Friends,

Last fall, Hesston College received an enthusiastic go-ahead from the Higher Learning Commission to launch its fourth baccalaureate degree program. The School of Engineering will welcome its first cohort of students in fall 2022 at its new home in Friesen Center in the heart of Hesston College’s beautiful campus.

That location is fitting. Hesston graduates have made significant contributions to the world of engineering. Even as we launch our baccalaureate engineering program, Hesston College alumni are already making major advancements in engineering for agriculture, aviation and beyond. To house this new and exciting program at the center of campus illustrates our commitment to teaching the next generation of great engineers.

Hesston has had a long and proud history of associate level engineering instruction led by visionaries like Nelson Kilmer. Without their invaluable contributions, the Hesston College School of Engineering with its focus on mechatronics would not be possible today.

Hesston College has come a long way from our first discussions regarding its potential future as a bachelor’s degree-granting institution to where we are today, with the fourth baccalaureate program of Vision 2025 underway. We could not have gotten here without the long lineage of excellent Anabaptist instruction like a wind at our back, or without the continued support and encouragement of alumni and friends like you.

Hesston College has a heart for engineering, and now it has engineering at its heart. It’s a proud day for us, one that will only be surpassed on the day we confer the first Bachelor of Science degree in engineering to a graduating student. Until that day in the not-too-distant future, we wait and watch as the next generation of Hesston engineers enters the classroom ready to change the world.

Peace to you,

Dr. Joseph A. Manickam ’87
President