Winds of conflict and streams of water
If you are a college president, which I happen to be, your inbox is full of alarms and advice about the winds of conflict on campuses this fall.
President Rebecca J. Stoltzfus
About this blog
Recent Posts
Archives
- November 2024
- October 2024
- August 2024
- March 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- September 2023
- July 2023
- April 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- May 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- September 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
Distinctively Goshen
Reflections from President Stoltzfus
My word for 2024
My word for the year is faith because it’s what I need. Faith is such a familiar word that it can sound bland, and so I’ll try to explain what I mean. Faith for me is the belief that God is love and that God is at work in the world and in me. In these times, I need to feel a deep confidence in the marrow of my bones that love is the most powerful force in the world.
Subversive ideas that have made us better
It is no secret and no surprise: Goshen College has been in many ways subverted – turned from below – by our inquiring and passionate students and faculty and the transformational changes they have brought about. John D. Roth, professor emeritus of history and a leading Anabaptist-Mennonite scholar, illuminates and honors that history in: "A Mennonite College for Everyone(?): Goshen College and the quest for identity and inclusion, 1960-2020."
Women’s History Month: Gender continues to matter, for new reasons
In 1983, when I was a student at GC, I wrote my senior paper on the topic of gender. That was three years after Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin overthrew their male boss in the movie "9 to 5." Things have changed! But gender is every bit as important today, and for some new reasons.
Embracing ‘fierce conversations’
We all know the feeling when we’ve been part of a conversation that really mattered — one in which people were fully present, spoke honestly and clearly, and where ideas were formed and tested. We need more of that — not only at Goshen College and all of our places of work, but also in our churches and communities.
The case for college, part 3: OK, but what about our regional manufacturing economy?
The very low unemployment figures in Indiana make the time and financial investment in a college education harder for some students and their families to accept. The opportunity costs are very real! So how do we make the case for college in this economy and this region? Here are my 5 arguments.
The case for college, part 2: How do we educate for today’s world?
Specific competencies and a broad liberal arts education — can Goshen College offer the best of both worlds?
The case for college, part 1: Is college worth it — really?
I know there are a lot of negative narratives about college these days. How do we respond to this? Let’s begin with some evidence.
Six of my highlights from #MennoCon19
I am writing from Kansas City at the 2019 Mennonite Church USA Convention (aka #MennoCon19), at the end of a rich and spiritually stimulating week. It has been surprising and wonderful to be surrounded by thousands of Mennonites. Here are a few of my personal highlights.
Four reasons I am angry about the college admissions scandal
Most of all, I am angry because this scandal is born out of a lie: that elite research universities offer the best undergraduate education and that selectivity is a valid measure of quality.