Media Mentions

Professor of Art Kathy Hettinga just completed her book “Grave Images: San Luis Valley,” a book of more than 200 photos of historic churches and cementaries in the San Luis Valley. The Santa Fe New Mexican featured Hettinga in an October 30 article.

“Down in the valley, valley so high” is no longer available online.

The College’s first graduate level course is off to a good start, according to participating students and the program director, both interviewed in an August 11 Carlisle Sentinel article. More than 20 students enrolled in the first course –Professional Issues and Ethics.

Read “Getting schooled: Messiah expands its programs.”

The scent of mimosa trees is a vivid part of reporter Diane McCormick’s memories of growing up in northern Virginia. She was recently delighted to find a mimosa tree growing in her backyard here in central Pennsylvania and spoke with David Foster, associate professor of biology and environmental science, about how the southern species migrated north for her July 31 column in the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

Read “Intrusive or not, mimosa is graceful.”

Central PA magazine, the publication of local public television station WITF, devotes much of its August issue to the arts in the capital region. In the feature story, the magazine profiles five talented creators and performers under the age of 25. Included in this prestigious group is David O’Donnell, a 2008 graduate, who is performing his sixth operatic role in Belgium as John Brook in “Little Women.”

Read “Reaching for the stars.”

In addition, a story about how arts and culture programs are faring at colleges and universities in light of the recession extensively quotes both Richard Roberson, dean of the School of the Arts, and Jeff Rioux, director of the Larsen Student Union. Both contributed to the conversation about the need for the arts, especially during times of national economic turmoil.

“A college is incomplete without the arts,” says Roberson. “The arts are part of what it is to be human. They’re part of the way we understand and interpret he world that’s around us. To not have them on the college campus, it wouldn’t be a real college any more.”

The article, “A commitment to culture,” is not available online.

This summer, Professor David Pettegrew took nine Messiah students with him to Larnaca, Cyprus for a three-week research trip that involved excavating and documenting ancient settlements from the late Roman period. The July 31 editon of the Harrisburg Patriot-News featured a story including interviews with Pettegrew and student Rachel Skotnicki.

“Students revise views of history on archaeological dig on Cyprus” is not currently available online.

John Fea, associate professor of American history, has been monitoring how a review board appointed by the Texas Board of Education is considering adjusting their state’s social studies curriculum. Some of the controversial decisions of the reviewers are bringing attention to the role of history in school curriculum. Fea voices his opinion in a July 26 op-ed in the Houston Chronicle; he writes, “History, when taught correctly, has the power to transform us, regardless of the subject matter. It forces us to put aside our own selfishness and see ourselves as part of a human story that is larger than the contemporary moment in which we live.”

Read “Don’t taint teaching of history in Texas.”

Erin Boyd-Soisson, associate professor of family science, agrees that, despite the increased number of stay-at-home dads, modern society is slow to recognize the modern realities of fatherhood. Her quote from an AP story that is appearing in dozens of newspapers nationwide, helps explain the frustration that many fathers feel when ignored by pediatricians and other professionals when in their wife’s presence.

Read “With Father’s Day over, dads feel culture keeps them in shadows as they try to step up” from the June 30 “Orlando Sentinel.”

David Weaver-Zercher, associate professor of American religious history and chair of the department of biblical and religious studies, recently commented on a situation in western Pennsylvania regarding a particularly strict Amish sect and their conflict with local authorities regarding the treatment of sewage. The article appeared in the June 18 Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Read “Amish permitted to store grain in Cambria County barn.”

Her father’s progressing Alzheimer’s contrasted with her young son’s developing memory is the theme for Valerie Rae Smith’s one-woman show, “Between Two Chairs,” showing at Open Stage in Harrisburg this weekend. The June 9 edition of the Carlisle Sentinel featured Smith, professor of theatre and co-chair of the department, in a story about her inspiration for the play and the challenges of caring for an ailing family member.

Read “Family provides inspiration for Alzheimer’s play.”

Caroyln Kreamer, chair of the nursing department, answered five questions for a new Health section of the Patriot-News about the future of nursing in this economy. The story, which ran in the June 7 edition, provides good, practical advice for current nursing students about how to navigate the challenges of this job market.

Read “Five quesitons on the job market for nurses.”