From The President’s Desk
Moravian Greyhound family and friends,
As we welcome another spring in Bethlehem, I find myself reflecting on what truly defines Moravian. I return again and again to a single word: community.
On July 26, 2024, the world affirmed what we have long known. Our Moravian roots were recognized with the United States’ 26th UNESCO World Heritage designation, honoring the outstanding universal value of an intentionally designed living community grounded in faith, education, economics, and equality. This recognition is not about buildings or artifacts alone. It is about people choosing to live, learn, and care for one another in ways that affirm the dignity and promise of every individual.
We see that calling embodied in our mission to educate those whom society too often overlooks and to sustain programs that other institutions might find too difficult or inconvenient to offer. Our commitment to access, opportunity, and practical, meaningful education is not an add-on; it is the heart of who we are.
You can feel this spirit of community in tangible ways on campus. The rededication of our cherished Haupert Union Building (HUB) has given us an expanded and welcoming gathering place where students, faculty, and staff come together around a holistic understanding of wellness: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. When certified later this year, the HUB will become only the second building in Pennsylvania to earn WELL Certification from the International WELL Building Institute—a designation also held by the Wharton School of Business. The HUB reflects our belief that well-being and belonging are central to a Moravian University education.
That same community ethos extends beyond our campus. On Heritage Day, our students, faculty, and staff volunteer across Bethlehem, and through partnerships like the one we maintain with Essentials Café, they serve neighbors with dignity and hospitality. In these acts of service, our history and our present meet.
And in the everyday gestures—saying hello as we pass, shaking hands when we sing the final stanza of our alma mater—we live out the community the world has now recognized: nearly 300 years in the making, and still growing.
Sincerely,
President Bryon L. Grigsby ’90, P’22, P’26, P’29
From The Editor
This past September, I experienced my first Heritage Day.
As I made my way toward John Makuvek Field, I was amazed by the hundreds of students, faculty, and staff proudly wearing purple shirts for the occasion. (Check back next year for a different shirt color!)
Members of campus gathered into groups to head off to volunteer sites, tackling issues such as environmental sustainability and housing and food insecurity. What resonated most with me was their enthusiasm. It was contagious and made me think, Look what we are capable of when we come together.
That powerful sense of community inspired this issue of Moravian University Magazine—from the physical spaces that bring us together to our partnerships with the community, and the history that continues to teach us important lessons today.
You’ll get an inside look at the recently reopened and reimagined HUB, where students gather between classes and the broader community unites for events. You’ll also read about Essentials Café, a pay-as-you-can community eatery founded by seminary graduates, where everyone is welcome to enjoy a meal and a sense of belonging, regardless of income.
Another feature explores the creation of a digital database of the graves in God’s Acre Cemetery, a World Heritage site where Moravians, African Americans, and Native Americans share a common resting place. Nearly 300 years later, God’s Acre remains a powerful testament to the Moravian principle of democracy in both life and death.
Additionally, Moravian will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Heritage Day this year—stay tuned for updates! There’s much to look forward to, but also a lot to reflect on about what makes our community so special.
I hope you enjoy this issue. I welcome your ideas and comments through email at tatuc@moravian.edu or regular mail at Colonial Hall, 1200 Main St., Bethlehem, PA 18018.
Sincerely,
Christina Tatu, Editor
Features
Inside Moravian’s Reimaged HUB
This past fall, the campus community was welcomed back to a new Haupert Union Building. Learn more about the redesigned HUB.
Essentials Café in Bethlehem provides meals for the hungry as well as love, belonging, and dignity. Learn about the pay-what-you-can eatery started by graduates of Moravian’s Theological Seminary.
Scholars around the world will soon be able to explore God’s Acre Cemetery, a World Heritage site, via a new digital database.
View Finder
Larry Lipkis, Moravian’s Bertha-Mae Starner ’27 and Jay F. Starner Professor of Music and composer-in-residence, rehearses with the Monteverdi Ensemble (the Monties), one of four ensembles that constitute Moravian University’s early Music Program. The program was founded by Lipkis in 1976 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary on April 11. Photo by Nick Chismar ’20
The HUB
News & Notes
Celebrating 10 Years of Our Heritage
This year, Moravian University will celebrate 10 years since the start of Heritage Day—an event each fall that unites well over a thousand participants in a single day of service, benefiting more than 50 nonprofit organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley.
Greyhound Sports
Longtime Women’s Basketball Coach and Director of Athletics to Retire
Moravian University Women’s Basketball Coach and Director of Athletics Mary Beth Sprik will retire on May 1 after nearly 45 years of working for the Greyhounds.
Editor’s note: Sadly, Mary Beth Spirk passed away on April 10, 2026, after the Magazine was published. To learn more, visit the news page.
Community
An Alum Reflects
Finding Purpose Through Multiple Sclerosis
How a diagnosis led Bonnie L. Higgins ’87 to become a leader and rediscover hope
Moravian Moment
When Moravian University President Raymond S. Haupert 1918, S’1924 retired in 1969, the student-led initiative to rename a campus building in his honor spoke volumes about what he meant to the university.
Faculty Focus
An assistant professor of practice of photography and digital media art, Morales joined Moravian in August 2025. His work explores documentary-style photography from his perspective as an Asian American.
Student Spotlight
Fernando Peralta Castro ’26 is using technology to expand access to healthcare.
Brilliance
Creators
Rachel Lynn ’10 applies a choice-based approach to nurturing creativity in her elementary art students.
Thinkpiece
For more than a decade, Moravian has been utilizing restorative practices to create community and resolve conflicts.
Bookshelf
Rereading Revelation: Theology, Ethics, and Resistance
By Greg Carey, associate dean for the Lancaster Campus and professor of New Testament
An Irish Summer
By Alexandra Paige Rozone ’17 (published under Alexandra Paige)
Kierkegaard’s Two Ages: A Literary Review
By Lee Barrett, Mary B. and Henry P. Stager Chair in Theology, professor of systematic theology
Alumni
Alumni Stories
Police lieutenant Ray Burgan ’04 was preparing to enter the FBI National Academy—a 10-week training program for the cream of the crop in law enforcement—when he noticed a familiar face in the pictures from the previous term: Michael Hurden ’06, a former classmate and football teammate at Moravian, who was now a police captain himself.
Alumni Stories
Pennsylvania is celebrating America’s Semiquincentennial with a statewide art installation of 67 Liberty Bells—one for each county—decorated with artwork representing what makes each bell’s respective home unique. Alum and Adjunct Professor Theodore Colegrove ’07 designed the bell to represent Lehigh County.
Class Notes
1979
Jon Otis is a longtime professor at the Pratt Institute, where he teaches in the School of Design. He is also founder and creative director of Object Agency, a solutions-based creative and design strategy agency. Otis was recently profiled in OLISE Magazine’s Icon of Today feature. OLISE is a publication about luxury interior design.
1996
Phil Novack-Gottshall was promoted to senior professor of biological sciences at Benedictine University. He published research in the Journal of Paleontology and Nature Ecology & Evolution and earned a National Science Foundation grant to support his research in the paleoecology of marine animals.
2020
Margaret Qiumin Jones graduated with her doctor of pharmacy degree in May 2025 and was paired with the residency program at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. She will be practicing ambulatory care pharmacy on a mental health track.
Valerie Farrow ’02 recently joined Moravian’s development and alumni engagement team, where her work centers on connecting the university with corporate and community partners in ways that are mutually beneficial and deeply impactful.
Moravian University celebrated the collective impact of its most generous supporters during the annual Societies Dinner on November 7, 2025, in the renovated Haupert Union Building.
Flip-book Versions
Formula for Success
- Taressa Diaz’11, G’16 is a Leader at the Coca-Cola Company
- Designed with Your Future in Mind
- Eight Badges Elevate the Moravian Experience
Lights, Camera, Passion!
- The Accidental Executive Producer
- Inspired Movement
- A Blush with Greatness
The Future of Education
- Artificial Intelligence
- Black and Latino College Readiness
- Teachers as Transformational Leaders
1200 Main Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018
1 800.441.3191
610.861.1320
FAX: 610.625.7930
Moravian University is committed to making its website accessible to all users. Should you find content that is inaccessible, please contact webaccessibility@moravian.edu or visit the Office of Disability & Accommodations.