Administration CoverageAs journalists, it’s our job to keep GC’s administration in line. The Record is in place to act as a watchdog publication.
As journalists, it’s our job to keep GC’s administration in line. The Record is in place to act as a watchdog publication.
March 19, 2015
Board of Directors update
The Board of Directors met on February 23 and 24 to discuss and vote on various issues at Goshen College. One of the decisions the board made was to accept roughly $160,000 in gifts that Goshen College donors left the college in their wills. The board also decided to pass a new plan entitled Grow Goshen 2020. This plan establishes the priorities the college will be looking to work on for the next five years. The ultimate goal this plan lists is that “GC will reach sustained enrollment growth made up of students open to faith and learning from an...
March 5, 2015
Grow Goshen week
The first week in March, called “Grow Goshen Week,” is a time for thanking supporters of Goshen College. Throughout the year, Goshen College works hard to contact people outside of the campus to raise awareness about the institution and to ask for donations that help keep the school running. According to junior Student Associate in Advancement Armarlie Grier, the Department of Institutional Advancement runs events like the annual phone-a-thon, a telemarketing operation to ask for donations from alumni, as well as sends out postcards to alumni requesting their monetary donations to support the college. Because people are contacted year-round to...
March 5, 2015
History of the Hiring Policy: Timeline
The Goshen College hiring policy has been a topic of discussion in The Record over the last ten years. This timeline contains excerpts from past Record articles discussing the hiring policy and how students have advocated for its alteration on campus. This timelines provides an interesting reflection over how GC students have responded to the hiring policy in the past, along with how the movement for change has developed from earlier responses. Article, “Safe Zone training next week” By: Whitney Phillips in September 25 issue, 2008 Advocates Club is hosting Safe Zone Training Tuesday to help inform people...
February 12, 2015
HLC accreditation
Every ten years Goshen College goes through the Higher Learning Commission Accreditation process. Colleges in the United States are required to go through an accreditation process in order to receive federal money to give to their students. The accreditation process is meant to ensure that institutions are providing their students with a quality education. An accreditation team of four members from other Midwest colleges will come to campus to evaluate whether or not they should recommend the continuation of Goshen’s accreditation. Though the accreditation team is not coming to campus for another month, the accreditation process actually began in 2012....
October 22, 2014
Board Invited Students For Discussion
The October meeting of Goshen College’s Board of Directors allowed student representatives to be a part of one of their meetings as they discussed strategic planning, the hiring policy and enrollment. The Board members arrived on campus before fall break for several meetings, which focused on the college’s mission and future. The board is currently made up of 12 members from nine states and it meets three times a year. In this most recent meeting, the board passed a budget for the upcoming year, noted the growth of the college’s endowment, discussed the hiring policy and the college’s reaccreditation process...
October 8, 2014
Alumni Board Discussed Transitions At GC
The Goshen College Alumni Executive Board, which meets twice a year, discussed happenings at the college and met with members of the administration about recent transitions. The board met last week over Homecoming Weekend. Dan Koop-Liechty, director of alumni relations and career networks, supervises the Alumni Board. The recent fall meeting was shorter than the spring meeting because it coincided with Homecoming Weekend, and Board members were involved with the Alumni Awards. The Board’s mission is to provide support and connection to alumni as well as aid in encouraging alumni to contribute to the college’s Student Aid Fund. The Board...
October 1, 2014
Goshen College Hires Consulting Firm For Admissions
Goshen College hired the Noel-Levitz Higher Education Consulting firm to aid in revitalizing enrollment operations this year. Though numbers for the 2014-15 academic year increased in the adult and graduate division, the number of students in the traditional undergraduate program showed a slight decrease. Goshen College hired Noel-Levitz with hopes that they will be able to rejuvenate the recruitment management. The firm’s mission is to “achieve Goshen’s goal through a systematic, data-informed and effective marketing and recruitment process.” Dr. Lee Snyder, interim provost and executive vice president, and the leadership team initiated the search to hire a consulting firm. The...
September 10, 2014
Restructuring Finalized
Administrative restructuring, including office and staff changes, was finalized over the summer. On June 27, a memo was sent out to all employees of Goshen College informing them of the new structure of the administration. According to the memo, in order to “better serve the college going forward” as part of the administrative restructuring, the President’s Council underwent changes and positions were revised. “Major internal reconstruction for the organization is part of our strategic planning, as is preparation for our Higher Learning Commission reaccreditation process in March of 2015,” President James Brenneman said. “The goal also is to bring our...
September 4, 2014
Goshen Welcomes New Interim Provost And VP, Dr. Lee Snyder
Dr. Lee Snyder, former president of Bluffton University, will be serving in the combined role of provost and executive vice president for the 2014-2015 academic year. President Jim Brenneman said, “In her role as provost, Dr. Snyder oversees all Academic programs at Goshen College. In her role as the executive vice president, Dr. Snyder serves, in effect, as the Chief Operating Officer. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the campus.” According to Snyder, these operations include working with athletics, institutional effectiveness and research, and finances. The implementation of the dual positions means that each member of administration is able to...
September 4, 2014
Offices Relocated And Staff Positions Shifted
Over the summer, many offices were relocated for convenience and multiple positions were changed or absorbed into other positions for efficiency. The student services offices were all moved to the first floor of the Administration building. According to Dan Koop Liechty, director of alumni relations and career networks, the purpose of putting the registrar’s office, accounting office, and financial aid office onto one floor is to introduce a “one stop shop” structure that promotes a more efficient set up for students. “This way, students don’t have to go down to the Administration building basement for accounting and then go back...
April 17, 2014
Restructuring Continues Per Budget Cuts
As the current academic calendar comes to an end, Goshen College will continue a process of change to prepare for a new school year. During the week of April 28, the President’s Council will announce to employees the cuts and reductions for administrative staff, which will come into effect for the 2014-15 school year. Faculty reductions were announced last December; three full-time and three part-time positions were eliminated, and 10 professors’ teaching loads were reduced to 75-percent contracts, or a load of six courses rather than eight. Goshen College will move to a 12:1 student-faculty ratio from the current 10:1...
April 17, 2014
Unveiling the MBA
This August, Goshen College will begin collaborating with Eastern Mennonite University and Bluffton University to offer an online Masters’ of business administration degree, an MBA. The program is organized to take 18 students at a time, in cohorts. “It’s been a few years in the making,” said Michelle Horning, professor of accounting. According to Horning, the business departments from the three colleges first discussed collaborating to offer a master’s degree about four years ago. From there, the plan morphed into what it is today: an online, 36-hour program for students who want to earn an MBA from any of the...
April 9, 2014
Leaders Entertain Hiring Policy Questions
A crowd of more than 50 students and faculty gathered on campus Wednesday night for a question and answer session about Goshen College’s hiring policy. The event, hosted by Student Senate, brought a panel of administrators, including Carlos Romero, executive director of Mennonite Education Agency; James Brenneman, GC president; Anita Stalter, vice president for academic affairs; and Bill Born, vice president for student life, to field questions. Senate’s goal for the event was to learn more about how students fit into the broader governing system of higher education, as well as how Goshen College and its president’s council relate to...
March 5, 2014
Students outfit hiring policy support
Ryan Smith, a first-year physical education major, returned to his dorm room recently with a package full of 10 daisy-yellow t-shirts. On each shirt, purple lettering reads, "Peacefully, I support the Goshen College hiring policy." "I know a lot of people who are against the open letter," said Smith. "It's an obvious minority. The main goal of this is to get the other voice out, and this is an environment where it will be respected." Upon arriving on campus last Fall, Smith was asked if he would like to buy a purple, "Where's my LGBTQ prof" shirt. When he learned...
January 22, 2014
Will Students be Affected by 14-15 Budget Cuts?
With leaner courses and faculty reductions arranged for the upcoming 14-15 school year, Goshen College will now focus on thinning overhead costs in administrative departments throughout next semester. Deciding how the college can serve as an effective steward of its resources requires a great deal of work, calling for correspondence from each department across campus. Bill Born, vice president of student life, said, "We often work with projections [based on] multiple variables related to enrollment, financial aid, student retention, staffing variance throughout the year, departmental budget management, et cetera.” Born also says that members of student senate will remain informed...