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The following is a schedule for Homecoming Weekend events, which are free and open to the public unless indicated otherwise.

FRIDAY, OCT. 5

10 a.m., Convocation: Alumni awardees, Church-Chapel
To launch Homecoming Weekend, the 2012 Culture for Service Awards will be presented to John Driver ’50 of Goshen, Ind. and Rebecca (Kreider) Pries ’66, of Cambridge, Mass. The 2012 Decade of Servant Leadership Award will be given to Grant Rissler ’99, of Richmond, Va. The 2012 Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award will go to Keith Springer ’69 of Saybrook, Ill., and the Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award will go to Sue Roth ’66 of Stryker, Ohio.

10:45 a.m., Reception for award recipients, Church-Chapel Fellowship Hall

2 p.m., Alumni bike ride, meet at Goshen’s Abshire Park
Ride Goshen’s Pumpkinvine Trail with other alumni. Choose a 10-mile or 35-mile ride (round-trip). For details please contact Keith Miller at kamiller@maplenet.net.

4-7 p.m. Class of 1962 – 50^th anniversary banquet, Greencroft Senior Center
Reservations required, $25.

5-10 p.m., First Friday – Activities in downtown Goshen
Stroll the streets of downtown Goshen and visit shops, restaurants and art galleries. Listen and swing dance to GC’s Lavender Jazz Band.

8-9 p.m., Peace Play: “Mr. Maurizio,” Umble Center
The GC Players will present the winning play in the 2012 Goshen College Peace Play Contest: “Mr. Maurizio” by playwright Mic Weinblatt of Minneapolis, Minn. The world premiere of this play will be directed by 2012 Goshen College alumnus Phil Weaver-Stoesz.
“Mr. Maurizio” explores the volatile relationship between a lonely man in his seventies and his “companion” – a young, compassionate El Salvadoran immigrant named Santina who feeds and cares for the older Italian immigrant. Santina attempts to find Maurizio’s estranged son as his emotional and physical health declines. As his body fails him, his relationship with Santina takes a shocking turn.
Tickets are $3 at the door.

SATURDAY, OCT. 6

8-9:30 a.m., Alumni Breakfast, Church Fellowship Hall
All alumni are invited to start the day with a buffet breakfast and a message from President Jim Brenneman and some words from alumni award recipients. Buffet is open 7:45-8:30 a.m.; program begins at 8:30. Cost: $13, reservations required.

9:30-11:45 a.m., Infant-Preschool Childcare, Church-Chapel Nursery Room
$10, registration required.

9:30-11:45 a.m., K-6^th grade activities, Recreation-Fitness Center Room 106
$10, registration required.

10-11:30 a.m., Chill, Chat, and Chai: Middle & high school students, Java Junction
Chill, Chat, and Chai with GC students. Admission staff available and tours offered.

9:45-11:45 a.m., Class Reunions
The classes of 1947, 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 2002 will have reunions around campus.

12-12:45 p.m., Campus tour
Meet at the south entrance of the Union Building.

12-2 p.m., Biological Sciences Luncheon, Newcomer Center, Room 19
Includes biology, molecular biology/biochemistry and environmental science majors. Celebrate more than 40 years of marine biology at GC with guest speaker Carl Weaver ’69. Cost: $15, reservations required.

12-2 p.m., Multicultural Alumni Luncheon, Church-Chapel, Fellowship Hall
Enjoy lunch and music with Tony Brown ’71 and hear how GC is becoming a more diverse campus. Cost: $15, reservations required.

1 p.m., Volleyball vs. Marian, Rec-Fitness Center Gunden Gymnasium

1 p.m., Champions of Character Reception, Rec-Fitness Center, Rooms 104-105

1-3 p.m., Ultimate Frisbee, Field in front of the Rec-Fitness Center
Alumni, students and friends are invited to play Ultimate Frisbee, whether you are an experienced or first-time player.

1:30-3 p.m., Book signings, Goshen College Bookstore
Life Together in the Spirit, by John Driver ’50
Wonderfully Made, by Terri Plank Brenneman ’77
The Daily Feast, by Esther Rose Graber ’52
Pastor and Professor: A Public Faith, by Don Blosser ’59, retired professor of Bible

1:30-3 p.m., Education Department Open House, Church-Chapel, Gathering Rooms 143-144
1:45 p.m. program: “Current Trends: A Superintendent’s Perspective,” by Bruce Stahly ’67

1:30-3 p.m., English Department Open House, Newcomer Center, Room 17
1:30 p.m. program: Ann Hostetler and Ervin Beck ’59 feature writers from the Journal of the Center for Mennonite Writing.

1:30-3 p.m., Nursing Department Open House, Wyse Hall, Room 211

1:30-3 p.m., Celebrate The Record’s 100^th Anniversary, Lounge across from Java Junction
Join former Record editors, current staff members and Communication Department faculty for presentations, displays, conversation and food.

2:30-3:30 p.m., Homecoming Hymn Sing, Music Center, Rieth Recital Hall
Enjoy hymn singing at its fines, led by Debra Brubaker ’79, professor of music, and Scott Hochstetler ’97, associate professor of music.

3-5 p.m., Women’s Soccer vs. Bethel, GC Soccer Field

4-5 p.m., Peace Play: “Mr. Maurizio,” Umble Center
The GC Players will present the winning play in the 2012 Goshen College Peace Play Contest: “Mr. Maurizio” by playwright Mic Weinblatt of Minneapolis, Minn. The world premiere of this play will be directed by 2012 Goshen College alumnus Phil Weaver-Stoesz.
“Mr. Maurizio” explores the volatile relationship between a lonely man in his seventies and his “companion” – a young, compassionate El Salvadoran immigrant named Santina who feeds and cares for the older Italian immigrant. Santina attempts to find Maurizio’s estranged son as his emotional and physical health declines. As his body fails him, his relationship with Santina takes a shocking turn.
Tickets are $3 at the door.

5-6:45 p.m., Homecoming Picnic, tent by Westlawn
All alumni, their families, students and faculty are welcome to enjoy a picnic together. Cost: $14 adults, $7 children 5-12, $2 for children under 5.

5-7 p.m. Goshen College Retired Art Faculty Exhibit and Reception, Music Center, Hershberger Art Gallery
Recent works by retired faculty in the GC Art Department.

7:30-8:30 p.m., Homecoming Music Gala, Sauder Concert Hall, Music Center
Goshen College music ensembles and faculty open the 2012-13 concert season with a gala performance. Performing are the Goshen College Chamber Choir and Women’s World Music Choir (directed by Dr. Debra Brubaker), Chorale and Men’s Chorus (directed by Dr. Scott Hochstetler) and Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Dr. Christopher Fashun). The ensembles will perform as individual units and also as a combined choral-orchestral ensemble.  Also performing are GC music faculty members Dr. Solomia Soroka, violin; Dr. Matthew Hill, piano; and Dr. Beverly Lapp, piano. The 10th “birthday” of the Music Center will be commemorated during the Music Gala and a reception will be held in the lobby after the program.
Tickets are $8 for all general admission seats.  To purchase, call the Goshen College Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566. Remaining tickets will be for sale as available at the door beginning one hour before the concert.

SUNDAY, OCT. 7

2-3 p.m., Peace Play: “Mr. Maurizio,” Umble Center
The GC Players will present the winning play in the 2012 Goshen College Peace Play Contest: “Mr. Maurizio” by playwright Mic Weinblatt of Minneapolis, Minn. The world premiere of this play will be directed by 2012 Goshen College alumnus Phil Weaver-Stoesz.
“Mr. Maurizio” explores the volatile relationship between a lonely man in his seventies and his “companion” – a young, compassionate El Salvadoran immigrant named Santina who feeds and cares for the older Italian immigrant. Santina attempts to find Maurizio’s estranged son as his emotional and physical health declines. As his body fails him, his relationship with Santina takes a shocking turn.
Tickets are $3 at the door.

For more information about Homecoming Weekend, to order event tickets or to register, call the Alumni Office at (574) 535-7565 or visit www.goshen.edu/alumni/Homecoming.

For directions and a campus map, visit: www.goshen.edu/aboutgc/map/.

Sponsored by the Goshen College Alumni Board, the 2012 Culture for Service Awards will be presented to John Driver ’50 of Goshen, Ind., and Rebecca (Kreider) Pries ’66, of Cambridge, Mass. The 2012 Decade of Servant Leadership Award will be given to Grant Rissler ’99, of Richmond, Va. The 2012 Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award will go to Keith Springer ’69 of Saybrook, Ill., and the Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award will go to Sue Roth ’66 of Stryker, Ohio.

The awards will be presented on Friday, Oct. 5 at 10 a.m. in the Church-Chapel during convocation, with a reception following in the Church Fellowship Hall at 10:45 a.m. These events are free and open to the public.

John Driver ’50 – Culture for Service Award

John Driver ’50, of Goshen, Ind., has responded repeatedly to the call to service and ministry, giving his energy to the development of global and Christian relationships and learning throughout his life.

Prior to studying at Goshen College, Driver served in community development and as a pastor and church planter in Puerto Rico. After graduating from Goshen College in 1950, Driver attended Mennonite Biblical Seminary in 1951. He also attended Perkins School of Theology at Methodist Union Seminary in Dallas, Texas.

In 1967, Driver began working as academic dean and professor of church history and New Testament at the Inter-Mennonite Seminary in Montevideo, Uruguay. He continued to do church-related work in Spain from 1974 until the early 1980s.

Driver and his wife, Bonny, have since retired in Goshen, though Driver continued to teach periodically in the Hispanic Ministry Program at Goshen College from 1994-2003. Driver is a prolific writer, doing almost all of his writing in Spanish. He is the recent author of Life Together in the Spirit: A Radical Spirituality for the Twenty-First Century, published by Goshen College’s Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism and available in both English and Spanish.

Driver demonstrates compassionate peacemaking in many ways as he thinks carefully about cultural and theological issues and promotes justice for “the least of these.” He has traveled extensively to work for peace and advocate for the poor and disposed, particularly in Latin America, South America and Spain. Driver’s ministry has been shaped by what he has learned around the world, and his vision for Anabaptism reflects his global citizenship and Christ-centeredness.

“No Mennonite theologian has had a greater impact within Anabaptist and evangelical circles throughout Mexico, Central America and Spain than John Driver,” said John Roth, Goshen College Professor of History. “The profound simplicity and clarity of his teaching is legendary. But in addition to his scholarly accomplishments, John is even better known as a person whose very life – in his generosity, simplicity, gracious spirit and evident love for all God’s people – embodies the message of his teachings.”

The Drivers have three adult children, Cynthia Driver-Rempel ’74, Fred Driver ’75 and Jonathan Driver, and attend East Goshen Mennonite Church.

Rebecca (Kreider) Pries ’66 – Culture for Service Awardee

In the face of juvenile and domestic violence in her community, Rebecca (Kreider) Pries ’66, of Cambridge, Mass., took action in 1976 and founded Adolescent Consultation Services, Inc., a non-profit mental health and social services agency that she continues to lead as its executive director today. Pries championed the agency’s expansion to address the multiplicity of issues faced by court-involved children and families, such as trauma, substance abuse, behavioral disorders and cultural issues due to recent immigration.

Pries’ agency partners with the Middlesex County and Greater Boston juvenile courts, and offers mental health evaluations and psychological counseling to troubled youth and their families. As a licensed mental health counselor, Pries oversees court-based mental health clinics that evaluate youth and link them with services in their communities. She is directly involved in helping to reconcile youth and their parents (many of whom come from the sizable Hispanic and Cambodian populations in the area). As co-chair of the Massachusetts Alliance of Juvenile Court Clinics, she advocates for funding to meet the mental health, social service and educational needs of these youth within the Department of Mental Health and the state legislature.

Pries studied English at Goshen and went on to receive her master’s degree from Tufts University and a certificate of advanced graduate study from Boston University. She co-authored the book Kids and the Law, a user’s guide to the court system, which is available in English, Spanish and Khmer, and offers information to parents of court-involved kids on how to navigate the Juvenile Court System.

“What distinguishes Rebecca is the vision, dedication and incredibly hard work that she pours into her work,” said Dr. Owen Gingerich ’51, Professor Emeritus for Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and member of Mennonite Congregation of Boston. “In many instances, the psychological counseling she provides keeps these troubled young people out of jail and places them in rehabilitation programs – a really strong case of conflict resolution. Clearly this is compassionate peacemaking in a fundamental way.”

Pries volunteers with the Mt. Auburn Neighborhood Association and is a board member for Citizens for Juvenile Justice. She has been recognized by the Department of Mental Health for her commitment to public service with the Richard Barnum Distinguished Service Award and by the Middlesex District Attorney with the Citizenship in Action Award.

Pries attends Mennonite Congregation of Boston, where she has served as a lay pastor. She is married to Weldon Pries and they have two daughters, Rachel and Eleanor.

Grant Rissler ’99 – Decade of Servant Leadership

Grant Rissler ’99, of Richmond, Va., seeks to live the life of a global citizen, working to promote justice and peace. Rissler studied history at Goshen College. Following graduation, he worked for six months at Mennonite Board of Missions. He spent two and a half years in Mennonite Voluntary Service, including a year at Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) United Nations Liaison office, a year as an immigration paralegal in South Texas and a half year spent traveling around the United States and Canada by Greyhound bus to report on the work of Mennonite service programs.

Rissler earned a master’s degree in international relations at Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, concentrating on Latin America. Following the completion of his degree, Rissler worked as Communications Director at the Faith and Politics Institute, where he helped to organize and participate in the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage.

Rissler has held several positions with MCC East Coast relating to peace and justice work, donor relations, MCC Relief Sales and MCC thrift shops. His interests in peace and justice issues are reflected in the volunteer work he has done with his church and peace and justice related organizations.

Among those who influenced his life choices and worldview, Rissler highlights the role of his parents, Ed and Jean Rissler, who served under Eastern Mennonite Missions in Somalia and Kenya, where Rissler was born. Rissler has also lived or worked in Haiti, Italy, Peru and Switzerland.

“These experiences have especially equipped him to be a sensitive and thoughtful citizen in many contexts,” said Chad Martin, associate pastor at Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster. “He rides bike often to conserve resources, is a faithful financial contributor to the church and celebrates diverse cultures with exquisite documentary photography wherever he goes.”

Rissler is a member of Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster (Pa.). He lives in Richmond, Va. with his wife, Maia Linask, where they attend Richmond Mennonite Fellowship. Rissler is in his first year of a doctorate program in public policy and administration at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Keith Springer ’69 – Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award

Keith Springer ’69, of Fisher, Ill., has dedicated his life to serving others, both locally and around the globe. While studying mathematics and secondary education at Goshen College, Springer participated in basketball and baseball. He set career-scoring records for men’s basketball, finishing with 1,531 points from 1965-69. Springer taught math and coached 9^th grade boys basketball at Concord Junior High School in Elkhart, Ind. from 1969-71.

In 1971, Springer and his wife, Kathy (Newcomer) Springer ’71, served for two years at the American School of Brasilia in Brazil with the Mennonite Board of Missions (now Mennonite Mission Network) as overseas mission associates. While there, he taught high school math and physics and coached boys basketball. In 2004 and again in 2011, the Springers travelled to Argentina to visit and share with churches of the Patagonia Mission Project. In 2012, they did volunteer work at Nazareth (Israel) Village.

Springer served for six years on the Christian Nurture Commission of the Illinois Mennonite Conference. Since 1977, he has operated a cash grain farm with his brother. He is a member of East Bend Mennonite Church in Fisher, Ill., where he is the chairman of finance and is vice president of the board of directors for the Illinois/Iowa chapter of Everence Financial. The Springers have two adult sons, Ryan ’96 and Eric ’99.

Sue Roth ’66 – Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award

Sue Roth ’66, of Stryker, Ohio, helped pioneer organized sports opportunities for women, striving to give them equal access in the athletic world. While studying physical education at Goshen College, Roth was a member of the Women’s Athletic Association and participated in field hockey and softball, as well as several intramural sports. After graduating from Goshen College, she taught physical education and coached in Middlebury, Ind., and Stryker, Ohio, before returning to the college from 1976 to 1999 to teach physical education and coach field hockey, volleyball and track and field.

While teaching and coaching in high school, Roth worked hard to develop opportunities for girls. She increased the number of sports to make sure every girl had the opportunity to participate in the sport she wanted, even though Roth was expected to coach all sports alone.

As a volleyball coach at Goshen, Roth was named the Hoosier Conference for Women Coach of the Year in volleyball in 1985, 1988 and 1989. She initiated the women’s track and field program at Goshen and promoted student athletes as commissioner with the Indiana Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. She also worked with Ruth Gunden in developing the Hoosier Conference for Women, which filled an organizational need for women in sport.

Roth is a track and field official for the Ohio High School Athletic Association. She attends St. John’s Christian Church in Archbold, Ohio.

Alumni Awards

The Culture for Service Awards were initiated in 1989 and are given annually to honor Goshen College graduates who have made lifelong commitments to service. Recipients distinguish themselves through commendable accounts of service and achievements at home or in their churches, colleges and communities and the larger world.

The Decade of Servant Leadership Award, created in 2004, recognizes a Goshen College alumnus or alumna whose contributions and achievements in career, public or church service and volunteer activities early in post-graduate life are worthy of recognition.

For the seventh year, the Goshen College Maple Leafs Athletic Club is presenting the Dr. Ruth Gunden and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Awards. The two awards, created in 2005, are presented to a male and female alumni athlete who exemplify the college’s core values in their lives, work and community service. Gunden and Gingerich were pioneers in Goshen College’s athletic history.

The following is a schedule for Homecoming Weekend events, which are free unless indicated otherwise.

Friday, Oct. 7
10 a.m., Convocation: Alumni awardees, Church-Chapel
To launch Homecoming Weekend, two alumni award winners will speak in this special convocation: Kelli Holsopple ’01, this year’s recipient of the Decade of Servant Leadership award, and the wife of Ahmed Haile ’79, who receives a Culture for Service award posthumously, after his death in April.

10:45 a.m., Reception for award recipients, Church-Chapel Fellowship Hall

4-7 p.m.Class of 1961 – 50^th anniversary banquet, Greencroft Senior Center
Reservations required, $25.

5-10 p.m., First Friday – Activities in downtown Goshen
Stroll the streets of downtown Goshen and visit shops, restaurants and art galleries. Listen and dance to GC’s Lavender Jazz Band at 8 p.m., and try a snack served by Maple Leaf student athletes. Look for the Goshen College tent on East Washington Street.

8-9 p.m., Student-directed One Acts, Umble Center
The GC Players will present three student-directed plays on the theme “Strangers No More.” The plays will be “Overtones,” by Alice Gerstenberg, directed by Aaron Kaufman, a senior music major from Tiskilwa, Ill.; “Here We Are,” by Dorothy Parker, directed by Emily Bowman, a senior theater and psychology double major from Millersburg, Ind.; and “Time Flies,” by David Ives, directed by Joshua Hofer, a senior music and theater double major from Dolton S.D. Tickets are $3 at the door.

Saturday, Oct. 2
8-9:15 a.m., Alumni Breakfast, Church Fellowship Hall
All alumni are invited to start the day with a buffet breakfast and a message from President Jim Brenneman and some words from alumni award recipients. Buffet is open 7:45-8:15 a.m.; program begins at 8:15. Cost: $13, reservations required.

9:30-11:45 a.m., Infant-Preschool Childcare, Church-Chapel Nursery Room
$10.

9:30-11:45 a.m., K-6^th grade swimming and activities, Recreation-Fitness Center Room 106
$10.

9:45-11:45 a.m., Class Reunions
The classes of 1946, 1951, 1956, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 2001 will have reunions around campus.

12 p.m.,Volleyball vs. Marian, Rec-Fitness Center Gunden Gymnasium

12-12:45 p.m., Campus tour
Meet at the south entrance of the Union Building.

12-2 p.m., Biological Sciences Luncheon, Newcomer Center, Room 19
Includes biology, molecular biology/biochemistry and environmental science majors. Cost: $15, reservations required.

12-2 p.m., Multicultural Alumni Luncheon, Church-Chapel, Fellowship Hall
Cost: $15, reservations required.

12:30-2 p.m., Documentary Film, “Stages,” Umble Center
Join Kelli Holsopple ’99, 2011 Decade of Servant Leadership Award recipient, to watch this film about her work with youth and older adults in New York City and how they found their voices through theater.

1-3 p.m., Ultimate Frisbee, Field in front of the Rec-Fitness Center

1:30-3 p.m., Book signings, Goshen College Bookstore
“Belonging,” by Britt K. Kaufmann ’96
“Setting the Agenda: Meditations for the Organization’s Soul,” by Rick M. Stiffney ’73 and Edgar Stoesz
“Teaching that Transforms: Why Anabaptists-Mennonite Education Matters,” by John D. Roth ’81

1:30-3 p.m., Nursing Department Open House, Wyse Hall, Room 211

2-2:30 p.m., Mary Royer’s Legacy: Children’s Literature and Beyond, Good Library (lower lever), Royer Reading Room
Join in honoring Dr. Mary Royer’s life (1907-2001), her 49 years as professor of education and the Royer Reading Room’s collection.

2-3 p.m., Twenty Years of Television at GC: A Celebration, Newcomer Center, Room 17
Come hear about the growth of the TV program at GC and where it is today. See clips of current student work.

2-4 p.m., Men’s Soccer vs. Indiana Wesleyan, GC soccer field

2:30-3:30 p.m., Homecoming Hymn Sing, Music Center, Reith Recital Hall
Enjoy hymn singing at its fines, led by Debra Brubaker ’79, professor of music, and Scott Hochstetler ’97, assistant professor of music.

3:30-4 p.m., Music Department Reception, Music Center foyer
Join in honoring Vance Y. George ’55, 2011 Culture for Service recipient, and his contributions to the Music Department at GC.

4-5 p.m., Student-directed One Acts, Umble Center
The GC Players will present three student-directed plays on the theme “Strangers No More.” The plays will be “Overtones,” by Alice Gerstenberg, directed by Aaron Kaufman, a senior music major from Tiskilwa, Ill.; “Here We Are,” by Dorothy Parker, directed by Emily Bowman, a senior theater and psychology double major from Millersburg, Ind.; and “Time Flies,” by David Ives, directed by Joshua Hofer, a senior music and theater double major from Dolton S.D. Tickets are $3 at the door.

4-5 p.m.,Women’s Soccer vs. Grace, GC Soccer Field

5-6:45 p.m., Homecoming Picnic, tent by Westlawn
All alumni, their families, students and faculty are welcome to enjoy a picnic featuring locally grown produce. Cost: $14 adults, $7 children 5-12, $2 for children under 5.

5-7 p.m. Goshen College Art Faculty Exhibit and Reception, Music Center, Hershberger Art Gallery
Recent works by teaching faculty in the GC Art Department.

7:30-8:30 p.m., Homecoming Music Gala, Sauder Concert Hall, Music Center
The 2011 Music Gala concert will feature performances by the Goshen College Chorale and Men’s Chorus, conducted by Scott Hochstetler, assistant professor of music; the Chamber Choir and Women’s World Music Choir, directed by Debra Brubaker, professor of music; and the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Christopher Fashun, assistant professor of music. Tickets are $8 for all seats.

9 p.m., The Squoco Energy Company Presents an Evening with the Squendling Brothers, Umble Center
Peter Eash-Scott ’99 and Greg Wendling ’99 present their distinctive blend of sketch comedy, puppetry, video and animation in this entertaining production. Cost: $5 for adults, $3 for GC students.

Sunday, Oct. 3
2-3 p.m., Student-directed One Acts, Umble Center
The GC Players will present three student-directed plays on the theme “Strangers No More.” The plays will be “Overtones,” by Alice Gerstenberg, directed by Aaron Kaufman, a senior music major from Tiskilwa, Ill.; “Here We Are,” by Dorothy Parker, directed by Emily Bowman, a senior theater and psychology double major from Millersburg, Ind.; and “Time Flies,” by David Ives, directed by Joshua Hofer, a senior music and theater double major from Dolton S.D. Tickets are $3 at the door.

For more information about Homecoming Weekend, to order event tickets or to register, call the Alumni Office at (574) 535-7565 or visit www.goshen.edu/alumni/Homecoming.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Acting News Bureau Coordinator Alysha Bergey Landis at (574) 535-7762 or alyshabl@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a 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.

Presented by the Goshen College Alumni Board, the 2011 Culture for Service Awards will be presented to Arthur DeFehr ’65 of Winnipeg, Manitoba; Ahmed Haile ’79 of Milwaukee, Wis. (deceased); and Vance George ’55 of San Francisco, Calif. The 2011 Decade of Servant Leadership Award will be given to Kelli Holsopple ’99 of Brooklyn, N.Y. The 2011 Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award will go to Marty Gaff ’71 of Kouts, Ind., and the Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award will go to Mary Sutter ’80 of Sedona, Ariz.

The award recipients will be honored on Friday, Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. in the Church-Chapel during convocation, with a reception following in the Church Fellowship Hall at 10:45 a.m. These events are free and open to the public.

Arthur DeFehr ’65 – Culture for Service Awardee
Arthur DeFehr ’65, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, attended Goshen College for a year after receiving a bachelor of commerce degree from Manitoba University and went on to travel the world and become CEO of one of North America’s leading furniture manufacturers, Palliser Furniture, Ltd.

After obtaining a master’s at Harvard Business School in 1967, where he graduated in the top one percent of his class, DeFehr used his knowledge to serve others around the world, in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Somalia and Lithuania.

DeFehr has worked at Palliser Furniture since 1967, and has been CEO since 1984. Palliser is a family-owned furniture business committed to environmental sustainability. DeFehr is also active with Habitat for Humanity and was the first chair of Canadian Foodgrains Bank, an organization through which Canadian farmers can share their abundant harvests with the less fortunate of the world. DeFehr’s most recent focus has been on the former Soviet Union, including the founding of Lithuania Christian College University. Additionally, he lectures to businesses, universities and other audiences about business and social topics.

“Goshen provided the context for me to explore and test my faith and my values,” said DeFehr. “The historic events of the mid-60′s were the crucible for shaping ideas and values that have informed my life. Goshen was a great platform from which to experience and explore those extraordinary times and played a critical role in shaping a perspective on life that has served me well.”

DeFehr is married to Leona, and together they have two adult children, Shanti DeFehr and Tara DeFehr-Tielmann. He attends River East Mennonite Brethren Church.

Vance George ’55 – Culture for Service Awardee
Vance George’s ’55 love for music took him from the small Indiana town of Nappanee to San Francisco, and along the way he’s conducted choirs around the world and won several Grammy Awards.

While at Goshen College, George double majored in voice and piano. After graduation, he taught music at the Woodstock School in India as part of conscientious objector duties. Upon returning to the United States, George attended Indiana University School of Music where he received master’s and doctorate degrees in choral conducting. He continued on to work with several schools and choirs, including the University of Wisconsin, Kent State University and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.

In 1983, George began his tenure as conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Under his leadership, the chorus won four Grammy Awards, including Best Choral Album and Classical Album of the Year. In 2001, the chorus won its first Emmy Award for its concert production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” Now he is director emeritus of the chorus and works as a guest conductor, holding residencies and workshops around the country.

George still returns frequently to Goshen College as an advisor to the music faculty and as a guest conductor for the choirs. Deb Brubaker, professor of music at Goshen College, said, “Vance has a way during rehearsal of keeping students vitally involved with their music. He is demanding and a taskmaster, while at the same time encouraging students with humor and inspiring stories. He helps them create a personal relationship with the music, learning to know its intricacies and meanings, and in the process, learning more about themselves. Students leave these rehearsals inspired, tired, yet invigorated, knowing that they have experienced something greater than themselves.”

On February 19, 2012, George will return to Goshen College yet again to conduct the Goshen choirs and the Toledo Symphony in Faure’s “Requiem,” Hayden’s “Lord Nelson Mass,” Bach’s “Nun Danket Alle Gott” and several Copland pieces for a Performing Arts Series concert.

Ahmed Haile ’79 – Culture for Service Awardee
Ahmed Haile ’79 came to Goshen from Somalia to study economics and peace, and returned to his homeland years later as a teacher and a peacemaker. But on April 26, 2011, the 58-year-old Somali diplomat for peace passed away after struggling with cancer for six years. Though Haile was nominated for the Culture for Service Award prior to his death, he will be celebrated posthumously at the convocation on Oct. 7 and his wife, Martha, will accept the award in his honor.

As a teenager, Haile chose to become a Christian, which was rare in the predominantly-Muslim country of Somalia. After he fled Somalia to Kenya, he was enabled by the help of several good friends to attend Western Mennonite High School in Salem, Ore. From there, he graduated from Goshen College with a bachelor’s degree in economics, from Indiana State University with a master’s of public administration and from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary with a master’s in peace studies.

After completing his studies in the United States, Haile returned to Somalia to teach and lead international development efforts on a local level. After the downfall of the Somali government, Haile began peacemaking efforts between warring Somali factions. In 1991, while he was engaged in peacemaking efforts there, Haile lost his leg to a rocket-propelled grenade attack. Undaunted, he continued with his commitment to peacemaking. From 1994 to 2009, he taught as a professor at Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya, where he founded the Peace Studies Program.

Robert Herr ’72 and Judy Zimmerman Herr ’74 wrote of Haile: “[As a teacher at Day Star], Ahmed liked to note that it was the tradition of peace he learned about at Goshen that gave him his life’s orientation. He considered himself a Mennonite peacemaker and presented himself this way whenever he could.”

In addition to his peace work in East Africa, Haile wrote a variety of papers, and completed a memoir on his life as a Somali peacemaker prior to his death, titled “Teatime in Mogadishu: My Journey as a Peace Ambassador in the World of Islam,” published by Herald Press. The book, which he wrote with his long-time friend David Shenk, can be purchased online at www.mpn.net or by calling 1-800-245-7894. “Teatime in Mogadishu” will also be sold during the Oct. 7 reception at 10:45 a.m. in the Church Fellowship Hall.

In 2009, Ahmed, Martha, and their three young adult children, Afrah ’11, Sofia and Gedi, moved to Milwaukee, Wis., from Nairobi, Kenya, where they had been living for the prior 15 years.

Kelli Holsopple ’99 – Decade of Servant Leadership
Kelli Holsopple ’99, of Brooklyn, N.Y., has used her passion for theater not for self-promotion, but rather to teach others to share their stories.

Holsopple studied communication and theater education while at Goshen College. After graduation, she worked with a variety of theater companies, including the American Shakespeare Center in Virginia. Now, she is co-artistic director of Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, where she works as a producer, actor and director of the educational outreach programs InFlight and Evolve. The InFlight program works to bring drama into New York City public schools for grades K-5.

More recently, Holsopple developed the Evolve Theater Project, an intergenerational theater program. The pilot program of Evolve was documented in a film, titled “Stages,” produced by Meerkat Media LCC. Over a period of 20 weeks, Holsopple worked with a group of older Puerto Rican women and a group of inner-city youth, creating a play with them and empowering them to share their stories. The film follows these groups as they look at their backgrounds, confront stereotypes and create unlikely bonds with one another.

“Stages” received the Best Documentary Award at HBO’s New York International Latino Film Festival. The documentary was also played for a national audience of over 5,000 people in Los Angeles at the annual conference for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. There will be a free showing of “Stages” during Goshen College’s Homecoming Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 8 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Umble Center.

“Kelli exemplifies what it means to be a life-long learner, even in her typical role as a teacher,” said Goshen College Professor of Theater Doug Caskey. “Her interest in learning about other cultures and individuals different from her keeps her engaged in her community. This desire to understand others and the world around her has been part of who she is from a young age, and I’m sure it will continue for all her living years.”

Marty Gaff ’71 – Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Awardee
Marty Gaff ’71, of Kouts, Ind., has devoted his life to inspiring young lives through athletics. While at Goshen, Gaff majored in physical education, and continued on to receive a master’s degree and Indiana University in 1976. Gaff worked in Goshen for 11 years, teaching at local elementary and junior high schools. He also coached middle school sports and high school basketball.

Gaff then moved to Kouts High School, where he has been for 28 years, teaching U.S. history and current events. While at Kouts, he has coached varsity baseball, middle school boys track and varsity boys basketball. Throughout his time coaching basketball, he has led the team in a winning record of 354-251 and has won six sectional championships and two regional championships. Gaff holds the most career wins of any boys’ basketball coach in Porter County. He served on the board of directors for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association for five years, and in 2001, he was named the Gary Post Tribune Coach of the Year.

Gaff and his wife, Sally (Hieser) Gaff ’73 have three children, Cindy, Kristy and Brooke, and attend Hopewell Mennonite Church where Marty has served as an adult Sunday school teacher, a member of the church council and a board member for the Hopewell Preschool Ministry.

Mary Sutter ’80 – Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award
Mary Sutter ’80, of Sedona, Ariz., has used her knowledge of medicine to help people around the United States and abroad, providing many of them with care they normally wouldn’t receive.

While studying pre-medicine at Goshen, Sutter was also an active member of the volleyball team. After graduating, she went on to receive her doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed her internship and residency at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, Ohio.

Sutter began her career working at a community health center for eight years in Indianapolis, Ind., where she worked with patients with limited health resources, and many without insurance. Also in Indianapolis, Sutter worked at a homeless initiative often treating patients with mental illnesses or drug addictions. Throughout the next 10 years, she traveled and worked in many offices, from health maintenance organizations to private offices to community health centers and Indian health services.

In various community health centers, Sutter worked with many recent immigrants from countries around the world. Currently, she works with many immigrant patients at the Yavapai County Community Health Center in Cottonwood, Ariz.

Since moving to Arizona, Sutter attends the Church of the Red Rocks and participates in the Sedona area Centering Prayer Group.

Alumni Awards

The Culture for Service Awards were initiated in 1989 and are given annually to honor Goshen College graduates who have made lifelong commitments to service. Recipients distinguish themselves through commendable accounts of service and achievements at home or in their churches, colleges and communities and the larger world.

The Decade of Servant Leadership Award, created in 2004, recognizes a Goshen College alumnus or alumna whose contributions and achievements in career, public or church service and volunteer activities early in post-graduate life are worthy of recognition.

For the sixth year, the Goshen College Maple Leafs Athletic Club is presenting the Dr. Ruth Gunden and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Awards. The two awards, created in 2005, are presented to a male and female alumni athlete who exemplify the college’s core values in their lives, work and community service. Gunden and Gingerich were pioneers in Goshen College’s athletic history.

– By Alysha Landis

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 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.

>> View more photos of the alumni awardees and of Homecoming Weekend 2010.
>> Check out the full schedule for Homecoming Weekend.
GOSHEN, Ind. – Their lives have been about making peace in their communities as they worked in other countries, in the courtroom, on the playing field and in the church. During Goshen College’s Homecoming Weekend 2010 on Oct. 1-3, the college will honor seven exceptional alumni with awards for their longtime commitment to service that has inspired others.The award recipients will be honored on Friday, Oct. 1 at 10 a.m. in the Church-Chapel, with a reception following in the Church Fellowship Hall at 10:45 a.m. These events are free and open to the public.

Presented by the Goshen College Alumni Board, the 2010 Culture for Service Awards will be presented to Goshen College alumni Wilma Shank ’46 and David A. Shank ’48 of Goshen, Ind., Wilmar Stahl ’71 of Filadelfia, Paraguay, and Nancy Chupp ’87 of Seattle, Wash.

The Culture for Service Awards were initiated in 1989 and are given annually to honor Goshen College graduates who have made lifelong commitments to service. Recipients distinguish themselves through commendable accounts of service and achievements at home or in their churches, colleges and communities and the larger world.

The 2010 Decade of Servant Leadership Award will be given to Cristina Hernandez ’00, who currently resides in Kabul, Afghanistan and is from Honduras. The award, created in 2004, recognizes a Goshen College alumnus or alumna whose contributions and achievements in career, public or church service and volunteer activities early in post-graduate life – during or prior to their 10^th class reunion year – are worthy of recognition.

For the fifth year, the Goshen College Maple Leafs Athletic Club is presenting the Dr. Ruth Gunden and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Awards. The 2010 Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award will go to BJ Leichty ’75 of Wakarusa, Ind., and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award will go to Dan Bodiker ’64 of Goshen.

The two awards, created in 2005, are presented to a male and female alumni athlete who exemplify the college’s core values in their lives, work and community service. Gunden and Gingerich were pioneers in Goshen College’s athletic history.

Wilma Shank ’46 and David A. Shank ’48 – Culture for Service Awardees

Wilma (Hollopeter) Shank ’46 and David A. Shank ’48 have spent their lives in mission work around the world, always with a deep respect for the local people and culture.

After having his college education interrupted by seven years in Civilian Public Service in Virginia, Iowa and New York, David eventually received his degree and then studied at Goshen College Biblical Seminary before he and Wilma took an assignment with Mennonite Board of Missions (MBM, a predecessor agency of Mennonite Mission Network) to minister and serve in Belgium in 1950. The two spent 23 years there, involved in a variety of service: providing emergency relief and care of war orphans, ministering to immigrants, starting several new congregations and assisting students.

Upon returning to the states, David worked as an assistant professor of religion and philosophy at Goshen College, as well as a campus minister for four years. But MBM soon called the two back to the foreign mission field, and they served in West Africa from 1979 to 1989. During that time, David was able to study the Prophet William Wade Harris and wrote his dissertation about this man considered to be one of the most significant African religious leaders in the past two centuries. He received a doctorate from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) in 1983 and his book, The Prophet Harris: “Black Elijah of West Africa,” was published in 1994.

James Krabill ’73, who served in C™te d’Ivoire with the Shanks and now is senior executive for global ministries with Mennonite Mission Network, said in his nomination of the two, “Making Jesus known and embodying Jesus’ Way in the life of the church are in fact what probably best describe their ministries in various locations around the world. … David and Wilma have been models and mentors to me on how to take seriously one’s context for ministry. The Shanks have taken culture seriously, learning the language, observing and adapting to cultural patterns, enjoying the lace and chocolate, dancing to sub-Saharan rhythms, and committing themselves to nurturing and encouraging the growth of the church in culturally-appropriate ways in whatever context God placed them.”

Krabill recently edited the book Mission from the Margins: Writings from the Life and Ministry of David A. Shank, which is published by the Institute of Mennonite Studies. A book signing will be held on Oct. 2 during Homecoming Weekend from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the Goshen College Bookstore.

Since retiring in 1989, the Shanks have resided in Goshen. David and Wilma are members of Berkey Avenue Mennonite Church and are the parents of four adult children: Michael Shank ’71, Stephen Shank ’74, Crissie Buckwalter ’78 and Rachel Shenk ’80.

Daughter Rachel wrote in her nomination, “Their huge pile of Christmas greetings each year remind me of the impact they have had on many, many people – the greetings come from all over the world and from an intergenerational group of people on whom they have obviously had an impact.”

Wilmar Stahl ’71 – Culture for Service Awardee

Anthropologist Wilmar Stahl ’71, the son of Russian Mennonites who immigrated to the Chaco, Paraguay in 1930, has spent his life combining research and practical work to help in the complex intercultural setting of the Chaco, serving his own people and the indigenous Paraguayans.

As a young adult while studying at the Mennonite Seminary in Uruguay and with a growing interest in anthropology, Stahl met the Mennonite anthropologist Jacob A. Loewen who was studying cultural changes in the Paraguayan Chaco. Through the encouragement of the seminary professors he was able to study at Goshen College as a student of Professor of Sociology Calvin Redekop.

After receiving his higher education in the United States – including a master’s degree from Syracuse University – Stahl returned to Paraguay where he played an important role in development work among the indigenous people and to improving their lives through his appreciation for and value of their culture and worldview.

Redekop wrote in his nomination that Stahl “kept on learning and researching ‘in the field’ as he was working and experimenting in it. … He does not consider the indigenous inferior, rather is intrigued by their world.”

Stahl served many years with Association of Cooperative Services Indigenous-Mennonite (ASCIM), an organization co-administered by the indigenous and Mennonite leaders which oversees a resettlement program, schools and medical facilities for the indigenous peoples of the Chaco. He became ASCIM’s director which allowed him to initiate needed reforms like securing more land for the indigenous Paraguayans and promoting integrated education.

Gundolf Niebuhr, a Mennonite archivist in Filadelfia, Paraguay, wrote in his nomination that Stahl’s “peacemaker stance has been evident in his ability to mediate inter-ethnically, preventing potential conflicts, but also accompanying indigenous cultures in their sometimes painful process of change. His goal always was to gently guide cultural change, to help undertake it selectively, so that values and social stability would not suffer unduly. In fact, his longing has been to help people appreciate their culture in the face of aggressive westernizing tendencies.”

In his 2007 book Culturas en Interaccion: Una Antropolog’a Vivida en el Chaco Paraguayo, he studies the Chaco cultures and evaluates earlier approaches to community development programs. Now a consultant, Stahl and his wife Kaethe have three daughters.

Nancy Chupp ’87 – Culture for Service Awardee

As a Goshen College student, Nancy Chupp ’87 had an interdisciplinary major with focuses in political science, religion and women’s studies. Appropriately, she has turned that combination into a commitment as a public interest lawyer in Seattle, Wash., particularly addressing religious-based employment discrimination and female prisoner civil rights.

“Nancy has given her life after college/graduate school to advocacy work for the voiceless and powerless – ‘the least of these,’” wrote Norm Kauffmann ’62 in his nomination. “She is one of a minority of lawyers to use the legal system as a vehicle to protect the rights and secure justice for those who do not have the financial means to do so.”

Chupp spent 10 years as a lobbyist and educator in Washington, D.C., getting a master’s degree in public policy and women’s studies from George Washington University in 1992. From 1987 to 1997, Chupp worked for Church Women United (CWU), a national ecumenical organization committed to addressing issues such as poverty, international human rights violations and racism. As director of the organization’s Washington, D.C.-based public policy office, Chupp lobbied the federal government on a variety of social issues, as well as developed educational material and organized grassroots activities. She gave numerous speeches to labor unions, religious organizations and women’s groups on policy issues pending in Congress and appeared on nationally televised programs to debate welfare proposals and health care reform efforts. From 1996 to 1997, Chupp served as an acting general director of CWU, based in New York City, and was the liaison to CWU’s United Nations Office, where she coordinated conferences at the U.N. on a variety of human rights issues.

As part of her legal education at City University of New York at Queens College, which she received a degree from in 2001, Chupp lived in South Africa for a year working at one of the oldest civil rights law firms in the country. She also served as a research and writing consultant for the Gender Advocacy Program, a national women’s organization which advocates on behalf of South Africa’s poor women.

As an attorney with the Public Interest Law Group in Seattle since 2003, Chupp helped represent Washington female prisoners seeking to reduce the risk of sexual assaults by prison guards and won settlements as well as forcing the state to improve its security and practices in the prison. In addition, she has worked with female inmates by providing advice, advocacy and direct client representation to ensure they receive adequate health care while incarcerated in Washington’s three women’s prisons.

Chupp’s work has also focused on the Somali Muslim community, representing individuals who were terminated or otherwise discriminated against by their employer because of their religious beliefs. She was able to help resolve many of these cases through mediation rather than filing lawsuits. “I believe mediation is a great way to resolve conflict and I thoroughly enjoy that part of my job,” Chupp said. “Opposing parties are often able to be more creative in fashioning a remedy through a negotiated settlement than they are when resorting to litigation.”

She is married to Ron Krabill and has two children: Annika and Keyan. They attend Seattle Mennonite Church.

E. Cristina Hernandez ’00 – Decade of Servant Leadership Award Recipient

As a Goshen College student, Cristina Hernandez ’00 studied art and business. Now she puts those passions to work helping women artisans around the world. Hernandez works in Kabul, Afghanistan, but has trained women artists in design, product development, marketing and business in Honduras, Vietnam and Bolivia as well.

After graduating from Goshen, she returned to her native Honduras to become a potter and to help artisans develop sustainable small businesses through two U.S. groups – Partners of the Americas and later, Aid to Artisans. When the project ended, Hernandez spent a year in Vietnam as a volunteer with Mennonite Central Committee, helping artisan partnerships with Ten Thousand Villages. After her one-year assignment, she stayed for another three years to teach English and work with artisans. In 2007, she returned to work for Aid to Artisans, but this time in Afghanistan. She helped start a center for women to learn about product design and business export development. She now works there for the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, and helps women fulfill their dreams by starting family businesses specializing in jewelry, embroidery, textile, felt and wool rugs.

To more effectively do her work, Cristina has learned conversational Dari and is able to speak and write Vietnamese, alongside being fully bilingual in English and Spanish.

In her nomination, sister Karla Hernandez Thut ’98 said, “Cristina is committed to teaching these techniques while allowing and encouraging the people she works with to maintain their cultural and traditional style. … She values the richness that different cultures and ethnicities bring to the world and her own life.”

During her time in Afghanistan, Hernandez has worked with many women who have deep pain and suffering. “Through all this though she maintains hope and faith in God and in the value of relationships and education,” said her sister Karla. “She often speaks of her time there as a gift from God and a chance to serve others.”

BJ Leichty ’75 – Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award

BJ (Stuckey) Leichty ’75 played basketball and studied social work at Goshen College after attending Hesston (Kan.) College for two years. After college, she spent a year in voluntary service at the Frontier Boys Village in Colorado Springs, Colo., and then married Roland Leichty in 1977.

While living in the Northwest, Leichty worked at Western Mennonite High School in Salem, Ore., for 12 years as an administrative assistant to the principal and assistant principal, but was also very involved at the school in other ways: teaching a typing class, co-leading a small group for students, taking students on mini-term, chaperoning the choir on tour and helping clerk for the annual auction. During this time she was also very involved with worship planning and leading at Western Mennonite Church.

After moving to Elkhart County, Leichty became involved at Holdeman Mennonite Church in Wakarusa, Ind., and became an associate pastor there in 2004 with primary responsibilities in the areas of worship and visitation. She was ordained in January 2010.

Leichty and her husband have four children: Annerose ’09, Alan, Julianne and Jennifer.

Dan Bodiker ’64 – Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award

Dan Bodiker ’64 has dedicated his life to the love of athletics and shaping young lives.

While at Goshen College, Bodiker played baseball and soccer and studied physical education. After he graduated, he was quickly hired by Bethany Christian Schools in Goshen to begin an entire athletic program for the high school. For 43 years, he served as a coach, teacher and athletic director. He started Bethany’s interscholastic athletic programs in basketball, baseball and soccer. As a coach of soccer, basketball (boys and girls), baseball and track, he compiled an all-time career mark of 918-719-39 in all sports.

Working for a church school with young people was how Bodiker saw his mission field. He touched lives of thousands of students over the years, including many who have gone on to play as Goshen College Maple Leafs themselves. He also has taught driver’s ed for many years, including driving lessons for many Goshen College international students so they could get a U.S. license.

Bodiker retired from full-time employment three years ago, though he still works part-time at Bethany. In his honor, the school named the baseball, soccer and softball fields the Bodiker Athletic Fields. And even in his retirement, he continues to be a strong supporter of Maple Leaf Athletics.

Bodiker and his wife Diane ’64 attend Waterford Mennonite Church in Goshen and have two adult sons: Scott Bodiker ’92 and Mike Bodiker ’96.

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 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.

Awarded by the Goshen College Alumni Board, the 2009 Culture for Service Awards will be presented to Goshen College alumni Galen D. Miller ’74 of Goshen, Ind., and John Martin ’74 of Columbus, Ohio.

The Culture for Service Awards were initiated in 1989 and are given annually to honor Goshen College graduates who have made lifelong commitments to service, which can take many forms. Recipients distinguish themselves through commendable accounts of service and achievements at home or in their churches, colleges and communities and the larger world.

For the fourth year, the Goshen College Maple Leafs Athletic Club is presenting the Dr. Ruth Gunden and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Awards. The 2009 Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award will go to Marty Kelley ’71 of Orono, Maine, and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award will go to Lynn Williams’60 of Lakewood, Colo.

The two awards, created in 2005, are presented to a male and female alumni athlete who exemplify the college’s core values in their lives, work and community service. Gunden and Gingerich were pioneers in Goshen College’s athletic history.

The award recipients will be honored on Friday, Oct. 2 at 10:30 a.m. in the Church-Chapel Gathering Rooms with a reception, following a chapel service in which Martin will share his faith and life story. They will be given their awards on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Alumni Breakfast at 8 a.m. in the Church Fellowship Hall.

Galen D. Miller ’74 – Culture for Service Awardee
When food banks in Northern Indiana accepted 25 tons of chicken at the height of the economic crisis last winter, they may not have realized that this generosity was business as usual for Galen D. Miller ’74, owner of Miller Poultry in North Orland, Ind. “He’s a very generous person and he’s an excellent business person,” said Gordon Yoder, a lifetime friend of Miller’s who nominated him for the Culture for Service Award.Miller lives out “Culture for Service” in his compassionate treatment of others – from his employees right down to his baby chicks, which are raised in small flocks and healthy conditions primarily on Amish farms. “He applies his faith to running his business and integrates his values into his work,” said Don Yost, another friend. Miller works with about 350 employees, who include many Hispanic immigrants. “He understands and adapts to both the Amish culture and Latino culture,” said Yost. “His employees exhibit a loyalty and work satisfaction that is inspired by a leadership style based on Christian principals of humility, honesty, candor and compassion.”

Miller’s ethical business practices have led to a product that is widely popular throughout the Midwest. “We do an all-natural, all-vegetable fed, antibiotic free, hormone-free chicken program, and there’s been a lot of interest in that kind of product,” Miller told the Goshen News in a January 2009 article. Yoder explained that Miller seeks out the latest technology that “decreases environmental stress and increases safety over the industry standard.”

Miller’s faith also is reflected in his generosity and in service to the community. “His support of a wide variety of causes is low-key and responsive to need,” said Yost. “He seeks to understand where help is needed and asks for no recognition. … Galen not only promotes peace and justice through the causes that he supports, he also manages his business in ways that promote peace and justice

Miller lives in Goshen with his wife, Sue Neeb, and two children: Clayton, a sophomore at Goshen College, and Katie, a high school senior. They attend College Mennonite Church.

John Martin ’74 – Culture for Service Awardee
John Martin’s two years at Goshen College served as a precursor to a lifetime of service to his family, the state of Ohio and to people with disabilities.Martin completed his bachelor’s degree in special education at Illinois State University and earned a master’s degree in community psychology at Temple University (Philadelphia, Pa.). Throughout his career he has been a tireless advocate for the disabled, serving as a special education teacher, as director of Sunshine Inc., an Ohio Mennonite agency serving individuals with disabilities, and since 2007, as director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.

Martin and his wife, Sue, came to know the issues of people with disabilities in a personal way when their second child was born. Joel Martin was diagnosed at nine months of age with cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder and developmental disabilities. He lived with his parents until he was an adult. The Martins have two other children; Seth, a second year student at Goshen College and Jessica, a 2004 GC graduate.

With Martin as executive director, Sunshine Inc. gained a statewide reputation as a religious-based agency that offered the highest quality services. “His choices and decision-making reflect a mindfulness of the need to not only profess faith in God, but to put that faith in action,” said friend and board member of Sunshine, Inc., Karen Rich Ruth. “Those around him could sense Martin’s fairness, respect and acceptance of people no matter who they were.” During Martin’s 23 years there, Sunshine grew tremendously, adding 17 group homes and a variety of programs including a spiritual life program and a Fair Trade coffee shop staffed by persons with disabilities.

Martin helped to resolve conflicts between the state of Ohio, service providers, and county boards and advocated with the Ohio state legislature on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities. His reputation as a peacemaker drew the attention of the Ohio governor. In 2007, he was appointed to the cabinet-level position of director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. At the state level, said Ruth, Martin “has helped to resolve some longstanding conflicts … and sought input during this time of fiscal crisis. His Christian faith is the foundation of all he does.”

Martin and his wife, Sue (Hershey) Martin live in Columbus, Ohio, and attend the Columbus Mennonite Church.

Marty Kelley ’71

Marty Kelley ’71 – Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Awardee
While at Goshen College, Marty Kelley ’71 competed in field hockey and majored in physical education. She joined the faculty of Goshen College as director of student activities in 1982 and held a number of other positions at Goshen, including director of human resources and director of admissions. “Marty would tackle any job if she could serve the college in some way,” said Ken Pletcher, Goshen College development officer and former athletic director. As a GC athlete, Kelley also “bled purple and loved the Maple Leafs.”After her time at Goshen, Kelley worked for the Fair Housing Council of Central New York and now serves as an education adviser for adult students at the University of Maine. Kelley serves on a committee that works toward ending hunger in the state of Maine and has led workshops on nutrition through the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Project. In 2005, Kelley founded Voices for Peace, an interreligious, all-inclusive group of singers committed to peace, social justice, love and joy.

Kelley and her husband, Mark, live in Orono, Maine, and have two adult children who are Goshen College alumni. They attend Hammond Street Congregational Church where Kelley serves on the outreach committee and organizes free monthly lunches.

Lynn Williams ’60 – Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Awardee
Lynn Williams ’60 was a part of the beginning of intercollegiate athletics at Goshen College, competing in basketball and baseball. He graduated with a degree in health, physical education and recreation (HPER) and biology. Williams received a master’s degree from University of Northern Colorado in 1977.Throughout a 30-year career as a teacher and coach with the Denver (Colo.) Public Schools, Williams taught junior high and high school biology and physical education, along with coaching tennis, basketball and football. Known to many simply as “Coach,” he taught his students the values of respect, responsibility, integrity and sportsmanship. Williams’ daughter, Dana Williams-Hosman ’94, said, “By believing in his athletes and demanding they respect and believe in themselves, [he] has helped many individuals lift themselves out of poverty and into college and careers.”

Now retired, Williams continues to be an active member of First Mennonite Church in Denver and to serve on numerous boards of directors and state athletic organizations. Williams lives in Lakewood, Colo., with his wife Margaret Miller Williams ’60. Dana is his daughter from his marriage to Anne Detweiler ’60, who passed away in 1988.

-Julie Weirich and Judy Weaver

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 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.

GOSHEN, Ind. – Their lives have taken them to an antiviral research lab in Chicago, a university in Lithuania, impoverished countries around the world, violence-stricken communities in Colombia, an elementary school in Colorado and college sporting events. During Goshen College’s annual Homecoming celebration on Oct. 3-5, seven outstanding alumni will be honored for their service, achievements and contributions.The 2008 Culture for Service Awards, which are given out by the Goshen College Alumni Board, will be received by Dale Kempf ’78 of Libertyville, Ill., Jim ’65 and Virginia Mininger ’65 of Hesston, Kan., and Paul Myers ’66 of Akron, Pa. The Culture for Service Award program was initiated in 1989 to recognize alumni whose lives embody the college’s motto. The awards affirm those who have served the college, community, church and world, or whose professional and personal achievements are models of the motto.

The 2008 Decade of Servant Leadership Award will be received by Janna Hunter-Bowman ’00, who currently resides in Bogotá, Colombia and is from Bally, Pa. The award, created in 2004, recognizes a Goshen College alumnus or alumna whose contributions and achievements in career, public or church service and volunteer activities early in post-graduate life – during or prior to their 10^th class reunion year – are worthy of recognition.

And the Maple Leaf Athletic Club will present the Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award to Trinda H. Bishop ’69 of Greenwood Village, Colo., and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award to John Ingold ’59 of Goshen, Ind. The two awards, created in 2005, are presented to a male and female alumni athlete who exemplify the college’s core values in their lives, work and community service. Gunden and Gingerich were pioneers in Goshen College’s athletic history.

The award recipients will be honored on Friday, Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. in the Church-Chapel during a chapel service. A reception will follow at 10:30 a.m. in the Church-Chapel Gathering Rooms.

The Culture for Service and Decade of Servant Leadership recipients will be giving seminars on Saturday, Oct. 4 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Kempf will present on “Designing drugs for AIDS therapy: From the lab bench to the bedside” in Wyse Hall Room 211; Jim and Virginia Mininger will present on “Lithuania Christian College International University: A Christian Liberal Arts University for Eastern Europe” in Church-Chapel Rooms 110-111; Paul Myers will present on “The poor are amazing when . . . ” in Wyse Hall Room 318; and Janna Hunter-Bowman will present  on “Resolute victims and prophetic Christians doing faith in Colombia: The sacred ‘Yes’ of peacebuilding in a war-torn land” in Wyse Hall Room 123.

Dale Kempf ’78 – Culture for Service Awardee
From a young age Dale Kempf ’78 had a passion for science. “My cousin and I used to do experiments with our chemistry set until my aunt kicked us out of their basement for creating too many bad smells,” Kempf said. Fortunately for him, and millions of people around the world, his enthusiasm wasn’t diminished.

Kempf initially enrolled in Hesston College as a music major, but when he found himself helping friends with their chemistry homework, he switched to a chemistry major when he came to Goshen College. After completing a doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois, Kempf went on to work at Abbott Laboratories, where he and his colleagues invented some of the most potent antiviral drugs in the world.

One of the groundbreaking discoveries for Kempf and his colleagues was an HIV protease inhibitor called Norvir. This discovery provided a significant advancement in the treatment of HIV and AIDS, helping bring the disease to undetectable levels and increasing the quality of life for people with HIV. Kempf and his fellow researchers continued to work to improve their drug, which led to the invention of Kaletra, an extremely potent HIV drug that doesn’t decrease in effectiveness over time. In fact, it is so effective that in a clinical study, 99 percent of patients who had no past experience with HIV treatment had undetectable levels of HIV in their blood. Kaletra was also the first HIV drug to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in children as young as 6 months old. In 2002, Kaletra became the leading prescribed drug of its kind in the world.

“Although, the HIV epidemic worldwide is still devastating, it’s not more drugs that are needed anymore, rather more access, more prevention and more education,” Kempf said. “Today, the available therapies allow someone with HIV infection to avoid the devastation of that disease indefinitely.”

Because of his discoveries, he has received many awards, including National Inventor of the Year in 1997 and the Heroes of Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society in 2003. Kempf is also co-author of more than 120 scientific publications and co-inventor of more than 50 U.S. patents.

Kempf lives in Libertyville, Ill., with his wife Kay Miller Kempf ’77. They attend North Suburban Mennonite Church and have two sons who are Goshen College students: Scott, a sophomore, and David, a senior.

Jim ’65 and Virginia Mininger ’65 – Culture for Service Awardees
After years working in education, and with both of their children in college, Jim ’65 and Virginia Mast Mininger ’65 took their knowledge overseas. In 1995, they began working in the former Soviet Union – modern day Lithuania – at LCC International University (formerly Lithuania Christian College). Jim served as president and Virginia served as a professor of written communication and English, and as the donor communications coordinator.

LCC International University was founded as an English speaking, Christian liberal-arts institution in 1991. “As a person who had been an academic dean for 17 years and as a historian whose field is European history, I was particularly intrigued with what it might mean to establish a Christian liberal arts university in the territory of what at that time was still very much the former Soviet Union,” Jim said.

Prior to going to Lithuania, Jim had served as a history instructor and as academic dean at Hesston College and Virginia had been amiddle school teacher and a music instructor at Hesston College. At Hesston, Jim was an influential teacher and gifted administrator who established an annual Global Issues Seminar.

The Miningers took that interest and their passion to cross cultural and geographical boundaries to Lithuania. Virginiacontinued to support the students, giving special attention to scholarship students from Eastern European nations still recovering from the impact of the Soviet years.

“In my years of teaching at Hesston College, I became increasingly convinced that students needed to be persuaded to look beyond their immediate homes and often beyond the U.S. to fully grasp the direction their lives might take,” Jim said. “In the process of teaching in this manner, I also persuaded myself.”

Virginia models authentic global citizenship as she works with students from many different economic and cultural backgrounds. “Her spirit of love and acceptance was validated through her service to the students and broader community in Lithuania,” writes Goshen College Professor of Art John Blosser ’70.

Arriving at LCC International University when it was only four years old, Jim brought his own brand of servant leadership, often teaching while also serving as president. His willingness to learn the language and history of Lithuania earned him respect, as did his academic credentials and his resolve and wisdom in negotiating the complex systems of the Lithuanian government, which threatened to close the doors of the young university several times.

On campus, Jim gently challenged young adults from many different countries, faiths and political persuasions to thoughtfully examine their moral, theological and ethical assumptions. He stood with them as a teacher, leader and model of a Christ-centered life. After a series of racial assaults on LCC students, Jim met with national and civic leaders, spoke at a rally in downtown Klaipeda and initiated a diversity workshop to be taken into the public schools by LCC personnel.

Under Jim’s leadership, the university earned Lithuanian accreditation, grew in enrollment, became an international affiliate of the U.S.-based Council of Christian Colleges and Universities, established its first graduate program and is now seeking U.S. accreditation.

From its small beginnings of 110 students – many of whom were studying English to get into the bachelor’s degree program – and about 20 faculty members, LCC International University has grown to approximately 800 students, 50 professors and 50 staff persons. Of the students, 24 countries from around the world are represented and 50 percent are from a country outside Lithuania, making it a truly international campus.

“The approach to education developed at LCC is based on the Christian liberal arts model used by Goshen and Hesston,” Virginia said. “The model of studying core general education courses that builds a framework for further study in a declared major area of study is not offered in Eastern European universities.”

The Miningers completed their term in July 2008 and have moved back to Hesston, Kan., where they attend Hesston Mennonite Church. They have two sons: J.D. Mininger ’97 and Matthew Mininger.

Paul Myers ’66 – Culture for Service Awardee
When Paul Myers ’66 became the CEO of Ten Thousand Villages in 1989, international development was nothing new to him.

Since graduating from Goshen College with a degree in economics, Myers has been working to assist people in poverty. “My interests for many years have been the issues of poverty and the quest for solutions for families caught in these terrible situations,” Myers said.

After receiving a master’s degree in international economics and problems of the developing world from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, Myers began his quest in 1975 with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) as the Bangladesh country director. He served in Bangladesh for six years, soon after the country gained independence and following years of extreme drought and floods. During his tenure, Myers directed a program that addressed the challenges in food production, processing and storage, in maternal child healthcare, in family planning, in income and employment generation and in providing emergency assistance. “I learned more in those six years than at any other time in my life,” Myers said. “Those experiences, friendships and lessons continue to nourish and energize me.”

Myers went on to be the director of Middle East and South Asia programs for MCC for eight years. “I learned two critical things during this period,” Myers said. “First, the importance of religion, both good and bad, in the development process … second, I increasingly became aware that local leadership was not only always available, but was essential to any effective solution. I am convinced that the solutions to poverty will generally be found among the poor themselves.”

Beginning in 1989, Myers was the CEO of Ten Thousand Villages, an organization that imports fair trade handicrafts from around the world to a chain of stores across the United States, for 16 years. “I learned that to develop and cultivate relationships of trust and common interest is a powerful means to addressing the basic needs of the poor,” he said.

Myers is now working as president of the International Fair Trade Association, where he also volunteers as chair of International Development Enterprises.

“Paul’s career has been based on empowering others by providing them with an opportunity to develop,” said his friend Llenay Ferritti. “The respect he has for those he serves is demonstrated in his view of equality in the relationship…. Over cultural boundaries, Paul sees only the similarities, not the differences, in the world we all share.”

Myers lives in Akron, Pa., with his wife Kate Myers. They attend Akron (Pa.) Mennonite Church and have four children: Elsie Penner ’93, Patrick Myers, Antony Myers and Sheila Myers ’02.

Janna Hunter-Bowman ’00 – Decade of Servant Leadership Awardee
After Janna Hunter-Bowman graduated from Goshen College in 2000 with a degree in anthropology and sociology she knew she wanted to do something different and meaningful.

“I first learned of Colombian Mennonites through a letter sent to U.S. churches in 2000. It warned that, if passed, the bill before the U.S. Congress for ‘Plan Colombia’ (a military aid package) would make the work of Colombian peace builders more difficult and dangerous,” Hunter-Bowman said. “At the time I was longing for more radical peace action from the North American Mennonite church. Upon learning of this politically astute and action-oriented Mennonite community, I wanted to participate.”

In 2001, Hunter-Bowman moved to Bogotá, Colombia to work with Justapaz, a Christian Center for Justice, Peace and Nonviolent Action. She was active in developing a program that advocates public policy changes to promote peace in Colombia based in primary source documentation of human rights violations against churches. Along with this, she also documents stories of faith-based peace initiatives throughout Colombia.

“The goal of the documentation program is to contribute to truth, justice and a nonviolent solution to the armed conflict,” Hunter-Bowman said. “The real-life stories are our foundation for the recommendations we make to governments – both here in Colombia and internationally.”

Since she began working with Justapaz in 2001, she started a sister peace church program and has worked as the international education and advocacy program coordinator, in which she investigates the effects of U.S. policy on churches and civil society in general.

“Janna’s documentation work with Justapaz is of the utmost significance in what remains one of the world’s most difficult conflicts,” said Goshen College Professor of Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies Joe Liechty ’78, who learned to know her during a visit to Columbia. “Janna does all her work with contagious joy, conviction and warmth. That she should be engaged at so deep a level in another society at so young an age is very impressive. She exudes GC’s core values.”

After spending six years in Colombia, she has fallen in love with the country and its people. “Colombia offers the world more than coffee and cocaine,” Hunter-Bowman said. “The enduring faithful who creatively confront the death-dealing powers to transform conflict and seek peace have much to teach us. They both invite and indict. They invite radical discipleship that gives hope; they indict the narratives of imperial power, lies and tepid Christianity.”

Hunter-Bowman lives in Colombia with her husband Jess and her 7-month-old daughter Amara, and attends Teusaquillo Mennonite Church. Hunter-Bowman is originally from Bally, Pa.

Trinda H. Bishop ’69 – Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Awardee
While at Goshen College, Trinda Hirschey Bishop ’69 competed in field hockey and majored in physical education and health. Since her playing days, she has continued involvement with Goshen College and her community in Denver, Colo.

Bishop received a master’s degree from the University of Colorado and taught physical education in Littleton (Colo.) public schools.

She has served on Goshen College’s alumni board for five years and is a member of the Maple Leaf Athletic Club and helped start the Gunden/Bishop Athletic Scholarship. At her church, First Mennonite of Denver, she helped organize and establish an endowment fund to provide financial support for students to attend Mennonite colleges. As a teacher, in 2000, Bishop won the Denver Metro Board of Directors Award for commitment to the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart program, by motivating her students to raise more than $50,000 in seven years of participation. She is currently involved in a Reading for Peace program with the Conflict Center in Denver.

“She’s one of the most active participants and supporters of Goshen College, because she’s willing to step forward,” said Ken Pletcher, former athletic director and current major gifts officer. “She’s a classic example of a servant leader.”

Bishop lives in Greenwood Village, Colo., with her husband Tom Bishop. The couple has two children: Zachary Bishop ’97 and Griffen Bishop O’Shaughnessy ’00.

John Ingold ’59 – Roman Gingerich Champion of Character AwardeeIt wouldn’t be a stretch to say that John Ingold ’59 has been one of the biggest supporters of Goshen College athletics throughout his life.

As a student, Ingold competed on the college’s first soccer and track and field teams. He was also a captain of the 1958-59 basketball team.

After graduation Ingold went on to complete a doctorate in physical education at the University of Illinois. He began teaching physical education and coaching at Goshen in 1964. During his time, he coached 74 athletic teams and all seven men’s sports at least once.

Ever since he retired as a professor of physical education and coach at Goshen College, Ingold has been no stranger to the Goshen College athletic community.

Ingold can be seen at games or meets of any one of Goshen’s 14 athletic teams keeping scores or times, and driving athletes to away games. In the past three years Ingold has logged over 2,000 hours of driving Goshen College athletes. “It’s always been his willingness to volunteer that sets him apart. His volunteer hours are unbelievable in terms of driving alone,” said Ken Pletcher, former athletic director and current major gifts officer. “John is a very humble person who cares a lot about our athletes.”

Ingold lives in Goshen with his wife Margaret Miller Ingold ’59. The couple has five children: Jay Ingold ’84, Jane Ingold Stichter ’84, Judy Ramirez Ingold ’90, Sue Ingold (deceased) and Joe Ingold ’02.

-By Tyler Falk

Editors/photographers: 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 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.

Awarded by the Goshen College Alumni Board and named for the college’s motto, the 2007 Culture for Service Award will be presented to Goshen College alumni Jonathan W. Beachy ’72 of San Antonio, Texas, Ruby Payne ’72 of Corpus Christi, Texas, and David P. Bartel ’82 of Boston, Mass. Dana Graber Ladek ’97 of Amman, Jordan, will receive the 2007 Decade of Servant Leadership Award, which recognizes young alumni who are making significant contributions to their communities, church and world. And the Goshen College Maple Leafs Athletic Club is presenting the 2007 Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award to Sue Conrad ’92 of Lancaster, Pa., and the 2007 Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award will go to Henry Zehr ’78 of Warsaw, Ind.

The award recipients will be honored at an Alumni Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Church-Chapel. All of the alumni award recipients will be present, except Graber Ladek who is unable to attend from Jordan. Following the ceremony will be a hymn sing at 8 p.m. in the Church-Chapel and then an Alumni Reception at 9 p.m. in the Church-Chapel Fellowship Hall.

The Culture for Service Awards, given annually, honor Goshen College graduates who have made lifelong commitments to service, which can take many forms. Recipients distinguish themselves through exemplary records of service and achievements at home or in their churches, colleges and communities and the larger world.

Jonathan W. Beachy ’72 – Culture for Service Awardee

When the service term Jonathan Beachy took in Paraguay with Mennonite Board of Missions in 1973 ended, he wasn’t ready to leave. He and his wife Ruth Miller kept working, extending their term, and when their final assignment ended in 1996, they remained independently, continuing to devote their lives to those in need.

In total, Beachy and his family spent over 30 years in Paraguay. During this time, Beachy worked as a nurse, chaplain, translator and mentor, among other things. An important part of his accomplishments took place in the nation’s largest men’s prison, located in the capital city, Asunción, where he served as the co-founder and director of the prison’s holistic program, a program of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Asunción.

Prisoners were able to take part in the holistic program, where they were also educated, and many eventually became Christians. In his years there, Beachy, through the church program, had a hand in drastic changes and improvements in the facilities as well. Significantly, during his time with the prison, the rate of inmates in the ministry program who returned to prison after being released the first time was reduced to 7 percent, as compared to the national recidivism rate of 70 percent.

The path Beachy took throughout his life, eventually bringing him to Paraguay, began with church and family members modeling a firm faith to him and his decision in high school to “live my life in service to God,” he said. “The decision to enter Voluntary Service, rather than to go directly to college after high school, exposed me to a world I never knew, and opened my eyes to a broader reality.”

“My Mennonite roots, and education prior to and at Goshen, were crucial in connecting me to service, to living simply, to being a peacemaker, to caring about society’s ‘rejects,’” he said.

In 2005, Beachy and his wife moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he is working for University Health System as a nurse in a unit in which all patients are inmates. They are members of the San Antonio Mennonite Church, where he is an elder. The couple has four adult children, Lisa ’97, Heidi, Julio ’07 and Peter.

Ruby Payne ’72 – Culture for Service Awardee

After 20 years of working in the public school system, witnessing the lack of accessibility education offered to students from poverty, Ruby Payne wrote a book that she has since built a company around, aha! Process, Inc., and travels the country as a consultant speaking about the mindsets of economic classes and on crossing socioeconomic lines for work, education, relationships and social change.

In 1994, she worked as the director of staff development for a school district in Texas. “I had a principal come to me and ask for help with discipline in a building with a high percentage of students from poverty,” Payne said. “As a result of working in that building and the experiences that I had being married to a man from poverty, I wrote a book, which has now sold over 1 million copies.”

Payne’s book, “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” offers advice on an important issue most teachers are likely to face, an issue her book is one of few to deal with: how to approach students from diverse economic backgrounds, and in particular, how to educate students who live in poverty. Since then, she has written or co-authored more than a dozen books and her company has published more than 50 books and videos.

Payne’s company is built on the mission “to positively impact the education and lives of individuals in poverty around the world.” Payne said Study-Service Term (SST) was a defining experience in shaping her passion to help others. “On SST, I went to Haiti in 1971. And that experience significantly impacted my professional and corporate mission,” said Payne, who grew up in Mt. Gilead, Ohio.

After graduating from GC, Payne received a master’s degree in English literature from Western Michigan University and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Loyola University.

She and her company have developed the Payne School Model, a guide for schools looking to improve their accessibility to people from poverty, and she continues to write and co-write books teaching people to consider the way upbringing can influence the ability to learn, among other things.

Payne’s popularity continues to grow. During this past year, she gave public lectures, including some pro bono, in nearly all 50 states, as well as in such countries as China, India, New Zealand and Australia. And in June, an article about her ran in The New York Times Magazine.

Payne has a 23-year-old son, Thomas, and attends Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Corpus Christi, Texas.

David P. Bartel ’82 – Culture for Service Awardee

In his relatively young career, David Bartel has changed the way researchers think about genetics and how life began, through his findings on ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules.

Bartel’s research at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, which is part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he teaches biology, has surrounded RNAs. RNA, as Bartel has helped to discover, regulates the expression of more than a third of human genes. Bartel and his research team were also essential to discovering RNA’s importance to gene regulation in plants and animals and the potential manipulating them holds in significant research such as cancer.

“His research will improve the lives of many through alleviation of diseases and improving the productivity of plants,” said Phil Sharp, institute professor at MIT, where he also researches at the Center for Cancer Research. “He is an outstanding scientist whose research will enhance the humanity of all people.”

Bartel has been recognized in various ways over the past few years for his work. In 2005, he was named a biomedical investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was also awarded the Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology and the Louis D. Institut de France Award from the French Academy of Sciences.

Bartel’s respect for humanity is exemplified in the way he lives his life, as well. “He lives a modest lifestyle and is strongly supportive of his family,” Sharp said. David Page, the director of Whitehead Institute, said, “Dave is simply known as a peacemaker and supporter of all. He sees the good in everyone.”

Between his graduation from GC and his enrollment in Harvard’s doctoral program, Bartel and his wife, Jan Preheim ’84, served with Mennonite Central Committee in Zambia, Africa.

Page recognized Bartel’s time abroad as influencing his work now. He said, “Dave’s service in Africa in MCC, following graduation from Goshen, set the stage for an ongoing global perspective manifested in Dave’s collaboration with scientists of diverse origin, near and far.”

Bartel and Jan live in Boston with their three teenage children, Steven, Aaron and Laura, and attend the Mennonite Congregation of Boston.

Dana Graber Ladek ’97 – Decade of Servant Leadership Awardee

Ten years of traveling in places like Japan, Cambodia and Honduras, working to promote human welfare, has brought Dana Graber Ladek to the heart of the war-torn Middle East.

“My path over the past 10 years has focused on international humanitarian assistance,” she said. “Various volunteer and international experiences helped me land a job with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), where I currently work from Jordan assisting people displaced from the conflict in Iraq.”

Because of her current position, which involves maintaining international media relations, Graber Ladek has been interviewed by many major news outlets, including NPR, BBC, the New York Times and NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

“The first time that I worked and lived abroad was during Goshen College’s SST program,” Graber Ladek said. “My semester in Costa Rica was an enriching, growing experience and this, along with volunteering with my grandpa on an eye project in Guatemala and working for a summer in Japan, ignited my passion for working in international development.”

After GC, she worked with the Peace Corps in Costa Rica, where a children’s library was named in her honor. She served with Mennonite Voluntary Service in Washington, D.C., and translated for a humanitarian organization in Guatemala. “I cannot imagine a career more fascinating and rewarding than assisting people around the world,” Graber Ladek said.

Graber Ladek’s interest in service was sparked growing up in a church where it was emphasized and exemplified, Mountain Community Mennonite Church in Palmer Lake, Colo. One of the pastors there, Don Rheinheimer, said of Graber Ladek, “Her faith has become second nature to her so that her whole life has been shaped and directed by her faith commitments, particularly as they relate to peace and justice issues for people who are underserved or denied basic human services.”

She continues to recognize her Mennonite faith as a role in her life. “I am now carrying what I have learned through my Mennonite upbringing and education to my work around the world.

Graber Ladek is married to Stephen Ladek.

The Decade of Servant Leadership Award was developed in 2005 to recognize an alumnus or alumna whose contributions and achievements in career, public or church service and volunteer activities early in post-graduate life are valuable and inspiring. The award is given to alumni during or prior to their 10th class reunion year.

Sue Conrad ’92 – Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award

As a student, Sue Conrad was an All-Conference tennis player, and an NAIA All-District 21 team member and NAIA All-American Scholar Athlete. She graduated in 1992 with majors in communication and Bible, religion and philosophy. After receiving a master’s degree in speech communication from The Pennsylvania State University, Conrad returned to Goshen College as an assistant professor of communication from 1998 to 2002. Her former colleagues describe her as enthusiastic, engaged and interested in learning, and a teacher who always invited her students to excellence.

“I had a very personal call from God that encouraged me strongly to go to seminary,” she said. “Pastoring was something I had thought about earlier in my life, but sort of disregarded as I hadn’t seen a lot of women in that area and I wasn’t sure I was up to the challenge … and now I can’t imagine doing anything other than pastoring.” Conrad studied at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries and earned a master’s of divinity degree in 2005. She now is associate pastor at East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pa.

Henry Zehr ’78 – Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award

When Henry Zehr was a student at Goshen College, he played soccer with the team that went to the NAIA national soccer tournament in 1977 and participated in a campus wrestling club. He graduated in 1978 with a degree in elementary education and went on to earn a master’s degree in education from Ball State University. Zehr found a professional home in the Warsaw Community Schools, where he has taught for 30 years. He was head wrestling coach and soccer club coach, has led many soccer clubs and camps for children in the Warsaw area and continues to referee soccer games across Northern Indiana.

Zehr chose to step down as coach to devote more time to his youngest daughter, Kailey, who suffered from a genetic disorder called Turner Syndrome. Zehr and his wife Sherry and their oldest daughter, Abby, supported Kailey as she struggled with decreasing health. Before Kailey died in October 2005 at the age of 15, she won her school’s outstanding character award and was baptized. “Kailey was a true reflection of the type of person her parents are,” said Henry’s brother, Clifford Zehr. “Henry cried along with his wife and family and friends and continued to lean on God. His servanthood in his daily walk, I believe, is what leads to all the core values this award represents.”

In its second year, the Dr. Ruth Gunden and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Awards, presented by the Maple Leafs Athletic Club, will annually honor a male and female alumni athlete who exemplify the college’s core values in their lives. Gunden and Gingerich were two pioneers in Goshen College’s athletic history.

– By Kelli Yoder

Editors/photographers: The Culture for Service award winners will be available for photos at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 5 in the College Mennonite Church-Chapel hallway, following the chapel service. 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 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.

Awarded by the Goshen College Alumni Board, the 2006 Culture for Service Award will be presented to Goshen College alumni Ed Metzler ’52 and Ethel Yake Metzler ’46 and Glen E. Miller ’57, all of Goshen. Lisa Koop ’99, a lawyer at the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, Ill., will receive the second annual 2006 Decade of Servant Leadership Award. The 2006 Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award will go to Sally Hunsberger ’86 of Washington, D.C., and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award will go to Don Jantzi ’72 of Goshen.

The award recipients will be honored at a special chapel on Friday, Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. in the Church-Chapel. The awardees will be available to have photos taken by the media at 9:30 a.m. in the hallway by the chapel. Following the service will be a reception in the Church-Chapel Gathering Room.

The Culture for Service Awards, given annually, honor Goshen College graduates who have made lifelong commitments to service, which can take many forms. Recipients distinguish themselves through exemplary records of service and achievements at home or in their churches, colleges and communities and the larger world.

According to Carla Weldy, Goshen College director of alumni, church and parent relations, the Decade of Servant Leadership Award was developed in 2005 to recognize an alumnus or alumna whose contributions and achievements in career, public or church service and volunteer activities early in post-graduate life are valuable and inspiring. The award is given to alumni during or prior to their 10th class reunion year.

In its inaugural year, the Dr. Ruth Gunden and the Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Awards, presented by the Maple Leafs Athletic Club, will annually honor a male and female alumni athlete who exemplify the college’s core values in their lives. “They have taken the values they learned during their Goshen College educational and athletic experience and are now living them in their work and community service,” said Athletic Director Ken Pletcher. “This is all a part of what we want our athletes to learn here.” Gunden and Gingerich were two pioneers in Goshen College’s athletic history.

Edgar Metzler ’52 and Ethel Yake Metzler ’46 – Culture for Service Awardees

In the spirit of the Scripture James 2:38: “I will show you my faith by what I do,” Edgar Metzler and Ethel Yake Metzler have devoted their active, extraordinary lives to being servant leaders – traveling extensively all over the world to wherever they feel led.

Ethel graduated from Goshen in 1946 with a double major in chemistry and religion, and Edgar graduated from Goshen six years later with a degree in psychology. Edgar went on to earn a master’s of divinity degree and Ethel earned a master’s degree in counseling therapy. Their life of world service and leadership together began in 1957 when Edgar was pastor at First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ontario, for 5 years.

A compassionate leader, “Ed has given a lifetime of service to the church and its mission in the world. This has included pastoral ministry and social justice program administration in Canada, United States, Afghanistan, Nepal and indirectly in 70-plus countries,” said Ronald J.R. Mathies, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) executive director emeritus.

In 1968 the Metzlers left for India, Iran, Thailand and Nepal where Edgar was director of the Peace Corps, and Ethel helped train volunteers, as well as teaching at international schools in Calcutta and Kathmandu.

After further pursuing psychology and therapy, Ethel applied her skills abroad by providing cross-cultural counseling, particularly for Nepali women. “[Ethel] engages others with sincere interest; she leans forward with eyes wide open and an open, inviting facial expression that draws both pain and joy from those she encounters … she is passionate in her belief that Christ wants us to embrace the poor, the marginalized and those who are powerless,” said family friend Ron Yoder.

After moving back to Goshen in 1974, Edgar taught political science and economic development at Goshen College, as well as being a director at Oaklawn Psychiatric Center and continuing to work for the Mennonite Church. Ethel worked for Family Services, Inc. in Elkhart.

Staying longer in the United States then they had originally planned, the Metzlers returned to Kathmandu, Nepal, in 1989, as Edgar became the executive director of United Mission, a Christian international nongovernmental organization that provides services for the Nepali people. The Metzlers retired to Goshen in 2004, where they are very active in their community, and attend Assembly Mennonite Church. They have four adult children.

Glen E. Miller ’57 – Culture for Service Awardee

Traveling abroad many times for MCC during the beginning of his medical career, Glen Miller gained plenty of exposure to poverty, which left a powerful impression. After 29 years of medical practice and at the height of his earning power as medical director at Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine, Ohio, Miller chose an alternative path – to retire from medicine at age 55 so he and his wife, Marilyn, could live modestly and devote their lives to service.

Miller graduated from Goshen College in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He met Marilyn, who graduated from Goshen in 1954, in Aurora, Ohio, during his two years in alternative service during the Korean War.

“My motivation to leave the practice of medicine did not come from dissatisfaction. I did not experience a strong push to get out of medicine. However, I did feel the pull to do something different that affirmed that there was more to life than the practice of medicine,” said Miller.

When the opportunity came to go to Calcutta, India, for MCC India, “It felt right. It felt like the natural thing to do,” Miller said.

During their time in Calcutta, Miller served as the director of MCC India and Marilyn served as a country representative for Self-Help Crafts. Although they originally intended to stay only two years, the couple extended their term three times into a total of seven years. Miller had the privilege of developing a friendship with Mother Teresa, who he worked with on several occasions. When he suffered a heart attack towards the end of his final term, she sent him a get-well card while he was in the hospital.

The Millers also had the opportunity to serve as hosts for the 1997 Mennonite World Conference in India. Following their time in India, The Millers were invited to serve short terms with Cambodia MCC as interim co-director and co-host of the London Mennonite Center. Returning to the United States, Miller studied to receive a master’s degree in theological study at the Methodist Theological School of Ohio in 2003.

“The world is and has been Glen and Marilyn’s parish,” said Paul Gingrich, former director of church relations at GC, who has known the Millers for over 35 years. “Their lifestyle has always been to care for creation in as many ways as possible in an affluent society.”

Today Miller is an ambassador for Goshen College as well as recently appointed to lead Mennonite Church USA’s response to the Charlotte 2005 Delegate Assembly resolution to promote healthcare and healthcare access. The Millers attend Assembly Mennonite Church in Goshen, and have four grown children, all GC graduates.

Lisa Koop ’99 – Decade of Servant Leadership Awardee

As one who has always held an interest in social justice issues, after earning her law degree Lisa Koop has since devoted herself to public service. After graduating from Goshen College seven years ago, Koop has worked primarily with organizations that work at social justice issues, especially immigration.

Koop, who is from Goshen, graduated from Goshen College in 1999 with double majors in English and psychology. Though she considered pursuing further studies in psychology, two years serving with Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) in Texas along the border with Mexico as a paralegal in an immigration-assistance program made her realize her heart was elsewhere.

“[In MVS] I had to grapple with what it meant to be a North American, and I came to the realization that I need to use that privilege in some way to improve the circumstances of people coming from different situations,” said Koop.

She went on to attend Indiana University (IU) School of Law where she focused on immigration law, and after graduating, earned a prestigious two-year fellowship with the Notre Dame Immigration Clinic.

“We have been very fortunate that Lisa has continued to work in Indiana, and is teaching and inspiring students, advocates and community leaders,” said Florence Wagman Roisman, Michael D. McCormick Professor of Law. “Lisa has been, is now and will continue to be a model and an inspiration to many. I am certain that she will be a leader in public service throughout the world.”

A driven student, Koop was also engaged in much community work during her time in law school. While at IU, Koop taught “Street Law” to high school students once a week through their chapter of the Equal Justice Works program, of which Koop was president. She also performed over 200 hours of public service.

At Notre Dame she supervised several students in their casework and taught classes at the clinic, in addition to meeting with clients. For her efforts, Koop received Indiana’s Governor’s Award for Tomorrow’s Leaders in 2005.

Today Koop works as a staff attorney at the North Chicago office of the National Immigrant Justice Center, providing deportation defense and administrative representation to low-income and impoverished immigrants. She is married to R. Breck Herber, who also graduated from IU law school in 2004. They attend College Mennonite Church in Goshen.

Sally Hunsberger ’86 – Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award

As a mathematical statistician for the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., Sally Hunsberger daily works on the front lines of fighting breast cancer and pediatric cancer. In her spare time, Hunsberger volunteers at her children’s school and as a soccer and basketball coach for her son’s teams.

But what she finds more rewarding in her life is the time she spends volunteering several weeks a year for the organization Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) as a reservist in the West Bank, working to lower the levels of violence in the area through nonviolent direct action, human rights documentation and nonviolence training. “Other than being a mother and wife, the most rewarding thing I have done since college is my work with CPT,” Hunsberger said. “I know it is because of my experience at Goshen that I have the courage and desire to work with CPT. I feel so thankful for the preparation and nurturing that GC provided that lead me to follow my convictions, even when it is scary and lonely.” She has also done significant amount of public speaking and presenting about her work with CPT.

Hunsberger was a math and biology double major at Goshen and graduated in 1986. While a student at Goshen College, she played on the women’s tennis and basketball teams, and was honored two years in a row as an All-District and All-Conference athlete in tennis. She received a doctorate in biostatistics from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College. She has served on the Goshen College Alumni Board for several years.

“Sally has impressed me as someone who cares about people and the issues that concern them, whether they live close to her or far away,” said Director of Alumni Relations Carla Weldy. “She lives out her convictions in her everyday life by volunteering for CPT and at her church, organizing fundraisers as part of the Parent Teacher Organization at her children’s public school, and generously opening up her home and inviting others to live with her family. It is important for Sally to live a life of meaning, with character, and she is very deserving of the Champions of Character award.”

Hunsberger is married to Michael Fay, who is also a mathematical statistician for the National Institutes of Health, and the couple have two young children, Paul and Sara. In 1998-99, they volunteered at the St. Johns Medical School in Bangalore, India. Hunsberger attends Community Housechurch, where she is actively involved.

Don Jantzi ’72 – Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award

As principal of Chamberlain Elementary School in Goshen, Jantzi is faced daily with the task of educating students in the town’s elementary school with the highest percentage of low-income and English as a second language students. And he loves it.

Athletic Director Ken Pletcher said, “Everyday Don is out on the sidewalk greeting the children as they come to school. He fights very hard to get the best teachers for his students. He won’t settle for a second-rate education for them.”

A respected leader among his peers, Jantzi routinely presents at the Indiana Principals’ Leadership Academy. Superintendent of Goshen Public Schools Bruce Stahly said, “Don is revered by his colleagues not only because of his integrity but also because they know that his passion is to provide the best educational opportunities for his students and he is interested in the welfare of their families. He has never forgotten what it was like to be a teacher and his decisions always reflect his respect for his teaching colleagues. The committee could not have made a better choice as the torchbearer of this award.”

As a Goshen College student, Jantzi was an elementary education major and graduated in 1972. He went on to earn a master’s in education degree.

A man with significant height at 6 feet and 7 inches, Jantzi also played basketball at Goshen College and still holds the record for single season rebounds, with 344 in 1972-73. He is still near the top of the list for Goshen College men’s basketball season and career free throw attempts.

Jantzi attends Sunnyside Mennonite Church, where he teaches Sunday school and is chair of the elders. He and his wife Marilyn have two adult children.

– By Megan Blank ’07

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.

GOSHEN, Ind. – Since it was coined in 1904, “Culture for Service” has been the motto of Goshen College and an ideal for students, faculty and staff. During Homecoming Weekend 2005, the college will honor three exceptional alumni whose lives and work have exemplified this motto, with the Culture for Service Award. The college will also honor one recent alumnus with its inaugural Decade of Servant Leadership Award, which recognizes young alumni who are making significant contributions to their communities, church and world.

Awarded by the Goshen College Alumni Board, the 2005 Culture for Service Award will be presented to 1955 graduate Hans J. Hillerbrand, published scholar and religion professor at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and 1968 graduate Ramzi Farran and 1969 graduate Carol Farran, a high school chemistry teacher and nurse researcher, respectively, from Oak Park, Ill. Justin Rothshank, a Goshen native and 2000 graduate who now lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pa., will be the first recipient of the Decade of Servant Leadership Award.

The award recipients will be honored at a special chapel on Friday, Sept. 30 at 10 a.m. in the Church-Chapel. A reception for recipients will follow in the Gathering Rooms at 10:30 a.m.

The Culture for Service Awards, given annually, honor Goshen College graduates who have made lifelong commitments to service, which can take many forms. Recipients distinguish themselves through exemplary records of service and achievements at home or in their churches, colleges and communities and the larger world.

According to Carla Weldy, Goshen College director of alumni, church and parents relations, the Decade of Servant Leadership Award was developed to recognize an alumnus or alumna whose contributions and achievements in career, public or church service and volunteer activities early in post-graduate life are valuable and inspiring. The award is given to alumni during or prior to their tenth class reunion year. “We created the new Decade of Servant Leadership Award as a means to provide additional role models for students and to honor young alumni who orient their lives around all of the core values,” said Weldy.

According to Weldy, the 2005 recipients of the Culture for Service and Decade of Servant Leadership awards are an exceptional group of individuals. “Every year, it is difficult to select a few award winners from among many deserving alumni nominations,” said Weldy. “This year’s winners deserve recognition for their personal achievements and for the way they embody the values of a liberal arts education in general and of Goshen College’s Christ-centered in particular.”

Hans Hillerbrand
Recognized as one of the country’s preeminent Christian Reformation and church historians, Hans Hillerbrand’s work has consistently reflected his concern for demonstrating the broad cultural significance of historical development. He currently serves as president of the American Academy of Religion and is a member of the American Society of Church History.

“Dr. Hillerbrand has a world-wide reputation as a historian of the Reformation,” said John D. Roth, professor of history at Goshen College. “He brings a balanced, thoughtful approach to church history that integrates religious convictions with the broader social and political context.”

After graduating from Goshen College in 1955, Hillerbrand went on to earn a doctorate in intellectual history and the history of religion at the University of Erlangen in his home country of Germany; he obtained an honorary doctor of laws degree from Montclair State University in 1978.

Hillerbrand served as a professor at Goshen College from 1957 to 1959 before taking a professorial position at Duke University that he held until 1970. He taught at City University of New York as well as Southern Methodist University before returning to Duke University in 1988. Known among scholarly peers for his integrity, Hillerbrand has also taken on administrative positions at these universities.

Hillerbrand has published a large number of books, articles and reviews, and served as co-editor of the “Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation.” He has also held visiting professorships at three universities in Germany and one in Canada. He has held numerous voluntary positions on boards, committees and councils for a variety of religious and secular organizations, and has served as a driver for the Interfaith Network.

“He is a church man, deeply committed to the health and vitality of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and broader Christian church,” said Roth. “He has a strong, ongoing interest in the Mennonite church and in Anabaptist studies. He is deeply interested in connecting scholarship with active, living faith.”

Hillerbrand is an active member of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Durham, N.C., teaching Sunday school and serving on various church committees. He and his wife, Bonnie, have three grown children.

Ramzi and Carol Farran
Ramzi and Carol Farran have chosen to serve others through their vocations and beyond.
Carol (Koop) Farran came to Goshen College from Henderson, Neb., and graduated with a bachelor of science in nursing in 1969. She went on to earn master’s degrees from Illinois State, Northern Illinois and Rush Universities. She earned a doctorate in nursing science from Rush in 1985 and did post-graduate research at Northwestern University. A professor in health and the aging process at the Rush University College of Nursing and the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, she has engaged in extensive research into testing interventions aimed toward decreasing the emotional distress and improving the physical health of those who are family caregivers for sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease. Her research has been funded by the Alzheimer’s Association, the National Institute of Aging and the National Institute of Nursing Research.

Carol was honored with the Illinois Nurses Association Distinguished Researcher Award in 2001. She is a member of six professional organizations, serves on numerous committees, has published a long list of articles and in health care journals and church publications and has given countless presentations on her research.

Born in Palestine, Ramzi Farran graduated from Goshen College in 1968 with a chemistry degree, and earned a master’s degree in chemistry in 1971 from Illinois State University. He engaged in graduate studies at Northwestern University in 1998.

Ramzi, who lost his right arm in a factory accident as a young man, has been a dedicated teacher and mentor to a diverse population of high school students for 34 years. A high school chemistry teacher and coach of award-winning engineering and academic teams for 24 years at Fenwick High School, he has received numerous honors, including the Golden Apple Award and recognition from the Illinois State Board of Education; he was included in CBS News’ “Thanks to Teachers.”

The Farrans are the parents of two grown children and are active members in a Taize community in Oak Park, Ill.

Justin Rothshank
Goshen native Justin Rothshank has spent a year in voluntary service, helped develop a non-profit organization to establish a community center and developed a reputation as a respected artist. And he only graduated from Goshen College five years ago.

Rothshank is a founder, board member and associate director of the Union Project in Pittsburgh, Pa., a nonprofit organization with goal of bringing together faith and art in a diverse community of people. The project was originally launched in August 2001 by a group of Pittsburgh area Mennonites. According to Rothshank, 13 Goshen College graduates have had long-term involvement in this innovative nonprofit organization with dozens of other students having contributed at some point.

“[Justin] has taken many of the values of Goshen College and applied them in his every day life,” said Jessica King, executive director of the Union Project. “He has brought his global experience as a GC graduate to the multi-cultural mix of Pittsburgh and is a sensitive person who is well-liked by all who interact with him.”

At Goshen College, Rothshank was an art major with a focus in ceramics and took a minor in multimedia communication. Before becoming involved in initiating the Union Project, Rothshank spent a year with the Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience program (PULSE) as part of Menno Corps; he served as an apprentice at a woodworking studio.

An emerging visual artist, Rothshank has continued to develop a body of artwork, exhibiting ceramic and sculptural pieces around the country and giving demonstrations and workshops. A member of the National Council on Education in Ceramic Arts, Rothshank and his wife, Brooke, a 2000 graduate, have also restored an abandoned historic row house, which includes studios to create artwork.

“As a student, Justin was certainly experimental with materials and seemed to enjoy challenging conventional assumptions with his work,” said Marvin Bartel, retired Goshen College professor of art. “This disposition appears to have lead him into innovative and bold assumptions about what can be accomplished with limited resources.”

Rothshank shares a heart for service into the greater Pittsburgh area as well. He is involved in arts-based community development, works with a job-training program for high school students, helps at the annual fundraiser for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food and volunteers at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Rothshank is also an active member of Stone Soup, a newly organized Anabaptist worship group, for which he and Brooke have been part of a visioning process.

- Jennifer Rupp

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.