Employee Spotlight: Glen Pierce
By Erin Kriner `10

Sometimes life takes you places you would never expect, and then leads you back to where you started. Glen Pierce grew up in a small Iowa town, and after doing voluntary service in San Francisco, enrolled at Messiah College where he developed leadership skills that helped open doors to an interesting future. He recently returned to Messiah, where he is currently director of the Brethren in Christ Historical Library and Archives and the Archives of Messiah College. As the College’s Centennial celebration approaches, Pierce exemplifies how Messiah becomes a significant part of
an alum’s personal history.

Pierce graduated from Messiah in 1970 with two degrees in Bible and religion. While working towards a master’s degree at Temple University, he served for a year as dean of students for the Messiah College Philadelphia Campus. One of his more memorable experiences was the fall 1971 orientation for incoming Messiah students at the Philadelphia campus. “That weekend, the Black Panthers were holding their national convention in Temple University’s gym, two blocks south of us. A few blocks north of us, several hundred police officers were staged in a National Guard armory. And the Quakers, who were helping to calm the neighborhood, were using Messiah as their base. It was a unique orientation weekend,” recalls Pierce.

After spending a year in Philadelphia, Pierce served 10 years in administrative posts with Brethren in Christ World Missions (then located in Elizabethtown). In 1980, he moved to Nappanee, Indiana, where he became editor-in-chief for the Brethren in Christ Publishing House. After a successful career in publishing, Pierce and his wife, Linda, took a courageous trek to Africa and from 2002 to 2007 worked at the Theological College of Zimbabwe (TCZ).

Pierce’s original TCZ assignment was as vice president of development. But when the college’s board of trustees released Victor Nakah, TCZ’s president, to pursue his doctoral degree, Pierce served as TCZ’s interim president in his absence. “I never expected that I would be a college president,” Pierce said. “But then, I had never expected to serve in Africa either.”

In 2007, Pierce moved back to Grantham and rejoined the College community. The move also put him and his wife closer to Susan, one of their three children, who lives in Carlisle.

As director of the Archives, Pierce is responsible for securing new acquisitions, cataloging and preserving materials, and conducting research. “Although I grew up in the Brethren in Christ Church and studied at Messiah, my time spent in the Archives has enriched my understanding of and appreciation for both the College and the Brethren in Christ Church.”

Obviously, the Archives is playing an important role in Messiah’s yearlong Centennial celebration. While the Archives will have a modest Centennial display, Pierce said that his main task is assisting other departments as they prepare for this significant milestone.

When he isn’t working at Messiah, Pierce enjoys woodworking, photography, and reading. He is still involved with the Theological College in Zimbabwe: helping to coordinate TCZ’s international communications (including a monthly e-mail prayer diary), editing and designing printed materials, and assisting with fundraising.

From his Messiah days as student body president and co-founder of the student-run radio station, WVMM, to his years as editor and his service as interim president of a college in Africa, Pierce has enjoyed his varied opportunities to serve the Lord. “The courses and the interaction with faculty at Messiah strengthened my faith and deepened my knowledge of God and his Word,” he said about the impact of his Messiah education. Now, Pierce will continue his adventures in a new career as archivist as he helps to preserve Messiah College and Brethren in Christ history.