12 Nov HU Students Take the Urban Plunge

Thirteen Huntington University students will be taking the plunge next week to help those in need in the Chicago area.

The trip, known as Urban Plunge, is sponsored by the Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service on campus and will take place Nov. 19-21.

“Our purpose for the trip to Chicago is twofold,” said Grace McBrayer, director of first-year students and volunteer services. “First and foremost, it’s to engage in service in these organizations and to the people in need there, but it’s also to create an educational opportunity for our students to encounter a culture, community or people that may be different for them.”

The students will work with various service organizations including:

• Emmaus Ministries. They will participate in an Immersion Night, which is an attempt to stop male prostitution.
• Cornerstone Community Outreach. They will help sort through clothes for the Outreach’s “free store” where those in need may obtain clothing.
• A Just Harvest. They will work in the soup kitchen.

“I think it will be a shock to some, uncomfortable for many, and different for all of us. I also think, however, that it will be a good learning experience,” said Dana Lancaster, a junior at HU and the student organizer of the trip.

The students attending the trip are:

• Felicia Pettigrew, a senior graphic design major, from Lampe, Mo.
• Regina Brenneman, a senior elementary and special education major, from Delphos, Ohio
• Jonathan Zamora, a freshman undecided major, from Chicago, Ill.
• Mitsuzi Stone, a sophomore nursing major, from Jamaica
• Brittany Scales, a freshman educational ministry-family and children major, from Rochester, Ind.
• Monica Salvo, a junior social work major, from Deerfield, Wis.
• Heather Mayer, a sophomore educational ministry-family and children major, from Ossian, Ind.
• Margaret Kubina, a junior biology major, from Sheridan, Ind.
• Justin Sommer, a junior youth ministries major, from Berne, Ind.
• Sean Cruse, a senior animation major, from Melville, N.Y.
• Catherine Rinchak, a freshman fine arts major, from Chesterton, Ind.
• Rebekah Lantz, a junior psychology major, from Fowlerville, Mich.
• Dana Lancaster, a junior entrepreneurial/small business management major, from Hereford, Pa.

02 Nov Bill Fisher Leaving HU in June 2011

Bill Fisher

Rev. Bill Fisher, dean of Christian Faith and Life at Huntington University, is stepping down in June 2011 after 18 years in that position.

His work has included revising the chapel programming, raising up campus ministries student leaders, developing “Faith-in-Action” teams to support local churches, establishing an ongoing chapel worship team, organizing off-campus retreats, and teaching. He has also led or co-led numerous spring break and January Term trips across the United States and around the world, including Brazil, China, Northern Ireland, Ukraine, Kenya, and Uganda.

“It would be impossible to list all the ways that he has impacted the lives of our students – from the classes he has taught, to the personal and pre-marital counseling he has provided, to the example he has set through his involvement with area churches,” said HU President G. Blair Dowden. “In so many ways, Bill has modeled a life dedicated to Christ. And he has done an incredible job representing Huntington University locally, nationally, and internationally.”

Fisher says he will continue his work with the Murdock Charitable Trust and continue pastoring First Baptist Church in Warren, Ind., while he discovers God’s next plan for his life.

A national search is currently under way to find his successor. The search committee is led by Ron Coffey, vice president for student development.

You can read more about Bill Fisher‘s contributions to Huntington University, as well as to other Christian colleges.