Veteran Professor Returns to EMU

Forty years ago, Albert N. Keim graduated from what was then Eastern Mennonite College. In 1965, he returned to his alma mater and taught in the history department until he retired in 2000.

Dr. Keim's "retirement" was short-lived. He returned to the classroom this fall to fill the teaching load of Dr. Mary S. Sprunger, professor of history, during her sabbatical.

History department chair Mark Metzler Sawin says Keim "has a lot of wisdom to offer the younger faculty." Sawin sees it as "an honor" to co-teach a history senior seminar with Keim. "His years of teaching and many experiences - from his PAX work in Europe after World War II to his current work with the Mennonite/Brethren Heritage Center in Harrisonburg - make him a valuable addition to the department," Dr. Sawin said.

Keim's class load includes the Global Past I & II, 19th & 20th Century Europe, History of Modern China, Renaissance & Reformation and a history seminar.

Dr. Keim arrived on campus the fall of 1958, fresh from three years of voluntary service in Europe as a relief worker with Mennonite Central Committee. He "had the hearty laugh of an Amish bricklayer and the active mind of a young scholar fascinated with history," one observer noted.

After graduating from EMU in 1963 with a B.A. degree in history, he earned a master's degree from the University of Virginia in 1965 and received a doctorate from Ohio State University in 1971.

In addition to teaching courses in American history at EMU for 35 years, Keim led EMU's first semester-long cross-cultural seminar to Europe in 1972. As academic dean from 1977 to 1984, Keim championed the establishment of EMU's "Global Village" curriculum. His vision for the value of cross-cultural education was recognized during the university's 2002 homecoming, along with colleagues Dr. Calvin E. Shenk of the Bible and religion department and former undergraduate dean Dr. Orval J. Gingerich.

The veteran educator has written four books, including a history of the Civilian Public Service (CPS) program (Good Books, 1990) and a biography of the late Mennonite theologian and educator, Harold S. Bender (Herald Press, 1998).

Keim is presently director of the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center being developed in Harrisonburg. He and his wife Kathy Fisher recently lived for one year in Saudi Arabia. He was married for 38 years to Leanna Yoder Keim, who died in 1998. His family includes a daughter and two grandchildren.

Keim was invited to give EMU's commencement address the spring of 2003."The world doesn't need more tourists," he declared in his message. "For you graduates, that will be the great temptation. Tourists travel for pleasure.

"As followers of Jesus Christ, as citizens of an imperial nation and as graduates of EMU, your calling must be to help transform laser- guided missiles into no-till planters, help build viable communities where life can be secure and fulfilling and aid real human beings to love God and their neighbors.

"And," Keim added, "None of this can be done by watching CNN in your living rooms."

Students taking classes under Keim this academic year are likely to discover that for themselves firsthand.