July 30, 2021

Dear Colleagues:

It is wonderful to experience the life and activity that returning employees, conference and camp guests, graduate students enrolled in week-long intensives, and visiting students and families are bringing to our campus this summer. And this year more than ever, I am looking forward to the energy that our undergraduate students will bring when they arrive in just a few short weeks! I am excited to have our entire “Falcon Nation” back together again after what has certainly been a challenging and extenuating 17 months for the Messiah community.

Connect with colleagues at Community Day

All employees are warmly invited to attend Community Day on Tuesday, Aug. 17, from 9-10:30 a.m. in the Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts (in-person this year!). This annual Messiah tradition serves as the ceremonial launch of the new academic year for employees with opportunities for corporate worship and fellowship, as well as my sharing of the 2021 State of the University address. I will also be highlighting the priorities of Messiah’s new strategic plan, “University Rising: Strategic Plan for 2021-2024.” Employees will also receive a printed executive summary of the plan, which may be read in its entirety at www.messiah.edu/prioritization.

Following the gathering, light refreshments and Year of Reconciliation shirts (this year’s campus theme) will be available to employees from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on the new campus green. All offices and departments (apart from Dispatch) will close from 8:45-11:30 a.m. to allow employees to participate in the Community Day experience. If you have any questions, please contact Karin Bisbee.

 FY21 and FY22 budget information

The final FY21 budget information will be published following our annual institutional audit in early fall. I am grateful for the careful fiscal management on the part of all employees during the past fiscal year, which enabled us to achieve a budgeted surplus. At this time, President’s Cabinet remains committed to recommending the FY22 proposed budget parameters (previously approved by governance groups) which includes employee raises. As is our established institutional budget practice, the FY22 budget parameters are not implemented until they are finally approved by the board of trustees at their fall meeting in October; therefore, employee raises would then be effective starting Nov. 1, 2021.

Update on academic school and department structure

As part of our institutional strategic planning and prioritization process, the academic school structure has been revised for FY22 to include three schools: the School of Graduate Studies led by Rob Pepper, the School of Science, Engineering and Health, led by Angela Hare, and the School of Arts, Culture and Society, which combines the previous schools of humanities, arts, business, education and social sciences, which is led by Peter Powers. As such, please see this attachment from the Office of the Provost that outlines the revised academic school and department organization, as well as their related academic leadership positions.

Together at Messiah

Messiah’s Integration and Response Team continues to finalize the extensive planning, preparation and protocols related to the start of the fall 2021 semester, and for keeping our students, colleagues and visitors healthy and safe as the pandemic continues to spread in the U.S. and abroad. With the rise of new variants, including the highly transmissible Delta variant, the University is paying close attention to emerging health advisories. It is important to note that Messiah University’s fall 2021 plans are tightly integrated with evolving state and federal authorities’ guidance and directives, and as such, are subject to ongoing change. A summary of Messiah’s pandemic response protocols may be found at the Together at Messiah website www.messiah.edu/together, and we will continue to notify students and employees of urgent updates via campus email and weekly updates to our emergency blog.

The University’s position remains that the best chance for achieving a more “normal” campus life is for our students and employees to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Our campus goal is to reach “Community Immunity” ― a minimum of 70 percent vaccination rate for our students and employees.

While not mandated, we sincerely appreciate our students and employees who have already been vaccinated for COVID-19, and we continue to encourage as many as possible to do so. Messiah students and employees, and their family members, are now able to be conveniently vaccinated at no cost on campus at the Engle Center (Moderna vaccine). For more information visit “Messiah’s Best Shot” website.

Enrollment snapshot

Undergraduate fall 2021: New student enrollment for fall is currently holding at 551 first-year students and 76 transfers, compared to adjusted goals of 545 and 87 respectively. The fleeting days of summer are committed to working with recent applicants and following up with deposited students in attempts to gain additional enrollees and minimize “summer melt.” We are pleased to report that enrollment of new domestic under-represented students is currently at an all-time high with 140 students, compared to 119 one year ago. This currently represents 22.3 percent of new students.

Undergraduate Admissions was pleased to reintroduce in-person summer Falcon Friday events for prospective students and their families. We have already hosted over 100 students and have approximately 50 students and their families/friends registered for our final summer event on Friday, Aug. 13. Additionally, individual visit traffic has been steady, and we added some very popular “twilight tours” to give families the opportunity to schedule evening visits. Finally, we continue to virtually engage students. 159 new students registered for our online August 5 “Prepare for Landing” event which serves as a precursor to Welcome Week by giving new students the opportunity to connect with the Offices of Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Financial Services, Student Success and Engagement, Residence Life and Housing, SGA, The Career and Professional Development Center, The Engle Center, and Dining Services prior to their arrival in a few short weeks.

Undergraduate FY22: A full-slate of in-person campus visits and recruitment events this fall are scheduled. The first undergraduate admissions event will take place on Friday, Sept. 10 as we host our first departmental Engineering Focus Day. The first fall Open House will be hosted on Saturday, Sept. 18.  A full schedule of our upcoming visit and event offerings is available at messiah.edu/visit.

Graduate enrollment FY21:  The 2020-2021 fiscal year budgeted credit hour goal was 14,811. As of the end of FY21, we reached 16,280 registered credit hours (110 percent of goal). Congratulations to the faculty, staff and administrators who continue to propel the growth of our graduate programs.

Comparing where we ended this year to our budget goals:

  • 7 fewer new students (381 versus goal of 388).
  • 39 additional unduplicated students (979 versus goal of 940).
  • 1,469 additional credit hours (16,280 versus goal of 14,811).

Comparing where we ended this year to where we ended last year:

  • 18 additional new students (381 this year versus 363 last year).
  • 53 additional unduplicated students (979 this year versus 926 last year).
  • 2,521 additional credit hours (16,2680 this year versus 13,759 last year; 110% to goal this year versus 109% to goal last year).

Graduate enrollment FY22:  The 2021-2022 fiscal year budgeted credit hour goal is 15,237. Currently we have reached 7,234 registered credit hours (47 percent to goal). Comparing where we are this year to where we were last year on July 21, 2020:

  • Behind 6 new students (156 this year versus 162 last year)
  • Ahead 31 unduplicated students (743 this year versus 712 last year)
  • Ahead 626 credit hours (7,234 this year versus 6,608 last year; 47 percent to goal this year versus 45 percent to goal last year)

Giving update

Giving for FY21: We are grateful to report that we concluded the fiscal year over $1 million ahead of our giving goal by raising more than $7.2 million in new gifts toward a goal of $6 million, which is 120 percent of our goal! When added to new pledges, we raised nearly $12.1 million which is 101 percent of our June 30 gifts and new pledge goal. It is the compelling mission of Messiah University coupled with the faithfulness of our donors and God’s leading in their lives that makes such achievements possible. Thank you to the Office of Development team for such a successful fundraising effort in what was a very challenging year for Messiah University and a difficult climate for higher education.

The Messiah Fund: The Messiah Fund / Operating giving reached $982,596 or 76 percent of our $1.3 million goal. The Messiah Fund includes unrestricted bequests. When you factor out bequests from the last three years, Messiah Fund giving has been holding steady, i.e., $975,000 for the past three years. Increasing giving to this Fund remains a strategic priority for the Development team.

Learning for Life, Transforming the World: The Campaign for Messiah University: As noted in past updates, we will officially launch the Campaign for Messiah University via a virtual event in early September 2021. Our emphasis in the coming months will be a focus on the Messiah Fund and scholarship aid, key resources for our students as they seek affordable ways to make a Messiah education possible for them and their families.

Giving for FY22: Though only about a month into the new fiscal year, we are trending slightly ahead of last year at this same time. In addition to launching the public phase of The Campaign for Messiah University, we remain focused on engaging our donors in ongoing conversations about the numerous ways they can help support our students and student athletes, including setting up new scholarship endowments, program endowments and future missions travel.

Good news about Messiah

Here is a sample of some recent highlights about the success of Messiah University’s programs and people. For more details visit messiah.edu/news, Messiah’s official Facebook page, and the Bridge magazine (the source sites for many of the below news items).

  • This week the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) announced their Regional Coaches of the Year for the 2021 campaign. Among the honorees was Messiah’s Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Heather McKay, who was named the Division III Metro Region Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. McKay led the Falcons to their most successful season in program history, advancing to the Elite Eight. The Falcons finished the 2021 season with an overall record of 18-1 with McKay leading Messiah to their deepest run in the NCAA Tournament history, earning a first-round bye and picking up a pair of victories to move into the National Quarterfinal. The Falcons ranked fifth in the final IWLCA Division III National Rankings. Congratulations, Coach McKay, on this well-deserved honor!
  • Congratulations to first-year marketing major Chloe Mack, for her volunteer leadership in developing the social media and website for “Joy to the Burg,” a fundraiser Christmas album of local artists to help the homeless in our region. This year, the album won “Best Branding/Unique Marketing Campaign” at the 2021 Nonprofit Innovation Awards hosted by Central Penn Business Journal, TFEC, Lancaster County Community Foundation and York County Community Foundation. Learn more at https://youtu.be/yOa4pL6a5PM.
  • Congratulations to Assistant Dean of Nursing Kim Fenstermacher on the recent publication of the third edition of “Called to Care,” launched by InterVarsity Press. Fenstermacher serves as an author of the book (which is integrated into Messiah’s sophomore level NURS 203 Historical and Conceptual Basis of Nursing course) along with former Messiah nursing faculty member Dr. Arlene Miller, and with Dr. Judy Shelly.
  • Earlier this month, the Digital Harrisburg Initiative was awarded a Leadership in History Award by the American Association for State and Local History. The award recognized the Digital Harrisburg Initiative as a collaborative project of Messiah, Harrisburg University and community partners. The application centered on work with the Commonwealth Monument Project, but also included publications and a range of public humanities projects that Messiah students and faculty have carried out in collaboration with local organizations. Thank you for the leadership of Pete Powers, Jean Corey, Jim LaGrand, Bernardo Michael, Sarah P. Myers, and David Pettergrew in contributing to the application. Beyond Messiah, Albert Sarvis of Harrisburg University and Lenwood Sloan of the Commonwealth Monument Project were also partners on the application.
  • In early July, Messiah University was presented with an award recognizing its work in reducing its carbon footprint related to using the Auto Brine System for water treatment in our campus buildings. This system eliminates the need for bagged salt for water treatment, and accordingly in 2020 Messiah has reduced its carbon footprint by 15,000 pounds of CO2 in 2020; and eliminated over 3,000 plastic bags from going to the landfill. Thank you to Brad Markley and the leadership of the Facility Services team.
  • Congratulations to the graphic design team in the Office of Marketing and Communications, Deb Hartranft, Matt Logan and Nancy Soulliard, for winning a Graphic Design USA in-house design award for Messiah University’s “see anew” brand refresh campaign. The award recognizes outstanding work by in-house higher education graphic designers, and only the top 10 percent of nearly 7,000 entries from colleges and universities across the country receive this honor.
  • Elizabeth Colpo, a graduate of Messiah’s Master of Music in conducting program, is the incoming President of the Pennsylvania State Chapter of ACDA (American Choral Directors Association). Honored as ACDA-PA’s Outstanding Young Conductor in 2011, she has served as director of choirs at Lower Dauphin High School for 14 years, during which time she has mentored six student teachers and led LDHS choirs to performances at the ACDA National Virtual Concert Hall, NAfME Eastern Division Convention, PMEA State Convention, ACDA-PA Conducting Competition, and the University of Pittsburgh Heinz Chapel Chamber Choir Festival. Congratulations, Elizabeth, on this prestigious and outstanding leadership role and achievement!

In closing

I hope that you and your loved ones are enjoying these final days of summer. As we prepare for the start of our new academic year, please pray for wisdom and guidance as we seek to make important decisions, for care and support for each other, and for peace, health and safety for our students and their families. To this end, I invite all employees to participate in a 12-hour campus-wide employee prayer vigil on Community Day (Aug. 17).  We are encouraging all employees, along with our board of trustee members, to consider selecting a 15-minute slot to pray for our new and returning employees, first-year and returning students, student families, our RDs and RAs, our board of trustees, university leaders, our immediate colleagues and our own families for a physically and spiritually healthy campus community this year. Please watch for an email next week with additional details from Messiah Community Pastor Stephen Gallaher about how you can participate.

I look forward to Community Day!

Warm regards,

Kim S. Phipps, President