Messiah College President's Report 2007

a rigorous education of distinction If Messiah College were a one-dimensional institution — if, for example, we cared only about the life of the mind — it would be so much easier to achieve the excellence we seek. But Messiah College combines a passion for the minds of our students with a comparable passion for their hearts and their hands. And we seek to translate those passions into results that are not only excellent but truly extraordinary. Each of these passions — for head, hearts, and hands — is deliberate and intentional since each is grounded in at least one of the great traditions that have shaped this college. First and foremost, Messiah College is, in fact, a college. We draw, therefore, on the great tradition of liberal learning shaped by the ancient Greeks (e.g., Plato and Socrates), by the Renaissance, and by the Enlightenment. Standing in that tradition, Messiah College seeks to enrich the minds of our students. We impart information, to be sure. But even more, we seek to nurture in our students a spirit of wonder and curiosity, the ability to think critically, and a commitment to raise serious and probing questions about the world in which they live. This is one definition of excellence at Messiah College. But Messiah is also a Christian college whose roots run deeply into three Christian traditions — Anabaptist, Wesleyan, and Pietist. The Anabaptist tradition, in particular, also supports the life of the mind, for the Anabaptists of the sixteenth century offer a stunning example of critical and independent thinking. Those in that movement questioned beliefs and practices that had dominated the Christian Church for twelve long centuries, and, in thousands of cases, their willingness to raise those questions cost them their lives. At Messiah College, a commitment to question the status quo for the sake of the greater good is part and parcel of the life of the mind and one of the standards by which we measure excellence. But as much as this college cares about the life of the mind, it also seeks to nurture the hearts of its students — a commitment especially grounded in the Wesleyan and Pietist roots of the College. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, those two traditions insisted that while Christian faith may well have intellectual content, genuine faith must also be a matter of the heart. And so Messiah College enables its students not only to think but also to feel. We lead our students not only to understand the world but also to love the world and its people. Our commitment to nurture the hearts of our students is yet another way Messiah College measures excellence. At Messiah, however, we believe it is not enough to know and to feel, to think and to love. We must also act, and act especially on behalf of those in greatest need. All three of the great Christian traditions that have shaped this college — Anabaptist, Wesleyan, and Pietist — agree on this point. And so, in this edition of the President’s Report, you will discover how deeply this college is committed not only to the life of the mind and the life of the heart, but also to service. In fact, these stories offer only a glimpse of the pivotal role that service plays in the Messiah College community. Messiah College is intentional about the work it does precisely because it nurtures the roots that have shaped it. Because of those roots — both academic and religious — we seek to excel as we nurture the heads, the hearts, and the hands of our students. —Richard Hughes, distinguished professor of religion and senior Boyer Fellow 5 http://www.messiah.edu/siderinstitute/ http://www.messiah.edu/boyer_center/about/staff.html

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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