\u201cThere are decades of friendship here,\u201d he said. \u201cStories that probably get a little better every time they\u2019re 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\u2019re grateful you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
J. Melvin Janzen \u201972<\/strong>, a Harrisonburg resident who works part time in EMU\u2019s Intensive English Program, reflected on the significance of returning to campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s something about coming back to this place and learning about what has happened in the past 50 years,\u201d he said. \u201cEach year, this event grows larger and larger, which is really exciting. This year, we had 110 people registered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Class of 1976 President Dr. Ann Graber Hershberger \u201976<\/strong> and Dr. Michael King \u201976<\/strong> spoke at the luncheon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s and doctoral degrees at the University of Virginia and credited her EMU education with preparing her for graduate studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEMU prepared me in a specific way,\u201d she said. \u201cI found out when I went to grad school that I was more prepared than other people. It was really quite amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank you, EMU,” he told his fellow alumni. “Thank you to all of my classmates and colleagues, without whom I wouldn\u2019t have lived the life I\u2019ve been grateful to have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus<\/strong> welcomed the Class of 1976 home for its 50th reunion and reflected on the changes that took place during their years on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEach of you and the university have changed,\u201d she said. \u201cYour years at EMC came at a time when change was quite literally visible across campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/em> 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\u2019s social work program earned accreditation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1975, EMU received a new computer that was housed in the administration building and operated using punched cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy early 1976, The Weather Vane<\/em> 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,\u201d Dycus joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m very glad we did,\u201d she continued. \u201cBecause 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\u2019s about what happened after you left. For 50 years, you have carried pieces of this place with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ciela Acosta<\/strong>, a senior from Salem, Oregon, majoring in peacebuilding and development, thanked alumni for their generosity in helping students like her afford an EMU education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m allowed to be fully human here, and that also means my academics have pushed me beyond essays and grades,\u201d she said. \u201cI have been challenged to critically evaluate my perspectives that used to seem so normal and question my place in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch a recording of the event below!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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