Harrisonburg: Learning in a real-world setting

Jim Bishop

Story by Jim Bishop For most majors, Eastern Mennonite University offers smaller classes that provide much opportunity for close student-faculty interaction and mentoring. In addition, many majors include opportunities for internships, where students apply classroom learning to “real world” settings. Beyond this, a number of students majoring in the sciences, particularly biology or chemistry, are…

Harrisonburg: Annual relief sale a big success

Chris Graham

Story by Jim Bishop Economic woes apparently took a back seat to spectacular weather that helped draw an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 10,000 to the 42nd annual Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale held Oct. 3-4 at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds. This year’s sale raised approximately $307,638 in total receipts for Mennonite Central Committee. This does not…

Harrisonburg: Retired JMU lab coordinator honored for alternative fuel research

Chris Graham

Staff Report Retired James Madison University Alternative Fuel Vehicle Lab coordinator Randy Poag was recently inducted into the Nashville Auto Diesel College Hall of Fame for his contributions to JMU’s pioneering work in biodiesel and alternative fuels. “Randy’s guidance in the AFV lab was integral to the success of many projects,” said Christie-Joy Brodrick Hartman,…

Harrisonburg: A feast fit for a Royal

Chris Graham

Story by Andrea Schrock Wenger Bibb lettuce that traveled about 10 miles from Marlan Showalter’s farm to the table formed the base of a veggie wrap that was among the fare served at Eastern Mennonite University dining hall’s first “harvest meal” of locally-grown food, held Oct. 1. “The meal was amazing,” said Leah Risser, a…

Harrisonburg: Republicans for Warner

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] The press release billed the event as being the launch of something to be called Virginians for Warner, and let us know that former Republican state senator John Chichester was going to be tagging along with his friend from across the aisle. It didn’t say anything about the gaggle of…

Harrisonburg: WWLD?

Jim Bishop

Story by Jim Bishop For those who’ve asked, “What Would Lloyd Do?”, some possible answers to this not-so-rhetorical question are provided in a new play with music written by and starring Ted Swartz and Trent Wagler, that will premiere at Eastern Mennonite University’s fall homecoming and parents weekend. In the two-act, 90-minute play, a struggling…

Harrisonburg: The conflict between the American Dream and living in Jesus

AFP

Story by Laura Lehman Amstutz “It is impossible to follow Christ while fulfilling the demands of the American dream,” said Leonard Dow, pastor at Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, Pa. He addressed students, faculty and staff at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Spiritual life Week services, Sept. 23-25. “All upward mobility is resistant to the…

Harrisonburg: Greek community at JMU gives back

AFP

Staff Report Fraternity and sorority philanthropies at James Madison University raised more than $67,000 for charitable causes and donated more than 15,000 hours to the Harrisonburg community in the spring 2008 semester. “Students in Greek organizations at JMU take pride in everything they do and they actively seek out opportunities to assist those in need,”…

Harrisonburg: Former Clinton, Bush national-security adviser stumps for Obama

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Richard Clarke never thought he’d be out on the stump for a presidential candidate. A counterterrorism expert who worked in the federal government for 30 years, his job was to make it so that nobody outside a small circle of people in the State Department ever knew his name. But…

Harrisonburg: Foundation boosts efforts to add to science, engineering, math enrollment

AFP

Staff Report Efforts by James Madison University and other area colleges and universities to boost enrollment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors have received nearly $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation. The NSF money will be used to run a summer “get ahead” type program for students who are interested in STEM…