MEET US IN BUFFALO!

Messiah University Networking Dinner at Highmark Stadium, Buffalo, NY

MONDAY, JUNE 12

Join us at Highmark Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills, for a Messiah University networking dinner. We’ll tour the stadium and then enjoy a catered dinner with guest speaker Zach Specht ’13 (shown at right), social media manager for the Bills. This event is open to any Messiah alumnus, parent or friend of the university. We look forward to seeing you there!

Event schedule:

5 p.m. – Guided tour of Highmark Stadium

6 p.m. – Dinner

7 p.m. – Guest speaker Zach Specht ’13, social media manager of the Buffalo Bills

Cost: $25 per person Register at www.purplepass.com/mubuffalo COURTESY OF THE BUFFALO BILLS

Note: The Heritage Society of Messiah University is sponsoring a bus trip to the Finger Lakes and the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. On this trip, the bus will stop at the stadium, so the guests can attend this event. If you would like to join us for the bus trip and the Bills event, register at messiah.edu/bustrip2023. The bus trip price includes the stadium tour and dinner, so there is no need to register for both the Bills event and the bus trip.

1935-2022

Messiah University mourns the loss of Dorothy Gish, academic dean emeritus, who passed away in November 2022. After graduating from Messiah Junior College in 1955, she returned in 1972 after 17 years of teaching and serving internationally and earning her Ph.D. from Penn State University. Something of a legend at Messiah and known for her trademark hats, Gish served in many roles, including as chair of what was then known as the Department of Home Economics; acting dean of students; assistant dean for faculty growth and development; and academic dean. Her achievements as dean include adding 20 new faculty members and increasing gender, ethnic and age diversity. She also launched various new programs, including the Early Childhood Education Lab School. She retired in 1998 and was honored with the title academic dean emeritus by the Board of Trustees in recognition of her meritorious service to her alma mater. In retirement, she remained as active as ever, working for the Brethren in Christ, including serving as dean of equipping for ministry and serving on numerous boards. Throughout her esteemed educational career, she conducted research and presented her findings in a host of international settings.

“Dr. Dorothy J. Gish was an inspiration!” said Raeann Hamon ’83, who followed in Gish’s footsteps and is current chair of the Department of

Human Development and Family Science. “As an undergraduate and then later as a young faculty member at Messiah, Dorothy served as an important role model and mentor for women on campus, including me. She truly shattered the glass ceiling at Messiah, serving as our first female academic dean, teaching us a great deal about effective women in leadership. Even in her later years, Dorothy maintained her commitment to empowering women in their pursuit of leadership and was thrilled when our department initiated the Dr. Dorothy J. Gish Women in Leadership Award endowment. I’m so delighted that Dorothy’s influence and passion for leadership will live on.”

President Kim S. Phipps, who was named Gish’s successor as academic dean in 1998, said at the memorial service, “Dorothy was an exemplary administrator, educator and lifelong learner. She believed in the transformative power of education to improve and enrich the lives of others. Dorothy was a selfless servant. She fulfilled whatever role was needed, whenever it was needed and she did it with competence and grace. Dorothy was a gracious, embracing Christian who understood the gospel’s clarion call for reconciliation. She worked tirelessly to recruit and retain a more diverse faculty and to improve the experiences of multicultural students on our campus. At Messiah University, we continue that journey toward reconciliation today. Dorothy made a significant difference in the life of Messiah faculty and staff and the lives of the students who attended during her 26-year career at the University. For the gift of her life and for every good work and every moment of joy she brought to our community, we thank her and we thank God.”

1948-2022

We are saddened to announce the passing of Rev. Dr. Susie C. Stanley in November 2022. She joined the Messiah community in 1995 and served as professor of historical theology in the Biblical and Religious Studies Department, retiring in 2011. In addition to being a talented teacher and scholar, Stanley, a minister in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), was founding executive director of the Wesleyan/Holiness Women Clergy (WHWC). The purpose of WHWC is to encourage women to serve as ministers of the church. In the early 2000s, she wrote a key aspect of Messiah’s Lilly Vocation grant in support of female students sensing a call to ordained ministry. She earned her Ph.D. from Illiff School of Theology at the University of Denver and taught throughout her adult life either at the seminary or college levels. In addition, she loved chocolate, so much so that she taught classes on chocolate at Messiah! Colleague David Weaver-Zercher ‘83, former chair of the Biblical and Religious Studies Department, said, “Susie demonstrated boundless energy as a teacher and a scholar, and she loved her students. She was particularly attuned to the gifts that women could offer the church as ordained leaders, and her encouragement of Messiah’s female ministry students to follow their callings was exactly what they needed. Susie was a