I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 (NRSV)

News

Sherri Boyce, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, wrote a new chapter called “The Special Senses” that was published in a new addition to the Anatomy and Physiology text market, Human Anatomy and Physiology by Erin C. Amerman (Pearson).

Todd Goranson, associate professor of music, presented a lectured titled “Fight, Flight or Freeze: Overcoming Performance Anxiety” at the 2015 conference of the Texas Music Educators Association in San Antonio. The one-hour lecture was presented to a capacity audience of nearly 300 at the nation’s largest music conference. Goranson was invited to speak following a competitive screening process. Goranson also performed as principal bassoonist with the York Symphony Orchestra on February 21 in a subscription concert that included Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 1,” Barber’s “First Essay for Orchestra” and the “Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1.”

Associate Professor of Music Rachel Cornacchio recently served as guest conductor for the Perry County High School Choral Festival. In attendance were 87 students from four school districts. The two-day festival culminated with a concert at Susquenita High School in Duncannon. Dan Umholz ’15 served as the pianist.

Molly Bletz ’11 (Biology) has been featured by National Geographic and other science media outlets regarding her recent publication in Science Reports, a sister journal to Nature. Her article, “Widespread presence of the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in wild amphibian communities in Madagascar” raises concern over long term survival of amphibians on the island. Her investigations into this fungal disease of amphibians and publication career started with a published study from Panama with research advisors Erik Lindquist and Michael Shin of the Department of Biological Sciences. Molly is continuing her postgraduate work at Braunschweig Technical University in Germany. You can read the article here.

Messiah 411

Reminder to spring ahead this weekend

Remember to move your clocks ahead one hour when Daylight Savings begins this Sunday, March 9.

Employees asked to submit nominations for Pride in Performance awards

Deadline extended to Friday, March 13

Have you been impressed or inspired by the contributions made by a fellow employee during the last year? Do any of the statements below describe a colleague? If so, please consider nominating that colleague for a Pride in Performance award. The Pride in Performance award is used to recognize an employee based on the following criteria:

• The employee has consistently demonstrated exceptional performance and remarkable proficiency in his/her assigned duties;
• The employee has demonstrated hospitality, customer focus, and has been active in promoting a pleasant working environment;
• The employee has demonstrated dependability, innovative ways to manage work and effective problem-solving;
• The employee has been committed to professional development and enhancing his/her skill set.

Your recommendation will be confidential; only the employees selected as award recipients will know that their names were offered for consideration. Prior recipients are not eligible to receive a subsequent award for three years. See the list of prior recipients here. Nominations must be submitted, using the Pride in Performance nomination form found here. by Friday, March 13. Further information on performance awards, can be viewed here.

The recipients will be announced at the Employee Recognition Reception in May. All questions regarding nominations should be directed to Kathy Castonguay in Human Resources.

March is Women’s HERstory Month

Messiah invites you to acknowledge and celebrate it by attending various events throughout the month. A listing of events and the poster can be found here.  The mission of WHM is to provide a forum where we can learn about the (her)story in the U.S. and add different perspectives to the retelling of our past. This month incorporates film, cultural celebrations and speakers that engage the community in a much needed conversation on the existing realities of women both in the United States and across the world. Questions can be directed to intercultural@messiah.edu.

Institutional Web and Technology Committee announces Web content audit

The Institutional Web and Technology Committee recently made the decision to move forward with an institutional web audit for content on Messiah’s public website (www.messiah.edu). The audit will help us ensure all web content is up to date and relevant for site visitors.

The content audit will begin Monday, April 6. At that time, an email will be sent to content editors who need to audit content. Any pages that have not been edited in more than six months will be added to the content audit. CMS users will have until May 29 to validate the content on their webpages is up to date. Read the full announcement here.

View the FAQs

Learning Technology Services (LTS) News

Opportunities in the Innovation Zone

These learning opportunities offer a brief presentation, conversation, brainstorming and collaboration about new methods and important ideas. Please join us in the Innovation Zone (Hoffman 106) from 12:30-1:00 p.m. on these days.

3/18 – Best PC Practices

3/26 – Social Media in the Classroom

4/28 – Academic Integrity – Raising Awareness

For Mac Users

In the fall of 2014, Apple released its latest desktop operating system, Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). Mac OS X 10.10 has a lot of “under the hood” changes that may make it incompatible with some campus systems, in particular the current version of the PaperCut printing process. These issues only appear to be impacting Macintosh computers running OS X 10.10 Yosemite and the PaperCut client. WebPrint is a working option. For more information, please check the blog article located here.

Information Technology Quick Resources

Please check out the ITS blog at http://helpdesk.messiah.edu. Information regarding printing, VPN, faxing, and other computer announcements is located here. If you don’t find what you’re looking for here, please remember you can always contact our HelpDesk by picking up the phone and giving ITS a call at ext. 4444 or emailing helpdesk@messiah.edu.

 

 

 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.

Luke 24:5 (NSRV)

News

Rachel Cornacchio, associate professor of music, presented “Making Choices for the Singing Child” at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association State Conference in Boston. The presentation gave practitioners background in making research based repertoire choices for children in the upper elementary school grades. Music educators from throughout the state were in attendance.

At the 75th annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, in Pittsburgh, March 25-28, Larry M. Lake, associate professor of writing, chaired a session “Anthropology in Education and Communication” and presented his study “Beyond the Trophy Picture,” an examination of successful cross-cultural training for short term missions projects. He also officially launched LakeEffect, his anthropological consulting practice which advises on cultural adaptation in education and missions.

On Wednesday, March 25, Dining Services was one of 30 local businesses that participated in the Taste of the Chamber event hosted by the West Shore Chamber of Commerce at the Appalachian Harley Davidson on the Carlisle Pike.  Executive Chef Percell Green was joined by Sous Chef Pat Combs, Catering Chef Andrew White, Catering Lead Linda Nye and Catering Manager Derrick Trent in offering chocolate mousse, Mediterranean hummus fillo cups and edamame hummus fillo cups to 400 attending guests.

The Office of Marketing and Communications is pleased to announce the addition of our new marketing & services coordinator, Karen Garlinger. She comes to Messiah with a background in multimedia sales, customer service and marketing. You are invited to stop by third floor Old Main to introduce yourself and to extend a warm welcome. Karen’s role will be to facilitate and coordinate design projects created through the office of marketing and communications and student photography. Please contact her at kgarlinger@messsiah.edu or extension 7342 to initiate any projects you plan to create that will reach an off-campus audience of more than 200 people. We request five weeks from the beginning of the project to completion. Photography of events can continue to be requested through photography@messiah.edu. Click on this link to download a handy flyer outlining the design services offered by the office of marketing and communications.

Messiah 411

Department of Education to sponsor Honors Presentation April 8

The Department of Education is pleased to sponsor two Honors Presentations on Wednesday, April 8, in Boyer 235, from 5- 6 p.m. Mariah Kendrick will discuss the problem of math retention for students during the summer months and how to prevent the summer-slide in “Webcasts and the Retention of Mathematical Knowledge over the Summer Break.” The following afternoon, on Thursday, April 9, in Boyer 131, from 5:30-6:30pm, Melissa Landis will present “’Sound it Out:’ Connecting Students’ Spoken Language to Academic Writing.” In this presentation, Melissa will seek to start the conversation about how to connect students’ language experience with their academic writing.

Pittsburgh Fellow Program to host information event Thursday, April 9

The Pittsburgh Fellows Program will host an information session for students and faculty on Thursday, April 9 from noon-1 p.m. in Jordan 172. Pizza will be provided.

A brief description of this well-respected one-year post-grad program:

The Pittsburgh Fellows Program is a post-undergraduate, leadership development program that recruits and trains highly qualified college graduates to be values-driven, ethical business leaders in the city and region of Pittsburgh. Our goal is to positively impact the city through current and future business leaders who use their resources for the well-being of the whole community. More information can be found here: www.pittsburghfellows.com

While this program has a leadership and business development focus, ALL majors are invited to attend and apply for a fellow position.

If you are able to attend, please REGISTER here.  You are welcome to share this with other faculty or specific students who may have interest.

PLEASE NOTE: The director of the program, Ms. Julie McCormick, will be on campus to interview interested students the afternoon of April 9, following the info session. They have a couple of slots left for this cohort of fellows. If students are interested in an interview slot, they must apply for a fellows position through their website prior to April 9: http://www.pittsburghfellows.com/#!apply-now/c1mu7

“Live and learn” this summer with Messiah’s undergraduate online courses

You can make the most of your summer and still earn the college credits you need with the flexibility of Messiah’s undergraduate online courses. Messiah’s eight-week online summer session, which runs June 8-July 31, 2015, provides a personal, interactive experience that works around your summer schedule. Messiah’s summer courses are completed in nearly half the time, and are discounted more than 50 percent as the same courses that are offered during the fall and spring semesters. Courses are open to current students (college-level, qualified homeschooled and high school students), employees, alumni, parents, community friends, and anyone who would like to further their education. All courses are taught by Messiah professors, offering an online educational experience that reflects Messiah’s commitment to academic excellence. Registration for summer session begins April 14 and runs through June 2. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in registering or learning more, visit messiah.edu/online. To learn more about our dual enrollment program for qualified homeschooled and high school students, visit messiah.edu/dual.

Young Writer’s Workshop

The Young Writers Workshop is back for the fourth year! It has been such a success that we have many students that keep coming back. We already have several students signed up for this workshop, so make your plans now because we do limit class sizes so the students get the attention they deserve! Our camp is designed to foster a community of young writers through an enriching, summer writing camp environment. It provides college-level writing skills development for student in grades 9-12. It offers intensive courses in creative writing in which students will: produce a portfolio of their own work and present a reading; learn to read and respond to each other’s work effectively; and learn how to revise their work in response to their peers.

Messiah’s Young Writers Workshop is unique in several ways:

– Courses are taught by published Messiah faculty
– Readings and interaction with published writers
– Residential writing camp experience
– The opportunity to help create and publish an e-book that will be made available to the public
– Unique and practical session about how to write a college admissions essay
– A field trip to a museum and Midtown Scholar Bookstore
– Personalized attention ( class sizes limited to 15 students)

Visit our website for further details and registration. Like us on Facebook for updates, readings from past students and so much more! For more information, call 717-796-5073.

Reminder about Intercom Submissions

All submissions for Intercom should be submitted through this form or by emailing intercom@messiah.edu. Announcements submitted in the comment section of the blog are not accepted. For publication in the Thursday newsletter, the announcement must be received by 4 p.m. on Tuesday.      

Anti-Virus Software Changes Coming from ITS

ITS is changing its Anti-Virus software program from AVG to Endpoint. This will happen between now and June 1, 2015. It will be done incrementally, and the details are still being worked out. This change should be transparent to the end users, but the AVG icon in the system tray will be removed. As always, if you experience any issues due to this change, please contact the Help Desk at ext. 4444 or check the blog at helpdesk.messiah.edu.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Have you ever gotten in your car and started driving and ended up at your destination and couldn’t recall all the minutes during your drive? According to the National Safety Council, cognitively distracted drivers can miss up to 50 percent of their driving environment, including stop signs, pedestrians and red lights. And drivers talking on cell phones–handheld or hands-free—are four times more likely to crash. Focusing on anything other than driving–inclduing eating and drinking, reading a map, adjusting a radio, putting on make-up, or talking or texting on the phone while behind the wheel–can put you and others in serious danger. Stay alert and aware while behind the wheel. It could save your life or the life of someone you love.

Classifieds

For Sale:

Three window unit air conditioners $20 each or best offer; Beginner girls bike with training wheels – $20 or best offer; Toddler basketball hoop – $10 or best offer. Call Helena at ext. 2431 or 697-1181. Email: hcicero@messiah.edu.

Outside Organizations

Is learning to ride a horse on your “bucket list?”  Here’s your chance to cross –it off!

Total Equine Learning Center in Mechanicsburg is offering a six-week adult riding course that will teach you the basics of horsemanship, riding techniques and safety. Learn to ride western or English on well-trained horses in a roomy indoor ring facility. If the weather is nice, we have an outdoor riding ring. This class will start on Monday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m. and will run for six weeks. The cost is only $240 and must be paid in advance. Class size is limited to 5 people so don’t wait! If you have any further questions, contact Joanne Hocker at 766-4035 or Sally Richardson at srichardson@messiah.edu.

 

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