Written and directed by Elizabeth Gannaway, performances for Silenced Auction are scheduled in the Lee E. Eshleman Studio Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 7 and 8.

“The central story to be shared … is one that I have written from information gained through my travels and research of the horrors of human trafficking and the sex trade, specifically in India,” said Gannaway.

“The main character, Natya, is a 13-year-old Indian girl who has been tricked into joining and forced into staying in the sex trade. Natya’s story, though technically fictional, exemplifies very similar stories of the 27 million people trapped in slavery today.”

Performances run approximately two hours, with a 10-minute intermission.

General admission tickets are $5, or $2 for EMU Students and are available through . Call 540-432-4674 or email: theater@emu.edu.

Cast:

Michael Bodner, a senior from Millersville, Pa.

Gabriel Brunk, an EMU alumnus from Harrisonburg, Va.

Laura Glick, a junior from Smoketown, Pa.

Elisha Keener, a sophomore from Mount Joy, Pa.

Thomas Millary, a sophomore from Dillsburg, Pa.

Hannah Miller, a senior from Belleville, Pa.

Holly Solomon, a junior from Harleysville, Pa.

The university’s account includes photos of local attractions, newsworthy alumni, residence hall recipes, books the EMU president is reading and care package ideas for parents of EMU students.

The addition of gives EMU five different social media platforms:

, co-director of EMU’s MBA program, works with student during a class.

Interested persons can attend a free MBA open house between 5:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Mar. 19 at EMU’s Campus Center building, room 301, or contact the MBA office at 540-432-4150.

Nonprofit Focus for Business Leaders

A new MBA concentration in nonprofit entrepreneurial management will allow nonprofit leaders to earn their MBA in 2 1/2 years as part of a cohort taking classes together Thursday evenings.

In addition, the MBA program now offers a graduate certificate in nonprofit leadership and social entrepreneurship in collaboration with EMU’s renowned Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP). The certificate program includes five courses that can be selected from a menu of options to provide broader opportunities to tailor their training.

“We’re excited to offer these new programs to nonprofit leaders, as we see this as a growing sector of the Shenandoah Valley and Albemarle Co. area economies,” said Dr. Anthony (Tony) Smith, MBA co-director. “The EMU MBA program focuses on increasing leadership strengths, building management skills and developing stewardship strategies.

The university’s mission and culture emphasize the values of ethics, stewardship and sustainability. Students may also pursue a general management MBA or a concentration in health services administration.

Lynn Roth, executive director of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

Roth has been East Coast executive director of Mennonite Central Committee, an international relief and service agency headquartered in Akron, Pa., since 1989. In this capacity, he directs approximately 35 staff and service workers throughout the eastern U.S., administers a $1.6 million budget and program and coordinates a program and staff who receive over $9 million in annual contributions.

During a leave of absence in 2005, he developed a response program in cooperation with Mennonite Disaster Service for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in the Gulf Coast region. Before his current MCC assignment, he was co-country representative for Mennonite Ministries in Gaborone, Botswana, 1985-89.

In his new position, Roth will give overall leadership to CJP and its three divisions – the masters program,the and the . He will provide leadership to internal administration, financial oversight and coordination, work within the university and its wider constituencies and assist with marketing and fundraising as part of the ongoing development and implementation of CJP’s vision.

For the past four years, the CJP program was co-directed by Ruth H. Zimmerman and Howard Zehr. Zimmerman and her husband, Earl Zimmerman, are leaving to become MCC country directors in India. Dr. Zehr, who asked to be relieved of his administrative duties, will continue to teach in the program as professor of restorative justice.

Roth earned a BA degree in political science from Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, Calif., and a masters in social work from Fresno State University.

He is married to Kathleen Roth and has four children – Rachel, Zachary, Adam and Sarah.

“Lynn’s skills and experiences complement very well those of CJP’s faculty and staff, and we believe that he will lead CJP to the next stage of excellence,” said Janice M. Jenner, director of The Practice Institute.

“I feel honored and blessed to be able to serve in this new role,” Roth said. “The CJP program at EMU has been a leader in the conflict transformation and peacebuilding field, and I look forward to carrying on that tradition and building upon it for the good of the church and society.”

The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, founded in 1992, seeks to further the personal and professional development of individuals as peacebuilders and to strengthen the peacebuilding capacities of the institutions they serve. The program supports conflict transformation and peacebuilding efforts at all levels of society in situations of complex, protracted, violent or potentially violent social conflict in the United States and abroad. Open to people from all parts of the world and all religious traditions, CJP builds upon EMU’s Christian/Anabaptist faith commitments and strengths.

For the twelfth year, visitors from dozens of nations gathered on a May morning at EMU to begin sharing their efforts toward peace.

The 2007 , a program of EMU

A leading Iranian human rights scholar spent several hours on campus Thursday, Apr. 5, to learn more about the school’s peace and justice studies programs and to propose academic relations between EMU and Mofid University in Qom, Iran.

The visitor, Professor Seyed Masoud Mosami Karimi, is director of the Center for Human Rights Studies at Mofid University. He also served as vice chancellor for 11 years and currently serves on Mofid

David Batstone will visit EMU for a free public presentation on "Conducting Business with Purpose and Profit" on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. in Lehman Auditorium.

Batstone, senior editor of Worthwhile magazine and executive editor of Sojourners, is also professor of social ethics at the University of San Francisco.

Gifted as an entrepreneur, he has played an executive role in a niche investment bank operating internationally in the entertainmnt and technology industries. During the 1980s he founded and directed a non-governmental agency dedicated to economic development and human rights in Latin America.

Batstone will also speak at the business and economics department breakfast meeting 8 a.m. Oct. 14 during .

This event is sponsored by:

• EMU Department of Business and Economics
• EMU Advancement Division
• Blauch Brothers, Inc.
• Trumbo Electric, Inc.
• Layman Diener & Borntrager Insurance Agency, Inc.
• Hartman Motor Sales
• Garrison Press
• Local MEDA Chapter

A noted Christian activist gave an “altar call” at ²ÝÝ®ÉçÇø Tuesday night, Feb. 21, for persons to bring a heightened moral sensitivity to the social and political arena.

In an address at EMU, Jim Wallis of Washington, D.C., drew from ideas in his latest book, “God’s Politics,” in calling persons to “get involved and make a difference where you are” because of their faith commitments.

Wallis is the founder and long-time editor of “Sojourners” magazine that covers issues of faith, politics and culture. In 1995, he was instrumental in forming “Call to Renewal,” a national federation of churches, denominations and faith-based organizations from across the theological and political spectrum working to overcome poverty.

“It’s easy to be confused about what it means to be a Christian these days,” Wallis said. “Being a Christian doesn’t automatically put you in a certain political camp. God is a public God. God is neither Republican nor Democrat. To be a Christian means to stand for what Jesus stood for.

“I’ve got some good news for you,” Wallis told his audience of EMU students, faculty and community persons. “I believe that the monologue of the Religious Right is fading in this country and a new dialog has begun. I sense a new hunger for finding a moral center that wants to dig deeper, to view what lies beneath our current social and political order.”

“Faith can’t and shouldn’t be narrowed down to addressing just two issues – abortion and gay marriage – as many are wont to do,” Wallis said. “I find more than 2,000 scripture verses in my Bible that convince me that poverty is a moral issue too.

“Nuclear weapons, AIDS, concern for the environment and the ethics of war are also moral issues,” he added.

In contrast to emphases on abortion or gay marriage, Wallis said in his travels and conversations he is meeting more people with “a desire to find common ground on the sacredness of life and the integrity of the family.”

The speaker said he is encountering “a new generation of young people who have been turned off by religion but are asking “what can I do,” and responding to a new altar call to “make a difference” in the world right where they are.

“What the world is waiting for is spiritual integrity and social justice, for people to come to Christ and to enlist in His program in the world,” Wallis said. “Discipleship follows conversion.

“People of faith have to make a choice between hope and cynicism. Cynicism is a buffer against commitment and leads to despair,” he said. “Rather, rise to the challenge of using your God-given gifts in the crushing needs around you – that’s what changes history.”

Wallis’s remarks were frequently interrupted by “amens” and audience applause in the nearly-full Lehman Auditorium (the facility seats around 1,000). He received a standing ovation at the close.

Wallis’ appearance at EMU was made possible by The Student Lecture Series, a student-initiated endeavor to bring well-known speakers on campus to address socially relevant issues. Sponsorship for this event comes in part from , and the .

The program at ²ÝÝ®ÉçÇø has received full re-accreditation for the maximum eight years from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

, sociology/social work department chair, said the approval “means that EMU’s social work program meets or surpasses the national accrediting agency’s professional standards in preparing undergraduate students for entry-level social service positions.”

Accreditation “also qualifies students to take the licensure exams in various states and grants advance status for qualified graduates to go on to earn a master’s degree in social work in one year,” Miller added.

In the site visitor summary report, the accrediting agency noted EMU’s particular program strengths.

“Diversity content is very strong within the university’s liberal arts base, with a cross-cultural immersion experience required of all students,” the visitors stated. “Students are well prepared to understand the social systems and social policies that affect the delivery of health and human services and to serve populations-at-risk.

“The social work program has a strong interface with the community . . . students are engaged in community-based research and are involved in social action community projects such as ‘Take Back the Night,'” the report noted.

Among other strengths cited: “Well-credentialed, highly-competent full-time faculty members and part-time faculty who bring rich practice experience and unique expertise to the program . . . Program faculty help students to become aware of their personal values and look at potential value conflicts that may arise in practice . . . They (faculty) are deeply committed to promoting respect for human diversity in the curriculum and learning context.”

EMU’s social work program has had continued CSWE accreditation since 1975. Currently, EMU has 40 social work majors.

A noted Christian leader for social change will speak 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, in Lehman Auditorium.

Jim Wallis, founder and editor of “” magazine, activist and international commentator on ethics and public life, will address issues of social justice and moral politics espoused in his latest book, “God’s Politics.”

Wallis was a founder of “Sojourners” – Christians for justice and peace – more than 30 years ago and continues to edit the magazine, covering faith, politics and culture, with a combined print and electronic media readership of more than 100,000 people.

In 1995, Wallis was instrumental in forming “Call to Renewal,” a national federation of churches, denominations and faith-based organizations from across the theological and political spectrum working to overcome poverty.

Wallis speaks at more than 200 events a year, and his columns appear in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and other major newspapers.

His most recent book, “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It” (Harper Collins, 2005), debuted at No. 4 on the New York Times’ best-sellers list and remained there for 16 weeks. He offers regular commentary and analysis for radio and television and teaches a course at Harvard University on “Faith, Politics and Society.”

Wallis lives in inner-city Washington, D.C., with his wife, Joy, and their sons, Luke and Jack.

The is a student-initiated endeavor to bring well- known speakers on campus to address socially relevant issues. Sponsorship for this event comes in part from , and the .

A $5 donation is suggested at the door.

John Paul Lederach

Under the rubric, “Remembering the Cost, Mourning the Violence,” a thousand small white grave markers are occupying a portion of the lawn in front of the EMU Campus Center Nov. 8-12.

The crosses were erected by JustVoices, a group of about a dozen local citizens and students committed to nonviolent action, to remind the EMU campus and larger community of the human cost of war.

According to one of the organizers, Danny Malec, the 1,000 white markers represent the deaths of over one thousand U.S. soldiers and civilians in Iraq. Each of these 1,000 crosses, crescents and stars also represents at least 13 Iraqi citizens; thirteen humans, friends, co-workers, students, soldiers, and civilians who have died as a result of the U.S. action in Iraq, he noted.

Malec, a student in EMU’s Conflict Transformation Program, said the idea for the grave markers came from Katherine P. (Katie) Resendiz, another CTP student, noting that “about 30 community people made and painted the crosses.”

Constructing the markers, all fashioned from discarded wood, “was a moving experience,” he said.

Signs posted at several points surrounding the markers invite persons to “imagine 14 of your friends standing around each cross, crescent or star. Take some time to experience the loss yourself, and then to mourn the loss for the world that will never know these people.”

JustVoices has been actively engaging people on issues of justice, nonviolence and social action for nearly a year in the Shenandoah Valley. The EMU campus display represents the culmination of a four-month series of weekly protests on the actions in Iraq. Each week, a group has gathered on Court Square in downtown Harrisonburg to mourn over people covered in white linen, representing the unreported deaths in Iraq and the unpublicized return of bodies to the U.S.

The week-long display will end with a period of reflection and prayer on the Campus Center plaza 5 p.m. Friday (Nov. 12). All are welcome.

“The protests generated a variety of responses from the community, and we hope that this display elicits the same level of response here on campus,” Malec said. “I’ve seen people walking slowly among the markers, taking pictures and standing in quiet reflection.

“We’re open to help facilitate discussion on- and off-campus,” he added.