Climenhaga Homestead & McBeth Alumni Center
- Restoration of the historic Climenhaga Homestead to provide four guest rooms, several meeting spaces, and a dining facility for small groups.
- Construction of the McBeth Alumni Center, attached to the Homestead, to house the alumni offices, alumni welcome center, and additional meeting space.
- Expansion of outdoor landscaping to provide several locations for outdoor receptions of various sizes and The Heritage Plaza, a commemorative area designed to honor a century of alumni tributes and memories.
In the 1920s, Asa and Anna Climenhaga built their on campus homestead in part to become better connected to the campus and its students. Asa Climenhaga, our first dean, and his wife, Anna, a Latin teacher, were known for opening their home to countless relatives, students, and guests of the College. It is a fitting tribute to the Climenhagas to preserve this stately homestead as a steady reminder of their Christian hospitality and their service to Messiah College for more than half a century.
Due to a generous gift from their children, the new McBeth Alumni Center is named in honor of David '52 and Lois (Hostetler '51) McBeth. During David's tenure as a college administrator from 1964 - 1982, he initiated several alumni services including -- establishing the first alumni office, coordinating Homecoming programming for 18 years, initiating
The Bridge magazine, and convening the first alumni advisory council. In addition, David and Lois' four children are all Messiah College alumni.
- Preserving the Past
- As Messiah College has advanced its mission, the campus has expanded to meet the demands for educating a growing student body. For alumni, however, there is an essential need to retain that which is familiar and to preserve the past. The Climenhaga Homestead, in addition to Old Main, is one of our few remaining historic buildings.
- Celebrating Ninety Years of Messiah's Mission: Christ Preeminent
- This project is also about building and preserving a legacy of memories and testimonies about how the Lord has used Messiah College to impact lives. The homestead and the alumni center is a repository for alumni archival material and will also offer The Heritage Plaza. In this way, Messiah's mission will be preserved for future generations of students, employees, alumni and College guests.
- Serving Alumni in New Ways
- The new McBeth Alumni Center is a premier facility with a special emphasis on serving alumni. For alumni, it provides a welcome center, a one-stop-information and resource center, and a facility to accommodate and host various alumni gatherings.
- Mobilizing Alumni Support to Advance Messiah College
- As a new millennium dawns, Messiah College's ability to advance its mission in the face of new challenges will rely heavily on the increasing participation and involvement of its alumni. The Alumni Center provides a necessary facility for better engaging an emerging alumni population of more than 15,000 members.
- Provides Critically Needed Space
- The alumni center provides an opportunity to finally bring together our alumni staff into a more efficient work environment, as well as alleviate cramped office space for two other departments.
Mr. Jay McClymont '92, Director of Alumni Relations
(717) 796-5252
E-mail: jmcclymont@messiah.edu
Dr. & Mrs. Robert '42 & '50 and Marilyn (UA)'51 Smith co-chairs,
Climenhaga Homestead and McBeth Alumni Center steering committee.
