The Grand Rounds lecture traditionally offers medical professionals the opportunity to learn from colleagues about topics that may be outside of their direct specialty. By convention, topics have a scientific, rather than cultural, basis. Previous surgery Grand Rounds at UVa in 2014 included lectures on breast cancer treatments, donor lungs, clinical trials, and critical care.

But learning about this particular faith and culture is particularly pertinent for area doctors, Rosenberger said, because of the large Mennonite population in the region. In her hour-long talk in a lecture hall packed with more than 150 attendees, Rosenberger hoped to help colleagues 鈥渦nderstand the plethora of patients you are treating and some of the staff you work with.鈥�

Rosenberger began with an explanation of the Anabaptist faith and the difference between the Mennonites and Amish. She then highlighted pacifism, a core belief of Anabaptism, and how this belief has shaped Mennonite contributions to the medical field.

During World War II, for example, many Mennonite conscientious objectors were assigned to the Civilian Public Service, an alternative form of public service administered by agencies linked to the 鈥減eace church鈥� tradition: , and . At camps around the country, CPS draftees worked in natural resources and agriculture, but they made arguably their most important contribution in mental health, Rosenberger said. (For an EMU story about Mennonites who worked in mental hospitals under CPS, click .)

鈥淭here was a large movement to improve the conditions of mental health facilities for patients during this time, which can be traced to Mennonites and Quakers who had served in so many of these facilities,鈥� she said.

Rosenberger also highlighted four examples of Mennonites and their impact on healthcare across the globe. Mennonites have founded hospitals, contributed to the successful treatment of African Burkitt lymphoma (Glen R. Brubaker 鈥�62, MD) and Hansen’s disease (leprosy), and conducted key research that led to finding the location of the gene for Huntington鈥檚 disease. This last example was the work of who, among other distinguished positions, served as . (Rosenberger did not mention this alum by name, but Richard Keeler ’60, MD, was given EMU’s annual “distinguished service award” in 2004 for his 13-year commitment to the eradication of Hansen’s disease in Trinidad and Tobago.)

In summary, Rosenberger read a modified version of the EMU mission statement that included, 鈥淏ear witness to faith, serve with compassion, and walk boldly in the way of nonviolence and peace.鈥�

After graduation from EMU, Rosenberger completed her medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has been a surgical resident at UVa since 2008, completing a master鈥檚 degree in clinical research in 2011 and being named chief resident in surgery in 2014. Next year she will complete a surgical fellowship in breast oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Background note from the editor: Laura Rosenberger remains one of EMU’s top student-athletes ever.聽 She won all six ODAC pole vault titles possible (indoor and outdoor) and was the national champion four times before her senior year. She stopped athletic competition her senior year to focus on academics in preparation for medical school.聽 EMU inducted Rosenberger into the in the fall of 2013.

鈥淎nyone in the field would know what I鈥檓 talking about,鈥� said Akers, who majored in at EMU.

But yes, people not in the field, he acknowledges, are often confused about what all this actually means 鈥� and increasingly so as computer systems grow ever more complex.

鈥淥ftentimes they don鈥檛 know how important the job is until I get that 3 a.m. call,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 providing critical services, and they have to be running for our tens of thousands of faculty, staff and students to do what they need to be doing.鈥�

He likens this sort of IT role, at or near the front lines of keeping the digital world humming along, to that of a referee: invisible when things are going well, in the hot seat when things suddenly aren鈥檛. It鈥檚 not a complaint, it鈥檚 just the way things are. Akers, about halfway done with a master鈥檚 degree in information technology from Virginia Tech, loves the challenge of the work.

鈥淎 lot of people, when they graduate, don鈥檛 find a job that they like, or one in their field,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 blessed to have found both of those.鈥�

Derek Buchanan 鈥�97聽is another computer-problem first responder, as a PC technician at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. From the main help desk, Buchanan troubleshoots for faculty, staff and students. Forgotten passwords are their biggest bugaboo.

The job requires patience and the ability to handle people with different personalities and vastly different computer aptitudes. Some people top out at printing things and browsing the web, while others can pretty much fix any problem except in cases of major catastrophe. It generally breaks down along age-related lines. The younger the person, the more technologically proficient they鈥檙e likely to be.

The rapid pace of technological change that explains the generally age-correlated abilities of computer users on college campuses has all sorts of other implications for those colleges鈥� IT staffs.

鈥淥ne of the big things for us is that students are coming with more and more devices,鈥� said聽John Thomas 鈥�89, chief information officer at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida (he calls it the BYOD, or bring-your-own-device phenomenon).

Based on wireless network usage, he estimates the average number of wireless-connected devices carried by students at Florida Southern at just below three. Figuring out how to accommodate and capitalize on that reality are some of the big-picture tasks that occupy Thomas鈥檚 time 鈥� things like enabling students to connect their tablets to classroom projectors, or rolling out a mobile version of an online class registration system.

In 2000, when Thomas began his current role, there wasn鈥檛 wireless Internet access on campus at all. He鈥檚 since overseen installation of about 650 wireless access points, at a college with fewer than 3,000 students.

An interesting wrinkle to that story stems from the fact that the college is home to the world鈥檚 largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. That means Thomas鈥檚 crews can鈥檛 just install a 鈥渘etwork drop鈥� any old most-convenient place. Rather, everything happens in consultation with architects who keep an eye out for the integrity of the buildings鈥� original design.

Wait a sec. Network drop? That鈥檚 the word for a wall socket that an Ethernet cable plugs into, and that鈥檚 exactly the kind of IT word that passes the non-IT world entirely by (a collection of others collected during interviews for this article: 鈥渃entral authentication system,鈥� 鈥減ortal,鈥� and 鈥渕igrating鈥�). As one moves higher within a university鈥檚 IT organization, translating this sort of technobabble to the technoignorant becomes a more and more important skill.

鈥淚t is extremely difficult to use acronyms and concepts that people aren鈥檛 familiar with 鈥� We try to steer clear of it. We try to protect people from the worst of the details,鈥� says聽Leslie Geary, class of 鈥�90, a technical project manager with the University of California, Santa Cruz.

One of her roles is managing teams of up to a dozen people working on IT projects such as the recent rollout of an 鈥渆nterprise web content management system鈥� 鈥� an application that makes it easy for someone with basic computer skills to create and maintain their own websites 鈥� for the university鈥檚 administrative departments. Next up: a similar system for faculty and graduate students.

After transferring from EMU, Geary earned undergraduate degrees in philosophy and biochemistry at Santa Cruz. Computers were something she fell into by chance while later working in financial aid. As a manager in the IT department, responsible for ensuring 鈥渃lients鈥� 鈥� IT folks鈥� term for IT users they鈥檙e helping 鈥� are getting their needs met, she needs to understand the IT stuff, but doesn鈥檛 have to live and breathe its finest details.

鈥淚鈥檓 not a programmer. I don鈥檛 know anything about networking. I do have some technical background, but for the most part, what鈥檚 important are the soft skills, the people skills,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople are just happy to have somebody talking IT in a non-technical way to them.鈥�

As director of infrastructure support services and administration at the University of Virginia,聽Tracy Smith 鈥�94, also bridges the divide between the worlds of IT workers and the people who depend on them.

鈥淚鈥檓 a translator,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 help to translate technology into terms that anybody can understand. We also do a lot of listening.鈥�

With several dozen people reporting to him, Smith oversees all IT troubleshooting at the university, from single-user glitches to massive, system-wide failures. He rarely gets involved in the technical details himself 鈥� nor does he feel he would be particularly adept at this.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 make a good engineer, but I also wouldn鈥檛 be able to be something that requires a lot of right-brained power,鈥� said Smith, who has found a foot-in-both-worlds niche he loves, helping technology at the university meet its users鈥� needs.

(Thomas and Smith both point out that good communication has to happen both ways; it can be very frustrating for help desk staff, for example, when they don鈥檛 get the clear, precise descriptions of problems necessary to solve them.)

In Philadelphia,聽Douglas Brunk 鈥�86聽is a software development director for Penn Medicine Academic Computing Service (the IT department for the University of Pennsylvania鈥檚 Perelman School of Medicine). He oversees development of software for things as varied as medical student admissions tracking, management of test tubes in stockrooms, and tracking clinical research ongoing at the university.

鈥淚 enjoy bending computers to my will,鈥� says Brunk, who studied education at EMU. 鈥淸But] oddly enough, working with people is the part I enjoy most.鈥�

Take the clinical research. Healthcare workers collect huge amounts of data, primarily in ways designed to serve the goal of treating individual patients. Sometimes those protocols make it very difficult to use that data for another purpose, like in research examining the treatment of thousands of patients. Software solutions can and do help with that, but cooperation between the various groups of people involved is also critical. Clinical researchers might need to convince other medical colleagues to adopt new record-keeping procedures to advance the long-term goal of better treatments for individual patients.

鈥淭echnology can help with a problem, but it will rarely solve the whole problem,鈥� says聽David Brubaker 鈥�03, senior IT project leader for the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Whole-problem solutions require effort from people using that technology, which is why Brubaker spends very little of his time in front of a computer. He鈥檚 out and about, meeting with users, trying to figure out how the technology available to him and his team can best help the Wharton School accomplish its goals. (His responsibilities include, among others, online services offered to alumni, the IT budget, and technology that supports the school鈥檚 large alumni events that are held all over the world.)

This all relates directly to a broader point raised by many of the alumni interviewed for this article. Whether someone at a university is one of those technical folks who keeps things running behind the scenes, or an end user who doesn鈥檛 spare a thought for those technical folks until they can鈥檛 check their email, or a go-between who speaks the languages of both, they鈥檙e all playing part in the same broader university mission.

鈥淓verything that we do ultimately is to help people grow, mature, learn and go out in society and be more productive,鈥� says聽Kevin Strite 鈥�95, project manager for the University of Notre Dame鈥檚 Office of Information Technology.

He oversees parts of various IT projects around campus, focused on lots of day-to-day details 鈥� things like estimating costs for classroom projectors in the university鈥檚 recently opened study-abroad facility in Rome, Italy. But in the sense that these seemingly mundane details 鈥� combined with the daily details of life at the help desk and in systems engineering and in software development and a thousand other places 鈥� support higher education鈥檚 larger goals of education and understanding and collective betterment,聽et cetera鈥�. Yes, it all feels very worthwhile.

Charles Marsh, professor of religious studies and director of the Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia, will read from his works at 5:30 p.m. that day in Martin Chapel of the seminary building. (See campus map)

His books include Reclaiming Dietrich Bonhoeffer; The Last Days; God’s Long Summer, which won the 1998 Grawemeyer Award in Religion; The Beloved Community: How Faith Shapes Social Justice from the Civil Rights Movement to Today and Wayward Christian Soldiers: Freeing the Gospel from Political Captivity.

‘Just War’ and the teachings of Jesus

Marsh is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and has written for The New York Times, Books & Culture and Modern Theology.

According to a reviewer in the on-line magazine, Southern Reader, "Marsh makes us examine our concepts of ‘just war’ and urges us to move past cultural preconditions, take the teachings of Jesus seriously, and dare to apply them to the issues of contemporary society."

Admission to the program, which includes dinner, is $15, $5 for EMU students with meal plan and $7 for all other students. Reservations are required and should be made by Friday, Sept. 4. Reservations can be made on line at www.emu.edu/langlit/writersread/reservations/0910 or by calling the language and literature department at (540) 432-4168.

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EMU alumni Lois and Steve Alderfer (Photo courtesy of The Virginia Legacy, University of Virginia School of Nursing)

Lois and Steve Alderfer are accustomed to sharing.

As students at 草莓社区 (EMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where they met and married, they discovered a shared Christian faith and a passion for helping others that they believed they could best fulfill by becoming nurses. (Both graduated in 1986.)

After earning their baccalaureate degrees, they chose U.Va. for graduate study. Although their interests differed – Steve’s was critical care and Lois’s medical- surgical nursing – they found ways to share the experience. “We took our core courses together,” Lois recalls.

The couple settled in rural Nelson County after graduation. Steve pursued hospital work, first in Richmond, and then at U.Va., while Lois returned to the School of Nursing for her family nurse practitioner (FNP) certificate. She performed her practicum at Blue Ridge Medical Center, a federally qualified community health center located near Lovingston in Nelson County.

‘Doctors were great teachers’

“I loved it,” she says. “The doctors were great teachers, the work was challenging, and it was a wonderful family environment. I didn’t want to leave.”

Fortunately, there was a position available to her at graduation. As Lois began full-time work, Steve returned to U.Va. for his FNP certificate, after staying home for a year with the couple’s first child and teaching nursing at EMU. He graduated and joined a private medical practice in Waynesboro.

But the Alderfers no longer found their situation satisfactory. Now parents to three young children, they were working full-time at locations far from their kids’ schools and activities.

They approached the Blue Ridge Medical Center to propose a job-sharing arrangement. “Lois would reduce her hours by 25 percent, and I would work half-time,” Steve recalls. “We would balance our hours so that one of us would always be available to our family.”

Job-Sharing

The proposal was a boon to the center managers, who quickly calculated that they would receive the equivalent of one-and-one-quarter FNPs through the arrangement. The only health care provider for miles in Nelson County, Blue Ridge provides routine and emergency family care and offers physical therapy, mental health, acupuncture, X-ray, medication assistance, and pharmacy services.

Its practitioners – five doctors in addition to Steve and Lois – treat approximately 8,000 patients annually, including those who pay according to a sliding scale or are insured by Medicare or Medicaid. Because it accepts all medical insurance, the center attracts a large clientele from Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and points beyond.

Job-sharing has worked well for the Alderfers. Currently in their fifth year under this arrangement, they are able to pursue areas of medical interest: Lois primarily provides OB/GYN, pediatric, and acute care, and Steve sees patients afflicted with chronic ailments in addition to providing acute care.

They serve as preceptors for School of Nursing nurse practitioner students assigned to Blue Ridge Medical Center. They also have been much more available to their children – accompanying them on field trips, coaching soccer, and studying Taekwondo.

Not surprisingly, they have found news ways to share this chapter in their lives. “We regularly consult each other for advice,” Steve says. “Few days go by when we don’t say to each other, ‘You know, I have this patient who…'”

Reprinted with permission of The Virginia Legacy, University of Virginia School of Nursing.” Visit for more information.

All five of EMU’s pre-med students were accepted into medical school for fall 2007. The 100 percent acceptance rate, an EMU release says, is “rare for any school” especially because the national acceptance rate last year was 46 percent.

Typically, EMU sends four to nine students each year to med school. The students are part of the biology department’s pre-professional health sciences (PPHS) program.

, adviser for EMU’s pre-professional health sciences program.

For the last 20 years, EMU’s acceptance rate has averaged 85 percent, while the national average during that same time hovered around 40 percent, said , EMU pre-professional health sciences adviser.