Campus opportunities and services

Arts opportunities

Art galleries

Two art galleries on campus contain rotating exhibits. The Hershberger Art gallery located in the Music Center exhibits works by guest artists, art faculty, and art students. A second gallery located in the basement of the Good Library features historical exhibits, art exhibits from the Art Department, and various other exhibits organized by the Good Library

Performing Arts Series

The annual Performing Arts Series brings world-class performers to the campus Music Center. Recent artists include Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin, Audra McDonald, Emmylou Harris, Chris Thile, the Silk Road Ensemble, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Chinese Acrobats, and Bobby McFerrin.

Music activities

Students interested in music are invited to audition for music department ensembles, including Chamber Choir, Voices of the Earth, Vox Profundi, Orchestra, Lavender Jazz, and the All-Campus Band. The choirs perform several on-campus concerts each year, and one choir tours each year during spring semester mid-term break. Parables, a student worship team, presents music and drama programs at churches and camps throughout the year. The orchestra performs a repertoire of classic and contemporary symphonic and chamber music at on-campus concerts. The annual Festival of Carols in early December has been broadcast on local public television stations. A fully-staged opera, operetta, musical, or scenes program is produced each year with the theater department. In addition to these groups, a variety of student-formed groups participate in coffeehouses, talent shows, and worship teams.

Theater activities

Any student may audition for the two fully staged theater productions each year or any of the numerous student-directed one-acts. Students are welcome to volunteer as costume, light, sound, hair/makeup, props and set construction assistants for any of the productions. Advanced students may design or direct shows, including selected one-acts. Goshen theater students participate annually in Region III of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

Bookstore

The Goshen College bookstore is all virtual and operated by Akademos. Course materials for all courses can be purchased online at goshen.edu/bookstore. College branded merchandise is also available on the website. Many course materials are available as used, rental, or as ebooks. At the end of each term, students may sell their books back through the Akademos Marketplace at market rates.

Broadcasting and publications

Radio and television

In 2018, WGCS, or 91.1 The Globe, celebrated its 60th anniversary. A year earlier, WGCS was named the National Signature Station by the Broadcast Educators Association, its highest honor. The Globe was also named the best college radio station in the nation in 2011 and 2013 by the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, the only station to win the title more than once.  Students serve as station manager and staff members. The station features American roots music, public affairs and religious programs, news, and sports. On the air 24 hours a day, The Globe offers students many opportunities for broadcast experience. The Globe was named the Indiana “College Radio Station of the Year” seven times in the last 11 years, including in 2021, and the Indiana “TV School of the Year” four times as well, competing against all colleges and universities in the state. The Globe is based in the Center for Communication Studies.

Newspaper

Students edit The Record, a weekly newspaper that includes news, features, and photographic coverage of campus events and issues and provides a forum for student, faculty and staff opinion. The Record is published in both print and online formats. The newspaper, advised by communication faculty members, is based in the Center for Communication Studies. In competition with other colleges across Indiana, The Record was named the “Newspaper of the Year” in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Creative writing publications

Sponsored by the English department, Pinchpenny Press publishes small volumes of creative writing by students and faculty members and Red Cents, a creative writing magazine. In addition, Broadside publishes occasional short pieces of creative writing in signed, limited editions.

Campus Center for Young Children (CCYC)

The Campus Center for Young Children (www.ccycgoshen.org) offers quality childcare services for children of students, faculty, staff and community members. CCYC is housed in the Church-Chapel building and is sponsored by the college and College Mennonite Church. Childcare scholarships are available to qualifying students.

Career guidance and employment preparation: Career Networks

The Career Networks office supports students in developing the skills they need to become employed during college and throughout their lifetime. Staff helps students navigate career direction, confirm a choice of major, and connect with employers by helping them to create and/or edit their career readiness materials.

Available through the Career Networks office are career coaching, résumé and cover letter preparation, practice interviews, job search skills, job and internship listings, and alumni connections. This office also maintains an extensive website, including a job and internship bank and resources specific to each major.

Campus jobs

Students who desire on-campus employment should contact the Career Networks office or check the online job bank.

Food services

Food services provided by AVI Fresh are available in Westlawn dining hall and at the Leafraker snack shop in the Union building. Nearly all students living on campus are required to purchase a meal plan. A variety of options are available and are detailed on web pages under the Campus Life heading and on the AVI website. Java Junction is a popular student-operated coffee bar located in the Connector between Kratz, Miller and Yoder residence halls.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

ITS provides the campus with high quality, innovative technology services that are constantly evolving and improving. Goshen is a leader in mobile e-learning. Our iPad one-to-one program is one of the first in the world to be tied to our general education program (Goshen Core). The campus has a robust network infrastructure, providing 10 GB of wired Internet service, and wifi services that support Wifi 6 standards for research and collaboration from the classroom, dorm room or lab. ITS also offers the Eduroam roaming access so that remote and off-campus students can take advantage of local Eduroam hotspots in their locales.  Students have access to modern computer labs across campus with a student/computer ratio of 7.6 to 1. iMacs, Mac Minis, and Windows computers are available in labs across campus. All major classrooms have multimedia and computer projection capabilities. Students have access to a full complement of network services, all accessible via a single, personal user ID and password. The campus participates in Google Workspace for Education, providing email, calendar, cloud storage, document collaboration, YouTube for Education and a variety of other web services. Students can copy and print using their GC ID and supplied print credit. They also have access to color and large format printing if needed. The ITS Help Desk provides students on and off campus with tech support. Schertz Computing Center is open 24 hours, seven days a week. ITS also provides all the help and documentation students need to configure their computers for residence hall use. An annual customer satisfaction survey identifies priorities for ongoing improvement. For more information about technology at GC, see the ITS web page at goshen.edu/its/.

Lecture series

  • Frank and Betty Jo Yoder Public Affairs Lecture Series brings nationally known speakers to campus to address a variety of current issues.
  • Eric Yake Kenagy Visiting Artist Program annually brings a distinguished visual artist to campus for lectures, workshops, and interaction with students.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. All-Campus Study Day annually brings to campus outstanding civil-rights leaders who share King’s vision for peace and justice.
  • Science and Religion Conference brings an outstanding scholar to campus each spring for public presentations and dialogue.
  • C. Henry Smith Peace Lecture is given annually by a faculty member of Goshen College or Bluffton University.
  • Umble Master Class series brings an outstanding educator or practitioner in theater or communication to campus each year for lectures and workshops.
  • S.A. Yoder Memorial Lecture annually brings a distinguished poet, novelist, essayist or humorist to campus.
  • Atlee and Winifred Beechy Peace, Justice and Reconciliation Lectureship brings nationally known speakers to campus to address peace, justice and reconciliation issues.

Library

The Harold and Wilma Good Library sustains the Goshen College curriculum by providing quality sources, services, and instruction to cultivate intellectual inquiry and information literacy.

  • Open 85 hours per week when classes are in session, including Sunday through Thursday nights until midnight.
  • Interlibrary loan
  • Course Guides tailored for your class
  • Library Instruction tailored for your class
  • Academic Success Center for students who want to improve study strategies, accommodations for students with disabilities, and writing assistance and tutoring for everyone.
  • Educational Technology Lab for instructors who need help setting up their courses in Moodle or need some guidance with online course design.

Collection Highlights

  • Subscription to approx 70 databases with access to over 86,000 journals
  • More than 85,000 print sources and more than 500,000 eBooks
  • Royer Reading Room – a collection of Juvenile materials and curriculum
  • Aschliman Peace Children’s Peace Collection – Literature, art, drama, and curriculum to educate children about ways of peaceful living
  • Board and video game collection
  • Spanish Language Collection
  • Popular reading collection (popular and award winning fiction and non-fiction)

Mennonite Historical Library

The Mennonite Historical Library, housed on the third floor of the Good Library, contains more than 65,000 volumes, an unrivaled collection of published works by and about Anabaptists, Mennonites and related groups (Amish, Hutterites, etc). Resources also include substantial source materials on the Protestant Reformation, contemporary global Anabaptists, local and family history and Pennsylvania Dutch culture.

Mail and Package services

The campus receives deliveries of US Postal Mail, UPS, and FedEx each weekday.  No services are offered on weekends. Residential and commuter students receiving mail and/or packages will be notified electronically and pick up their items in the co-located ITSMedia/Campus Post offices on the South side of the Union.  Outgoing packages and returns may be shipped from the Printing and Mailing Offices in the basement of Coffman Hall.  For more details, visit www.goshen.edu/printmail/campus-post.

Lost & Found

The central location for lost and found on campus is the Welcome Center.  Some buildings, such as Good Library, maintain their own lost and found collection.  Items not picked up by the end of each term are removed, recycled, or donated as appropriate.  To access the Lost and Found collection, visit the Welcome Center Monday through Friday during business hours.