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MORNINGSIDE AVENUES
2022 commencement marks historic moments
President Emeritus John Reynders
Craig Struve '70 One hundred ninety-six undergraduate students and 241 graduate students graduated from Morningside University on Saturday, May 14, at the commencement ceremony held at Elwood Olsen Stadium.
Morningside’s 2022 commencement marked the final ceremony for John Reynders, who retired in June 2022 as the longest serving president in Morningside’s history. Reynders and Craig Struve ‘70, former chair of the Morningside University Board of Directors, received honorary degrees in recognition of their years of service and generosity to the university. Reynders was also named the first president emeritus in Morningside history.
Morningside Choir Honored
The Morningside Choir was selected to perform at the Iowa Choral Directors Association (ICDA) Choral Showcase this past April.
The choir represented the college/university division and was the only university choir in the state chosen for the prestigious showcase that includes top choirs from throughout Iowa. The Morningside Choir is an auditioned choral ensemble recognized for its excellence in regional, national, and international choral performance. The choir performs a wide array of choral repertoire and is open to all Morningside students regardless of major. The Morningside Choir performs multiple concerts each semester, including the annual production of Christmas at Morningside and a regional tour in the spring.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced in April that Morningside University has received a $142,797 Humanities Connections Implementation Grant to support a three-year project that will implement an agricultural humanities minor at the University.
“Receiving an NEH grant is a great honor and certainly reflects the quality of faculty, students, and the great work being done within the humanities and the Regina Roth Applied Agricultural and Food Studies departments,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs Chris Spicer. “Morningside faculty do a great job of partnering across disciplines to create innovative programming. I look forward to seeing this evolve.”
English professor and humanities department head Dr. Leslie Werden serves as the project director for the grant. Werden is excited to begin the work the grant will fund.
“We are excited to showcase the interdisciplinary nature of humanities courses, starting with our connection to applied ag and food studies,” noted Dr. Werden. “We already have connecting courses like ‘Religion and Food’ and ‘Literature, Writing, and Empathy.’ We will add courses like ‘The Land Ethic’ as well as ‘Integrative Communications for Humanities and Agriculture.’”
Next steps for the grant include resource review and project development, followed by faculty workshops and integrating admissions and potential community partners into the planning.
The team who completed the work on the grant proposal included Werden; Dr. Elizabeth Coody, assistant professor of religious studies; Dr. Brandon Boesch, assistant professor of philosophy; Dr. Jen Peterson, assistant professor of English; and Dr. Tom Paulsen, professor of applied agriculture and food studies.
