Connected Cause

Growing enrollment that addresses the healthcare workforce crisis

Creating healthy communities is at the center of our mission, on and off campus. Every community in our region, state and nation is projecting an increased need for nurses, and the pandemic revealed the vital role public health professionals play in our communities. Our talented faculty lead a world-class program, but have been in crowded and not up-to-date spaces that limit the growth of these outstanding and high-demand programs. New facilities in the second and third floors of Westlawn Hall will provide space for an expanding portfolio of educational programming to meet the growing needs of health care.

WESTLAWN HALL 2ND & 3RD FLOORS: Our acclaimed nursing program, which offered the first Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in Indiana in 1950, now offers master’s and doctoral programs as well. The historic Westlawn Hall is seeing a complete renovation, creating a new home for the Center for Nursing and Public Health.

The new space will accommodate collaborative educational partnerships, offering a complete portfolio of nursing careers — from nurse assistants to nurse practitioners — that will have a long-term impact on quality health care in our region.

From the lobby, hallways and the first, second and third floor labs and classrooms, the building will provide modern and collaborative learning environments for students.

In a time of intense enrollment pressures, our nursing program is a terrific driver of enrollment for Goshen College; and nursing majors comprise 15 percent of our student body. With this significant enhancement of space and facilities for nursing programs, Goshen College will have the opportunity to double the number of nursing graduates, while also supporting a growing public health major.

As we continue to complete the fundraising for this important project, we anticipate the new Center for Nursing and Public Health opening for classes in January 2025. 

View detailed plans and progress on this major project here

Innovative, sustainable and collaborative learning spaces

OPENING THE HEART OF CAMPUS: As a neighborhood campus, Goshen College and the City of Goshen have grown up together, taking pride in our vibrant community on and off campus. The first floor of the renovated Westlawn Hall provides elevated dining and dining spaces, as well as new and contemporary gathering spaces. We will improve entrances and wayfinding around campus to improve hospitality and beauty in this “spot in Indiana where the leafy maple grows.”

ACADEMIC FACILITIES RENEWAL: 

The Science Building is the heaviest trafficked academic building on campus and hasn’t seen a significant renovation since the 1990s. It will experience a sequenced renovation to support collaborative and inviting learning spaces for students, improve infrastructure and energy efficiency, and modernize labs, including the addition of a simulation cadaver lab.

Teaching and learning at Goshen today means flexible, multimedia and technology-driven spaces where learning is interactive and collaborative. We are transforming teaching spaces to meet these needs for all majors, supporting academic excellence and encouraging cutting-edge methods of teaching today’s students, including the Umble Center theater and the American Sign Language lab.

Goshen College students have unique opportunities to connect their environmental sustainability studies to the fragile coral island archipelago where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Gulf of Mexico at the J.N. Roth Marine Biology Station. Storm preparedness, entrance accessibility and hurricane resilience are essential to sustain this unique field station in support of our environmental and marine science major.

We are renovating the Harold and Wilma Good Library to create a modern and inviting hub for learning and student support. The main floor has become a one-stop academic support center: advising, registration, services for students with disabilities, and academic success center, including teaching and writing services.

Open doors of access and support for all students

The diversity of students coming to Goshen College is essential to our mission, enhances academic excellence and creates a vibrant learning community. For the new majority of our students — first-generation college students, growing numbers of Hispanic and African- American youth in Indiana, financially vulnerable students from the United States and other nations, and adult learners — access to Goshen College is only possible through the financial assistance of scholarships. They help support recruitment of more students and retention of current students. Endowed scholarships provide direct, equitable financial assistance to GC students for generations to come.

Promoting partnerships for learning and service

The founding commitment to our motto “Culture for Service” has led to excellence in rigorous real-world learning: community service begins in orientation; internships and capstones are built into every academic major; and global education is deeply embedded in our Core curriculum requirements for all students.

STUDY-SERVICE TERM: A signature program that has immersed students in faculty-led global education for more than 55 years, Study-Service Term (SST) is evolving to serve the students and the world of today. Access to SST for all students is one of our highest priorities. Scholarships and endowing program support provide access to an evolving portfolio of global education opportunities for students who face difficult financial constraints that might otherwise preclude participation in off-campus programs.

CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: In 2021, we established the new Center for Community Engagement to create new partnerships for learning with and for our local communities, building upon our longstanding experience with SST. Funding will extend these GC strengths to new arenas, working in collaboration with our local business, social sector and school system partners.

Sustaining a rich liberal arts tradition that engages the world

Goshen College’s historic and future excellence rests upon our faculty — talented in their fields, outstanding educators, and above all, committed to building relationships with all of our students. We will create a new fund for inclusive excellence to recruit and support mission-driven, broadly diverse and exceptionally talented faculty.

LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION ENDOWMENT: In ongoing support of the foundational liberal arts approach at the college, an endowment is being established to fund our interdisciplinary and community-engaged Core curriculum. The Goshen Core provides educational opportunities that all students experience, regardless of their chosen major. In addition to coursework to build skills like communication and quantitative reasoning, disciplinary perspectives courses in the core curriculum take a real-world problem or question and examine it through the lenses of the arts, natural sciences, religious studies, social sciences and peacemaking. And Goshen’s program uniquely includes global education as a third of the Core’s requirements.

MAPLE SCHOLARS: The Maple Scholars summer research program is a hallmark GC experience, in which faculty and students pursue research together, sharing methods and discoveries from across the disciplines. Physicists, field biologists, historians and film-makers share findings in a program that supports students and faculty together in an intensive summer program. We are endowing this program so that it is funded generously and continuously into the future.

Facilities upgrades to foster growth, pride and community

Athletics is a pathway to a college education for many students, providing access through scholarships and fueling Maple Leaf spirit and pride. Nearly one-third of Goshen students are varsity athletes, and Maple Leaf Athletics is real-world learning that fosters teamwork and leadership skills that help our students and communities thrive.

FACILITIES IMPROVEMENTS: To better support future enrollment growth and elevate the experience for student-athletes, fans and community members, we’re investing in key facilities improvements. The John Ingold Athletic Complex will feature additional walkways and an outdoor support facility with new locker rooms and concessions. Enhanced lighting, bleachers and press boxes will also be installed at the soccer, baseball and softball fields.

 Indoors, the Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center lobby will benefit from a branding facelift, and the Ruth Gunden Gymnasium will gain a needed new bleacher system to improve the game day experience.

Go Leafs!

Immediate and direct student and faculty impact.

Generous unrestricted gifts to the Goshen College Fund provide vital and flexible funds to support faculty and students’ areas of greatest need each year. Your ongoing partnership in this tradition of giving is the foundation for students to grow in life, leadership and service. Since inception, the Goshen College Fund has built and sustained the college, paving the way for each new generation. The richness of a GC education is seen and felt on the stage, in competition, in research, abroad and, of course, in the classroom — transforming local and global communities through the development of the world’s next courageous, creative and compassionate leaders!

We have increased our annual fundraising goal to ensure even more students have access to the opportunities that define a GC education. With rising student needs and growing aspirations, Goshen College Fund support is more crucial than ever. Together, we can ensure that the richness of a GC education continues to inspire and transform lives for years to come.

As we grow and improve Goshen College for our students over the coming years, we want to engage alumni, friends and others to give at least $68 million in new gifts by the end of 2026. We have a lot of strong momentum, with over $60 million already given or pledged during Connected Cause’s quiet phase! Your ongoing support will ensure excellence in the classroom, a greater and transformative presence in our community, and a beautiful, inviting and inclusive campus.

Every gift makes a difference. Join Connected Cause in a way that’s meaningful to you.