In the News

New programs lead to enrollment boost

New academic and athletic programs added to Hesston College’s offerings over the last several years have culminated with an enrollment boost for fall 2017 according to the college’s official reporting numbers. Total student headcount reached 442 in 2017, a 10 percent boost from a headcount of 401 a year prior, and the highest reported enrollment for the college since 2013.

“We’re excited to see some of our recruitment and enrollment efforts paying off,” said Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, vice president of admissions and financial aid. “By making an effort to learn about what today’s students are looking for in terms of programs as well as what employers want and exploring how those programs fit into Hesston’s culture and environment, we’ve been able to make positive changes to our curriculum and extracurricular offerings that have resulted in significant growth.”

Over the last three years, the college has added or expanded offerings in at least 13 academic and athletic programs. Some of the changes include shifting from a two-year to a four-year baccalaureate nursing program and adding an RN to BSN component, adding new programs including golf, emergency management, sports management and criminal and restorative justice, and expanding curriculum in aviation, engineering, theatre, biology and graphic design.

Of total enrollment, 207 students are new and 403 students – 91 percent – are enrolled at a full-time status. The college continues to build on its global community as 56 students – 13 percent as compared to 10 percent a year ago – are international students representing 17 countries. Domestic students represent 29 states in 2017, including 49 percent from Kansas and 38 percent from out of state. Students of color are 34 percent of the population.

Following trends for the college over the last several years, retention of students from fall 2016 to fall 2017 remains high at 77 percent for the new year.

Hesston College homecoming events set for next weekend Sept. 22 to 24

Hesston College’s monumental homecoming celebration Sept. 22 to 24, is just around the corner. The weekend will be filled with numerous events for those on campus and the surrounding community as well as college alumni and friends from near and far.

Friday Forum to connect with 2017 Hesston community common read, 11 a.m. Friday

The Friday, Sept. 22 forum will kick off homecoming with Joel Kempf, class of 1997. Kempf will share a few of his Start Here, Go Everywhere experiences. Having worked with Mennonite Central Committee in Mozambique doing sustainable agriculture consulting, Joel will tie his presentation in with the 2017 Hesston community common read, Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis.

Friday afternoon activities will include an Interfaith Relationships conversation from 3 to 4 p.m. in Hesston Mennonite Church. The conversation will feature a few different perspectives from panel members on how interfaith relationships on- and off-campus have challenged and enriched their lives.

Global Voices Showcase, 7 p.m. Friday

A concert in Hesston Mennonite Church will feature music, drama and stories from students and alumni of Hesston College. The concert will include many languages from around the world and will recognize Dave Osborne (Hesston Academy class of 1964, college class of 1966) for his outstanding work directing the international student program since 1986.

Presidential inauguration, 3 p.m. Saturday

Dr. Joseph A. Manickam, Hesston College’s ninth president, will be inaugurated at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23, at Hesston Mennonite Church with a reception to follow in the church community center. The inauguration will take place after several morning events including alumni class reunions and the “Manickam Mosey” two-mile run/walk, named after the new president. (Register for the Manickam Mosey at hesston.edu/2mile).

Following the inauguration, Saturday evening’s activities will continue to connect with this year’s inaugural theme “Grounded in Community, Globally Engaged.”

Community wide Global Tastings meal, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday

A community children’s festival will take place on the lawn south of the college tennis courts with games, bouncy houses and face painting from 5 to 7 p.m.. During the same time 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., a “Global Tastings” meal in the Campus Activities Center will offer foods from around the world as well as an East Indian tea biscuit dessert and homemade ice cream. The cost of the meal is $5.

International music concert, 7:30 p.m. Saturday

The international music concert, featuring music from around the world, will wrap up the evening. Starting at 7:30 p.m. in Hesston Mennonite Church, the performers will include La República, A Terra Plana, Waswahili Band and the Regier Family Bluegrass Band.

La República, including Daniel Moya (Hesston College class of 2008), is a Colombian alternative rock band influenced by the Latin genres of rhythm, blues and classic rock. Currently touring throughout Colombia and the United States promoting their new album “Solitarios Soñadores (Lonely Dreamers),” La República has been featured on Latin television, has performed at the Metropolitan theatre and has made their way into the “Top 100 Colombian Songs” by Vive Colombia Media Group in 2017.

A Terra Plana is a quartet formed out of Wichita, Kan. and is known for their Brazilian Choro style, described as the “New Orleans jazz of Brazil.” The quartet instruments include flute, pandeiro (similar to a tambourine), soprano saxophone and guitar.

The Waswahili Band will offer an introduction to African culture, which they believe can only be shared through music. Each member of the band comes from a different culture and the music will represent this diversity as well as the diversity of Africa.

Lastly, the Regier Family Bluegrass Band from Newton, Kan., will perform. The six members of the family include father, Ken, on bass guitar, mother, Amy, on vocals, Erin on viola, Austin on banjo, Addie on guitar and Eli on mandolin.

Concert tickets can be purchased at the Hesston College Bookstore or at the door. The cost is $10. Youth and student admission is free.

Photo release – Special Olympics coaching clinics on campus Sept. 9

Hesston College played host to Special Olympics coaching clinics for basketball and soccer led by Andrew Stauffer, volunteer certified Special Olympics basketball and soccer coach, Saturday, Sept. 9. Stauffer made classroom presentations on philosophy, theory and practice drills for basketball and soccer, then worked with Larks men’s basketball players and women’s soccer players to demonstrate drills and modifications. More than 40 coaches from south central Kansas attended the clinics which were open to all Kansas coaches. All Special Olympics coaches must attend a face-to-face clinic in order to be certified. Hesston College photos by Larry Bartel

Below - Hesston College men’s basketball players demonstrate drills at a clinic for prospective Special Olympics coaches.

Community Read 2017 events

Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis

About the community read

For the sixth year, the community of Hesston, led by Hesston College, Hesston Public Library and Dyck Arboretum of the Plains, invite individuals and groups to take part in a community read during the fall semester. The book selection for the 2017 read is Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis (2012, Beacon Press) by Cynthia Barnett.

Barnett, an award-winning environmental journalist, teaches at the University of Florida (Gainsville), and proposes that America needs a “blue revolution” comparable to the “go green” movement to address the use and abuse of water in the U.S. and around the world. The book examines a variety of perspectives and makes an argument for a “water ethic” with a call to action that reconnects individuals to their water.

Water events schedule

Thursday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m. – Film presentation and discussion on Last Call at the Oasis, Hesston Public Library

Last Call at the Oasis (105-minute film), a documentary on the world’s water crisis.

Thursday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m. – Book discussion on , Newton Public Library

The Water Knife, a novel set in the near-future, drought-devastated southwestern United States.

Friday, Sept. 22, 11 a.m. – Hesston College forum presentation by Joel Kempf, Hesston Mennonite Church

Kempf is a 1997 Hesston College alumnus who served in Mozambique with Mennonite Central Committee as a sustainable agriculture consultant.

Thursday, Sept. 28, 7 p.m. – Film presentation and discussion on Blue Gold: World Water Wars, Hesston Public Library

Blue Gold: World Water Wars (90-minute film), a documentary that discusses how future wars may be fought over water as they are over oil today.

Sunday, Oct. 8, 2 p.m. – Hesston College Bel Canto Singers concert: “Living Water,” Hesston Mennonite Church

Thursday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m. – Film presentation and discussion on Flow: For Love of Water, Hesston Public Library

Flow: For Love of Water (93-minute film), a documentary that examines the facts of dwindling water supplies around the world and the possibility that greed may be the cause.

Friday, Oct. 13, 11 a.m. – Hesston College forum presentation by Jared Morrison, Hesston Mennonite Church

Morrison works for Westar Energy’s Waste and Water Division.

Friday, Oct. 20, 11 a.m. – Hesston College forum presentation by the Kansas Water Office, Hesston Mennonite Church

Sunday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. – The Netherlands and water panel presentation, Hesston Mennonite Church

Sunday, Oct. 29, 4 p.m. – Presentation on land ethics and water resources by Heidi Mehl, Dyck Arboretum of the Plains

Mehl works for the Kansas Healthy Streams Initiative.

Monday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. – Book discussion on Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis, Newton Public Library

Led by Dyck Arboretum staff member Brad Guhr, a discussion on the community read title.

Thursday, Nov. 2, 2 p.m. – Hesston College Melva Kauffman Lecture Series presentation by community read author Cynthia Barnett, Dyck Arboretum of the Plains

Barnett will speak on local water sources like the Great Plains and Ogallala aquifers in relation to the philosophies of famous conservationist and environmentalist Aldo Leopold.

Thursday, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m. – Hesston College Melva Kauffman Lecture Series by Cynthia Barnett, Hesston Mennonite Church

Barnett will discuss her book, Blue Revolution, as well as the effects of the global water crisis, including conflict over water, territorial issues and how it affects faith communities and others.

Friday, Nov. 3, 11 a.m. – Hesston College forum on flooding by the Disaster Management Program, Hesston Mennonite Church

Saturday, Nov. 18 to Sunday, Dec. 31 – The Smithsonian’s Water/Ways exhibit, Hesston Public Library

See the exclusive Kansas tour of a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition brought to you by the Kansas Humanities Council.

Thursday, Dec. 7, 12:30 p.m. – First-Year Experience symposium on water, Hesston College

Hesston College students present their findings from research done on water-related issues.

Manickam Mosey run/walk is a local favorite with a new date

Hesston College is preparing to host a 26-year tradition on Saturday, Sept. 23, as part of Homecoming and Inauguration Weekend – a two-mile run walk that has become a favorite for the campus, the local community and visiting alumni and friends of the college.

The run/walk has always been named in honor of the Hesston College president in office, and in 2017 will be known for the first time as “The Manickam Mosey” in honor of President Dr. Joseph A. Manickam who will be inaugurated later in the afternoon. To date, the event has lasted through three interim presidents and Manickam marks the third permanent president to inspire the name.

The Manickam Mosey participants will leave the starting gate at 9 a.m. on a route that takes them on a scenic tour of both Hesston College and nearby Dyck Arboretum of the Plains. Early registration for the event runs through Sept. 15 and costs $16. After Sept. 15, registration is $20. Registration can be completed prior to race day online. Race day registrations will run from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m., outside of the Bontrager Student Center on the Hesston College campus.

For the past 25 years, the race had been held during the college’s Thanksgiving Weekend celebration, but due to shifts in student demographics and the college’s carefully targeted recruitment strategies, the college made the decision to no longer host a Thanksgiving Weekend in 2017, so the run found a new home during Homecoming.

Each race participant will receive a number and a race shirt. Medals will be given to overall and age group winners, and all participants will have a chance to win a number of door prizes.

Race proceeds will go toward the college’s Exercise Science Equipment Project.

Contact Clay Stauffer with questions at clays@hesston.edu or 620-327-8260.

Golf benefit to honor lasting legacies and feature Hustler’s newest product

For the last five years, Hesston College has teed off to open Homecoming Weekend with the Homecoming Golf Benefit. Thanks to the generosity of Excel Industries, Inc., longtime friend and partner of the college, in sponsoring the event, and organizer Floyd Sowers, each year’s efforts greatly benefit the Hesston student experience and the college’s operations.

The 2017 benefit on Sept. 21, will honor three longtime Hesston College athletic department coaches and administrators – Joel Kauffman, Art Mullet, and Gerry Sieber.

Kauffman served at Hesston for 27 years in a variety of roles including women’s basketball coach, athletic director, softball coach, instructor, Vice President of Admissions and Financial Aid and Vice President of Student Life. He left the college in 2015.

Mullet served at Hesston for 31 years as baseball coach and athletic director before retiring in 2011.

To date, Sieber has served at Hesston for 30 years over two different stints in roles including men’s soccer coach, track coach, men’s basketball coach and, most recently, as cross country coach since 2010. Sieber was inducted into the NJCAA Soccer Hall of Fame in 2015.

Registration for the event is $125 per person. The deadline to register is Sept. 18. Hole sponsorships are also available. Homecoming Golf Benefit information and registration.

The fifth year for the event will also be marked with some changes as it will be the last year of sponsorship for Excel and for Sowers’ efforts. It will also feature the company’s newest product as an auction item – The Hustler MDV utility vehicle.

The MDV, which retails for $15,000 to $20,000, will be auctioned off at the dinner following the afternoon of golf with a starting bid of $10,000. Bidders do not have to golf in order to bid, and absentee bidding will be accepted. To arrange absentee bidding, contact sheri.esau@hesston.edu or call 620-327-8147. See specs on the MDV.

The history between Hesston College and Excel dates back to the company’s earliest days in the 1960s when men associated with Hesston College, alumni Roy Mullet and Doug Stutzman and social sciences instructor Cal Redekop, became involved with the company as owners and employees. The Mullet family bought a partial interest in the company in 1961, and members of the family who are also Hesston College alumni continue to be involved as owners and senior management, including Paul Mullet, president and CEO; Bob Mullet, senior vice-president and COO; and Luke Roth-Mullet, vice president of operations and continuous improvement.

Over the last 58 years, Excel has supported the Hesston Experience, including giving lead gifts on recent capital renovation projects. In gratitude for the company’s faithful support, Hesston College named the campus entry, constructed in 2015, Mullet Drive in honor of the family and the company.

“We are grateful to Excel and the Mullet family for their commitment to the Hesston Experience and the college’s mission over several decades,” said Mike Zucconi, Hesston College director of Development. “Their support encourages us in our work. We are also grateful to Floyd for his work in organizing a successful event every year.”

The golf benefit is part of Hesston College’s Home Sweet Hesston homecoming, Sept. 21 to 24. See full Homecoming Weekend schedule and registration information.

Homecoming 2017 to be historic event with inauguration of ninth president

Hesston College’s annual Homecoming celebration Sept. 22 to 24, will be one for the history books as it will also mark the inauguration of the college’s ninth president, Dr. Joseph A. Manickam.

The special weekend for alumni, friends and the wider community will carry the theme “Grounded in Community, Globally Engaged,” which speaks to the tradition of a strong campus community, the college’s role in the larger Hesston community, and the global perspectives and connections Dr. Manickam brings to the role of president.

Manickam understands the need for global vision well as his work and life have taken him across the world and into different cultures and traditions. Most recently, he served as director of the Institute of Religion, Culture and Peace and faculty member for peace studies at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It’s a perspective that serves as a strong guide as he leads the college into a context that reaches beyond local boundaries.

“Community is an important part of what we do here,” said Manickam. “But it’s also a concept that goes beyond what is local. It’s beyond campus, beyond the city limits and stretches to all parts of the world. We want our students to be global citizens who are able to understand others’ points of view, have respectful dialogue with those whom they disagree, and develop their own informed opinions and ideas.”

Manickam’s inauguration will be at 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 23, at Hesston Mennonite Church.

Guests from across the country and around the world, including all four living former presidents, Laban Peachey (1968-80), Kirk Alliman (1981-92), Loren Swartzendruber (1993-03) and Howard Keim (2005-16), are expected on campus for the weekend’s events and to help celebrate the college’s community and international reach.

Lark Athletics collecting items to support those in need around the world

For the length of the 2017-18 Hesston College athletic seasons, when fans attend a Lark athletic event, they can also help provide assistance to those in need around the world. At home games throughout the school year, Lark Athletics will collect donated items for hygiene kits that will be sent worldwide.

Working with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) through the Central States office in North Newton, Kan., the kits will be sent to places throughout the world to help individuals and families who have fled their homes because of disaster or war and are struggling to afford necessary supplies, and to schools and orphanages to encourage healthy habits in children.

“We talked as an athletic department last year about working with one organization throughout a school year to make a difference,” said Rob Ramseyer, Hesston College athletic director. “We have so many athletes and events each year, we felt that if we concentrated our efforts, we could make a significant impact.”

A hygiene kit includes the following:

• One adult toothbrush
• One large bar of soap
• One finger nail clipper
• One dark colored hand towel

All items must be new and in the original packaging.

Hesston College student-athletes will also help MCC pack the kits and prepare them for shipping.

Those attending Lark athletic events can bring their donated items to any home game.

Photo release - The start of something new – Opening Weekend 2017

caption - Hesston College resident assistants (clockwise from front) Garrett Roth (Hesston, Kan.), Angus Siemens (Newton, Kan.), Curtis Oesch (Caldwell, Idaho) and Keegan Cook (Whitewater, Kan.) help a new student move into the dorms during one of the move in times throughout the week leading up to Opening Weekend.

captions - (left photo) President Dr. Joseph Manickam runs the “official Mod Olympics torch” on its final leg to declare the opening of the 108th Mod Olympics; (right photo) A mod works to untangle themselves during the “Human Knot” game at Mod Olympics, the final kick-off event of Opening Weekend prior to the start of classes. Each mod’s uniquely themed style of dress and the nonsensical games allow students to have fun and get to know one another in a laid back setting.