A season of thank you and farewell
After two decades of service, a grateful Messiah community celebrates the lasting impact of retiring President Kim S. Phipps
The average tenure of a college president in the U.S. is 5.9 years, according to the American Council on Education. But, as the Messiah community knows, Kim Phipps is anything but average.
After serving for 20 years as Messiah’s president, Phipps announced in June 2024 that she would be retiring at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. This spring, students, trustees, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, parents and community friends gathered at numerous events to recognize and say thank you to President Phipps and First Gentleman Kelly Phipps for their 25+ years of service and their lasting impact on the Messiah community. The Bridge shares some of our favorite photos from Messiah’s retirement celebrations for President Phipps (or “KP” as she’s better known to two decades of students!).
President Phipps said goodbye to the Messiah community in June with a farewell letter and video message.
High Center Keynote
Bestselling author David Brooks brings the High Center keynote full circle
When the Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts first opened in 2013, then-President Kim Phipps (above left) selected New York Times columnist and bestselling author David Brooks (above right) as the High Center’s inaugural keynote lecture. Twelve years later, David Brooks agreed to return to “book-end” the first and last High Center season keynote of Phipps’ presidency. Brooks spoke to the sold-out audience on reflections from his most recent bestseller, “How to Know a Person.”