Academics
December 8, 2016
Senior business majors present capstone projects to nonprofits
Seniors from the business department delivered the first set of Capstone presentations in the Koinonia Room at College Mennonite Church on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The students presented to a group of board members and the nonprofit organizations they worked with throughout the semester. In groups of three, business majors presented to the owners of these nonprofits to give suggestions as to what the organization could improve on in terms of marketing, business strategies and how to better connect to their consumer bases. This was the 10th anniversary of these capstone projects, and with word spreading about these projects occurring every...
November 17, 2016
Mock interviews prepare students
This week, many Goshen College students participated in Super Tuesday, a mock interview process. Twice a year, this event gives students an opportunity to practice their interview skills with potential employers as well as improve their resumé and get a professional headshot. Super Tuesday is organized by Melissa Kinsey, alumni and career networks coordinator, to prepare students for life after college. The event provides a large array of interviewers, from businesses such as Everence, Mennonite Central Committee, Goshen community schools, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Pro Resources Staffing Services, as well as other local businesses. Kinsey highly recommends this event...
September 22, 2016
CIIE offers English classes to community members
Eighty community members are studying English at Goshen College this semester. This is double the number from the first such language class, which was offered in the spring of 2015, and this is the third English class offered by the Center for Intercultural and International Education since its beginning in 2015. The first spring semester had 44 students, the second spring semester had 60 students and now this fall semester has 80 students enrolled, which is a 55 percent increase from the first spring semester class that was offered in 2015. The class this fall is composed of three levels....
September 8, 2016
GC ranked third nationally
Recently Goshen College was ranked third nationally by Washington Monthly in the category of National Universities-Bachelor’s. This ranking makes GC the top baccalaureate college in Indiana. A baccalaureate college is defined by The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as an institution where “bachelor’s degrees account for at least 10 percent of all undergraduate degrees and [the institution] awarded fewer than 50 master’s degrees.” GC was ranked higher than institutions like Taylor University, Huntington University, and Manchester University. The college was also listed as one of the top 100 “Best Bang for the Buck” colleges in the Midwest, receiving...
September 8, 2016
Jan Kauffman undertakes registrar position
When she graduated from Goshen College in 1990, Jan Kauffman never saw herself moving back to Goshen. But over the summer, Kauffman started her new role as the registrar. The registrar’s office takes care of student academic records, but that includes a number of different responsibilities that most may not be aware of. Between registering students for classes and handling transcripts, the registrar is also responsible for setting up the master class and exam schedules. Kauffman also deals with the academic progress of each student and addresses any problems if a student isn’t meeting those standards. She works alongside faculty...
April 7, 2016
Academic Symposium gives students presentation experience
Students and faculty members gathered to hear original student research on Saturday. The 18th annual Academic Research Symposium featured 24 student presentations on a variety of topics, ranging from science research to gender differences on campus. “The presentations aren’t dull,” said Anneliese Baer, a senior. “There are a range of topics, and you’re bound to be excited by at least some of them, if not all of them.” Baer presented on a project she did during Maple Scholars last summer while researching with Paul Keim, professor of Bible and religion. Titled “Theodicy and Martyrdom: Anabaptist Reception of the Book of...
April 7, 2016
Austrian scholar joins GC history faculty
After inviting three candidates to campus for interviews, a six-person search committee chose and hired a new United States History professor. Philipp Gollner, a PhD candidate at the University of Notre Dame, specializes in race, ethnicity, immigration and religion. Born in Austria, educated in Germany, and a recent immigrant to the US, Gollner brings a global lens to the study of US history. According to Regina Shands Stoltzfus, PJCS professor and member of the search committee, the decision was a tough one. “We were pleased to have invited three very strong candidates to campus,” she said. In the end, Stoltzfus...
February 18, 2016
Sensenig’s research provides opportunity for undergraduates
Dr. Ryan Sensenig, associate professor of biological & environmental sciences and environmental science program director at Goshen College, received his his doctorate from the University of California Davis in 2007 for his work in grazing-fire interactions in east African savannas. However, Sensenig did not finish his work in Kenya once he finished his dissertation. Teaming up with several other scientists out of UC Davis, University of Utah and Karatina University out of Kenya, Sensenig and his colleagues have engaged undergraduates from both Goshen and Kenya in an opportunity to aid in field ecology research. Shortly after the May Term period,...
February 4, 2016
Transformed: Goshen classes that impact a change
“Transformative” is sometimes an over-used term that is thrown about as a buzzword or marketing ploy. At its core, to be transformative something has to identifiably change a perspective, opinion or state of being. Some classes at Goshen College can truly be defined this way. Some classes at Goshen College change the students who participate in them. Some classes at Goshen College change the non-students that participate in them. Even more important, some classes at Goshen College change the community as a whole. Over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, several students had such an opportunity to be transformed by the...
January 14, 2016
SSTT to provide international experience to high schoolers
Goshen College received $600,000 from the Lilly Endowment Foundation in early December to establish a Study-Service Theology Term. Starting in the summer of 2017, this offshoot of GC’s nationally recognized Study-Service Term program will provide a group of 20 diverse high school students interested in theology and ministry with an opportunity to study for two weeks in Guatemala or another Latin American country. Upon returning, the students will be required to do service within a congregation or church-related organization. Priority will be given to high school junior and senior students from the Latino and African-American communities, either locally or from...
November 12, 2015
Super Tuesday provides opportunities for students
Super Tuesday provided students with an opportunity to hone their interview skills in a realistic setting on Nov. 10. Twice a year, the alumni and career networks department brings in professionals from the broader community to hold mock interviews with GC students. The department makes an effort to match a student’s academic discipline to an employer in that field. On top of the interview itself, the professionals give students feedback on what went well and things to improve. “I got feedback that was really helpful,” said Sohail Das, sophomore accounting major. “Even though it’s a mock interview,” said Mikhail Fernandez,...
October 1, 2015
Student nurses have 100 percent success
In 2015, every single nursing student in a Goshen College graduating class passed the nursing board exam. GC became only one of four colleges or universities in Indiana to score 100 percent on the nursing board exam, joining schools such as Ivy Tech Community College of Evansville, Ivy Tech Community College of Richmond and Marion Community School of Practical Nursing. Before graduating from the nursing program, students must pass the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses, often referred to as the NCLEX. This exam is based on safety and patient care management, pharmacology, recognizing and reducing risks, health promotion,...
September 24, 2015
Mikol Aspinwall: In college at 13
Mikol Aspinwall likes playing American football, commutes to college from his parents’ house and sometimes works on homework in the Union while he waits for a ride home. He generally finishes it on his own, but his mother occasionally checks in to see that the job is done. A first-year at Goshen College, he is a computer science major and comes across as quiet, intelligent and focused. And at 13 years old, he is also rather young for a college student. Aspinwall is a student with potential; a recipient of the CIIE Leadership Program award and a participant in the...
September 17, 2015
Eco-Evo goes to Merry Lea
Despite the heavy rain that washed over Goshen on Friday, ecology students from Goshen College still made it out to Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center for an overnight camping trip. Ryan Sensenig’s Ecology and Evolution class had a lab the following morning, giving the students a chance to explore the 1100-acre facility that includes a lake, acres of prairie, and woods – enough nature to explore for more than just one Saturday. This is the first year that students had this opportunity through their introductory biology class, giving the first year students another chance to get to know the Merry...
September 10, 2015
Goshen and Glen Oaks team up
Two weeks ago, Goshen College officially began its new partnership with Glen Oaks Community College. Registered nurses (RN) will now have the opportunity to take part in GC’s RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program on Glen Oak’s campus in Centreville, MI, making a bachelor’s degree for nurses in the surrounding area much more accessible. “Glen Oaks wanted to expand their offerings,” said Brenda Srof, professor of nursing, “and make it more possible for their graduates to finish their bachelor’s degrees.” Interest in obtaining a BSN has increased with the recent mandate from the Institute of Medicine calling...