Top 5 stories of 2018

A lot happened in 2018 at Goshen College. Here’s a look back at a few of the top stories:

 

 

• President Rebecca J. Stoltzfus inaugurated in ‘Distinctively Goshen’ event

  In a celebratory public ceremony around the theme of “Distinctively Goshen,” Dr. Rebecca J. Stoltzfus ’83,  was inaugurated as Goshen College’s 18th president on Feb. 17.

  Related:
  • See inauguration ceremony photos
  • Read the transcript of her full speech
  • Watch the inauguration ceremony video

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• GC celebrates 50 years of transformational global citizenshipSeptember 12, 1968 marked the beginning of Goshen College’s Study-Service Trimester (now Study-Service Term, or SST), with the first units embarking for Costa Rica, Guadeloupe and Jamaica. Now, 50 years later, nearly 8,000 students have visited 24 countries, and we’re celebrating the program’s landmark anniversary with stories, art exhibits, photos and developing plans for the program’s future.Related:
  • Read the SST Search Conference report
  • Visit the SST Stories Project

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•  Traditional Indonesian instrument makes its way to GoshenGoshen College is now home to a gamelan － a set of traditional, percussive instruments from the Indonesian island of Java. The Nyai Oyer Gamelan was gifted to GC by Duane Gingerich ’69 in 2011, though the massive size and customs regulations delayed the transfer of the instrument from Indonesia where Gingerich resided and the gamelan was housed. Despite Gingerich’s death in 2016, his wife, Reti, has worked with the college to see her husband’s wish come true in honor of his former professor, Mary Oyer.Related:
  • Read about and watch a video from the gamelan dedication

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•  Goshen College, College Mennonite Church complete major solar projectThis spring, Goshen College and College Mennonite Church announced a project to jointly install a 924-panel solar array － the first solar panels on campus － making the Church-Chapel building fully powered by renewable energy. The panels were installed on the roof of the college’s Rec-Fitness Center and provide 277 kilowatts of power, offsetting the Church-Chapel building’s electric bill, with the costs being fully recovered in about a decade.
  

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• This year, we said goodbye to some beloved members of the GC family:

  This year we lost some beloved members of the GC family. Some passed away after a long life and career, some before their time, but all with lives well-lived.

  Related:
  • Nov. 29: Philip Thomas ’87 remembered as influential global peacemaker
  • June 9: Lon Sherer, Goshen College music professor and violinist, dies at 85
  • April 6: Norman Kraus, professor emeritus of religion, dies at age 94
  • Dec. 25 (2017): Art Smucker, professor emeritus of chemistry, dies at 94