Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary

Janeen Bersche Johnson

Jamie Pitts

Bob Rosa

Daniel Schipani

Rebecca Slough

Bethel College

Aaron Austin

Brad Born

Francisca M. Méndez-Harclerode, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

I was born and raised in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of the state of Tamaulipas, the northeastern-most state in Mexico. My parents wanted me to learn English so after finishing high school in my hometown, I came to the US. I spent 4 summers as a summer missionary along the Rio Grande and finished my B.S. in Biology at East Texas Baptist University. I then completed a M.S. in Biology at the University of Central Missouri and a Ph.D. in Biology at Texas Tech University. After 3 years of work at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, I came to teach at Bethel College, where I just finished my 4th year of employment. My fields of expertise are population genetics and phylogenetics. I have published 8 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 1 in a book. My ongoing research focuses on the population genetics of a group of woodrats (genus Neotoma) in southern Texas (Dimmit and La Salle counties). However, at Bethel, I have supervised senior theses focusing on a wide array of topics (everything from physiologic responses to gene knockout). Working with students and helping them figure out issues of identity and meaning (who am I? who do I want to be? why?) are my favorite professional goals. My husband and I just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. We have no children, but we do have a cute (albeit stinky) dog.

Dale Schrag, Director of Church Relations, Bethel College, drs@bethelks.edu

Dale Schrag is director of church relations and campus pastor at Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. Dale graduated from Bethel College with a degree in history in 1969. After two years of voluntary service in Arvada,

Colorado, he taught high school history for two years in McPherson, Kansas. He served as a librarian in various capacities at Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, for nine years (during which time he and his family were active members of Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church). He came to Bethel College in 1984 as director of libraries. From 1996-2002, he served part-time as secretary of the Higher Education Council of the General Conference Mennonite Church.

In addition to his bachelor’s degree from Bethel, Dale holds a Master’s of Library Science from Indiana University, and a Master of Arts in history from Wichita State University. To the extent that he has any historical specialty, it would focus on the sixteenth-century Anabaptist movement. Dale lectures frequently in area churches on topics related to Anabaptism.

Dale is married to Margaret (Margo) Loewen. They are members of the Bethel College Mennonite Church. They have two adult children and six grandchildren, all of whom live within twelve miles of North Newton, Kansas. Life is good!

Patricia Shelly, Professor of Bible and Religion, Bethel College

Patricia Shelly is professor of Bible and religion at Bethel College, where she has taught since 1985. She also served as campus minister of chapel and worship from 1986-96 and 2000-03.

Patty graduated from Bethel in 1976 and did graduate work at the Iliff School of Theology (M.Div.) and the University of Denver (PhD., 1992). At Bethel, she teaches courses in biblical studies and theology, one course in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and another in Eastern Religions. She also coordinates, and regularly teaches in, the capstone course for all seniors, Basic Issues of Faith and Life. Patty has been leading study seminars to Israel/Palestine since 1981. Every other January, she leads a travel course to Jerusalem for Bethel students and interested others (the next one will be in January 2013). From 1996-2000, Patty served as country director for Mennonite Central Committee’s West Bank and Gaza program, based in Jerusalem. Shelly also serves as core adjunct faculty for Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary-Great Plains Extension. She is finishing a second term on the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA.

Doug Siemens

Megan Upton Tyner

Megan Upton Tyner is the Director of Theatre at Bethel College. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance as well as a Masters Degree in Communication from Wichita State University. Her undergraduate

studies focused not only on performance but also costume design and individual research and study of alternative and improvisational theatre. Her graduate studies focused on documentary theatre and audience perception. As an actress she performed extensively at Wichita State, as well as in community theatres and small professional companies in the Wichita area. She was a member of several alternative theatre groups that embraced politically motivated presentations and was a member of a comedic improv troupe that performed across the city of Wichita. Megan is an energetic supporter of theatre for young people and has directed multiple children’s productions.

Hamilton Williams, Ph.D., LMSW

My undergraduate degree is in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina. My master's and my Ph.D. are in Social Work from the University of South Carolina as well. I taught at East Carolina University for three years working with their Distance Education Program to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My interests have been in working with Native American and Hispanic border populations, which were reflected in my 7 years in New Mexico at Western New Mexico University. My family lives in Myrtle Beach, SC, which is where I grew up.

Bluffton University

Sally Weaver Sommer, PhD, Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, Professor of Economics

Sally graduated from Bluffton College in 1974 with majors in mathematics and economics. At the end of her senior year she married Jon Sommer. After spending a year living and traveling in South America and then eastern part of the United States, they entered Mennonite Voluntary Service. Their service assignment was managing a low-income apartment complex in Arvada, Colorado. Sally completed her doctorate degree in economics at the University of Colorado. In 1981 she and Jon moved back to Bluffton to open a natural foods store. In 1982 she began teaching as an adjunct at Bluffton College. Within a few years she became a regular part-time faculty member and then became full-time in 1992. In 1999 she accepted a position as associate dean and registrar and in 2007 was appointed to her current position. Sally’s research interests have been in economic conversation from military to civilian activities, migratory farm labor in northwest Ohio, and Central America economic development. Sally has three adult children living in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Champaign.

Walt Paquin, MSW, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Work

Paquin, received his bachelor’s degree in social work from Western Carolina University in 1992. Following graduation he served for 18 months in Boston as a homeless service coordinator at Metropolitan Baptist Church. Both his master’s degree and Ph.D. are from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. He also worked in the social work field for several years in St. Louis primarily with the homeless population. His dissertation, When City Renters Buy Homes, Do They Buy in Better Neighborhoods, examined mobility and neighborhood quality for first time home buyers with an emphasis on black households. He taught for eight years at Southeast Missouri State University before joining the Bluffton faculty in 2011. He has several presentations at the Urban Affairs Association, Council on Social Work Education and Society for Social Work and Research conferences. His main interests are the impact of race on housing and education.

He has been married for over 18 years to Rhonda and they have a 10 year old daughter Grace. He enjoys reading cycling and being outdoors. After years of searching for a “spiritual home”, Walt is finding his place in the Mennonite tradition and realizing this is connects with who he is and feels Christ has called him to be. He is seeking ways to incorporate faith and racial reconciliation into his work inside and out of the classroom.

Crystal Y. Sellers Battle, DMA – assistant professor of music

Dr. Crystal Y. Sellers Battle is an assistant professor of music at Bluffton, where she teaches voice and vocal pedagogy and conducts the university and community gospel choir. At The Ohio State University, where she earned her doctorate in voice performance, she was the first doctoral student to complete the Singing Health Specialist interdisciplinary graduate specialization. In that program, she studied medical tactics for repairing vocal injuries and rehabilitation of professional vocalists. Her DMA document is titled ‘I sing because I’m Free:’ Developing a Systematic Vocal Pedagogy for the Modern Gospel Singer. A Bluffton faculty member since 2009, Sellers Battle earned a postgraduate artist diploma from Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, England, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in voice performance from Roosevelt University, Chicago, and Bowling Green State University, respectively. She was married in June of 2012 to Lawrence Battle.

Julie DeGraw, PhD, Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students

Julie DeGraw received her undergraduate degree from Calvin College in english and music as well as secondary education. She then went on to receive her Masters in Counseling from Michigan State University and her PhD in Higher Education from the University of Michigan. DeGraw returned to Calvin as a resident director. She then served, from 1994-97, as a counselor and as coordinator for student leadership development. In 2004 DeGraw moved to Santa Barbara California to serve as Director of First-Year Programs at Westmont College where she worked with orientation, academic advising and students with disabilities. Most recently before coming to Bluffton DeGraw served as Dean of Counseling, Advising and Transfer at the College of Lake County, a community college north of Chicago.

Jon C. Peterson, D.M.A., Assistant Professor of Music

Jon C. Peterson serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Bluffton University. This year Peterson will be conducting the University Chorale as well as the annual performance of Handel’s Messiah with the Choral Society. He teaches courses in music history, music ministry and general education.

Peterson received his doctoral and masters degrees in choral conducting with a minor in historical musicology from The University of Arizona and Southern Methodist University, respectively. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Austin College with an undergraduate degree in music performance.

Prior to coming to Bluffton in the fall of 2011, Peterson served as Director of Music and Fine Arts at the First United Methodist Church of Little Rock, Arkansas. His experience is music ministry has taken him to congregations of varying sizes and denominations in Texas, Arizona and Arkansas.

Peterson also currently serves as Artistic Director of the Columbus-based Magpie Consort, an 18-voice chamber chorus that specializes in early music, world music and other a cappella literature. He has prepared choirs for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philander Smith College, the University of Arizona and Southern Methodist University and has sung with such respected choral organizations as the Dallas Symphony Chorus and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

His recent research has focused on hymnology, global worship music, and Baroque oratorio; he has also contributed to GIA Publications’ Teaching Music Through Performance in Middle School Choir, released in 2011.

Dr. Peterson lives just outside of Bluffton with his wife Karen and their son Ian.

Jacklyn Wells, Director of Residence Life

Jackie is currently beginning her fifth year as director of residence life for Bluffton University. Her job entails staff supervision, housing assignments, RA/HD recruitment and selection, student conduct and parent relations. Jackie also coordinates the Restorative Justice in campus conduct program on Bluffton’s campus. She’s been actively involved with the Damascus Road antiracism team as well as the civic engagement committee. She is a 2005 Bluffton University alumni with a degree in early childhood education. She completed her graduate work in college student development at Appalachian State University in 2007. Before joining the student life staff at Bluffton, she worked in residence life at Bowling Green State University. Some of her interests include reading, enjoying a cup of coffee, photography, snowboarding, and of course her dog Scarlet.

Jason Swartzlander, Assistant Professor of Accounting

Earned undergraduate degree in Accounting from Bowling Green State University and MBA from Tiffin University. Currently ABD from Anderson University, pursuing a DBA in Accounting. My dissertation focuses on the relationship between the use of temporary labor and financial performance. In the fall I will begin my 6th year as a full-time professor at Bluffton. Prior to joining Bluffton I spent 13 years in corporate accounting while serving as an adjunct instructor at various institutions. I live in Bluffton with my wife Jennifer (Executive Director at Children’s Mentoring Connection—Findlay, OH), son Derek (entering 6th grade), and daughter Lauren (entering 3rd grade).

Canadian Mennonite University

Earl Davey, PhD, Vice-President Academic and Interim President

Earl Davey, Vice President Academic and Professor of Music at Canadian Mennonite University, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. While engaged in post-doctoral studies at Darwin College, Cambridge University, Dr. Davey was a rehearsal guest of Claudio Abbado and the London Symphony Orchestra and a student of Sergio Celibidache, conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.

For many years, he was a tenured member of the Faculty of Music at Brandon University, where he worked in the areas of conducting, philosophy of music and philosophy of music education. While at Brandon University Dr. Davey served in various capacities, including Chair of Music Education and Chair of Graduate Studies.

From 1995 to 1998 Dr. Davey taught at Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana in Yogyakarta, Indonesia under the auspices of Mennonite Central Committee. He also served as Provost and Vice-President Academic at Tyndale University College & Seminary in Toronto before returning to Manitoba in 2008.

Dr. Davey’s research includes articles published in the Journal of Aesthetic Education, Canadian Music Educator, American Arts Quarterly, British Journal of Music Education and Canadian Journal of Higher Education.

Dr. Davey is married to Marion Dick Davey. They have three children: Jordan, Harrison and Rachael. He and Marion attend the L’Eglise Communautaire de la Riviere Rouge, a Mennonite Brethren Church in St. Boniface, Winnipeg.

Jeff Huebner, MBA, Associate Professor of International Business

Jeff recently joined the Redekop School of Business at CMU as Associate Professor of International Business. He holds an MBA from the University of Calgary (2004), a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia (1994), and has studied overseas at the European Business School in Germany and Erasmus Universiteit in The Netherlands. Jeff’s main areas of interest are international business and economic development, including an innovative course in microfinance he has developed that teaches students about providing financial services to microentrepreneurs in developing countries. Students conduct research consulting for microfinance organizations in Latin America and also have the opportunity to take part in travel studies to visit and see first-hand the partners’ programs in the field. Jeff also teaches courses in global business and leads travel studies to Europe looking at economic and political integration in the European Union. This type of experience-based learning can be a powerful facilitator, inspiring young people to apply their business skills in practical and meaningful ways that benefit individuals, communities and ministry organizations globally. Originally from the Niagara region of Ontario, Jeff and his wife Lori-Anne have three children and recently moved from Calgary to Winnipeg to join CMU.

Dr. Craig Martin PhD, Assistant Professor of Business and Organizational AdministrationRedekop School of Business, Canadian Mennonite University

Craig Martin teaches Economics and Business in the Redekop School of Business at Canadian Mennonite University. His areas of teaching are micro- and macro-economics, finance, decision science, statistical analysis and managerial accounting. He has a BA in Economics from the University of Waterloo and has a MSc and PhD in Agricultural Economics and Business

from the University of Guelph. He is an alumnus of Conrad Grebel University College. His research interests include the demand for food, monetary economics and the economics of altruism. He grew up in Elmira, Ontario and is a member of Elmira Mennonite Church. In Winnipeg, he attends Fort Gerry Mennonite Fellowship. He is married to Nancy Martin (nee Yee) who is also an alumnus of Conrad Grebel University College. They have one daughter Natalie.

Jon SearsJonathan M. Sears, PhD, Assistant Professor, International Development Studies

Ph.D. Political Studies (Queen’s – Kingston, ON) M.A. Political Philosophy (Brock – St. Catharines, ON)B.A. Honours Anthropology (Saint Thomas – Fredericton, NB)

Since 2007 Jon has taught International Development Studies at Menno Simons College (affiliated with the University of Winnipeg). Since 2009, Jon has also taught Political Studies at CMU’s Shaftesbury campus, and since 2011 led pre-departure sessions for CMU’s Outtatown Discipleship School French Africa program. Thus, Jon’s teaches in development ethics and theory, comparative politics of Africa, aid policies, and political philosophy.

Jon’s scholarship includes a forthcoming article, in a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Development Studies (Fall-Winter 2012-2013), “Teaching theory through thinker-practitioners: contexts, challenges, and strategies of development and peace-building praxis.” Working from his doctoral thesis and subsequent fieldwork, Jon continues to investigate how citizen identity in African contexts is rooted in multiple cultures, and how these political cultures are affected by responses by individuals and groups to economic and political liberalization. Most recently, Canadian Mennonite magazine (July 9, 2012) published Jon's letter “Becoming the men ‘we might become,’” which reflects on how students are challenged by more and more complex images of contemporary masculinity.

Jon and his partner Dorothea live in the Daniel McIntyre neighbourhood of Winnipeg’s inner city. They share in church worship and service at Saint Benedict’s Table (Anglican) and Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship (Mennonite Church Canada).

Conrad Grebel University College

Troy Osborne, PhD, Assistant Professor of History

Because my parents work at Hesston College and served with Mennonite Central Committee, my earliest memories are of Mennonite higher

education and institutions. After graduating from Hesston College in 1991, I spent a year in the Netherlands with the Intermenno exchange program, learning to know Dutch Mennonites in Amsterdam and Schoorl. After returning to the States, I studied at Goshen College, where I majored in History and Bible/Religion/Philosophy. Following graduation, I worked at several jobs in Michiana, including Menno-Hof in Shipshewana and a factory in Middlebury. In 1995, I became the first person to re-enlist with Intermenno and traveled to Germany, where I worked at a Mennonite nursing home in Enkenbach and a retreat center near Thomashof. Thereafter, I studied Theology and Ethics at AMBS, earning a Master’s degree in Theological Studies. I (finally!) left the Mennonite world for the Twin Cities, earning a PhD in Early Modern History at the University of Minnesota. My dissertation examines church discipline in the Amsterdam Mennonite Church during the 17th century, funded with the help of the Fulbright foundation. My first teaching position was as a visiting professor at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. In 2008, I joined the faculty at Bluffton University, where I taught until moving to Conrad Grebel College in 2011. My wife Emma is English and takes care of my daughters Millie (6) and Iris (4), who enjoy reading and singing, but not Mennonite history and theology.

Jim Pankratz

Eastern Mennonite Seminary

Stephen Kriss, Associate Director of Pastoral Studies, Eastern Mennonite Seminary Pennsylvania

BA, Eastern Mennonite UniversityMA, Duquesne UniversityMDiv, Drew UniversityPhD candidate, Duquesne University

Steve lives in Philadelphia where Eastern Mennonite Seminary in PA recently opened an office on the campus of Lutheran Theological School of Philadelphia. He works also with Franconia Conference and is on a study leave to finish his dissertation on organizational communication in post-Christendom contexts. Primary study, teaching and research includes pastoral leadership, intercultural engagement and communication ethics.

Dorothy Jean Weaver, MDiv, PhD, Professor of New Testament

Dorothy Jean Weaver is Professor of New Testament at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, VA, where she has taught since 1984. She holds a PhD in New Testament from Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, VA

(1987), an MDiv from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, IN (1977), and a BA in Modern Languages (German/French) from Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA (1972). Internationally she has studied in Marburg, Germany (1971-72), Berne, Switzerland (1981-82), and Damascus, Syria (2010). Her publications include Matthew’s Missionary Discourse: A Literary Critical Analysis (Sheffield, 1990), Bread for the Enemy: A Peace and Justice Lectionary (Mennonite Church Peace and Justice Committee, 2001), and numerous articles in published volumes, academic journals and church publications. Dorothy Jean leads regular Israel/Palestine study tours for EMS and Nazareth/Bethlehem work groups for Virginia Mennonite Missions. And she has taught New Testament courses and/or presented New Testament lectures in Beirut, Lebanon; Bethlehem, Palestine; Jerusalem, Israel; Cairo, Egypt; and Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. At home in Harrisonburg Dorothy Jean sings regularly with the Shenandoah Valley Choral Society and with the Festival Chorus of the annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. She enjoys digital photography, bread baking, and hosting friends for such culinary events as pancake breakfasts, Christmas Eve suppers, Easter dinners, and Middle Eastern meals. Out and about Dorothy Jean travels regularly to Mennonite World Conference Assemblies (Wichita, Strasbourg, Winnipeg, Calcutta, Bulawayo, Asuncion). Dorothy Jean is a member of Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA, where she serves the congregation by ushering, song leading, and occasional Sunday School teaching.

Lonnie D. Yoder, MDiv, PhD, Associate Dean/Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling

Ph. D.-Religion and Personality, The University of Iowa, 1991M. Div., Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, 1976B.A. (summa cum laude) in Mathematics with Secondary Education Teaching Certification, Drake University, 1972

A native of rural southeast Iowa, I served as youth minister and assistant pastor in my home congregation, East Union Mennonite Church, for twelve years before engaging doctoral studies in Religion and Personality at the University of Iowa. Married to Teresa Boshart Yoder, a nurse administrator, and father to two young adult daughters, I enjoy family time, sports, genealogy, and gardening. A professor at Eastern Mennonite since 1991, in 2010 I assumed the role of associate dean at the seminary while continuing to teach in the areas of pastoral care/counseling and leadership. I have published on various topics including distance learning, lived religion, pastoral care and counseling, leadership and aging. In addition to my academic roles, I am a consultant to the Harrisonburg District churches of Virginia Mennonite Conference. I also serve as a pastoral elder at Community Mennonite Church (Harrisonburg).

Eastern Mennonite University

Deanna Durham, MSW, Assistant Professor, EMU Department of Applied Social Sciences

B.A. in Psychology, Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, ID MSW (Family and Child Therapy), Howard University, Washington, D.C.

In every course I teach we weave our way through issues related to immigration (who's welcome and who's not?), gender and race and how we are privileged and marginalized (sometimes simultaneously), often without being aware of how our narratives have impacted and are currently impacting others. My graduate education at Howard focused on transgressing boundaries, especially hierarchical and social boundaries. I enjoy helping students imagine how they, too, might be "boundary-breechers." I also serve as faculty adviser for the student organization, Safe Space.

“In every course I teach, students are asked to imagine what it would be like to be marginalized, pushed to the edges of society, the church, institutions, peer groups, etc. We explore ways of moving toward inclusion, reaching beyond our own comfort zone into other worlds and communities and deep within ourselves to discern what God is calling us to personally, vocationally, spiritually.”

I live on a family farm with cows, sheep, cats, two teenage boys and a good husband (Byron Peachey). We enjoy watching lots of soccer games, The Colbert Report and finding humor in our son's antics. I especially enjoy digging and gardening and good coffee.

Luke Hartman

Luke Hartman began his recruitment experience serving as an associate director of enrollment and head basketball coach. He taught public middle school and high school students with exceptional learning and behavioral needs and served as a behavioral consultant aiding teachers with challenging students.

Luke has taught in the education departments at Hesston College, Bethel College (KS) and Eastern Mennonite University, and has been teaching graduate courses for EMU Harrisonburg and EMU Lancaster for the last 11 years. He most recently served the Harrisonburg City Public School system as an administrator of the most diverse middle school per capita in the state of Virginia, a school in which he helped to open.

A graduate of Hesston College, Eastern Mennonite University, Wichita State University. He is soon to be awarded a PhD from Virginia Tech; his dissertation focused on prejudice reduction through diversity coursework and he continues to focus on multiculturalism and social justice in the field of education. He is a widely sought after public speaker in both secular and religious settings, speaking all across the country on various topics including but not limited to: Discipleship, Educational Pedagogy and Meeting the Needs of the Diverse Learner.

Currently serving as the Vice President for Enrollment at Eastern Mennonite University, Luke oversees the areas of Admissions, Financial, and Retention. He resides in Harrisonburg, Virginia, with his wife, Staci, and their three daughters.

Nancy R. Heisey, Professor of Biblical Studies and Undergraduate Academic Dean

Nancy Heisey is undergraduate academic dean and professor of biblical studies and church history at Eastern Mennonite University. Her life and work have been greatly influenced by a childhood growing up with Brethren in Christ missionary parents among the Navajo people of the Southwestern United States. She also was shaped by her years as a secondary school teacher under Mennonite Central Committee in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Together with her husband Paul Longacre, she later spent two years visiting churches around the world on behalf of Mennonite mission and service agencies in North America. She holds a masters of divinity from Eastern Mennonite Seminary and a Ph.D. from Temple University. Nancy served as president of Mennonite World Conference from 2003-2009. In the past year she has been learning many new things about care-giving, and has been grateful to have kind and willing-to-share Nursing colleagues.

Beth Lehman, PhD, Assistant Professor of Education

Beth Lehman is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education. She earned her PhD in Literacy, Culture and Language Education at Indiana University, an MA in English Education at Indiana University, and an MA in English at Butler University. Beth’s past work in education includes teaching middle school language arts, middle school literacy coaching, consulting in the teaching of writing, and working within urban high school reform as a teaching and learning coach. Participation in the Hoosier Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project, deeply influenced Beth’s professional concerns. Additionally, Beth’s work with equity-focused urban school reform impacts her educational priorities. Beth’s research and teaching interests include: the teaching of writing and critical literacy, the development of teacher identities and teacher discourses, and the roles of narrative in school reform and educational research. Beth enjoys teaching, learning and

researching within and across educational settings as a means for building partnerships, exploring multiple meanings, and seeking equity and inclusion within richly diverse learning communities.

Mark Metzler Sawin, PhD, Eastern Mennonite University, Professor of History, Director, University Honors Program

Mark Metzler Sawin grew up in Hesston, KS, graduated from Goshen College in 1993 with a BA in English & Political Science, and then earned his MA (1997) and PhD (2001) in American Studies from the University of Texas, Austin. He began teaching US History at Eastern Mennonite University in 2001 and in 2011 became the director of the Honors Program.  Mark has served as the president of the Mid-Atlantic American Studies Association, as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Zabreb, Croatia (2008-09), and is currently chairing one of the standing committees of the national American Studies Association.  His research interests include American popular culture of the 1840-50s and of the post-WWII era; his book, Raising Kane: Elisha Kent Kane & the Culture of Fame in Antebellum America came out in 2008, and he is now working on a project about Ned Buntline, a prolific and scandalous author, impresario, and political rabble-rouser of the 1840-80s. Currently Mark is also working with Howard Zehr on an illustrated book about Virginia people and their pickup trucks. Mark is married to Erika Metzler Sawin (Goshen, 1993) who is a professor of nursing at James Madison University; they have two children, Cora (12) and Isaac (10).

Cathy Smeltzer Erb, Ph.D., Undergraduate Chair/Professor of Teacher Education.Growing up as the daughter of a Mennonite pastor launched my residency in many Mennonite meccas. I attended Iowa Mennonite School and graduated from Bethany Christian High School. Following Hesston College and Eastern Mennonite University where I earned a B.Sc. in Home Economics Education, I moved to Ontario where I taught middle/high school Family Studies at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate and two public schools in Kitchener, Ontario, and earned M.Ed. and Ph.D. degrees in curriculum, teaching, and learning from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. During graduate school, I researched and published in the area of secondary school reform, particularly the role of the department head structure. Since I could not mastermind moving EMU to Canada, our family relocated to Harrisonburg in 2002 so I could join the EMU faculty. In 2007, I became chair of undergraduate education. My teaching and research interests lie in the areas of equitable instruction, emotions of teaching, beginning teaching, and action research. Recent publications focus on pedagogical approaches in equitable classroom environments. I am married to Ross Erb, a social-worker-turned-pastor who is associate

pastor of children, youth, and families at Park View Mennonite Church. We have 3 young adult children: Peyton, an EMU alum, will soon begin her first year of teaching in Harrisonburg, and Brendan and Aaron are entering their junior year at EMU.

Goshen College

Rebecca HernandezBorn in Joliet, Ill., and a daughter of migrant farm workers, Dr. Hernandez has been working on Latino issues throughout her career. She began as a schoolteacher, then served as a community program director and now directs the Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning at Goshen College. She is also an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing.

Previously, Dr. Hernandez was the director of community building for the Hacienda Community Development Corporation of Portland, Ore. She also held faculty appointments at Oregon State University and at Oregon Health and Sciences University, School of Nursing, where she worked to develop community-based programs to reduce health disparities among Latinos.

Dr. Hernandez completed her doctoral work in human development and family studies at Oregon State University. She earned a master’s degree in public administration from Portland State University and a Bachelor’s degree from Southeastern College.

Randy Horst, MFA, Professor of Art

Randy Horst is a 1979 graduate of Hesston College, a 1983 graduate of Goshen College with a BA in Art Education, and a 1986 graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio with an MFA in Drawing. He has just completed his third year teaching art at Goshen College and previously taught art at Bowling Green State University and The University of Montana Western in Dillon Montana. At Goshen College Randy teaches a variety of 2-D studio classes and Art History, and has also taught classes in Graphic Design and Art Education. As an artist Randy has exhibited his mixed media drawings in regional and national juried exhibits. His most recent figurative work has focused on exploring the psychological realities of the religious figures of Job and Saint Sebastian. Randy has also worked as a graphic designer for Goshen College, Mennonite Mutual Aid (now Everance), and Great Harvest Bread Company, as well as for a variety of free-lance clients. Randy is married to Laura Lerch Horst, currently the Marketing Director at Ruthmere Museum in Elkhart, Indiana, and they have two adult children.

Kent Palmer, PhD Associate Professor of Informatics

Kent Palmer is passionate about finding ways to use information technology to increase effectiveness of nonprofit organizations. He has fifteen years of experience either working or volunteering full time with nonprofit organizations, including Eastern Mennonite Board of Mission and Charities, Society for Environmental and Educational Development, Habitat for Humanity International, Brethren Volunteer Service, Peace Brigades International, Koinonia Partners, and Menno Home Repair (Oklahoma City).

Kent's bachelor's degree is from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he had a concentration in Science and Environmental Change with a discipline in Physics. As an undergraduate, he did research at the Laboratory for Surface Studies on reflection absorption spectroscopy and at Argonne National Laboratory on liquid metal MHD power plants.

Kent's Masters' degree is in Environmental Administration from University of Illinois-Springfield. While completing his Master's degree, Kent worked at the Radiochemistry Laboratory of the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety. His research focused on the measurement of radon gas in homes.

Kent's PhD degree is in Information Science from Nova Southeastern University. His dissertation focused on ways to increase the effectiveness of websites of large nonprofit organizations.

Kent teaches in Goshen College's newest academic program, Informatics. In this program, Kent helps students learn how to use computers to solving real world problems. Goshen's Informatics students choose to focus on problems from one of the following areas: Biology, Business, Media and Communication, Mathematics, and Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies. Kent uses his experience in government and mission agencies to assist students working in all the areas.

Ross Peterson-Veatch, Ph.D., Associate Academic Dean and Director of Curriculum, Teaching and Faculty Development at the Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning

Dr. Peterson-Veatch is the Associate Academic Dean at Goshen College, where he serves as Director of the Core Curriculum program. At Goshen he is also the Director of Curriculum, Teaching and Faculty Development at the Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning (CITL), and will begin in Winter of 2013 as Academic Director of the Master’s program in Intercultural Leadership. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University, and a B.A. in Spanish and Sociology/Anthropology from Earlham College. He is a former high school and university Spanish teacher, instructional coach and school transformation coach and held faculty positions at Earlham College and Indiana University before coming to Goshen. He is also a national facilitator with the School Reform Initiative

and his research interests include intercultural leadership, equity in education, transformative adult learning, and higher education administration. He and his wife Erika, who also holds a Ph.D. in Folklore, have two sons.

Gilberto Perez

Anita K. Stalter, PhD, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic DeanGoshen College 1987 – presentEmail: dean@goshen.edu Phone: (574) 535-7503B.S., Eastern Mennonite CollegeM.Ed., James Madison UniversityPh.D., Michigan State University

Anita became vice president for academic affairs and academic dean in 2001 following 14 years as a professor in the education department and director of teacher education at Goshen College. Before coming to Goshen College she was a teacher in the Harrisonburg, Va., public school system and served as director of the school for youth and adolescents at Oaklawn Hospital in Goshen. As vice president for academic affairs, Anita is responsible for managing and administering the academic programs consistent with the mission of Goshen College and overseeing the Good Library, Mennonite Historical Library, International Education, Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, core curriculum, Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning, adult and on-line programs and the registrar’s office.

Regina Shands Stoltzfus, Asst. Professor: Peace, Justice, Conflict Studies/Bible, Religion and Philosophy

Doctoral Student - Chicago Theological Seminary (Theology, Ethics and Contemporary Culture)M.A. - Ashland Theological Seminary (Biblical Studies - Old Testament)B.A. - Cleveland State University (English)

My research interests include an analysis of how race, gender and faith shape identity, and how such an analysis might be used foster reconciliation and justice in local communities as well as in a globalized context. 

Laura S. Meitzner Yoder, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sustainability and Environmental Education, Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College

B.A. Messiah College (Natural Science/Biology) M.P.S. Cornell University (International Agriculture and Rural Development) Ph.D. Yale University (Social Ecology, Forestry & Environmental Studies)

My work focuses on the politics and practices of sustainable land use and human-nature relationships. After several years of working on seed systems and plant varieties used by smallholder upland farmers in Latin America, since 1998 I have focused on resource access issues of forest dwellers and rural villagers. For more than a decade, I have taught in local universities and environmental study abroad programs in Asia (Indonesia, Timor Leste, Thailand, Bhutan).

Current research areas and projects:1) Sustainability education for diverse audiences• environmental education priorities of Latino communities in Northeast Indiana• teaching sustainability concepts with multidisciplinary student groups 2) Political ecology of natural resources• intersections of government and customary land and forest regulation institutions in Southeast Asia• environmental history of land use change (encroaching pine forests in central Bhutan; water management systems in Indiana)

3) Rural livelihoods in subsistence agriculture• farmer-based biodiversity conservation• community seed flow dynamics• politics of swidden forest farming

Hesston College

Tony Brown

Tony Brown teaches in the Sociology Department, is Artist in Residence and Internal Diversity Consultant at Hesston College

He is a Graduate of Goshen College receiving his undergraduate degree in Psychology. He received his master degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania.He is a professional singer and uses music as a tool to promote peace and good will around the world. In 2007 he founded the not for profit organization Peacing It Together Foundation. Peacing It Together Foundation seeks to serve the global community as a resource and catalyst for the work of peace and social justice, using music and the spoken word to uplift areas of despair to hope.

He is currently performing a tribute show to honor the great African American performer Paul Robeson. You can learn more about the show at www.IGoOnSinging.comHe is married to Erika Shinya and resides in Albuquerque New Mexico and Hesston Kansas

Russ Gaeddert, Director of Disaster Management Program

Russ Gaeddert is the Director of the Disaster Management Program (DMP) at Hesston College, a position he has held for seven years, since the inception of the program in August of 2005. The program is affiliated with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) and emphasizes service-mindedness, leadership development and introduces disaster response and recovery concepts to the students. In addition to participating in local service opportunities throughout the year, students in the DMP serve eight weeks on active MDS sites in the summers after their freshmen and sophomore years. Russ also helps organize local service events for Hesston College students, such as the Numana meal-packaging event. Prior to this position, he was an elementary school teacher for 24 years in the central Kansas area, and also coached high school girls' basketball. He is a 1980 graduate of Bethel College and got his Master's degree from Wichita State in 2000 in Curriculum and Instruction. He lives in Hutchinson with his wife Jean and has two grown sons, Adam and Sam. He is an active member of First Mennonite Church in Hutchinson. He enjoys many sports (both playing and watching), woodworking, traveling with his family and solving word puzzles.

Marissa King

Laura Kraybill, MA, Director of TheatreB.A., Communication, Goshen College, Goshen, Ind., 2004M.A., Theatre Education, Emerson College, Boston, Mass., 2010

Research interests include Theatre in Ministry, Theatre for Social Change and Theatre across the Curriculum. Publications include several articles in The Mennonite, and contributions to Anabaptist prayer book, Take Our Moments And Our Days. Church leadership includes planning and leading worship and drama at the Mennonite South Central Conference in 2011 and planning several Mennonite Church USA conventions. Prior to teaching at Hesston College, Kraybill taught at the Boston Children's Theatre and wrote and acted in What Say You, Mary Warren?, an interactive play about the Salem Witch Trials performed at the Boston Arts Academy.

Jean Smucker Rodgers, Jean Rodgers, RN, MN, Nursing Faculty

My younger years were spent in Orrville and Smithville, Ohio. My home congregation Oak Grove Mennonite (Smithville, Ohio) and family were great

support to my desire to be an educator. I graduated from Orrville High School (Ohio), Goshen College and Wichita State University (Kansas). Most of my teaching career has been at Hesston College with an additional 6 years in Kathmandu, Nepal teaching nursing through the Mennonite Board of Mission's association with United Mission to Nepal. I have been able to teach in the classroom and clinical in a variety of nursing disciplines. One area of instruction I enjoy is assisting students to prepare for taking the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). I have worked with Prentice Hall to write review notes and questions for students as they prepare to take NCLEX.

Recently I co-taught an Intercultural nursing class and then traveled with the nursing students to Menno Clinic in Chiluvuru, Andra Pradesh, India. This was a learning experience for me and one we are planning to repeat in two years.

Sandee Zerger, Ph.D., Vice President of Academics B. A. in English from Bethel College; M. A. in English from the University of Kansas; Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas. Research interests, publications, and consulting in discipline-specific literacy, pedagogy, academic support, and faculty development. For fun and relaxation I enjoy traveling, walking, reading, creating in fabrics, beading and jewelry making, cooking, and knitting. I also love doing things with my four small grandchildren, their parents, and my husband.

Mennonite Education Agency

Elaine Moyer

Elaine Moyer serves the church as Senior Director of Mennonite Education Agency by resourcing, networking and amplifying the good work of all of MC USA educational institutions; early childhood, PreK-12, colleges and universities including seminary and graduate programs. Her current work includes consulting and mentoring. She relates to schools locally, nationally and globally.

Elaine continues to have a passion for discovering how Anabaptism can inspire educational leadership for an intercultural age. Elaine served as principal of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School for over 20 years leading capital projects, improving enrollment, and strengthening operations. She has led educational program initiatives that inspire lifelong learning through memorable interactive experiences. She has been involved in Christ-centered Anabaptist education since 1976, following several years in public education.

Elaine has led teams of professional educators in both public and private school accreditation reviews. She has served on various boards including 18 years of service on the Bluffton University board of trustees.

Elaine and her husband David have two married sons and one grandson. They reside in Harleysville PA and are members of Salford Mennonite Church. They hosted 15 IVEPers (MCC’s International Visitor Exchange Program), have traveled to over 30 countries and enjoy the cultural richness that awakens the senses, expands friendships, and inspires the spirit.

Veva Mumaw