Director of Horizon Education Alliance to speak at Afternoon Sabbatical Feb. 17

Afternoon Sabbatical: “Elkhart County: Transformed Through Education,” lecture by Brian Wiebe
Date and time: Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2014, 1 p.m.
Location: Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall
Cost: Free and open to the public

Brian Wiebe, director of Horizon Education Alliance (HEA), a non-profit organization created by Elkhart County education and business leaders, will share about how lives are being changed in Elkhart Country through world-class learning opportunities during the Afternoon Sabbatical series on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 1 p.m. in the Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall.

Launched in 2012, Horizon Education Alliance (HEA) is engaging individuals throughout the community. HEA seeks to improve quality of life and supports the educational success of all residents.

HEA emerged from a long history of community conversations, beginning in 2002 with the Horizon Project, a community initiative to re-shape Elkhart County’s future. In 2009, Elkhart County became the county hardest hit by the recession, with an unemployment rate of over 18 percent. In response, more than 200 community leaders came together and identified education as the single most effective strategy for strengthening Elkhart County. HEA now includes all seven public school superintendents, local business leaders and other community leaders on its board.

HEA engages a model of “innovation through collaboration” by creating and sustaining strong partnerships, identifying and assisting in the implementation of evidence-based practices, and monitoring and evaluating progress toward community-level goals.

Afternoon Sabbatical is an annual series that connects the community and Goshen College through on-campus programs and bus tours that draw on the expertise of GC faculty and community members.

Future programs in the 2014-15 Afternoon Sabbatical series include:

Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 1 p.m., Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall
“Creating a Legacy,” lecture by Jep Hostetler, Ph.D., and Glen E. Miller, M.D.
Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015, at 1 p.m., Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall
“Something Old, Something New: A Preview of the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra Spring Pops Concert,” directed by Dr. Christopher H. Fashun.