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Former names | Eastern Mennonite School (1917–1947) Eastern Mennonite College (1947–1994) [1] |
---|---|
Motto | "Preparing students to serve and lead globally." Guiding biblical verse: "Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God." (Micah 6:8) |
Type | Private university |
Established | 1917 |
Religious affiliation | Mennonite Church USA |
Endowment | $25.587 million (as of 2014) [2] |
President | Susan Schultz Huxman |
Provost | Tynisha D. Willingham |
Academic staff | Approximately 100 full-time and 100 part-time faculty |
Undergraduates | 892 (fall 2022) [3] |
Postgraduates | 442 (fall 2022) |
Location | , U.S. 38°28′15″N78°52′46″W / 38.470966°N 78.879519°W |
Colors | White, black and royal blue |
Nickname | Royals |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division III Old Dominion Athletic Conference Continental Volleyball Conference |
Mascot | HeRM (His Royal Majesty) the Lion |
Website | www |
Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) is a private Mennonite university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The university also operates a satellite campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which primarily caters to working adults. [4] EMU is known for its Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP), particularly its graduate program in conflict transformation. [5] [6]
Eastern Mennonite University was launched in 1917 as the Eastern Mennonite School by a group of Mennonite church members. They recognized that their church-centered communities needed to offer schooling beyond the basic level for young-adult Mennonites. [7] These church leaders sought to stem the tide toward enrolling in secular educational institutions. [8] One of that founding group, Bishop George R. Brunk Sr., stated that "the world standard of education is self-centered, self-exalting, and materialistic." By contrast, he advocated a form of Christian education that "expands and develops the God-given powers both natural and spiritual, guides them [students] into channels of activity most conducive to God's glory and the blessing of mankind." [9]
Eastern Mennonite's first registrar, John Early Suter, believed that the university should offer secular academics in addition to Bible classes, and he was one of the first two such teachers. [10] The Suter Science Center was named in honor of J. Early Suter's son, Daniel Suter, who taught in the Biology department from 1948 to 1985. [11] In 1947, the school began to offer bachelors degrees in subjects other than theology and changed its name for the first time, becoming Eastern Mennonite College.
In 1948–49, EMU admitted two local African American students, becoming one of the first historically white colleges in the U.S. South to integrate prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [12] (The University of Arkansas also admitted African American students, beginning in 1948.) [13]
EMU served only members of the Mennonite church in the early and mid 1900s, but since then has educated thousands other than its original constituency of "Anabaptists," a broad term for Mennonites and kindred subscribers to the theology of Anabaptism. [14] EMU and its seminary are affiliated with the Mennonite Education Agency of the Mennonite Church USA, as are five other higher education institutions in Kansas, Indiana and Ohio – Bethel College (Kansas), Goshen College, Bluffton University, Hesston College and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. [15]
In 1994, the college changed its name for a second time, becoming Eastern Mennonite University.
In the last 20 years in particular, EMU has attracted people from all over the world and various faiths who are interested in the way it combines peace, social justice, simplicity and community. [16] [17] EMU orients its students toward "experiential learning" (i.e. hands-on learning, connected to real-world work), "creation care" (environmental sustainability), and "cross-cultural engagement" (required of all undergraduates). [18] [19]
The university made national news in 2015 when it, along with Goshen College (also associated with the Mennonite Church USA), added sexual orientation to their nondiscrimination policy. [20] This allowed the school to begin hiring faculty or staff members who were in a same-sex marriage. The decision put the school somewhat at odds with its affiliated denomination, the Mennonite Church USA, and out of step with the interests of the CCCU, of which it was a founding member. [21] This decision prompted two fellow Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) member schools – Union University and Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU) – to quit the organization in protest. [22] The two Mennonite schools later chose to withdraw their membership from the consortium in order to spare "significant division" within the CCCU's ranks. [23] [24]
EMU attempts to graduate people oriented toward the wider world and toward helping others. The wider Mennonite culture of service is reflected in the university's mission statement. [18] EMU is home to the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and its mission statement refers to Micah 6:8 on doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with God.
EMU claims that it is a leader among universities countywide in low-energy consumption, solar energy production, sustainable new construction, recycling, and composting efforts. [25] [26] [27] [28] Three residence halls meet the gold-level requirements of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). [27]
The university hosts the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) which includes a graduate program in conflict transformation. [5] CJP has educated and trained more than 3,000 people from 124 countries. [29] CJP's founding director, John Paul Lederach, and its expert in restorative justice, Howard Zehr, are considered to be international leaders in the fields of peace and justice. [30]
The school's "Community Lifestyle Commitment" statement had been cited as reason for terminating the employment of faculty and staff members who were sexually active gay men or lesbians. [31] In 2004, then-President Loren Swartzendruber stated that the university's and Mennonite Church USA's policy was that "sexual relationships are reserved for a man and a woman in marriage" and applied equally to faculty members who are heterosexual. He noted that two heterosexual employees had also been let go after having extramarital sexual relationships. [32]
However, in November 2013 EMU's Board of Trustees suspended the enforcement of its same-sex relationships policy and authorized Swartzendruber to lead a six-month study of whether or not to allow tenure-track faculty to pursue same-sex relationships without censure. [33]
On 16 July 2015, EMU's board added "sexual orientation" to their non-discrimination policy, allowing for the hiring of faculty and staff involved in same-sex marriages. [20]
As of 2010 EMU's undergraduate programs included 35 majors, 16 teacher education certification programs, 9 pre-professional programs such as pre-engineering and health sciences, and 4 associate degrees. [34] Both the Harrisonburg and Lancaster locations offer an Adult Degree Completion Program. [35] [36] 98% of job-seeking graduate from the class of 2021 were employed within 12 months of graduation. [37]
Each year EMU offers high-achieving high school students the opportunity to be part of the university's honors program. Selected students can receive 50% to 100% tuition scholarships, renewable for each year of undergraduate study. They also receive mentoring from assigned faculty members and attend honors seminars and social gatherings together. [38]
EMU was one of the earliest colleges to require cross-cultural study of all undergraduates, with a university-sponsored program beginning in the 1970s. [39] EMU recommends that its undergraduate students earn 15 semester hours of credit by living, studying and serving in cross-cultural settings. [40] Nine cross-cultural credits are the minimum number required for graduation; these can be earned through in-class study and a summer stint of three to six weeks in a cross-cultural setting. [40] Most undergraduates embark on semester-long, faculty-led, cross-cultural experiences, usually involving home stays in non-U.S. settings, such as Israel, Guatemala, South Africa, India, Spain and Morocco. [41] But some students opt to satisfy the cross-cultural requirement by studying and interning in Washington, D.C., while living in EMU-owned housing supervised by faculty members. [42] Others choose individualized alternatives, such as a summer of studying business with an international manufacturer or 11 months of service with the SALT program of Mennonite Central Committee. [43]
More than 75% of EMU's faculty members have lived in a cross-cultural context. [44] The leaders of EMU-sponsored trips are drawn from the ranks of faculty and staff members who have had extensive experience in the settings to which they are leading students. [45] Since 2001, three EMU faculty members have been Fulbright Scholars. [46] [47]
EMU's Graduate School offers master's degrees. Extensive summer study programs are available through: [48] EMU's Summer Peacebuilding Institute (four consecutive sessions); Washington Community Scholars' Program; Summer Bridge Scholarship Program, in which EMU collaborates with the National Science Foundation to offer scholarships for incoming science students to spend a summer working with faculty; a Ministry Inquiry Program in which upper-level students are able to spend 11 weeks as an intern in a congregation; nine-day Summer Institute for Spiritual Formation; graduate-level courses for teachers. [49] The Intensive English Program attracts students who need to improve their mastery of spoken and written English before continuing into higher studies at EMU or another American college. [50]
Eastern Mennonite's 361-word "Community Lifestyle Commitment" was adopted by the board of trustees in 2001. [51] With this document as a guide, the institution expects its employees and students to commit themselves to a lifestyle based on "clearly stated expectations [to] promote orderly community life," coupled with "trust in and responsibility to one another". [51] It calls for "stewardship of mind, time, abilities and finances" and takes the unusual step of asking for "social responsibility in my standard of living and use of economic resources". EMU expects community members to "respect and abide by the university policy that prohibits the use of alcohol and tobacco on campus or at university functions and the misuse of alcohol off campus". [51]
The statement also asks community members to refrain from "sexual harassment and abuse, pornography, acts of violence, abusive or demeaning language and the use of illegal drugs" as well as "sexual relationships outside of marriage". [51] However, the school does permit homosexual activity within the confines of marriage. [21]
Residential undergraduates, faculty, and staff gather for twice-weekly chapel services planned by the campus pastoral team. Voluntary Bible study and worship also occur in smaller settings during the week and on weekends. [52]
The Campus Ministries program sponsors activities such as campus-wide chapels on Wednesday and Friday mornings, a student-led praise-style service on Sunday evenings, monthly hymn sings and Taize worship services, annual "spiritual life week", and service experiences under the Young People's Christian Association. [53] Campus Ministries is led by the three trained pastors, assisted by students at various stages in their education including seminary students at EMU. Pastoral Assistants live in residence buildings and plan voluntary weekly activities. [54]
As a result of EMU's location, bicycling is popular among the faculty and students as a means to commute, do errands, and for recreational jaunts around the countryside, both on and off roads. [55] [56]
Other popular outdoor activities are kayaking & canoeing, swimming, golfing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting & fishing, spelunking and skiing & other winter sports at nearby private and public parks and centers, such as Shenandoah National Park, George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, and Massanutten Four-Season Resort. [57] On campus, students, staff and faculty maintain a greenhouse, an arboretum, and a large vegetable garden. [58]
Indoor recreational features include gyms (for basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer, etc.), fitness center with exercise equipment, and climbing wall. [59] Swimmers head 2.1 miles to the year-round municipal swimming pool at Westover Park. [60]
EMU's sports teams are known as the Royals. In most sports, EMU competes as NCAA Division III, a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Sports include field hockey, cross country, basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball, softball, indoor and outdoor track and field, and golf. [61]
Two-thirds of EMU's students participate in intramural sports, playing against peers as well as college employees, in friendly, often coed competitions. [62] In 2009–10, dozens of teams competed at various levels in basketball, billiards, floor hockey, flag football, golf, table tennis, and dodgeball. [63]
Beyond physical activities, students at EMU are involved in clubs and groups typical of college campuses, such as student government, the student newspaper, literary magazine and theater productions. [64]
Students participate from a variety of choral and instrumental musical groups, including men's, women's, and mixed vocal ensembles, as well as chamber and wind ensembles, a jazz band, and a chamber orchestra. [65] EMU's music department is home to the proficient hymnal editor, faculty member, and chamber singers director Ken J. Nafziger, who also directs and conducts the annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival and the Winchester Musica Viva. [66]
Eastern Michigan University, is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school established in the United States and the first American normal school founded outside New England. In 1899, the Michigan State Normal School became the first normal school in the nation to offer a four-year curriculum and gained the name Michigan State Normal College. In 1959, the college became a university and gained its current name of Eastern Michigan University.
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, the university has more than 15,000 total students.
Goshen College is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, and is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has an enrollment of 824 students. While Goshen maintains a distinctive liberal Mennonite worldview and Mennonites make up 30 percent of the student body, it admits students of all religions.
Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU) is a private university of the Wesleyan church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. OKWU offers over 30 undergraduate degrees to students at its Bartlesville campus, and it also offers six graduate degree programs as part of its online offerings.
Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) is an international organization of evangelical Christian colleges and universities. The headquarters is in Washington, D.C., United States.
John Paul Lederach is an American Professor of International Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, and concurrently Distinguished Scholar at Eastern Mennonite University. He has written widely on conflict resolution and mediation. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Colorado. In 1994 he became the founding director for the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University where he was a professor. He currently works for the foundation Humanity United.
Howard J. Zehr is an American criminologist. Zehr is considered to be a pioneer of the modern concept of restorative justice.
Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) is the graduate theological division of Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), which is an accredited Christian liberal arts university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. EMU was established as Eastern Mennonite College in 1917. In 1965, after several decades of growth and change on the Harrisonburg campus, the seminary was re-established with its formal name and an acting dean. EMS was an outgrowth of the curriculum in Bible at what was then known as Eastern Mennonite College. EMU and EMS together are considered the embodiment of a vision held by the Mennonite leaders from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania who first established EMC in 1917.
WEMC is a classical music formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Harrisonburg, Virginia, serving Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Virginia. WEMC is owned by Eastern Mennonite University.
Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) is an accredited graduate-level program founded in 1994. It also offers non-credit training. The program specializes in conflict transformation, restorative justice, trauma healing, equitable development, and addressing organizational conflict. CJP is housed at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, which describes itself as "a leader among faith-based universities" in emphasizing "peacebuilding, creation care, experiential learning, and cross-cultural engagement." One of the three 2011 Nobel Peace Laureates, Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, earned a master's degree in conflict transformation from CJP in 2007.
The Eastern Mennonite Royals are the athletic teams that represent Eastern Mennonite University, located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports. The Royals compete as full, non-football members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. In men's volleyball, a sport not sponsored by the ODAC, EMU competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference. Altogether, Eastern Mennonite sponsors 16 sports: 7 for men and 9 for women.
Samuel Gbaydee Doe is a conflict, peace, and development professional from Liberia. Doe was a cofounder, with Emmanuel Bombande, of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), based in Accra, Ghana. This organization focuses on collaborative approaches to conflict prevention and was founded in 1998 in response to the civil wars taking place in West Africa. The organization is known for their work with several regional partners such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union’s Economic, Social, and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC).
Hizkias Assefa is a conflict mediator known widely in Africa for his non-aligned work as a consultant who has mediated in most major conflict situations in sub-Saharan Africa in the past 20 years, as well as in a dozen countries elsewhere. He is also a professor of conflict studies. Of Ethiopian origin, he is based in Nairobi, Kenya. He was one of the founding faculty members in 1994 of the Conflict Transformation Program at Eastern Mennonite University.
Myron Augsburger is an American Mennonite pastor, professor, theologian, and author. He is the former president of both Eastern Mennonite College and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
Ali Gohar is a Pakistani noted scholar and restorative justice expert and the founder and executive director of Just Peace Initiatives.
Thelma Arimiebi Ekiyor is a Nigerian lawyer, social entrepreneur and impact investor who has served in authoritative positions within many organizations. Ekiyor has focused primarily on investing in women entrepreneurs. She started her career supporting women in peacebuilding and empowering women and youth through financial independence and educational access. She has experience with projects in more than 22 African countries. Ekiyor worked in post-conflict countries such as Liberia with the peace activist Leymah Gbowee.
Deirdre Longacher Smeltzer is an American mathematician, mathematics educator, textbook author, and academic administrator. A former professor, dean, and vice president at Eastern Mennonite University, she is Senior Director for Programs at the Mathematical Association of America.
Fabrice Guerrier is a Haitian-American writer and artist. He founded the sci-fi and fantasy production house and publisher, Syllble.
Guns into Plowshares is a sculpture by Mennonite artists Esther Augsburger and Michael Augsburger. It depicts the blade of a giant plow, fashioned out of steel and 3,000 disabled handguns. It stands sixteen feet tall and weighs four tons. The work alludes to a passage from the Book of Isaiah in which the ancient Israelite prophet envisions a future when people "shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more". The image of transforming swords to plowshares has been widely adopted by social and political groups working for peace.
Susan Schultz Huxman is an American academic administrator serving as the ninth president of Eastern Mennonite University since 2017. Her research focuses on communication studies and rhetoric, particularly in areas of pacifism and Mennonite discourse.