Final Town Meeting
Loren Swartzendruber addresses the crowd at the Town Meeting on Monday.
"We need to finish the transformation of the old gymnasium into the theatre. The turf field needs serious attention, and probably replacement. Lehman Auditorium needs some major renovation, and there is without question a need for more academic space."
After ringing his signature weathered brass bell, Jim Bishop called to order the beginning of the final town meeting for the year on Monday in the foyer of the Hartzler Library. Upon announcement of a plan to continue the town meeting for the fall semester, Bishop welcomed President Swartzendruber back after his exciting trip to Vietnam, and expressed his gratitude for the president's presence even though he was fighting flu-like symptoms. Bishop then invited the small crowd to express questions, concerns, or affirmations for Swartzendruber.
Prioritization and the status of the Capital Projects Campaign has been and is still a major issue on campus. One faculty member questioned what steps were being taken in order to deal with some of the problems EMU is or will potentially be facing in the near future.
President Swartzendruber responded to this questioning by stating, "The Prioritization Committee has been efficiently working on the tedious job of creating a detail oriented way of reviewing all programs." A task Swartzendruber referred to as "timely."
The plan is that each program will write a report pertaining to the guidelines of the Prioritization Committee sets, and then after careful review in collaboration with faculty and staff changes, discontinuations, and expansion, decisions will be made.
Swartzendruber also shared about what is being done on campus to encourage discussions regarding the issue of homosexuality, saying that there is a committee that is planning forums to facilitate dialogue. The committee also intends to distribute surveys to find out about sexual attitudes and behavior at EMU.
President Swartzendruber assured everyone that our institution is in good shape stating, "We're not in a crisis mode."
Other topics of discussion included EMU as a potential model in helping to revolutionize Teacher Education in Vietnam. The president heavily affirmed Dan Wessner and EMU's IC3 program in helping build strong relationships abroad.
Swartzendruber stated, "Many of the people that I had a chance to talk to at the University in Vietnam had great regard for Mennonites and EMU.
The next town meeting will be held sometime in the Fall Semester.
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