{"id":41802,"date":"2019-04-10T08:13:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T12:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=41802"},"modified":"2019-04-15T10:44:14","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T14:44:14","slug":"after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/","title":{"rendered":"After 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger ’76 moves to MCC leadership role"},"content":{"rendered":"

Professor <\/span>Ann Graber Hershberger \u201876<\/b>, who began as assistant instructor in the nursing department at Eastern Mennonite University and served in several influential leadership roles over 33 years of service, will retire June 30.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Professor Ann Hershberger has held several leadership positions within the university, and is appreciated campus-wide for her mentoring and teaching skill. (Photo by Andrew Strack)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within the nursing department, Hershberger chaired both the undergraduate (interim) and graduate programs, developed and updated the foundational \u201cSacred Covenant\u201d model of nursing, led an enrollment expansion in 2004, and proposed two new degree programs \u2014 the accelerated second degree and the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree \u2014 that would position EMU as a top regional provider of nursing education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hershberger\u2019s nursing department colleagues, nursing department chair <\/span>Melody Cash <\/b>and MSN program director <\/span>Don Tyson<\/b>, recognize her as both a mentor and a consummate professional, devoted to advocating for the most vulnerable, to seeking challenging and transformative experiences for EMU nursing students, and for elevating the departmental discourse around public health issues and challenges, among many other contributions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tyson\u2019s office was located just across the hall from Hershberger\u2019s for the last 20 years: \u201cIt has been a blessing and treat as we have laughed, cried, disagreed, affirmed each other, consoled, and problem solved in so many ways.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cash has appreciated her \u201cwise discernment and support \u2026a listening ear when I needed it …advice that came from years of experience and a place of compassion and caring.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Hershberger\u2019s impact on the entire university has been no less substantial. She moved through the academic ranks to full professor in 2002 and in addition to teaching and leadership responsibilities within the nursing department, was tapped for leadership roles as core curriculum coordinator, director of the Humanitarian Action Leadership program, and finally, her current role as director of the cross-cultural program. <\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, Hershberger contributed to several innovative initiatives, each of which have shaped the university\u2019s core niche as a unique, Anabaptist-rooted liberal arts institution. She helped to launch the cross-cultural program, a core curricular requirement for all undergraduates; chaired the faculty committee to launch the graduate Conflict Transformation Program, now the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding; and provided leadership to several undergraduate general education revisions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Ann has made a lasting impact and we are deeply grateful for her deep commitment to EMU over nearly four decades,\u201d said Undergraduate Dean <\/span>Deirdre Longacher Smeltzer<\/b>. \u201cShe has been a beloved professor and mentor to numerous students, both in the classroom and as leader of nine cross-cultural study semesters, and also to her many colleagues. Her wise leadership and her ability to gracefully balance completion of tasks with nurturing of relationships have afforded her numerous opportunities to serve off-campus as well, most notably including prominent roles with Mennonite Central Committee.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To Mennonite Central Committee<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Professor Ann Hershberger speaks with students during orientation for the Masters in Nursing program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is to MCC that Hershberger will devote the next few years. She recently accepted the newly created position of interim associate director, and will help Executive Director J. Ron Byler lead the organization during MCC\u2019s centennial activities \u00a0over the next 2-3 years. <\/span><\/p>\n

Hershberger has served on MCC boards since 1996, including 10 years from 2009-19 as board chair of MCC US. \u00a0She served with her husband Jim as MCC representative in Nicaragua from <\/span>1985-90 and again in 1999-2000. Her first service with the organization was in 1983 in El Salvador.<\/span><\/p>\n

The interim leadership role with MCC was \u201can unexpected, but clear calling,\u201d \u00a0Hershberger said. \u201cThe interdenominational relationships I\u2019ve built over the years through working with MCC will help me work within the organization as it adapts to important challenges. I am grateful that EMU has been my occupational home and the focus of my service to God and the church for many years, and I hope to continue the relationship after the interim position concludes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Appreciations<\/b><\/h3>\n

As a colleague, Hershberger contributed to EMU\u2019s intellectual community with \u201cperceptive comments and questions during meetings as well as over meals,\u201d said Professor <\/span>Marti Eads<\/b>, of the EMU Language and Literature Department. \u201cI treasure the challenging example she provides of living with integrity, and how she demonstrates measures of kindness, humility and cheerfulness when devoting herself to difficult tasks, such as a campus-wide curriculum revision process. <\/span>I never had Ann as a teacher, but I imagine her to function as a teacher in the same way that she functions as a friend: encouraging others to do our very best because she believes we can and is waiting in excitement to watch us bloom.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sue Cockley<\/b>, dean of the graduate school and seminary, shared similar sentiments about Hershberger\u2019s versatile capabilities. \u201cAnn is one of those very rare people who can care intensely about individual students in her class and, at the same time, think structurally about the well-being of the entire university. She is at once an inspirational idealist and a very practical realist.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current and former students appreciated Hershberger\u2019s role modeling and mentorship, pointing out that her words and actions has always shown genuine care, authenticity and intentionality. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Yoder<\/b>, a senior biology major, travelled to Guatemala and Colombia with Hershberger as a sophomore. Yoder and Hershberger were co-investigators on a diabetes research project in Guatemala and travelled together to present at the fall 2018 American Public Health Association national conference.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the experience, motivation, and guidance from Ann, I <\/span>never <\/span><\/i>would have thought I was capable of carrying out the research with Concern America. And that’s the beautiful thing about Ann \u2014 she is a natural teacher because she cares about the end product, not her own personal glory. She has hopes for this world that extend well beyond her lifetime and knows that teaching a younger generation is the best way to create a lasting impact. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe has given me great counsel not only in regards to academics, but life in general,\u201d said nursing student <\/span>Asenie Daniel<\/b>, who was also on the spring 2017 cross-cultural. \u201cI am so thankful to have such an incredibly intuitive and receptive person in my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nursing student <\/span>Esther Ghale<\/b> recalls how Hershberger helped her through a challenging situation on that same cross-cultural, and continued her support back to campus. \u201cAnn came and gave me a big bear hug, exactly what I needed at that time. She didn\u2019t say anything, she didn\u2019t ask questions, she just embraced us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tessa Gerberich Hershberger \u201813 <\/b>[no relation], \u00a0a nurse care coordinator for the women’s health and prenatal care program at Harrisonburg Community Health Center, still speaks with her former undergraduate advisor frequently. She says Hershberger has had a lasting influence on her own practice of nursing, from nursing clinicals at EMU to her postgraduate Serving And Learning Together (SALT) term in an HIV\/AIDS clinic in Nigeria and her transition back into the U.S. health care system.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Ann Hershberger\u2019s strengths, Tessa Hershberger said, is her strong commitment to interacting with grace and respect for all, whether patients, students, friends and colleagues. \u201cMore than <\/span>doing for <\/span><\/i>someone, nurses <\/span>walk with<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>share information<\/span><\/i> for people to cultivate their own strengths and independence, rather than creating dependency, and Ann exemplifies this, not just in her nursing, but in her teaching and mentoring roles as well. She holds our questions, thoughts and experiences with grace; asks good, thoughtful questions; and encourages us and reminds us of the strength within ourselves.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Ann Hershberger will be recognized at a reception on campus in late April. Any appreciations offered in the comment box below will be passed along to her.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professor Ann Graber Hershberger \u201876, who began as assistant instructor in the nursing department at Eastern Mennonite University and served in several influential leadership roles over 33 years of service, ... read more about After 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger ’76 moves to MCC leadership role<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,17562,8845,5642,5593,5611,5600],"tags":[7923,17661,8124,17696,10108,15734],"feature":[17427,17424,17241],"class_list":["post-41802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-digest","category-emu-at-lancaster","category-faculty-and-staff","category-intercultural","category-ms-nursing-leadership","category-nursing","tag-ann-hershberger","tag-deirdre-longacher-smeltzer","tag-don-tyson","tag-martha-eads","tag-melody-cash","tag-sue-cockley","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-featured-graduate","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger '76 moves to MCC leadership role - 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\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger '76 moves to MCC leadership role - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Professor Ann Graber Hershberger \u201876, who began as assistant instructor in the nursing department at Eastern Mennonite University and served in several influential leadership roles over 33 years of service,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-10T12:13:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-04-15T14:44:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/04\/20161019-Ann-Hershberger-personnel-photo-001-1000px.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/\",\"name\":\"After 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger '76 moves to MCC leadership role - EMU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/04\/20161019-Ann-Hershberger-personnel-photo-001-1000px.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-10T12:13:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-15T14:44:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/04\/20161019-Ann-Hershberger-personnel-photo-001-1000px.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/04\/20161019-Ann-Hershberger-personnel-photo-001-1000px.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"After 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger ’76 moves to MCC leadership role\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\",\"name\":\"EMU News\",\"description\":\"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"After 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger '76 moves to MCC leadership role - EMU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"After 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger '76 moves to MCC leadership role - EMU News","og_description":"Professor Ann Graber Hershberger \u201876, who began as assistant instructor in the nursing department at Eastern Mennonite University and served in several influential leadership roles over 33 years of service,","og_url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/","og_site_name":"EMU News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite","article_published_time":"2019-04-10T12:13:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-04-15T14:44:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/04\/20161019-Ann-Hershberger-personnel-photo-001-1000px.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EMU_News","twitter_site":"@EMU_News","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/","name":"After 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger '76 moves to MCC leadership role - EMU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/04\/20161019-Ann-Hershberger-personnel-photo-001-1000px.jpg","datePublished":"2019-04-10T12:13:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-04-15T14:44:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/04\/20161019-Ann-Hershberger-personnel-photo-001-1000px.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/04\/20161019-Ann-Hershberger-personnel-photo-001-1000px.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/after-33-years-nursing-professor-ann-hershberger-76-moves-to-interim-mcc-leadership-role\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"After 33 years, nursing professor Ann Hershberger ’76 moves to MCC leadership role"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/","name":"EMU News","description":"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245","name":"admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41802"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41810,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41802\/revisions\/41810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41802"},{"taxonomy":"feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature?post=41802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}