May 12, 2022

Dear Colleagues:

Congratulations to Messiah University’s Class of 2022—and to all of us for the completion of a successful academic year! It was a privilege to celebrate undergraduate commencement last week with our graduating seniors and with our first graduates from Messiah’s adult degree programs. Commencement is a joyful and poignant reminder of just how much the world needs Messiah graduates—people of hope and resilience equipped with the intellect, character and Christian faith to transform our world. Thank you to all of you for rising to the challenge of moving Commencement indoors in such a proficient and hospitable manner for our graduates and their guests (one of the rainiest weeks in recent memory!). And I know that many of you continue Commencement preparations for the graduates of our School of Graduate and Professional Studies this weekend—including the milestone of graduating our first cohort from our Doctor of Physical Therapy program!

With a full calendar of May Educator Development Week, employee recognition events and tributes to retiring Provost Randy Basinger, we shift focus this week from our spring to summer term, concluding final grading and projects—tying up loose ends and gearing up for summer projects and initiatives. We are also working hard to ready campus for our first full summer camp and conference season since the start of the pandemic—and for this we are grateful.

The privilege of leading Messiah is one I cherish and never take for granted. Every day we have the shared responsibility of intellectually challenging and professionally preparing students while enabling them to embrace the truth that their identity in Christ is the most important identity, valued above all else! Thank you for making it possible for thousands of Messiah undergraduate and graduate alumni to love, lead and serve a broken world!

Now, as we approach the warmer, sunnier (and hopefully more restful) summer months, I’d like to share with you a campus update.

Messiah hosts Alumni of Color Weekend

The Office of Diversity Affairs, in partnership with the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations, hosted a weekend gathering for Alumni of Color on April 22-24. The theme for the event, “Connecting the Generations,” provided an opportunity for alumni to connect with one another, the University, as well as current students. The weekend included: a concert, “Reconciliation in Sound,” by the Messiah University Symphony Orchestra, featuring a special selection in honor of Rachel Flowers arranged by Jonathan Ragonese; a coffeehouse sponsored by the Multicultural Council; as well as a town hall meeting where I had the opportunity to answer questions, listen and converse with alumni. Additionally, there were various panel sessions during which alumni learned more about advancements by the University in regard to inclusive excellence and reconciliation. The event concluded with an alumni-led gospel concert and worship service. More than 120 alumni attended the weekend along with their family and friends. I am grateful for the leadership of Vice President for Diversity Affairs Todd Allen, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Jay McClymont and a team of dedicated colleagues who planned for this important event.

Highlights from the April 2022 board of trustees meeting

Members of Messiah’s board of trustees were pleased to once again be able to gather in person for their annual spring meeting on campus April 28-29 (after needing to move their meetings to Zoom in January in the midst of the COVID Omicron surge). The trustees were encouraged by our positive enrollment numbers and the news that we have exceeded our fundraising goal for The Campaign for Messiah University ahead of schedule (read more details in my following enrollment and giving snapshots). Board members also had a full slate of additional action items, and below is a summary of key decisions from the April session.

From the Committee on Finance:

  • The board approved the FY23 Financial Plan, as approved by campus governance groups, permitting the Executive Committee of the Board, or the Committee on Finance, to take final action on the financial plan in October when enrollment information will be more complete, if necessary.
  • The board approved the standard action that the vice president for finance and planning, with the written consent of the president of the University or the chair of the board of trustees, be authorized to borrow under two lines of credit up to a total of $20 million for working capital purposes during the period July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.
  • Since 2013-14, Messiah College’s Board of Trustees has authorized using board designated (unrestricted) endowment funds to support nine endowment matching challenges totaling more than $5.3 million. These initiatives raised funds to establish new endowed scholarships and to secure new gifts for existing scholarships. As such, the board voted to approve $1.5 million to fund Endowment Matching Initiative #10 to support the existing financial aid budget or existing programs.

From the Committee on Education: The board reviewed and approved the promotion status of current faculty members, and the hiring of new faculty members, as presented based on the recommendation of the Term-Tenure and Promotion Committee, the provost and the president.

From the Committee on Governance:

  • The board reviewed and approved the appointment of the following individuals as a trustee in the class of 2026, effective July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2026:
    • First term: Joseph Jones; Gary Langmuir; Linda Pheasant; Jerry Wenger
    • Second term: Sherrie Bailey; Garret Larsen
    • Third term: Barbara Avery
  • The board approved the appointment of the following slate of officers of the board of trustees for a one-year term to be effective July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023:
    • Vice Chair:                             Heidi Bingaman
    • Secretary:                               David Millary
    • Treasurer:                              Anthony Schiano
  • The board also voted to name Dr. Barbara G. Moses a trustee emeritus of Messiah University after serving faithfully for 20 years. After teaching in the Philadelphia School District for 30 years, Barbara retired and then took a post as founding principal at the Philadelphia Mennonite School (the PMS). Her vibrant faith, commitment to urban education, and stellar administrative skills aided her in an eventual merger between the PMS and The City School. She expresses a vibrant faith, is active in ministry and civic engagement, and has received numerous awards including Philadelphia Social Studies educator of the year, Who’s Who in American Education, and was a featured educator in the Interfaith Council of Philadelphia. As a Messiah trustee, Barbara has provided invaluable insight to the Committee on Education for two decades. She beautifully models our mission statement commitment to living a life of service, leadership and reconciliation. Barbara has served as a faithful prayer supporter of the president, Messiah’s leadership team and the Messiah board of trustees.

From the Executive Committee: The board approved the University Council recommendation for a revised program/unit review that meets MSCHE (Middle States) standards. This proposal delineates how Messiah will annually assess administrative units, which include units both in the academic and non-academic areas, academic units and programming and student success and engagement units and programming.

 “University Rising” strategic planning update

Last fall, the University formed a Strategic Plan Implementation (SPI) Committee to monitor our institutional efforts to advance the goals of University Rising: Strategic Plan 2021 – 2024.  The committee meets each semester to review updates submitted by action step point persons. The University is making progress within its four themes (Distinctive Teaching and Learning; See Messiah Anew; Sustainable Future; Transformative Connections), each led by a “theme team” overseeing the related action steps, timeline and success metrics. You may review the master report of the spring semester via this link or visit the strategic planning and prioritization website for additional details.

Enrollment snapshot

Undergraduate admissions: Applications and acceptances are up slightly this year; we are pleased to report a 10 percent increase in new student deposits over last year at this time. The FY23 budget is built on securing 557 first-year students this fall, and we currently have 573 deposits. The team remains optimistic that we will reach or exceed our stretch goal of 580 first-year students. We also currently have 50 transfer student deposits. With several months ahead of us to continue enrolling students, we hope to reach our goal of seeing 87 new transfers here in the fall. The chart below shows where we are on May 9 with overall admissions activity compared to our goal, fall 2021 activity, and our three-year average.

May 9, 2022
Fall 2022 % to goal Goal Fall 2021 3-year average

First-year Students
Applications 2,392 93% 2,575 2,381 2,429
Acceptances 1,909 95% 2,000 1,866 1,904
Active Deposits 573 103% 557 519 557

Transfer Students
Applications 185 64% 290 231 216
Acceptances 119 57% 210 135 127
Active Deposits 50 57% 87 49 54

Summer Events: Undergraduate Admissions is excited to be hosting summer visits and events. In addition to daily visits and some evening “twilight tours,” we will host three Falcon Fridays on June 24, July 15 and August 5.  If you know of a student who may be a good fit for Messiah, please invite them to consider visiting campus this summer. You can find and share more details on Messiah’s various visit options at www.messiah.edu/visit.

Graduate enrollment: The 2021-2022 fiscal year budgeted credit hour goal for graduate enrollment is 15,237. Currently, we have reached 16,747 registered credit hours (110 percent to goal). Comparing where we are this year to where we were last year on April 29, 2021:

    • Ahead 528 credit hours (16,747 this year versus 16,219 last year; 110 percent to goal this year versus 110 percent to goal last year)
    • Behind 15 unduplicated students (959 this year versus 974 last year)
    • Behind 67 new students (311 this year versus 378 last year)

Giving update

FY23 Update: We are so grateful for the many alumni, parents, friends and other donors who faithfully support the mission of Messiah University with their financial giving. As shown in the chart below, we are well on our way to reaching our giving goals for this year. In fact, we have already exceed the Messiah Fund/Operating goal. We also expect to reach the Gifts Received and the Gifts Received plus New Pledges goals by June 30 (fiscal year end). In the Gifts Received plus New Pledges category, we are tracking nearly $1 million ahead of last year.

Giving Day 2022: We are ahead in the Messiah Fund / Operating category by more than $500,000 from last year at this time. This is thanks in part due to our most successful Giving Day on record. The annual event, which was held on April 12, raised $195,345, which was 130 percent of our $150,000 goal! Thanks to our core Giving Day team under the direction of Lauren Walter, which includes Melinda Barnes, Danielle Ran, Pam Thomas and Bob Feil for great execution!

Endowment Challenge #9: I am pleased to share that we have reached our $2.1 million goal for Endowment Challenge #9. Since the launch of endowment challenges in 2013, $5 million in new monies has been raised with an additional $5 million in matching dollars that has yielded over $10 million total in scholarship and program endowment. Additionally, we have raised more than $15 million in new endowment monies raised that did not qualify for a match. Thanks to the success of this fundraising initiative and the generosity of our friends and supporters, we now have nearly 400 named student scholarship endowments at Messiah University!

Learning for Life, Transforming the World: The Campaign for Messiah University: At the April board meeting we were pleased to announce to the board of trustees that we have exceeded the $75 million Campaign for Messiah University goal eight months ahead of schedule—raising $75.3 million, which is 101 percent to goal! However, we have more work to do in the coming weeks to make sure we exceed giving in each sub-category of the campaign by the deadline of Dec. 31. Accordingly, our remaining areas of focus for continued fundraising include:

  • Messiah Fund
  • Facilities
    • Campus Entrance
    • Engle Health Center Renovation and Expansion
    • Athletics Hospitality / Concessions
    • Cybersecurity Center
    • Indoor Track Resurface
  • Create A Legacy (conversations with donors about how they can impact the future of Messiah with a gift in their will or other estate plans)

You can read more about the campaign and its priorities at www.messiah.edu/campaign.

Campaign Celebration: To commemorate the success of The Campaign for Messiah University: Learning for Life, Transforming the World. On Oct. 15, 2022, we will hold an invited dinner and concert with Christian musical artist Michael W. Smith., then on Oct. 16, we will hold an additional public concert featuring Mr. Smith. We are so grateful to be able to celebrate and thank the many donors who have invested so mightily in the lives of our students. Ticket sales have been strong and we expect both concerts to be sold out.

Good news about Messiah

Below are just some of the recent achievements and good news stories of members of the Messiah community. 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).

  • Messiah University Marketing, part of the Messiah University Department of Business, won first place in the annual marketing plan case competition sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Marketing Association. (In fact, Messiah’s student marketing teams have won first place in the competition three times in the last four years!) The capstone marketing students did excellent work developing a detailed marketing plan that recommended “Bolder Branding” and “Stronger Selling” strategies for the case company, Butler Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of user interface and printed electronics products located in Butler, Pa. A special congratulations to presenters Lindsey Bernd, Clayton Holmes and Angela Tozzi and Professor David Hagenbuch
  • Congratulations to Owen Kenny ’22 on winning first place in the CFA Society Pittsburgh Financial Plan Competition. Hundreds of students across the state had their plans reviewed by a committee that narrowed it down to the top ten finalists. This is the second year in a row a Messiah student has won! You may read more here: https://www.cfasociety.org/…/Collegiate-Outreach…
  • Congratulations to alumnus Jonathan Makowski, Class of 2010 (English with Teaching Certification), for receiving a 2022 Teacher Impact Award! Jonathan teaches English and journalism at New Oxford High School in Adams County. His students share that, “He handles our situations with grace, he lets us express how we feel but also brings us back to reality with how to handle it.”
  • Ruby Coffee + Co. has a “latte” to celebrate as the first-place winners of Messiah’s Impact Venture Challenge, a “Shark Tank”-style business competition where students compete for seed money to start their businesses. The winning business is a coffee shop startup, created to employ and empower women who have been exploited by the commercial sex industry. The business plans for Keystone Crushing took second place, and Forty Six Ten took third place. Congratulations to all the amazing finalists and winners; learn more at https://www.facebook.com/impactventurechallenge/
  • Peter Greer ’97, president and CEO of Hope International and Messiah’s entrepreneur in residence, recently released a new book, “The Gift of Disillusionment” alongside co-author Chris Horst. Grounded in research, this book is an invitation for followers of Jesus to sustain hope in long-term service. It’s about moving past the false hope of idealism, reorienting amid the faint of hope of disillusionment, and rekindling the forgotten hope stolen by cynicism to discover true Christian hope. Learn more: https://www.peterkgreer.com/…/the-gift-of-disillusionment/
  • Best wishes to Kellie Chandler, a junior finance major in the Messiah University Department of Business. She will join students from universities around the world to compete in The Financial Modeling World Cup, an annual competition dedicated to financial modeling with a view of promoting healthy competition and education. This competition challenges participants through a range of several types of questions and challenges, with the final stage in June 2022. To answer everything correctly and win prizes, it takes a wide spectrum of skills and knowledge related to financial modeling! Learn more at https://www.fmworldcup.com/
  • Messiah University’s Master of Music Education (MME) program was recently granted accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). Messiah’s program is the largest NASM-accredited graduate program in music in the U.S. and has been successfully educating music conductors and educators online for more than 10 years.
  • Remy Murray, who works in Messiah’s Department of Dining Services, was named Messiah’s Student Employee of the year and she was also selected by NEASEA (Northeast Association of Student Employment Administrators) as Pennsylvania’s Student Employee of the Year! From this level, Remy was chosen as one of the top four nominees from the Northeast region to move on to be recognized at the national level. Remy is featured in an electronic flipbook honoring the top 19 student employees from across the nation:  https://heyzine.com/flip-book/2ad52bf98d.html. Congratulations, Remy, and thank you for the excellent service and professionalism that you provide to the Messiah University community!

Messiah Athletics highlights

Below are highlights of recent success and accomplishments of Messiah student athletes and the Division of Athletics. For more details visit www.gomessiah.com.

  • Softball clinched their 11th Conference Championship in program history with a 2-1 victory over Lebanon Valley College in the Conference Championship Game. Madison Walter was named Tournament MVP after pitching both games in the tournament and allowing one unearned run while striking out 25 batters in 16 innings.
  • Esther Seeland was named the MAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Year after winning three individual events at the Conference Championships. She currently holds the fastest time in the country in both the 800 Meter and 1500 Meter. The women’s track and field team finished in fifth place in the conference.
  • Men’s track and field finished as the runner-up at the MAC Championships this past weekend, ending the three-day event just one point shy of Champion Widener. In the 1500 Meter, Messiah finished with the top four finishers for their best event of the weekend.
  • Despite falling in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal, the women’s lacrosse team earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in program history. The Falcons will take on William Smith in the Second Round of the Tournament on Sunday in Geneva, N.Y.
  • The baseball team earned a spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament and finished the season with an overall record of 20-20, their most wins in a single season since the 2016 season.
  • Men’s lacrosse qualified for the MAC Commonwealth Tournament for the first time in three years, finishing the season with a 4-4 mark in the conference.
  • Both men’s and women’s tennis advanced to the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals.

Thank you for all of the faithful ways that you serve students and our campus community. During the summer months ahead, be sure to take the opportunity to change pace and enjoy time spent with family and friends.

Warm regards,

 Kim S. Phipps, President