Goshen College President Rebecca Stoltzfus has been unanimously reappointed by the GC Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2026. This is her third term, and will last for the next five years.
I need to push for change, but not push so hard or fast that I break things, like relationships! I don’t always get that right.
— Rebecca Stoltzfus
Over the next five years, Stoltzfus will face a multitude of issues, including the problems stemming from changing student body demographics and a loss of funding from the state and federal government.
Overall, students are satisfied with the president’s performance over the last decade.
Kate Bodiker, a senior communication and writing major and executive editor of The Record, said, “I have been pleased, generally, with both the inward and outward reflections of Goshen College that I have seen through Becky’s work.”
Peter Moser, a first-year secondary education major, said that while he hadn’t had any extensive conversations with Stoltzfus, he hadn’t felt any grumblings of discontent within the student body.
“No one’s talking trash about Becky Stoltzfus that I am aware of, ” he said.
The president’s reappointment comes at a unique and somewhat fraught time for the college.
Stoltzfus named a number of issues facing GC, citing recent decisions by the federal government that jeopardize the positions of international students on campus, as well as “Irrationally negative narratives about the economic value and the social values of higher education coming from leaders in government,” she said.
In September, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would end discretionary grant funding to all designated Hispanic-Serving Institutions, including GC. This cuts the $5 million Title V grant awarded to the college in 2023, which was set to provide five years of funding.
“I think she’ll probably make mistakes,” said Bodiker. “Part of the reason I do have confidence in her is because … she will probably own those mistakes and be better for them.”
“Leadership is hard because it involves making decisions when values are in tension,” said Stoltzfus. “I need to push for change, but not push so hard or fast that I break things, like relationships! I don’t always get that right.”
The president said that her largest concern for the next five years was the rising cost of attendance at the college.
“The costs of what we do are legitimately increasing,” Stoltzfus said. “Students and families need affordability.”
According to the college’s fact book, during the 2024-25 school year the cost of tuition at GC was $38,890 and the average cost of room and board was $11,770. This is an increase from five years earlier, when tuition and room and board were $34,540 and $10,760 respectively.
Another major issue facing the college is that, according to Stoltzfus, “The social environment of divisiveness and language that cuts people down has affected the willingness of our students to be open about their thoughts and opinions, and that is a loss,” she said. “Fear is not good for learning. ”
Bodiker said these internal conflicts are inherently related to external ones, which is what has created dissonance on campus. The main questions that are being asked, according to Bodiker, are: “What is the college’s relationship to America and what is the college’s relationship to its own religious identity and the religious identity of its students? I think those are the cores of what is going to continue to be controversial.”
However, Bodiker offered an optimistic outlook to any conflicts within the college. “I think, to a degree, the best it can be is going to still have some tension. There isn’t really a world where it’s just resolved,” said Bodiker. “But, I think that’s okay. I don’t think that’s problematic.”
The president offered an even rosier worldview. “I believe what we do here is important, and no other college or university can do it as well as we do,” said Stoltzfus. “Without GC, the world would be diminished — less connected, creative and gentle. I believe gentleness is a force.”
“I love my work. It is a great privilege to do what I do,” said the president. “Most of the time, it’s a really fun job. A job worth loving.”
