I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Job 42:2 (NRSV)
News
Senior chemistry student Julie Fenton spent twelve weeks last summer at the University of Strasbourg in France conducting research in inorganic chemistry funded by the National Science Foundation. She recently had her first paper from this research accepted into the “European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry.”
Dave Foster, professor of biology and environmental science, recently served on a team that reviewed the earth and environmental science program in the School of Natural and Applied Sciences at Taylor University.
Scott Kieffer, professor of health and exercise science, is executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. In this role, he organized the annual MARC-ACSM meeting in Harrisburg on Nov. 1-2. The MARC-ACSM meeting is an opportunity for students and professionals within the region (Pa., Del., Md., N.J., N.Y., W.Va., and Washington, D.C.) with an interest in health promotion, exercise science and sports medicine to come together to share, learn and network. Approximately 70 Messiah College health and human performance majors will attend.
Jenell Paris, department of sociology, anthropology and criminal justice, recently published “I am Miley Cyrus” in the “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,” “The Tortoise and the Hare in Bed,” at EngagedMarriage.com and “Should We Save Our Children From the Flames of Hell?” at Patheos.com.
Associate Professor of Education Anita Voelker’s research study titled “Tomorrow’s Teachers Engaging in Unprotected Text” was published in the fall 2013 edition of the “Journal of Children’s Literature.”
Messiah 411
Test of Safe Connect system scheduled for Oct. 31
Messiah announces new tool for communicating during an emergency. In partnership with ITS, the Crisis Management Team wants to make all Messiah students and employees aware of a new way that they might receive information and instructions during a campus emergency. Using Safe*Connect software, we are now able to interrupt nearly all of the computers on the College’s network with a pop-up screen that will alert the campus to an emergency situation and provide further instruction.
Safe*Connect is embedded in the access control software installed on your computer by ITS. All employee PCs and Macs are equipped with this software. (Not all student Macs have this software, but it can be requested by calling student computing services at ext. 3333.) Because the software refreshes every 10 minutes, not everyone will receive the message at the same time. (Your computer’s refresh schedule depends on when you booted up your machine.) However, within 10 minutes of sending a Safe*Connect alert, we anticipate that the message should be broadly communicated across campus. A test of this system will occur during the late afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 31.
Safe*Connect is just one of several ways the College will communicate during an emergency situation. We anticipate using text message alerts, social media, mass email, the College website and emergency blog as well. Text message alerts remain the most effective, fastest way of getting information and instructions to the entire campus, so if you haven’t signed up yet for text message alerts, we strongly encourage you to do so today. Instructions can be found here.
More about the College’s emergency response plans and methods of communication can be found here.
Announcement from facility services
On Sunday, Nov. 3 Frey Hall will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. No one will be allowed to enter the building due to the placement of cooling towers on the roof. Questions or concerns should be directed to Dan Smith, ext. 7151, or Brad Markley, ext. 3500.
International Education Week events planned
Join the campus community in celebrating International Education Week (IEW) starting next week: Monday, Nov. 4 through Friday, Nov. 8. The purpose of IEW is to celebrate and promote the benefits of global, intercultural exchange within higher education through meaningful community events, which include lectures, chapels, presentations, exhibits, films, recitals and concerts. Highlights include:
Monday, Nov. 4
- German Cultural Celebration • 3–5 p.m., Howe Atrium
- Alternate chapel featuring alumnus A.J. Nolte presenting “Caught in the Crosshairs: The Christian Community in Syria” • 7–8 p.m., Boyer 131
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Mission Awareness Day
- Mission Awareness Day chapel: Dr. Bernardo Michael • 9:30–10:15 a.m., Brubaker Auditorium
- French Cultural Celebration • 4–5:30 p.m., Howe Atrium
Wednesday, Nov. 6
- International Education Week student recital • 11–11:50 a.m., High Foundation Recital Hall
- Spanish Cultural Celebration • 3–5 p.m., Howe Atrium
- Alternate chapel featuring Dr. Richard Slimbach presenting “From Doorstep to Planet: Putting the Local into Global Learning” • 7–8 p.m., Boyer 131
Thursday, Nov. 7
- Salt and Light chapel featuring Dr. Richard Slimbach: “Turning Strangers into Neighbors” • 9:30–10:15 a.m., Hostetter Chapel
- Alternate chapel featuring Dr. Ray Motsi, “Why Are We/Why Am I Doing This?! Reflections of a Theological College President in Africa” • 4–5 p.m., Boyer 131
- Alternate chapel documentary film: “Rising from the Ashes” • 6:30–8 p.m., Parmer Cinema
Friday, Nov. 8
- Chinese Cultural Celebration • 3:30–5 p.m., Howe Atrium
- International Festival: a celebration featuring music by Messiah College’s United Voices of Praise and from Wisaal (www.wisaalmusic.com), an acclaimed Mediterranean fusion group, as well as ethnic food and international craft vendors.
For a complete and detailed schedule of IEW events, please visit www.messiah.edu/IEW/ and utilize the tabs on the right to view each day’s activities.
Recognition and appreciation of sponsors: international programs, the office of the special assistant to the president and provost for diversity affairs; World Christian Fellowship; the office of the provost; the office of the president; the office of the associate dean of students; faculty development; The Collaboratory; the office of sustainability; the department of biological sciences; college ministries; peace and conflict studies; the department of politics; and the office of student involvement and leadership programs.
Student PR Club Hosts Caitlin’s Smiles Fundraiser
On Saturday, Nov. 9, the Messiah College Chapter of PRSSA will host Miles for Smiles, a 5K/one-mile walk to benefit Caitlin’s Smiles. Runners and walkers of all ages are invited to participate. Held on the campus of West Shore Evangelical Free Church, 1345 Williams Grove Road, Mechanicsburg, Miles for Smiles will feature a fall festival for children as well as snacks and prizes for race participants. Preregistration is available at https://www.facebook.com/events/201075860072852/. Walk-in registration begins at 9 a.m., with the race beginning at 10 a.m. Caitlin’s Smiles provides arts and crafts kits to hospitalized children facing chronic and life-threatening illnesses. See attachment for more details.
Canvas updates from Learning Technology Services
Learning technology services continues to move forward with the transition to Canvas. Follow our website to keep up-to-date on Canvas Information. We will do our best to keep you informed if there is any change to the training schedule or implementation process. On the website you will also find an FAQ page where there is space for you to submit additional questions.
The November 2013 training calendar is available. We anticipate that spring 2014 courses will be made available on Nov. 1.
Important reminders
- Remember courses for J-term 2014 and the spring semester 2014 must be created in Canvas. No new courses will be created in Sakai.
- Training is available now and will be available in J-term; it’s not too early to get started.
- You will have access to your course materials in Sakai until December 2014.
If you have any questions regarding Canvas, please contact ext. 4444.
Don’t get left out…send in your spring public events
The office of marketing and communications is again producing a Highlights brochure to promote the public events occurring on campus during the spring semester. In an effort to bring more people to campus, we will mail the brochure to more than 5,000 homes in the community in early Jan. To ensure your public event is included, i.e. a concert, recital, play, lecture, conference, performance or any other event at which you would welcome the general public, please send the event, date, time, place, contact name, admission charge (if any) and contact phone number to Kim Christen at kchriste@messiah.edu no later than Friday, Nov. 8.
The Highlights brochures have been very well received in the past and demand for them has been high, both on and off campus. If you would like to order a quantity for your own department’s use, please call Kim Christen at ext. 7326. There will be a charge of $12 per 100 brochures (12 cents per copy) to cover the additional printing costs.
Register now for “Messiah Goes to the World Cup”
If you are currently exercising or wanting to begin, consider joining the wellness program titled “Messiah Goes to the World Cup.” It’s a way to for us to collectively record our miles and/or minutes of exercise. For every 4,800 miles we accumulate, we figuratively “send” one of soccer players to Brazil for next summer’s World Cup. To allow employees to join throughout the year, each six-week begins a brand new phase. Registration is simple. Just click on the link below and it will take you to the registration page. Once you register you also need to email your Café Well screen name to HAPA_wellness@cvty.com so the wellness director can identify you and so your workouts count towards our mileage. This will also qualify you for random award drawings. All Café Well screen names are confidential. To complete the program and collect your 30 wellness points, you just need to submit workouts for at least five of the six weeks and have met the minimum standards on at least five of the six weeks (five miles of walking/week, or six miles of running/week, or 12 miles of cycling/week, or two miles of swimming/week, or 60 minutes of other forms of exercise/week).
Here are the links to click on to register for Phase II:
Important reminder to faculty
Learning Technology Services would like to remind the faculty that it’s not too early to begin planning ahead. The J-term and spring 2014 semester work submission deadlines have been set. Please coordinate your needs for your courses with the deadline dates listed on the attached document. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Diane Hunsinger, copyright and educational support specialist, at ext. 3895. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Limited event dates outlined by conference and event services
This policy has been approved and endorsed by the President’s Cabinet. The conference and event services office along with campus events works hard to meet all the requests of the campus community. Over the past several years there has been an increase in requests for events during dates and times that either conflict with other institutional events, or because of the size or needs of the event, they cannot be supported. In an effort to provide the best level of service possible, events and services (requiring the assistance of conference and events services) will be limited on the dates listed below and under the following circumstances.
These dates/events include:
1. Community Day – only events that do not require set up or tech support will be approved until the completion of Community Day activities.
2. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of fall Welcome Week (FWW) – All activities related to COE day and FWW are supported. Any other requests cannot be supported if they need set up or tech support.
3. Friday and Saturday of Messiah College Christmas (except for wrestling tournament). Any other requests cannot be supported if they need set up or tech support.
4. Service Day – no activities permitted to be scheduled between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., evening activities only if no set up and tech support is required.
5. Reading Day and Employee Recognition Service – No activities permitted between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. except Employee Recognition Service.
6. Friday and Saturday of Commencement – Activities need to be related to Board of Trustee meetings, nursing pinning, baccalaureate and commencement only.
Thank you for your understanding as we continue to manage staffing and resources. As always, it is best to plan early for all your events on campus.
Weather delay and closings information
In the event classes are delayed or canceled, those students and/or employees who have signed up for text alerts will receive a text regarding such delay or closure. A delay or closure notification will also be placed on the College’s website, as well as available by calling the emergency information line at 691-6084. A recording will provide you with a date and time of the most recent message. You can also check out the Messiah College homepage. Morning announcements are made no later than 6:30 a.m.
Please note, any notice of a delay and/or cancellation of an event at the College will only be available on the emergency line and not through the text alert system.
Employees involved in snow removal, facilities, campus events and dining should follow the instructions given by their respective supervisory staff.
Kathie Shafer, vice president for operations
United Way employee pledge drive underway
We are in the second week of our annual Employee Pledge Drive. The United Way of the Capital Region provides solutions for local issues by focusing on three areas: health, education and basic needs. Each week during the drive we are sharing information on a program partner in one of these categories.
Today’s topic: Visiting Nurse Association of Central Pennsylvania (VNA). VNA’s Maternal Child Health Program provides at-home care for low-income mothers and their infants. For a mother who might not be able to afford follow-up visits after her baby is born, this service is crucial. Nearly 20 percent of the clients in this program don’t have reliable transportation. VNA is able to overcome this hurdle by going straight to the home. Read how Baby Wesley and his mom were helped by the VNA here.
By donating to the United Way during the pledge drive, you can help realize solutions to problems in our community. 100 percent of your contribution is directed to local programs and services. You can:
- Specify the non-profit recipient
- Select one of three focus areas (health, education or basic needs)
or
- Allow the United Way to apply your donation to the area of greatest need
Please contact Kathy Castonguay, human resources, at kcastong@messiah.edu with any questions. Thank you for your consideration.
Campus Ministries connection
The Search
Can the tension of polarities in our lives lift us from despair to engage something of higher value? Can the grays of life between black and white actually produce lives that are imaginative and motivated by a desire to follow Christ’s way? This week in the movement around “Polarities of Community” we engage the multiple messages of our culture and how as Christians that tension provides opportunity for embracing something beyond the messages of our culture while still living within our culture. Walker Percy in The Moviegoer says, “The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life…. To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair.” Chapel speaker and author of Hipster Christianity: When Church & Cool Collide (Baker, 2010), Brent McCracken says in his blog, “The Search exists for any and every one of us who—in seeking truth, dialogue, epiphany, and connection—feels the spiritual pull toward that state of ‘being on to something’ bigger and brighter than ourselves.” That seems to ring true with our definition of spiritual formation as articulated by Robert Mulholland, “The process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.” “Process” indicates a living search or a “still seeking” that can lead to something of greater value.
Classifieds
Positions available:
The department of finance currently has openings for the following positions:
Assistant Bursar: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/2805; Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of Finance and Planning: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/2808.
Job-related questions may be directed to Wendy Starner, controller, at ext. 6920.
For sale:
Geotrax system — Multiple trains, tracks, accessories $75; First Act electric guitar with amp — $25. Contact merikson@messiah.edu.
