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This article is from the EMU News Archive. Current EMU new is available at www.emu.edu/news
National College Guide Lauds EMU
Eastern Mennonite University has been selected from hundreds of colleges to be one of 50 institutions featured in the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) "Guide to All-American Colleges."
The book, by the publishers of "Choosing the Right College," is scheduled to hit the shelves of major bookstores across the United States this month.
"We did not initiate this," said Andrea Schrock Wenger, director of marketing and communications at EMU. "EMU’s selection came as a total surprise."
Book cover: Guide to All-American Colleges
After careful study, including an unannounced site visit, the editors chose to include EMU because it fit their criteria of colleges with strong "core values" and a curriculum that reflects the "vibrant intellectual traditions of the West," according to statements by the publishers on www.isi.org/books.
The editors were also looking for colleges where "students who identify themselves as religious believers, conservatives, or old-fashioned liberals will find programs that . . . are, in fact, often transformative."
Reacting to an advance copy of the text on EMU provided by the publishers, EMU President Loren Swartzendruber found the description of EMU on pages 81 through 87 to be "quite accurate."
The editors introduce EMU with this statement: "This academically impressive school is a choice worth taking seriously." They then describe EMU’s core curriculum and student activities in detail.
"It’s no exaggeration to say that the graduate program in conflict transformation epitomizes the mission of EMU as a whole," write the editors.
As an example, they cite the positive experiences of a Greek Orthodox priest from New York City who received training at EMU in how to minister to families affected by the events of 9/11.
The book pays particular attention to how the Mennonite approach to Christianity is reflected in EMU.
"The Mennonites have always emphasized foreign missions, and many EMU faculty served and continue to serve as missionaries," wrote the editors.
"The Mennonite heritage as a Peace Church gives missions a special character. Missionaries go to places in the world suffering violent conflict and preach the Gospel of peace to those in the midst of war."
The editors note that Tom Fox, who lost his life in early 2006 as a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq, had been trained at EMU. They also note that Mennonites work closely with Muslim peacebuilders.
"The Mennonite message goes beyond preaching individual salvation and involves teaching ways of changing hurt into forgiveness and hostility into reconciliation," says the book.
In a 2005 article in Academe magazine, University of Maryland education professor Steven Selden said ISI typically issues books that promote a "right-wing agenda."
"EMU does not fit easily into either the liberal or conservative pigeon holes," Swartzendruber noted. "We are happy to serve people of every political persuasion as we believe Jesus did."
Other institutions recommended by All-American Colleges range from Virginia Military Institute and The Citadel to George Fox University, Messiah and Houghton colleges.
The book is available for order online and at major bookstores.
