“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:18

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Employee news
Raeann R. Hamon, distinguished professor of family science and gerontology, and Erin F. Boyd-Soisson, professor of human development and family science, attended the National Council on Family Relations Conference in Baltimore, MD where they also presented papers as part of a symposium entitled– Bridging Theory and Practice: Engaging Undergraduate Students in Family Science for Real-World Applications. Hamon presented Pedagogical Approaches to Helping Students View HDFS Careers Through the Eyes of Theory and Boyd-Soisson (with Jenna Moyer, HDFS ’27 as co-author) presented Empowering HDFS Students to Develop and Apply Transferrable Skills: The Family Folklore Project. Hamon also completed her term as Past Chair of the International Section.

Moroz’s latest publication explores Methodological challenges in language teacher education
Oksana Moroz, assistant professor of English and director of writing, has co-edited a new volume, Methodological Issues and Reflexivity Practices in Qualitative Language Teacher Education Research, alongside Gloria Park, Sarah Henderson Lee, and Bedrettin Yazan. This collection examines the complex methodological decisions and reflexive practices that shape qualitative research in Language Teacher Education amid evolving global contexts. Featuring studies grounded in participatory action research, feminist inquiry, classroom-based research, collaborative inquiry, and autoethnography, the volume highlights how researchers navigate ethical tensions, design complexities, and shifting positionalities. The editors emphasize reflexivity as an ongoing, essential practice that informs rigorous research and pushes the field of applied linguistics forward. The book is available for purchase from Routledge https://www.routledge.com/…/Park…/p/book/9781041038979

Sarah Wade to extend her role as Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management
I am pleased report that Sarah Wade will extend her role as interim vice president for enrollment management for the foreseeable future. In order to maintain the momentum that Sarah and the enrollment management team have built, we will move forward with hiring a director of graduate enrollment in the spring semester. I am deeply grateful for Sarah’s outstanding work and her commitment to her alma mater. I have greatly enjoyed working with Sarah over these past few months and have every confidence she is the right leader to guide us through the current challenges facing enrollment management across the higher education landscape.

Jon C. Stuckey, Interim President

American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Award

Dr. Krystal Robinson-Bert, associate professor of occupational therapy, has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Physicians and Clinicians Networking Group Poster Award. This award honors outstanding research contributions to the field of rehabilitation science for the work of “Factors Affecting Discharge Destination for Patients with Non-neurological Conditions: Retrospective Chart Review”. This research, which included data from 3000 previous patient medical charts, was conducted in collaboration with Select Medical, Helen M. Simpson Rehabilitation Hospital, OT graduate students Alexa Elicker, Kaityln Fernandez, Bridget Kane and Lyndsay Torkar and statistical support from Laura Miller & Dan Custer.

BID FAREWELL

Retirement of Keith McMann from Department of Safety

It is with both deep appreciation and a touch of mixed emotion that we announce Keith McMann’s retirement. Over the past five years, he has served the Department of Safety with unwavering commitment, professionalism, and genuine care for our community. His faithful dedication has made a lasting impact on our team and the campus he worked hard to protect and serve each day. As Keith embarks on his next journey into retirement, he will continue serving his community as a fire police member with his local company and another place where his dedication, reliability, and heart for others are deeply valued. If you see Keith on campus, or wish to reach out to him, please join us in celebrating Keith’s service and wishing him all the best in this next chapter. His presence will be greatly missed, but his influence will remain with us.

AROUND CAMPUS

Welcome Erin Miller to enrollment management

We are pleased to announce that Erin Miller will join the university as assistant director of enrollment technology and communication, SGPS, effective Dec 1. Erin will be based on the Winding Hill campus, supporting the graduate enrollment team (replacing Leah Conner). Erin brings a unique blend of technical expertise and creative thinking to this role. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Penn State and completed coursework in graphic design and media arts at Southern New Hampshire University. She brings experience as a licensing technical writer and consultant, where she manages complex technical design packages and provides engineering support.

In this role, Erin will:

• Lead the administration and optimization of the Slate CRM for graduate programs, driving innovation and efficiency in enrollment processes.
• Manage and optimize Slate CRM workflows, events, forms, queries, and infrastructure for graduate enrollment.
• Collaborate with campus partners to ensure seamless integration of enrollment technology with university systems.
• Providing training, documentation and offering first-level support to graduate program users Erin impressed us with her understanding of iterative design, user testing, and continuous improvement so she will be instrumental in advancing our enrollment strategies and supporting student success.

Please join us in welcoming Erin to the Messiah Community!

Sarah Wade, Interim VP for Enrollment Management

Operations division focus on unreasonable hospitality

Conference and Event Services knows that it can be very confusing for guests to figure out where they need to go when they come to campus. Many of these guests stop by our reception area in Eisenhower Campus Center for directions. Cindy Sterling and Dianne Kirsch, our gracious campus receptionists, have been providing verbal directions to guests for many years. To ensure an even more “unreasonable hospitality” experience, they have created helpful written directions for frequently visited areas on campus to hand to the guest. These directions even include colored pictures! Thank you, Cindy and Dianne, for assisting guests to navigate campus with both verbal and written directions and showing them unreasonable hospitality.

Holiday events at the Oakes Museum

Join us at the Oakes Museum for our annual Holiday Open House on Saturday, Dec. 6! From 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. there will be free admission, holiday craft and story time, cookies and a 20% discount in the gift shop! We will also be offering our “Night at the Oakes Museum” on Friday, Dec. 12, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. This event is for K-5^th grade and is designed to give parents a free evening to get some holiday shopping done! We will play games, complete a craft and wrap up the night by watching the movie “Klaus” (PG) with some snacks and hot chocolate. Cost is $25/child. To register, visit our website!
https://messiah.qualtrics.com/WRQualtricsSurveyEngine/File.php?F=F_1g7tkZZrIvWOZdv

Murray Minute: Ad-free music streaming

Need a festive soundtrack for wrapping presents and trimming the tree? Music streaming database, Naxos, contains many imaginative and beautiful albums of carols and other Christmas music, from ancient to modern. Many of the albums are by critically acclaimed -choirs and orchestras. Stream an entire album or create a personal account for setting up playlists. This service is available to all Messiah staff, on or off campus. The database contains full recordings for all seasons throughout the year, including over 2.7 million classical music tracks. Start listening here.  Email library@messiah.edu with questions or for more information.

Nobel Prize seminar

Please plan to attend the 15th annual “Nobel Prize Seminar” on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 5 p.m. in Alexander Auditorium (Frey 110). The seminar includes Nobel prizes awarded in physics presented by Dr. Abaz Kryemadhi, chemistry presented by Dr. Richard Schaeffer, and medicine presented by Dr. Isis Rivera-Walsh. Light snacks provided.

Share your department’s updates in the monthly alumni newsletter!

The Office of Alumni and Parent Relations invites all campus departments to submit ads and announcements for our monthly Alumni Newsletter. If you have an event, accomplishment, or opportunity you’d like to share with alumni, we’d be happy to feature it. To be included in the monthly newsletter, email a short event description (one paragraph or less) and any images or graphics to mbarnes@messiah.edu by the 13th of each month for distribution on the 15th. If you’d like to be added to our monthly reminder list, simply send your email address as well. We’re especially looking for: • News and opportunities that help alumni stay connected and involved • Items specifically geared toward alumni (not current parents) • Celebrations such as program milestones, alumni features, or upcoming departmental gatherings If you have information that would be of particular interest to current parents, please email Abby Book at abook@messiah.edu for inclusion in our parent communication platform. Thank you for helping us keep our alumni community informed, connected, and engaged—we look forward to highlighting the great work happening across campus!

Welcome Amanda Snyder as new HDFS administrative assistant

Please join us in welcoming Amanda Snyder as our new HDFS administrative assistant. Some of you may have met our previous administrative assistant, Katie Radabaugh, who began just before this academic year; she has since accepted another position that better fits her family’s needs. We are delighted that Amanda was able to join us mid-semester, and she has been working diligently to get up to speed. Amanda is a wonderful addition to our department! She brings a wealth of experience, including work with older adults in hospice care and co-facilitating a moms’ group at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Department of Theatre and Dance presents “The Fall Senior Series”
Messiah University’s Department of Theatre & Dance is proud to present “The Fall Senior Series”, an evening of performance created and presented by department seniors. The first weekend, Dec. 5 and 7, features an interactive dance performance by Julia Kropp in Boyer 131. The following weekend, Dec. 12-13, features a performance created by Abby Crispin and Yanira Perez in Poorman Black Box Theater, Climenhaga Building. The Fall Senior Series I December 5 at 8 p.m.; December 7 at 3 p.m. Boyer 131 – This is a site-specific, interactive performance. Most audience members will need to walk and stand during the program. Limited seating will be available. “This Little Light of Mine” Created by Julia Kropp The Fall Senior Series II Dec. 12-13 at 8 p.m. Poorman Black Box Theater, Climenhaga Building “Untyped” Created by Abby Crispin and Yanira Perez. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online at messiah.edu/tickets, by phone at 717-691-6036, or at the door as available.

Christmas sale – Ten Thousand Villages

Next week, from Tuesday to Thursday, Ten Thousand Villages will have a holiday sale in the Eisenhower Commons. Sales support Collaboratory student trip scholarships. Please consider swinging by to support artisans from around the world and the work of our Collaboratory students. Sale will take place from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. each day.

Research Symposium

Graduate occupational therapy students and faculty will be disseminating the results of their year-long research in informal poster presentations. The annual OT Research Symposium is hosted on Thursday, Dec. 11, at the Winding Hill campus (401 E Winding Hill Rd). Come and go as you please between 5 and 7 p.m. while enjoying light refreshments. Research topics include: The efficacy of a burnout prevention training for mental health workers OT and PT perceptions of international learning experiences strengths and barriers in employment for individuals with serious mental illness OT, PT, and nursing’s digital literacy teacher and administrators’ understanding of school-based OT lifestyle interventions and telehealth for dysautonomia occupational wholeness in dysautonomia Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, network, and celebrate innovation!

Advent Scripture and Song Service

Join us for a special Advent Scripture and Song Service as we enter this season of anticipation and hope. Through selected readings and music, we will reflect on the promises of Christ’s coming and prepare our hearts for the joy of Christmas. All are welcome. Sponsored by the Honors Program.

What’s new at the library?

See our linked newsletter.
Highlights include:

• Library Christmas music
• Crafternoon
• MU community cookbook
• Exam cram
• Friends of Murray Library annual dinner and program
• Mosaic changes
• Adopt a cow program
• Seed library newsletter

The Gift of Music

Murray Library will be hosting live Christmas music! Amid the hectic pace of Christmastime, allow yourself this lovely time to relax and enjoy the sounds of the season with brief concerts from our MU student performance groups. Please join us as your schedule allows on Tuesday, Dec 9 in the library’s café. The wind quartet will perform at 3 p.m. and the clarinet ensemble at 4:30 p.m.

Attention One$ource and Spend Clarity users:

On Tuesday, Nov. 25 you received a mass email communication stating that Project GRACE had a positive Go-Live decision.  This means as of January 1, 2026, we will no longer be using One$ource or Spend Clarity.  Be sure to check the Project Grace website to keep up to date with all the latest information.

Please see important dates and tasks below:

When we come back from Christmas break, we will no longer be utilizing One$ource. All requisitions and reimbursement requests will be entered in Oracle.

• Last day to request a new supplier – Wednesday, Dec 10.  Only suppliers that have returned required information by Thursday, Dec. 11 will be entered into One$ource.
• Last day to enter a new requisition in One$ource – Friday, Dec. 12.
• All new requisitions entered after Friday, Dec. 12 will be declined in One$ource.
• One$ource will be available from Saturday, Dec. 13 through Friday, Dec. 19 ONLY to approve requisitions, complete receiving and accept invoices on blankets.
• Access to One$ource will be cut off at the end of day Friday, Dec. 19.
• Between now and Friday, Dec. 19 it is imperative that all invoices are forwarded to accountspayable@messiah.edu and all receiving done in One$ource when items are delivered to campus.  The goal is to close out as many purchase orders as possible.
• Any purchase orders or individual order lines where receiving is not complete in One$ource by Friday, Dec. 19 will be converted and available in Oracle in January.

Starting with January allocations, we will no longer be utilizing Spend Clarity. All purchasing card transactions will be entered in Oracle.

• All December purchasing card charges will be allocated in Spend Clarity.  The deadline to allocate is Jan 7.  The last day to approve is Jan. 12.
• Allocations in Oracle will be begin with January transactions.

Training on purchasing (requisitions) and expense (purchasing card) allocations coming in January.

Key December accounting deadlines

The Accounting Department will be completing a required hard close of the financial records as of Dec. 31. Please complete the following tasks BEFORE Christmas break. If you have any checks or cash in your office that you have collected for various Messiah activities, please take them to the Falcon Exchange to deposit BEFORE Christmas break. If you have a petty cash account, please reconcile expenditures for fall semester activities and submit them to the Falcon Exchange BEFORE Christmas break. If your department regularly takes transmittals to the Falcon Exchange for cash/credit card transactions, please make sure all transactions are completed for the fall semester and then submit the last transmittal BEFORE Christmas break. If you have any journal entries to be processed relating to fall semester activities, please submit them to accounting@messiah.edu BEFORE Christmas break. Budget managers and administrators, please look through the expenses in the orgs that you manage, make sure there are no misallocated expenses or anything else that needs to be moved and submit the appropriate journal entries to accounting@messiah.edu BEFORE Christmas break. Please allocate all P-Card expenses as soon as possible as you incur them during December and do not wait until the normal deadline.

CLASSIFEIDS

Job opportunities

Marketing and Communications has an opening for a full-time creative director. Job related questions may be directed to Carla Gross at cgross@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30640.

Facility Services has an opening for a full-time administrative assistant. Job related questions may be directed to Brian Miller at bemiller@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30665.

The Office of the Provost has an opening for a full-time associate provost. Job related questions may be directed to Christine Gardner at cgardner@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30515.

The Office of the Provost has an opening for a full-time vice provost for Student Success and Engagement. Job related questions may be directed to Christine Gardner at cgardner@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: 
https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30630.

The Office of Residence Life has an opening for a full-time interim residence life educator. Job related questions may be directed to Doug Wood at dwood@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30557.

The Admissions Office has an opening for a part-time admissions hospitality assistant. Job related questions may be directed to Kristin Thomas at kthomas@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30325.

Graduate Studies: Nursing has an opening for a part-time administrative assistant. Job related questions may be directed to Brenda Elliott at belliott@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30383.

The Engle Center has an opening for a part-time dietitian. Job related questions may be directed to Carrie Ent at cent@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30396.

The Engle Center has an opening for a full-time interim counselor. Job related questions may be directed to Aubrey Kleinfeld at AKleinfe@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30472.

Dining Services has an opening for a part-time PM cook. Job related questions may be directed to Mark Wirtz at mwirtz@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/29703.

Dining Services has an opening for a full-time culinary assistant. Job related questions may be directed to Mark Wirtz at mwirtz@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30236.

The Office of Development has an opening for a full-time senior regional advancement representative. Job related questions may be directed John Zeigler at jzeigler@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/29719.

Grounds Services has an opening for a full-time groundskeeper/crew leader. Job related questions may be directed to Artie Palese at palese@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/29998.

The Department of Safety has an opening for a full-time first shift safety officer. Job related questions may be directed to Maranda Hogue at mhogue@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/29967.

The Department of Safety has an opening for a full-time second-shift safety officer. Job related questions may be directed to Maranda Hogue at mhogue@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30549.

The Department of Safety has an opening for a full-time event and traffic management coordinator. Job related questions may be directed to Maranda Hogue at mhogue@messiah.edu. For more information and to apply, visit: https://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/30455.

For sale

Headphones for sale. Koss BT540i headphones for sale, $20 obo. These Bluetooth headphones have been used only a few times. Email bwatkins@messiah.edu if interested.

Items for sale.  If interested, please contact Tracy at tsheaffer@messiah.edu

FREE

Child stairway safety gate, white metal, 36 inches wide by 30 inches high. Easily adjusts to fit openings. Can be picked up by arrangement on campus or at my home near campus. tdavis@messiah.edu.

Free king bed frame. Wooden king bed frame is available for free. Requires pickup. If interested in donating to a local refugee family (the frame came from them), any payment will be given back to them. Contact Bryce: bwatkins@messiah.edu

OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS

Susquehanna Chorale to present 2025 Candlelight Christmas Concerts
The Susquehanna Chorale will present its Candlelight Christmas concert series on Dec. 19-21, under the direction of Linda L. Tedford. Performances are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 19 at the Calvin and Janet High Center for Performing Arts, Messiah University, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 20 at Market Square Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 21 at the Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren, Elizabethtown, 4 p.m. This year’s Candlelight Christmas concerts feature holiday pieces ranging from the works of Praetorius, Bach, and Rachmaninov to the sacred and secular music of our own time, featuring accompaniments by brass and solo cello. You’ll hear Daniel Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata, Biebl’s Ave Maria for men’s voices, premiers of works composed by Linda’s former Messiah University colleagues, Richard Roberson and William Stowman as well as Dan Forrest’s Let the Stable Still Astonish, commissioned in honor of the Chorale’s 40th Anniversary. As always, there will be carol singalongs and the treasured finale, Silent Night sung by candlelight. A pre-concert recital by Susquehanna Chorale accompanist, Daniel L. Dorty and guest artists, Scott Kuntz, cello, and The Messiah University Brass, will be presented 15 minutes prior to each performance. Let the voices of the Susquehanna Chorale, captured in gorgeous music of the season, offer you moments of peace, joy and reflection. Come and experience the magic of A Candlelight Christmas. Visit www.susquehannachorale.org/performances or call the Messiah University Box Office at 717-691-6036, option 1, for tickets and information. Group discounts are offered for 10 or more tickets purchased at the same time.

Joy to the Burg
A Beverly Spangler, assistant catering manager and Van Hoffman, Falcon Fitness Center member, together as the musical group “Just Us Too” have a Christmas cover song on the “Joy to the Burg 2025” album which is curated by the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame. All proceeds from the album benefit the outreach work of Christian Churches United (CCU) in helping homeless individuals in Harrisburg. More information about the album, outreach work and artist concerts can be found at www.joytotheburg.com