faculty
March 7, 2013
Faculty cross borders through books
Twenty-five Goshen College faculty and staff members came together for the Borderlands book group’s dinner meeting and reading discussion on Tuesday night. Each semester, members of the Borderlands book group read one book and come together for discussion. The spring selection was "The Guardians," a novel by Ana Castillo. The story takes place in the area between Chihuahua, Mexico and Texas. It tells the story of a woman named Tia Regina and her journey to reunite and protect her family. It features Mexican-American family bonds and cultural experiences. Last fall, the group read "The Devil’s Highway," a non-fiction book by Luis...
February 13, 2013
Professors answer poll about name preferences
Two weeks ago, The Record published an article about the preferred titles of certain Goshen College faculty. The Record has since conducted an anonymous survey to gain a better understanding of faculty preference for how students should refer to them in various settings, and discovered a variety of opinions. While 52 percent of the 80 faculty member respondents prefer to be addressed by their first name in the classroom, 13 percent prefer the “professor” title, with another 8 percent preferring “doctor.” The remaining 19 percent listed other preferences, such as "coach" or "madame," or said they felt it depended on...
February 13, 2013
Love stories from GC faculty and students
Richard Aguirre and Judy Weaver When Richard Aguirre and Judy Weaver met, neither knew they would both end up working at Goshen College. In 1981, the fall after Judy graduated from Goshen College, she began an internship with the Santa Barbara News-Press in Santa Barbara, Calif. She and Richard, who was working at the paper, sat nearby each other in the newsroom. They first spoke when Judy was assigned to shadow Richard while he worked as a court reporter. “She thought I walked too fast and I thought she walked too fast!” he said. Richard offered Judy a ride home...
January 30, 2013
What should Goshen College students call their professors?
Goshen College prides itself on a professional yet inviting academic atmosphere where students often refer to professors by their first names. While a majority of GC professors prefer to be addressed by first name, there are a variety of preferences within multiple departments. Some faculty members, including several in the music department, prefer to be called by their professional titles. “There are reasons and philosophies behind varying preferences,” said Beverly Lapp, chair of the music department. Students of Christie Bonfiglio, chair of the education department, refer to her by first name but when she started teaching seven years ago, that was...
January 30, 2013
Faculty compete for “Biggest Loser” title
Faculty members are weighing in. Today, Jan. 31, as part of Goshen College’s “Biggest Loser” competition, faculty will step on the scale as a part of a program that will provide incentive to get in shape this semester. "The Biggest Loser Competition is just a fun way to motivate me to make progress over the coming two months,” said Michael Sherer, director of information technology and a Wellness Committee member. This contest is open to all Goshen College employees and is meant to improve wellness screening numbers. The posters plastered on many campus bathroom stalls announce “$500 in prizes.” Mandatory...
November 29, 2012
Dos Santos resigns as women’s soccer coach
Fabio dos Santos, head coach of the Goshen College women’s soccer program, announced his resignation last Wednesday. Tim Demant, Goshen College athletic director, was not available to comment on reasoning behind dos Santos’ resignation. Dos Santos joined as head coach in April 2011, becoming the sixth head coach in the 20-year history of the women’s soccer program. In both of his two seasons coaching the Leafs, dos Santos led the team to a 5-13 overall 1-8 conference record. Prior to coaching at Goshen College, dos Santos served as the head men and women’s soccer coach at Waldorf College in Forest...
October 4, 2012
When it comes to music, for Marcia Yost, more is better
Marcia Yost became the executive director of the Music Center at Goshen College on Oct. 1. Yost will continue her work as choral director and chair of the music department at Goshen High School even as she assumes leadership of the Music Center, a quarter-time position. While at Goshen High School, her choirs have won three state championships and six state runner-up titles. “Since the first time I walked into the Music Center I have been in awe of the facility,” Yost said. “The possibilities are wonderful and to be involved in continuing to bring those possibilities to the community...
September 27, 2012
Artist Corner: Leslie Miller
Leslie Miller is a new assistant professor of art this year. Miller graduated from Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois with a focus on graphic design. Art may not have been Miller’s first choice of study, but art eventually chose her. “I first chose to study art in middle school when I realized I was not very good at singing,” Miller said. Miller’s choice to pursue art was also influenced by a high school teacher. “He wanted to give back to the students,” Miller said. “I want to be the same way he was with my students.” Miller knew art was...
September 12, 2012
New professors on Goshen College campus
Information gathered from a Goshen College Public Relations press release. James Halteman, a 1966 Goshen College graduate, is a visiting professor of economics in the business department. Jim Hess is director of the business degree program for non-traditional students. Jeffrey Mayfield is assistant professor of chemistry for the fall semester. Beth Miller, a 1999 Goshen College graduate, is an assistant professor of nursing. Leslie Miller is an assistant professor of art. Gilberto Perez is associate professor of social work. Kristopher Schmidt is an assistant professor of biology. Jonathan Schramm is an assistant professor of sustainability and environmental education at Goshen...
April 11, 2012
Social work department to change its make-up
Next year, the social work department will its lose long-time program director, Bob Birkey. Birkey has been teaching at GC since 1975, making him the longest-serving current faculty member. He has served as social work program director for the past 18 years. In his 37 years of teaching, Birkey has led an SST unit in Belize, completed his Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame, achieved accreditation and multiple re-accreditations of the Social Work Program and completed sabbatical research in Greece. For Birkey, retirement means having a chance to pursue projects and interests that he has been unable to focus...
April 11, 2012
Employees tested for healthy living habits
As part of Goshen College's new wellness plan, employees are undergoing health testing this week. The testing, conducted Tuesday through Friday this week in Newcomer, measures employees' body mass index, blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and tobacco/nicotine use in hopes that they will meet goals similar to standards set by the National Health Institute. The tests come after a school year of new health measures at the college. Norm Bakhit, Human Resources director, says that GC created a wellness program to help foster improved health as a group. “Goshen College is self-insured,” said Bakhit. “The healthier our Goshen community, the less...
March 21, 2012
Where are they now?: Recent grads find jobs on campus
After at least four years of higher education, many seniors are met with the question: “What are you going to do after college?” Some graduates take a year off and travel or volunteer, others move away to start their careers, while some decide to stay in the Goshen area. Some graduates even end up finding work with Goshen College—the liberal arts college that prepared them for the positions they have taken. Jeff Hochstetler Graduated: June 2008 Degree: business and history double major Current job: Senior Apartments manager After settling on graduate school at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in...
March 15, 2012
Stoltzfus researches Hutterite martyrs
During the spring of 1918, near the end of World War I, four Hutterite men; brothers David, Joseph and Michael Hofer, along with Joseph’s brother-in-law, Jacob Wipf;, were drafted into the United States Army. Duane Stoltzfus, professor of communication, spent time researching the story of these Hutterite men over the past five years, including this last academic year, while he was on sabbatical. Stoltzfus shared some of his findings on Monday in convocation. Sent by train, the men traveled to Camp Lewis (now called Joint Base Lewis-McChord) near Tacoma, Washington. The Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who believe...
March 15, 2012
Artist’s Corner: Professor Ann Hostetler
Though Ann Hostetler’s career has led her to teach in the Goshen College English Department and pursue a personal interest in poetry; her own years as an undergraduate student at Kenyon College were focused around a major in art. Despite her busy workload as a professor, Hostetler has still found time to draw and paint. “While I’ve taught here, I’ve taken a few classes from Judy Wenig-Horswell and John Blosser,” said Hostetler, “and that’s been really fun. When I paint I usually work in oils; I don’t like acrylics. Once I took a watercolor course, too.” Although she thinks her...
March 15, 2012
Birds make Smith a frequent flier
Dan Smith is an athletic trainer of sorts. Instead of working with injured college players, though, he prepares pigeons to fly home from hundreds of miles away with remarkable speed and accuracy. Smith, associate professor of chemistry, currently raises 200 homing pigeons in a white barn located behind his house five miles north of campus. For the past 14 years, Smith has spent much of his free time breeding and readying pigeons to fly to his house from up to 400 or 500 miles away. “Think of them as athletes,” said Smith of his pigeons. “These birds can do marathons,...