Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew: 11: 28-30
NEWS:
Please welcome Lauren Peters, senior accounting analyst, to the Division of Finance and Planning. Lauren comes to Messiah College from Ahold Financial Services where she served as a senior accountant. She begins her role on March 1. Please join us in welcoming Lauren to Messiah College.
_________________________
Over the coming spring, summer and fall, a number of programs and offices across campus will see transitions in leadership. The Office of the Provost is pleased to provide the following updates and announcements.
Graduate and Undergraduate Education:
Dr. Nancy Patrick, professor of Special Education and director for the Graduate Program in Education, will retire at the end of the 2017-2018 academic year, having been at Messiah College since 2002. We are grateful for her dedicated and enthusiastic leadership in education and wish her well as she moves toward new opportunities.
After serving as the founding director of the Teaching and Learning Initiative for the previous three years, The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce that Dr. Jennifer Fisler, professor of Education, will assume leadership of the Graduate Program in Education. Dr. Fisler will also continue to bring her expertise and leadership abilities to the undergraduate teacher education programming at Messiah as the assistant dean of Teacher Education. Please join me in supporting and congratulating Dr. Fisler in her new role.
Faculty Development:
At the conclusion of the 2017-2018 academic year, Dr. Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen will be stepping down as director of faculty development to devote more time to projects connecting higher education and Christian faith. Rhonda assumed leadership of faculty development in 1996, initiating the Provost’s Seminar and warmly welcoming every incoming class of educators since then. She has been a strong and consistent advocate for faculty, helping educators to discover and maximize their gifts.
The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce that Dr. Alison Noble, associate professor of chemistry and special assistant to the provost, will assume leadership of the office as director of faculty development, transitioning into the role during the summer of 2018. Dr. Noble’s support for faculty and scholarship, superb work in the classroom, and knowledge of faculty governance structures and policy make her an excellent fit for this position.
There will also be an organizational change in the summer of 2018, bringing the Teaching and Learning Initiative under the larger umbrella of Faculty Development. The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce that Dr. Cynthia Wells, associate professor of higher education and director of The Ernest L. Boyer Center, will assume the role of associate director of faculty development for teaching and learning. Dr. Wells’ expertise in teaching, scholarship and Christian faith and academic vocation make her ideally suited to serving in this capacity.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Noble and Dr. Wells to these new roles. We look forward to their contributions in support of faculty development at Messiah.
_________________________
Messiah College was well represented at 2018’s Lancaster Learns, a one-day conference that was held on the campus of Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences on Friday, Feb. 23. Messiah College contributed as a conference sponsor, and Jennifer Fisler, director of the Teaching and Learning Initiative, served on the planning committee. In addition to promoting the event in these ways, the Teaching and Learning Initiative provided support to encourage faculty attendance in this regional opportunity to advance excellent teaching in higher education. Several Messiah faculty presented at breakout sessions during the day. • Maya Georgieva, assistant professor of counseling, shared her ideas in a presentation titled “What Not to Do for Effective Learning.” • Valerie Lemmon, associate professor of psychology, Jennifer Thomson, associate professor of biopsychology, and Shelly Skinner, associate professor of Christian ministries, collaborated for their session “Teaching Grit and Vocation across the Curriculum.” • Cynthia Lehman, senior lecturer in mathematics, and Daniel Inouye, assistant professor of theatre, presented on “Best Practices for Teaching First-Generation Latino Students.” Many other Messiah College educators attended the conference, including Cindi Kerns, instructional designer; Rocky Allinger, instructional designer; Cynthia Wells, associate professor of higher education/acting director of teaching and learning; Amy Ginck, senior lecturer in Spanish/teaching and learning fellow; Megan Gross, assistant professor of nursing; Amy Porto, associate professor of nutrition and dietetics; Sherry Boyce, professor of biology; and Gladys Robalino, chair of modern languages and associate professor of Spanish.
The Office of the Provost:
Over the last year, Dr. Alison Noble has provided support to the Office of the Provost as special assistant to the Provost. Beginning Fall 2018, she will begin a half-time position as assistant provost, with some transitional duties in this role during Summer 2018. In this capacity, she will continue to provide support to the Office of the Provost as well as provide leadership for designated projects, mainly in areas relating to educator and ranked faculty governance and continued facilitation of the new term-tenure and promotion process.
MESSIAH 411:
Employees encouraged to submit nominations for Pride in Performance Awards
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 at http://www.messiah.edu/info/20588/employees/972/employee_forms by Friday, March 16. Further information on performance awards, can be viewed at http://www.messiah.edu/info/20733/employee_recognition.
Employees invited to submit nominations for Team Falcon Award
The Team Falcon Award is an opportunity to recognize a group or team that collaborated successfully on a significant project or initiative to advance departmental or College-wide goals.
Eligible groups
Eligible teams include units, departments, task forces and committees or other cross-departmental work groups. The team may be comprised of part-time or full-time staff, administrative and/or faculty employees. Team members recognized must have had significant involvement in the accomplishment of the project, process or initiative. Generally, teams will consist of 3 to 10 individuals. One team will be recognized each year.
Criteria
The Team Falcon Award is used to recognize a work group based on the following criteria:
- The team made a significant contribution towards achievement of a strategic goal
- The team exhibited innovation, creativity and excellence
- The group fostered a team environment that promoted communication, trust, cooperation and respect for differences.
Award
Each member of the team recognized will receive a distinctive commemorative gift and the team will be hosted for lunch by the division vice president or provost.
Recommendations for the award
Any employee can nominate a deserving team. The recommendation must be submitted to the division vice president/provost by Friday, March 16. Division vice presidents/provost are encouraged to solicit recommendations that cross functional boundaries. Each division vice president/provost will review all submissions for his/her division and select those teams that he/she feels best meet the criteria for the award. President’s Cabinet will vote to select the team to receive the award.
Your recommendation will be confidential; only the employees selected as award recipients will know that their names were offered for consideration. Teams are not eligible to receive a subsequent award for three years. See the list of prior recipients here. Nominations must be submitted using the Team Falcon Award Nomination form found at http://www.messiah.edu/info/20588/employees/972/employee_forms. Further information on performance awards, can be viewed at http://www.messiah.edu/info/20733/employee_recognition.
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.
Safety recalls
Every year thousands of items are recalled for safety issues. Many of these recalls are not well advertised and do not involve products that required registration, so consumers are often unaware of them. Electric kettles, bikes, electric blankets, hair dryers, children’s clothing, children’s toys, mugs, batteries, candles, crossbows, window blinds, mowers, comforters…these are just a few of the recent safety recalls found on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website at https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2018. Be proactive and make a point of reviewing the CPSC information routinely – you may be surprised at what you find.
Alumni Awards Dinner
The Office of Alumni and Parent Relations welcomes the campus community, Messiah alumni and guests to the 2018 Alumni Awards Dinner where we will recognize and celebrate several individuals who have made outstanding contributions to society and/or Messiah College. The Alumni Awards Dinner will take place Saturday, April 14, from 5-7 p.m. in Martin Commons. The evening will include a greeting from President Kim Phipps, a buffet-style dinner and a program honoring this year’s award recipients. • Young Alumni Achievement Award: Levi Landis ‘03 • Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award: Peter Greer ‘97 • Alumni Christian Service Award: Jacob and Nancy Shenk ’58 • Alumni Appreciation Award: Dean Curry Cost is $15 per person. Seats are limited and pre-registration by Friday, March 24 is required. To register, please visit http://attend.com/alumniawards2018. As a Messiah College employee, you will have the option to pay via journal voucher or your personal credit card, depending on the nature for your attendance and/or participation in this event. If you would like to reserve an entire table (8 seats, $120), please directly contact the Alumni Office at 717-796-5252. For more information about the Alumni Awards or to see a list of previous award recipients, please click here. For questions about the event, please contact mshellenberger@messiah.edu.
GO ED Africa and GO ED Mekong representatives to visit campus On Thursday, March 1, GO ED student life coordinators David Reid and Rachel Clarkson-Reid will be on campus to talk to students about studying with the GO ED Programs in Rwanda and Thailand. If you are interested in having them speak to your classes about opportunities to study with GO ED, please contact Faith Minnich Kjesbo fminnnich@messiah.edu or ext. 7373. You can also set up an appointment to meet with David and Rachel one-on-one if you would like to learn more about the program. GO ED will be hosting an information session on Thursday, March 1 at 4 p.m. in Boyer 102. Please encourage interested students to attend. For more information about the GO ED Programs, please browse: • Africa: http://www.messiah.edu/homepage/958/goed_africa • Mekong: http://www.messiah.edu/homepage/1014/goed_mekong
CLASSIFIEDS:
Job opportunities
Lifeguards/WSIs needed at a small community pool. Certified lifeguards and WSIs needed. Lake Meade Pool has openings for certified lifeguards this summer. If interested, applicants must be 16 years of age and a certified lifeguard or water safety instructor. For more information, please contact: Maude Yacapsin at myacapsin@messiah.edu and it will be forwarded to Michele Ludy at Lake Meade Community Pool and Property Owners Association (about 20-25 minutes from campus) Forest Drive, East Berlin, Pennsylvania http://www.lakemeade.org/item_list.asp?subcat=114&subtitle=Employment
The Dept. of Dining Services has an opening for a full-time baker. For additional information and to apply, please see: http://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/12433. Job related questions may be directed to Mark Wirtz at mwirtz@messiah.edu.
For rent
Messiah College male alumni is looking for a roommate to share a 2 bedroom townhouse end unit at 651 W. Lisburn Rd. beginning April 1. Rent is $390 plus 1/2 water and electricity. Please contact Dale Fogelsanger, dfogelsa@messiah.edu, 717-623-0735 or Caleb McGaughrin 724-541-3047.
