EMU Names New Provost
A 1979 honors graduate of Eastern Mennonite University will return to his alma mater as the new provost.
EMU President Loren Swartzendruber announced that Fred Kniss, currently of Chicago, Ill., will assume the second highest administrative post at the university on July 1, 2009.
The provost gives overall guidance to the undergraduate and graduate academic programs of the university as well as Eastern Mennonite Seminary, various auxiliary programs and the Adult Degree Completion Program.
“We are pleased that a person of Dr. Kniss’ experience is prepared to join the team at EMU,” Dr. Swartzendruber said. “He has demonstrated a long commitment to Christian higher education and to scholarship in our kind of context.”
Kniss is chair of the department of sociology at Loyola University, Chicago, where he has been a faculty member since 1991. During his tenure he was interim dean of The Graduate School at Loyola, 2004-05, and graduate program director the sociology department, 2000-04.
“EMU is well-positioned to face the challenges and opportunities that confront higher education,” said Dr. Kniss. “We have a clear and attractive mission, with smart, innovative faculty and staff who are not afraid to try new ideas and programs. I look forward to working with faculty, staff and students to build a dynamic community of learning, rooted in Anabaptist values, training the next generation of global citizens to serve and lead,” he added.
Kniss was a double major in sociology and philosophy and religion at EMU. Following five years of service in Kenya, he went on to earn MA and PhD degrees in sociology from the University of Chicago.
His professional activities and associations include: chair-elect, American Sociological Association Section on Sociology of Religion; Association for the Sociology of Religion; and chair, publications committee, Association for the Sociology of Religion. He is a member of the editorial board of the “Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion” and has been associate book review editor and associate editor of the “American Journal of Sociology.”
Kniss is a member of the American Sociological Association, Midwest Sociology Society, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association.
He is married to Rosalyn Myers Kniss, associate administrator of clinical laboratories at the University of Chicago Medical Center and a member of the EMU class of 1977. They have two children – Michael, a 2006 EMU graduate, and Stephen, an EMU sophomore. They are members of Chicago Community Mennonite Church.
EMU Appoints Jantzi Interim Dean
Vernon E. Jantzi does not stay retired long. The professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern Mennonite University is serving part time this year as coordinator of a feasibility study for the proposed Center for the Study of Abrahamic Traditions at EMU. The Center would provide a setting where practitioners and scholars belonging to the three Abrahamic faith traditions – Judaism, Islam and Christianity – could collaborate in research, training, learning and relations that further peace, just development, security and wholeness in North America and in the rest of the world.
Beginning July 1, 2009, Dr. Jantzi will serve as interim vice president and undergraduate academic dean for the 2009-2010 year at EMU. He succeeds Dr. Marie S. Morris, who is completing her ninth year in the position.
The appointment was announced by Dr. Lee F. Snyder, interim EMU provost.
“Many know Vernon Jantzi as an accomplished faculty leader, an esteemed professor, scholar and servant of the church with extensive international involvements,” Dr. Snyder said. “We’re pleased that he is available to take on this transitional role.”
Jantzi’s administrative and academic experience include serving seven years as director of EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding; two years as chair of the General Education and Curriculum Development committee and chair of the curriculum review committee for one of the Southeren Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) re-accreditation self-studies.
His international involvements include serving as director of Cornell University’s program on worker-owned and managed enterprises in collaboration with the Instituto Tecnologico de Cartago, Costa Rica and serving in Nicaragua for three years as director of the ALFALIT national adult literacy program. In New Zealand, Jantzi assisted in the founding of peace centers at two universities. He also serves on the bi-national board and executive committee of Mennonite Central Committee.
AMBS Interim President Announced
The appointment of George R. Brunk, III, as interim president for Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary was announced by Ray Friesen, chairperson of the AMBS board, on Feb. 19. Brunk will begin his assignment on July 19 and serve until a new president begins, a tenure Friesen anticipates will be six to twelve months.
Brunk was vice president and academic dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Va., from 1979 to 1999, after serving as acting dean for two years. He continues as professor of New Testament at EMS and has taught occasional courses at AMBS. In addition, he has served in numerous leadership positions in the Mennonite Church over the last 30 years. He holds a Doctor of Theology degree from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from EMS. He was ordained to Christian ministry in the Virginia Conference in 1964.
“The board is pleased to have George Brunk join the administrative team at AMBS,” Friesen said. “We believe this early announcement and the unique gifts Brunk has will bring a sense of stability for the seminary community, donors and constituency through this time of transition while we also manage the effects of the economic downturn. We ask the church to pray for the seminary and its leadership team during this time.”
Brunk said, “I am honored by this appointment as interim president of AMBS. The seminary is a leading educational institution for church leadership formation in the Mennonite tradition. My hope is that my acceptance of this role will symbolize the common mission we share between our Mennonite Church USA seminaries, as well as among all Mennonite educational institutions. AMBS is on a good course, and I am committed to hold and strengthen that course during this transitional time.”
Brunk is married to Ruthann Miller Brunk and has two adult children.
J. Nelson Kraybill, president of AMBS since 1997, announced his resignation in September. He will end his assignment at AMBS in July and will pursue other ministry opportunities.
A search committee is seeking a new long-term president for AMBS, to begin sometime in early 2010.
In reflecting on the interim appointment, Jantzi said, “EMU has fostered a lot of creativity in recent years. I’m looking forward to helping us move forward in that spirit amid the stress of current economic realities.”
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.