Val Hershberger will retire from the Goshen College kinesiology department at the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year. Her role as associate professor of kinesiology will be filled by Justin DeWeese, current assistant director for athletic communications and operations.

A summa cum laude graduate from Ohio University with a degree in sports management and business analytics, DeWeese has worked in the Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center since he arrived in 2021. His shaping of the Maple Leaf athletic story was recognized in 2024 at the College Sports Communicators Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest, where his story on Zion Neat ’25 titled “Faith that shines” was named as runner-up in the college division for the social justice/diversity and inclusion category.

DeWeese first heard of the job opening from Jewel Lehman, professor of kinesiology, after Hershberger announced her retirement. After teaching classes such as Wellness for Life in the fall and spring, DeWeese sees the position as a new way to integrate himself into the GC athletics community. “After thinking about it more and getting my feet wet as an adjunct, I felt like it would be a new way to still serve students in a different way. But in a lot of ways, [I’m] still working with sports and with our student-athletes in the rec center,” he said.

DeWeese and Lehman will share teaching duties in the kinesiology department, which consists of three majors: exercise science, physical education and sports management. With DeWeese having a degree in sports management, he will mainly focus on teaching classes in that major. “That’s more my background. That’s what they were looking to fill in this search process; someone with more sports management experience versus exercise science, which is more Jewel’s expertise. So I’ll mainly do sports management classes, she’ll be taking care of the exercise science,” DeWeese said.

The retiring Hershberger has been at GC for 30 years. According to Lehman, her role at the college has had many forms. “When she started here, she was director of intramurals. She was assistant athletic director, so she was doing event management operations and working in the building and she was coaching,” Lehman said. “Her load was part-time teaching, and a lot of it was in sports management here at Goshen. Over the years, with transition, she moved into full-time teaching and taking leadership in the sports management role.”

“I was joking with Chad [Coleman] and Val that she has been here 30 years, so that means I have to be here for another 30 years. That way there’s just two professors in a span of 60 years,” said DeWeese, who sees a long career at GC ahead of him. “Looking at the professors and the people who work here, they are people who many of them have been here a long time, which just shows that they love their jobs and their chance to transform students’ lives, so I think that’s a good sign that this could be a place where I stay around for a long term.”

Lehman believes DeWeese’s preexisting relationships with students and his experience in the athletic department set him up for success in the kinesiology department. “We talked to students that were in his classes, students that he supervises, and they spoke very highly of him and their relationship with him. So he’s going to do a really great job,” she said. Lehman also highlighted DeWeese’s experience in writing and communications as another important asset he can bring to the department and the students. 

DeWeese commended Hershberger for the work she has done in the athletic department over the past three decades. “Val has done a good job in her 30 years here, and she’ll definitely be missed. Being able to have her as a resource as well to help me in transition over there is also nice. Even Jewel, who has been here a long time, I think over 20 years. There’s some tremendous experience in this department, and being able to have them as resources is very valuable too,” he said.

The athletic department will now search for a new assistant athletic director for communications and operations. DeWeese will remain involved in the department, but not in his current position. “It’s not like I’m going to be disappearing from athletic events … I could still be PA announcing at games or getting some photos or writing some game recaps if they need, so we’ll figure that out, but I definitely don’t plan on vanishing,” DeWeese said.