John Rudy Mumaw, b. 12 March 1904, d. 20 June 1993, devoted his life to leadership in Mennonite (Mennonite Church) education. Collegiate and graduate studies prepared him for more than 40 years of teaching, mostly at Eastern Mennonite College and Seminary, in Bible, English, and practical theology, with a specialty in marriage and family life. From 1948 to 1965 he was president of the college and seminary. His tenure saw a doubling of enrollment, erection of major buildings, enlargement of curriculum, professional growth of faculty, progress toward a separate high school and a full seminary program, and membership in the regional accrediting association. He led in articulating a philosophy of education, with aims and objectives for the college. He directed the first long-range professional planning for the college and seminary and brought it into closer involvement with the larger Mennonite Church (MC) and into the wider educational world. He helped found and lead the Council for Advancement of Small Colleges.

Mumaw was also an evangelist, pastor, and leader in Virginia Mennonite Conference (MC) and in church-wide missions and service work. He edited the missions section of Gospel Herald, Program Builder, and Christian Ministry, and wrote Assurance of Salvation and The Resurrected Life.

He married Esther Moseman, with whom he had five daughters; after her death in 1964, he married Evelyn King, former Eastern Mennonite College dean of women.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 605. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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