In the News

Art gallery features central Kansas artist

Artist Kurt Wolf of Salina, Kan., is the featured artist with his assemblage wall art and sculptures made from scavenged items in the Hesston College Regier Friesen Gallery in the Friesen Center for Visual Arts through Feb. 17.

Wolf’s exhibit, “Up From the Scrap Heap to the Art We Keep: Recycled and Repurposed Sculptural Assemblages,” is eclectic with pieces identifiable as old tools, hardware, instruments and other common items fashioned in a new way.

“I am just absolutely infatuated with the idea of conservationism in art,” explained Wolf in his artist’s statement on the reason behind the exhibit.

Wolf earned a degree in art education from Bethany College (Lindsborg, Kan.) and is in his 29th year of teaching three-dimensional art at Salina South High School.

The gallery is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Martin Luther King Jr. Week to focus on gender issues

Hesston College’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Week Jan. 14 to 18 will explore gender issues with the theme “Engendering Diversity: Gender Around the World and on the Hesston College campus.” Dr. Akiiki Daisy Kabagarama, author and local college professor, will be featured for a keynote presentation Jan. 14. All events are free and open to the public.

Dr. King’s early career focused on African-American civil rights. As the women’s movement of the 1960s gained momentum alongside Dr. King’s work and the Civil Rights Movement with similar messages of equality, respect and understanding, King’s work expanded into a concern for universal human rights.

The week’s events at Hesston will consider gender as a space for discussion, learning and inclusion on the Hesston College campus and around the world, especially as they relate to justice in light of King’s life and teaching.

Dr. Kabagarama will introduce the theme with “Martin Luther King Jr. and Gender” at the campus’ 11 a.m. chapel service Monday, Jan. 14, at Hesston Mennonite Church. Dr. Kabagarama will explore what it means to be masculine and feminine in her home country of Uganda compared to those roles in the United States.

Dr. Kabagarama teaches psychology and sociology at Butler Community College (El Dorado, Kan.), ethnic studies with an emphasis on diversity at Wichita (Kan.) State University and philosophy at Friends University (Wichita, Kan.) and Newman University (Wichita, Kan.). She has also authored eight books on promoting peace and cultural understanding and is a minister, poet and storyteller.

Hesston College biology instructor Dr. Hugo Boschmann and environmental biology instructor Lorna Harder will explore the biological impact on gender in “Of Environment and Men: What in the World is Happening to Males?” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, in Kropf Center 150. The presentation is based on studies from around the world that assert that, in general, women are ascending in terms of social status and a sense of well-being while men are declining in these areas. The session will include discussion on the implications of Dr. King’s concern for human well-being in terms of a growing number of young adult males who struggle in areas from academic prowess to career possibilities.

Education instructor Marissa King will lead a panel discussion on gender roles during an 11 a.m. chapel service Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Hesston Mennonite Church.

A point-counterpoint discussion and presentation on “The Demise of Guys and the Rise of Women” with art instructor Lois Misegadis and former sociology instructor Dwight Roth will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 17 in the Friesen Center for Visual Arts 125. It will focus specifically on the struggles facing young African-American men in the United States.

DawnEna Wiebe, manager of the Newton, Kan., Ten Thousand Villages store will present “How Women Around the World Benefit from Ten Thousand Villages,” a focus on the company’s work with fair trade products, during an 11 a.m. chapel forum Friday, Jan. 18 at Hesston Mennonite Church.

The Ten Thousand Villages store will also be set up in the Smith Center lobby outside of the Mary Miller Library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 17 and 18 selling fair trade products. Fair trade provides under- and unemployed artisans around the world with an opportunity to earn vital income and improve their quality of life by establishing a sustainable market for their handcrafted products.

The Hesston College Campus Activities Board will host a coffee house and open mike for students, faculty and staff to share performance art pieces at 9 p.m., Friday, Jan. 18 in the Erb Hall Larks Nest.

Hesston College announces fall 2012 academic honors

Hesston College announced the names of full-time students whose fall semester grades earned them a place on the Dean’s List (3.90-4.00) and Honor Roll (3.50-3.89).

Hesston College – Academic Honors – Fall Semester 2012 (Full-time students completing 12 hours or more)

Dean’s List 3.90-4.00 Freshmen

Alyssa Becker – North Newton, Kan.
Denver Coblentz – Hartville, Ohio
Mason Davis – Mustang, Okla.
Rebecca Eichelberger – Geneva, Neb.
Kelvin Ferbianto – Jakarta Utara, Indonesia
Mariah Friesen – Burrton, Kan.
Brandis Henderson – Redding, Calif.
JD Hershberger – Hesston, Kan.
Marissa Hochstetler – Strang, Neb.
Cory Kerbs – Nevada, Mo.
Makayla Ladwig – Wichita, Kan.
Joshua Landis – Sterling, Ill.
Nadia Loveta – Jakarta, Indonesia
Mitchell Martin – Milford, Neb.
Morgan Martin – New Holland, Pa.
Kendrik Mast – Harrisonburg, Va.
Elsa Miller – Millersburg, Ohio
Muna Mohammed – Ethiopia
Nathan Peters – North Liberty, Iowa
Jared Regehr – Moundridge, Kan.
Eyan Roth – Hesston, Kan.
Tyler Roth – Canby, Ore.
Amy Seibel – Lawrence, Miss.
Sarah Telleen – Haven, Kan.
Tien Tran – Hochiminh City, Vietnam
Hannah Weaver – Inola, Okla.
Sierra Wyse – Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
Jasmin Yoder – Sweet Home, Ore.
Jenna Yutzy – Hesston, Kan.

Dean’s List 3.90-4.00 Sophomores

Asbel Assefa – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Amber Baker – Newton, Kan.
Brooke Beckerman – Inman, Kan.
Seth Bitikofer – Saint George, Kan.
Cory Bowman – Millersburg, Ind.
Neal Brubaker – Goessel, Kan.
Joel Dick – Wichita, Kan.
Mallory Eicher – Berne, Ind.
Jill Eigsti – Goshen, Ind.
Crystal Emery – Marquette, Kan.
Grant Fenton – Hesston, Kan.
Samuel Foxvog – Tiskilwa, Ill.
Vicky Gunawan – Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia
Adam Heisey – Elizabethtown, Pa.
Taylor Hutchinson – Hillsboro, Kan.
Rhett Imel – Olathe, Kan.
Andrea Kelley – Archbold, Ohio
Nicholas Ladd – Hesston, Kan.
Jacob Landis – Sterling, Ill.
Olivia Miller – Newton, Kan.
Michelle Moyer – Monticello, Ill.
Mollie Nebel – Hesston, Kan.
Gregory Nolt – Partridge, Kan.
Keisei Ohta – Kanagawa, Japan
Josanna Raber – Wooster, Ohio
David Rudy – Manheim, Pa.
Alyssa Rychener – Hesston, Kan.
Paul Schoenhals – Archbold, Ohio
Derek Swartzendruber – Shickley, Neb.
Rachel Tippin – Newton, Kan.
Matthew A. Weaver – Hesston, Kan.
Ron Wenger – Adair, Okla.
Michaela Zook – Hesston, Kan.

Dean’s List 3.90-4.00 Unclassified

Philip Kauffman – Hesston, Kan.

Honor Roll 3.50-3.89 Freshmen

Laura Baker – Protection, Kan.
Garrett Byler – Belleville, Pa.
Stephen Cabe – Niles, Mich.
Mitchell Denlinger – Denver, Pa.
Ippei Fujimoto – Miyazaki-ken, Japan
Tsegamihret Gebru – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Crisentia Gregor – Banyuwangi, Indonesia
Narumi Hayano – Aichi-ken, Japan
Matthew Hiebert – Peabody, Kan.
Abigail Hochstetler – Arthur, N.D.
Myu Kobayashi – Kanagawa-ken, Japan
Weihao Kong – Hefei, China
Brandon Kutrubs – Brunswick, Ohio
Trevon Mast – Weatherford, Okla.
Amy Nussbaum – Union, Mich.
Rebecca Rhodes – Arthur, Ill.
Samuel Ruth – Wichita, Kan.
Jerek Shoemaker – Newton, Kan.
Kendal Slabach Brubaker – Harrisonburg, Va.
Rebecca Slabaugh – Goshen, Ind.
Rebecca Souther – Newton, Kan.
Emily Taylor – Buhler, Kan.
Trevor Toews – Hesston, Kan.
Souzy Tuseku Nkole – Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Andrea Voth – McPherson, Kan.
Pake Wise – Sand Springs, Okla.
Taylor Wright – Salem, Ore.
Carley Wyse – Archbold, Ohio

Honor Roll 3.50-3.89 Sophomores

Ashley Beatty – Washington, Iowa
Joshua Burkholder – Warden, Wash.
Broxton Busenitz – North Newton, Kan.
Taylor Ermoian – Hays, Kan.
Taylor Fritz – Atglen, Pa.
Bonita Garber – Bainbridge, Pa.
Herane Girma – Alexandria, Va.
Jenae Hershberger – Goshen, Ind.
Samuel Hinga – Nairobi, Kenya
Keenan Jensen – Hesston, Kan.
Cody King – Wichita, Kan.
Frederick Lehman – Dalton, Ohio
Junau Louis-Jean – Les Cayes, Haiti
Mariah Martin – Glenwood Springs, Colo.
Jeptha Miller – Millersburg, Ohio
Alisa Murray – Orrville, Ohio
Marissa Schuett – Wichita, Kan.
Courtney Unruh – Hesston, Kan.
Leah Unruh – Walton, Kan.
Matthew R. Weaver – Goshen, Ind.
Pierre Zook – McMinnville, Ore.

Hesston College Aviation receives full-motion simulator

Hesston College Aviation and Air Traffic Control students will fly high while planted firmly on the ground when they return from Christmas break in January. As part of the college’s Delivering the Promise capital campaign, Hesston College received a generous anonymous gift which helped to fund a Redbird MCX C182 G1000 GFC700 flight simulator. The full-motion simulator was delivered Dec. 18 and replaces a flight training device that had been part of the program for 12 years.

“We are grateful for the generous gift that helped us purchase such a technologically advanced piece of equipment that will help the Aviation program, students, faculty and staff in such an important way,” said Yvonne Sieber, vice president of Advancement.

The Redbird simulator is a full-motion device geared toward Crew Resource Management and two-pilot cockpit training with single and multi-engine configurations. It provides real-world situational experiences as students learn to operate in the pilot/copilot environment most common in the aviation industry.

“The new simulator will make Hesston College Aviation a stronger program,” said program director Dan Miller. “With equipment as sophisticated as this, students can be presented with a variety of scenarios, including emergency situations, as represented by a Technically Advanced Aircraft.”

The anonymous gift used to help purchase the simulator was given to the college in honor of Wilbur Bontrager, Middlebury, Ind., an alumnus who studied aviation during his time at Hesston in 1973 and a dedicated supporter of the college. Bontrager, who serves as member of the Hesston College Board of Overseers, is CEO and Chairman of the Board of Jayco, Inc., one of the world’s leading recreational vehicle manufacturers.

As compared to the flight training device it is replacing, the simulator is the program’s first full-motion device, as it can pitch up and down and roll left and right simulating the movement of an airplane. The instrumentation is all behind a glass panel, consistent with modern aircraft, and the instructor co-pilot seat is equipped with enhanced computer capabilities to offer a wider range of flight scenarios.

“We will be able to elevate our lesson plans to match the variety of learning options the simulator provides,” said Miller. “Students will become stronger aviators and gain a higher level of professional maturity during their time at Hesston College.”

The Redbird simulator joins a fleet of two no-motion flight training devices that will remain with the program, giving students procedural and technique training before stepping into the larger device. Hesston College’s Aviation program has more than 50 students enrolled for the 2012-13 year and has trained more than 700 pilots since the program was started in 1970. Air Traffic Control was added as a plan of study in 2010 as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative and is the only program in Kansas and one of 36 nationwide with FAA approval.

In addition to the simulator, the Delivering the Promise campaign, which was launched in 2012, is also raising funds for a new airplane, avionics upgrades on existing planes and a facility remodel at the college’s hangar and office at the Newton City/County Airport, upgrades to campus pianos, the remodel of the performing arts building, Northlawn, two new tennis courts and a new campus entrance.

Hesston College and Goessel High School to present collaborative concert

The Hesston College Bel Canto Singers and the Goessel High School Elbiata Singers will collaborate to present a concert at St. Fidelis Church: The Cathedral of the Plains in Victoria, Kan., at 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27. 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 St. Fidelis Church.

The combined choir will present a program of sacred and secular choral music with the theme “A Prairie Winter Sojourn.”

“This performance gives the choirs an opportunity to present a specific type of legato music within a sympathetic architecture,” said Bel Canto director Bradley Kauffman. “Bringing the legato voice together with a generous, live acoustic can be a uniquely inspiring experience. It is an aesthetic that inspired medieval and renaissance to modern composers.”

St. Fidelis Church was nicknamed The Cathedral of the Plains by William Jennings Bryan in 1912. The Romanesque church, which features German windows and works of art, Austrian hand-carved stations of the cross and an Italian marble altar, was completed in 1911. In 1971 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a “building of architectural significance,” and was named one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas in 2008. The church is free and open to the public every day of the year, with mass being celebrated daily.

Bel Canto Singers and Elbiata Singers are mixed chamber choirs with a long traditions of vocal excellence in their respective instituions. Bel Canto is directed by Kauffman and Elbiata Singers by Renae Peters. Members of both choirs are selected by competitive audition.

A charter bus leaving from Hesston at 1 p.m. Jan. 27, will travel to the concert for anyone wanting to attend. Seats on the bus can be purchased for $25 by calling Hesston College Alumni and Church Relations at 866-437-7866. Reservations and payment must be received by Friday, Jan. 25.

Photo release - A weekend to be thankful

above Student soloists perform during the masterworks concert Thanksgiving evening.

More than 300 people, including about 40 prospective students, were guests at Hesston College during the 45th annual Thanksgiving Weekend Nov. 22 to 24. Guests traveled from 22 states for the weekend activities, which included Hesston College traditions of the Thanksgiving evening buffet, choral masterworks concert, talent show, Howard Hustle Two-Mile Run/Walk, music department concert and Thanksgiving Classic basketball tournament.

Photos by Larry Bartel

Howard Hustle - Participants in the 21st annual Howard Hustle Two-Mile Run/Walk start the day-after-Thanksgiving race led by an enthusiastic group of costumed students. More than 320 college students, Thanksgiving Weekend guests and local community members completed the route.

left to right Freshman Carley Wyse (Archbold, Ohio) and sophomore Rachel Miller (Hutchinson, Kan.) perform a song during the Thanksgiving Talent Show.Freshman Carley Wyse (Archbold, Ohio) and sophomore Rachel Miller (Hutchinson, Kan.) perform a song during the Thanksgiving Talent Show; Howard Hustle women's winner Mikala Heddin (below) of Hesston crosses the Howard Hustle finish line with a time of 13:05 as the top female finisher. Many community members, like Heddin, participate in the annual run/walk; Howard Hustle men's winnerSophomore Jacob Landis (Sterling, Ill.) crosses the Howard Hustle finish line. Landis’ time of 10:53 earned him awards for the top overall finisher and top male finisher. Landis is a member of the Hesston College Cross Country team.

World renowned baritone to make Hesston appearance

David Adam Moore, one of the world’s most sought-after operatic baritones, will perform a multi-media seasonal concert of Franz Schubert’s song cycle “Die Winterreise” (“A Winter Journey”) with pianist Earl Buys at Hesston College as part of the 2012-13 Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus.

“Die Winterreise” is a setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller performed in Schubert’s native German. Moore created a multimedia staging of Schubert’s masterwork with video projection, including English surtitles, as a way to help the audience visualize the very descriptive text.

“What’s special about this concert is that, as the performer, I’ll be free to use the entire stage and include visual elements to illustrate things that would normally be left to the audience’s imagination,” said Moore. “The text and music of ‘Winterreise’ are so full of imagery that it’s impossible to perform it or listen to it without seeing some sort of mental reel of what is being described.”

Moore rose to international acclaim when he made his operatic debut in the title role of Benjamin Britten’s “Billy Budd” with the New Israeli Opera. Since then, he has performed in countless roles at major opera houses and with famous orchestras worldwide.

The “Seattle Post-Intelligencer” praised the Texas native for his “enviable swagger coupled with a subtle musicality and big, handsome voice.”

Moore is a graduate of the Oberlin (Ohio) College Conservatory of Music and the University of Cincinnati (Ohio) – College Conservatory of Music. He was also accepted into the Seattle Young Artists program before making it big on opera’s world stage.

His performance resume includes work with companies in New Orleans, Houston, Seattle, Carnegie Hall, Japan, Germany, France, Ireland and more, starring in popular operas including “Don Giovanni,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Barber of Seville” and “Carmina Burana.”

An advocate of contemporary music, Moore has performed several works by American composers Martin Hennessy and Stephen Louis Bayne, most notably “9/11/01” at New York’s Guggenheim Art Museum. He is also an accomplished composer, whose work, “Kronos,” was featured in a performance by Delaware’s Oxymoros Dance Ensemble.

Aside from a rare appearance in south-central Kansas, Moore’s 2012-13 season features his debut in major roles with well-known companies, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” followed by a performance as Jud Fry in “Oklahoma!” He will also debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Prior Walter in “Angels in America” and make a return appearance with Arizona Opera as Mercutio in “Romeo et Juliette” and further performances as Kowalski with Virginia Opera.

Pianist Earl Buys has been a highly sought-after accompanist and coach for more than 40 years. His resume includes appearing in recital with hundreds of singers and instrumentalists throughout the United States, Europe, Canada and South America, official accompanist for dozens of opera competitions, performing in every major New York City venue and employment with major opera companies across the U.S. and around the world.

Moore will also conduct a master class with voice students from Hesston College and Bethel College Monday morning, Dec. 3 at Hesston Mennonite Church. The class is free and open to the public. Contact the Hesston College Music department at 620-327-8141 for the time.

Single tickets for the David Adam Moore concert are available for $16 or $19 with discounts available for students and senior citizens.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 620-327-8158 (Hesston College) or 316-284-5205 (Bethel College) or visit the HBPA website at www.hesston.edu/hbpa.

HBPA is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency which believes a great nation deserves great Art, Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment (Hesston), the cities of Hesston and North Newton and area patrons.

Hesston College to offer Bible course to community

Community members interested in ministry, church leaders and anyone with a general interest in the Bible are invited to join the Hesston College Bible Department for a three-weekend course, Prophets and Revelation, during the spring 2013 semester.

The class, taught by Bible and Ministry faculty member Michele Hershberger, focuses on prophetic and apocalyptic genre and the books of Jeremiah and Revelation over three weekends – Feb. 1 to 3, March 1 to 3 and April 5 to 7. Participants can earn three course hours.

“This course offers church leaders and community members a way to connect and interact with young adult college students in a new setting,” said Hershberger. “The books of Revelation and Jeremiah have much to say for our times right now – in a sense, we live under a Roman Empire today – what does that mean for us?”

The first weekend, Feb. 1 to 3, will focus on the biblical prophets and their importance both in the context of their day and also in today’s church. The second weekend, March 1 to 3, will center on the prophet Jeremiah, apocalyptic genre and the background of the book of Revelation. The third weekend, April 5 to 7, will be a verse-by-verse study of Revelation, a book that carries prophetic themes and visions, and discuss how the book can be used in preaching and worship.

Participants will learn the cultural and historical background of the prophets and the book of Revelation, how to read prophetic and apocalyptic genre and identify literary cues for interpretation to glean preaching topics and enhance worship.

“The course can serve as a refresher for pastors and Sunday School teachers on the prophetic books and the book of Revelation, give new ideas for sermons and worship themes and be the start for a new vision in a ministry setting” said Hershberger.

Hesston College offers a variety of degree and transfer options in Bible and Ministry, including two-year degrees in Bible and Religion, Pastoral Ministries and Youth Ministry. Hershberger is excited to share this course material with the wider community and church.

For more information including pricing for the course, or to register, call the Hesston College Bible and Ministry office at 620-327-8290. An audit option for the course is also available as well as scholarships and grants for students considering the Pastoral Ministries program.

Namesakes featured in Hesston College art gallery

Bob Regier and Paul Friesen, the namesakes for the newly named Hesston College Regier Friesen Art Gallery in the Friesen Center for the Visual Arts, are two of the six featured artists in the gallery through Dec. 13.

Other featured artists include faculty members Hannah Eastin and Lois Misegadis, 2007 graduate Mark Horst and 1967 graduate Don Lind.

The exhibit contains a variety of media from drawing and paintings, to pottery and wood and stone sculpture.

This fall, the Friesen Center art gallery was renamed to honor both Regier and Friesen, two former faculty members who fostered a 15-year integrated exchange program beginning in 1965 between Hesston College, where Friesen began the art program in 1956, and nearby Bethel College (North Newton), where Regier was teaching. Regier’s art teaching career began with Friesen’s encouragement. In the cooperative exchange, Regier taught printmaking, design, drawing and painting and Friesen taught ceramics and sculpture.

A reception and chance to meet the artist will be from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20 in the gallery.

The gallery is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.