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Schedule of Events

Friday, September 8, 2006
10 a.m - Inaugural Chapel, College Mennonite Church-Chapel Sanctuary
All are welcome.

Saturday, September 9, 2006
2 p.m. - Tree Planting, by the Adelphian Fountain
The tree is a gift from the Class of 2006; all are welcome to attend.

7-11 p.m. - Brenneman Bash, Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center
An informal event with food, live music and videos for Goshen College students, current and retired faculty and staff and their families, Board of Directors and friends. Activities start at 7 p.m. for children and families, and at 8 p.m. for adults.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

2 p.m. - Inaugural Ceremony, Sauder Concert Hall, Music Center
All are welcome to attend. A public reception in the Music Center courtyard will follow the service.Ceremony is open seating. Doors to Sauder Hall open at 1:15 p.m.; pre-service music begins at 1:25 p.m. Overflow seating, with televised viewing of the ceremony will be available in room 153 of the Music Center.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Goshen College prepares to inaugurate President James E. Brenneman on Sept. 10

GOSHEN, Ind. – Goshen College is preparing for festivities to inaugurate President James E. Brenneman, culminating with a public installation ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. in Sauder Concert Hall.

The ceremony will feature music performed by Goshen College students and faculty, local choir Voices-n-Harmony, an instrumental group from Iglesia Menonita El Buen Pastor in Goshen and by the international recording artist Makinto. The processional will include more than 30 delegates from other colleges and universities, and current and retired Goshen College faculty. The investiture will be led by the Goshen College Board of Directors, followed by a litany of welcome. President Brenneman will also give his inaugural address.

The inaugural ceremony is open to the public; most seating is not reserved. Doors to Sauder Concert Hall will open at 1:15 p.m. and pre-service music will begin at 1:25 p.m. Overflow seating, with televised viewing of the ceremony, will be available in room 153 of the Music Center. A public reception in the Music Center courtyard will follow the service.

For more information about presidential inauguration activities, visit: www.goshen.edu/inauguration.

The inaugural theme, “Growing Wisdom and Wonder,” relates to the Scriptural passage from Isaiah (chapter 11, verses 1-2) and was selected by Brenneman to guide the weekend’s events and his inaugural address. President Brenneman said that the text is inspiring his leadership of Goshen College and sharing its mission and core values.

In addition to the formal installation service, other events are planned for the inauguration, beginning on Friday, Sept. 8. These events include a campus chapel, gatherings and meals with local community leaders and Goshen College donors, a tree planting ceremony.

An informal campus celebration called the “Brenneman Bash” will be held on Saturday night in the Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center from 7 to 11 p.m. Goshen College students, current and retired faculty, staff and their families, directors of the board and other friends are invited to celebrate President Brenneman and his family’s years in California and their move to Indiana. The event will include activities for children; live music by the Goldmine Pickers, Lavender Jazz, Makinto, a GC faculty-staff band and a college student band; videos about President Brenneman and his family; and food from California and the Midwest.

Though Brenneman – an educator, biblical scholar and church leader – has occupied the president’s office in the college’s Administration Building since July 1, the inaugural events will serve as an opportunity for the campus, community, colleagues from other academic institutions and others to formally acknowledge his leadership and welcome him. He, in turn, has had the opportunity to welcome new and returning students to campus during the Aug. 26-27 opening weekend, and has been involved in beginning-of-the-year faculty and administrative organizational activities.

Brenneman moved with his family – wife Terri J. Plank Brenneman, a clinical psychologist, and their 10-year-old son Quinn – to Goshen in June from their home in South Pasadena, Calif. Brenneman was named to the post in December and formally began his term July 1, 2006. Provost John D. Yordy served in the role as Interim President upon the resignation and departure of former Goshen College President Shirley H. Showalter in October 2004.

A 1977 Goshen College graduate, Brenneman was the founding and lead pastor of Pasadena (Calif.) Mennonite Church, where he was ordained in 1986. He attended Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., and finished his master of divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. He also holds a master of arts degree in religious studies, and a doctorate in Hebrew Bible and Old Testament studies from Claremont Graduate University. Brenneman’s teaching and scholarship led him to posts on the faculty in Old Testament studies at Episcopal Theological School and as an adjunct professor at both Fuller Theological Seminary and Claremont School of Theology.

In becoming the 16th president of 112-year-old Goshen College, Brenneman joins a list of recent leaders that includes: John D. Yordy (interim president), 2004-2006; Shirley H. Showalter, 1997-2004; Henry D. Weaver (interim president), 1996; Victor E. Stoltzfus, 1984-1995; J. Lawrence Burkholder, 1971-1984; and Paul E. Mininger, 1954-1970.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

 

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Goshen College
1700 S Main St
Goshen, Indiana 46526
USA
phone: +1 (574) 535-7569
fax: 535-7660
web: arachnid@goshen.edu
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