Moravian University Magazine Fall 2024

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UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE

The

FUTURE OF EDUCATION Artificial Intelligence Black & Latino College Readiness Teachers as Transformational Leaders

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VIEW FINDER Photographer Nick Chismar ’20 captured a Moravian University student offering assistance in a classroom at Bethlehem’s Thomas Jefferson Elementary School during Heritage Day 2024, Moravian’s celebration of volunteerism.

U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E

Editor Claire Kowalchik P’22 Art Director Brooke Porcelli Managing Editor Nancy Rutman ’84 Sports Editor Mark J. Fleming Archivist Cory W. Dieterly Contributing Writers Elizabeth Shimer Bowers, Jeffrey Csatari, Steve Neumann ’94, G’18, Nancy Rutman ’84, Meghan Decker Szvetecz ’08 Contributing Photographers Carlo Acerra, Marco Calderon, Nick Chismar ’20, Ryan Hulvat, Matt Lester, Tom Turcich ’11 Contributing Illustrators GreatPetsPortraits.etsy.com, James O’Brien, Colleen O’Hara, Nate Padavick, Katie Thomas Alumni and Parent Engagement Amanda Werner Maenza ’13, G’17

Executive Director Matt Nesto ’16, G’21, G’22

Associate Director Dylan Star

Assistant Director Kathy Magditch P’13

Administrative Support Assistant Copyright 2024 by Moravian University. Photographs and artwork copyright by their respective creators or by Moravian University.

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reused or republished in any form without express written permission.

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FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

oravian Greyhound family and friends,

As many socially connected Hounds know, Moravian University is now part of a newly designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. This prestigious recognition not only honors our rich history but also underscores our commitment to preserving and celebrating the legacy of education that has been a cornerstone of our institution since its founding. We are now one of two universities in the United States and one of eight worldwide to have this designation. This issue of Moravian University Magazine beautifully captures the spirit of Moravian education, one of the reasons for this prestigious and celebrated designation.

Our cover story delves into the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. Moravian is pioneering this cutting-edge technology to enhance learning experiences, foster innovation, and prepare our students for transformative leadership in a world of change. AI integration into our curriculum is a testament to our dedication to providing a forward-thinking and practical education.

In addition, we are proud to highlight the Black and Latino College Readiness Program in its second year. The program is the first high school–to–college initiative of this kind in the Lehigh Valley and provides Black and Latino males entering grades 10, 11, and 12 with a comprehensive experience to learn about the college search process. It embodies our mission to offer education for all, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to succeed and thrive.

We also celebrate the achievements of teachers, such as Wendy Elvin-Thomas, who has joined the first cohort of our Doctor of Education in Transformational Leadership program. The EdD degree program is designed to support the forward-thinking scholar-practitioner by providing the tools to thrive in today’s educational setting and cultivating inclusive systems geared toward the future of learning.

As we continue to build on our legacy and welcome the largest class of Greyhounds in Moravian history, I am grateful for our community’s unwavering support. Your contributions and engagement are vital to our success, and I look forward to the many ways we will continue to grow and innovate together.

Hound ’em,

President Bryon L. Grigsby ’90, P’22, P’26

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PHOTO BY MARCO CALDERON

CONTENTS

ON THE COVER

Features 22 The Way to Higher Education

32

Moravian University’s Black and Latino Male College Readiness Program of the Lehigh Valley prepares high school students for success in higher education and beyond.

32 Evolving the Educational Landscape at Moravian

Katie Thomas’s illustration represents Moravian University’s integration of generative AI into its learning landscape.

Committed to advancing teaching and learning, Moravian University is exploring the applications of generative AI, and several faculty members across disciplines are bringing it into their classrooms.

44 The Changemaker

Educator Wendy Elvin-Thomas uses a stakeholder approach to champion an equitable education for all children.

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The Hub 4

News & Notes

8

Greyhound Sports

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Why I Play

Community

Brilliance 18 Creators

10 An Alum Reflects

19 Bookshelf

12 Ask an Alum

20 Think Piece

13 Faculty Focus 14 Moravian Moment

Alumni

16 Student Spotlight

50 Lighting the Way 54 Class Notes 60 Greyhound Album

DIGITAL ISSUE

62 In Memoriam 64 Hounds of Moravian

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NEWS & NOTES

The Hub

The Second Single Brethren’s House on South Campus is part of the Moravian Church Settlements.

Moravian Church Settlements– Bethlehem on UNESCO World Heritage List

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J

uly 26, 2024, was a particularly great day to be a Hound.

In case you were basking at the beach that day, Moravian University joined a very exclusive, highly prestigious club whose members include such world-famous icons as Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, and the Great Barrier Reef.

Moravian Church Settlements–Bethlehem, which includes two university properties, became the 26th UNESCO World Heritage site located in the United States.

Along with two other historic Moravian settlements—Gracehill, Northern Ireland, and Herrnhut, Germany—Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, joined Christiansfeld,

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Denmark (inscribed to the World Heritage List in 2015), as a single World Heritage site encompassing the four locations.

The designation honors the worldwide influence of the Moravian Church. The new site was inscribed on the list at the World Heritage Convention in New Delhi, India, at a ceremony attended by a Bethlehem contingent including Mayor and Moravian graduate J. William Reynolds, Moravian University President Bryon L. Grigsby, and Moravian Bishop Rt. Rev. Chris Giesler.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) began honoring landmarks and areas in 1972 to “encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural

PHOTOS BY NICK CHISMAR ’20

NEWS & NOTES

heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity,” according to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre website.

“Decades of work by Charlene Donchez Mowers, [Curtis] Hank Barnette, and others culminated in this ultimate recognition—the world considers us to be of outstanding value to humanity,” says President Grigsby. “It was an incredible honor to be sitting with our government leaders representing the United States, the City of Bethlehem, and Moravian University at the inscription ceremony.”

Bethlehem’s Moravian Church Settlement locations that are part of the World Heritage site designation span more than 10 acres in North Bethlehem and include the 1741 Gemeinhaus, 1746–49 Bell House, 1744 First Single Brethren’s House (later the Single Sisters’ House), 1752 Single Sisters’ House, 1772 Single Sisters’ House, 1751 Old Chapel, 1748 Second Single Brethren’s House, 1768 Widows’ House, 1803–06 Central Moravian Church, God’s Acre cemetery, Common Grounds, Colonial Industrial Quarter, 1761 Tannery, and 1762 Waterworks.

the first boarding school for girls in the colonies in 1742 in Bethlehem. Moravian University is the sixth-oldest college in the United States.) “Our historic venues are a living history and will be used to teach others about the Moravians, their art and architecture, the cradle of industry here in Bethlehem, and the way of life of these incredible people,” Larimer says.

World Heritage designation will preserve the extraordinary history of the Moravian immigrants who founded Bethlehem in 1741, and it is expected to boost cultural tourism in the Lehigh Valley. “This is a celebration of the [Moravian] idea that there’s a place for everyone, we are in this together, and that other people matter,” said Mayor Reynolds in a video address. “Now it’s about what we’re going to do over the next 5, 10, 20, 50 years to honor both our history and those [Moravian] concepts that have made Bethlehem so special.”

“

Our historic venues are a living history and will be used to teach others about the Moravians, their art and architecture, the cradle of industry here in Bethlehem, and the way of life of these incredible people.”

—Craig Larimer, director of community relations and marketing of world heritage, Moravian University

Moravian University owns the 1768 Widows’ House, now used as residences for faculty and staff, and the 1748 Second Single Brethren’s House, home of the university’s music department. The Bethlehem Moravians were organized by communal living groups (known as “choirs”) based on gender and marital status. The single men’s choir lived in the Brethren’s House, while the women of the Witwenchor, or widows’ choir, resided in the Widows’ House. Both are located on West Church Street.

“Education for all is at the heart of the Moravian mission,” says Craig Larimer, director of community relations and marketing of world heritage at Moravian University. “So, Moravian University is leaning in on the legacy of Benigna von Zinzendorf.” (Countess Zinzendorf, daughter of Count Zinzendorf, founded

The Widow’s House, owned by Moravian University, is used to house some faculty and staff.

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NEWS & NOTES

Student orientation leaders are an enthusiastic bunch.

Déjà Vu!

This fall, Moravian University welcomed the largest incoming class in its 282-year history—528 full-time students.

While across the nation, college and university enrollments continue to decline, and 99 institutions closed their doors from the 2022–23 academic year to 2023–24, Moravian continues an upward trajectory.

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Moravian University is the fastest-growing college or university in the region, with a 30 percent increase in full-time students since 2014.

More Apples on Campus

This fall, in addition to a MacBook Pro, iPad, and Apple Pencil, all incoming first-time undergraduate students received an Apple Watch to support them in their physical, mental, and emotional well-being throughout their time at Moravian and beyond. The watch provides students a mobile ID for access to facilities and for payment at the dining hall. In addition, students can anonymously provide data on their health and wellness. The university will

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analyze that data and support users with easy access to resources as they address wellness gaps, stress, and anxiety. The initiative comes as Moravian’s designation as an Apple Distinguished School has been extended to 2027.

Biology Professor Awarded $500,846 Grant

Sara McClelland, associate professor of biological sciences, has been awarded a $500,846 grant. The three-year grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation’s program Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology (BRC-BIO). It will fund McClelland’s research into the potential health effects of our exposure to microand nanoplastics, which we inadvertently eat, drink, and breathe. It’s an area that— surprisingly—hasn’t been studied. The funding for McClelland’s research will also support a considerable amount of student research and travel to conferences.

Department of Education Receives Funding

Moravian’s Department of Education has

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been generously funded through a grant by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to run two Service Learning Opportunities (SLOs) through the Developing Future Special Educators Grant. Faculty members Jean DesJardin, Laurie Kahn, and Carolanne Carty are arranging panels of local experts in the field of special education and related services and creating an inclusive education club that will connect local high schools with our Moravian education students.

Bethlehem Mural Represents PA in CITYarts’ 50 States of Peace

Thanks to a collaboration between Moravian University and CITYarts, a global nonprofit organization based in New York City, a colorful mural symbolizing peace has been installed at Bernie Fritz Park. The peace mural was created entirely by Bethlehem community members, most of them students from the 4th through 12th grades.

Moravian’s Cathy Coyne, associate professor of public health, and MaryJo Rosania-Harvie, assistant professor of art and art education, cochaired the project.

PHOTOS BY NICK CHISMAR ’20

NEWS & NOTES

The endeavor engaged not only Moravian University and CITYarts but also the Bethlehem Area School District (BASD), the City of Bethlehem’s Department of Community and Economic Development, the Bethlehem Arts Commission, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and ArtsQuest/Banana Factory.

Students in Coyne’s and Rosania-Harvie’s Integrated Learning Communities courses were also involved.

Roughly 200 Bethlehem students painted pieces of the mural at their schools.

Renowned muralist Matt Halm then assembled the more than 90 images into the Bethlehem Peace Mural at Bernie Fritz.

Tsipi Ben-Haim, founder, executive, and creative director of CITYarts, was on hand to celebrate the unveiling on September 7.

CITYarts’ 50 States of Peace is an initiative to bring young people from across the country into a dialogue with each other through the creation of art reflecting their visions of peace.

60th Anniversary of Sisterhood

President Grigsby represented the Honorable J. William Reynolds, Mayor of Bethlehem, at the 60th anniversary celebration of the Sister City relationship between Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Tondabayashi, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The event was marked by an exchange of gifts with the Honorable Toshi Tada, Mayor of Tondabayashi, and a symbolic tree-planting ceremony.

This event also marked the 30th anniversary of the cultural and academic exchange between Moravian University and Osaka Ohtani University. Over the past three decades, this partnership has facilitated the exchange of scholarly ideas, research, and student experiences, greatly benefiting both institutions.

An Emmy Nomination!

Okay, we didn’t win the Emmy, but the short film about the Black and Latino Male College Readiness Program of the Lehigh Valley at Moravian (a mouthful indeed!) received a nomination for a regional Emmy Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion— an accomplishment to celebrate. The film was produced by eMediaWorks in collaboration with Moravian University and 2023 program sponsor Air Products.

You can view the inspiring film at mrvn.co/ readiness-video, then turn to page 22 to read all about the readiness program.

A First for Moravian

Moravian University has appointed Heather K. Hosfeld, Esq. ’92 as its first Vice President and General Counsel. Hosfeld is a 1992 graduate of Moravian College and has served as part-time counsel for the university since October of 2022 through an arrangement with Lehigh University.

Hosfeld brings to Moravian more than 20 years of experience in the practice of higher-education law.

Where We Stand

Every year, national publications put out their rankings of colleges and universities. Moravian is happy to boast about several of our standings.

#37

IN THE BEST UNIVERSITIES IN THE NORTH U.S. News & World Report

#32 Best Value Schools AMONG REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES

U.S. News & World Report

#39 Best Colleges for Veterans AMONG REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES

U.S. News & World Report

#104 Best Colleges for Social Mobility

AMONG REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES Elementary school students work on the peace mural; Mary Jo Rosania-Harvie, assistant professor of art education, speaks at the celebration of the Bethlehem Peace Mural.

U.S. News & World Report

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GREYHOUND SPORTS

Watch Greyhounds Live with FloSports The Landmark Conference enters year two of a historic partnership with leading sports streaming service and original content provider FloSports, which will stream all live and on-demand Landmark Conference events, including the conference’s 23 championships.

Greyhound fans can watch all Moravian University home athletic events and road contests against Landmark Conference opponents on FloSports throughout the 2024–25 academic year. You can download the FloSports app on your favorite digital and streaming services, including Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and Google Chromecast.

For more information about FloSports and to sign up for a subscription with an NCAA discounted monthly rate, go to mrvn.co/flosports.

ATHLETICS RECAP The baseball team was selected as an American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award winner.

Twelve student-athletes and both men’s and women’s teams earn Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete and Team Academic Awards.

The women’s volleyball team earns the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award.

Two student-athletes and both

Greyhounds Will Play at the Palestra The storied Palestra, called the “Cathedral of College Basketball,” is the oldest major college sports arena still in use today. It hosted its first basketball game on New Year’s Day 1927 when the University of Pennsylvania took on Yale in front of 9,000 fans. Superstars Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson competed on the court as college players. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant played at the Palestra as high schoolers.

Now, for the third year in a row, the Landmark Conference is set to take center stage at the historic arena.“The opportunity to play in a place steeped in history and revered by college basketball fans is truly special for our student-athletes and fans alike,” says league commissioner Katie Boldvich.

men’s and women’s track & field teams earn United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association AllAcademic Athletes and Team Awards.

Eight student-athletes and both men’s and women’s cross country teams earn United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Athletes and Team Awards.

Men’s and women’s swimming teams earn College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America Awards.

Mark your calendar now for Sunday, January 12, 2025, for a trip to the Palestra, at 223 South 33rd Street in Philadelphia.

Thirteen student-athletes

The Game Schedule

Coaches Association All-America

12:00 p.m.: Elizabethtown College vs. Wilkes University (women) 2:30 p.m.: Elizabethtown College vs. Wilkes University (men) 5:00 p.m.: Lycoming College vs. Moravian University (women) 7:30 p.m.: Lycoming College vs. Moravian University (men)

“Playing in an iconic venue again with my team is not just about the game; it’s about the history that will surround us, the energy of the crowd, and the opportunity to share this memory with our men’s program,” says Mary Beth Spirk, head women’s basketball coach and director of athletics.“We are excited and grateful for the experience.”

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named National Fastpitch Scholar-Athletes.

Seven student-athletes named to Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll.

WHY I PLAY

Dark Side Defender Truthfully, there isn’t a dark side to senior Jeremiah Espinosa, linebacker for Moravian’s football team.“He is a fantastic young man,” says Head Coach Jeff Long.“He leads with his work ethic and positive attitude, and he motivates others because his passion and positivity are infectious.”

So ... the dark side? “ ‘Dark side defense’ is our motto,” says Espinosa.“The offense has the ball, but the play ends on our terms and on the dark side, making the offense scared to come back on the field.”

Espinosa is all in with Long’s dark side defense.“There’s something about holding a team, imposing your will upon them, and not letting them do what they want to do.”

At 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, Espinosa might not seem an imposing linebacker, but freshman year, he showed coaches and fans

“

I am fearless when I’ve got my guys around me. It’s a sort of uplifting spirit to know that the guy next to me—I can trust him—blood, sweat, and tears.”

—Jeremiah Espinosa ’25

he deserved the position.

“I give it my all,” says Espinosa, who then brings it all back to the team—to the brotherhood, the reason he enjoys football above all other sports.“I am fearless when I’ve got my guys around me. It’s a sort of uplifting spirit to know that the guy next to me—I can trust him—blood, sweat, and tears—because we put in the same work, we went through the same hardships. When you all stand for one thing, everything else becomes easier.”

And the Greyhounds all follow one philosophy. “We have three pillars that we all play by—pride, poise, and toughness,” Espinosa adds.“You take everything you do with pride, you handle every situation with poise, and you’ve got to be the toughest. With those three things, we feel like we are invincible.”

PHOTO BY CARLO ACERRA

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AN ALUM REFLECTS

Community Around the World in Seven Years Tom Turcich’s dream was to see the world on foot. After 28,000 miles (roughly 60 million steps) across six continents, Turcich is home and reflecting on what he’s learned.

M

ore than two years have passed

Turcich and Savannah were hosted at a stranger’s cabin in Gibbonsville, Idaho, on their way back home.

since I finished my walk around the world. My transition to a

normal life hasn’t been easy. I went from being challenged by the weather, cultures, and varied terrain to having coffee near at hand in the morning and a warm bed waiting for me each night. The comfort of living in one place was welcome by the end of my journey—I was exhausted. And yet, the years I spent exploring and pushing myself were far more gratifying.

My journey began after the death of a close friend when I was 17. Her passing woke me to the inevitability of death and the brevity of life. For the next eight years, I lived at home, saved money, and paid off student loans with the single-minded focus to make the most of my time here. For me, walking around the world was the greatest adventure imaginable.

By 25, I thought I had enough money for two years of walking down the Americas, but amazingly, just before leaving, a local company, Philadelphia Sign, decided to sponsor me. And like that, my walk was set.

In the beginning, I was proven to be a fool in every way. I didn’t know what paths to walk, how much water to carry, or even how to find a place to camp. I had played sports all my life, including tennis at Moravian, but my body wasn’t accustomed to walking eight hours a day. Blisters bloomed, toenails fell off, and cramps occurred with unnerving

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AN ALUM REFLECTS

frequency. I encountered strange people, too, and didn’t know how to handle them.

A family portrait in Pennsylvania on Turcich’s 33rd birthday (eighth on the road)

I thought again and again how nice it would be to have a dog by my side, so when I reached my cousin’s home in Austin, I went to a shelter and adopted Savannah—now the first dog to walk around the world.

Looking back, there was no way I would have completed the walk without her. She was the constant I needed while living a life of perpetual change. Each day, we would sit at our campsite and marvel at how far we’d come. And when we crossed the finish line seven years later, we crossed it together.

In my memoir, The World Walk, I reflect on our adventures together and how the walk changed me. Most of the changes were for the better, but not all. Before the walk, I was content in ignorance. Gradually, though, my understanding of the world and myself expanded. I went from a naïve suburbanite— sheltered by a wealthy region in the wealthiest country in the world—into someone capable of navigating new cultures with ease. Today, my grasp of the world exceeds my wildest imaginings from a decade ago. But that growth pairs with the uncomfortable balance of seeing things that should change without the

Farmers allowed me to camp on their land.

Shopkeepers paid for my lunch. Truckers handed me water in the desert, and I was hosted by strangers a hundred times. A man in Turkey spent weeks navigating the local bureaucracy to help me cross the Bosphorus

power to change them.

Bridge on foot (allowing me to become the

I would go on, but seven years is too much

a few bad actors, but those experiences

to fit in these few pages. Some of the great

were overwhelmed by the goodness of the

lessons I learned will have to suffice.

common person.

The first: People are the same everywhere.

Lastly, a final recollection: Each of us is

Before beginning, I fantasized about how wild and foreign Peru would be. Then I arrived in Peru and discovered it was the same as anywhere else—a place filled with people trying to make a little money and spend time with their families.

I went through the same revelation repeatedly—in Algeria, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and everywhere else. The landscape, the dress, the food, and the language changed,

first private citizen to do so). I encountered

impossibly small.

We like to think we direct our lives, but there are greater forces at work—geography, culture, economics, fortune. These decide more than we realize. Thankfully, there’s solace in that understanding. It allows us to offer grace to ourselves and others more freely.

We’re all tiny things.

but people were people anywhere I went.

Be kind.

And they were kind. That’s number two.

And perhaps go for a walk. —Tom Turcich ’11

PHOTOS BY TOM TURCICH ’11

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Panama In this excerpt from The World Walk, Tom Turcich ’11 reflects on the first leg of his journey from New Jersey to Panama.

For nearly a year, I received my education of the world like an assault.

Each day I was dressed down and knocked back. In the United States, I learned the basics of surviving on the road, and in Central America, I received my master class. I slept in graveyards, orange groves, palm plantations, and jungle. I learned a new language.

I adapted to new cultures. Every hour was packed with lessons. A single year of walking expanded my understanding of the world further than my previous 26. I discovered that foreignness was a facade, a mask hiding the universal experience with different names, clothing, and paces. The challenge, I realized, was learning to distinguish the superficial from the deeper currents shaping each place.

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ASK AN ALUM

Who was your favorite professor and why?

Moravian University faculty are beloved, as evidenced by the many responses we received to this prompt. To read all the great memories, visit the digital edition of Moravian University Magazine at magazine.moravian.edu.

Dr. Nicole Tabor [former associate professor of English] and Dr. Martha Reid [professor emerita of English] were the most influential teachers I had during my time at Moravian. They challenged us to think differently and to step outside of our comfort zones to find deeper and more meaningful connections. No one but Dr. Reid could have made me feel comfortable enough to do an interpretive dance to a poem in front of the class.

Dr. Carl Salter [professor of chemistry] demonstrating vibrational and rotational movement of molecules in a spinning chair.

—SARAH REICHARD ’08

—SAM ANDERSON ’13

Dr. Alan Herr [former professor of English].

He was totally involved in literature and poetry. To hear him read and often recite from Paradise Lost was phenomenal.

The faculty thought highly of “Doc” Herr, too. He was elected to carry the scepter at our commencement.

—BRUCE DOSCHER ’70

Jamie Franki [former professor of graphic arts]. Everything I do as a professional graphic designer and artist comes back to the principles, techniques, and values he instilled in us. He also inspired a lighthearted and fun atmosphere in the studio, and he inspired us to carry that spirit into our artwork. He helped me believe in myself and my talent.

—MICHELLE LEPOIDEVIN DAINO ’94

?

NEXT UP

Dr. William Falla [emeritus adjunct professor of religion and philosophy]. He was a wonderful man who taught me what it means to be a moral and ethical person through his lessons and stories.

He was always kind and treated everyone with respect. He loved Moravian and was always around campus and willing to strike up a conversation anywhere and about anything. My wife and I both had him as a professor while we were at Moravian. We loved him so much, he was the officiant at our wedding—a memory we will never forget.

—MATTHEW WISOTSKY ’10

Dr. James Ravelle [professor emeritus of business and economics]. He genuinely cared about me. He helped me lay out all four years of classes to graduate and encouraged me to find my passion for human resources.

—NATALIE MARSH ’89

Tell us about one of the most memorable events you enjoyed during your undergraduate years. Perhaps it was a concert, a guest speaker (John Updike, maybe?), a show in Payne Gallery. And what made it so memorable?

Submit your answers at mrvn.co/ask-an-alum, or look for this question in the next alumni bulletin.

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Neil Wetzel [professor of music]. He made diatonic and chromatic harmony fun. He has ways of explaining complex chord progressions in ways that make sense to laypeople. He brought joy into his classroom every day and made all of us excited to get to class.

—MAGGIE CALLAHAN ’14

PHOTO BY NICK CHISMAR ’20

FACULTY FOCUS

A Conversation with Kin Cheung

K

in Cheung is an associate professor of East and South Asian religions and chair of the Department of Global Religions and Department of Philosophy. His research investigates how contemporary agents use Buddhist doctrine and ritual practices in Chinese and American contexts as well as transnational networks.

Last year, Cheung was invited to join a select group of scholars and leaders from top institutions across the United States and China as a fellow in the National Committee on United States–China Relations Public Intellectuals Program (PIP).

What are the goals of the Public Intellectuals Program?

The Public Intellectuals Program supports the mission of the National Committee on US–China Relations, which is to promote understanding and cooperation between the United States and China, as their relationship is the most significant geopolitical one in the world. It was the National Committee that hosted the Biden-Xi summit in 2023. The program connects American experts on China with policymakers, journalists, and the public, because our knowledge and experience makes a difference.

My cohort includes specialists ranging from a navy captain and military speech writer for the US Secretary of Defense, and a supply chain and environmental law expert working for Apple, to a cofounder of an economic policy research startup. In addition to scholars of political science, economics, security, geography, and urban planning, I am traveling with other scholars of religion, theater, and history, because the program recognizes the need for a broad scope of disciplinary perspectives.

You’ve served nearly a year in the program. Tell us about your experience and contributions to the goals.

We visited Washington, DC, and San Francisco. I knew our group made an impact when we met with officials who started taking notes on the information we provided. These included officials from the US Department of State and US Department of Defense; representatives from the White House; government committees on trade, technology, and human rights; and diplomats/ambassadors from Vietnam, the Philippines, and China.

A key message I wish to share is that the complex relationship between the US and China involves (at times healthy) competition and cooperation. While some of the loudest voices on social media, especially politicians, focus on the former, both nations profit immensely from mutually beneficial exchanges, such as our agricultural trade.

Later in 2024, we will be making a trip to Taiwan and Southeast Asia, then to Washington, DC, again in 2025. Though my cohort is a two-year program, the vice president of the National Committee on US–China Relations, Jan Berris, likes to remind us that we will continue to be members of PIP by contributing to the development of future cohorts and serving public interests.

ILLUSTRATION BY COLLEEN O’HARA

In what ways can you bring this work with PIP into your courses at Moravian?

“There are over a million jobs in Washington, DC, that require knowledge of China,” shared one of the state officials we met.

No matter if you are an American or Chinese citizen, you will be impacted by how the US and China interact in our increasingly connected globe. In my courses, I stress the importance of studying Asia, not just China, because Asia is more than half the world.

Although I research and publish on Chinese Buddhism, Chinese medical arts, and Chinese (American) religions, I am not the typical China specialist. Rather, I am a scholar of religion.

The most common challenge I see in my students is religious illiteracy. Therefore, I begin my courses by assigning an article written by an atheist who argues for the value of studying religion—because the majority of the world has always been, and will likely continue to be, religious. Not understanding religion means having blinders on toward the values that impact people’s lives and their behavior.

The solution is to promote religious literacy at all levels of education and to teach the internal diversity of religions, how religious groups alter history as a force for good and bad, and how various religious practices change over time. The most practical tip is to replace or question any use of “Christianity” or “Buddhism” as monolithic actors (e.g., Buddhism drives voters to XYZ) with specific Christians and Buddhists as active agents in local contexts.

Recently, scholars of Chinese and Chinese-American religions have made the case to reinterpret the role of the family, proposing “familism” as the vital center of Chinese religions. Ancestor worship in the form of offerings to deceased relatives can shed light on new data. For instance, Chinese and American respondents provide opposite answers when surveyed on how an autonomous vehicle should respond when faced with a moral dilemma regarding sacrificing the elderly or the young.

Familism provides one possible explanation for their divergent responses. In other words, religion matters.

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MORAVIAN MOMENT

Moravian President Raymond S. Haupert (center) unveils the monument dedicated to John Amos Comenius in front of Comenius Hall on March 28, 1960.

“

To teach all things to all men and from all points of view.”

—John Amos Comenius

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

MORAVIAN MOMENT

The Father of Education

L

ifelong learning. The study of nature.

complex: “To teach all things to all men and

Church in Czechoslovakia, erected in front

Education in native languages.

from all points of view.” It meant that edu-

of the building that bears his name.

Equal educational opportunity for

cation could not be restricted to one class,

poor children and women. Picture books to

age, or gender but rather had to be universal

encourage children to enjoy learning. These

for civilization to progress. He believed

concepts seem self-evident to us today, but

that students must learn from observing

in the time of theologian and education

the world around them and be taught how

reformer John Amos Comenius (in Czech,

to apply that knowledge in practical ways

Jan Amos Komenský), 1592–1670, they were

to support human development. Benigna

radical new ideas.

Zinzendorf was surely influenced by Come-

Comenius was born in Moravia, in what is now the Czech Republic. His parents were members of the Moravian Brethren, and their son would become a leader in the church. After studying at the Herborn Acad-

nius when she began a school for girls in 1742, and the leaders of the school for boys at Nazareth Hall were following in that tradition when they added a college track to their curriculum in 1807 to help supply the need for qualified teachers. These two institutions

This great scholar has also been honored on campus through awards presented in his name. In 1941, the 350th anniversary of Comenius’s birth, the Moravian College Alumni Association instituted the Comenius Day Alumni Award, which recognized outstanding achievement in various fields.

From 1982 to 1992, in commemoration of Comenius’s 400th birthday, the Comenius Medallion was awarded to a series of educators whose work exemplified his principles.

And today, two scholarship funds named after Comenius support freshmen with up

form the foundation of Moravian University.

to full tuition.

His pastoral work would remain one of his

When Moravian College and Theological

As we stroll past the iconic sculpture of the

central interests throughout his life. But he

Seminary relocated from the old Nisky

also cultivated a focus on philosophy and

Hill Seminary building on Church Street

effective methods of imparting human knowl-

to its new campus on Main Street in 1892,

emy and the University of Heidelberg, he began work as pastor of a church in Silesia.

edge. For example, he developed a theory that languages could not be taught without connection to objects, and his 1631 treatise on this subject, Janua Linguarum Reserata (“The Gate of Languages Unlocked”) brought him to prominence in educational circles. He traveled throughout Europe, consulting with various governments on the organization of their educational systems. He was even asked to become the president of Harvard University, an offer that he declined, instead moving to Sweden to help reorganize that country’s schools. His system of organization, which divided education into what we now know as kindergarten, elementary school, secondary school, college, and university, is the basis for

the Moravian community was in the midst of celebrating the 300th anniversary of

tution we know and love, may we remember that he also stands behind so much of what the institution has done—and will do in the future. —Nancy Rutman ’84

Comenius’s birth, and it seemed fitting that the architectural centerpiece of the campus be named after him. That same year, when the student-run Comenian Literary Society (formed in 1874) launched a new literary publication, they christened it The Comenian. The publication’s editors described their namesake as “a character worthy of the admiration of…this whole world of culture and progress, for he stands out brightly from among the men of his day as the herald of better times, and not only their herald, but also a powerful instrument in bringing them about.” The publication lives on in the

most modern school systems.

form of the university’s student newspaper.

Comenius’s philosophy of education, which

of Comenius, presented in 1960 by Charles

he called Pansophism, was simple, yet

University in Prague and the Moravian

PHOTO COURTESY OF NANCY RUTMAN ’84

robed scholar standing in front of the insti-

A more tangible tribute is the bronze statue

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The main entrance to Comenius Hall circa 1907

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Music and Cutting-Edge Cancer Research Biology and music composition double major Hailey Belverio ’25 pursues dual passions on her way to becoming an MD/PhD.

I

t would have been understandable if Hailey Belverio ’25 was nervous to present at her first professional conference. After all, the International Gap Junction Conference held in Arlington, Virginia, this July brought together researchers, professors, and doctoral students from some of the world’s top research institutions, and Belverio is an undergraduate from a lesser-known university. But Belverio says she was excited to be “a little fish in a big pond”; represent Moravian University alongside Anastasia Thévenin, associate professor of biology, and Sophia Shienvold ’24; and share their cutting-edge cancer cell research.

“I think people are always kind of caught off guard by seeing that such a small institution has such intensive research going on,” Belverio says.

Belverio remembers being instantly drawn to Thévenin’s positivity and patience, deciding within minutes of sitting in her cellular and molecular biology course sophomore year that she wanted to collaborate on research.

“She’s so passionate about her teaching and her research, and that comes out in her lectures. Everything she said made me excited about the topic.”

Thévenin told Belverio that she had applied for a grant through the National Institutes of Health and that if she was accepted, she would take Belverio on as a student in her lab.

Earning the grant meant Thévenin continued studying the differences between healthy cells and cancer cells, and how these cells turn into tumors. “Most of the time the reason that cells turn bad and turn into tumors is because of misregulated

Clubs and Activities

Belverio trained intensively in Thévenin’s lab through SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Research) during the summer of 2023, completed independent research in her junior year, presented on Scholars Day, and returned to the lab this summer.

Now fully trained in Thévenin’s lab for more than a year, she found that attending the conference proved an integral next step. “[At the conference] people were very impressed with my work, and they were often shocked when I told them that I was an undergraduate student,” Belverio says.

“Everyone was so interested in what I had Hailey Belverio ’25 plays her guitar every day.

• 26 Point Ambassador • Brain Club (secretary) • Celtic Ensemble • Course mentor • Donate Life Club • Gamma Sigma Sigma service sorority • Guitar Ensemble • Moravian University Choir • Moravian University Orchestra • Orientation leader • Pre Health Club • Thévenin Lab biochemistry research student • Writing fellow

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proteins—proteins misbehaving within the cells,” Belverio explains. “Our lab is studying cancer-causing proteins and how we can control them with cancer-preventing proteins. Our goal is to identify novel molecular mechanisms that could prevent healthy cells from becoming cancerous.”

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PHOTOS BY NICK CHISMAR ’20

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

to say, and they asked insightful questions that gave me a new perspective on some of my data. I was also surprised at how many people asked me for my insight.”

Belverio is currently expanding her research with an honors project, and presenting at the conference strengthened her writing, she says.

As a double major in biology and music composition, Belverio has balanced her growth as a researcher and a musician, while also participating in clubs and activities that complement either pursuit.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t pick up my guitar,” says Belverio, who has been playing since she was 6 years old.

She looks forward to doing more music ensembles and continuing to write music to be performed on campus.

She began pursuing two disciplines when she was a student at the Lehigh Valley Charter Arts High School. She considered applying to Moravian when she realized many of her teachers were alumni.

“I honestly did not want to love Moravian because it was so close to home,” jokes the Easton native. “My parents were so excited that I was going to apply here. I came for a tour, and I could not deny it—I loved it so much. I felt like I fit really well with the student body. I instantly made good connections, and I could not have chosen a better place for myself.”

“

Our lab is studying cancer-causing proteins and how we can control them with cancerpreventing proteins.

Our goal is to identify novel molecular mechanisms that could prevent healthy cells from becoming cancerous.”

—Hailey Belverio ’25

The ultimate goal is to earn an MD/PhD, Belverio says. “In the beginning, I was planning on going to medical school, but Dr. T has shown me that I have such a passion for research, and it’s something that I’m not ready to give up.”

She plans to apply to a one-year postbaccalaureate program, ideally in the New England area to land closer to her dream school: Boston University. “I want to be able to do another year of research—kind of build up my skills—and then I’m going to apply to medical school the following year.”

—Meghan Decker Szvetecz ’08

Belverio at work in the lab

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CREATORS

Brilliance Juniors Coby Gumulak and Nick Mancini record the music of the Hollywood Saxophone Quartet in Moravian’s studio.

versity’s SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Research) program, which provides stipends for students who engage in full-time scholarly research with a faculty member. The goal of their 10-week program: Restore the long-forgotten music arrangements of a group of four pioneering sax players—the Hollywood Saxophone Quartet.

Mancini, from Souderton, Pennsylvania, plays alto sax; Gumulak, from Phillipsburg, New Jersey, plays soprano. Both are juniors who first met at Moravian when they were middle schoolers attending a summer jazz camp.

The instructor who taught saxophone at the camp was Neil Wetzel, professor of music and director of jazz studies, and their mentor and advisor on the SOAR project.

Bringing B Forgotten Jazz Back to Life

ehind every jazz musician lies a mentor whose passion for the art form instilled a sense of awe in their students. Young Louis Armstrong learned the trade from Joe “King” Oliver on Mississippi riverboats. Charlie Parker perfected his triple-time licks under the tutelage of saxophone great Buster “Professor” Smith.

Two students preserve the legacy of the Hollywood Saxophone Quartet.

That tradition continues at Moravian University when you consider the winding path that led two music education majors to a research project preserving the legacy of a little-known saxophone quartet from the ’50s and ’60s for future generations.

Nick Mancini ’26 and Coby Gumulak ’26 spent last summer immersed in the uni-

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Mancini, Gumulak, and Wetzel were playing in Moravian University’s touring sax quartet when they came up with the idea for the research project. They had been playing jazz tunes from old sheet music, “copies of copies of copies” that Wetzel had compiled over the years. “The music was incredibly difficult to read,” says Gumulak. “There were missing notes from the pages being mimeographed many times, handwritten verses, some of it illegible.”

But there was something about the music that drew Mancini and Gumulak to certain challenging arrangements, all by a group of four saxophone players called the Hollywood Saxophone Quartet. “They had this super weird and different style,” says Mancini. “We’d never heard of these guys.”

“These guys” were Russell Cheever, Bill Ulyate, and Morris Crawford, staff musicians with the 20th Century Fox Orchestra, and Jack Dumont, a studio musician who played with many of the film and television orchestras up until the early 1970s. Collectively, the four musicians performed on hundreds of soundtracks for iconic movies like West

PHOTO BY NICK CHISMAR ’20

CREATORS

Side Story, Cleopatra, and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and TV shows like Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.; The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; and The Flintstones. But their most significant contribution to jazz developed during their after-hours work in clubs and recording studios as they experimented with saxophone as a quartet.

Online searches yielded little background on the group. And most of their music survived only on scratchy LPs found in used record shops and dog-eared copies of sheet music marred by tears and coffee stains.

That sparked the idea for the research project: What can we find out about the group, the players, and their music? How can we channel that in playing this music and saving it?

As they dug deeper, the students discovered research by saxophonist Michael Keepe, PhD, for his University of Arizona dissertation on the Hollywood Saxophone Quartet and the role studio musicians played in the recording studios during the West Coast jazz era of the 1950s and 1960s.

Keepe’s dissertation filled many gaps, like the purpose of the quartet, captured in the

words of member Bill Ulyate: “We were trying to stimulate good musicianship and playing (in a style much the same as a string quartet or other chamber music group) and show it can be done even with saxophones.”

Mancini and Gumulak learned that the quartet used its Hollywood connections to recruit top arrangers to write for them, including Billy May, Lennie Niehaus, and Russ Garcia, composers who were working for the likes of Frank Sinatra and renowned jazz drummer Buddy Rich.

Europe’s top classical quartets also influenced the Hollywood jazz players, in particular a French composer named Marcel Mule, who taught at the Conservatoire de Paris.

The influences of classical composers like Mule on the West Coast jazz style of these studio orchestra musicians “raised the sax quartet to another level in terms of precision and technical ability,” Wetzel explains.

The students’ jazziest research challenge involved deciphering the missing and obscured musical notes of the hand-medown sheet music. That meant analyzing the music, listening to it over and over and over,

and experimenting with notes on their saxophones. The pair also endured the time-consuming task of recreating the drum sets and bass lines by listening to the recordings and working out the parts that didn’t appear on the old sheet music.

They then entered their work into a music notation program to “engrave” and print out clean music. The research project also gave the students a crash course in copyright law as they resurrected and revised the old music into a cleaner, clearer, playable form.

Like the Hollywood Jazz Quartet themselves, Mancini and Gumulak recruited other musicians and technical help during a two-day session to produce, mix, and master recordings of the Hollywood quartet’s arrangements, which will be housed at Moravian for future students and researchers.

The research project had an impact on both students’ futures. “It reaffirmed my affinity for academia,” says Mancini. Says Grumulak: “Surrounding myself with their style and playing their music added to my own (jazz) vocabulary. I’ll probably use that influence in my own playing without even realizing it.” —Jeff Csatari

BOOKSHELF

Womb Work: Healing Narratives as Reparative Praxis in Black Women’s Literature

By Belinda WallerPeterson, associate professor of English and associate dean for equity and inclusion Womb Work argues that Black women’s stories are essential to advancing a more comprehensive and critical understanding of American literary history. The book explores women-centered healing narratives (fiction and nonfiction) written

by Black women writers.

Stone Creek A novel by Kate Brandes, professor of practice for environmental studies and sciences Seventeen years ago, Tilly Stone (age 13) was left to fend for herself in rural Pennsylvania when her infamous eco-terrorist father disappears under mysterious circumstances. Ever since, she’s tried to forget the dams they blew up together and forge a new life until her father’s return threatens to upend her small-town world and her friendship with the FBI agent still pursuing him.

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Gloria Guardia (Panama): Critical Approaches (Essential Central American Writers Series, Volume 3)

By Nilsa Lasso-von Lang, associate professor of Spanish and assistant director of multicultural enrollment Gloria Guardia (1940–2019) has earned her place among Latin America’s best writers. In her book, Lasso-von Lang brings together an excellent collection of interviews, speeches, essays, and newspaper columns by Guardia, accompanied by fine critical approaches to her literary art by critics from Australia, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Spain, and the United States.

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THINK PIECE

Reimagined I Leadership for a Reimagined Education System

n 2015, classrooms filled with sleek laptops seemed revolutionary­—a promise of modern learning. Yet beneath the surface, the same passive education existed: students clicking through digital worksheets and listening to teacher-led instruction and presentations. Despite the new technology, the anticipated transformation was disppointingly absent.

Shaping the future of learning from pre-K–12 and beyond

By Randy Ziegenfuss ’87 Professor of practice and director of Moravian’s new doctor of education program

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As a public school superintendent witnessing this, I felt the weight of missed potential.

We had equipped our learners and teachers with powerful tools but neglected to foster new thinking and learning. Technology alone wasn’t changing education; we needed to rethink our entire approach, from how we engage learners to how we define success.

ILLUSTRATION BY JAMES O'BRIEN

THINK PIECE

What Communities Really Want

The shortcomings of our technology-driven approach were not just a local issue but part of a wider disconnect in education. Recent research, such as the Purpose of Education Index (2023), reveals a significant shift in community priorities.

Traditional goals like preparing students for college now rank 47th out of 57 priorities. Instead, communities value education that emphasizes practical skills, critical thinking, and personalized learning experiences. This shift invites us to broaden our understanding of what a well-rounded education looks like, ensuring learners are equipped for the diverse challenges and opportunities they will face in life.

Adaptive Leadership: A New Way Forward

Reflecting on my 35 years in education— from music teacher to superintendent—I’ve seen the growing gap between educational practices and community aspirations.

The biggest revelation for me from the Purpose of Education Index? Communities aren’t seeking better versions of the same; they want something different.

With 71 percent believing that more things should change than stay the same, and 21 percent thinking almost everything needs an overhaul, incremental tweaks aren’t enough. We need a reimagined education system.

So how do we arrive at a shared vision for a reimagined education system? I believe the answer lies in adaptive leadership.

Traditional management, which focuses on solving problems with known solutions, isn’t enough for the challenges we face today. In a rapidly changing educational landscape, where the old ways no longer work, we need a different approach—one that is flexible, inclusive, and responsive.

Technology alone wasn’t changing education. We needed to rethink our entire approach, from how we engaged learners to how we defined success.

Leading Change: Lessons Learned

Adaptive leadership isn’t about imposing a top-down vision. It’s about collaborative innovation. It involves engaging the entire community of a school district—educators, families, other residents—in the process of envisioning the future. It’s about iterating, experimenting, and learning together from both successes and failures.

When our technology initiative failed to deliver the transformation we hoped for, we realized that new tools alone weren’t enough. We had to reimagine learning itself, and adaptive leadership was our key to change.

As an example, in 2017, our middle school principal and teachers approached the central office team with a bold idea: Create a “school within a school” for grades 6 through 8 that defied traditional structures like grade levels and standardized curricula. Named Project Wonder, it was a bold experiment focused on personalized, studentdriven learning. It required rethinking schedules and redefining success metrics.

The results were profound—higher engagement, enhanced problem-solving skills, and students who saw real purpose in their learning. One student told me, “For the first time, I feel like my learning is about me, not just what’s on the test.” That’s when we knew we were onto something real.

Shaping the Future: Preparing Transformational Leaders

Project Wonder demonstrated what’s possible when we embrace adaptive leadership. We shifted our focus to practical skills over standardized test scores, individual learning experiences over one-size-fits-all approaches, and real-world problem-solving over rote memorization.

It also softened the walls between school and the wider world, involving the entire community outside the school in education.

Preparing leaders who can drive this kind of transformation is crucial. Institutions like Moravian University play a pivotal role in shaping the future of learning in our communities. Our approach in the education department with our leadership programs is grounded in reality: Real-world application: Tackling practical challenges using adaptive leadership principles ● Systems thinking: Addressing problems within complex, interconnected systems ● Adaptive skills: Challenging the status quo, engaging diverse perspectives, embracing uncertainty, and helping others navigate change ● Ethical leadership: Leading with strong values to handle the ethical complexities of transformation ● Future focus: Preparing leaders for tomorrow’s challenges, not just today’s ●

The need for a reimagined education system has never been clearer. Our current approach isn’t meeting the diverse needs and aspirations of many learners. The solution isn’t found in incremental changes or simply upgrading our tools; it lies in a complete tranformation led by adaptive leaders and a curious community. By embracing adaptive leadership, we can challenge the status quo and reimagine education for the future.

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The Way —T O —

Higher Education

—

Moravian University’s Black and Latino Male College Readiness Program of the Lehigh Valley prepares high school students for success in higher education and beyond.

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Dylan Ramirez, a graduate of Easton Area High School, is a freshman at Misericordia University. But until the final months of his junior year, when most students are deep into their college search, he hadn’t even considered the possibility. Both of his parents had earned BAs, but his father didn’t use his.“Why spend time and money on something that might not help me?” Dylan thought. The financial burden was an added deterrent; Ramirez has two younger brothers. But what figured most in Ramirez’s mind was his skepticism.

“I wasn’t sure college was what it seemed from the way people talked about it,” he says. In the summer of 2023, Ramirez signed on to Moravian University’s Black and Latino Male College Readiness Program, where all his doubts about pursuing higher education were resolved.

A student gains important insights from a one-on-one hourlong meeting with a mentor from the community.

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Students applaud a panel of two accomplished professionals.

A Vision G. Christopher Hunt, vice president and dean for equity and inclusion, reflected back on the dissertation he wrote for his doctorate, “When Millennials Meet Baby Boomers: Multiple Case Study on the Experiences of Black Male College Students.” For his research, Hunt wanted to explore if the experience of Black male college students had advanced over time.

He gathered and analyzed data from a group of Black men who graduated from predominantly White institutions, both public and private, between 1965 and 1979 and compared that with data about Black men from those same institutions who graduated between 2006 and 2018. The assumption was that as Black life experience had improved over those years, so too would college life.

What he found is that both groups used essentially the same language to describe the same experiences. “As students, they felt alienated, isolated, like they didn’t belong,” says Hunt. “The only caveat was among those who had an opportunity to experience what the campus was like before they arrived.”

So, why not invite students to a college campus before they even begin their search and application process to dispel fears and ignite enthusiasm for higher education.“What I had an opportunity to do with this program is provide that precollege experience to historically unrepresented young men so that they would not only aspire to go to college but also, once they get there, be able to thrive.

“We built a program for Black and Latino men because the research and literature show that these two demographics struggle the most in academic settings,” Hunt adds.

One recent study—a fall 2023 Gallup survey that included responses from 6,015 students currently enrolled in a college or university—found that Hispanic and Black students were roughly 10 percent more likely than their White peers to have

considered withdrawing from college in the past six months.

To rewrite that story, Hunt—with the assistance of his colleagues Alvert Hernandez, assistant dean for inclusive excellence, and Baru Roberson-Hornsby, formerly a senior career development strategist—built a program to provide Black and Latino male high school students and their families with the comprehensive knowledge needed to achieve success in the college search process, on campus, and in their academic pursuits.

But Hunt envisioned an even higher purpose.“We think about these young men and what kind of impact we can have on them in five days,” he says,“and a key factor in this program’s success is stretching their imaginations about what is possible.”

“What I had an opportunity to do with this program is provide that precollege experience to historically unrepresented young men so that they would not only aspire to go to college but also, once they get there, be able to thrive.”

—G. Christopher Hunt, vice president and dean for equity and inclusion

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A Program Moravian’s Black and Latino College Readiness Program is the first and only initiative of its kind in the Lehigh Valley and accepts students who are entering grades 10, 11, and 12. They stay four nights on campus in a dorm with Moravian student mentors.

Housing, meals, everything is free. This year’s program was held from June 25 through June 29 and “graduated” 32 students.

The plan for day one is to warm up the students and review the program schedule.

After they’ve checked into their rooms, they gather back for some well-chosen ice breakers.“Alvert does an incredible job of getting these guys out of their shell during the first couple hours,” Hunt says. Every year since the program was launched in 2022, Harrison Bailey, principal of Liberty High School, has given the keynote remarks and engaged students in discussion. Dinner was

a cookout at chef Hunt’s home (we hear he’s an excellent cook). On the remaining days, students are absorbing information, engaging in college experiences, meeting and talking with Black and Latino leaders from the Lehigh Valley, and having some fun.

Professionals from Moravian’s enrollment department explain how to proceed with a college search and application. They review financial aid and scholarships, which helps ease concerns over the financial burden of higher education. A Moravian student leads a tour of North and South Campuses, and program attendees participate in two mock classes—this year one in organic chemistry, led by Godfred Fianu, assistant professor of chemistry, and another in English with associate professor Belinda Waller-Peterson—in which professors also point out the value of asking for help

An Award Winner!

Last November, G. Christopher Hunt, vice president and dean for equity and inclusion, and Baru Roberson-Hornsby, then senior career development strategist, accepted the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce African American Business Leaders Council Award for the Black and Latino Male College Readiness Program of the Lehigh Valley. The award is presented to a person or organization that has demonstrated outstanding achievement and engagement within the African American community in the Greater Lehigh Valley.

Watch a video recap of this year’s Black and Latino Male College Readiness Program at magazine.moravian.edu.

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Lifting the Lehigh Valley’s Hispanic Community Raymond Santiago knows the importance of equitable education outcomes. Through his work as executive director at the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley (HCLV) and trustee for the Foundation for the Bethlehem Area School District, Santiago is an integral part of the equity in education conversation in the Lehigh Valley.

“Equity in education has been a concern for many years, but recent global concerns like the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the gap in communities of color,” Santiago says.

“Whether it be food insecurity, lack of affordable housing, or even technology, the Hispanic community has been negatively impacted due to socio-economic, occupational, and health-related issues.”

He says the problems feeding into education inequity often start at home.

“If financial burdens exist without solutions to uplift a family, then any student, whether in elementary school or college, will struggle and must work twice as hard to cross that stage at graduation,” Santiago says.

He knows this struggle firsthand, having worked a full-time job while carrying a full course load at Moravian to help support his family. After briefly attending Wilkes University, in 2008 Santiago transferred to Moravian, where he studied business management. “I chose Moravian because being from North Bethlehem, I connected with the campus. And the ease of completing my transfer made me feel wanted and appreciated,” he says.

Santiago points to several factors within the Hispanic culture and community that can affect students’ decisions and abilities to attend a college or university.

“Family obligations, financial challenges, first-generation college students, cultural

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expectations (such as getting a job immediately after high school), language barriers, and undocumented status can all interfere.”

An effective way to promote equity in education at all levels, Santiago says, is to offer support services that counteract these barriers. At the HCLV, the food pantry serves 3,000 people annually. The center also offers social service programs that connect families to essential resources within the community. One example is its newly formed Linguistic and Cultural Workforce Development Center, which teaches community members skills to help them excel in their careers.

“All the services at HCLV empower families to become more self-sufficient, and when a family’s basic needs are met, their children will be more likely to flourish in school,” Santiago says.

Outside of HCLV, as a trustee for the Foundation of the Bethlehem Area School District, Santiago partners with school administrators and faculty to achieve success in equitable education. “The foundation accepts teacher innovation grant applications, reviews projects, and provides funding to teachers to support their classes and students,” he says. “We also award student leadership grants to students who apply with projects that support the foundation’s focus areas of mental health, DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging), nutrition education, and career pathways.”

As a Hispanic Moravian alum, Santiago says Moravian University’s Black and Latino Male College Readiness Program offers yet another effective means to remove barriers to college education.

“Providing a safe place where students can acclimate to college life sets them up for success,” he says. “And having mentors and building relationships within a college campus leads to higher retention and student engagement. I love this program and wish more colleges and universities would adopt it.” —Elizabeth Shimer Bowers

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when needed. One of the hallmarks of a Moravian University education is the close relationships between faculty and students, which most graduates say is a key to their academic success.

Relationships and community make up an important piece of the college adventure.

To prevent the cultural discomfort that Hunt reported on in his research into the experiences of Black and Latino men at predominantly White institutions, Hunt wove discussions and workshops about campus community throughout the program.“We have conversations about Moravian being a predominantly White institution and workshops centered on navigating different spaces.

“Alvert and I run a session called ‘All the People You’ll Meet in College,’ and it is exactly that. We have a conversation about all the different types of people they can expect to encounter—other Black and Latino students, White people, men, women, trans people. They will meet students from wealthy families and those from humble backgrounds. They’ll meet Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and people with disabilities.”

In addition, Hernandez leads the session “Overall Campus Life Experience,” during which he describes all the different resources the campus has to offer that can help a student achieve success.

Achieving success also depends on personal wellness. A local financial advisor teaches the students how to manage their money.

A “Black and Latino Male Wellness” session addresses health issues, including mental health.“Interestingly, on the first day of the program, one of the young men asked if we were going to talk about mental health,” says Hunt.“He went on to say that in Black and Latino communities, young men are taught to internalize their feelings because feelings are a sign of weakness.”

Students build models of molecular compounds in an example of a chemistry class taught by Godfred Fianu, assistant professor of chemistry.

The words that often resonate most with young people are those of their peers. A staff of Moravian University students assist throughout the college readiness program and become like big brothers to the high schoolers. They also lead student-staff sessions in which they describe and take questions about their own college experiences.

To fulfill the goal of stretching students’ imaginations about what’s possible, Hunt invited several Black and Latino male leaders from the region to have one-onone conversations with the high school students.“I’m fortunate to have a network of very talented and accomplished friends and associates who, when I put out the call asking for mentors to young men, they come running, including some Moravian alumni. Stephen Ewald ’19 is a detective with the Bethlehem Police Department.

Keyshawn Griffith ’19 is an English instructor and director of the Center for Learning and Leadership at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. He returned to Moravian just to participate in the program as a mentor for two hours.

The student group had an opportunity to visit B. Braun, a medical technology company located in Allentown. They were given a tour and introduced to some of the technology. B. Braun was the major sponsor of this year’s program. Additional support came from Crayola, PPL, Univest, and Air Products. The latter company served as the key contributor to help start the program in 2022 and 2023 and last year invited students to tour its campus and hear from some of its leaders.

More examples of what’s possible came in a panel session featuring accomplished Black and Latino men. This year a lawyer and an engineer spoke about how they chose their careers and the challenges they faced along the way. Lots of questions were posed by the

students who were very engaged in learning about the experiences of these men.

“Often for young, impressionable men of color, what success looks like isn’t necessarily positive or attainable,” says Hunt.“I found this to be true in my research, and I think this is often the reality today. So, when we think about the curriculum for the program, the priority is to bring in models of excellence.”

After having interacted with several professionals throughout the week, the students learn how to look like one. This year, Jaciel Córdoba, news anchor for WFMZ, taught the young men how to tie a tie and spoke with them about professional dress.

Local barbers volunteer their time to come

“Often for young, impressionable men of color, what success looks like isn’t necessarily positive or attainable. So, when we think about the curriculum for the program, the priority is to bring in models of excellence.”

—G. Christopher Hunt

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in to cut or trim hair, and every student gets a suit, which they’ll wear for formal headshots.

“My favorite session takes place on the final day,” says Hunt. Families show up Saturday morning, and after breakfast, they are taken through the enrollment process.

Then Hunt leads a wrap-up and review of

the program.“Photos from the week are projected on screens, and I will say ‘Okay, gentlemen, someone please explain to the families what they’re seeing in this image,’” says Hunt. A student stands up, takes the microphone, and describes the session. One by one, the students explain everything

A Success “Seeing the students grow day to day, get more comfortable, be willing to interact a little bit more, showed me that the program was having an impact,” says Hernandez. “It’s important for them to get familiar with college but also understand how to be a college student, and you see that every day. They’re sitting in the front; they’re taking notes. When we talk with them and explain this is how you should do it, they start taking that feedback in

and process it. You see them progress through and through.”

To evaluate the Black and Latino College Readiness Program, Hunt and his team ask students to fill out a short assessment at the beginning of the week and then at the end. A comparison shows that on entering the program, 80 percent felt unsure or unprepared for college, and on leaving, all of them felt ready.

Dr. Phillip Davis, senior pastor of the Greater Shiloh Church in Easton, leads a wellness session; students get a tour of Moravian’s campus.

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they’ve done and learned over the past four days.“It’s pretty special,” Hunt says.

In four days, 32 reserved, unsure high school students have become young men who could confidently stand up in front of an audience and explain the details of a week of learning.

It is transformation.

Given the prompt “I believe I am capable of graduating from college and being successful in life,” 60 percent strongly agreed with the statement at the start of the program. At the close, 90 percent strongly agreed.

The numbers certainly indicate success, but a more powerful story comes through the human experience.

Gustavo Pagan works on a model of an organic compound in a “class” in organic chemistry.

—STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS— Gustavo Pagan is a senior at Dieruff High School in Allentown. He will be a first-generation student when he attends college. “My parents have said, ‘You have to go to college; it’s good for you. If you want to do something with your life, go to college or go to the army.’ They don’t want me suffer the same struggles they went through.

Also, I want to be a good role model for my younger sister.”

But Pagan’s motivation has also been driven from dark places. “Someone that I’m very close with went down the wrong path. He eventually started doing drugs and street stuff, and he didn’t end up very well.

“My peers—we’re not doing well,” adds Pagan. “They don’t focus on the good things; they focus on the negative—goin’ around, messin’ around, and not doing what’s good for their future. That’s not me. I’ve always been someone who stays on task and does what’s best for me and my peers.”

So when Hunt visited Dieruff to talk about the college readiness program, Pagan saw it

as a good opportunity but not necessarily a change-your-life experience.

“At first, I didn’t think it was going to be something big,” he says. “Then I met the people and these fabulous public speakers, and they changed a lot of the negative things I was thinking.”

Making friends with the other high school students and the one-on-one talks with mentors from the community were the highlights for Pagan. “I met a great man. He gave me some great advice: If you want to go to college, you should get on it now. You have great spirit—I can see it, so just keep going.”

“I met a great man. He gave me some great advice: If you want to go to college, you should get on it now.

You have great spirit—I can see it, so just keep going.”

—Gustavo Pagan

Pagan looks forward to college for the academics—he hopes to get a doctorate someday—and to prepare for a career but also for the connections and friendships that he knows are part of the experience.

What was the most significant takeaway from the college readiness program? “Stay positive, believe in yourself, and don’t let external forces get in your head and take you away from your path.”

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—STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS— Aidan Capeheart,

Jahleel Garcia attends

a resident of Allentown and a junior at Lehigh Valley Academy in Hanover Township, doesn’t need any convincing to go to college.

Whitehall High School and is in his junior year. His mom learned about the program from a Facebook ad and immediately emailed Moravian for information on how her son should enroll. And Garcia is grateful.

“From when I was younger, my mom was working, and she was going to college. She has been my example, my role model,” Capeheart says. “If you meet her, you’ll see she’s a very driven woman. She is very driven, very intelligent, very, very kind. That’s what I love about her, and those are some of the qualities that I believe I share with her.

“It’s an amazing opportunity, and I loved it. I loved everything— all the new people, all the great information I learned from people around the Lehigh Valley doing great things for the community, doing their best to represent us as colored men, and doing things that people think we can’t do.”

“I want to go to college because I want to go to medical school.

I want to help people. The human body and the way it works amaze me, from psychology to physiology. It’s crazy how your brain works and how we can all be different in so many ways but the same down to the core.”

He looks to college for the same reasons he chose to attend the readiness program: to learn more, understand people, and gather more information to prepare for the future, and he hopes to continue to participate in sports. Wrestling, football, and volleyball are his games, but football is his focus.

Capeheart’s drive to go to college moved him to sign up for the readiness program. “My guidance counselor reached out to everyone in our grade about this program, and I was like, I already know a lot about college, but I wanted to see how it really is. Because seeing is knowing, and I want to know.”

What Garcia has enjoyed most about the program is the time spent with the other students. “When my family moved to Whitehall, I didn’t feel connected to the community, and I thought it would be awkward here and that I wouldn’t get to know the guys that well, but in the first few minutes, we all clicked.

One piece of wisdom that he knows now is important for a young man with a mind already set on a life path: “The most significant thing I learned is to always be open to different paths,” Capeheart says.

“You don’t have to stay in one box.”

“I enjoyed the free time with the younger guys, hearing their stories, hearing what they were going through and seeing how I might relate to their experience or not. I came to understand people in a way that I haven’t been able to before.”

The career readiness program offered Capeheart more than he expected, and he’s glad he came. “All the mentors have been terrific.

All these people have shaped us. It’s a great opportunity.”

He says he would definitely recommend the Black and Latino College Readiness Program to other high school students—“1,000 percent.”

And he plans to encourage other students at his school to attend.

Two volunteers from the community walk and talk with a student during a mentorship session.

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—STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS— Dylan Ramirez

And for , now at Misericordia on a full scholarship, Moravian’s Black and Latino College Readiness Program proved transformative.

As a junior in high school, he knew very little about college. “I was surprised about the turnout for the program—so many other students were in the same boat and felt like I did. Seeing how a college operates was super helpful.”

“The program helped me get out of my shell. I was quiet at the beginning, but by the end I was comfortable being featured in a video about the program. I am now confident in my abilities.”

—Dylan Ramirez A local barber gives Izandre “Dre” Torres a trim during the “Cuts & Conversations” session.

Highlights for Ramirez included learning about finances and keeping up with expenses, furthering his communication and leadership skills, learning about networking and LinkedIn and how to be professional.

Izandre “Dre” Torres lives with his family in Allentown and is a junior at William Allen High School. His principal introduced him to the college readiness program, and Torres says he was “super excited” to be accepted.

“The reason I came is to see how college really is, to open my mind, not just to listen to other people’s opinions but to see it in person with my two eyes,” Torres says.

“It’s been a privilege to be here. Meeting so many young successful men that look like me inspired me to keep going, and it opened something in me. I feel like I unlocked a new personality.

I unlocked something that I’ve been wanting to unlock for the longest time. When I arrived, I felt free. I felt like home. I felt safe.

“In the time I’ve been here, I’ve learned so much, and I’m inspired to go to college and be the first one in my family to graduate.

I want to have an impact on the younger ones in my family—my little brother and three beautiful little cousins.”

Torres is excited to attend college and find the major that is right for him. He looks forward to the opportunities higher education has to offer that will help him get to where he wants to be.

“Also, the application process—no one told me how to apply to college,” Ramirez says. “Getting to sit in a college class and speak with a professor and ask real questions was so helpful, and I’ve kept in contact with Professor Fianu.

“Gaining a personal mentor in the one-on-one session was also very valuable. Robert Young explained a lot about scholarships, and I related to him on a personal level.”

But perhaps most significant was Ramirez’s personal growth.

“The program helped me get out of my shell. I was quiet at the beginning, but by the end I was comfortable being featured in a video about the program. I am now confident in my abilities.”

Ramirez has taken that confidence with him to college, where he looks forward to building friendships with other students and enjoying all the experiences that the next four years will offer.

He plans to major in business administration with a concentration in management.

“I’ve always wanted to help people, and I believe as a leader in a management position, I can do that.”

Perhaps someday, Ramirez will return to the Black and Latino College Readiness Program as a leader and mentor to young men who need a little help thinking about and preparing to step into higher education as he once did.

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I

Evolving the educat onal ndscape l

A

AT MORAVIAN

Committed to advancing teaching and learning, Moravian University is exploring the applications of generative AI, and several faculty members across disciplines are bringing it into their classrooms.

BY CLAIRE KOWALCHIK P’22 • ILLUSTRATION BY KATIE THOMAS

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AI at Moravian

ou encounter artificial intelligence (AI) every day—when you open your smartphone with Face ID, ask Alexa or Siri what the weather will be, or use the map search in your car for directions.

AI personalizes feeds on your social media, the ads you see on the internet, and Netflix recommendations. It sends questionable emails to your spam folder and checks for fraud when you make purchases. And what would we do without Grammarly and spell-check?

When we’re talking about AI’s place in education, we’re specifically referring to generative AI (a.k.a. gen AI)—ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, among others—and those discussions have rocketed to the forefront of our examination of technology and its impact on learning. Many educators support its value; others express concern.

So, what is gen AI? “Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content, like text, images, or music. It works by learning patterns from vast amounts of existing data [a.k.a. machine learning] and then using that knowledge to produce original outputs,” explains Claude.“Think of it as a highly advanced autocomplete but instead of just finishing your sentence, it can write entire articles, compose songs, or even generate artwork. These AI systems . . . can engage in conversations, answer questions, and assist with various tasks.

“Generative AI has numerous applications across industries, including content creation, product design, drug discovery, and more,” adds Claude.“However, it also raises ethical concerns regarding copyright, misinformation, and the potential displacement of human creativity.”

It seems even generative AI has some concerns about itself.

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A PARTNER IN LEARNING

Seventy-nine Moravian faculty members responded to a recent survey asking them about their use of generative AI along with their thoughts about its impact on learning. Of the respondents—and taking into account comments from the “other” category—70.8% allow some aspect of generative AI in their classes, whether that’s permitting students to use it freely but transparently as a supportive tool for assignments or as a muse, or at the very least teaching their students how to use it in preparation for their careers.

Essays, Papers, and Fantasy Fiction

Imagine your assignment is to write about a fantastical world of your own invention.

You stare at the blank Google Doc on your laptop. Where to begin?

“Generative AI can generate ideas and help break through writer’s block,” says Chris Hassay, writing instructor and associate director of the Center for Inclusive Excellence, who is currently teaching a world-building class in which students describe new fictional places.

“ChatGPT is amazing at throwing out ideas. So if we’re trying to create an interesting fantasy setting, and you’re stuck trying to name your characters, ChatGPT can give you dozens of characters in a millisecond.” Then it’s up to the student to consider them and make choices to suit the narrative. Or perhaps seeing those options sparks something new in the writer’s mind.

Hassay has created his own character, student Hal 9000, whose true identity is ChatGPT. Hal assists Hassay in teaching students about how generative AI works. Hassay gives Hal a typical writing assignment, and projected on the board at the front of the classroom, lines of text rapidly scroll upward.

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“When we glance at an AI-generated piece, it might look amazing, but once we start to investigate beneath the surface, we can see the cracks,” says Hassay. "And those cracks illustrate the difference between humans and this thing being a large language model.”

The class has a deep discussion about the successes and failures of Hal’s piece and how they might improve it.“And I hope that students can keep some of that in mind for their own work,” Hassay says.

A rich writing experience can occur if a student thinks of generative AI as a writing partner. When ChatGPT or Claude delivers on a prompt, it will ask if it can answer any other questions.“If we break up a writing assignment or writing experience into its constituent pieces and then give gen AI more manageable chunks, we can have a conversation and iterate on those pieces,” says Hassay.

“If a student is using AI in my class, I hope they’re using it as a component of their writing process, not as a replacement—not just using it to get an assignment done in a quarter of the time but actively having a conversation with this resource or using it to generate ideas. And then when they embed AI into some of their work, the students are expected to provide notation to reference not only that they used AI but the prompts that they used to get that particular output.”

Gen AI can help students become better writers. Randy Ziegenfuss, professor of practice in education and director of Moravian’s EdD program, asks his students to use generative AI to comment on their writing. First, he explains the assignment, which his students must complete on their own, and then he instructs them to submit their work to gen AI with the assignment directions and ask for feedback.

“You don’t want to have AI do the assignment for the students. You want

the students to do the assignment so they build the skills they need. You’re not using it to circumvent, and that’s a critical piece.

Whether we’re professors or students, we have to know if we’re circumventing some cognitive dissonance that we actually want to be there so that learning takes place.”

Data and Ideas

Generative AI can quickly gather facts and figures, perform data analysis, conduct a literature review, summarize research, explain difficult passages in a technical paper, and translate a journal article for a student whose first language is not English.

Students work on an assignment in Chris Hassay’s writing class.

Lorraine Marchand, assistant professor of practice and business program director in Moravian’s School of Professional Studies and Innovation, recommends her students use generative AI as a research tool.

“For business classes where we need to do market research, market sizing, and some financial analysis, I may give students prompts to help them gather financial or market share information on a company; determine the components of cost of goods sold for a product and estimated costs; or find market trends for an industry, company, or market,” she says.

“The purpose is to make their background research more efficient. Publicly available data can be hard to come by, and while I want the students to know where to look (company websites, financial statements, investor reports, S&P reports), I don’t want them spending all their time looking for data, because a business professional’s value is in deriving insights and making decisions based on the data.”

Marchand does not allow students to use ChatGPT to get answers to questions on their homework.“They need to study the data, make their own assessment of it, and

“

IT CAN GENERATE IDEAS AND HELP BREAK THROUGH WRITER’S BLOCK.

ChatGPT is amazing at just throwing out ideas.”

CHRIS HASSAY writing instructor and associate director of the Center for Inclusive Excellence

PHOTO BY MATT LESTER

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vs.

Humans Generative AI

HOW DO HUMANS MATCH UP WITH GENERATIVE AI? CLAUDE, A GENERATIVE AI TOOL LIKE CHATGPT, PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING LISTS. Here are 10 tasks that humans can generally perform better than current generative AI:

1. Empathizing and providing emotional support

2. Making nuanced ethical judgments in complex situations 3. Interpreting subtle social cues and context

4. Engaging in original scientific research and theorizing

5. Creating genuinely novel art concepts and movements

6. Adapting quickly to unexpected real-world physical scenarios 7. Understanding and applying commonsense reasoning 8. Forming deep, meaningful personal relationships

9. Making decisions that require integrating varied life experiences

10. Engaging in open-ended strategic planning for complex organizations Here are 10 things generative AI can potentially do better than humans:

1. Process and analyze vast amounts of data quickly

2. Generate large volumes of content in a short time 3. Perform repetitive tasks without fatigue

4. Identify subtle patterns in complex datasets 5. Produce variations on a theme or style

6. Translate between multiple languages simultaneously 7. Generate realistic images based on text descriptions 8. Compose music in various styles and genres 9. Provide 24/7 customer service at scale

10. Optimize complex systems with many variables "It’s important to note that while AI excels in these areas, human creativity, emotional intelligence, and complex reasoning are still unmatched in many domains. The ideal approach is often to combine AI capabilities with human insight and oversight," adds Claude.

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write their own translation of what that data means regarding the assignment.

“For example, in my digital transformation course, students are assigned a company for which they need to develop a digital strategy playbook. Prompting ChatGPT on the company’s market share, financials, competitive set, industry trends, and areas for innovation helps them gather information quickly. They still must corroborate the findings with other sources, but at least it gives them a starter set of information and ideas. I require at least five other sources of data to confirm what they find with ChatGPT.” Mark Koscinski, associate professor of practice in accounting, also sees generative AI as a tool for research if used correctly, so he teaches his students how to use it.

“One of the first exercises I do with students is show them how unreliable gen AI can be. For example, in tax class, I’ll ask them to research what will happen if someone wins a $30 million lawsuit. What are the tax implications? And the answer invariably comes back incorrect. So the first demonstration shows that you cannot just take an accounting or finance issue, run it through AI, and think that the answer will be correct.”

After students see that gen AI doesn’t have the right answers to broad prompts, Koscinski works with them to learn how to develop specific and probing questions.

“I will have the students conduct research solely using AI, and that gives them practice in question architecture to learn to ask the same question in three or four or five or six different ways to make sure they’re covering all the bases. And indeed, if you look at some of the answers, even if they’re wrong, they give you a first start on the research and where to look for the correct answer.”

Artists do research, too. A painter might use gen AI to call up several images of a specific tree to use as reference for a painting, saving hours of time locating the species nearby and photographing it in multiple views.

MaryJo Rosania-Harvie, professor of practice in art and art education, encourages her students to use gen AI for research and brainstorming.

For one assignment, her class created an arts-based field trip guide for elementary students. When given the parameters of the trip—grade level, subject, learning goals— generative AI listed several places, including some that neither Rosania-Harvie nor her students knew of—a bonus.“ChatGPT doesn’t tell them how to write up the field trip; it simply gives them ideas.”

In Rosania-Harvie’s Art and Childhood Development course, students must create a final project—a children’s book based on the course material. The course doesn’t teach students how to write a children’s book, so this is an opportunity to use generative AI to augment an assignment. Students need to know the core information for the story, such as the age range of their audience, developmental milestone(s), and problems or concerns based on the course content.

They use ChatGPT to research possible story plotlines, choose an idea, and shape it into a unique story.

“It throws ideas out, and the human part is, How do we interact with that?”

Ziegenfuss says.“So, if it gives you six ideas, you don’t say,‘I’m done.’ Those six ideas spark something else. And then you create something new.”

Coding, of Course

Moravian’s computer science program has been using generative AI for two years already—no surprise there. Their tool? GitHub

PHOTO BY MATT LESTER

In Ben Coleman’s classes, students use GitHub Copilot to build computer programs.

Copilot. Instead of being trained on language text, it’s been trained on lots and lots of code.

To use GitHub Copilot, students give it some starting code along with a word prompt.

“When introducing generative AI, the first thing I ask students to do is prompt it to make a program that can do X,” says Jeff Bush, associate professor of computer science.“The program fails for every single person. It is a great example of what happens when you give AI too big of a problem.”

Bush works with his students to figure out how to break problems down into small segments. One by one, they input those segments into GitHub Copilot, which outputs the code. Students then need to test the code to confirm that it works.

“While we go over some basics of programming in class, AI will generate things the students have never seen before,” Bush says.

“So it’s a requirement that they understand everything they submit.” If Bush sees something that hasn’t been discussed in class, he gives the student an opportunity to explain it and provide a short example using it.

“Making sure students process the output of generative AI is a very important step,” Bush says.“No one should ever be submitting AIgenerated work that they have not read and approved or corrected.”

A significant advantage to using generative AI, says Bush, is that it can take care of mundane programming tasks, freeing up time for higher-learning work.“They don’t have to worry about programming language minutiae such as ‘Do I use square brackets or do I use parentheses in this situation?’

There’s less burden around memorization, which I’m loving because now we get to focus on the higher level of critical-thinking skills. We’re hoping that then propagates to the rest of our curriculum and we can move to some of the skills that we wouldn’t teach until second or third course, which in turn means we get to teach more advanced stuff in the higher-level courses.”

Generative AI tools are being used in industry, and Bush says he’s seen various sources that report it saves about 25 percent of a person’s time by handling the little things.“That tells you that 75 percent of the time you’re using critical-thinking skills, and that’s what we really care about,” says Bush.

“We get to focus on human skills.”

Teaching and Tools in Rehab Sciences Moravian’s School of Rehabilitation Sciences is on the leading edge among health sciences programs when it comes to using generative AI in its classes. When Jay Scifers, associate provost and dean of the College of Health, and David Wilkenfeld, assistant professor of athletic training, have given presentations on AI to educators in

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athletic training or health sciences, they’ve discovered that most educators haven’t begun to explore the possibilities of this technology. At Moravian, faculty have developed many ways to use it.

Students in rehab sciences analyze lots of case studies, and faculty will ask ChatGPT to develop cases that they then modify according to their teaching goals. They will also prompt ChatGPT with patient symptoms to get a differential diagnosis.

“It comes up with things I wouldn’t have thought about,” says Scifers. In the classroom, students think through the case and develop their own differential diagnosis.

“From a patient-care standpoint, I used to have students journal therapeutic exercise examples for a specific condition,” says Wilkenfeld.“I’d ask them to brain-dump for five minutes on modifications for a singleleg hop, for example, so that they start to broaden their scope beyond the cookie-

Mary Jo Rosania-Harvey encourages her students to use ChatGPT for research and idea generation.

cutter rehabilitation plan. ChatGPT or Gemini or any of the other gen AI tools can be very helpful in that task.”

In rehabilitation classes, the conditions students are most likely to see are covered in depth, which means not every situation gets class time. When they’re out in the field, students may see a patient who’s had a surgery they’ve never seen before.

“They can go to AI and ask it to generate a rehabilitation program for that condition,” says Scifers.“But they need to be able to vet it—to go through that program and say, this makes sense, this seems inaccurate, or I need to expand upon this.

“We know generative AI is being used by clinicians,” adds Scifers.“So how do you use it responsibly? How do you vet the information it’s giving you as being accurate and up to date? In medicine, things change very quickly. So we want to show students how they can use it, while emphasizing that they don’t just use it blindly.”

“An example of that is clinical documentation,” says Wilkenfeld.“It’s important for students to understand how to properly document what they’re doing on a daily basis, especially for professions that get reimbursed through third-party payers like medical insurance. Often insurance is denied because of improper documentation. It’s important for clinicians to know how to properly document and know what third-party payers are looking for, and from a litigation standpoint, how to protect yourself as a provider. So what we do with our students is provide them generative-AI-created clinical notes and have them go through them as though they were an auditor and identify where AI messed up.” Students must use what they’ve learned to determine what’s accurate and what’s not; they also see that generative AI makes mistakes.

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PHOTO BY MATT LESTER

“Again, because of the speed at which medical knowledge is changing, almost within five years of leaving Moravian what they’ve learned in a lot of areas is obsolete,” Scifers emphasizes.“So they need to be careful—we’re teaching them to be critical thinkers and problem solvers and to be able to apply basic knowledge to create new knowledge and advanced practice.”

THE GRAY SIDE OF GEN AI

Generative AI can fulfill many tasks and goals for students and faculty. It can spark creativity, help improve writing, strengthen critical thinking, and accelerate learning through efficiencies. But its use raises some shadowy issues.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Among the biggest concerns is that students will ask generative AI to write an essay or paper based on their assignment, cut and paste the entire AI piece into a Google Doc, and hand it in as original. Several faculty, including those who allow students to use gen AI, have seen work that appears not to be student-authored.

The usual giveaway is that the writing is glaringly more advanced than anything that student has previously submitted.

Detection software exists, but it notoriously gives false positives.

In general, faculty who suspect that a paper has been written by ChatGPT or another gen AI tool will privately meet with the student author to review the work and its origin.

“I emphasize to students that there is an MLA and University of Chicago method for citing generative AI. So if you’re using ChatGPT in your paper, you have to cite it just like any other source. I encourage students to go to primary sources, but if they’re citing a gen AI and doing so correctly, I don’t have a problem with that,”

““

IT THROWS IDEAS OUT, AND THE HUMAN PART IS, HOW DO WE INTERACT WITH THAT? SO IF IT GIVES YOU SIX IDEAS, YOU DON’T SAY, ‘I’M DONE.’ THOSE SIX IDEAS SPARK SOMETHING ELSE.

And then you create something ”

new.

RANDY ZIEGENFUSS

professor of practice in education and director of Moravian’s EdD program

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AI

says Koscinski.“If I suspect that a student has turned in a fully ChatGPT-generated assignment as their own, I give them a chance to out themselves,” he says.“I then remind them of the academic honesty policies.”

in Education Survey

SEVENTY-NINE OF 366 (152 FULL-TIME AND 214 PART-TIME) FACULTY MEMBERS RESPONDED TO A RECENT, BRIEF SURVEY ASKING THEM ABOUT THEIR USE OF GENERATIVE AI IN THEIR COURSES ALONG WITH THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT ITS IMPACT ON LEARNING. Which of the following best describes your position on AI use for your students?

Do you think long-term use of AI will impact students’ critical thinking skills?

24.4%

27.8%

I permit AI to be used freely, but students must acknowledge its use.

16.7%

I permit AI to be used only as a supportive tool for assignments.

14.1%

I do not permit use of AI.

8%

I don’t permit use of AI for most assignments.

28.8%

Other: Individual comments

Do you think long-term use of AI will impact students’ creativity?

34.2%

It will improve creativity.

It will improve critical thinking.

17.7%

It will impair critical thinking.

13.9%

No, I think it will be the dumbing down of students and will make it easier for those who cannot write to turn in good papers.

27.9%

It will impair creativity.

13.9%

It won’t have an effect on creativity.

24%

Other: Individual comments

Hassay doesn’t agree that faculty can be certain a student has turned in an AIgenerated paper based on a dramatic change in voice and writing skill.“If everything a student has submitted was generated through ChatGPT, you wouldn’t know that student’s voice,” he says.“Also, it’s difficult for us to make those sorts of judgment calls because one part of this entire experience is that we’re hoping the writer’s voice is growing and pushing and changing and evolving. Where do we draw the line between authentic growth versus AI?” Jane Berger, associate professor of history, finds it challenging to address a student who may or may not have turned in a ChatGPTgenerated paper.“I have gone to a bunch of workshops because I want to know what to do. We’ve been advised to have the student come in and talk through the paper—their thinking and argument—to see if this student can articulate responses. But you can run into a second-language learner or someone who’s intimidated and isn’t as adept at describing things. And there’s room for bias in terms of professors thinking this student is probably a good writer versus another whom they assume is not very good. It’s really complicated. You have to be really cautious if you want to avoid accusing someone of something that they have not done.”

6.0%

Misinformation and Bias

35.6%

“ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.”

It won’t have an effect on critical thinking.

Other: Individual comments

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At the bottom of a reply from any one of the generative AI tools is a disclaimer:

“Claude can make mistakes. Please doublecheck responses.”

And from Google’s Gemini: “As you try Gemini, please remember: Gemini will not always get it right. Gemini may give inaccurate or offensive responses.”

Perhaps the most important lesson students can apply as they work with any generative AI tool is that it’s not to be wholly trusted.

Moravian faculty who allow the use of gen AI stress this point right from the start.

Sounds like a negative, but looked at from a different perspective, it creates the necessity for students to use and grow their critical-thinking skills as they analyze what ChatGPT gives them in search of mistakes, statements that don’t make sense, or code that doesn’t work. And every source that GenAI provides must be checked to confirm that it exists.

What about bias? Skeptics of generative AI say it may have acquired biases during training.“It’s using data that has been created by humans, and we all naturally have a bias toward and against certain things, so its output could potentially be biased,” Ziegenfuss says. But he argues,“Everything’s

biased. I think it all comes down to the idea that whatever it puts out, we have to interact with it and be critical about what it gives us.”

Supplanting Learning

Berger doesn’t encourage the use of generative AI in any of her classes.“There might be good uses for it, and I’m interested in learning about those possibilities, but I don’t know them yet. I’ve attended all the workshops we’ve had, and I understand why there’s an enthusiasm for us to think about how to use it. I also think it’s important for us to think about where not to use it. And for me, in the 100-level history classroom, I think that’s a good place—at least right now—not to use it.”

Berger explains that the objective of all 100-level courses in history is to help students develop strategies for analyzing various types of primary sources: photographs, political cartoons, letters, newspaper articles, and so forth.“We are trying to help them develop their skills of reading between the lines and interpreting and thinking about context and asking the

Students use GitHub Copilot to assist them in writing a computer program.

sources questions, and then taking that analysis and putting it into an essay that is based on a thesis that they come up with.

And then they use the evidence from the sources to substantiate their thesis.

“They need to analyze the sources themselves,” Berger continues.“They need to come up with their own thesis statement, and then organize their ideas to prove their argument by referencing the data, the evidence, their analysis of their sources.

And regardless of how fantastic AI becomes, I still will always want every Moravian student to be able to do that,” Berger says.

“If they can’t do that, then they will be, I fear, consumers of ideas but not able to effectively compete as producers of ideas.”

Kara Mosovsky, associate professor of biology, who’s just begun delving into gen AI, wonders if it’s a shortcut.“Learning is hard,” she says.“It’s a challenge. It hurts the brain. Can you learn as effectively through AI?” She points out, too, that good writing comes from practicing the skill, not having a machine do it for you.

Marchand, who avidly supports using generative AI in her classrooms, is also concerned that students will give ChatGPT prompts that enable it to write the answers to their assignments, or they will become so dependent on AI that they don’t use other sources of information to do their work.

Job Erasure

In December 2023, Forrester, one of the world’s leading global research and advisory firms, put out a forecast on the impact generative AI would have on jobs and workers in the United States. The firm’s projections showed that by 2030, 1.5 percent of jobs (2.4 million) will be lost to gen AI, while 6.9 percent (11.08 million) will be influenced by generative AI, meaning that they will change as this technology is integrated into the job.“Workers should

PHOTO BY MATT LESTER

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be more focused on how to leverage the technology than how to compete with it,” Forrester concludes.

require different skills than what we have, and we are changing the curriculum content here to make sure that students get these skills.”

In a podcast featuring J. P. Gownder, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, and Michael O’Grady, principal analyst, Gownder says that gen AI will most likely influence the jobs of college-educated workers because the type of work they do is most closely related to the capabilities of a gen AI tool.“If you’re doing anything written, if you’re doing anything mathematical or [requiring] memorization . . . science, critical thinking, then you’re probably going to find these tools very useful,” says O’Grady.

“I think that everyone in the workplace will need to understand what AI does and how to use it so they can apply it appropriately in a professional setting and based on a company’s policies,” says Marchand.“It can be very good at scheduling, administrative work, scanning documents, and looking for themes or trends. Early use cases are in sales administration, where a salesperson may not want to enter data on a customer but where they need to look at trends in customer purchasing and determine if they should continue to call on a customer. In the legal profession, AI can be helpful in reviewing documents and identifying answers to a question or a pattern, so paralegals may use it. AI has many uses in healthcare, supply chain, and where patterns and trends are helpful for faster decision-making.”

About creative work, Gownder says human creativity far surpasses the quality of creative content produced by AI tools.“You can use them to mock up some ideas, but ultimately it will be a human that will turn it into something creative.”

He projects that the greatest impact of generative AI will be felt in the legal profession, IT, and other professional service industries. Several Moravian faculty members agree with the Forrester experts.

"I think that AIs will take the place of many tasks, and this will overall be a good thing," says Bush. "We need to make sure students are learning the 'human skills' part of their discipline."

“I tell my accounting students, AI will not replace you,” says Koscinski. “A person that knows AI and how to use it will replace you. I have been in accounting for 40 years, and every year there is the new technology that will put accountants out of business.

First it was the calculator, then computers, then laptops. And what happens is technology becomes a force multiplier— technology efficiently used generates jobs, different jobs.

“Also, companies do not hire computers, they hire people. At the end of the day, you cannot connect your client to a computer. Your client wishes to speak to someone to understand the nuance of their business, to be an advisor to their business. But the job is going to

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As for creative jobs, Generative AI can produce images and illustrations, and around the world, people fear that it will eliminate jobs for graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, and fine artists.

“In photography, the only constant is innovation,” says adjunct professor Luke Wynne.“From daguerreotypes to wet-plate collodion to paper negatives to film and now digital, photography has been adaptable.

AI will have a very impactful change; how it affects the landscape of jobs will probably be profound. But when the horse and buggy gave way to the automobile, jobs multiplied, and I imagine the same will happen in the AI universe of photography.”

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“AI does pose a threat, but mainly to those who refuse to see it as a tool,” says Professor of Art Angela Fraleigh.“Those in the commercial realm have always employed new technologies to further their creative output. In the fine art realm, maybe it’s naive, but I believe there will always be a hunger for images, objects, and art created by human hands.”

THE FUTURE OF GEN AI AT MORAVIAN

For many, it feels as though this technology has suddenly and unexpectedly burst through the gates of higher education. So, while it has been adopted by numerous faculty, others are working toward a fuller understanding of the ways gen AI enhances or perhaps detracts from their students’ learning.

Over this next year, they will get lots of help from a group of colleagues.

Moravian University has a history of being on the leading edge of education.

The institution was born out of that drive. And it’s why the university has assembled a team to participate in the inaugural Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum sponsored by the American Association of Colleges and Universities’(AAC&U). Moravian’s AI team comprises Scifers, Hassay, Professor of Computer Science Ben Coleman, Provost Carol Traupman-Carr, Public Services and Information Literacy Librarian Rayah Levy, and Academic Advisor Ben Moyer.

The team submitted a proposal in the spring of 2024 and was accepted into the institute, joining more than 130 groups across the country. Led by experts in generative AI, organizational change, pedagogical practice, and curricular redesign, the institute launched in September. Teams will engage in webinars, virtual events, mentorship,

“

A student analyzes the code that GitHub Copilot has produced.

I THINK THAT AI'S WILL TAKE THE PLACE OF MANY TASKS, AND THIS WILL OVERALL BE A GOOD THING.

We need to make sure students are learning the ‘human skills’ part of their discipline.”

JEFF BUSH associate professor of computer science

and interactions with groups from other institutions.“We will create an action plan during the early part of the institute,” says Coleman,“while also beginning conversations with various groups on campus: academic affairs, student support, the library, and so forth. We hope to partner with Writing Across Moravian and the Teaching and Learning Center to provide May workshops, and then work with all our partners on campus to deliver a variety of programming during the 2025–26 academic year.

“We are not aiming to dictate a policy or process around using generative AI,” Coleman adds.“There will always be people who don’t want to touch it. We very much respect that. You should still understand AI and what’s happening around it so that you can effectively manage it. Helping faculty

PHOTO BY MATT LESTER

understand and think through all of the issues—that’s our broad goal.”

And that goal is welcome.

Mosovsky may have questions about the role generative AI can play in education, but she wants to explore possible applications. As chair of the biology department, she plans to suggest that her colleagues all try it out in some way— incorporate it into an assignment, create an in-class activity, design an assignment.“Then we come back together and share what we did and how it worked,” she says.“We need to stay on top of it, and I want us to stay at the forefront of how it’s being used in the classroom.”

Berger may not yet use generative AI in her classes, but she is eager to learn what her

colleagues will share from the institute.

“I am open to hearing how other people are using it. And I will use it if I feel it enhances student learning,” Berger says.“But I want to feel that Moravian is both identifying itself as poised to make the most of generative AI and ready to say, nope, we’re not going to use it in this instance because we still want students to learn these skills that make them marketable employees down the road. We need to have the flexibility to understand that in some places in the institution it’s an asset, and in other places it’s a threat to what we do.”

Questions, opinions, and curiosity surround the role of generative AI at Moravian. What we know for certain is that it has arrived, and the educational landscape will continue to evolve as it has at Moravian for centuries.

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the

Educator Wendy Elvin-Thomas uses a stakeholder approach to champion an equitable education for all children.

B Y ST E V E NE U M ANN ’94,G’1 8 P HO T O S B Y NI CK CHI SM AR ’20 44 MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE

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Wendy Elvin-Thomas G’14 is a Title I reading teacher for grades 5 and 6 at Nazareth Area Intermediate School.

endy Elvin-Thomas doesn’t settle for the status quo. A Title I reading teacher/ specialist for grades 5 and 6 at Nazareth Area Intermediate School, she earned a master’s degree in education and reading specialist certification from Moravian University in 2014, and four years later she completed a certification program in leadership. She attained her certification in special education in 2022.

This past summer, she joined the first cohort of Moravian University’s new EdD degree program in transformational leadership.

Elvin-Thomas has always seen herself as a changemaker, and Moravian’s EdD program, which is designed to support educators as forward-thinking scholar-practitioners, fits her aspirations.

“In the Moravian EdD program, you’re not just here to absorb information from your classes—you’re here to take action

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and become a changemaker in your field, whether it’s pre-K–12 education, higher education, or workplace learning,” says program director Randy Ziegenfuss.

“The EdD program focuses on adaptive leadership rather than technical leadership,” Elvin-Thomas says.“Right now, most leaders follow technical leadership—here’s the problem, here’s the solution. But adaptive leadership is more about including all the people that you want at the table to help make good decisions—the stakeholders.

They include parents/guardians, teachers, administrators, and community members.”

Every year, Elvin-Thomas sends out a video via Google for families that cannot make it out to Back to School Night, inviting them to planning meetings and activities and explaining the Title I resources that are available. Title I is a federally funded program that provides financial assistance

“In the Moravian EdD program, you’re not just here to absorb information from your classes—you’re for educationally disadvantaged children.

The funding supports programs, activities, and courses necessary to provide a wellrounded education for those students.“Our school is different from the elementary schools, so we like to explain all of our services at Back to School Night,” ElvinThomas says.

The invitation also includes a brief survey so parents can give their input.“In my position, I have to be adaptive, because I’m working with a community—with parents, students, teachers, and the administration,” Elvin-Thomas adds.“So I have to get perspectives from everybody, and that’s why I feel like Moravian’s EdD program is a good match for me.”

The program begins with an intensive 12-day summer residency that goes from 8 o’clock in the morning to 9 o’clock at night. After dinner, the EdD students convene for what the program calls “salons,” where they discuss ways to share their work in a storytelling fashion or figure out ways to cultivate their digital gardens with their cohort.

One of the stories Elvin-Thomas shared was how she handled the challenge of getting more than one parent to show up for the school’s literacy nights, which the school, as a Title I grant recipient, is required to have.

babysitting so parents could attend. We had a few parents.”

For Elvin-Thomas, challenges are all about being willing to adapt and change.

“When something doesn’t work, I’m very determined to figure out a way to make it work,” she says.“How do I get people to come to literacy night? Well, I had to change my mindset, I had to change my thinking.

That’s one thing that I love about Moravian’s EdD program—it embraces that.”

Elvin-Thomas noted how well-attended her school’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) night had been and thought that if they could bring in that many families for engineering-related challenges, math games, and puzzles, maybe she could do something similar for reading.

here to take action and become a changemaker in your field, whether it’s pre-K–12 education, higher education, or workplace learning.”

—Randy Ziegenfuss, director of Moravian's EdD program

“So I took that concept and changed it into a kind of STEAM night for reading, where the kids did all different types of reading activities with their families. For example, one of the rooms that they visited had a Dr. Seuss-style whodunit set up—it was like a crime scene, but it was all reading. The students loved it!”

But when Nazareth went to a schoolwide Title I program, she had to work with the entire student body and had to invite all parents to attend literacy night—a near Herculean task.

Elvin-Thomas organized all the rooms for literacy night around the five pillars of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.“We used a team approach to make this plan a reality. Teachers, parents, and administrators all collaborated and worked together to make this happen,” Elvin-Thomas explained.

“So I had to figure out a way to include the whole family, because that is how you get the parents in,” Elvin-Thomas says.“We first tried asking parents to come in, but that didn’t work. Then we tried offering free

“It was a huge undertaking, so I had to get permission to compensate many staff members—that’s always the hard sell, but in the end, we had more than 300 parents and children come through.”

Randy Ziegenfuss, director of Moravian’s new EdD program, talks with a student.

Students in Moravian’s EdD program work intensely.

Elvin-Thomas’s appreciation for the power of change was something she learned firsthand in her own educational experiences growing up in the early 1970s in Maryland, where the schools had open classrooms. That meant there could be up to five classrooms in one giant room separated only by cubbies and places to hang coats and backpacks.

“I’m deaf in one ear, so all I heard was a bunch of noise, and it was really hard to learn in that kind of environment,” ElvinThomas says. “I couldn’t focus on what the teacher was saying, because I couldn’t hear.”

“Moravian’s always been great about making people feel welcome.

I love that it’s a smaller school. You’re not just a number in a lecture hall of 300 people. And the staff are amazing.”

—Wendy Elvin-Thomas

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Her family moved to New Jersey at the end of fifth grade, and that move opened her up to an entirely different learning experience, including closed classrooms. “I went from one extreme to the other by the end of my learning career in high school. When I got to college, I loved art, I loved biology, and I just loved learning.”

“Finally, I thought I should take a look at education [as a major], and everything fell into place. That’s been my path ever since, and I’ve never regretted it. Not for a second.”

After getting her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, ElvinThomas taught in Bedminster, New Jersey, for 14 years before temporarily leaving the profession in 2003.

“I had just had my third baby, and I was commuting two hours a day, and it was just too much,” Elvin-Thomas explains. “I stayed home for six years until my youngest was in first grade, and then I started to substituteteach in Nazareth for the next three years.”

At that point, the teaching market was flooded with applicants—everybody had a teaching certificate—and Elvin-Thomas found it difficult to secure a permanent

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teaching position. “So I decided to make myself more marketable. At that same time, one of my daughters started to really struggle with reading, and I knew I didn’t know enough about reading to help her. So I went to Moravian and did the master’s and reading specialist certification all in one.” After that experience, Moravian’s unique culture had her hooked.

“Moravian’s always been great about making people feel welcome,” Elvin-Thomas says. “I love that it’s a smaller school. You’re not just a number in a lecture hall of 300 people. And the staff are amazing. I teach at Moravian, too, and I really enjoy working with the staff and students. I get to see education from two different perspectives: as a teacher and a student.”

One of Elvin-Thomas’s fellow faculty members, professor and education department chair Jean DesJardins, has had a firsthand look at the educational growth of Elvin-Thomas, ever since she taught her in her very first class after coming to Moravian in 2010.

Since then, DesJardins and Elvin-Thomas have collaborated outside the Moravian classroom, assisting each other with their respective projects in action research— a process of disciplined inquiry in which teachers examine their own educational practice systematically with the intent that the research will inform and change their practices in the future.

Elvin-Thomas also helped two of DesJardins’s students do research one summer for their SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Research) projects.

“She even had one of the students come to her home, where she went through all her materials and why she does what she does—

all the theory and the research behind it,” DesJardin says. “She’s always been such a wonderful mentor.”

DesJardins would eventually go on to serve on the thesis committee for Elvin-Thomas’s master’s degree.

“She’s stellar,” DesJardins says, “a deep thinker who’s very thorough in her research, examining all the different factors that might impact a child’s outcome. She doesn’t just talk the talk; she walks the walk.”

DesJardins says the two work well together because they share the belief that there are many factors that impact children’s outcomes, so they feel compelled to make sure that everything is equitable, that they’re not asking students to come up with projects that they can’t afford to do.

“She talks to families,” DesJardins says, “and makes sure that the projects are

designed well, that all children have access to the materials, and that the families have access to family nights.” DesJardins remembers Elvin-Thomas recruiting high school students to do fun crafts or some other activity with the younger children during Literacy Night so that the parents could focus on learning about reading at the intermediate level.

“She always tries to think outside the box about what she can do to make sure education is equitable and that everyone has access,” DesJardin says.

Now in her 29th year in teaching and her 15th year at Nazareth Area Intermediate School,

Elvin-Thomas would like to move into some type of administrative position where she would be able to flex her leadership muscles even more.

“My ultimate goal would be curriculum and instruction for K–6, because those are the grades that I’m most familiar with,” Elvin-Thomas says. “It would allow me to initiate conversations about adaptive leadership like we’ve been having in our summer residency.”

“She would be able to analyze the curriculum really well,” says DesJardins.

“She’s always asking, ‘Does this work? If so, why does it work?’ And she would look deeply into what research is behind the new curriculum.

“Wherever she ends up, I can see that she would make sure it aligns with the needs of the children.”

Adaptive leadership requires collalboration and teamwork.

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LIGHTING THE WAY:

Alumni

The Campaign for Moravian University is more than a fundraising initiative—it is our promise to change the life of every Moravian student through scholarships, meaningful experiences, and leading-edge technology and learning facilities. We are so grateful for our valued alumni and supporters who are lighting the way for our students, their future, and the next generation.

We are lighting the way together!

Members of the Moravian College Choir and Student Life before leaving for a tour of Europe in 1968

Overcoming Financial Hurdles to Funding Futures: A First-Generation Student’s Journey at Moravian Donald G. Musselman ’68 is a first-generation student whose college plans were impacted by federal loan changes. Moravian stepped in with the financial support he needed. Now, he’s supporting students facing similar challenges.

A

llentown native Donald G. Musselman ’68 never visited Moravian before he enrolled as a firstgeneration student. His first time on campus was a reception welcoming new students.

“I was a little bit scared,” he remembers.

Musselman’s parents encouraged him to attend college despite his needing to rely on student loans and scholarships to afford it.

They had both finished middle school, then had to help tend their families’ farms. They wanted more for their son.

“I’ve never regretted it,” recalls Musselman, who now lives in Colorado with his partner, Ella Blume. “At Moravian, I learned to be

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more independent than I’d been before. It prepared me for graduate school and gave me confidence in myself.”

An Impactful Experience

Musselman was a psychology major, but the Moravian College Choir was a foundational part of his college experience. “It was the activity that I spent the most time on in those four years,” he says with a laugh. Musselman made time between his psychology classes for choir practice three times a week, extra rehearsals, concerts, and tours with legendary choir director Richard Schantz.

However, the most impactful experience Musselman had at Moravian was one that

“

barely registered at the time. He received a scholarship from Moravian and had loans from the federal government to pay tuition and fees each semester. At the beginning of his junior year, the federal loans were discontinued. Moravian quickly stepped in with work-study stipends and increased scholarships to bridge the gap. “I didn’t have to worry,” he recalls gratefully.

Musselman graduated from Moravian with a psychology degree and just $1,100 in debt.

He was drafted into the army in 1969. He was able to defer repayment of his loans until he was separated from active duty, and again while he earned his law degree from the University of Denver College of Law. Musselman started working in the US Department of Defense in 1981. “I had 11 years to repay [the loan], and the interest was 3 percent. It’s not like folks these days facing $100,000 debts for years,” he recalls.

Musselman attributes much of his success to his Moravian education. In gratitude, he gives back to Moravian University and its students. Thirty-nine years ago, he began giving what he terms “modest gifts” to support scholarships.

Musselman’s then-upcoming 50th reunion motivated him to broaden his support. He and his classmates decided to collectively endow a fund that helps provide $2,500 stipends to students pursuing internships.

Musselman worked while in college—as a short-order cook in a local restaurant and newspaper delivery person for the Morning Call along with a variety of other summer jobs. He says working as a student was different back then.

“Today, the emphasis is on internships— people getting experience while they are in school that will help them proceed on

with their careers,” Musselman says. “The internship fund would help them do it, and not have to worry about finding one that will pay them.”

Meeting one of the recent recipients of the internship stipend galvanized Musselman.

“She was a very good investment—selfassured, confident, well spoken,” he says.

“Listening to her talk reminded me of my own classmates.”

Leaving a Legacy of Caring

When Musselman turned 70, he considered the legacy he wanted to leave at Moravian. He learned about Mo’s Fund, which provides financial support to students experiencing hardships, such as unexpected medical expenses, a death in the family, or other unique circumstances that threaten their ability to stay in college. He recalls thinking, “Here is a fund that will help people who need a little boost,” and he gave his first gift.

I’ve never regretted it.

At Moravian, I learned to be more independent than I’d been before. It prepared me for graduate school and gave me confidence in myself.”

—Donald Musselman ’68

Musselman and his partner, Ella Blume, enjoy traveling internationally. They are pictured in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Southeast Asia.

Mo’s Fund awarded nearly $19,000 to nine students this past year, helping them continue on the path to earning a college degree despite their hardship. Musselman decided to endow Mo’s Fund for the next generation of students.

“We all have bumps in the road—some not so great, some greater than others,” he says.

“This is going to help students maintain their focus on getting through and achieving their goals at Moravian.”

Meeting Student Need

Mo’s Fund is not the only way Musselman has helped students struggling with challenges that scholarships and financial aid won’t cover. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he answered a call from Moravian’s Phonathon students about food insecurity.

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A Gift Paid Forward He learned that nearly one in three students at four-year colleges do not have enough to eat, derailing their college degree plans.

Musselman gave a gift over the phone, and when his class began planning their 55th reunion gift to expand Mo’s Cupboard, Moravian’s on-campus resource pantry in the new Haupert Union Building (HUB), he eagerly pledged his support.

Since 2018, Mo’s Cupboard has provided fresh produce; other shelf-stable foods; toiletries; dorm, classroom, and cleaning supplies; and more to over a thousand undergraduate, graduate, and seminary students. Last academic year, 726 students visited Mo’s Cupboard, and nearly $25,000 in total support was distributed.

“Mo’s Cupboard offers students the ability to close the gap [between what they need and what they can afford],” says former Moravian University Chairwoman Evelyn G. Trodahl Chynoweth ’68. “To support the students who need it is really a critical thing.”

Chynoweth knows from experience—she shared her own story with her class about how she would borrow toothpaste from her peers and go home with friends for dinner to save money during college. The Class of 1968

is one of the most philanthropic classes in Moravian’s history, with more than a third of its members donating annually. Chynoweth’s story and the purpose behind Mo’s Cupboard struck a chord with many of them.

“I had not really been aware of the difficulties some students have with adequate food and supplies,” says W. Eugene Clater ’68. “I was instantly on board with this project.”

“As proud alumni, we feel a responsibility to support present and future Greyhounds,” share Rev. J. Michael Dowd ’68, S’71 and Kathleen Doyle ’68 Dowd P’21.

“Mo’s Cupboard relieves students’ stress and provides a pathway to success.”

So far, 30 class members have donated $270,000 in total philanthropic support to expand Mo’s Cupboard in the new HUB. The new Mo’s Cupboard will have a footprint six times larger than its original space. It will also have a dedicated storage area where volunteers can sort donations received from Mo’s Cupboard’s Amazon Wish List, food drives, and community partners, including Giant and Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania.

To meet growing student needs, Moravian received a nearly $20,000 state grant to open two Mo’s Cupboard satellite locations—one in the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center and the other in the HILL on South Campus.

“Other than grants, the entire operation of Mo’s Cupboard is donor-funded,” says Greg Meyer, dean for community wellness.

“The generosity of our supporters, including alumni, faculty, staff, students, and others, has allowed us to support the evergrowing basic and academic needs of our undergraduate, graduate, seminary student, and employee populations.”

In the new HUB, Mo’s Cupboard will occupy a footprint six times larger than its original space.

52 MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE

Musselman looks forward to seeing how else he can support Moravian’s students and future generations. He generously designated Moravian as a beneficiary of his

FALL 2024

Honnie Spencer MD ’90 attended Moravian on scholarship and knows that the kindness she received changed her life.

As a student, she spent most of her time in the Haupert Union Building (HUB) lounge studying, mingling, and practicing the piano. Scan the QR code or visit moravian.edu/a-giftpaid-forward to learn how Spencer is paying that kindness forward with a gift to support the lounge in the new HUB.

will, ensuring his impact will last long into the future. “The institution helped support me and made me successful in my life,” he says. “Maybe someone else can benefit from my support.”

Moravian’s commitment to meet the growing need for student support and wellness continues to be a core value of our community. Moravian is in the process of developing a comprehensive fund to address student needs, called the Helping Hounds Student Fund. For more information on how you can support our students in need, contact Marissa E. Zondag ’13, director of development, at zondagm@moravian.edu.

Special thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Class of 1968 members who gave the inaugural gifts for the new space: Mrs. Evelyn Trodahl Chynoweth ’68 Mr. W. Eugene Clater ’68 Mrs. Shirley Messics Daluisio ’68 Rev. J. Michael Dowd ’68, S’71 and Kathleen Doyle ’68 Dowd P’21 Miss Carolyn D. Felker ’68 Mrs. Constance Stirling Hodson ’68 Mr. Leslie C. Jones ’68 Mr. Donald G. Musselman ’68 Mr. Donald W. Powell ’68

RENDERING BY ESa, EARL SWENSSON ASSOCIATES

Get to Know Our Lighting the Way Subcommittee Chairs Evelyn Trodahl Chynoweth ’68 Chair, Comenius Society Subcommittee

What is your personal motto?

Community.

How do you spend your free time?

Sometimes I wonder, “What free time?” I volunteer at several places— the food pantry at Central Moravian Church, supporting the international students at Moravian University, sitting on several local boards, and an occasional task at Moravian University. Those are my “care for others” activities. For myself, I love to read, exercise (walks are critical!), and spend time with family, none of whom are local. My husband and I also love to travel, so we are trying to fit in as much as we can while we are still able to enjoy being on the go.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I’m pretty much an open book. People who don’t know me are interested in my experiences as a child growing up in the remote Kuskokwim Delta area in Alaska, so that upbringing and then finding myself first in the East and then in the corporate world always shocked my colleagues. The silliest thing about my past? I was on a trampoline team that performed at a professional wrestling match in North Dakota when I was in high school. That’s a good one for the icebreaker game ‘tell me three things about you, with one being a lie.’

Who at Moravian most influenced you and how?

Although I came in as a math major, I have to say that the language professors influenced me the most. I’ve often told former English department chairman Dr. Robert Burcaw about my memory as a freshman getting an F on my first paper. That was new for me. He gave me a life lesson that I’ve never forgotten: Stop trying to be something you are not—write from your heart. (I did get an A on my next paper!)

What advice would you give to a current student?

Take advantage of every opportunity afforded to you.

Spread your wings. Take a couple of classes that will expand your horizons, even if you aren’t sure you are interested in the topic.

Get involved in the community (university and local). Learn, live, love. Whatever you experience here will influence you for the rest of your life, so make that experience as rich as possible.

And when you succeed in life, come back. Give back. You will make a difference.

Why is it important for you to serve/volunteer?

Serving others was always a part of my family and my upbringing.

It is in my DNA. I am blessed to have some resources and some skills that can make a difference, and it is wonderful to be able to share them.

How do you believe Lighting the Way will help our students, their future, and the next generation?

I can only point to the new spaces and services that will be available.

To attract the kinds of professors, students, and support staff who can make a difference, we need to upgrade spaces and offerings so that we can compete effectively. Availability of financial aid is critical to attract the variety of students we want on campus. Current students will be the lifeblood of future generations as they become the active alumni that many of us have become.

What are you most excited to see Lighting the Way make possible for Moravian?

My class’s support for expanding Mo’s Cupboard is totally exciting!

What a glorious way to supply the basics that our students need to thrive. Shout-out to the Class of ’68!

To read the full-length version of the excerpted profile, visit moravian.edu/lightingtheway/leadership.

2023–2024 Annual Report We are thrilled to share our annual report for fiscal year 2023–2024 and showcase remarkable stories of impact, growth, and innovation within our community. Together, our dedication is making a difference in the lives of our students and preparing them for transformative leadership and service in our world. Scan the QR code or visit moravian.edu/annual-report-23-24 to read the full report.

FALL 2024

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CLASS NOTES

Class Notes The editors of Moravian University Magazine publish all class notes that we receive. We reserve the right to edit for space or style.

Some information may appear only online at moravian.edu/classnotes. If your class year or a named correspondent is not listed online, email your information to alumni@ moravian.edu or mail to Class Notes, Alumni Engagement Office, Moravian University, 1200 Main St., Bethlehem, PA 18018.

Deadlines for Submissions

Spring 2025 issue: December 12, 2024 Summer 2025 issue: May 5, 2025

Photo Policy

Please send us your image as a jpg file at 300 dpi or higher. For photos taken with a smartphone, send the largest image file. We publish one photo per wedding or birth. We welcome photos of gatherings of alumni.

For More Information

Youth on the March At the dawn of the 1970s, young Americans were making themselves heard

on college campuses across the country through newly created student governments. And after the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in June 1970 (a change that was added to the Constitution as the 26th Amendment the following year), they would soon make themselves heard at the ballot box, also. —Nancy Rutman ’84

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FALL 2024

1/22

1/16

1970

moravian.edu/classnotes

WORLD After seizing power in a military coup, Muammar Gaddafi forms a government as prime minister of the Libyan Arab Republic.

TRANSPORTATION Clipper Young America becomes the first Boeing 747 to make a commercial passenger flight.

CLASS NOTES

Roland Passaro married his high school sweetheart, Elaine Hall. Both are 88. They reconnected at their high school’s 50th class reunion.

You can read their story in People magazine (mrvn.co/ passaro-wedding).

1971

1974

LITERATURE Love Story, a novel by Erich Segal, is published on Valentine’s Day. It soon reaches bestseller status and will remain there for 41 weeks.

1977 Andrew Sawran continues to work for enterprise software company BlackLine, which helps large public global companies close their books accurately. He has resided in Hershey, Pennsylvania, since 1982 and travels often for work and pleasure.

Frederick “Fred” Patt is excited to announce the launch of the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite, the latest scientific mission at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. PACE was launched on February 8 of this year, and its first science data sets were publicly released on April 11, after a two-month commissioning period. PACE will provide unprecedented information about Earth’s ocean ecosystem with hyperspectral global imaging from the near-UV-to-near-IR spectrum. In 2018, Sawran gave a talk about PACE to the Moravian chapter of the Society of Physics Students.

4/7

Tina Hudak recently published a book—Frannie: Memoir of a Friendship—about the tragic death of a close friend, which affected the Class of 1970 during their senior year at Bethlehem Catholic High School.

James Chase recently lost his wife, Matilda.

One of her life goals was to publish a historical account of her thirdgreat-grandmother’s 1826 missionary adventure, and Matilda completed the manuscript before she died. Reflecting on his loss, James faced the truth that there are no guarantees in our day-to-day living, and life is fragile. He turned his attention to the future and realized a desire to see that people who want a college education are not held back by their financial situation.

And so he established the James ’76 and Matilda Chase Endowed Scholarship Fund at Moravian University and Theological Seminary.

“We all need to prepare and think wisely about

2/21

1976

2/14

Rev. Brad S. Lutz was honored on the 50th anniversary of his ordination to ministry in the United Church of Christ (UCC). The celebration took place at UCC Fort Lauderdale, where Brad is a member and volunteer clergy. During his half-century, he served churches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Florida, and worked in AIDS ministry and hospice chaplaincy. Although retired, he continues to do pulpit supply and offers individual spiritual direction.

what we can do to help others accomplish by giving generously,” says James, who completed his wife’s goal by publishing her book, Emeline’s Tears, on Amazon Kindle.

MUSIC The Jackson 5, featuring 11-yearold prodigy Michael Jackson, debut on American Bandstand.

Upcoming

Events

Details and registration for any of these events can be found at moravian.edu/alumni/events.

NOVEMBER 9, 2024 Young Alumni Afternoon at Hardball Cider NOVEMBER 12, 2024 Coffee & Connections/ Hounds Connect This annual, on-campus event connects alumni with students to promote networking and professional development as our students prepare for their futures.

NOVEMBER 12, 2024 Evening on Main Street NOVEMBER 20, 2024 Return & Learn: First Home with Heather K. McFadden ’15

JANUARY 8, 2024 Return & Learn: Be a Healthy You with Ryan Drury ’19

4/12

1957

David France continues to serve at St. Luke’s/Bishop Hoffman Reformed Episcopal Church, a small parish in Philadelphia that is in the process of revitalization. The church offers a Saturday morning English class for recent immigrants and has a second congregation forming that draws members from the local Chinese population.

FILM Maggie Smith receives the Academy Award for Best Actress (in absentia) for her performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969).

FALL 2024

MORAVIAN MOMENT Psychedelic rock band The Iron Butterfly performs in Johnston Hall before a crowd of 1,700.

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CLASS NOTES

1989

Susan Kressly is currently serving as president-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics and will assume presidency in January of 2025.

Vanessa Schukis is the recipient of the 2024 Anne Briggs Artist Award from the Arlington Center for the Arts (ACA) in Arlington, Massachusetts. Schukis was honored for her long career and dedicated work in performing arts throughout the region and for her particular connection to ACA, where she has been a teaching artist, exhibiting artist, and volunteer for many years.

1986

SPACE Apollo 13 reports, “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here,” after an oxygen tank explodes during a mission flight to the moon.

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1996 Matthew Stone was on the team that won an R&D 100 award in 2023 for their work on 3D-printed neutron collimators. Researchers from ORNL and PolarOnyx have developed 2D and 3D collimators and parts using an aluminum-boron carbide matrix composite-based manufacturing process. Collimators are essential components for neutron and X-ray experiments, as they reduce background and ensure that only neutrons and X-rays scattered from a sample are measured. The metal matrix composite (MMC) additive combines the large neutron

4/25

4/22

4/13

1991 Renate Muller Wildermuth’s articles, stories, and essays have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Miami Herald, and Adirondack Life magazine, as well as on public radio. She writes for Inkitt on its Galatea reading app and has a novel out with Totally Entwined Group called Wreck Me under the name Belle Reeves (which

Gail Poverman-Kav’s daughter, Emily, who majored in English, graduated summa cum laude from Moravian this past spring. Shortly afterward, her twin brother, Alex, graduated summa cum laude from the Ramapo College Anisfield School of Business with a BA in

1970

Susan Bostian runs a nonprofit public charity—Every Ribbon Counts Foundation— and has spent the past four years working with A Channel of Peace, producing and coordinating the filming of several family-friendly, faith-based films in the Lehigh Valley: Lucky Louie (2020), The Hail Mary (2022), and currently St. Nick of Bethlehem, filmed right here in Bethlehem.

Coming in 2024 will be Men of Granite.

her mother doesn’t know about). It is a bestseller at the publisher’s website. Renate’s young adult novel Gone Before You Knew Me will be released by Regal House Publishing in 2026, and she will publish a historical romance through Dragonblade Publishing. Renate is an adjunct professor of German at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.

MORAVIAN MOMENT More than 1,500 college campuses participate in the first Earth Day. Activities at Moravian include an ecological exhibit in Johnston Hall.

FALL 2024

absorption cross-section and hardness of boron carbide with the high thermal conductivity of aluminum to provide robust neutron scattering measurements with minimal noise. These complex collimators offer significant improvements over traditionally manufactured collimators.

The MMC Additive Manufacturing technique allows for reduced maintenance costs and production times, while also providing unprecedented neutron scattering test performance.

1999 Jamie Chapman, a physician assistant in the health center, and her sister Heather Kuhns ’03, an assistant professor of practice in management, have come full circle to work at Moravian University.

2007 Travis Nace and Helen Benson Nace ’09 live in the Lansdale area with their two sons.

4/27

1982

marketing. Alex is continuing with Ramapo for his MBA.

MORAVIAN MOMENT Dr. Herman E. Collier Jr. is invested as the eighth president of Moravian College.

MORAVIAN MOMENT The London Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Bernard Haitink, performs before an overflow audience of more than 3,500 in Johnston Hall.

CLASS NOTES

Moving the Goal Posts

Today, Dr. Kaskowitz ’14 (the daughter) is laser-focused on football, especially when she’s standing on the sidelines of a National Football League game as part of the team of physicians working for the New York Jets.

Kaskowitz is a resident physician and fellow with Atlantic Sports Health, the sports medicine program of Atlantic Health System, the official healthcare partner of the New York Jets. Kaskowtiz works under the Jets’ head team physicians as a primary care doctor, handling everything from colds to concussions.

What may seem like a glamourous gig is a lot of work, but it’s still a really cool job, says Kaskowitz, especially when you get to travel with the football team as she likely will during the Jets’ upcoming road trips to Pittsburgh and New England. She’s among a team of fellows with primary care and orthopedic sports medicine specialties who share on-field duties during games.

While standing on the field with the likes of Super Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers in stadiums packed with 60,000 screaming fans is thrilling, Kaskowitz says the variety of her work is what she finds most appealing about her fellowship. During any given week she may provide medical coverage for a high school football game one day, cover a Division I college soccer or volleyball game the next day, work in a high school training room another day, and do clinical procedures like ultrasounds to diagnose ligament tears and sprains before heading to Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford on Sunday to cover the Jets. —Jeff Csatari

VIETNAM WAR President Richard M. Nixon authorizes an attack on Viet Cong and North Vietnamese bases in Cambodia, expanding the geographic parameters of the Vietnam War.

Sara Kaskowitz ’14, with her husband, holds a Nittany Lion statue awarded to her for being chief resident during her residency at Penn State.

5/4

5/4

4/28

Most team physicians are fellowship-trained in either orthopedic surgery, general surgery, or, like Kaskowitz, internal medicine. A fellow has completed four years of undergraduate study, four years of medical school, and four to five years of residency before entering the fellowship. As an on-field physician, Kaskowitz is part of a vanguard of women opening doors to various roles in the NFL, including coaching staffs, front office and personnel departments, training rooms, and officiating crews, that were once ruled exclusively by men.

JOURNALISM Seymour M. Hersh of Dispatch News Service is awarded the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his exclusive disclosure of the massacre at My Lai in Vietnam.

5/4

You’d be hard pressed to call Sara Kaskowitz ’14 a football fanatic.

When her father, Moravian University Associate Professor of Management Gary Kaskowitz, would take her to see the University of Maryland Terrapins play when he was doing postgraduate study, young Sara would bring books to read to keep from nodding off.

VIETNAM WAR At Kent State University in Ohio, the Ohio National Guard opens fire on students protesting the escalation of the Vietnam War, killing four students and injuring nine others.

FALL 2024

MORAVIAN MOMENT Anna May Hunt, cataloguer in Reeves Library, stages a onewoman Strike for Peace on the steps of the library.

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CLASS NOTES

Finding His Passion in Publishing

His death shook me, and I became aware that one day I also wouldn’t wake up. That realization forced me to take a stake in my own life, and to start living immediately.

Even though I swiftly secured an internship at a folk music magazine (with help from Moravian English department faculty), joined various organizations on campus, and made the dean’s list for the first time, mentors and close friends sensed I was in pain and pointed me toward books of poetry and philosophy, from which I attempted to extract a cure. Within that abyss, the power of language bewitched me. I realized that if you wielded it well, language could change someone’s life.

After graduation, I lived at home and worked as a security guard to save money, but six months sitting alone in a parking lot—sometimes 16 hours a day—was enough. All I knew at the time was that I wanted to live, and having been to only a handful of places outside of my hometown, nowhere else seemed to contain more life than New York City. I couldn’t idle any longer. With no job, no plan, and just enough money saved to last about a month, I left.

MORAVIAN MOMENT Moravian College students join the Strike for Peace, now nationwide, and the college faculty votes to support the strike.

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In the decade since, I have published more than 600 books across all genres and worked with partners and people I never could have imagined—kids’ activity books with Sesame Street, a reissue of The Pentagon Papers in partnership with the New York Times, a cookbook with a renowned chef, and essays about the joys of travel by a veteran travel writer, among so many others.

While I am so grateful to still be in this business, the once-great excitement of publishing books was doused by the familiarity of routine. But about two years ago, I opened Instagram and saw a post about another Moravian alumnus, Tom Turcich ’11, who, after the death of a friend, embarked on a seven-year walk around the world. He and I had never met, despite an overlapping year in 2010, but I felt a peculiar kinship between us. So I reached out the next day, highlighting our Moravian link, and told him I wanted to publish his story.

Tom spent more than a year poring over old notes and journals from his walk to write the book, and the last nine months have been a joyous frenzy of editing, refining, and refining again. I can say with certainty that The World Walk turned out to be something far beyond anything I could have hoped to read. (See page 10 for a glimpse into Tom’s journey.)

Helping him tell this extraordinary story of resilience reminded me why I got into publishing in the first place—and woke a part of myself I had begun to forget.

—Jesse McHugh ’14

5/8

5/6

5/5

1970

It became immediately clear that tens of thousands of hungry English majors enter the publishing applicant

pool every year, vying for a shot at using their degree editing books or magazines. I wasn’t any different.

Fortunately, a friend opened a door. And once I was through, I felt I had something to prove, so I got to work.

MORAVIAN MOMENT After a rally by striking students at City Hall, the Bethlehem City Council votes to approve a petition to President Nixon expressing its concern about military expansion.

FALL 2024

5/9

For the first two decades of my life, I was asleep—listless and adrift. I didn’t care what happened to me. Then, on the morning of my 21st birthday, I woke up in my dorm to find out my dad had died suddenly in the middle of the night.

MUSIC The Beatles release their 12th and final studio album, Let It Be.

VIETNAM WAR More than 100,000 people, including a contingent from Moravian College, gather in Washington, DC, for a Kent State/ Cambodia Incursion protest.

CLASS NOTES

2012 Rania Hanna has published her debut novel, The Jinn Daughter, through Hoopoe Books. The Jinn Daughter pulls together mythology, magic, and ancient legend in the gripping story of a mother’s struggle to save her only daughter.

2013

Bryan P. Cleary has joined the law firm Goodell DeVries as an associate in the firm’s Medical Malpractice Practice Group. Bryan’s practice is concentrated in the defense of healthcare providers and institutions in medical malpractice claims. He has experience in all aspects of complex civil litigation involving insurance defense and personal injury. Before entering private practice, Bryan was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Timothy J. McCrone of the Circuit Court for Howard County, Maryland, and a legal intern for the Honorable Deborah L. Boardman of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

Kaitlyn Nemes and Kory DeCesaris were married on July 24, 2024, at Notre Dame of Bethlehem Church and enjoyed a reception at Barn Swallow Farm in Northampton, Pennsylvania.

Bryan is a member of Maryland Defense Counsel and the Howard County Bar Association. After graduating from Moravian, he earned his JD at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he served as staff editor of the University of Baltimore Law Forum.

9/9

8/26

Sam Anderson, Moravian Dance Company manager, performed with Aerial Mind

In January 2024, Alexandra Borden was elected the new executive director of the Alliance for Women Film Composers (AWFC), a nonprofit organization focused on advocacy and visibility for women in the composing industry. She was also elected to the board of directors of the Female Composer Safety League (FCSL), a nonprofit that provides a safe, traumainformed, supportive community for femaleidentifying and nonbinary survivors of harassment and sexual assault in the composing industry. And that’s not all. In March, Alexandra was announced as a mentor with the 2024 ScreenCraft Works CrossBorder Mentoring Scheme, a volunteer communitybuilding initiative that pairs underrepresented film production and postproduction talent with international mentors.

2020

WOMEN’S RIGHTS Thousands of women march down Fifth Avenue in New York City as part of the Women’s Strike for Equality.

2021 Michael A. Rossi III and Cameron Cochran were married on October 29, 2023. Five alums and a current student attended the celebration.

Andrew Padilla earned his master’s in social work from Rutgers on May 13, 2024.

2022 Sharda O’llissia is employed as a therapist and psychiatric case manager and is working toward becoming a licensed professional counselor.

MUSIC Elvis Presley launches his first concert tour in 13 years with a sold-out performance in Phoenix.

9/18

Paul Mack has been admitted into the partnership of Campbell, Rappold & Yurasits, certified public accountants. Mack joined the firm in 2009, and his areas of practice are personal income tax and audits of not-for-profit organizations and municipalities, including audits in accordance with Uniform Guidance.

2018

9/13

2009

aerial dance troupe at the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival in September.

SPORTS Australian tennis player Margaret Court wins the US Open, completing a Grand Slam of the four major international singles titles.

FALL 2024

MUSIC Guitar legend Jimi Hendrix dies of an overdose in London.

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GREYHOUND ALBUM

Morgan LaPointe ’15 and Tyler Dumont were married on April 26, 2024, at Folino Estate Winery in Kutztown.

Matt Nesto ’16, G’21, G’22 and Emily Phifer were married on April 6, 2024. Many Hounds were in attendance.

Michael A. Rossi III G’21 and Cameron Cochran ’21 were married on October 29, 2023.

MEDIA The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) broadcasts its first show, The French Chef with Julia Child.

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MORAVIAN MOMENT An antiwar rally that includes speeches and folk songs draws a crowd of about 300 students on Moravian’s campus.

FALL 2024

10/26

10/22

10/15

10/4

1970

Ian Luberti ’20 and Alexis Peploe ’21 were married on June 15, 2024, at the Club at Twin Lakes in Allentown.

MORAVIAN MOMENT Ground is broken for Jo Smith Hall, the first building constructed on Moravian’s campus since the mid19th century for the specific purpose of housing women students.

MEDIA The comic strip Doonesbury,

by Yale University undergraduate Garry Trudeau, debuts in 28 newspapers.

GREYHOUND ALBUM

Gavin Kemery ’20 and Rachel Mikols ’20 were married on May 3, 2024, at Pen Ryn Estate in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.

Fabiana Popolla ’22 and Brandon Rasimowicz were married on Friday the 13th in October 2023.

The reception was held at the Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset, New Jersey.

From left: Nancy Krause Bowman, Susan White Redfield, Barbara Keller Brimlow, Pam Uhl Boyer, Connie Stirling Hodson, and Judy Henry Jackson reconnected at the 1968 Class Reunion.

MORAVIAN MOMENT Bill Baird, national crusader for the legalization of abortion, speaks in Johnston Hall.

TECHNOLOGY Stanford Research Institute is granted a patent for an “X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System” (the first computer mouse).

12/23

12/10

11/17

11/3

Ross Traphagen ’19 and Megan Bauman Traphagen ’19 welcomed a daughter, Jane Marie, who was born on February 6, 2024.

AGRICULTURE Norman Borlaug of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for having given a well-founded hope—the green revolution.”

FALL 2024

ARCHITECTURE The North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City is “topped out” at 1,368 feet, becoming the tallest building in the world.

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IN MEMORIAM

A Friend to All

I

t is with profound sadness that we bid farewell to our dearest friend, Mo, the loyal and beloved mascot of Moravian University and longtime cherished member of our family. Mo was more than just a mascot—he was a treasured member of the university and Bethlehem community.

The embodiment of the Greyhound spirit, he loved visiting with Moravian students, families, faculty, and staff above all else, along with partaking of grilled chicken and hot dogs!

Mo’s greatest joy was being on campus, relishing the love and attention of two-footed Greyhounds. He proudly embodied the values that make our community so special— friendliness, eagerness, and unfailing loyalty.

Mo Grigsby 2011–2024

Mo was born on March 27, 2011, and in 2012 and 2013, he competed in 46 races at greyhound tracks in Florida before a toe injury necessitated an early retirement. He competed in the 550-yard sprint and had a successful track record, finishing “in the money” in 16 races and with a fastest time of 30.69 seconds. Through the help of Linda Ann’s Greyhound Adoption, which connects retired greyhounds with good homes, Mo joined our family on July 29, 2013.

Mo immediately took to life in Bethlehem, and more specifically life on campus, as he became a celebrity of sorts. A long list of students were at the ready to walk him on the days he was in the office, and he had more than a thousand Facebook friends!

Mo made his theater debut in Dancing with the Lehigh Valley Stars and his national television debut on the Weather Channel when he braved a snowy walk.

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Mo’s greatest joy was being on campus, relishing the love and attention of twofooted Greyhounds.

He proudly embodied the values that make our community so special—friendliness, eagerness, and unfailing loyalty.

For more than a decade, Mo could be found proudly leading the charge at Greyhound football games and parades, walking into the HUB looking for his next treat or birthday bash, or mingling at a university event like an Accepted Students Day to welcome prospective students and their families.

Whether he was sprinting around Makuvek or Steel Field, playfully interacting with young fans, or calmly accepting adoring pats on the head, Mo’s presence was always a highlight. In short, Mo was always the star of the show; we were just along for the ride.

And what a ride it was!

The void left by Mo’s passing will be deeply felt across our campus. His unwavering loyalty, love, and steadfast companionship have left an indelible mark on the Moravian experience. While we mourn the loss of our most cherished hound, we take solace in the countless memories and smiles that Mo gifted us over the years. His legacy will live on in the Greyhound pride that burns brightly in the hearts of all who were fortunate enough to know and be loved by him.

Rest easy, Mo. You will be forever missed, but never forgotten. Once a Greyhound, always a Greyhound. —Bryon and Lea Grigsby, President and First Lady

IN MEMORIAM

1945 DORIS SAVASTIO NORTON July 12, 2024

1967 PAUL GIBSON January 17, 2024

1947 BARBARA S. SCHLEGEL MILLER May 13, 2024

1968 SUSAN MAY RIGO May 10, 2024

1947 CORNELIA FAGA MILLER May 16, 2024

1969 GRACE G. HALKINS May 12, 2024

1950 LOIS BRUNNER BASTIAN June 13, 2024

1970 JOHN JOSEPH MALLOW June 8, 2024

1951 BETSEY LEEDS TAIT PUTH June 3, 2024

1970 RAYMOND CHARLES HOFFELD June 15, 2024

1952 LOIS STOGEL April 7, 2023

1973 GARY L. JOHNSON June 23, 2024

1952 ROSE LOUISE ULLRICH July 1, 2024

1974 RICHARD JOHN SCHAEDLER August 1, 2024

1956 ROBERT “BOB” BRENNAN, DDS July 5, 2024

1976 GARY M. MARTELL June 30, 2024

1956 ANN L. MCCANN June 26, 2024

1979 CRAIG F. WOOD July 3, 2024

1958 REV. HAROLD P. SCANLIN May 19, 2024

1987 SALLY LOU KOLESAR June 14, 2024

1959 DOROTHY CORBETT EBERT April 18, 2024

1989 SCOTT C. MATTES May 28, 2024

1959 GEORGE V. MESAROS October 16, 2022 1963 CAROL H. THOMPSON CLARKE March 4, 2024 1963 PRESTON W. MORITZ June 1, 2024 1963 SHIRLEY A. MCBRIDE July 14, 2024 1966 JOHN M. STAUFFER, MD August 19, 2024

PHOTO BY RYAN HULVAT

FALL 2024

Staff in Memoriam DAVID LEIDICH, director of Payne Gallery June 23, 2024 FRANCES IRISH, professor emerita, biology September 10, 2024 FRED SCHULTHEIS, professor of mathematics September 10, 2024

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HOUNDS OF MORAVIAN

Get to know

Savannah

Tom Turcich ’11 adopted Savannah, a mixed breed, in Austin, Texas, after she was found with her sister on the side of a highway. Savannah joined Turcich on the World Walk, journeying 25,000 miles over six continents (read more on page 10).

1 SUBMIT YOUR DOG’S BIO Who doesn’t think their dog is the pick of the litter? Tell us about your best friend, send us a pic, and he or she just might be featured on this page. Go to mrvn.co/hounds-mu to fill out a submission form and send us a photo—a clear portrait shot of your dog’s face.

64 MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE

What is something Savannah taught you?

Consistency. While out on our adventure, I marveled at how she walked 24 miles every day without fail.

It didn’t matter if she was sore, tired, or had stomachaches, she took each step with her tail held high.

What is the funniest thing she has ever done?

When I was swimming in Costa Rica, I leapt off a great boulder into the water. Savannah, still only a puppy and fearing I would leave her, jumped in after me. It was at least a 12-foot jump!

What is your dog’s favorite toy, food, or activity?

Walking is Savannah’s favorite thing in the world—possibly because she grew up doing nothing else?

FALL 2024

Strong

What one word best describes Savannah?

In what special way have you pampered her?

I did my best to keep a supply of Dentastix [dog dental sticks] on me while we were on the road. It was her favorite treat and our little ritual each night.

If Savannah had a theme song, what would it be?

“Rollin’ Free,” by Johnny Cash

What major would your dog choose as an undergrad or graduate student at Moravian?

She’d pursue a BA in chicken wing crunching.

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