29 May Sharon Custer Heads into Retirement

The Excel staff. Dr. Rick Upchurch, clad in his chef’s apron, is on the left. Sharon Custer is front-right.

One of the nice perks of working at Healthy Ministry Resources is rubbing shoulders with the staff of the Huntington University Graduate School. They all have offices in our building. The ones we see most often are with the EXCEL adult education program. Among them is Sharon Custer.

Sharon Custer (right) has taught at Huntington University for 36 years, since 1973. She is retiring from the university this year. She will continue doing some teaching for EXCEL, but looks forward to spending time with grandchildren and going on motorcycle road trips with her husband, Lee (who plans to teach one more year at Huntington North High School).

Yesterday morning, the EXCEL staff held a going-away breakfast for Sharon. Rick Upchurch, director of the EXCEL program, made chocolate gravy, if you can imagine the concept.

Some of you may have had Sharon for classes at Huntington. We all wish Sharon well.

18 May Huntington University’s 111th Graduation Day

On Saturday, Huntington University awarded degrees to another 235 graduates. This 111th commencement was held in the Field House of the Merillat Complex for Physical Education and Recreation. The break-down included:

• 7 Master of Arts degrees.
• 6 Master of Education degrees.
• 62 Bachelor of Arts degrees.
• 198 Bachelor of Science degrees.
• 7 even Bachelor of Social Work degrees.
• 21 Associate of Science degrees.
• 3 honorary doctorates.

You can view more photos from Commencement and Baccalaureate at the Huntington University site.

02 May HU Honorary Degrees

Huntington University will award three honorary doctorates during Commencement exercises on May 16:

• Dr. John Bernbaum, founder and president of the American Christian University in Moscow, Russia.
• Robert and Sue Miller, entrepreneurs and owners of Essenhaus Inc. in Middlebury, Ind.

30 Apr Michael Cook Comes to the HU Graduate School

Dr. Michael Cook will become the director of graduate ministries at Huntington University on June 1. This is a key position in the training of new ministers.

Cook currently chairs the Christian Ministries Department at Taylor University Fort Wayne, where he has served for the last 12 years. He developed the Bachelor of Science degree in counseling program at TUFW and a number of new courses. Before TUFW, Cook taught at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Cook served as the counseling pastor at First Missionary Church in Fort Wayne for four years and has worked in other churches and counseling centers as a clinic director, staff counselor, research consultant, youth pastor, and associate pastor.

Cook holds a Ph.D. and Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from Albany State University in Georgia.

As director of graduate ministries, Cook will oversee all the graduate ministries programs as well as the Diploma in Christian Ministries, and teach courses in these programs. He will work closely with the other graduate program directors and relevant denominational committees.

16 Apr Huntington University Graduation Day

Huntington University will hold its 111th commencement exercises at 3 p.m. on May 16 on the front campus, weather permitting. Degrees will be awarded to 230 graduates (associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees). Three honorary degrees will also be presented.

The commencement address will be given by Dr. John Bernbaum (right), founder and president of Russian-American Christian University in Moscow, Russia. RACU’s mission, as a private faith-based university, is to equip young Russians for leadership roles in their local communities, in the marketplace, in their churches and in their nation.

Bernbaum works out of the U.S. office of RACU in Wheaton, Md., and spends approximately one-third of the year in Moscow; the remaining time is spent traveling across the country sharing RACU’s mission, recruiting faculty and raising scholarship support for financially-needy Russian students.

Dr. Del Doughty (left), Huntington University professor of English, will deliver the baccalaureate sermon to graduates and their parents at 10:30 a.m. in the Zurcher Auditorium of the Merillat Centre for the Arts. For the past dozen years, he has taught HU courses in creative writing, world literature, and academic writing and research. 

09 Apr HU Students Spend Spring Break with Habitat

While some chose to lay on the sandy beaches of Florida to work on their tans, 13 students from Huntington University gave up their week of rest and relaxation to build houses in Benton Harbor, Mich., on March 16-20. The university’s Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service partnered with Harbor Habitat for Humanity, the local Habitat affiliate, to complete multiple service projects around the community.

Throughout the week, students tackled a variety of tasks, such as  picking up trash, spreading mulch, and working directly on a house–putting up roof sheeting, painting, or putting in hurricane stripping. Students were on the worksite from 8 a.m. to about 3 p.m. each day.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better group of students,” said Grace McBrayer, the JMC staff advisor. “All week I saw students be selfless, inclusive to each other and serve, serve, serve!”

After putting in more than five hours of physical work, the students took their afternoons off to enjoy the scenery, interact with members of the community, hold devotional times, participate in other service projects, and spend time together as a group playing games and building relationships.

Josh Lawrence, program coordinator of the JMC and the student leader of the trip, felt each student had a good experience. He thought the trip served as a good reminder of just how blessed students are relative to other places not too far from Huntington.

“Our group was great, and it meant a great deal to me that everyone was willing to give up their spring break to make a practical difference,” said Lawrence, a senior business major from North Judson, Ind. “We not only grew as a team, but we saw the direct results of our efforts and the work we had done. I also think it helped put things in perspective for us.”

31 Mar HU Spring Break: Costa Rica

L-r: Kelsey Butcher, Samantha Sutorius, Meghan Martin, Krista Sauter, Luke Brenneman, Brenda Bair and Alex Lute traveled to Costa Rica on their spring break. In front is their mission team leader, Amy Speake. (click photo to enlarge)

Spring break in San José, Costa Rica, wasn’t a vacation for the Foresters who participated in the week-long mission trip. Eight people went on the trip, including six Huntington University students and one faculty member and his daughter.

From March 14 to the 22, the group crossed international borders and delved into a different culture. As part of the Christ For the City International service organization, they served, lived, shared, and now emphasize the significance of an international service experience.

“I think that college students are at the perfect stage in their lives for the challenges that such international experiences bring as well as having something valuable to share,” said Dr. Todd Martin, associate professor of English at Huntington and leader of the trip.

“I wouldn’t really say that I ‘lead’ it,” Martin said. “The students did all the planning and developing of the trip.”

Alex Lute, a junior elementary education major from Lansing, Ill., was responsible for suggesting Costa Rica to the Joe Mertz Center as a mission trip possibility. He served with CFCI for six months in that same area of San José just after he graduated high school.

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31 Mar HU Spring Break: Dominican Republic

Emily Simpson works with children on a picture frame craft. Simpson is a senior recreation management major from Star City, Ind.

Dr. Norris Friesen, along with a group of 12 students, one faculty member and one staff member from Huntington University, witnessed extreme poverty first-hand during a spring break mission trip to the Dominican Republic on March 16-20.

One windy day they found themselves walking afoot through a small housing project called Redemption Village. Glancing around, Friesen noticed a woman making charcoal to sell on the side of the street, and on the other side of the woman, a young boy was walking around completely naked.

“We learned later that it wasn’t that the boy didn’t have any clothes, but it was a way to keep his clothes clean and to not wear them out,” said Friesen, vice president and dean of Huntington University. “You can’t visit a place like Redemption Village and not be impacted.”

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24 Mar Summer Theatre Youth Camp at Huntington University

his summer, the Huntington University Department of Theatre Arts will host its fourth Huntington University Summer Theatre Youth Camp. From June 29-July 25, campers entering grades kindergarten through 12 in the fall will learn basic theatrical training from theatre professionals and perform a fully produced musical theatre production. This summer’s performance will be “Fiddler on the Roof Jr.,” and every camper will have a part.

The camp will run Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Huntington University Merillat Centre for the Arts with performances on July 25.

Cost is $175 per camper with a late registration fee of $25 after May 1. Space is limited to 50 campers. Brochures and registration forms were distributed to area elementary and middle schools and are available at the Merillat Centre for the Arts Box Office.

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17 Mar HU Student Creates Necklaces for Change

Huntington University freshman Ben Swartz is selling necklaces to raise money for orphanages overseas.

“I have known since I was 16 that God was calling me to care for the orphans,” said Swartz, a freshman nursing major from Botkins, Ohio.

Swartz said he had been praying for some time for a way to raise money for this cause. Then one day someone showed him how to make the necklaces he currently sells. He started wearing them, and when others expressed interest in the necklaces, he decided to sell them as a way to raise money for orphanages.

The funds raised from approximately 200 necklaces was given to CKS Ministries, an organization building an orphanage in Kenya, Africa, and started by C. Kevin and Cheri Singer, a couple who attend Swartz’s church.

“I’ve been able to converse, meet, and befriend so many awesome people who are feeding and caring for orphans and the least of society,” Swartz said. “I know that the money that we have given to the orphanage being built in Kenya will affect kids’ lives that we may never meet, and it is hard to grasp the affect that the money will have.

“I know that this has affected my life so much. Just to see the amount of people who believe in the dream that God has placed in my heart is incredible. Our next step is to create a non-profit, and it is cool to see how God provides now even before we are a non-profit.”