Sept. 15, 2022

Dear Colleagues:

Thank you for your role in launching a successful start to the new academic year for our undergraduate and graduate students! Campus COVID-19 protocols have been adapted to reflect a more self-managed style of care and we are grateful to have returned to a more “normal” start to a fall semester since the beginning the pandemic—including the return of  the First-year Games for our undergraduate students! (If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to see our 2022 Move-in Day video you can watch it here.) Our School of Graduate and Professional Studies started their new year fueled by the good news that we received just prior to the Commencement celebration for Messiah’s first Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) cohort—that the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) granted accreditation to Messiah University’s DPT program! Accreditation is an incredibly important accomplishment and we congratulate the program faculty, administrators, staff and students who worked together to achieve this goal.

The theme for this year’s undergraduate Welcome Week was “Embrace,” and I encourage all of us to embrace the exciting opportunities and challenges of the new academic year ahead. We have much to celebrate and be thankful for, including a healthy undergraduate and graduate enrollment. Please plan to attend the employee in-service event “Celebrating Messiah’s Distinctives” on the morning of Sept. 20 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. in Parmer Hall (breakfast available at 8:00 a.m.) where I will share my 2022 State of the University address. I will be outlining some key themes for us as a campus community and introducing some promising new initiatives that Messiah is pursuing in support of our strategic institutional priorities. Together we will “embrace” innovatively educating and deeply caring for all of our students on their journey of learning for life.

Allow me to update you on undergraduate and graduate enrollment, giving, and other campus related news.

Enrollment snapshot

This year’s “Snapshot Day” data, taken on Sept. 6, showed encouraging data points for FY23 at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Thank you to the undergraduate and graduate enrollment management teams, and all employees who support Messiah’s student recruitment efforts. We continue to work diligently to promote the distinctive value of a Messiah education with as many students and their families as we can in this highly competitive environment.

Overall FY23 undergraduate enrollment: The fall snapshot taken on Sept. 6 reports a total undergraduate headcount of 2,495 students. This translates to a projected annualized FFTE of 2,299 versus our revised budget goal of 2,264 undergraduate students (+35).

Fall 2022 undergraduate student enrollment statistics:

  • 587 new, first-time students versus goal of 557 (+30)
  • 76 transfer students versus goal of 87 (-11)
  • Incoming (new, first-year and transfer combined) undergraduate domestic under- represented and international student diversity:
    • 135 (20.4 percent) domestic under-represented students versus last year’s 140 (22.4 percent)
    • 19 (2.9 percent) international students versus last year’s 18 (2.9 percent)
    • All in all, 154 students, approximately 23 percent, of the incoming class (first- year and transfers) are domestic students of color or international versus last year’s 158 (25 percent)
  • Our first-to-second year retention rate was 86 percent compared to last year’s 85.3 percent.
  • Our first-to-second year domestic students of color retention rate was 84.6 percent compared to last year’s 82.2 percent.

Fall 2023 undergraduate recruitment: The undergraduate enrollment team has already started working on the fall 2023 admissions cycle. We are pleased to be attending in person college fairs and high school visits as well as hosting a full slate of fall visits and events ahead of our Nov. 15 free application deadline. Our newly revamped Dean’s Scholarship will be promoted early to incentivize high school seniors to make personal visits and tours of campus.

Graduate enrollment FY23:  The 2022-2023 fiscal year budgeted credit hour goal is 14,790. Currently, we have reached 6,910.5 registered credit hours (47 percent to goal) and are on target to meet the overall graduate enrollment goal for FY23.

Comparing where we are this year to where we were last year on Sept. 7, 2021:

  • graduate headcount was at 736 for fall, compared to last year’s 781 students (-45)
  • 185 new students (54 percent to goal) this year compared to 182 (51 percent to goal) last year
  • 752 unduplicated students (82 percent to goal) this year compared to 807 (86 percent to goal) last year
  • 6,910.5 credit hours (47percent to goal) this year compared to 7,799.5 (51 percent to goal) last year

Giving update

FY23 giving: We are deeply grateful for our faithful trustees, alumni, parents, employees, and friends who so generously support our students. As the below table indicates, giving continues to be strong after a very favorable fiscal year-end close to FY22 exceeding both our total giving and Messiah Fund goals last year! Our current overall giving is trending about $1 million ahead of last year at this time.

The Campaign for Messiah University: Learning for Life, Transforming the World:  The success of The Campaign for Messiah University will be celebrated with a long-awaited special dinner and concert with Christian musical artist Michael W. Smith on Oct. 15. While we have exceeded the $75 million goal, our focus during the final months of the Campaign continues to be on the Messiah Fund, scholarship aid and endowment, estate planning conversations, and fundraising for the following capital projects before the campaign concludes on Dec. 31, 2022:

  • Enhanced campus entrance: $535,000 raised (final goal TBD)
  • Athletics “Warmer Welcome” campaign (to improve the concession and hospitality facilities around Starry Field): $3.9 million raised towards $5.5 million goal (More details will be released on this fundraising initiative in conjunction with this year’s Homecoming celebration.)
  • Engle Health Center expansion: $261,000 raised towards $750,000 goal
  • Indoor track resurface: $30,000 raised towards $250,000 goal

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).

  • Congratulations to history major alumna, Christina Thomas, a recipient of the University of Pennsylvania’s 2022-23 Predoctoral Fellowships for Excellence through Diversity! This Fellowship is designed to provide mentorship and resources to doctoral students in the humanities or social sciences as they complete their dissertations at other universities. Thomas is finishing her dissertation at Johns Hopkins University, titled, “What Shall I Teach My Children Who Are Black?: The Intellectual Biography of Geraldine L. Wilson.” Learn more at https://faculty.upenn.edu/fellows/predoc/
  • In August, PennLive shared the inspirational story of Messiah student Noah Spaulding and his journey to becoming a full-time, on-campus student living with cerebral palsy, along with the challenges he, his family, and other students like him, need to overcome. Thank you also to Director of the Academic Success Center Amy Slody for her contribution to the article. Read more about Noah’s story and see photos from his first week at Messiah here.
  • Messiah was recently featured by Christianity Today as an example of colleges and universities that are integrating their institutional mission with their commitment to creation care and sustainability initiatives—and realizing cost efficiencies in the process. Director of Sustainability Brandon Hoover and Director of Facility Services Brad Markley represented Messiah’s perspective and experience in the article. Read the full article here.
  • Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Nursing Brenda Elliott on her upcoming induction into the 2022 Class of Fellows in the National League for Nursing (NLN) Academy of Nursing Education. The induction will take place at the annual Honors Convocation Gala on Sept. 30 in Las Vegas during the NLN Education Summit. According to the NLN website: “The NLN Academy of Nursing Education fosters excellence in nursing education by recognizing and capitalizing on the wisdom of outstanding individuals in and outside the profession who have contributed to nursing education in sustained and significant ways. Fellows are expected to provide visionary leadership in nursing education and in the Academy, and to support the vision of the National League for Nursing..” Read more about the Academy of Nursing Education and view the entire list of awardees.
  • Congratulations to alum Hunter Zondory ’22, who was recently awarded the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Medal of Courage for the Pennsylvania chapter following his dedicated recovery from athletic injury that inspired the lives of others.  Read more about his story here.
  • The Office of Marketing and Communications was recognized this summer with two awards from the American Inhouse Design Awards, the oldest and largest program for inhouse creative excellence. Nearly 7,000 entries were received; only the top 10 percent, including Messiah’s submissions, were selected as winners.  The winning pieces were the Accepted Student Gift Campaign (developed in collaboration with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions), along with Volume 1 2022 issue of the Bridge, featuring alumna Kristin Coury ’14 on the cover.

Messiah Athletics highlights

Below are highlights of recent success and accomplishments of Messiah student athletes and the Division of Athletics. For the most up-to-date results, and to view schedules so you can come out to cheer on the Falcons at future athletic events, visit www.gomessiah.com. 

  • Women’s volleyball has had a stellar start to the 2022 season. The Falcons swept through the Gettysburg Battlefield Classic and earned an exciting 3-2 victory over Lebanon Valley to open conference play. The Falcons are 5-0 to begin the season for just the second time since 2015.
  • Men’s soccer opened the season with a successful road trip to Virginia. The No. 5 Falcons defeated No. 3 Washington and Lee 4-1 to open the season before drawing a veteran Lynchburg team, 2-2.
  • Field Hockey owns a 2-1 record to begin the 2022 campaign. The No. 8 Falcons earned victories over Dickinson and Franklin & Marshall while dropping a match to No. 2 Johns Hopkins.
  • Women’s soccer opened the season with victories over Stevens and Mary Washington before going toe-to-toe with No. 9 Johns Hopkins. The match ended in a 1-1 draw with Hannah Adair scoring in the final minutes to level the match for the No. 17 Falcons.
  • Cross country already has two races under the belts. Logan Horst has highlighted the early season action with a second-place finish at the Salisbury Fall Classic. The men’s cross-country team has a pair of top-three finishes.

Thank you for all you do to cultivate academic, personal and spiritual growth in lives of our students. I am looking forward to an exciting and purposeful academic year!

 Warm regards,

 Kim S. Phipps, President