The symposium will feature senior presentations on sociology theses, social work portfolios and criminal justice field experiences. The public is invited to engage students and faculty in conversation about their research, experience and plans for the future.

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

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GRANTHAM, Pa. (April 14, 2008) – Written and performed by Valerie Rae Smith, associate professor and co-chair of the department of theatre at Messiah College, “Between Two Chairs” is a one-woman play following the tragedy of watching a father’s memory slowly lost to Alzheimer’s, parallel with the mystery of memory development in his young grandson. Performances will be held on May 5–6 at 8 p.m. in Miller Auditorium, located in Climenhaga Fine Arts Center on the college’s Grantham campus. Free tickets may be reserved by calling the Messiah College ticket office at (717) 691-6036.

About the production
“Between Two Chairs” is an autobiographical piece of theatre, born of Smith’s unique vantage point “as the daughter of a man who is losing his memories and the mother of a child who is developing his own.” The struggle and pain of the one role contrasts sharply with the wonder of the second. Intentionally conceived as a way to generate community among those living with memory loss or faced with the care of a loved one subject to Alzheimer’s, previous performances of “Between Two Chairs” have included a talk-back or a series of discussions regarding the disease and its physical, emotional and spiritual effects.

“At first,” Smith says, “I thought this play would be a very personal way of saying goodbye to my father… [but] I have discovered that there is still so much left to experience with my father even as I let go of our shared memories. Somehow, we are building new memories, memories that can give me great joy if I am willing to enter my father’s world rather than force him to remain in mine.”

About Valerie Rae Smith
Smith received her bachelor of arts in theatre/education from Taylor University, her master of arts from Miami University in Ohio and her Ph.D. in theatre history, literature and criticism from Tufts University. In addition to teaching theatre at Tufts University and Boston College, Smith served as artistic director for Circles of Girls, a pilot performing arts program for at-risk adolescents in Boston. Smith teaches theatre history, dramatic literature and acting, and directs in a variety of theatrical genres. Her recent directing credits include “Dead Man Walking,” “Nickel and Dimed,” “Noises Off” and “Romeo and Juliet.” She continues to perform and direct professionally.

About Messiah College
Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

Senior project presentations for the scholarship day cover a variety of topics and concerns. Students are often encouraged to develop projects whose aim is addressing social concerns. For example, projects in the past have involved the development of a water purification system with assemblage costs affordable for villages in rural West Africa, experiments with biodiesel production, and inexpensive medical aspirators for hospitals in developing countries. Such projects reflect the mission of the School of Mathematics, Engineering and Business to “graduate students who are competent in their disciplines, broadly educated in the liberal arts, aware of the ethical challenges and dilemmas of a fallen world and prepared to be lifelong learners.”

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

GRANTHAM, Pa. (April 11, 2008) – Originally scheduled in March, Over the Rhine will bring their “evocative, earthy songwriting and impassioned delivery” to Messiah College in a dynamic concert performance on May 6 at 8 pm. Their most recent album, “The Trumpet Child,” collaborates with Nashville producer Brad Jones to deliver, in strings, woodwinds and horns, “a juicy, informally epic pop album unlike any other you’re likely to hear this year.” They will perform in Brubaker Auditorium, located in the Eisenhower Campus Center on the college’s Grantham campus. Tickets for the rescheduled date still cost $15 and may be purchased by calling the Messiah College ticket office at (717) 691-6036. All tickets purchased for the March performance may be used for admission or turned in for a full refund.

About Over the Rhine
As artists who have been making music for more than 15 years, Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist still approach their work with the integrity and passion their tightly-knit fan base has come to love. “Believe me, we don’t want to waste anybody’s time,” says Detweiler. “When we stop believing we’re doing our best work, we’re done. Every song has to be good… every concert has to have some spiritual significance—something that we can’t quantify, something bigger than all of us.”

Over the Rhine began as a modest rock group in 1990, slowly becoming recognized for their talent. Originally hailing from Ohio, the group’s fame has taken them all across the U.S. and abroad, and the artists recently made “Paste” magazine’s “100 Best Living Songwriters.” Their music has won them a loyal pool of fans, who have followed their stylistic journey from more basic rock music to a charming amalgamation encompassing jazz and country as well.

About Messiah College
Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

GRANTHAM, Pa. (April 11, 2008) — Indie-rockers, The National, will perform at Messiah College on May 3 at 8 p.m. in Brubaker Auditorium in the Eisenhower Campus Center on the college’s Grantham campus. Doveman will open for The National, whose indie style gives adoring fans “bittersweet music that would break your heart if it wasn’t already broken.” Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at www.messiah.edu/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (717) 691-6036.

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, The National is a band of New Yorkers whose members Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Bryan Devendorf and Scott Devendorf describe themselves as a mix between indie-rock and alternative. They first debuted in 2005 with their album “Alligator.” A hit success, in 2007 the band released their second album, “Boxer,” which intertwines the unlikely thoughts of love, war, money and office life. Their reputation for encouraging audience participation and delivering an impressive array of songs across the genres promises concert-goers an unforgettable experience.

Doveman’s front man Thomas Bartlett, who once played with The National, leads the group through spectacular on-stage performances pouring out soulful melodies which move audiences to experience where “nostalgia and sadness meet love,” as stated in the “New York Press.”

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

About the production
Set in Ireland, both plays take an unflinching look at loss, whether by natural causes as in “Riders to the Sea,” or by man-made causes as in “Cathleen Ni Houlihan.” The inevitable sense of disruption to family life must be tempered by the characters’ abilities to cope and, ultimately, to find peace with their circumstances.

Student director Rena Dayton Moore ’08 draws on her own Irish ancestry to give life to Yeats and Synge’s plays. “In doing these two plays, I am exploring my own history and cultural understanding,” she says. “In this world of wars, rebellions, genocide and cancer, there are millions of people who know on a personal level what it means to lose someone close to them.”

About Messiah College
Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

Concert highlights
• May 3, 7 p.m.
The Messiah College Concert Handbell Choir comprised of 14 students will present a concert under the direction of Shawn Gingrich, adjunct lecture of music and director of music ministry at the First United Methodist Church in Hershey. The program will include “Procession of Praise” by Arnold Sherman (performed with organ and handbells); “Grazioso” by Arnold Sherman; “My Spirit Be Joyful” by J. S. Bach; “Amazing Grace” by Diane Bish; “Take Five” by Paul Desmond; and many others.

• May 5, 7:30 p.m.
The Messiah College Musica Nova will present a concert featuring new compositions by Messiah students under the direction of Dwight Thomas, director of the composition program, Richard Roberson, dean of the School of the Arts at Messiah, and Geoff Twigg, adjunct professor of music and director of music ministry ensembles. The program will feature a variety of styles including traditional, pop and avant-garde.

• May 6, 8 p.m.
The Messiah College Percussion Ensemble and Horn Ensemble will present a concert under the direction of David Knott, adjunct lecturer of music at Messiah and director of bands at Bishop McDevitt High, and Michael Harcrow, director of the brass ensemble and assistant professor of music. The Horn Ensemble will open the program with several transcriptions of well-known works by composers including Purcell, Schubert, Mozart and Sousa. A talented horn trio will present original works by Anton Reicha and Lowell Shaw of “Fripperies” fame. The percussion ensemble will perform Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Piano Sonata, op. 53 Mvt. 1, arranged by Allan Miller; David Gillingham’s poignant work “Normandy Beach,” presenting an aural depiction of the Allied landing during World War II; and many others.

About Messiah College’s music department
The department of music at Messiah College is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. The department offers majors in music and music education with concentrations in church music, performance, composition, commercial music and arts management. Through a variety of junior and senior recitals and choral and instrumental ensembles, students gain performing experience both on-and off-campus.

The Messiah College Bands have gained national recognition for their recordings “Cross Winds,” “Affirmations” and their most recent release “Progressions” which made the Grammy Nomination List in 2007.

About Messiah College
Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

Twiss, prolific speaker and published author, is currently a doctoral student at Asbury Seminary. A member of the International Reconciliation Coalition, he has been actively involved for years in pastoral work and, through his efforts with Wiconi International, is “working and praying to find better ways to support and empower people to find true, genuine hope and confidence for a better tomorrow.” His book, “One Church Many Tribes—Serving Jesus the Way God Made You” articulates a fresh Biblical vision for Native people and is available in Christian bookstores.

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

David Weaver-Zercher, associate professor of American religious history at Messiah College, is co-editor of “The Amish and the Media” with Millersville University Professor of Communication Diane Zimmerman Umble. The book includes an essay from Crystal Downing, professor of English and film studies at Messiah College, entitled “Witnessing the Amish: Plain People on Fancy Film.”

Weaver-Zercher is the author or editor of six books, four about the Amish, including “The Amish in the American Imagination” (John Hopkins University Press, 2001); “Writing the Amish: The Worlds of John A. Hostetler” (Penn State University Press, 2005); and “Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy” (Jossey Bass, 2007).

“The Amish and the Media” is available through Johns Hopkins University Press at www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/9503.html.

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

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GRANTHAM, Pa. (March 28, 2008) – John Fea, associate professor of history at Messiah College, has written the first biography of Philip Vickers Fithian, a farmer, Presbyterian minister, patriot and one of the most prolific diarists in early American history. The book, “The Way of Improvement Leads Home,” published by University of Pennsylvania Press, traces Fithian’s experiences in the early American backcountry, his love affair with Elizabeth Beatty and his role as a Revolutionary War chaplain. Fea will talk about his book and sign copies at Borders, 3515 Gettysburg Road in Camp Hill, on April 19 at 2 p.m. For more information about the event, contact Borders at (717) 975-2132.

“The Way of Improvement Leads Home” is being hailed by historians for being the first full biography of Fithian. “Many historians of Revolutionary America have plundered the diaries of Philip Vickers Fithian, but until now no one has satisfactorily told the life story of this great diarist. John Fea’s insightful book does just that—and yet more,” says Mark Noll from the University of Notre Dame.

Fea has written about early American history, religion, and politics for a host of scholarly and popular publications, including “The Journal of American History,” the “Harrisburg Patriot-News,” the “Chicago Sun-Times,” History News Network, “Explorations in Early American History and Culture,” the “Miami Herald,” “The History Teacher” and “Common-Place.” He is a writer for the syndicated History News Network and blogs regularly at “Religion and American History.” This is his first book.

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.