About

The Marpeck Fund Mission and Objectives

This trust to be known as “The Marpeck Fund”—recognizing Pilgrim Marpeck as a 16th century Anabaptist leader who was eager for dialogue among those of diverse but kindred faith.

Mission

To strengthen cooperation among the Mennonite institutions of Higher Education in the U.S. and Canada, by sharing of faculty resources, and joint programming through enhancing motivation and fellowship among student and faculty on our Mennonite campuses. Not the least – to undergird the bonds of the shared faith community.

Vision

Financial support for inter-campus academic enrichment programs, with a preference for teaching and study-related programs. The programs should place in high regard the sharing of people resources and in programs oriented to peacemaking, international service, and other church-related ministries. The funds are not to be distributed for individual campus programs but rather for inter-campus programs.

The idea grows out of a sense that General Conference institutions of higher education need to enhance their awareness and appreciation for the resources of sister institutions. Faculties and students need to know each other better. Reciprocal relationships of receiving and sharing need to be encouraged. The focus of this sharing will be on core values in the academic quest: centrality of Christ and the believers’ church, Anabaptist-shaped faith perspectives, interdisciplinary wholeness, the bonding between theory and praxis, concerns for peacemaking and the global community and a commitment to preparing students for service careers, with particular attention to the ministries of the church.

Membership

The Mennonite colleges and seminaries participating in the allocation of the Marpeck Funds are ones affiliated with Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada. The original participants were Bethel College, Bluffton College, Freeman Junior College, AMBS, Conrad Grebel College and Mennonite Bible College (Winnipeg) of the General Conference Mennonite Church. In 2002 at the origin of MCUSA, with the Kreider families approval, the deans voted to invite Eastern Mennonite University, Goshen College and Hesston College to the committee.

Liaison

Liaison between Kreider family and Marpeck Fund: Bethel’s VPAA/Academic Dean

Primary responsibilities of Marpeck Fund Liaison

  1. Communicate as needed with Robert Kreider family designee.
  2. Maintain a full record of financial reports from the Mennonite Foundation, Inc. regarding the fund’s performance. (These reports from Everence/The Mennonite Foundation will be mailed directly to the VP of Academic Affairs, Bethel College.)
  3. Provide updates as needed at annual gatherings of the Marpeck Deans, to support their efforts to administer the fund, which includes promoting grant applications and awarding Marpeck funding to worthy projects.
  4. Coordinate with the chair of the Marpeck Deans and the Bethel College Business Office to make payment transfers from the Marpeck Fund to Marpeck Grant awardees, in accordance with the awarding decisions made by the Marpeck Deans.

Family contact: Esther Eash, daughter of Robert and Lois Kreider, is the family representative, followed by son David Kreider, both of North Newton, KS.

With Gerald and Alice Kreider deceased, Robert Kreider family can keep Gerald’s children informed of developments in the fund. The linkage to Gerald’s children is Jean Reichenbach, Harrisonburg, Virginia and James Kreider, Lawrence, Kansas.

Policies and procedures

The Marpeck Fund maintains a separate identity from the Mennonite Education Association of Mennonite Church USA.

Twenty years after the fund reaches $500,000, (2003) the record, purposes and future of the trust should be reviewed by the participating institutions (the Deans’ Committee together with the respective administrations and/or trustees). If the participating institutions recommend reformulation or discontinuation of this program, it may be revised or the funds disposed of, providing this is done attentive to the spirit of the original context of purpose.

The amount that is available for distribution in a given year is the projection of 4% earnings on 3-yr average of the corpus. Funds not allocated in one year may accumulate to be added to that available or distributed the following years.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Deans

The Deans Committee (one member per institution) will meet for a planning meeting at least once annually, and use Marpeck Funds to underwrite the costs of that meeting. The Marpeck fund will pay for travel, one nights lodging, and one days food expenses.

Recognizing that the funds would not be adequate to underwrite all meetings and related joint program possibilities in one year, a Deans’ Committee will establish priorities. Decisions will be made by the Committee based on an annual call for proposals by Committee members to their respective college or universities.

  • Tuition support for students of Mennonite colleges enrolling at MBS [now AMBS and now includes tuition support for students of Mennonite colleges enrolling at EMS] for an interterm, short term or summer course, the credit for which can be transferred back to the respective college. A testing-of-the-seminary-experience. High priority to be given to a program that helps undergraduate students to become acquainted with and to consider the option of seminary study. A limit of thirty percent of annual fund allocations is suggested for this purpose.
  • As a second high priority program, support for inter-institutional faculty exchange for lectures, demonstrations, consultations, classroom presentations–the host campus to provide hospitality, the visiting faculty member to receive from the fund travel expenses and a modest honorarium.
  • Support for attendance by students and faculty from the member campuses at academic conferences, seminars, or workshops hosted on another campus.
  • Support for occasional joint meetings of faculty members in related academic areas to share academic concerns related to common institutional values and Anabaptist-Mennonite faith concerns.
  • Support for joint programming in international and peace education. Support for joint programs that exceed the resources of a particular campus: e.g. a short term or intensive summer program on teaching English as a second language, conflict resolution training, international development, etc.
  • Facilitation for student exchanges between the colleges.

Application Form

  • The application should have a statement about the Kreider’s vision for the fund at the top of the form.
  • It should list the criteria for consideration.
  • It should declare that no grant can exceed $10,000, and state a range for smaller grants.
  • Application deadlines are March 1 and September 1.
  • A report from the grant recipients is required and will be shared with the deans.
  • The application form should also include a list of grants funded within the last five years.

Policy for the Marpeck Fund Liaison at Bethel College to Request a Transfer from the Marpeck Fund:

  1. For any withdrawal/transfer requested, the Liaison must present a copy of minutes from the Marpeck Deans that indicate the Marpeck Deans have approved projects that will require funding in the year ahead, including an approximate cost for those approved projects.
  2. In addition to providing such minutes that identify approved projects and expected costs, the Marpeck Fund Liaison, when making any request to Everence for a withdrawal/transfer from the Marpeck Fund, must copy request to the current chair of the Marpeck Deans.

Marpeck Deans