{"id":24740,"date":"2015-06-26T15:39:21","date_gmt":"2015-06-26T19:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=24740"},"modified":"2017-01-19T16:39:45","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T21:39:45","slug":"after-44-years-at-emu-former-provost-and-current-library-director-beryl-brubaker-heads-into-her-second-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/after-44-years-at-emu-former-provost-and-current-library-director-beryl-brubaker-heads-into-her-second-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"After 44 years at EMU, former provost and current library director Beryl Brubaker heads into her second ‘retirement’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beryl Brubaker<\/a> knows what it\u2019s like to retire \u2013 and to be called back to serve with her gifts once more.<\/p>\n

In 2008, Brubaker \u201cretired\u201d as provost. That year marked her 37th at Eastern Mennonite University, leading from a variety of positions in the nursing department to higher-level administration: from vice president of enrollment to the university\u2019s first provost and even eight months as interim president.<\/p>\n

Because \u201cthey asked,\u201d she says with a smile, \u201cand I said, \u2018Yes,\u2019\u201d she returned \u201cin retirement\u201d to work as a writer of an accreditation self-study and then director of the Sadie A. Hartzler Library<\/a>, initially on a \u201ctemporary\u201d basis.<\/p>\n

Six years later, giving much credit to the ongoing contributions and hard work of an \u201cexemplary staff,\u201d Brubaker says the library\u2019s many services and historical archives are ready for transition to the care of new director G. Marcille \u201cMarci\u201d Frederick<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA real librarian, not a fake one,\u201d Brubaker says with a laugh, referring to the honorary librarian\u2019s degree presented to her by a teary-eyed staffer at a recent retirement reception. The framed certificate is at once a symbol of respect and testament to Brubaker\u2019s ability to lead capably in new fields.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to Monday, June 29, 2015: Brubaker\u2019s official last day of work on campus.<\/p>\n

Answering different \u2018calls\u2019 to family and service<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Beryl-grandkids\"<\/a>
Beryl Brubaker is hugged by her grandchildren Ella, 7, and Max, 4.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Brubaker finishes that day, she will be free to devote herself to other calls.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s grandmother to 7-year-old Ella and 4-year-old Max, \u201chelper\u201d to daughter Heather Benin and her husband, and frequent visitor to both her mother, age 101 and living at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, and also an ailing sister living\u00a0nearby.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the gardens planted by her green-thumb husband, J. Mark Brubaker, a biology professor at James Madison University, who \u201cgrows plants by the millions, perennials,\u201d she says, \u201cand trees and trees and trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such proliferation of vegetation requires activities that Brubaker with wry good humor calls \u201ctidying\u201d\u2014\u201cweeding, mulching and pulling out things that are too thick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m as busy as I want to be,\u201d says Brubaker, 73, who still walks frequently and savors the time she can set aside to read.<\/p>\n

A second presidency<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Lunch<\/a>
Brubaker serves as president of the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center, a living history museum in Harrisonburg. (Courtesy of VBMHC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Along with family time, Brubaker says she\u2019s looking forward to devoting more of her attention to her role as president of the board of directors at\u00a0 Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center<\/a>, a non-profit living history farmstead located on 24 acres in Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a young organization with a staff of one,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll be contributing to the development of a sustaining financial plan and doing a lot of the same kinds of things I\u2019ve done here at EMU.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u201cstaff of one\u201d is Joan Daggett, who has worked with Brubaker since being hired as executive director in 2011. Brubaker joined the board of directors in July 2009 and became president in January of 2013. \u201cShe is a wonderful person and a role model for women in leadership,\u201d Daggett said. “Beryl is a joy to work with and I look forward to her continued leadership with the Heritage Center.\u201d<\/p>\n

While very public roles don\u2019t hold much allure for Brubaker, she thrives on building strong relationships and then ensuring those relationships continue: for the Heritage Center, that means building the already strong donor base and ensuring the vision plays out in continued commitments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I like my stress,\u201d Brubaker added. \u201cI like juggling different balls in the air. Being challenged is important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharing her values with EMU and beyond<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For years, EMU has benefited from that quest for challenge. A Pennsylvania native, Brubaker completed her RN training through EMU, but transferred to Case Western Reserve University so that she could earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing and pursue her goal of teaching. After earning a master\u2019s in nursing at University of Pennsylvania, Brubaker was eventually asked by then-President Myron Augsburger to help to strengthen and grow EMU\u2019s nursing program.<\/p>\n

As many professional women in academia do, she juggled family responsibilities, teaching, curriculum development and leadership responsibilities. She also conducted research and published the results (one project, for example, focused on confusion of residents in nursing homes). In 1980, she took a sabbatical to complete her doctorate, graduating in 1984 with a PhD in nursing from University of Alabama.<\/p>\n

With each new promotion, she asked herself if she was still staying true to her ideals of service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like preparing students who went out into the world everywhere was giving something to the world,\u201d she said. \u201cI especially felt that with the nursing graduates, who went all over, but even later in other positions where I didn\u2019t have such a direct impact, I could see students going out into the world and doing good things.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she prepares to transition into what may or may not truly be retirement, Brubaker says she is comforted by her commitment to Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mission there is to share and celebrate the story of Jesus Christ as it has been reflected in the Brethren and Mennonites living in the Shenandoah Valley,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re sharing the peace position with people who have never heard of Mennonites. It\u2019s the continuation of the mission I\u2019ve been involved with here for 45 years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beryl Brubaker knows what it\u2019s like to retire \u2013 and to be called back to serve with her gifts once more. In 2008, Brubaker \u201cretired\u201d as provost. That year marked ... read more about After 44 years at EMU, former provost and current library director Beryl Brubaker heads into her second ‘retirement’<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,5583,5642],"tags":[5727],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-24740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-campus-community","category-faculty-and-staff","tag-office-of-the-president"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter 44 years at EMU, former provost and current library director Beryl Brubaker heads into her second 'retirement' - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/after-44-years-at-emu-former-provost-and-current-library-director-beryl-brubaker-heads-into-her-second-retirement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After 44 years at EMU, former provost and current library director Beryl Brubaker heads into her second 'retirement' - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Beryl Brubaker knows what it\u2019s like to retire \u2013 and to be called back to serve with her gifts once more. 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