Messiah College News Archive

Professors at Messiah College, Covenant College and Geneva College have co-edited a book of essays on concerns, questions, and challenges for Christian historians.

“Confessing History: Explorations in Christian Faith and the Historian¹s Vocation” is edited by John Fea (associate professor of American history at Messiah College), Jay Green (associate professor of history at Covenant College), and Eric Miller (associate professor of history at Geneva College).

The essays in “Confessing History” reflect on challenges for Christian historians, filling a large gap in the literature on Christian and especially evangelical historiography.

“Confessing History” is published by the University of Notre Dame Press.

Mike True, director of the Internship Center at Messiah College, was named to the board of directors of Washington Internship Institute, an educational organization committed to individual development through excellence in experiential education.

As director of Messiah’s Internship Center, True coordinates internship experiences for about 150 students annually. True manages Internship-Net, a listserv used by more than 780 professionals across the world. He also authored “Starting and Maintaining a Quality Internship Program,” a handbook used by hundreds of organizations. True is a sought-after speaker and was named “Higher Education Leader of the Year” in 2002 by the National Society for Experiential Education.

Distinguished Professor Art Ted Prescott won first place in the sculpture category for his piece, “Small Worlds,” at the “Art of the State” annual juried show sponsored by the Greater Harrisburg Arts Council and held at the State Museum each year.

“Small Worlds” is comprised of three different spheres, each one made up of particular stages of growth that take place from pruning apple trees. The smallest sphere is about 13 inches in diameter; the largest one, where the growth has been unchecked by pruning, is about 5.5 to 6 feet in diameter.

The exhibit runs until September 12.

Damian Savarino, senior lecturer in voice, recently placed in two competitions at the Catholic University of America (CUA) where he is a doctoral candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance degree.  He placed first in the annual Concerto Competition, hosted by the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at CUA and adjudicated by outside faculty, and will appear as a guest soloist with the CUA Orchestra in the 2010-2011 season. 

Savarino also won first prize in the annual scholarship competition, hosted by the Summer Opera Theater Company of Washington, D.C. (with whom he made his debut during the 2008 season) which is awarded to a new or continuing graduate voice student at Catholic University.

Adrienne Knight and Joshua Luther were nominated for the Irene Ryan Award for their roles in the department of theatre’s recent production of “Doubt, A Parable.”  Knight and Luther will compete at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in January.  In addition, Valerie Rae Smith and Tymberley Whitesel were awarded Certificates of Merit for Directing and Scenic Design.

Senior Melissa Lewis and Mathematics Professor Angela Hare were each recognized with the Barnabas Servant Leadership Award for their outstanding service to Messiah and the broader community.  The awards were given a special leadership banquet on April 11. Alumnus Andrew Samuel `84, president of Graystone Bank, was the invited speaker.

Melissa Lewis is senior nursing student from Grottoes, Virginia.  During her time at Messiah, she has been afforded many opportunities to learn about what it means to love others and to live out the example of the servant hood of Christ. Some formative experiences in her understanding of service include nursing clinical experiences and a semester abroad in Belize. Her desire to serve and “wash the feet” of others has grown significantly during her time as a student. Over the course of her four years here, she has volunteered at Messiah Village, Joshua Farm, Harrisburg Salvation Army afterschool program, Tabitha’s Knitting ministry, Delta Ministries, and the Area M Special Olympics through the coordination of the Agape Center. She has also tried to seek out opportunities to serve in other ways in the Messiah College community, such as serving food at the Grantham Church Eat-N-Run ministry, working as a Peer Group Leader, and serving as a Resident Assistant. She currently lives in the Social Justice House, where she seeks to inform fellow students about the needs of others worldwide.

Angela Hare has been teaching at Messiah College since 1996 and is currently associate professor of mathematics and the mathematical sciences department chair. In 2006, she traveled to West Africa with a Collaboratory team and since then has committed herself to helping Messiah College students develop the skills of their major through partnership with the Center for the Advancement of the Handicapped in the village of Mahadaga in Burkina Faso. Dr. Hare and her students have written, produced, and delivered books, games, technology, and materials for the blind to this school for more than 200 children with disabilities. Over the next three years, beginning this summer, students in the Collaboratory Education group will work with local staff and youth to lead a one-month summer school program for children in Mahadaga, strengthening their literacy and arithmetic skills. Dr. Hare says that she has had a lot of new things to learn in this international partnership. The most important thing she has learned is that God honors small steps of faith and is faithful to go before us

Professor Paul Nisly has been on the faculty at Messiah College for 35 years and witnessed firsthand many of the historical details, people, and developments in his published narrative of the last 40 years at Messiah. The book explores the College’s establishment of the Philadelphia campus, the legacies of the most recent presidents, the development of an extensive and nationally-recognized study abroad program, and changes in life outside the classroom. “Shared Faith, Bold Vision, Enduring Promise: The Maturing Years of Messiah College” picks up where E. Morris Sider’s book, “Messiah College: A History,” leaves off.

 “Shared Faith, Bold Vision, Enduring Promise: The Maturing Years of Messiah College” is available for $14.95 at the College Store.

Read an interview with Paul Nisly, conducted by alumnus Devin Thomas `09, about the book.

Damian Savarino, senior lecturer in voice, will sing the bass solo with Distinguished Concerts International of New York in their performance of Joseph Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass” at Carnegie Hall on Jan. 19.

Savarino will also make his Lincoln Center debut this spring when he sings the role of Rocco in a concert performance of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s “I Gioielli Della Madonna” on May 24. Savarino will also travel with colleague Richard Roberson, dean of the School of Arts at Messiah College, in June to perform a recital at a summer concert series in Berlin, Germany at the Passionkirche.

Read more about the Carnegie Hall concert.

Read Damian Savarino’s biography.

Messiah employees surpassed their goal of $33,000 to raise more than $36,700 for the United Way of the Capital Region. The organization hopes to raise a total of $10 million so that it continue providing valuable life-sustaining services to locals struggling in these difficult economic times.

For more than 10 years, College employees have been encouraged to donate to the United Way during an annual pledge drive. The United Way of the Capital Region touches many central Pennsylvanians in need by funding important programs administered by local non-profit organizations. Many of the organizations supported by the United Way are also served by Messiah students through placements by the Agape Center for Service and Learning.

Richard Hughes, Senior Fellow at the Ernest L. Boyer Center at Messiah College, will assist the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) with its continuing research on the theological exploration of vocation—newly funded by a $2.4 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.—the second largest grant in CIC history.

Hughes will specifically assist in the research component that examines “The American College Presidency as Vocation.” From 2005 through 2009, the CIC held year-long seminar series on Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission, aimed at helping college presidents, and those who aspire to presidencies, to align personal vocation and institutional mission through their work as leaders of independent institutions of higher education. The Lilly grant will allow the CIC to hold four additional, similar leadership development seminar series over the next five years for academic leaders in private higher education.

Hughes and William V. Frame, CIC senior advisor and president emeritus of Augsburg College, will interview past participants from the 2005-2009 seminars, seeking tangible evidence as to whether the program has made positive contributions to the satisfaction and durability of presidential life in America’s small and mid-size private colleges and universities. The research results will be shared with presidents and prospective presidents, their spouses, and others in all sectors of higher education, and will result in the publication of a new book, “The American College Presidency as Vocation.”

The final component of the CIC’s grant project will establish a “Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education” over six years. This initiative will connect colleges and universities who are committed to a sustained exploration of vocation through national and regional conferences, an exchange of resources and participation in online networking services.

For more details, read the CIC news release.