So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Ephesians 2:19-22 (NRSV)
News
Messiah College is now ranked 12th in the nation of bachelor’s institutions sending students abroad, according to the Open Doors Report, which is sponsored by the Institute of International Education. The report was released Nov. 11 and was based on participation of U.S. students during the 2011-12 academic year. Nationwide less than 10 percent of undergraduate students study abroad by the time they graduate. According to the survey, more than 61 percent of Messiah students earn credit studying internationally. For more information, see this link.
The human development and family science department had 15 students attend the National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 6-9. Due to a family emergency which did not allow Robert Reyes, professor of human development and family science and Boyer Fellow, to attend, Lindsay Fye (HDFS ‘14) presented “Reminiscing on our Inclusion and Diversity History and Moving Forward With Our Future,” a PREZI presentation that she co-created with Reyes, for the Conversation on Diversity and Inclusion meeting. Raeann Hamon, distinguished professor of family science and gerontology, made three presentations: “Using a Continuous Process Improvement Model to Integrate Service-Learning into our Family Science Programs” with Debra Berke, Wilmington University, and Reyes; “Fellows Roundtable: Family Science as a Discipline” with Dr. Anisa Zvonkovic, VA Tech; and “Integrating Family Science into Multiple Levels of Community” with Suzanne Smith, Washington State University, Vancouver.
From Nov. 2-10, Larry M. Lake, director of writing across the curriculum, was a presenter at the International Christian Higher Education Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, hosted by the Christian University Pelita Harapan (“Light and Hope”), and co-sponsored by Biola and Corban Universities. Larry’s presentation, “Teaching Faithful Observers: Ethnography, Journalism, and the Christian Writing Student,” examined the ways teachers can promote crosscultural awareness. More than 1,000 delegates attended the conference whose theme was “Faith, Learning, and the Media of Hope.” Presenters were from 11 different countries and included Time magazine journalist David Aikman and former Wheaton College president Duane Litfin. Following the convention, Larry spent a day as a consultant to IPEKA, a network of 12 Christian high schools in Indonesia for whom he will conduct future sessions on writing across the curriculum.
Thomas Soerens, associate professor of engineering, was recently certified as an associate ecological designer by the American Ecological Engineering Society. Individuals certified by AEES as ecological designers have demonstrated expertise in the integration of the science of ecology and practice of design.
On Dec. 6, Assistant Professors Niklas Hellgren and Abaz Kryemadhi, department of information and mathematical science, will host the fall meeting of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers. The theme of the meeting is the use of physics activities to teach engineering principles to high school and college students.
Messiah 411
Orchestra Family Concert set for Nov. 23
The Messiah College Symphony Orchestra will hold a Family Concert on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 11 a.m. in Parmer Hall of the High Center for Worship and Performing Arts. The orchestra will introduce the families of instruments and perform portions of the “Symphony No. 3” (organ symphony) of Camill Saint-Saens. People of all ages (even the very young and very old!) are invited to this free concert.
Fourth annual Nobel Prize Seminar set for Dec. 3
The departments of chemistry and biochemistry, biological sciences and information and mathematical sciences present the fourth annual Nobel Prize Seminar on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. in Frey 110 (Alexander Auditorium). Refreshments will be served at 4:45 p.m. See attachment for additional information.
December Wellness Workshop announced
The Wellness team is pleased to announce our upcoming wellness workshop on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Sandy Bush, Messiah’s athletic training program director, will speak on the topic of “Personal Tips for Surviving and Thriving When You Get the Cancer Diagnosis.” The workshop will be held in Parmer Cinema from 12-12:45 p.m. We hope you will plan to attend.
Oakes Museum to host Open House Dec. 7
The Oakes Museum of Natural History is having our fifth annual Holiday Open House on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 1–5 p.m. This event is our way of saying “Thank You” to each of you in the community for supporting us throughout the year. Admission is free, so invite a friend. See flyer for additional information.
Mandatory meeting for all on-campus students
There will be a mandatory all floor/section meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 10 p.m. for all students who live on-campus. If possible, please do not schedule events during this hour. We understand that there are some conflicts that cannot be avoided, but if an event can be scheduled at another time we ask that you do so.
Important information from residence life
All campus residences will be closed from 12 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 20 through Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 8 a.m. If you are bringing students back for a college-related reason before Jan. 7, please send the students’ names, reason for return and date of return to housing@messiah.edu by Friday, Dec. 6. Requests received after that time will be charged a $10 late fee.
2013 College Senior Survey Longitudinal Results available
The office of institutional research administered the College Senior Survey during spring 2013. Please look at the institutional research webpage for an info-graphic aiming to provide an overall picture of the results organized by our broad general education outcome areas.
OSHA hazard communication training scheduled
All employees who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals under normal operating conditions or in foreseeable emergencies must be given training in the Hazard Communication Standard, the new GHS labeling system and the new Safety Data Sheet format. This training is required by law to be completed by Dec. 1. For individuals who could not attend one of the training sessions held during the weeks of Nov. 4 and 11, a make-up session is being offered in Parmer Cinema on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 9 a.m.
Hazardous chemicals include but are not limited to cleaning products, paints and paint thinners, inks and dyes, oils and greases, lab chemicals, welding materials such as fluxes and welding rods, etc. Employees, such as office workers, who encounter hazardous chemicals only in non-routine, isolated instances do not need to be included in this training. Student workers may be included, depending on their job assignment. If you are uncertain if you need to attend, please contact Donna Fink (dfink@messiah.edu) for further clarification.
Note: employees in the School of Science, Engineering and Health received this required training in their School meeting on Oct. 23. They should not attend the session listed above.
Emergency Action Plan found in Safety Manual
Messiah College’s Emergency Action Plan is found in section 14 of the Safety Manual. It provides instructions on what to do if there is an active shooter, bomb threat, explosion, fire, gas leak, hostage crisis, suspicious package, weapon on campus, weather event and many other emergency situations. Take the time to read this plan and be familiar with its contents. Then, if an emergency occurs, you’ll know where to go for information on how to safely handle it.
The Messiah College Safety Manual can be found here.
If you have any questions regarding this Emergency Action Plan or other sections of the Safety Manual, please contact Donna Fink at dfink@messiah.edu.
Human resources seeking your Christmas traditions
We have enjoyed hearing Christmas traditions and stories from employees who are not necessarily born in other countries, but have lived internationally. We are expanding our Christmas tradition collection to encompass stories and traditions from these folks. If you have a Christmas tradition that you would like to share, please send it to Kathy Castonguay at kcastong@messiah.edu and Victoria Johnson at vjohnson@messiah.edu before the Thanksgiving holiday and then stop by the human resources office for a free cookie!
Volunteers needed for Employee Christmas Luncheon
Each year, in the spirit of the season, employees volunteer to help with setup, serving and cleanup at the Employee Christmas Luncheon. This allows our colleagues in dining services and campus events to more fully participate in the event. If you haven’t participated before, or if you’ve had a great time volunteering in the past, we need you this year! Please consider volunteering for one of the following time slots on Friday, Dec. 20—set-up: 9-10:30 a.m. or 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.; serving, two 45-minute shifts during lunch, meet at 11:40 a.m. for instructions; cleanup: 2:30 – 3:15 p.m. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Kathy Castonguay, human resources administrative assistant, at kcastong@messiah.edu or ext. 7086 by Wednesday, Dec. 11. Thank you!
Campus Ministries connection
Waiting
How are you at waiting? Waiting is not easy, especially in our hurried culture. Yet we all must wait at times. Our Teaching Pastor, Brian Smith, led us into this movement of Belief/Advent by noting the promises of Malachi 3 and the resulting ability of the prophet, Anna (Luke 2) to wait for about 60 years in the Temple for the birth of Christ. Her waiting was not focused on the future, rather the daily practices that filled her life. Belief challenges us to wait. How we wait is as important as how long we are willing to wait. Today can be lost by obsessing about the future. Truthfully our future is revealed by how we act now. Belief calls us to be fully present in today while waiting on God.
Classifieds
Position available:
The Department of Information Technology Systems currently has an opening for the following position: Help Desk Support Tier II. For additional information, please see http://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/2892. Job-related questions may be directed to Susan Shannon, director of learning technology services, at sshannon@messiah.edu.
Free:
Two Lexmark 26 color print cartridges; Two Lexmark 16 black print cartridges. Contact baumen@messiah.edu.
Wanted:
Exercise equipment — If you have any weight equipment or strength training equipment, low cost or free, I have a local family looking for this as a Christmas present for their teenage son. Contact dfolgelsa@messiah.edu.
For sale:
Xbox 360 games — Blazing Angels 2, $10; Civil War, $10; Forza Motorsport/Ultimate Alliance (two in one), $15; Guitar Hero III, $10; Halo 3, $10; Country Rock Band, $10; Xbox 360 Rock Band drum set, $25. Contact baumen@messiah.edu.
York Barbell equipment — 1 in. bar 80 in. long, curling bar with spinlock, contour cast iron plates (four 50 lb. and six 25 lb.), Pro Series 205 incline bench, York FTS squat stand. Call Jeff at 717-259-7700.
2001 Oldsmobile Alero GLS sedan — 115K miles, $2,600; 17 in. LCD monitor — 1280 × 1024, $35. For pictures or additional information, contact owen@messiah.edu.
Christmas trees — 4-7 ft. white spruce. $25. Delivery possible. Contact Dale Fogelsanger at 717-623-0735.
