Wilson College will hold its annual Christmas vespers 2019 service at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019 in Thomson Hall's Alumnae Chapel. The public is invited to attend.
The service will feature scripture readings by students, faculty and staff and a brief homily by Wilson's chaplain, the Rev. Derek Wadlington. The service will include scripture readings by students, faculty and staff; songs by the Wilson College Choir; and Christmas carols sung by all. Musical selections will include: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence; O Come, O Come, Emmanuel; In the Bleak Midwinter; What Child Is This?; Angels We Have Heard on High; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!; Joy to the World and Night of Silence/Silent Night.
An offering collected during the service will go to the South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP).
After the service, free refreshments will be served in Sarah’s Coffeehouse on the lower level of Lenfest Commons.
Area residents are invited to take part in Las Posadas-a Mexican Christmas tradition re-enacting the story of Christ's birth-being held Thursday, Dec. 5, on the campus of Wilson College. The celebration will run from 6 to 8 p.m., starting at the Brooks Science Center and ending with a meal in Laird Hall.
In the Mexican culture, Las Posadas re-enacts the Nativity story, following the journey Joseph and Mary made from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of a refuge where Mary could give birth. When they were unable to find lodging in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary sought shelter in a stable, where Jesus was born.
During the Wilson celebration, children will walk on luminary-lighted paths around the campus, seeking "shelter" for their group. They will visit three buildings on campus, with the Wilson College Choir leading the group in traditional Posadas songs as they walk. All participants are invited to take part in an interactive Christmas play that will take place along the walk. A bilingual script will be provided.
The group's search for shelter will end at Laird Hall, where a celebration with prayer, music and authentic Mexican pozole (a traditional pork stew served at Christmas), tamales and appetizers provided by Chambersburg's Veroni Cafe will conclude the celebration. Children will be treated to a piñata after dinner.
Learning Campus, Wilson’s after-school tutoring program for the children of migrant families, is hosting and co-sponsoring the celebration, along with the Wilson College Choir, Spanish Club, Muhibbah Club, Learning Campus Club, Office of Student Development, chaplain’s office and the Office of Marketing and Communications.
Learning Campus sponsored the first Las Posadas re-enactment on the Wilson campus in 2017.
Wilson College recently announced the winners of its 9th annual juried high school student art exhibition, which runs through Dec. 6 in the Bogigian Gallery in Wilson's Lortz Hall.
• First place - Vincent Castillo, a senior at Greencastle-Antrim Senior High School, won a $200 prize for his ceramic stoneware sculpture called Perception of Waste. • Second place – Maximiliano Raulli, a senior at Chambersburg Area Senior High School, won a $100 prize for his crushed paper sculpture, Cherry Blossom. • Third place - Madison Hongell, a senior at Washington County (Md.) Technical High School, won $50 for a digital photograph entitled Twisted Mind. • Honorable Mention – Carisma Dawson, a junior at Greencastle-Antrim High School, for her stoneware piece called Frog Mug. • Honorable Mention – Angel Walker, a senior at Shippensburg Area Senior High School, for her oil-on-canvas painting called Pneuma.
Wilson received 102 submissions of artwork from 43 students in Franklin, Fulton, Adams and Cumberland counties in Pennsylvania and Washington County, Md. Twenty-two entries were chosen for the exhibition.
The art show, which is free an open to the public, is on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in Wilson’s Bogigian Gallery on the second floor of Lortz Hall.
The Wilson College Choir will hold its fall concert, which is free and open to the public, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, in the Thomson Hall chapel.
For the first time, the Wilson Choir will be joined by the Cumberland Valley School of Music's New Horizons Choir to perform sounds of the holiday season, including: a delightful choral arrangement of Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Beautiful Star of Bethlehem by R. Fisher Boyce, Sweet Was the Song by Mark Sedio, John Tavener's breathtaking The Lamb and Molly Ijames' thoughtful arrangement of Christina Rossetti's poem, In the Bleak Midwinter. In addition, featuring student and staff soloists, Dan Forrest's stunning arrangement of The Huron Carol, Christmas Sanctus by Lee Dengler, The Manger Carol by Almon Bock and Auld Lang Syne.
The Wilson College Choir is directed by Elisabeth Turchi and accompanied by Myrna Gowing.
Students in Wilson College Prof. Thomas Armstrong's "Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management" class, as well as students from Penn State Mont Alto Adjunct Prof. Alan Rock's "Small Business Management" course, will pitch their ideas for business startups to a roomful of observers─including a panel of business experts─on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Presentations, which are open to the public and campus community, will be held on the Wilson campus in Laird Hall's Patterson's Board Room from 5 to 8 p.m.
Each student will have no more than three minutes to present their idea to the three-member panel, followed by a two-minute question-and-answer session. At that time, the panel will offer each student feedback on their presentation, minus the financing provided on the television series.
Student business startup ideas range from a Barkbox-style subscription service for owners of pocket pets, designer apparel business for music aficionados and a sports training service for young people to a luxury doggie day camp, a sports club for disabled teenagers and an animal therapy center for people in need.
It was Armstrong's idea to have students pitch their ideas in a low-stakes version of the popular ABC television show Shark Tank, in which financiers─real-life, self-made millionaires and billionaires─listen to and evaluate business startup pitches and then decide whether or not to bankroll the ventures. "This is experiential learning at its best," said Armstrong. "You come up with your idea, you own it and you present it."
Members of the panel who will listen to and evaluate students' business ideas are Kathryn Gratton, SCORE Four-State Chapter Chair; Robin Burtner, Shippensburg University Small Business Development Center interim director; and Malcolm Furman, an analyst with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
A one-night exhibition of original works of art by seven Wilson College students will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, at SpringHill Suites Mariott, 451 Gateway Ave., Chambersburg. The event is part of a quarterly series by SpringHill Suites called the Art of Local, and is free and open to the public.
Wilson students whose artwork will be on display are: Luis Gonzales, Tracey Cavins, Kipp Villeneuve, Daizy Helman, Nicholas Beitzell, Adrianna Broome and Kim Phan.
The exhibiton will feature live local music by Greencastle pianist Rebekah Duvall, local food by The Family Table and local wine samples by Adams County Winery.
For more information, contact Amanda Haupt at 717-263-1300 or SHSDOS@areyamanagement.com, or Philip Lindsey at 717-264-2783 or philip.lindsey@wilson.edu.
Orchesis, the Wilson College dance company, will present its fall performance at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 14, 15 and 16, with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m.. The show, which is open to the public, will be held in the Appenzellar-Buchanan Dance Studio in Davison Hall.
The performance will feature original choreography by Wilson students, faculty and dance alumni in a spectrum of different dance styles─from jazz, tap and modern to lyrical and commercial pop dance. Tickets are available at the door and prices are $10 for general admission; senior citizens and Wilson students with I.D. get in free.
More than 100 nursing students from four different area schools converged on the campus of Wilson College Saturday, Oct. 26, for “Community Simulation Day”─a mass casualty scenario where, with help from local community emergency response crews, students practiced assessing and treating “victims” of a mock shooting.
The day began with speakers in the morning, followed by the simulation in the afternoon. Nursing students from the Wilson, Penn State Mont Alto and HACC's Gettysburg Campus nursing programs and the Franklin County Career and Technology Center’s (FCCTC) Practical Nursing Program formed four groups with assigned roles. Some of the students in each group were assigned specific injuries─including gunshot wounds of different severities, chest pain, dislocated shoulder and lacerations─and the rest acted as healthcare professionals treating the victims.
Local police and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) were on hand to help give students the feel of a real-life mass casualty event.
After the simulation, students evaluated their responses and discussed what they learned from the exercise. Their objectives included: learning to evaluate injuries, prioritize care and triage the patients while maintaining a safe environment and ensuring clear, effective communication.
Amanda Seese, a HACC nursing student who was one of the group leaders, said the exercise was valuable in giving students hands-on training for a real disaster. “I do think this was a great clinical day,” Seese said. “And it was nice to work with other colleges and people we’re not used to working with.”
Miranda Rhodes, a Penn State Mont Alto nursing student, found the opportunity to work with students at other schools especially helpful. “As much as the topic of the simulation is really important, because active shootings are something we have to deal with now, I think the fact that we got to do this with other schools is equally important,” said Rhodes, who was a group leader. “If you’re in a mass casualty situation, you’re not going to know everybody that you’re working with.”
Kelli Ellerman, an FCCTC LPN student and a group leader, said the simulation was worthwhile because it forced those participating to use critical thinking and judgement skills. “I thought it was a good learning experience,” she said. “You have to think on your feet when you go out there. There’s no one holding your hand.”
Wilson Chief Nursing Officer Julie Beck came up with the idea for the simulation, which has been planned for more than a year. “This is an exciting day because this has never been done before,” Beck said. “For the first time we are having a collaborative simulation being performed at Wilson College using the varied educational backgrounds of all nursing students in the area coming together.”
The nursing programs that participated in the simulation provide different levels of education. Wilson and Penn State Mont Alto offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing, HACC has an associate degree program in nursing and FCCTC trains LPNs (licensed practical nurses). Because graduates of the programs will function at different levels in the real world, Beck believes it’s important to bring them together for an exercise like the simulation.
“Many times there is this idea of almost like a caste system in nursing,” she said. “I feel strongly that if these students are going to be graduating from our local programs, it’s really important for them to get to know each other before they’re actually at the bedside. Everyone should learn what we do in a situation like this, no matter what their program.”
Students said they appreciated the chance to work with counterparts at other schools. “I think it made it more realistic,” said Sarah Gipe, a senior in Wilson’s nursing program and one of the group leaders.
“We all will work together at some point,” said Tara Harmon, another Wilson nursing student and team leader. “We got to work with LPN students and see what they do, and they got to see what we do. We all bring something to the table.”
The day began in the morning with breakfast and registration in Wilson’s Laird Hall, followed by educational sessions and speakers. Topics included the nation’s opioid crisis, how to manage an active shooter and an overview of a national program called “Stop the Bleed.” Students also were introduced to a method of triaging patients called SALT, which they later used during the simulation. SALT stands for sort, assess, lifesaving interventions and treatment/transport.
The simulation was purposely low-key because it was the first time a mock disaster collaboration had been tried. Nursing officials plan to hold future simulations at the participating schools on a rotating basis.
Wilson’s accredited nursing program was launched in fall 2014 with bachelor and master of science degree programs for existing registered nurses (RN-to-BSN and RN-to-MSN), with the subsequent addition of bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing and a bachelor’s program for LPNs. Nursing has quickly become the college’s most-enrolled field of study.
Penn State Mont Alto’s nursing program─part of Penn State’s College of Nursing─was accredited in 1991, at that time as an associate degree. Today, the campus offers two nursing degrees: a bachelor’s degree and an RN-to-BSN.
HACC’s Gettysburg Campus has offered an associate degree in nursing since 2004, graduating 629 RNs and 95 LPNs since that time. HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, has five campus locations, including Gettysburg, and is the largest of Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges.
The FCCTC Practical Nursing Program, which opened in September 1958, is an accredited, one-year, full-time program. Two classes are enrolled each year beginning in either March or August.
Wilson College today announced the appointment of Dr. Wesley R. Fugate as the 20th president in the 150-year history of the college. Fugate, who will officially assume the Wilson presidency in January 2020, currently serves as vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va. He will succeed Barbara K. Mistick, who left the post in August 2019 to become president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) in Washington, D.C. A. Richard Kneedler has served as interim president while the Wilson College Board of Trustees, with the assistance of Academic Search Inc., conducted a national search for Mistick’s successor. In making the announcement today to Wilson faculty, staff, alumni and students, Dr. Barbara L. Tenney, Wilson Class of 1967 and chair of the college’s Board of Trustees, said, “Dr. Fugate’s multi-disciplined experience in higher education, as well as his passion for small, private liberal arts institutions, makes him the perfect candidate for Wilson’s presidency. He has an infectious energy and commitment to the student experience that will serve our college well. I look forward to working with Dr. Fugate as Wilson College continues to evolve to meet the needs of our future students.” Over the course of his career, Fugate has worked extensively in enrollment management and student affairs; supported the work of college boards of trustees; and led successful communications and marketing efforts–specifically at Randolph College and the University of Georgia. He has also held several key leadership roles focusing on strategy and policy while working for the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Office of the Governor. As president of Wilson College, Fugate will be responsible for unifying the campus with a focus on enhancing the student experience and success in later life, managing enrollment, providing financial stewardship, fundraising, cultivating the alumni base, and building and enhancing relationships and partnerships in the local community. “I am humbled and honored to be selected to lead Wilson College into its next 150 years,” Fugate said. “While Wilson’s commitment to opportunity, honor and providing a high-quality liberal arts education are what drew me to consider this position, ultimately getting to know the people of Wilson helped me to fall in love with the institution. Wilson has a remarkable history and I am excited about collaborating with students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees and friends of the college to chart a path for its future success.” Fugate earned a doctor of philosophy in higher education from the Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia, in 2012; a master’s degree in higher education administration with an emphasis in institutional advancement in 2005 from the Peabody College at Vanderbilt University; and a bachelor’s degree in dramatic arts and economics in 2002 from Centre College in Danville, Ky. In addition, Fugate has served as guest lecturer at Lynchburg College, Randolph College and the University of Georgia, as well as presented at numerous higher education professional conferences and consulted on higher education structure and policy. His many awards and accolades are testimony to his distinguished service within the higher education industry, as well as in community engagement initiatives. The Wilson College Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Oct. 19 to appoint Fugate president of the college. Fugate was selected from a pool of more than 100 highly qualified candidates after an extensive national search. Tenney commended Kneedler’s leadership during this time of transition. “Dr. Kneedler has done a great job leading the College in the interim, continuing the tremendous momentum begun by Dr. Barbara Mistick,” said Tenney. “It was critically important to the trustees that we not lose any ground on our current, successful strategic initiatives during the search process.” Tenney also extended thanks to the presidential search committee, chaired by Trustee Robin J. Bernstein. Both Tenney and Kneedler will work together to ensure a smooth transition to Fugate. “Under Robin’s leadership and with the guidance of Academic Search, a diverse mix of trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni worked diligently to screen and interview candidates, then ultimately recommend Dr. Fugate to the Board of Trustees, “ said Tenney. “On behalf of the full board, I want to personally thank these individuals for taking this responsibility seriously and dedicating their time, guaranteeing the right candidate was selected as the next leader of Wilson College.” Mistick announced her resignation in April. The search process began soon after with the Board of Trustees appointing an ad hoc subcommittee to oversee the selection of a national search firm. Once Academic Search was hired, a search committee was established. Fugate will relocate from Lynchburg to Chambersburg with his husband, Cody Ward, in early January. Founded in 1869, Wilson College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Chambersburg, Pa., that offers bachelor’s degrees in 35 majors and graduate degrees in education, healthcare, nursing, business and the arts and humanities. Wilson is committed to providing an affordable education that offers value to its students beyond graduation. Wilson has a fall 2019 enrollment of 1,620 students in all programs. Visit wilson.edu for more information.
Media Advisory: Fugate is available for 10-minute interviews today (Oct. 28, 2019) from 11-11:45 a.m. and 3-3:45 p.m. To schedule an interview, contact Cathy Mentzer, 717-262-2604. Detailed background and biographical information about Fugate can be found at Wilson.edu/new-president.
Wilson College threw itself a birthday bash over the weekend that included a host of homecoming activities, a ribbon-cutting for a new veterinary education center, the naming of an outdoor space for a former president and the coup de grâce─a formal gala featuring a performance by a world-renowned children’s orchestra.
Wilson is celebrating its Sesquicentennial─the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1869 and opening in 1870─over a 15-month period that began in March with a celebration of the college’s Charter Day.
On Friday, Oct. 18, the college hosted its annual “BBQ and Brew” under a tent on the quad. Wilson’s Homecoming and Family Weekend also featured a number of exhibits and presentations, as well as building tours and several athletics contests that involved alumni and current students. One game featuring the “Invincibles” vs. the “Defenders” re-enacted an 1895 women’s basketball contest.
“It was a grand celebration of all that is Wilson, including our 150th birthday,” said A. Richard Kneedler, Wilson College interim president. “Wilson has a long tradition of helping students find their voice and becoming empowered as leaders. This weekend was about celebrating how Wilson makes a difference in the lives of each and every student, faculty and staff member, and alumna and alumnus. There is something truly special about this fine institution.”
The gala, which nearly 300 guests attended, was held Saturday evening in Laird Hall. Wilson friends, alumni, students, and current and former faculty and staff attended in black-tie attire, as well as several representatives from the Chambersburg Borough Council, Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce, Franklin County Area Development Corp. and Franklin County Visitors Bureau.
Barbara K. Mistick, who served as Wilson’s president from 2011 through September of this year, also returned for the gala. Earlier in the day, Mistick was recognized for her service to the college when the academic quad she envisioned and directed during her tenure was renamed the Mistick Quad.
“It was gratifying to recognize one of Wilson’s most dynamic and impactful presidents in recent memory, Barbara Mistick,” said Dr. Barbara Tenney, a Wilson alumna and president of the Board of Trustees. “Overall, the weekend reflected a renewed vigor and enthusiasm at a college on the rise. I want to personally thank everyone who made our celebration such a great success.”
The Children’s Orchestra Society, a New York City-based group of orchestras, chamber groups and ensembles for musically talented children and teens, sent an 18-member Elite String Ensemble (ESE) to provide musical entertainment for the evening. After dinner, the ensemble performed several selections, including the 3rd Movement of Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.”
COS Executive Director Yeou-Cheng Ma─whose father, Dr. Hiao Tsiun Ma, founded the nonprofit organization for musically talented children and teens in 1962─attended with her husband, Michael Dadap, the orchestra’s artistic director. Like her brother, acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma was herself a child prodigy─on the violin─and later became a pediatrician. Wilson honored her during the gala with an honorary Doctor of Humanities. Ma and her husband, a guitarist, also performed together.
Another highlight of the weekend was a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, officially marking the opening of Wilson’s new, $3 million veterinary education center. The new center has been named the Breakefield Veterinary Education Center in recognition of Wilson graduate Susan Breakefield Fulton, who contributed $975,000 to the project─including a $500,000 lead gift in 2016─and her sisters and fellow Wilson alumnae, Xandra Breakefield and Beverly Breakefield.
Fulton, a Wilson trustee emerita, businesswoman and philanthropist from the Class of 1961, took part in the ribbon-cutting, as did Margaret Hamilton Duprey, a Wilson Trustee who contributed $1 million to the new veterinary center, where the interior and programmatic activity will be known as The Margaret Hamilton Duprey Center for Veterinary Excellence. A lifelong horsewoman, Duprey contributed $500,000 to Wilson in 2015 to establish an innovative home healthcare nursing program for horses called Equi-Assist®.
The 9,000-square-foot veterinary center, which has been open since the start of classes in August, replaces the smaller, outdated Helen M. Beach ’24 veterinary facility, which has been razed to make room for additional campus parking.
The veterinary center is a hub for students in the college’s VMT program—the only four-year bachelor’s degree program of its kind in Pennsylvania and only one of 22 such programs in the nation. After nursing, VMT is the most popular major at Wilson. This year, 69 students have declared VMT as their major and another 95 students intend to major in it. Forty-five pre-veterinary students are also enrolled at Wilson.
Other officials who participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony include Wilson Interim President A. Richard Kneedler, Board of Trustees Chair Barbara Tenney, Trustee James Orsini, Vice President for Academic Affairs Elissa Heil and Professor and Director of VMT Freya Burnett.
A number of events were held on campus for the families of Wilson students during the weekend, including tours, talks and a family dinner Saturday evening in the dining hall. The weekend celebration concluded with a service on Sunday at Rocky Spring Presbyterian Church, which Wilson namesake Sarah Wilson and her family attended for many years in the 1800s. The service was officiated by the Rev. Derek Wadlington, Wilson’s Helen Carnell Eden Chaplain.
