Former classmates reminisced about their time on campus at EMU’s Golden Alumni Luncheon, held at Martin Chapel for alumni who attended Eastern Mennonite 50 years ago or more.
Nathan Leopard, vice president for advancement, welcomed the alumni back home.
“There are decades of friendship here,” he said. “Stories that probably get a little better every time they’re told, and people who helped shape this university through their lives. Whether you return every year, every day, or this is your first time back in a while, we’re grateful you’re here.”
J. Melvin Janzen ’72, a Harrisonburg resident who works part time in EMU’s Intensive English Program, reflected on the significance of returning to campus.
“There’s something about coming back to this place and learning about what has happened in the past 50 years,” he said. “Each year, this event grows larger and larger, which is really exciting. This year, we had 110 people registered.”
Class of 1976 President Dr. Ann Graber Hershberger ’76 and Dr. Michael King ’76 spoke at the luncheon.
Hershberger, an emeritus professor of nursing at EMU and executive director of Mennonite Central Committee from 2020-26, read from journal entries she wrote as a student. She later earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Virginia and credited her EMU education with preparing her for graduate studies.
“EMU prepared me in a specific way,” she said. “I found out when I went to grad school that I was more prepared than other people. It was really quite amazing.”
King, owner of Cascadia Publishing House and dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary from 2010-17, reflected on his experiences as a student and an atheist on campus.
“Thank you, EMU,” he told his fellow alumni. “Thank you to all of my classmates and colleagues, without whom I wouldn’t have lived the life I’ve been grateful to have.”
President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus welcomed the Class of 1976 home for its 50th reunion and reflected on the changes that took place during their years on campus.
“Each of you and the university have changed,” she said. “Your years at EMC came at a time when change was quite literally visible across campus.”
Those changes included major renovations to Lehman Auditorium and the installation of a pipe organ in 1974-75, along with the dedication of the Discipleship Center on the EMU Hill in April 1975. In fall 1974, author Alex Haley, who would publish Roots two years later, visited campus as part of a lecture-music series. In 1976, the cross-country team won a national championship, and the university’s social work program earned accreditation.
In 1975, EMU received a new computer that was housed in the administration building and operated using punched cards.
“By early 1976, The Weather Vane was marveling at its ability to keep track of prospective students and current students, manage grades and transcripts, and handle bookstore accounts. So apparently, even 50 years ago, EMU was already trying to keep track of you,” Dycus joked.
“And I’m very glad we did,” she continued. “Because the most important story of your time is not ultimately about buildings or curricula, computers or championships, or even the changes taking place around you. It’s about what happened after you left. For 50 years, you have carried pieces of this place with you.”
Ciela Acosta, a senior from Salem, Oregon, majoring in peacebuilding and development, thanked alumni for their generosity in helping students like her afford an EMU education.
“I’m allowed to be fully human here, and that also means my academics have pushed me beyond essays and grades,” she said. “I have been challenged to critically evaluate my perspectives that used to seem so normal and question my place in the world.”
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