President
January 18, 2018
Rebecca Stoltzfus officially named Goshen College’s 18th President
A new era was ushered in as Dr. Rebecca Stoltzfus was officially named as Goshen College’s 18th President on Saturday, Feb. 17. During the weekend, there were three main events that propelled Stoltzfus into office. The weekend kicked off at 10 a.m. on Friday with a special convocation that was planned in part by Stoltzfus herself. Duane Stoltzfus, professor of communication and chair of the Goshen Core, introduced President Stoltzfus to the students and faculty that were gathered. Stoltzfus then proceeded to lead a panel which featured four different people, all of whom are alumni of Goshen College. The panel...
November 9, 2017
President Stoltzfus officially welcomed
At the beginning of this month, a new member of Goshen College was welcomed to campus. It was not a new student who finally found their way to Goshen, or a professor coming back from sabbatical, but instead, incoming President Rebecca Stoltzfus. On November 1, Stoltzfus made a tour around campus to take in the sights and sounds as well as interact with students and faculty she encountered along the way. Stoltzfus is looking forward to diving into the campus community and getting to know people and she did just that on her first day. Armed with boxes of donuts,...
September 7, 2017
Newbold and Perez fill administrative roles
Since the last academic year, two administration positions have been updated: Goshen College President and Dean of Students. These roles have been filled by Ken Newbold and Gilberto Perez, Jr. Newbold’s term as Goshen College president began on June 1 and will continue until the end of October, when Dr. Rebecca Stoltzfus will come into office on Nov. 1, 2017. So far during Newbold’s time as president, he’s traveled to Orlando, Florida for the Mennonite Church USA Convention where he met with prospective, incoming and previous students. He also got the opportunity to engage with the other presidents of Mennonite...
September 7, 2017
Dr. Rebecca Stoltzfus appointed GC president
Although Dr. Rebecca Stoltzfus doesn’t officially begin her role as President of Goshen College until November 1, she is excited to “help create an environment of well-being.” Dr. Stoltzfus previously worked as the vice provost for undergraduate education at Cornell University, an Ivy-League institution located in Ithaca, New York. Prior to her time at Cornell, Stoltzfus worked as an assistant and associate professor of human nutrition at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. While Stoltzfus has wrapped her position as provost, she’s still finishing up her research of global health and nutrition in Tanzania, Zimbabwe and India at...
March 9, 2017
Presidential search continues
On Feb. 20, members of the Presidential Search Committee met with an open group of students to provide updates on the search process, as well as receive feedback as to what students are requesting of their next president. Through the Social Reform Club, students initiated contact with the committee by writing a letter drafted in unity with many other clubs on campus, including Goshen Student Women’s Association, Black Student Union, Prevention Intervention Network, Student Senate as well as several others. In the letter, the student authors outlined three categories that they wished for the committee to keep in mind during...
October 27, 2016
President Brenneman delivers keynote address
President Brenneman delivered a keynote address at the Dean’s Forum of the 30th annual Conference of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) in San Antonio, Texas on October 11. Brenneman’s speech was titled “Intercultural Transformation of a Midwest Mennonite College: Sí Se Puede!” In the 30 minute address, Brenneman discussed Goshen College’s transformation from a mostly homogenous makeup of students during the city of Goshen’s ‘sundown town’ history to a college that celebrates improved rates of diversity and intercultural themes. Brenneman explained to the conference the college’s prediction of becoming a Hispanic-Serving Institution, or HSI, within the next...
October 27, 2016
Presidential search committee meets for first time
The search committee for the 17th president of Goshen College met for the first time October 11-12 to set a timeframe and to review the Statement of Arrangements among the three entities invested in the search. The search committee includes representatives of Goshen College’s Board of Directors, Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) and GC faculty. Over the course of the next six months, this group will continue to meet monthly to compile lists of candidates, conduct interviews and eventually find a replacement for President Jim Brenneman after he steps down in June 2017. The committee is a diverse mix of four...
September 8, 2016
Dr. James Brenneman begins last year as president
On August 17, Dr. James Brenneman, Goshen College’s 16th president, announced his resignation effective June 30, 2017. Goshen College faculty and staff gathered at Merry-Lea Environmental Learning Center for the annual all-employee retreat, where they first heard the information. Students also received an email directly from Brenneman on the same day. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have helped shape my alma mater and this community for the better,” said Brenneman in the email. “I am eternally grateful to have served alongside such a dedicated and diverse faculty, staff, administrators, committed board members, loyal alumni, generous donors and supportive...
December 3, 2015
Brenneman attends White House summit
The Goshen College campus was surprised on Thursday, Nov. 19 to find out, after the fact, that our president, Jim Brenneman, had attended a meeting at the White House. On Nov. 11, the college received word from White House executives that we may be one of 50 colleges from around the country invited to attend a round table discussion about sustainability and green initiatives on college campuses. The official invitation and plans were not finalized until Monday, Nov. 16, just three days before the event. “This whole thing was embargoed to the press until after the event,” said Brenneman. “No...
February 19, 2014
President Brenneman Up for Term Review
The first of July could be a big day for Jim Brenneman. That day may mark the start of a third consecutive term: his second reappointment as Goshen College’s 16th president. Brenneman is currently up for presidential review, a standard process that occurs every four years served. The review involves the input of the GC Board of Directors, faculty, staff, administrators and Student Senate leaders, as well as community and church leaders and the president himself. An appointed Presidential Review Committee facilitates the process. Brenneman was first inaugurated in September 2006; his second term officially ends June 30. The evaluation...
February 19, 2014
To be President for a Day
When Jim Brenneman dresses for work, he prefers not to wear a tie. “One of the hard things about having lived in California for 26 years is that I’m uncomfortable wearing a suit and tie,” Brenneman said. “I call it my poodle suit, the uniform I wear to do my presidential duties.” He arrives at the college around 8:15 or 8:30 a.m., now that his son is in high school and able to drive. When Brenneman drove his son to school, he liked to be home for breakfast. Brenneman tries hard to keep his mornings “sacred,” with no scheduled meetings...
October 6, 2013
Former president Showalter returns to share‘Blush’
“I became curious about the rosy child and blushing girl I used to be. I wanted to see and hear her again, from a loving and unblushing distance, with new eyes and ears.” These are some of the first lines from Shirley Showalter’s newly published memoir, Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World. Showalter, who served as Goshen College’s 14th president, will return to campus this weekend to share her book with a familiar community. “It’s always kind of a mystery how a new audience will respond to my book,” said Showalter. “The question is, how are all of...
April 18, 2013
Showalter to publish childhood memoir
Shirley Showalter, former president of Goshen College, is preparing to publish her memoir, “Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World.” The book is scheduled for release in September. The writing of the memoir unofficially began about 10 years ago. She found encouragement after winning two first place awards and an honorable mention from a writing contest sponsored by a local newspaper in Kalamazoo, Mich. “That led me to think, ‘You know, I could do a whole book,’” Showalter said. She began working on the memoir project in earnest in 2011 when she received the contract from Herald Press, the...
March 8, 2012
President’s Council affirms iCore Initiative
On Wednesday morning, the President’s Council approved the Goshen College iCore Technology Initiative, providing all incoming first-years with an iPad in conjunction with the new GC core curriculum. “We were hoping to have [the affirmation] by February,” said Ross Peterson-Veatch, associate academic dean and a member of the iCore Initiative task force, “but people raised questions that were valid, and so we had to address them.” Peterson-Veatch said that those concerns were taken into consideration, but the final decision needed to be made yesterday because the academic advising period begins next week. Said Jim Brenneman, Goshen College president, “I’m excited...
January 20, 2011
Reflections of a former president
It began with her mother’s story. Two children were playing on their farm and discovered a magic elevator in a nearby tree. They took the elevator up into the clouds, discovered a factory where sunshine was made, and slid down the back of a rainbow. For a young Shirley Showalter, being a character in a made-up world was only the beginning of her journey with words. Showalter, now 63, believes in stories. Even before she went to school, her mother, Barbara Ann Hershey Becker, was a storyteller and would read to Showalter and her younger brother. “She made life seem...