Welcome to Eastern Mennonite University Welcome to the learning community at Eastern Mennonite University! I believe that your time among us will be a time of significant academic, spiritual and social growth. You will grow academically through challenging classes with engaged profes- sors, participating in cross-cultural experiences, and through your interactions with fellow learners. Our faculty and staff will challenge you to take seriously the theme of our Global Village curriculum: do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). You will grow in knowledge, attitudes and skills as you meet people from different cultures and with unique life experiences. Your conversations with them about diverse issues will strengthen your own beliefs even as you dialog with those who hold different perspectives. You will make new friends, prepare for a future career and adopt a personal lifestyle as you launch out on your own away from your family. Through many activities, we will help you explore your inmost yearnings along with God’s call to serve humankind. These years at EMU will literally influence you for a lifetime! We invite God to be present among us as we journey together. Sincerely, Loren E. Swartzendruber Introduction • 1 Undergraduate Catalog Notice of Nondiscriminatory 2008-09 Policy as to Students Eastern Mennonite University does not Eastern Mennonite discriminate on the basis of gender, Table of University race, color, age, handicap, national or ethnic origin in administration of its Contents 1200 Park Road employment and educational policies, Harrisonburg, VA 22802-2462 admissions policies, scholarship and Phone: (540) 432-4000 loan programs and athletic and other 2008-09 Calendar ................ 4 Fax: (540) 432-4444 school-administered programs. EMU’s Introduction ..................... 5 E-mail: [email protected] designated coordinator for matters relat- Campus Map ................... 10 Web site: www.emu.edu ed to nondiscrimination is Dr. Beryl Academic & Degree Information .. 12 H. Brubaker, provost office, telephone: (540) 432-4105. Global Village Curriculum ........ 23 .............. 32 Family Educational Rights Bible and Religion The information in this Undergraduate and Privacy Act Biology ........................ 46 Catalog applies to the academic year Eastern Mennonite University annu- Business and Economics ........ 57 2008-09. The university reserves the ally informs students of the Family right to change programs of study, aca- Chemistry ..................... 68 Educational Rights and Privacy Act of demic requirements, the announced Education ...................... 73 1974. This act, with which the insti- university calendar and other matters tution intends to comply fully, was History ........................ 88 described herein without prior notice, in designed to protect the privacy of edu- Justice, Peace & Conflict Studies . 96 accordance with established procedures. cation records, to establish the right This Undergraduate Catalog is descrip- Language and Literature ........ 101 of students to inspect and review their tive and is not to be construed as a legal Liberal Arts ................... 110 education records, and to provide guide- contract. lines for the correction of inaccurate Mathematical Sciences ......... 112 or misleading data through informal Music ........................120 Acknowledgements and formal hearings. Students also have Nursing .......................128 Editor: Marie S. Morris the right to file complaints with the Physical Education & Recreation . 134 Managing editor: Amy Springer Family Educational Rights and Privacy Project coordinator: Lindsey Roeschley Act Office (FERPA) concerning alleged Psychology ...................144 Cover: Jon Michael Eberly failures by the institution to comply Sociology and Social Work ......148 Printer: Action Printing, with the act. This policy is printed in Theater ....................... 157 Fond Du Lac, WI the EMU student handbook. Questions Visual and Communication Arts .. 163 concerning the Family Educational Special Programs ..............175 Rights and Privacy Act may be referred to the university registrar’s office. Graduate Programs ............189 The Baccalaureate Degree Academic Support .............192 The baccalaureate degree at Eastern Admissions ...................195 Mennonite University assumes an abil- Student Life ...................201 ity to think logically, act rationally and Student Activities & Organizations 206 perform creatively. It reflects sustained study in the arts and sciences. The Tuition and Fees ...............209 bearer of the degree will have completed Financial Assistance ........... 211 an academic major in a discipline or a Administration and Faculty ...... 214 defined course of study at the post-sec- Index .........................227 ondary level. Historical Sketch 2 • Introduction Introduction • 3 2008-09 Calendar Introduction Fall Semester August 13-14 Faculty/Staff Conference 23-25 New Student Orientation 25 Final Fall Registration 26 FALL SEMESTER CLASSES BEGIN 8:00 a.m. 27 Fall Semester Convocation 10:00 a.m. October 10-12 Homecoming and Parents Weekend Historical Sketch regional accreditation by the Southern 17 Mid-Semester Recess Begins 5:30 p.m. The year 1917 was a year of revo- Association of Colleges and Schools was 22 Classes Resume 8:00 a.m. lution and war—revolution in Russia achieved in 1959. November 25 Thanksgiving Recess Begins 5:05 p.m. and, for Americans, first-hand encoun- By 1965 a graduate theological December 1 Classes Resume 8:00 a.m. ter with modern warfare as the U.S. school had evolved. Eastern Mennonite 8 Last Day of Classes entered World War I. It seems, in ret- Seminary, which seeks to prepare per- sons for Christian ministry—especially 5 Fall Graduates Reception 7:30 p.m. rospect, an inauspicious time for pacifist in the local congregation—offers an 9 Final Exams Begin 8:00 a.m. Mennonites who abhor war and revolu- intensive, well-rounded program of bib- 12 Final Exams End 12:40 p.m. tion to be launching a new educational venture. But the people of God respond lical, theological, historical and practi- to a time clock governed by faith. cal studies. Spring Semester Therefore, the humble beginning of During the early 1960s, the univer- Eastern Mennonite University in the sity instituted a unique interdisciplin- January 4 New Student Registration peaceful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia ary core curriculum, Christianity and 5 SPRING SEMESTER CLASSES BEGIN 8:00 a.m. provides a moving counterpoint to a year Civilization. That program has evolved 7 Spring Semester Convocation 10:00 a.m. of rapine and violence seldom matched into a core curriculum entitled the February 27 Mid-Semester Recess Begins 5:30 p.m. in the annals of human history. Global Village Curriculum which is not March 9 Classes Resume 8:00 a.m. Eastern Mennonite School, as it was only interdisciplinary but also cross-cul- April 9 Easter Recess Begins 5:05 p.m. first called, began as a Bible academy tural in its focus. 14 Classes Resume 8:00 a.m. and is now a fully accredited univer- The first graduate program (other than seminary)—counseling—began in 20 Last Day of Classes sity with over 1,400 students in the 1993. It was followed by two others in 21 Final Exams Begin 8:00 a.m. undergraduate, seminary and graduate the next two years—conflict transfor- 24 Final Exams End 12:40 p.m. programs. EMU was founded to provide a setting for young men and women mation and education. An adult degree 25 Baccalaureate 7:00 p.m. of the Mennonite Church to deepen completion program was established 26 Ninety-first Annual Commencement 1:00 p.m. their biblical faith, study the liberal in 1994. A distinctive MBA program arts and gain specific skills in a variety began in the fall of 1999. The school’s name was changed from Summer Session 2009 of professions. That tri-part objective has remained “college and seminary” to “university” May 4-22 First Term central to the purpose of the university, in August 1994. May 26 – June 12 Second Term and its history is the story of an ever- Biblical studies, liberal arts, gradu- broadening curriculum and program. ate programs and professional train- In 1930 the university was accredited ing—EMU is still evolving, but its roots by the Virginia Board of Education as reach deep into Mennonite heritage a junior college. Seventeen years later, which takes history seriously and reveres in 1947, a four-year degree program was humble service guided by faith and approved by the state of Virginia, and knowledge. 4 • Introduction Introduction • 5 Philosophy based liberal arts curriculum that fea- Vision, Mission, Values Accreditation The educational task of Eastern tures knowledge in a particular field and Statement Eastern Mennonite University is accred- Mennonite University is rooted in the significant experience in a cross-cultural ited by the Commission on Colleges of Christian faith and its scriptures as they setting, undergraduate students deepen the Southern Association of Colleges have been interpreted and lived out in a their understanding of the human con- Our Vision and Schools to award associate, bac- unique 476-year Anabaptist-Mennonite dition and commitment to Christian EMU envisions a learning community calaureate and masters degrees. Contact tradition. This tradition embraces God’s service. Specialized graduate programs marked by academic excellence, cre- the Commission on Colleges at 1866 gift of reconciliation through the cross that express EMU’s particular strengths ative