In the News

Fall 2015 enrollment shows increase in number of returning students and higher academic achievement

A greater percentage of students returned to Hesston College in the fall of 2015 for more of the Hesston Experience as compared to returning students a year prior. Hesston College’s official fall 2015 enrollment numbers show higher than anticipated fall to fall retention by about 10 percent in nearly all primary areas.

Hesston students also continue to perform better academically as the average GPA for new students is 3.30 compared to 3.19 for new students in 2014, and the average ACT increased 1.1 points.

“We believe that the strong retention numbers are indicative of the high-quality experiences that our students are having at Hesston College,” said Rob Ramseyer, vice president of Student Development.

Total enrollment for the year is 409 students from 31 states and 13 countries. Kansas students make up 46 percent of the total student population while 43 percent of students come from other U.S. states and 11 percent are international.

There are 295 students living in the dorms, or about 72 percent of the total student population.

Bestselling author to visit Hesston College with messages of care and kindness

Hesston College will welcome New York Times bestselling author Regina Calcaterra to campus Oct. 5 to discuss her book, which has served as the fall 2015 community read, as well as her advocacy work with foster care. The presentation will be at 7:30 p.m., in the Hesston Mennonite Church Sanctuary on the Hesston College campus. A follow-up question and answer session will be at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Hesston Public Library.

The Oct. 5 presentation will be streamed live online through the Hesston College webpage, and will remain up for viewing past the presentation date as well.

Calcaterra’s book, Etched in Sand, (2013, William Morrow Paperbacks) has served Hesston College and the community as the fall 2015 community read. The book is the author’s memoir tracing her and her four siblings’ childhood experiences with abandonment, physical abuse and a fear of the foster system that was put in place to protect them. Small acts of caring laced in among the children’s pain makes their fearful existence survivable and acts as a stepping stone for each of them to boost his or her way out of the precarious cycle to become well-adjusted and successful adults.

Calcaterra is an attorney serving as deputy general counsel to the New York State Insurance Fund for the State of New York. She formerly served as the executive director of the Utility Storm Preparedness and Response Commission and the Commission to Investigate Public Corruption for the New York State Moreland Commission. She has also served as Chief Deputy County Executive in Suffolk County and as a frequent political commentator for major media outlets.

Bel Canto Singers and Goessel High School to join for concert in historic Kansas landmark

The historic Basilica of St. Fidelis Church, better known as “The Cathedral on the Plains,” will come alive with ringing voices when the Hesston College Bel Canto Singers and the Goessel High School Elbiata Singers present a collaborative concert at 6 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 25. The concert is free and open to the public, though a free-will offering will be collected to cover program costs and for the ongoing work of the church.

St. Fidelis is located in Victoria, Kan., 15 minutes east of Hays.

Hesston College is offering transportation for audience members to travel to hear the young, local talent in the Kansas landmark. Reservations must be made by Oct. 14, by calling the Alumni and Church Relations Officer at 620-327-8109 or 866-437-7866.

Hesston College and Goessel High School are located only about 15 minutes apart and both are well known for their outstanding performing arts program and long traditions of vocal excellence. This collaboration is the second time the premier choirs from the respective institutions have joined together to sing at the cathedral – the first being in January 2013. Since that time, both choirs have come under new leadership – Mr. Andrew Voth has been conducting Elbiata since the fall of 2013 and Dr. Russell Adrian took the reins of Bel Canto Singers in August 2015.

Photo release - Exploring missional engagement

Marvin Lorenzana of Mennonite Mission Network talks to students in Michele Hershberger’s Exploring Ministry class Sept. 10, at Hesston College. The students will each lead two other students on campus in a triad – an accountability group, which is part of MMN’s Missional Discipleship Initiative and Leadership Mentoring program. Lorenzana explained that the program’s mission is to nurture a culture around intentional disciple-making. For Hershberger’s students, leading the triad is hands-on experience in ministerial leadership.

Auditory element to become part of campus

The sounds of students across campus will soon not be the only sounds heard coming from Hesston College. The pleasant chiming of bells and music will join the college’s repertoire as campus anticipates the addition of a carillon system to enhance the auditory and spiritual atmosphere on campus and throughout the surrounding community.

The carillon system designed by Schumerich Carillon Co. in Quakertown, Pa., is a digitalized system of regular clock chimes that will be used throughout the day, along with a music selection each day and ending at the close of the evening. The exact campus location is yet to be decided by a small representative campus group.

“The alumni relations department is pleased to be able to add this significant and quality auditory instrument to campus as part of the recent campus transformation, and for the Hesston community’s enjoyment as well,” said Dallas Stutzman, director of Alumni and Church Relations.

The idea for a carillon system has been a topic of discussion since the college’s Centennial celebration in 2009. With the development of the north campus entrance, the college decided it seemed appropriate to give the campus a symbolic auditory element to the visual change of the new north entrance.

Stutzman says the carillon selections will be able to be heard at some distance and a pleasant addition a few times a day for those within reach.

The college’s celebration of the new campus entry at 11 a.m., Friday, Sept. 25, will include the first official chiming of the new alumni carillon bells.

by Emily Kauffman

Golf benefit to honor Larry Martin

Larry Martin’s history with Hesston College spanned 60 years, and the faithful support and love for students he and his wife Donna so generously gave will be honored at the third annual Hesston College Student Scholarship Golf Benefit Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Hesston Golf Park.

Benefit information and registration can be found online. Registrations must be made by Sept. 21.

Proceeds from the benefit, sponsored by Excel Industries, will provide nursing scholarships in honor of the Martins, as well as benefit the Hesston College Student Scholarship Fund, which provides institutional scholarships and grants for 99 percent of full-time students.

Participants will also have the opportunity to win one of two Hustler mowers generously donated by Excel, as well as other prizes from local businesses and supporters. The second Hustler mower will be auctioned off.

Larry Martin first came to Hesston, Kan., from Minot, N.D., to attend Hesston Academy, the college’s high school, from which he graduated in 1956. It was here that he met and married Donna (Bontrager), also a 1956 Academy graduate and member of the Hesston College class of 1958, thus starting an enduring relationship with Hesston College.

The Martins returned to North Dakota, but Hesston College remained an important part of their lives. Their two sons, Kendall and Kirby, both graduated from Hesston, and Larry served as a member of the Alumni Advisory Council and as a member of the Board of Overseers from 1984-92. In 1995, Larry and Donna moved to Hesston and Larry began working for the college as a development officer in 1999 until his retirement in 2013.

Larry was at home working in Development as he loved meeting people and hearing their stories. He was also passionate about the work and mission of Hesston College, and his support extended across campus, including frequenting Lark athletic events.

Larry was diagnosed with glioblastoma – an aggressive brain cancer – in early June 2015, and passed away Aug. 15. While it was hoped Larry’s contributions to the college could be honored in person during the golf benefit, they will instead be remembered graciously and fondly, as well as recognize the ongoing support from Donna and their family.

The entry fee is $500 for a four-person team or $125 for individual golfers and includes a prime rib dinner. Individuals or businesses can also sponsor a hole for between $200 and $500.

New renovations to be celebrated at Homecoming 2015

Hesston College will welcome alumni and friends from across the country and around the world to campus Sept. 25 to 27, for A Hesston College Homecoming 2015 with the theme “A campus transformation.”

The weekend will feature events celebrating the new campus entry and the newly renovated Northlawn Center for Performing Arts Education.

The public is invited to join the celebration for many of the events throughout the weekend. Early bird registration is encouraged by Sept. 6, and can be completed online.

Event highlights for Friday, Sept. 25, include:

• A ribbon cutting for the new campus entry will kick off the weekend’s celebrations at 11 a.m., Friday, Sept. 25, from the north campus entry.
• Several music performances will accompany the weekend’s celebration. Performing arts students and faculty will present Tiny Desk Concert-style solos and ensemble performances by the Bel Canto Singers, Chorale and Chamber Orchestra to showcase the Northlawn renovations from 3 to 4 p.m.
• A group of former faculty members will be inducted as emeritus faculty and honored for their years of service and contributions to the college at 4 p.m., in the Hesston Mennonite Church Sanctuary.
• A Family Festival with fun for all ages will be at 6 p.m., on the lawn north of the soccer field. Festival activities include bouncy houses and barrel train rides for children as well as women’s and men’s soccer games at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.
• A 9 p.m. coffeehouse in Northlawn’s Campus Worship Center will feature singer/songwriter and 2000 graduate Jeremy Kempf, who has led worship at the Mennonite Church USA Kansas City 2015 national convention, 2005 graduate and musical theatre performer Fjaere Harder Nussbaum and other alumni and student performers. Druber’s Donuts and Lincoln Perk coffee will be served.

Event highlights for Saturday, Sept. 26, include:

• A dedication ceremony for Northlawn Center for Performing Arts Education will be at 9:30 a.m., at the campus entry and an open house in Northlawn. The program includes an unveiling and presentation of a Green Gables replica scale model by Hesston College alumnus Mel Diller and a hymn sing.
• The annual Alumni and Friends Banquet will be at 6 p.m., in the Bontrager Student Center Dining Hall. The evening will feature an ethnic dinner, speaker and 2012 graduate Zenawit Nerae and recognition of reunion classes, emeritus faculty and Campus Entry/Northlawn donors. Cost for the banquet is $25 and includes admission to the Performing Arts Showcase following the dinner. Reservations are required.
• The Performing Arts Showcase will be at 8 p.m., in the Hesston Mennonite Church Sanctuary, and will feature outstanding alumni, faculty and student performers including Fjaere Harder Nussbaum, Jon Helmuth, The Sunflower Trio and the Hesston College Bel Canto Singers, Chorale and Chamber Orchestra. Tickets are $10 for adults and free for children 12 and younger and may be purchased through the Hesston College Bookstore or at the door.

The college will share in a joint worship service with alumni and the Hesston Mennonite Church congregation at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 27, at Hesston Mennonite Church. Jeremy Kempf will lead worship music and 2002 graduate Jeremy Shue from Silverwood Mennonite Church (Goshen, Ind.) will bring the message. The service will also feature combined college choirs and alumni speakers.

Community and college partnership encouraging authentic caring and change

“Be the Change: Caring that Matters” is the theme for Hesston College’s fall 2015 First-year Experience (FYE) course, and it’s reaching beyond the campus property lines through the college’s 2015 community read selection Etched in Sand (2013, William Morrow Paperbacks) by Regina Calcaterra.

Every first-year Hesston College student bought the book for FYE, and faculty and staff received it and were encouraged to read it during the summer. A partnership between Hesston College and the Hesston Public Library also made it available to community members, along with a standing invitation for the wider community to participate in all of the college’s community read events throughout the semester. A Newton Public Library book club and a Moundridge High School English class have also gotten on board with the partnership.

“Hesston College is continually reaching out to the Hesston community in order to develop a good relationship—both communities need and benefit from relationship with one another,” said Margaret Wiebe, director of the college’s Mary Miller Library.

Both Wiebe and Libby Albers, director of the Hesston Public Library, applied for and were awarded $500 each from the South Central Kansas Library System New Program/Project Development Grant. With the combined awards, they purchased 125 copies of Etched in Sand for free distribution to the community, which as of Sept. 1, have all been claimed by community members interested in exploring the themes of the foster care system and the impact of caring, among others, along with the college community.

The New York Times bestseller, Etched in Sand, is the author’s memoir, tracing her and her four siblings’ childhood experiences with abandonment, physical abuse and a fear of the foster system that was put in place to protect them. The story is emotionally charged with accounts of homelessness, violence and constant neglect. The siblings learn to fend for themselves and lie about their mother’s whereabouts to avoid attention from authorities.

Small acts of caring laced in among the children’s pain makes their fearful existence survivable and acts as a stepping stone for each of them to boost his or her way out of the precarious cycle to become well-adjusted and successful adults.

Several child advocacy professionals as well as faculty members are scheduled to speak in FYE classes and at special events throughout the fall semester, all of which the community is invited to attend.

A highlight to the lineup is an on-campus presentation from Calcaterra who will discuss her book and advocacy work with foster care at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 5, in the Hesston Mennonite Church Sanctuary on the Hesston College campus. Calcaterra will also do a follow-up question and answer session at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Hesston Public Library.

Other community read presentations include:

• Diana Schunn, executive director of Child Advocacy Center of Sedgwick County, 12:30 to 1:20 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 15, Hesston Mennonite Church
• Panel presentation with Sammie Simmons, Kansas Department for Children and Families; Nancy Ross, National Alliance on Mental Illness; and Lt. Travis Rakestraw, Exploited and Missing Children Unit, Wichita, 12:30 to 1:20 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17, Hesston Mennonite Church
• Etched in Sand book discussion with Libby Albers and Hesston College psychology instructor Kevin Wilder, 6 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 22, Hesston Public Library
• Etched in Sand book discussion with FYE director Marissa King, 6:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 28, Lincoln Perk

Anyone wanting to join the discussion and read Etched in Sand can be added to the Hesston Public Library waiting list or check out the e-copy using a library card through the Sunflower eLibrary.

Faculty and staff appointments for 2015-16

Hesston College announces the following faculty and staff appointments for the 2015-16 year:

• Russell Adrian, music faculty and Bel Canto Singers conductor holds a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.), a master of music degree in choral conducting from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and a doctor of musical arts degree in conducting from the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis).
• Russ Gaeddert, Student Success faculty, will lead a task force in organizing a new interdisciplinary leadership program. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College (North Newton) and a master of education degree from Wichita (Kan.) State University. Gaeddert helped create Hesston’s Disaster Management Program and served as director from 2005 to 2015.
• Elizabeth Hess, director of Marketing and Communications, holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the University of Cincinnati (Ohio).
• Rachel Jantzi, theatre faculty, holds a bachelor’s of fine arts degree in dramatic arts from Emporia (Kan.) State University and a master’s degree in theatre from Oklahoma State University (Stillwater). Jantzi has taught communications courses at Hesston since 2010, and has also been involved in college theatre productions as an actor, choreographer, sound and costume designed and director.
• Cleo Koop, Disaster Management Program director, holds a bachelor’s degree in Bible and religion from Bethel College (North Newton) and a master of divinity degree from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart, Ind.).
• Joel Krehbiel, physics and physical science faculty, holds a bachelor’s degree in math and physics from Bethel College (North Newton) and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in mechanical sciences and engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Meg Leatherman, Admissions visit coordinator is a graduate of Hesston College and earned a bachelor’s degree from Bluffton (Ohio) University.
• Peter Lehman, visiting English faculty, holds a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.), a master’s degree from Pennsylvania State University (State College) and is a Ph.D. candidate in American studies at Penn State.
• Lindsey Mason, development officer, holds a bachelor’s degree from Goshen (Ind.) College.
• Kyle Miller Hesed, biology faculty, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas (Lawrence) and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Maryland (College Park).
• Saralyn Murray, American Sign Language interpreter, holds a bachelor’s degree in ASL from Goshen College.
• Rob Ramseyer, vice president of Student Development, holds a bachelor’s degree from MidAmerica Nazarene University (Olathe, Kan.), a master’s degree from the University of Kansas and is completing a doctor of education degree in interdisciplinary leadership from Creighton University (Omaha, Neb.). Ramseyer served as head baseball coach from 2011 to 2015 and as interim Dean of Students during the 2014-15 year.
• Terena Ronan, Food Service staff.
• Kaitlin Schmidt, horticulturist and grounds manager at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains, earned a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences from Bethel College (North Newton).
• Kathleen Schroeder, art faculty, holds a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College (North Newton) and a master’s degree from Wichita State University.
• Kendal Slabach, flight instructor intern, is a graduate of Hesston College.
• Michael Smalley, admissions counselor, is a graduate of Hesston College and holds a bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University.
• Courtney Spitz, assistant baseball coach, holds a bachelor’s degree from Drury University (Springfield, Mo.).
• Karla Stauffer, nursing faculty, holds a bachelor of science in nursing degree from Bethel College (North Newton) and is completing a master’s in nursing leadership and administration from Wichita State University. She is also a Critical Care Registered Nurse.
• Kate Swartley, Spanish faculty, is a Hesston College graduate and holds a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College and a master’s degree from Bowling Green (Ohio) State University.
• Madison Wiles, Women’s Soccer goalkeeper coach, holds a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College (North Newton), where she played soccer for the Threshers.
• Juli Winter, director of Campus Life, is a Hesston College graduate and holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Bethel College (North Newton) and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Utah (Salt Lake City).
• Mike Zucconi, director of Development, holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and history from Eastern Mennonite University and a master’s of education degree in sports administration from Wichita State University.