminary plan, carrying a pricetag of approximately $30 million, to add a wing to the existing Suter Science Center building on Park Road, while renovating the 1960s-era section of the building.

“This is a priority project,”said Swartzendruber. “It is necessary if EMU is to continue to attract and produce top-quality science and health-science majors, including pre-med students who enjoy astonishing rates of acceptance into medical school upon graduation.” For the last two years, 100% of the students who successfully completed EMU’s pre-med requirements were accepted into medical schools in the United States.

The building plans hinge, however, on securing “lead gifts” from donors to cover 75 percent of the cost of the project.

The board also authorized the formation of a task force to consider sprucing up the residence halls, making them more attractive for first-year students in particular. Ken L. Nafziger, vice president for student life, noted that many students today are willing to pay a premium for upgraded residences.

Renovations to the residence halls would be done through the university issuing bonds and taking on debt, though Swartzendruber cautioned: “I’m not comfortable borrowing to the hilt of our capacity.”

The board next meets Nov. 9 and 10, 2007.