This year Goshen College welcomed Philipp Gollner to its faculty as an assistant professor of U.S. history. Gollner is an Austrian native and a first-time professor. He has been enjoying his first year of teaching so far. Everything has been what he expected when it comes to how to teach. One thing that has been better than anticipated is the participation of students. “In all classes,” Gollner said, “I have students that are very involved, talking plenty and sometimes over each other, and that’s a good thing.” He is teaching a number of classes, two of which are smaller in...

By Elsa Lantz • September 22, 2016 • Features

This semester, Goshen College is proud to welcome back one of its own students – this time as a visiting professor of English and communication. Ellah Wakatama Allfrey graduated from GC in 1988 and considers being invited back “a huge honor”. Allfrey currently resides in London and works as an independent editor and publisher.  She was born in Zimbabwe, which Allfrey credits as a significant aspect of her identity, and was educated in the U.S. Living in London has allowed her a broader reach as an independent editor. “[London is] one of the centers for [book editing and publishing],” said...

By Elsa Lantz • September 15, 2016 • Features

Anna Kurtz Kuk, the new assistant professor of theater, is a self-proclaimed “one trick pony.” “Theater is my thing!” Kurtz Kuk claims. A good thing too, considering there will be no slow, dipping-her-toes-in-the-water of Goshen College. Rather, Kurtz Kuk is diving head first into the deep end. She is not only teaching full time, but also directing the annual Peace Play and this year’s Main Stage.  Kurtz Kuk is from a small, Midwest town called Sterling, Ill. She graduated from Creighton University with a BA in theater performance and received her MA from Virginia Commonwealth University in theater pedagogy. Since...

By Maddie Gerig • September 8, 2016 • Arts

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...

By Jenae Longenecker • April 7, 2016 • News

Evan Atkinson, an Elkhart County native who served most recently as head tennis coach at Northridge High School, has been named director of tennis at Goshen College, the GC athletic department announced Friday. Atkinson is a 2004 graduate of NorthWood High School in Nappanee and a 2008 alumnus of Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. He has coached at Northridge since the fall of 2009 and spent seven years as the head tennis professional at Eastlake Athletic Club in Goshen. “We are thrilled that Evan will be joining our team,” said Josh Gleason, Goshen College athletic director. “He has a great...

By Sports Information Department • March 10, 2016 • News

John Roth, Goshen College professor of history, has had many other jobs that include writer, editor and speaker. Roth has been working at Goshen College for thirty years, starting in 1985. For the past twenty years he has been traveling two weekends a month speaking at churches, conferences, conventions and other events. “My traveling has been a long-standing part of my job as a preacher and teacher,” he said. In the last year, Roth has taken on additional assignments that have him traveling even more often. In September he was in Germany, and then by October he found himself in...

By Elsa Lantz • March 10, 2016 • Features

After his sophomore year at Goshen College, Dean Rhodes, associate professor of Spanish, decided to take a break and spend his next 27 months with Mennonite Central Committee in Peru. “My parents were very worried,” he said. “They were afraid I would never go back to school.” Rhodes eventually went back, but only after working with MCC for two and a half years to help rebuild after an earthquake. At the time, he had just spent a semester on SST in Nicaragua and still didn’t have a major as his sophomore year drew to a close. While his academic advisor...

By Jordan Waidelich • March 10, 2016 • Features

Paul Keim, professor of Bible and Religion, has an office filled with books on languages, books on the bible and one rabbit that he thinks might belong to the Biology department. Keim has been working at Goshen College since 1997, although he did not become a professor until 2001. He attended Goshen College as a student before going to Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, or AMBS, and then Harvard. At Harvard, Keim earned a degree in ancient Near Eastern languages and civilizations, which Keim says is “what you do when you study the Old Testament.” Keim has traveled the world, visiting...

By Elsa Lantz • March 3, 2016 • Features

SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT tonykm@goshen.edu   Rustin Nyce, a former Goshen College runner and assistant coach, has been named head coach of the Goshen College men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs, the Goshen College Athletic Department announced Monday. A 2002 GC graduate, Nyce has been interim head coach of the cross country teams since Doug Yoder resigned in June. He spent three seasons as an assistant coach during Yoder’s tenure and seven seasons as the head boys cross country coach at Fairfield High School in Millersburg, Indiana. “Rustin has quickly proven that he has the skill set...

By Sports Information Department • February 11, 2016 • News

In a change of pace, Carl Barnett Jr. is on the Features page instead of in the ‘Out-of-Context Professor Quotes. “I should be more careful about what I say,” he said. “I could say something right now, but you’re going to write it down.” Barnett is featured with quotes taken out of context nearly every week. “Sometimes I have too much fun, forget to be a grown up and sort of shoot my mouth off,” Barnett said. “I forget I’m supposed to be the adult in the room and realize I shouldn’t have said that.” Between the time he’s teaching...

By Jordan Waidelich • February 11, 2016 • Features

After getting the itch on SST, Jonathan Geiser bought a one-way ticket to Barcelona, Spain and came back to Goshen 22 years later. Geiser is currently an associate professor of business and the business development director for the Center for Business and Entrepreneurial Education at Goshen College. When Geiser was a student, he traveled to Honduras for SST and found a love for learning in and about other cultures. At the time, a friend of Geiser’s was living in Barcelona and suggested that he move to Spain for a year after graduation. Geiser was eager to see the world and...

By Jordan Waidelich • January 28, 2016 • Features

Shirley Shriner, longtime assistant administrator for student life, officially announced her retirement effective the end of May 2016. Tagged as the “do it all girl” by her colleagues, Shriner never sees a dull moment. A common day would consist of answering phones, processing reports or answering the array of questions from students here at Goshen College. “I certainly can’t say I was ever bored with my job,” said Shriner. “Our campus has such a creative and fun energy that has kept me enjoying my job for all these years.” Shriner is known for her laid-back and easy-to-get-along-with attitude. “She is...

By Chandler Ingle • January 21, 2016 • News

Stan King, longtime head coach of the Goshen College men’s tennis team, recently announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2015 season. And with King’s decision brings change. Big change. King served as the head coach for the men’s tennis team for a total of 17 seasons and amassed 106 team match wins—the second highest number of wins of any coach in the history of the athletic program behind Jim Routhier, the current volleyball coach (109). King was a 1961 graduate of Goshen College with a biology major, and competed in both #1 singles and doubles on the tennis...

By Chandler Ingle • January 14, 2016 • News

Cases of racial injustice on college campuses have rocked the nation this year. Violence towards black lives by police officers, the killing of nine black parishioners in Charleston, the escalating mean-spirited political rhetoric against minority faith traditions and immigrant populations, along with instances of misguided speech and prejudice, even on a peace college campus like Goshen’s, motived many faculty and staff to sign an open letter affirming their stance on these issues to GC students. Faculty and staff were invited to sign “An Open Letter to Our Students from GC Faculty and Staff,” shared via Google Docs, in support of...

By Riley Mills • January 14, 2016 • News

Regina Shands Stoltzfus, professor of peace, justice, and conflict studies, has been awarded the Indiana Civil Rights Commission’s 2016 Spirit of Justice Award, the commission’s highest honor. According the ICRC’s website, the award was created to recognize those “who have devoted their personal and professional efforts to creating social justice in the State of Indiana.” The Spirit of Justice Award recognizes individuals “who have made significant contributions to the advancement of all Hoosiers and maintain a focus on achieving equality,” who “promote peace within their community, understand and improve communication, and facilitate cooperation between diverse populations,” and encourage leadership in...

By Ellen Conrad • January 14, 2016 • News