August 29, 2005
The Melva Kauffman Memorial Lecture
Series at Hesston College will feature Don C. Holsinger Wednesday
through Friday, September 7-9.
Holsinger, a friend of the Kauffman
family, will be the first speaker in the lecture series, planned as
an annual event. A professor of history at Seattle (Wash.) Pacific
University, he has taught Middle Eastern, African, and global history
at the university since 1990.
The theme for his presentations
on the Hesston campus is "Abraham's Triple Heritage: Foundation
Stones for Middle East Peace."
Holsinger will be featured in
chapel Wednesday, Sept. 7, on the topic "Abraham's Triple Heritage"
and Friday, Sept. 9 on the topic "Recovering the Abrahamic Vision:
An Anabaptist View." Chapel begins at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary
of Hesston Mennonite Church.
Thursday evening, Sept. 8, Holsinger
will present a lecture titled "Islam and the West: Clash, Co-existence,
or Convergence." The lecture begins at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary
of Hesston Mennonite Church.
The Wednesday and Friday morning
chapels and the Thursday evening lecture are open to the public.
Born in Puerto Rico, Holsinger
grew up in Hesston and attended Hesston Academy. A 1966 graduate of
Hesston High School, he graduated from Bethel College (North Newton,
Kan. ) in 1970. He holds a doctoral degree in African and Middle Eastern
history from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. Prior to his
present role at Seattle Pacific, Holsinger taught 10 years at George
Mason University, Fairfax, Va.
Holsinger and his wife, Ruth Friesen,
spent three years teaching in Algeria with Mennonite Central Committee.
He has published articles on the topics of Middle East studies, African
studies, and history pedagogy.
A member of Seattle Mennonite
Church, Holsinger participated in a Christian Peacemaker Team Delegation
to Israel/Palestine during the summer of 2000.
Melva Kauffman, a professor of
English and education at Hesston College from 1944-77, was a 1936
graduate of Hesston Academy and a 1939 graduate of Hesston College.
Kauffman established an endowed
scholarship in her name at Hesston College "because of her love
for students and the many meaningful years of teaching," said
Phyllis Weaver, a Hesston College development officer who kept in
contact with Kauffman after her retirement in 1978.
Following Kauffman's death on
October 7, 2003, Weaver said the family decided to establish the lecture
series "so she would make an impact on more students than the
few who received scholarships each year." Weaver worked with
the family to design an annual lecture series that would continue
Kauffman's lifelong interests in learning and the humanities. "All
students, along with faculty and staff, will benefit from her generosity,"
Weaver noted.
For more information, contact
Kevin Wilder, 620-327-8237, e-mail kevinw@hesston.edu, or Phyllis
Weaver, 620-327-8113, e-mail phyllisw@hesston.edu.