Your faithfulness continues throughout generations; You established the earth, and it stands.
Psalm 74:17
NEWS
Michael True, senior associate in the Career and Professional Development Center, has been asked to keynote at several events. In May, he will present the keynote address at the annual conference of the South Carolina Association of Colleges and Employers in Charleston, and present a webinar to the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers. In June, he will present the keynote at Central Penn College’s Business Partnership Breakfast.
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The search committee, the provost and I are pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Kate Oswald Wilkins as the new assistant dean of general education and common learning. Kate brings excellent experiences as a department chair, as professor of communication and as director of assessment with her to this role. We look forward to Kate’s planned start on Aug. 1. Please take time to congratulate Kate on her new role as she gives leadership to this essential segment of the Messiah curriculum and to our students’ education. Many thanks to the search committee for their involvement and commitment to a very strong process (Angela Hare, Peter Powers, Gregg Hurley, John Bechtold, Christina Hanson and Carrie Widdowson). Bill Strausbaugh, associate provost and vice president for information technology
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Messiah College’s capstone marketing class, Marketing Management and Strategy, taught by Professor of Marketing David Hagenbuch, participated in a marketing plan competition this semester sponsored by the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Marketing Association. The ‘live case’ focused on New York Life’s need to hire more Generation Z employees.
On April 5, three members of the class Olivia Crawford, Sara Mammano and Matthew Zimmerman, traveled to Point Park University in Pittsburgh to participate in the competition finale. Ten other teams competed, including ones from Duquesne University, Robert Morris University and the University of Pittsburgh. Marketing professionals judged the schools’ written marketing plans, tabletop poster displays, and oral presentations. Messiah College’s marketing team won first place.
MESSIAH 411
Retirement recognition for Rhonda and Jake Jacobsen
After serving as educators, scholars and faculty leaders at Messiah College for the past 35 years, Dr. Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, professor of psychology and recent director of faculty development, and Dr. Douglas (Jake) Jacobsen, distinguished professor of church history and theology and coordinator of Christian scholarship, have announced their planned retirement at the end of the 2018-2019 academic year.
Rhonda began her career as a professor of psychology and became the director of faculty development in 1996. In her more than two decades in faculty development, Rhonda served as a support, resource and advocate for faculty scholarship at the College and provided leadership for both new faculty as well as more seasoned Messiah educators.
In addition to his position as distinguished professor of church history and theology, Jake has served for many years as the coordinator of Christian scholarship and college identity, a role through which he created opportunities for faculty to engage with the enlivening ideas and questions of scholarship informed by Christian faith.
In addition to campus leadership, Jake and Rhonda served as co-directors of the Lilly-funded Clergy Leadership program, have published numerous scholarly books and articles, and been sought-after speakers for conferences around the globe. We are pleased to invite the Messiah community to join us in celebrating their dedication and service to the College on Thursday, May 2 from 3-5 p.m. in Howe Atrium, Boyer Hall. A drop-in reception with hors d’oeuvres is planned at 3 p.m. with a program honoring Rhonda and Jake beginning at 4 p.m.
If you would like to contribute notes of appreciation, photos or memorabilia for Rhonda in her role as director of faculty development or Jake in his role as coordinator of Christian scholarship, please send materials to Katie Kalata: kkalata@messiah.edu
Oakes Museum Spring Open House
Join us at The Oakes Museum of Natural History for our Spring Open House! View our exhibition of Daniel Fliehler’s photographs of the Wildlife of Messiah College, meet the photographer, go on a guided hike to hear where/how to take good photos, then enter our Photography Contest*. Saturday, May 4, 1 -5 p.m.
- 1:30 p.m. – Meet the photographer
- 2 p.m. – Guided photography hike
- 3:30 p.m. – Meet the photographer
There will also be a craft project for children. See the flyer here. Admission is free, so invite a friend. You do not need to RSVP for this event. Please contact the museum office at 717- 691-6082 or email us at oakesmuseum@messiah.edu if you have questions. *Three winners will be chosen from photographs of the plants, animals or landscapes on campus. The grand prize winner will receive a prize and all winners will have their photos displayed in the museum through August. Daniel is a senior environmental science major and an avid photographer. Visit his website to see more of his work, https://danielfliehler.zenfolio.com/.
CFA Collegiate Financial Plan Award
Congratulations to Brian Gilroy, a senior business major/finance minor, for placing 8th in the CFA Society of Pittsburgh’s annual Collegiate Financial Plan competition. Brian’s submission was chosen from a competitive field of 250 financial plans submitted by students from colleges and universities across the state of Pennsylvania.
School of Science, Engineering and Health Symposium
The 16th Annual Symposium of the School of Science, Engineering and Health will be held on Friday, May 3 in Frey, Jordan and Kline academic buildings. More than 150 students from within the school will participate in oral and poster presentations in sessions that are scheduled throughout the day. A detailed schedule and program is available on the Symposium website at: https://www.messiah.edu/sehsymposium Celebrate the work, creativity and innovation reflected in the rich and diverse variety of oral and poster presentations. Many presentations will describe basic or applied research projects and represent the culmination of months (or years) of effort by graduating seniors. A number of presentations will highlight how talents and resources are being used to address needs in the developing world. Plan to join us to celebrate the accomplishments of the students!
Save the date for the Employee Recognition Reception!
Please save the date and put the Employee Recognition Reception for 2019 in your schedule! You are welcome to come to cheer on your colleagues even if you are not receiving a service award this year. The date is Tuesday, May 21, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in Brubaker Auditorium. A beautiful brunch will be a part of this popular event.
Connecting Communities Conference: Building Resiliency and Hope
The School of Business, Education and Social Sciences invites you to attend the first annual Connecting Communities Conference. This unique conference is designed to connect Messiah College and our surrounding community to discuss timely societal issues and explore possibilities for the future. This first conference is themed, “Building Resiliency and Hope.” Our Keynote speaker, Mr. Ron Byler, will share with us how communities in Syria and other parts of the world build hope and resilience through their tenacity and commitment.
- Date: Friday, April 26
- Where: Hostetter Chapel
- When: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
We hope you can join us! Cost is $10 for Messiah employees, $5 for students. Special note: Students may be eligible to use department funds for the cost of registration. To register: https://www.messiah.edu/a/registration/connecting-communities/ Please contact Stephanie Patterson (spatterson@messiah.edu) with any questions.
Class of 2018 “First Destination” Report Now Available
The Career and Professional Development Center is pleased to provide you with the newly released “First Destination” survey report (https://www.messiah.edu/info/23060/graduates_career_destinations) for the undergraduate Class of 2018. This report highlights employment and graduate school outcomes for 74% of our most recent graduating class. It’s important to note that this report focuses on destinations of alumni specifically within the first 6-9 months after graduation. To see more longitudinal data related to career outcomes, I invite you to visit the Messiah College page on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/19549/people/).
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Class of 2019 survey is now live and available to current seniors: http://messiah.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a4ZQHThl4M41G9T. Please encourage your students who have confirmed their plans to respond. If you have questions on information included in the attached report, please feel free to contact me or the coordinator of this survey, Abby Book, abook@messiah.edu. Thanks for all you do to support our students’ career and professional development.
The Institutional Repository has a name!
The institutional repository has an official name! 50 naming ideas were submitted and the name, MOSAIC, was selected by the task force! This naming idea came from Andrew Zimmerman. Submissions from Matthew Roth and Earl Henry were also top finalists. MOSAIC stands for Messiah’s Open Scholarship And Intellectual Creativity. The repository will be an online website that will showcase COE and student scholarship and creative works plus college and church archival collections. It will include text, images, sound and video, and will freely share high quality content to users around the world. The institutional repository is funded by the Sawyer Digital Proficiency Initiative. The website will go live on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Learn more: https://libguides.messiah.edu/Mosaic/start
Reminder from the Key Services Department
If you’re a supervisor to students in work-study positions, internships, etc., please remind your students that their keys need to be returned prior to their departure for summer. The Lenhert front office is open Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m-4 p.m. If the student is not able to turn the key in to the Lenhert front office during business hours, please contact Key Services for further key return instructions. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure the students turn in their keys before leaving campus. Failure to do so will result in the department being charged the associated fines. If the student is assigned work/projects during the summer and has a need for their keys after May, an email must be sent to Key Services from their supervisor indicating the revised due date for the key. Any keys – regardless of whether they are held by employees or students – are subject to a minimum $75 fee per key if they are not returned and/or lost. Please contact Jen Peachey in Key Services at keyservices@messiah.edu if you have questions about keys. Thank you for your cooperation.
Haley Clasen from the Department of Politics delivers Honors Presentation
On Thursday, April 25, Haley Clasen will deliver her honors presentation entitled, “Refugee Integration in Regional Host States: The Comparative Experiences of Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.” Her research investigates the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis in the Middle East. Some refugees have already been in their new host countries Jordan and Lebanon for upwards of five years, and a timeline for return is uncertain at best. Further, host societies struggle under the weight of so many newcomers as existing social, political, and economic tensions are exacerbated. Haley’s presentation will explore the different dynamics refugees experience in these two Levantine host countries.
Join us in Boyer 131, beginning at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
Annual Juried Student Show and reception
Please join the Department of Art and Design for their Annual Juried Student Show 2018-2019, May 3-Sept. 6, in the Climenhaga Building, Aughinbaugh Art Gallery. The President’s Reception with remarks by President Dr. Kim Phipps and Robert Armetta, guest juror of awards takes place on Friday, May 3, 6-8 p.m., Climenhaga Building, Aughinbaugh Art Gallery. This reception is free and open to the public. Please see arts.messiah.edu for more information.
Changes to the Tier 1 Tuition Reduction Benefit
College Council, upon recommendation from the Personnel Subcommittee, has approved a revision to the Tier I (Messiah College only) tuition reduction benefit. Specifically, the time required to fully vest in Tier I tuition reduction benefits has been significantly reduced. The current benefit requires employees to work for the College for six years in order to be fully vested in the Tier I tuition reduction benefit. Effective July 1, employees will fully vest in Tier I tuition reduction benefits after three years of completed service. The new vesting model is provided below: Full-time Employees Part-time employees (regularly scheduled to work at least 1000 hours/year)
| Years vested |
Full-time employee |
Part-time employee |
| After one year |
33.3% |
16.6% |
| After two years |
66.6% |
33.3% |
| After three years |
100% |
50% |
Any currently eligible employee with less than four years of completed service will be adjusted to this vesting schedule.
Open enrollment for benefits, May 13 – May 31
Messiah College encourages the health and financial well-being of its employees by providing access to quality and affordable healthcare as well as other valuable benefits.
Open Enrollment is the time to assess your benefits and make elections for the new year (July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020). This year we will be offering online enrollment as well as access to the Benefit Call Center provided by PECWorksite.
All benefit eligible employees will be required to make their benefit elections online or via the Messiah College Benefit Call Center between May 13, 2019 and May 31, 2019. Further instruction will be provided when Open Enrollment begins.
The Benefit Center may not have complete information on all the dependents you wish to cover. When you call the Benefit Center, please have the following dependent information ready: names, date of birth, social security numbers, addresses and phone numbers.
There are important changes to our benefit plans for the FY20 year. Specifically, although we are staying with Highmark Blue Shield, there are changes in our health plans as well as changes in dental, retirement and the education benefits. As such, it is important to attend an open enrollment meeting in order to be fully educated on the changes so that you can make informed benefit decisions.
| Date |
Time |
Location |
| Monday, May 13, 2019 |
2:00 pm |
Parmer Cinema – Boyer Hall |
| Tuesday, May 14, 2019 |
9:00 am
3:00 pm |
Parmer Cinema – Boyer Hall |
| Wednesday, May 22, 2019 |
2:30 pm |
Parmer Cinema – Boyer Hall |
| Thursday, May 23, 2019 |
Noon
7:00 pm
9:00 pm |
Parmer Cinema – Boyer Hall |
| Friday, May 24, 2019 |
11:30 am |
Parmer Cinema – Boyer Hall |
| Wednesday, May 29, 2019 |
10:30 am |
Parmer Cinema – Boyer Hall |
| Thursday, May 30, 2019 |
Noon |
Parmer Cinema – Boyer Hall |
| Friday, May 31, 2019 |
10:00 am |
Parmer Cinema – Boyer Hall |
Please feel free to contact Su Deitch at x7085 or sdeitch@messiah.edu if you have questions.
CLASSIFIEDS
Job opportunities
The Campus Information Center has an opening for a part-time college receptionist. For more information and to apply, please visit: http://jobs.messiah.edu/postings/15095. Job related questions may be directed to Cindy Sterling, ticket and billing coordinator at csterling@messiah.edu.
For sale
House for sale, 2500 sq ft, 2.3 miles from campus, Mechanicsburg School District, wonderful neighbors. Three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, finished basement, 2 car garage. See posting: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/524-Appalachian-Ave-Mechanicsburg-PA-17055/9291607_zpid/?view=public or contact Lori at lzimmerman@messiah.edu.
Pontiac Vibe. Asking $3,000. We’re selling our Pontiac vibe that we’ve owned for a few years. Low mileage per year (< 5000mi/year the last 3 years). Updated inspection (May 2020). New tires. New brakes. Stereo works, but CD player doesn’t. Great car for getting around town. For more information contact Brandon Hoover at bhoover@messiah.edu.
For rent
House for rent. 2 bedrooms, 1 and 1/2 bath, basement, carport, heat pump/ac, nice yard, quiet neighborhood, newly remodeled, Shiremanstown. No pets, no smoking. $1285/month + utilities. Pictures available upon request. Contact: Stephanie Cramer: scramer@messiah.edu
Wanted
Searching for a female roommate. I am looking for a female roommate to join me in my downtown Mechanicsburg apartment. I have an extra bedroom in my two floor apartment with lots of space. We would share a kitchen, furnished living room and bathroom. The apartment has a deck that overlooks the street. There is on street parking in front of the apartment. Please send me an email if you or someone you know may be interested! Rebekah Smith: rpsmith@messiah.edu.
Cleaning your garage or shed and looking for a place to go with your old pots? We need quart, 1/2 gal., and gallon sized pots. Contact rhamon@messiah.edu. Will pick up.
OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS
Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Fundraiser
Joella is the 3 year old daughter of Mario Migliori, an adjunct professor in the Graduate Business and Leadership program. Joella was born with VACTREL association and went through 15 surgeries by 6 months of age. She is now a healthy toddler who wants you to attend the below awesome event to help give children like her the #giftofgrowingup! Joella’s Bluegrass BASH for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) will be held April 27 from 1-3 p.m. at Vibrant – A Christian Church, 1775 Lambs Gap Rd, Mechanicsburg. Featuring local Bluegrass band “Slo-Grass” There will be local BBQ lunch for sale, a silent auction, local craft and vendor tables all for $5 at the door!!! It’s a Win Win!!!!! Help the Kids, Hear great Music, get lunch and shop local!!! The following link is available for anyone who cannot attend the event but would like to donate: https://www.cmnhershey.org/campaign/Joella-s-Blue-Grass-Bash-for-CMN-
Contact Mario for more information at mmigliori@messiah.edu.
Threefold Cord Women’s Choir presents My Scars, His Story
The Threefold Cord Women’s Choir will present My Scars, His Story. Told as a story would be, this program outlines the characters, setting, plot, conflict and resolution that exists in the Easter story. Join us on Saturday, April 27 at 7 p.m. at the Grantham Church. There is no admission cost, but donations for Peace Promise will be accepted. www.threefoldcordwomenschoir.com www.peacepromise.org For more information contact Rachel Cornacchio: rcornacchio@messiah.edu
