Messiah College President's Report 2007

a visionaryeducation of distinction The building we toured was abandoned, rundown, and dilapidated. The site looked beyond repair. It seemed nothing more than a forgotten warehouse in a downtown neighborhood of Harrisburg. It was on the periphery, waiting once again to be used to its capacity. I have to admit my own apprehension at seeing the deteriorating bricks and cracked walls and wondering if anything of significance could be brought from this building. Months later, with the restoration complete, the building has been dramatically transformed into the perfect location for Messiah College’s Harrisburg Institute. Totally gutted, creatively designed, and beautifully restored, the building provides classroom, recreational, office, and student housing space. It stands as a symbol of revitalization, its once weary walls renewed into a center for student activity. Messiah College’s purposeful decision to revive this unwanted building is central to the Harrisburg Institute’s vision and the College’s larger mission. The newly restored facility deeply embodies the Institute’s vision to restore and infuse with new life its surrounding areas in Harrisburg and to radiate that energy into the rest of the world. As students prepare for service and learning within its walls, the building itself will remind students and passersby alike to remember the forgotten, marginalized, and oppressed. It will encourage them not to look at buildings, people, or even the world as they are in their current state, but to see them as they could be — what they could become. When Messiah Harrisburg students invite adults with special needs over for dinner, or volunteer to till the land of a vacant lot so neighborhood children can plant flowers, or help Harrisburg youth record their stories in creative expressions of poetry and dance, they will be helping to envision the dramatic restoration of people’s lives. The Harrisburg Institute’s programming invites students to participate in the work of seeing with new eyes the world’s potential. Students are encouraged to patiently persist in helping to create a world that reflects God’s desires. This is an inspiring and challenging task for students and educators alike. Journeying alongside one another provides us with strength to see the potential that lies within the structures and people in our surroundings. That is the restorative and creative vision Messiah College helps foster. — Craig Dalen, director of community life in Harrisburg 11 http://www.messiah.edu/external_programs/agape/housing_opportunities/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Messiah College President's Report 2007

Contents An Education of Distinction A Rigourous Education of Distinction Articles A Visionary Education of Distinction Articles A Faith-Infused Education of Distinction Articles Sustaining an Education of Distinction Financial Reports/Volunteer Leader Appreciation Donor Recognition Messiah College at a Glance Meet Our Students A Mission of Distinction A Year in Photos

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