In the News

Hesston College Earth Day celebration to focus on transportation alternatives

When Hesston College physics instructor Nelson Kilmer was shopping for a new vehicle in late 2013, he had one goal in mind – to lower his environmental impact.

He achieved his goal with the Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid, which is charged off of solar panels producing electricity for his house. The solar powered nature of his vehicle has meant only one fuel purchase since December 2013, an average of 99 miles per gallon of fuel over the last three months and a dramatic cut in the emissions his travels produce.

Kilmer’s dedication in lowering his environmental impact influences his students every year to look for ways to reduce their own footprint, and their solutions will be highlighted during Hesston College’s Earth Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday, April 24, on the Hesston College campus.

The celebration will focus on changes in vehicle technology and transportation alternatives from the earliest Model T cars to today and explain the realities of each vehicle’s environmental impact.

Students will present research data on the impact of vehicles offered in today’s market. For example, a car averaging 25 miles per gallon of fuel produces 12,000 pounds of emissions per year while a hybrid vehicle that relies on gas to charge the battery produces 7,000 pounds per year. A plug-in hybrid – the latest advancement in vehicle technology – produces only 1,000 pounds of emissions per year, not to mention the cost in fuel savings due to the fact that the car can be charged directly through electricity.

Kilmer’s Physics II students have also spent the spring semester building a personal activities vehicle – a solar powered tricycle that offers further transportation and cost savings options. Several vehicle options including the trike, Kilmer’s vehicle and a Ford Fusion Hybrid with a representative from Mel Hambelton Ford (Wichita, Kan.) will be on display as students present their research and the benefits and downfalls during the come-and-go event. The vehicles will be featured in a parade across campus at 11:30 a.m.

Other event highlights include solar cooked snacks, recycling options and light bulb energy savings. The event is free and open to the public. Set up will be on the campus lawn in front of Charles Hall weather permitting. In case of inclement weather, the event will be moved inside Charles Hall.

Exercise Science to be offered starting fall 2014

Hesston College will introduce exercise science as a new program of study beginning with the 2014-15 academic year.

“Exercise science is one of the fastest growing fields right now because students recognize the job opportunities in the field,” said faculty member Clay Stauffer.

Degrees in exercise science open students to a broad range of career paths, including athletic training, personal training, kinesiology, wellness coaching and other related areas. Students interested in physical education and coaching will also benefit from the courses offered within the program of study.

Hesston’s program will offer a strong core in the first two years of a four-year degree. It will build on a strong reputation of existing courses like Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition and Prevention and Care of Athletic Injuries.

The two-year component offers unique opportunities not found in four-year degree programs. After two years in Hesston’s program and upon completion of the personal training course, students will be eligible to take the national certification exam to earn certification as a personal trainer, expanding their job prospects in entry-level positions while they continue schooling toward a four-year degree.

The program’s upward trend is bolstered in part by the country’s changing healthcare standards.

“Growth of exercise science is being directly impacted by the overall state of health in our country and the increasing wellness incentives and programs through health insurance,” said Stauffer. “We are just keeping up with society’s changing demands.”

The college is aligning its course offerings with private and public four-year institutions across the country offering an exercise science degree to ensure ease of transfer for students.

Even before its official launch date with the beginning of a new academic year in August, the college is already seeing encouraging on-campus responsiveness to the new program with full classes in the program.

Concert Band to become Chamber Orchestra

Hesston College freshman Quinn Kathrineberg (Salina, Kan.) spends a significant amount of time each week with her viola. Between String Ensemble practices and performances, private lessons and her own practice time, she has many opportunities to satisfy her love of music.

Starting with the 2014-15 year, the music program will shift from a concert band focus to a chamber orchestra emphasis in an effort to incorporate string players like Kathrineberg more fully into the program.

“We have a core of strong string players and want to create more opportunities for them to be involved in a chamber orchestra context,” said music instructor Bradley Kauffman.

Since 2007, the college has maintained an instrumental music presence and offered group concert band. The addition of strings to the larger ensemble will offer more opportunities for string players who want personalized instruction in their instrument and is expected to result in a larger performing group.

While music has played an integral role at the college since its first day almost 105 years ago, strings were not an ongoing part of the musical history until recently.

Music instructors noticed a trend in more string players considering Hesston. As students with those interests arrived on campus, a string ensemble was formed to incorporate their talents and interests in the music program in addition to private lessons with accomplished faculty. Rebecca Schloneger, a local violinist with the Wichita (Kan.) Symphony Orchestra, adjunct Hesston College faculty member and teacher at Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts (Newton, Kan.), has played a large part in enhancing Hesston’s offering to string players through private lessons and directing the String Ensemble.

The String Ensemble for the 2013-14 year is made up of six students who have performed as a small group at several campus events, music program concerts and as part of a larger chamber orchestra with local musicians for the college’s production of the opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors” in November.

Kathrineberg is not a music major, but has been heavily involved in music for many years and her ability to continue being involved played a role in her college decision.

“I came to Hesston because I knew I would get more individual music instruction, which would also help me in large ensembles,” Kathrineberg said. “Music is something I love to do and even though it is not my major, it will always be a part of my life and I will always play in an ensemble or orchestra. I am excited that the program will have more to offer string players moving forward.”

Each year, about 20 percent of Hesston College students participate in the college’s music program vocal and instrumental offerings. Students with all levels of interest in music are welcomed into the various vocal and instrumental ensembles. Hesston College offers private lessons and unique ensemble and solo performance opportunities.

Interns get an early start in the professional world

Communications and graphic design majors at Hesston College are getting an extra leg up on their peers. Whereas most students don’t start building their professional portfolios until their junior or senior years, seven Hesston students are digging in and building their portfolios as freshmen and sophomores.

The students earned competitive internships working with the college’s Marketing and Communications team. The partnership between the Communications program and the Marketing and Communications office is the brainchild of communications faculty Kendra Burkey and director of Marketing and Communications Marathana Prothro. The two have a shared vision for identifying students with particular talent in the field, providing them with a strong education and nurturing their skills and mentoring them as young professionals.

The interns – sophomores Stephen Cabe (Niles, Mich.), JD Hershberger (Hesston, Kan.), Marissa Hochstetler (Strang, Neb.) and Carley Wyse (Archbold, Ohio,) and freshmen Quinn Kathrineberg (Salina, Kan.), Alex Leff (Andover, Kan.) and Laken Richer (New Paris, Ind.) – are writers photographers, graphic designers and digital media specialists putting their creativity and talent to work in a tangible way.

“This is a smart, responsible, hard-working and creative bunch,” Burkey said. “To see those qualities in full effect as these students collaborate with professionals is incredibly rewarding.”

The students meet weekly with the Marketing and Communication staff to plan various forms of communication for the college and then work separately or in groups to bring the visions to life.

“I am incredibly impressed with these students’ innate communications and marketing sense,” Prothro said. “It’s exciting to see them developing their skills and making our team stronger.”

Take Marissa Hochstetler for example. She came to Hesston still deciding on a major and after exploring several options, chose graphic design late in her freshman year through inspiration from courses like Desktop Publishing and Career Development and the encouragement of her parents.

Hochstetler’s first assignment for her internship was to create shareable social media content that alumni and students would want to share in their newsfeeds. Her finished project –a comedic meme of longtime Bible instructor Marion Bontrager – became social media gold for the college as its most shared post ever and was so popular the Bible and Ministry program and T-shirts of her project made.

“Through my first project’s success and the positive responses I have received about my other ideas, I have grown more confident in my creativity, skill and ability to work in the graphic design field,” Hochstetler said.

The interns are learning, through challenges and successes, that creating and writing for a public audience is very different than creating for academic or personal purposes. The early experience is paying off.

“The internship has taught me a lot about the collaborative nature of journalism,” said Hershberger, who has aspirations of being a sports broadcaster or journalist. “The stories any newspaper, website or college produce have to flow together. I can’t simply stick to sports and disregard the other work being done.”

“With the internship, I not only get to create something, I get professional input on how to make my work better and take it to a whole other level I couldn’t have reached on my own,” Wyse said.

College bids farewell to administrators and prepares for transition

Two Hesston College administrators, Vice President of Student Life Lamar Roth and Vice President of Academics Dr. Sandra Zerger, have announced they will end their service to Hesston College this spring.

Both Roth and Zerger have had a significant impact on the college and have many accomplishments in their years of service. Together, they have collaborated to promote more interaction between the academic and student life areas, resulting in higher retention and student satisfaction as well as increased learning opportunities. Plans are in place for transitions for both positions.

Roth has served as vice president of Student Life and dean of students since 2003. His last day will be April 30. Under Roth’s leadership, the college has improved student retention and student satisfaction as indicated in the Student Satisfaction Instrument survey, which the college began using in recent years to measure student satisfaction and priorities. He also collaborated with the City of Hesston to provide training and management processes for the college.

“Lamar has built and led a strong team of student life professionals to adapt and meet the complex needs of students,” said President Howard Keim. “Our student satisfaction scores are significantly higher than our comparison group due to Lamar’s leadership and the fine work of the entire staff.”

Zerger joined the Hesston College administration in 2007 as vice president of academics and academic dean. Her last day will be June 30. With Zerger’s extensive background in academic leadership, Zerger has helped lead the college in improving course standards, academic challenge and faculty instruction as seen in Hesston’s outstanding results from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and Individual Development and Education Assessment (IDEA) survey. Under her leadership, Hesston College was ranked the number 2 two-year college in the country by Washington Monthly magazine in 2010, based on 2009 CCSSE data and showed markedly improved scores on the survey in 2012. During her tenure, the college has made improvements to the general education curriculum, focused on course transferability and signed several important articulation agreements with four-year colleges and universities.

“With Dr. Zerger’s leadership, we have become the best two-year college in the area of student engagement, improved our pedagogy, earned the highest possible level of reaccreditation with the Higher Learning Commission and revised the general education curriculum,” said Keim. “Sandee has worked carefully and tirelessly to promote the best interests of students and student learning. I am grateful for her service to Hesston College.”

One-year interim roles have been assigned to the vacating positions, allowing the college to have seamless transitions and keep effective initiatives in place while looking at long-term options.

Joel Kauffman will act as interim vice president of Student Life effective May 1. Kauffman has served at Hesston College for 27 years as former women’s basketball and softball coach, instructor and vice president of Admissions from 2007 to 2011. He began as athletic director in 2011, and will continue in that role during the interim period. Kauffman is a graduate of Hesston College and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Fresno (Calif.) Pacific University and a master’s of education degree from Wichita (Kan.) State University.

Rob Ramseyer will step in as interim dean of students effective May 1. Ramseyer has served as head baseball coach at Hesston College since 2011 and will continue in that role during the interim period. He also served in student life as co-director of campus activities from 2011 to 2012. Ramseyer earned a bachelor’s degree in history from MidAmerica Nazarene University (Olathe, Kan.) and a master’s degree in sports studies from the University of Kansas (Lawrence).

Dr. Brent Yoder, registrar, will act as interim vice president of Academics and academic dean effective July 1. Yoder has served as registrar since 2011. He is a graduate of Hesston College and earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.) and a future professoriate graduate certificate and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic and State University (Blacksburg).

Spring break a time for continued learning

Hesston College sophomore Olivia Miller (Newton, Kan.) arrived in India for spring break 2014 not knowing what to expect from cultural differences and learning experiences tied to her nursing major. Miller, along with 10 other nursing students and two sponsors, spent the week experiencing first-hand just how different India is from the U.S. in everything from cultural practices and hospitality to stark differences in health care.

Travel for continued learning was a popular option for Hesston College students during spring break, March 8 to 16. Four groups traveled around the globe to experience their majors of study in new locations and cultures and learn beyond typical campus projects and interactions while serving others.

Aside from nursing students in India, another group of nine nursing students traveled to Russia with faculty leader Gregg Schroeder and his wife Cindy. Education instructors Tami Keim and Marissa King led eight students to Puerto Rico, and 14 students spent the week serving with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in Duluth, Minn., accompanied by Disaster Management Program director Russ Gaeddert and campus pastor Todd Lehman.

Led by Nursing faculty member Jean Rodgers and Hesston Mennonite Church pastor John Murray, the Hesston College India delegation spent spring break in the southern village of Chiluvuru where they observed and assisted doctors at Menno-Clinic, India, a privately-operated affordable medical care option for the region’s population.

The students spent several days at the clinic working in a rotation to participate in different aspects of the operation – taking blood pressures and pulses at the initial check in, observing cataract surgeries and other procedures at the eye clinic and helping doctors in the exam room, lab and pharmacy.

They also toured government-run hospitals where they experienced nursing in a much different way from the holistic care they are taught in Hesston’s program, reminding students why they choose to pursue nursing and to note the practices and behaviors they hope to carry with them as they begin their own careers

“One thing that impacted me and tugged on my beliefs was the lack of patient centered care at the government hospital we visited,” said Miller. “The head doctor himself said that the hospital was a teaching hospital and the priority was not the patients but the students who were learning in that facility. This really clashed with what we focus on in Hesston’s program. Patient-centered care has and will always be at the core of my beliefs and practices as a nurse.”

The Hesston College nursing students who visited Russia participated in a roundtable discussion with midwifery and nursing students at the oldest midwifery school in the world in St. Petersburg and toured the College of Midwifery. The group also traveled to Veliky Novgorod where they participated in a conference on Simulation in Nursing Education at the Medical University, toured the hospital to see how nursing care compares to the U.S., toured Victoria Children’s Rehabilitation Center and School and spent a day in the small village of Utorgosh where they played games with children and taught them English words.

Back in the U.S., the Minnesota group worked on siding, painting and laying floors in three new houses being constructed for those affected by floods in June 2012.

The construction and leadership skills that sophomore Jeffrey Smoker (Harrisonburg, Va.) has learned through classes, service opportunities and a summer field experience assignment with Mennonite Disaster Service following his freshman year, prepared him to serve as a crew leader for his peers during the week.

“As crew leader, I got to know the six people in my crew much better than I had before,” said Smoker. “I enjoyed teaching my crew new skills, such as how to hang siding on a house.”

While Disaster Management students were braving freezing temperatures in Minnesota, education students focused on educational pedagogy in the sun and warmth of Puerto Rico.

The group visited classrooms and observed and conversed with teachers and students at Summit Hills, a preschool to 12th grade private Mennonite academy in San Juan on the northern coast, and at Academia Menonita Betania, a Mennonite school in Aibonito, the central mountain area of the country.

“Our students represented interest and study across the educational spectrum, so our conversations were informed not only by all we had observed but by classes, practicum, tutoring working in public schools and our on-campus preschool lab,” said King.

Parkinson’s Disease fundraiser to feature Hesston College faculty member

“Each Other’s Light,” a Parkinson’s Disease fundraiser reception and show featuring acclaimed baritone Tony Brown and retired master ballet dancer and teacher Alexander Tressor will be at 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 11 at the Reflection Ridge Retirement Community, 2300 Tyler, Wichita, Kan.

Dwight Roth, former Hesston College social science instructor, is organizing the event along with Parkinson’s Association of the Plains in Wichita. Roth was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in January 2013 and since that time has worked to empower others with the disease. Parkinson’s Association of the Plains’ mission is to provide to people with Parkinson’s a support group, updated information about medical research, community resources and possible discoveries related to care.

The fundraiser will feature Brown singing from his wide repertoire of spirituals and inspirational music and a dance performance by Tressor. The event’s theme is taken from one of Brown’s CDs of the same name.

Brown is Hesston College artist in residence and teaches in the social work department. He is also an international promoter of peace through his music and the founder of the Peacing It Together Foundation, an organization that serves the global community as a resource for peace and social justice.

Tressor has danced with several ballet companies around the world, including the New York City Ballet, and on Broadway. He now teaches ballet and does coreography in the U.S., Europe and Russia, and is ballet master at the National Opera Theatres in Zagreb and Split in Croatia and the National Theater in Kosovo. Tressor also has Parkinson’s Disease, and, like Roth, lives by the principle that the disease has had an extremely positive impact on his life.

Tickets for the event are $50 per person. The reception will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by the entertainment from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

For questions call 316-558-8869 or email billybass@hotmail.com.

Hesston College to host education professor in Melva Kauffman Lecture Series

Hesston College will host Dr. Kathy Short, professor in the College of Education at the University of Arizona (Tucson), for the Melva Kauffman Lecture Series entitled “Creating a Culture of Inquiry” April 3 to 4 on the Hesston College campus. All events are free and open to the public.

Dr. Short is a professor in the Language, Reading and Culture program and director of Worlds of Words, an initiative focused on encouraging thoughtful dialogue around children’s literature to build bridges across global cultures.

A free seminar entitled “Acting to Make a Difference in the World: Going Beyond Charity to Authentic Action” will be from 7 to 9 p.m., Thursday, April 3, in the Hesston Mennonite Church Community Center on the Hesston College campus. The workshop will focus on ways to encourage authentic, responsible action in children working for change in a global society. Instructional strategies, children’s books and inquiry units will be shared to consider how teachers can invite children to take action to make a difference in their world. A certificate of attendance will be available to all participants and can be used as documentation by certified teachers for MyLearning Plan continuing education credit.

Dr. Short will also present at a campus forum at 11 a.m., Friday, April 4 in the Hesston Mennonite Church Sanctuary and resource a lunch discussion at 11:30 in the Bontrager Student Center Dining Hall Sauder Rooms. Lunch can be paid for at the door.

Melva Kauffman, a 1936 graduate of Hesston Academy and a 1939 graduate of Hesston College, was an English and education instructor at Hesston College from 1944 to 1977. Following her death in October 2003, her family established a lecture series that would continue Kauffman’s lifelong interests in learning and the humanities.

College to take sabbatical from Pastoral Ministries program for discernment process

A review process of the Hesston College Pastoral Ministries program by a specially appointed planning committee has recommended that the college take a one-year sabbatical from the program to assess how the college can best meet the changing leadership needs of Mennonite Church USA and the broader church.

The Hesston College Board of Directors accepted the planning committee’s assessment report, which described the program as unsustainable in its current form and recommended that the college take a one-year respite from recruiting students.

Since 1985, the Pastoral Ministries program has operated as a two-year residential program with a focus centered on adult learners seeking a new career path and for whom seminary was not an option. Low program enrollment over the past several years prompted college administrators and board members to question the existing program’s long-term viability in light of shifting church needs.

“We are trying to determine the best way for Hesston College to contribute to the pastoral and lay leadership needs of Mennonite Church USA,” said Howard Keim, Hesston College president. “As a result of this careful process, we have accepted the need for transformation in our approach to meeting these needs and are moving in a direction that will allow us to shape a program that will serve the church well.”

The sabbatical will allow for a discernment process in which the college can explore changes and leadership needs in the church and position itself to prepare leaders to meet those needs.

The planning committee included people with insight on Mennonite Church USA’s pastoral needs and knowledge of the college’s program. Members include: Dave Boshart, executive conference minister for the Central Plains Conference of Mennonite Church USA; Dee Custar, 1998 program graduate and pastor of Salem Mennonite Church (Waldron, Mich.); Karen Dalke, 2009 program graduate and pastor of Des Moines (Iowa) Mennonite Church; Michele Hershberger, Bible and ministry faculty member; Kenzie Intemann, 2013 program graduate and youth program director at Camp Amigo (Cassopolis, Mich.); Tim Lichti, pastoral ministries program director; Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, Hesston College vice president of Admissions and Financial Aid; Carlos Romero, executive director of Mennonite Education Agency; Howard Wagler, 1992 program graduate and pastor of Journey Mennonite Church (South Hutchinson, Kan.); and Norm Yoder, Hesston College Board of Directors member.

Lichti’s service with the college will conclude at the end of the academic year. He has served as program director since February 2010. The college will staff the program based on discernment of the program’s future scope and direction.

“We are grateful for Tim’s care for the students and the needs of the broader church, as well as his contributions as part of the planning committee,” said Keim.