Nursing program receives re-approval
Nursing
The nursing program at Hesston College was formally granted re-approval by the Kansas State Board of Nursing (KSBN) at a Dec. 13 and 14 meeting in Topeka.
The Board’s recommendation came from a two day visit to the Hesston campus in late September. After visiting with nursing faculty and assessing the program’s facilities, curriculum and resources, the program was recommended for re-approval for the full eight years. The next survey will be coordinated with the visit from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission in spring 2018.
“Nursing faculty, staff and students feel affirmed by the recent KSBN site visit, report and formal action to grant full approval,” said Hesston College Director of Nursing Bonnie Sowers. “We are pleased that our nursing program was found to be in full compliance with all relevant state regulations and that many program strengths were noted.”
Among the regulations the Board assessed and named as strengths to Hesston’s program are professional and efficient faculty and positive and satisfied graduates.
The program’s strengths agree with those of the wider college, which was named the number 2 two-year college in the country in terms of student success rate by Washington Monthly magazine in August.
Since Hesston College’s first class of nursing graduates in 1968, 98.6 percent of the program’s graduates have passed the national licensure exam to become registered nurses. More than 1,300 nurses have gone through the program in its 44 years of existence.
“None of this would have been possible without the strong curriculum standards that have been in place at Hesston College over time, as well as the incredible focus, effort and abilities invested in the nursing program by our faculty, staff and students,” said Sowers. “In the end, it is the patients of our graduates who will benefit from the program’s high standards and our faculty’s emphasis on caring and competence.”
Photo release: Hesston College students attend business convention
Business
Several members of the Hesston College community, including five sophomore business students and two instructors traveled to Calgary, Alberta, Canada Nov. 4 to 7 for the 2010 Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) convention. “MEDA was such a good experience,” said student Sarah Lederman. “We were able to talk with Mennonite business professionals and learn how they have brought their faith into their businesses.” Pictured from left are Hesston College Vice President of Advancement Yvonne Sieber; John Oyer, Hesston, Kan.; Luci Eash, Haven, Kan.; instructor David LeVan; Laura Unruh, Newton, Kan.; Masaki Kato, Tokyo, Japan; Sarah Lederman, Middlebury, Ind.; instructor Vickie Andres; and Hesston College volunteers Sid and Peg Burkey, Milford, Neb.
Photo release: Professor donates hairstyle for student’s service trip
General
Kevin Wilder, Hesston College psychology and youth ministry instructor, and Saralyn Mast, a freshman from Ephrata, Pa., show off Wilder’s new hairstyle “The Mr. T.” Wilder, who is also Mast’s academic advisor, donated his hairstyle as a fundraiser for a service trip to Haiti during Christmas break where she will spend a week working with orphan girls at a school. The unusual cut was one of four options which students, faculty and staff could vote on with their monetary gifts. Mast and Wilder hoped to raise half of the funds for the trip through the Hesston College community and exceeded their goal by $46.80. Mast is a member of Ephrata Mennonite Church and the daughter of David and Karen Mast.
NEA announces grant to Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts
Music
$10,000 grant will support Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts’ presentation of Chanticleer
Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts announced today that Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts has been approved for a grant of $10,000 to support a performance and residency by male a capella chorus Chanticleer Feb. 8, 2011. Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts is one of 1,057 not-for-profit organizations recommended for a grant as part of the federal agency’s first round of fiscal year 2011 grants. In total, the Arts Endowment will distribute $26.68 million to support projects nationwide.
An independent agency of the federal government, the National Endowment for the Arts advances artistic excellence for the benefit of individuals and communities. Landesman said, “I continue to be impressed with the creative, innovative and excellent projects brought forward by arts organizations across the country. Our grantees are not only furthering their art forms but also enhancing their neighborhoods by making them more vibrant, livable and fun.”
“We are grateful to receive NEA support once again this year,” said HBPA Director Matthew Schloneger. “This type of funding allows our organization to bring world class artists to central Kansas that we would not otherwise be able to achieve. It’s a wonderful opportunity for our community and the students of Hesston College and Bethel College.”
Called “the world’s reigning male chorus,” by The New Yorker magazine, and named 2008 Ensemble of the Year by Musical America, Chanticleer’s “symphony of voices” returns to Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts for the first time since 2006. Chanticleer will perform more than 100 concerts in 2010-11, the Grammy Award-winning ensemble’s 33rd season. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for their “tonal luxuriance and crisply etched clarity,” Chanticleer will tour to Canada and 22 states, including appearances at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National American Choral Directors Association Conference in Chicago.
The HBPA performance will be at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 8 in Bethel College’s (North Newton) Memorial Hall. Tickets range from $19 to $23 with discounts for students and seniors, and are available at www.hesston.edu/hbpa or by calling 620-327-8158 or 316-284-5205. Chanticleer music director Matthew Oltman will lead a choral workshop with choirs and student vocal ensembles from Hesston (Kan.) College and Bethel College at 4 p.m. Feb. 8 on the Bethel College campus. The workshop will be free and open to the public.
The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series, now in its 29th year, started in 1982 as Hesston Performing Arts (HPA) with funding and planning provided by Hesston College and the Hesston community. In 1998, HPA planners launched a partnership with Bethel College and the series name changed to Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts. Hesston College and Bethel College host five performances by world-renowned or regionally acclaimed artists each year.
The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government that has awarded more than $4 billion on projects of artistic excellence, creativity and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the National Endowment for the Arts at arts.gov.