May 18, 2016

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Romans 12:15

News:

Devin Manzullo-Thomas, director of the Sider Institute, had an article titled “Born-Again Brethren in Christ: Anabaptism, Evangelicalism, and the Cultural Transformation of a Plain People,” published in the journal Mennonite Quarterly Review (April 2016). He has also received word that his paper “Encounters with the Spirit: North American Anabaptists and Charismatic Renewal, 1950-2000,” has been accepted for presentation at the “Charismatic Renewal in Historical Perspective” conference at Oxford University (UK) in September 2016.

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Five students and one faculty member from the Department of Biological Sciences delivered well-received oral presentations at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science (April 1 – 3, 2016; Delaware Valley University).

  • Victoria Koehler described the results of research conducted with Dr. John Harms in “Cloning the Full-Length Gastrin Gene for Up-Regulation in Pancreatic Cancer Studies.”
  • Andrew Nevin described microbiology studies done in Bolivia and Fiji and at Messiah College under the direction of Drs. Lindquist, Soerens and Mylin in “A Study on the Long-Term Performance of the Sawyer PointONETM filter in the Developing World.”
  • Arielle Raugh described research conducted with Dr. Mylin and Penn State Hershey collaborators in “Characterization of CD4+ T Lymphocyte Responses to the Simian Virus 40 Large Tumor Antigen (SV40 T ag) in C57Bl/6 Mice.”
  • Laura Ritenour described research performed under the direction of Dr. Harms in “Characterizing Monoclonal Antibodies Against the Cholecystokinin 2 Receptor and a Splice Variant for Use in Pancreatic Cancer Studies.”
  • Holly Ross described research done under the direction of Dr. John Harms in “Quantifying an Increase in the Stability and Expression of Green Fluorescent Protein in Pancreatic Cancer Cells.”
  • Dr. Larry Mylin described research performed during his sabbatical leave in the talk “Capacity Building: Establishing Laboratory Culture of Plasmodium falciparum Laboratory Strain NF54 and Patient Isolates at the Macha Research Trust/Malaria Institute at Macha, Choma, Zambia”

Three weeks later it was announced that Andrew Nevin received a $100 award for the best student presentation at the conference. Congratulations Andrew!

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The BioLogos Foundation has just launched a Speakers Bureau for public events about Christianity and science. One of the people who will participate is Ted Davis, professor of the history of science. BioLogos was founded by Christian geneticist Francis Collins, who is now director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest funder of scientific research in the world. Ted writes bi-weekly columns for BioLogos.

Messiah 411: 

Summer Flex-Time

Beginning on Monday, May 23, the College will again permit the use of summer flexible work arrangements for divisions and departments where this scheduled adjustment allows for the maintenance of the unit’s work responsibilities. Implementation of a Summer Flex-Time Program is at the discretion of division executives and directors and requires approval in advance from the appropriate dean, provost or vice president. Employees interested in adopting summer hours should speak with their department head, director or supervisor.

Early arrivals

Over the past several years we have seen a significant increase in the number of students who are returning to campus early. In fact, this past year we had over 900 early arrival students. This large number has become problematic, largely due to the fact that the campus is not staffed appropriately to care for and be responsible such a large number of students. In addition, several significant student conduct issues have occurred during the early arrival time period given the number of students and lack of staff. As a result, the Student Involvement and Leadership Programs (SILP) and Residence Life offices are working towards reducing the number of early arrivals. If you plan to sponsor students for early arrival please contact housing@messiah.edu for a spreadsheet to fill out and return by Friday, July 15. If you are on a 10-month contract we need your completed spreadsheet by May 31. The earliest students may return this year is Monday, Aug. 15, but we ask that you bring your students back as late as possible.

Filling out the spreadsheet does not mean that you will be automatically approved for early arrival on the date you have requested. A few other important early arrival details:

  • The meal plan for returning students will not be active until Thursday, Aug. 25 at lunch. If you need meal cards for the students you are bringing back early, please make these arrangements through the Falcon Exchange.
  • There is no charge for students to stay on campus. However, any additions or changes received between Aug. 1–14 will be charged $10/person and between Aug. 15–28 will be charged $25/person.
  • When determining the date your students must return please factor in what date they will need to move in. For example, if your training/practice schedule begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23, your students would need to move in on Monday, Aug. 22 which would be the date you would specify on the spreadsheet.
  • If you have students coming back prior to move-in day it is expected that they volunteer during move-in on Thursday, Aug. 25 unless there is a unique circumstance that doesn’t make it possible.

The Student Involvement and Leadership Programs office will follow up with more communication.

No more fax machines

Over the past several years the campus has moved from fax machines to an email based faxing system for sending and receiving. As the campus phone system transition finishes this summer, if there are any remaining fax machines, they will STOP working. If you still have a fax machine, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at ext. 4444 so that you can be setup on the email faxing system.

In addition, if you are a campus fax recipient and your fax number is NOT in the range of 691-2300 to 691-2399, please contact the ITS Helpdesk to let us know what fax number you are using. Most fax numbers should have transitioned into this range but we are aware that some may not have and we want to keep things working for you during the final phone system transitions on the email faxing system.

Important reminder for faculty

Learning Technology Services would like to remind the faculty that it’s not too early to begin planning ahead. The 2016 fall semester work submission deadlines have been set. Please coordinate your needs for your courses with the deadline dates located at on the ITS blog at the following link: http://blogs.messiah.edu/its/archives/6626

Procedure review:

  1. Messiah faculty are notified of the semester work submission deadlines by the Copyright and Educational Support Specialist (Diane Hunsinger) approximately 4-6 weeks before the materials are due. This allows ample time to obtain copyright clearance for course materials (if necessary) and production of your coursepack at College Press.
  2. Faculty must complete the online course materials form located on the ITS blog at this link: http://www.messiah.edu/forms/form/331/en/use_of_copyrighted_course_materials The online form allows you to enter/attach your copyright clearance requests, automatically creates the work requisition, and allows you to attach a PDF file of your coursepack or lab manual.
  3. It is imperative that faculty who plan to sell a coursepack/lab manual to students notify Aleisha Wildon, course materials manager, Campus Store and Textbook Express.
  4. VERY IMPORTANT: Following the deadlines allows ample time for production, ensures our students have a positive experience when purchasing and receiving their course materials, and the instructor has the assurance that their coursepack is available for students to purchase before classes begin.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Diane Hunsinger, copyright and educational support specialist, at ext. 3895.

Silent Auction – 2009 Ford Focus

Messiah College will be offering the silent auction sale of a 2009 Ford Focus fleet vehicle. The car has just over 68,000 miles on it. It was purchased new by the college and all of the maintenance records for service work that has been done to it over the years would be available at the time of purchase. The vehicle will be sold “as is” and “without warranty.” The car can be seen at the Lenhert Building starting on May 23. The car and bidding is available for Messiah employees and immediate family members only (spouse and children) only. Anyone who test drives the car must be on the Messiah College approved drivers list. If interested silent sealed written bids, with the name and phone number of the bidder can be given to Facility Services at the Lenhert Building starting on May 23. The sealed bids will be opened on May 30. The car will be sold to the highest bidder. Bidding starts at $5,500. The car is inspected through June 2017. All taxes, registration transfer fees, and notary fees will be the cost of the purchaser. Any questions can be directed to Brad Markley at ext. 3500.

Upcoming summer conferences

Please welcome the following groups to our campus:

  • May 19 and 20 – Christian Missionary and Alliance Church will be hosting “SEEK.” Guests will be on campus on Friday, 5:30-9 p.m. and Saturday, 7:30 a.m. -5 p.m. Most events will take place in the High Center with an anticipated attendance of 675.
  • May 25-27 – Evangelical Congregational Church will be in Brubaker Auditorium. Anticipated attendance is 275.
  • May 25 – Business Women’s Forum will take place in the High Center. Anticipated audience is 400.

Curator Club and CC2 at The Oakes Museum of Natural History

Registration is open for Curator Club (grades 3-5) and CC2 (grades 6-8). These programs provide science education on a variety of topics in a fun learning environment. Topics include Africa, scientific method, geology and fossils, recycling, a creek study and North American animals. A flyer is attached. Curator Club begins this Saturday! Please visit our website messiah.edu/oakes, email us at curatorsclub@messiah.edu or contact us office at ext. 2659 with any questions.

Classifieds:

For sale:

Pfaltzgraff Naturewood Dishes. 9 place settings available – includes plates, salad plates, bowls and mugs (10). Also includes 2 serving bowls, cream pitcher, candy dish and small vase. 42 pieces for $75. Contact Creta Bieber at cbieber@messiah.edu. Picture attached. More detailed pictures available upon request.

Local Townhouse. 2711 High St. 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, freshly painted, new floors, new fridge, dish washer, new heat pump, new plumbing, and storage shed. $130,000. It will be listed in June. Contact Shirley Groff at: groff@messiah.edu for more information.

Bicycles and accessories for sale. 2 complete Comfort Deluxe Raleigh bicycles, Ladies 16” frame-26” wheels, Men’s 19” frame-28” wheels, 24 speed, shock-forks, comfort seats, security, mirrors, odometers, tire pump, cup holders. Two helmets. Two bike rack for car. Less than 1000 miles. Excellent Condition, $400. For more information, contact Gina Hale at ghale@messiah.edu

20″ Boy’s Avigo Striker-X BMX bicycle. Adjustable seat. Bell. Front & rear caliper brakes; coaster brakes. Gently used. Asking $60 or best offer. Please contact Bob Feil at ext. 2366 or rfeil@messiah.edu for more details or to make an offer.