BRIEF THE BEACON
Fall 2021
Bushnell University Update Wisdom Faith Service
Serving Up Fall
GREETINGS FROM UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT Fall has always been my favorite season. Bold colors welcome the return of students and fresh beginnings for the academic year. This fall feels even more significant. We enjoy the blessing of a large incoming class of dedicated students. Our retention rates have been high and our enthusiasm grows for the hope of “renewed normal” of university life. We’re deepening our resolve to serve each other and our community through this hard pandemic. The campus continues to be caring and vigilant as mission teams adapt to restrictions and adopt new people to serve in the local region and beyond. We’ve commissioned a new residence hall and have begun to rally support for a bold new endeavor. We celebrated a belated 125th birthday with alumni from every decade since the 1940s and announced the public launch of Venture Forward, a capital campaign to raise an initial goal of $14,000,000 that has already secure more than $12.5 million in support. As we move into regional meetings, church gatherings, home dinners, and one-on-one encounters with our 9,000 alumni, we are pressing on with an aggressive strategy to enlarge our campus, our vision, and our impact. Read on, and please be praying for this Christ-centered Beacon of university life. Yours, Keith Potter ’84
IN THIS BRIEF
Fall 2021
President Joseph Womack ’89, Ed.D.
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Greetings from University Advancement
Vice Presidents Gene De Young, MBA Michael Fuller, M.A. Dennis Lindsay, Dr.Theol. Keith Potter ’84, D.D. (hon) ’11
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Mission Teams Returning to Serve in 2022
Editor Corynn Gilbert, M.Ed. Contributors Joseph Womack ’89, Ed.D. Keith Potter ’84, D.D. (hon) ’11 Troy Dean, M.A. Laura Pierson Doyle Srader, Ph.D.
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Keith Potter '84, Vice President Troy Dean, Campus Pastor and Assistant Professor
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125th Anniversary Celebration & Dedication of Womack Hall
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Bushnell’s Long Tradition of Service: ETC Day Dr. Doyle Srader, Professor of Speech and Communication
ALSO IN THIS REPORT Meet Your Advancement Team – Page 3 End of Year Giving – Back Cover
GLOBAL MISSION TEAMS Returning To Serve in 2022
UPCOMING TRIPS Peacemakers (Sunshine Gospel Ministries) In a trip designed for listening, learning, and service, we are following the Great Migration from the South to Chicago. We will visit and learn at museums, memorials, and teaching locations in the first week, followed up by a week of service in Chicago with Sunshine Gospel Ministries.
HISTORY Bushnell University has been deeply devoted to training and sending students, staff, and faculty to serve globally. In just the past several years, we have sent teams to serve in Mexico, Cambodia, Nicaragua, China/Macau, Kenya, Puerto Rico, and Houston. We have developed strong partnerships with several ministries and mission agencies, such as Puente de Amistad, AIM, and Forward Edge.
VISION With the global pandemic continuing to cast an uncertain return to international travel, we are working closely with our trusted partners as they offer ways for teams to engage in serving their communities. They have set up protocols and creative ministry opportunities that consider safety for both teams traveling to serve and those at-risk in their communities.
Mexico (AMOR Ministries) We are working with AMOR on a combination trip consisting of construction and ministry with a local family. The second half of the trip includes a listening and education experience, working with those who minister to immigrants and refugees on our southern border. Puerto Rico (Forward Edge) We are planning our third trip with Forward Edge and Pastor Rolando in Puerto Rico. We will be helping with disaster relief (rebuilding homes for families) as recovery from Hurricane Maria is still needed in this American territory. Southern Oregon (Forward Edge) We will be providing disaster relief for families affected by the 2020 wildfires. Serving a local family, we will aid in cleanup, construction, and support.
YOUR ADVANCEMENT TEAM Ready to Serve
Left to right:
Jamie Womack, Athletic Fundraising Coordinator Corynn Gilbert, Director of Development Keith Potter ’84, Vice President for University Advancement Bethany Dilla ’10, Director of Annual Giving Lars Coburn ’14, Donor Relations Specialist Catherine Walsh, Administrative Assistant
541-684-7318 ▪ advancement@bushnell.edu Fall 2021 3
STUDENT PROFILES
WHY I GIVE CELEBRATES 125 YEARS BUSHNELL Ready to Venture Forward
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ushnell University celebrated our delayed 125th anniversary on September 30, 2021. We honored our long heritage of wisdom, faith, and service to the community, the church, and the world. Over 250 alumni, staff, faculty, students, and friends gathered as we reinforced Bushnell’s ongoing commitment to Christ-centered higher education. Dr. Joseph Womack shared the crucial role James A. Bushnell played in the founding and vision of the University as he reflected on the growth and changes over the years. The highlight of the night was the announcement of the immediate plans for the future of Bushnell — Venture Forward: The Campaign for Bushnell University, an ambitious God-sized dream to expand the campus, grow academic programs, and launch new co-curricular programs.
Learn more about the exciting future of Bushnell University at: bushnell.edu/ventureforward
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WOMACK HALL DEDICATED In Honor of Jim & Sharron Kay Womack
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he celebration continued on October 1st as the community gathered for the dedication and naming reveal of the newest residence hall on campus, formerly the Phoenix Inn. Newly christened Womack Hall honors the legacy and service of President Emeritus James Womack ’63 and his wife Sharron Kay (McCullough) ’63. Alumnus and former state senator Frank Morse ’66 helped with the symbolic ribbon cutting and students gave tours of the new renovations. The return of this building is the fulfillment of a nearly 30-year vision set forth by Jim, Frank, and the Board of Trustees. Womack Hall blesses our campus with capacity for 200 additional student beds.
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BUSHNELL'S LONG TRADITION OF SERVICE: ETC DAY CONTINUES Dr. Doyle Srader, Professor of Speech & Communication
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ome of my colleagues at larger universities have shiny laboratories and million dollar research budgets, and they repeatedly publish their cutting-edge breakthroughs that make my jaw drop. But from time to time we at Bushnell figure something essential out quite a long time before they do. A few weeks ago, Jamil Zaki published an opinion piece in The Atlantic. Dr. Zaki is a psychology professor at Stanford, and an expert on empathy that I quote all the time, especially when I teach listening. His column made an argument that I immediately warmed up to: maybe instead of putting so much stock in self-care to get us through the toughest days of the pandemic, we should give other-care a try. I remembered Philippians 2:3-4 and Acts 20:35 and silently cheered him on for what struck me as a good point. But then he proposed that schools declare “other-care” days and cancel classes to send students and staff out into the community for a day of service. What a great idea! So great, in fact, that one of my favorite Communication majors dreamed it up and made it a reality more than a decade ago: Embrace the Community Day. Britni (Steiling) D’Eliso ‘11 tells me that the original intent of ETC Day was “helping students find points of passion and purpose.” But in her vision, it was more than just therapy for the emotional fatigue of coping with uncertainty and stress; she said, “My dream was that someone would go work at a retirement home and discover that ‘Oh my goodness, I love connecting with elderly people. Their stories are so rich. This was so filling.’ I wanted every college student to have that experience, and then there would also be a relationship with the staff at that clinic so it would be easier to call back and say ‘That felt really good, and it seemed important to them. I want to do that again.’ So it’s intended to be an on-ramp, rather than a one day event.” In other words, why wait for a pandemic to make us start serving? If service is already part of our life as a community, part of who we are, then when we need to cope with something as crushing as a global public health crisis, or as light as a disappointing grade on a pop quiz, we’re already drinking deeply
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of its benefits and letting the blessing overflow from us to others. And meeting our own needs is just a happy side effect, not the principal objective. I asked Pastor Troy Dean for his thoughts on ETC Day, and he told me, “There is a deeper law, something in the spirit that’s happening, that actually affirms that we are a together people. When we look out for other people we find our story, our self, our values, the true image of God.” And I agree wholeheartedly. So many people struggle to cooperate because we have such a hard time trusting each other. It just seems as though the powerful people at the top do what they wish and all the rest of us are forgotten. But when we serve, we make a difference. We feel powerful in the best sense; not callous and removed from suffering, but down in it, getting messy and meeting needs, and doing it all, as God spoke to Zerubabbel through Zechariah, “not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.” And after so many exhausting months of keeping our distance from each other, we can choose to invest our resources in each other and see why Jesus commanded us to love one another as ourselves; for His glory and our thriving. So yes, Dr. Zaki, good advice.
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End of Year Giving:
Congress Extended Special Tax Rules for 2021 ■ All tax filers may deduct up to $300 in charitable gifts (or $600 if married filing jointly), even if you don’t itemize. ■ For tax filers who itemize, you can claim a charitable deduction for up to 100% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) in 2021. ■ Consider IRA distributions for those aged 70½ or older (consult your tax professional for more details). ■ Gifts postmarked (or submitted electronically) by December 31 qualify.
For more details on year-end contributions to the Beacon Fund, visit: bushnell.edu/giving2021
NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID EUGENE, OR PERMIT NO. 921