Brenneman Presidential Scholarship Fund

James (Jim) ’77 and Terri Plank Brenneman ’77 have always been passionate about promoting diversity in higher education and the church. Soon after beginning as president in 2006, Jim launched the Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning (later named the Center for Intercultural & International Education) upon receiving a $12.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. Later, he helped to launch three campus institutes: the Institute for Ecological Regeneration, the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism and the Institute for Latino Educational Achievement.

During Jim’s years as Goshen College president, from 2006 to 2017, the student body dramatically changed and began to reflect the diversity he was striving to achieve. It grew to 36% percent students of color, which included the percentage of Latinix students growing from five to 23 percent. Jim helped to both plan and host two Latinix Scholarship Dinners in November 2015 and February 2017, the first of which raised $56,000 for deserving students, the $69,000. As a first-generation college student himself, Jim acknowledged he would not be president if it weren’t for the generosity of others through scholarships. “And thanks to these scholarships, I know our students will make significant contributions after they graduate,” Jim said during a dinner celebrating the college’s relationship with the Mexican Consulate in 2015. “Perhaps, one of them will come back to be president of Goshen College one day or serve as a diplomat of the United States or of Mexico.” In 2017, he received the Alfredo G. de Los Santos Leadership Award from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education.

Jim promoted the intersection of cultural diversity and ecological sustainability. In 2007, he became the second Indiana college president to sign the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.  He helped to significantly reduce the college’s carbon footprint. In the spring of 2013, the college took the further step of purchasing 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. The campus also converted nearly 20 percent of its lawn space to native plants and prairie restoration, developed a food composting system, planted a community garden, built a solar hot water collection system, became recognized as a Bee Campus and Tree Campus, and continued to reduce energy consumption campus-wide.

Jim and Terri met at Goshen College, where Terri studied social work and music. She went on to earn her master’s degree in Marriage and Family ministries and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. In her role as president of Mennonite Women bi-nationally and in the Pacific Southwest conference, on the Mennonite Church General Board, and as a member of the Mennonite Education Agency Board, Terri advocated for intercultural leadership development and inclusion, especially for women of color. She established a therapy/counseling practice in Pasadena when they lived there, then established a private practice in Goshen as well. Terri has a strong passion for helping others and loves music. She is an accomplished pianist and worship leader having served regularly at Pasadena Mennonite and at Berkey Avenue Mennonite in Goshen. She was also active on the college’s Afternoon Sabbatical Committee, chaired the Goshen College Wellness Committee, and established the Goshen College Women’s Leadership Council while Jim served as president. The couple now resides and works in Berkeley, California.