In an email to Goshen College employees on Aug. 19, President Rebecca Stoltzfus announced that Ben Bontrager, vice president for finance and operations and GC’s chief financial officer, will be departing from his role at as of Sept. 17. He has accepted a role at Everence as chief financial officer.

Bontrager has been working in his role at Goshen College since 2022. In this role, he provides oversight to all of the financial functions of GC, especially when it comes to the behind the scenes of the college’s academics.

Mindy Schlegel, director of ITS enterprise applications and innovation, works with Bontrager as one of the leaders of the ITS department. Meeting on a weekly basis, Schlegel said Bontrager advises ITS from an operational and financial standpoint — figuring out how to fund projects in a reasonable and sustainable way.

“He’s a great, great resource for thinking about … how to spend wisely,” Schlegel said. “It’s not that we can’t spend money, but figuring out ways to do that to meet the needs of students, faculty, staff … I feel like he’s been a really good resource.”

Additionally, Bontrager spearheads large scale and high budget projects. In her email, President Stoltzfus specifically highlights Bontrager’s oversight of the Westlawn renovation — resulting in completion under budget — “He has a unique ability to speak with clarity, compassion and directness, always holding our mission alongside our long-term institutional well-being. Ben’s leadership has made us better,” President Stoltzfus said in the email.

Bontrager described his decision as difficult — appreciating the meaningful connections he has formed within the GC community. He said he was initially drawn to GC as a workplace that aligned with his values and had a mission he could support. He said GC is “a community who lives our values with authenticity,” and that it has been particularly rewarding watching his two eldest sons attend GC.

Bontrager told The Record he is friends with Fred Gingerich, the former chief financial officer at Everence, who moved back to Iowa at the beginning of summer. He said they would talk about both working at Anabaptist rooted institutions. “I’ve long had great respect for Everence and its impact in not just our community, but in many communities across the country,” Bontrager said.

With the departure of Gingerich, Bontrager said he felt a pull to Everence as a next step in his career. “While we’re often excited about new job opportunities, this came with a mixed bag of emotions because it felt like there was so much for me to continue working on and investing in at Goshen College,” he said. Eventually, he made the decision to join Everence.

His new job as chief financial officer and chief administrative officer at Everence will have a similar role to his current one at GC, with additional functions specific to the financial services industry. Bontrager said this transition is made easier by the overlap of GC and Everence — in values, personnel and business.

As Bontrager has had a large portfolio at GC, President Stoltzfus said that his role might be distributed into different areas of work as they move to fill the role after his departure.

About Bontrager’s transition, Schlegel said, “I love working with Ben [Bontrager]. I think he has connected well and relates well with our team in general — yeah, that’ll be a loss.” She said despite this transition, it feels stable in the IT department. She hopes they can continue the momentum of an “innovative, forward-looking, forward moving approach” that Bontrager was leading.

President Stoltzfus said that while she is saddened by Bontrager’s departure, as she enjoyed having him as a colleague, but she is happy this opportunity has arisen for him. “He’s created a lot of positive momentum for us in a number of areas, and so, we’re looking to build on that and continue that,” she said.

Bontrager said, “I’ll miss my colleagues and the students here at GC. I love this campus and am honored to have been able to serve here these past several years.”