Goshen College introduces new faculty for 2007-08

GOSHEN, Ind. – Goshen College is pleased to announce and welcome new administrative and teaching faculty members for the 2007-08 academic year.

Gary Chupp is the men’s basketball coach. He received a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Mennonite University, and served as men’s basketball coach at Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.), for the past nine years. While at Bethel, Chupp was twice named the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, and in 2003 led Bethel to its first ever appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. Prior, he served as assistant coach at Bluffton University and Geneva College. In addition to coaching, Chupp will teach in the Physical Education Department and serve as assistant to the athletic director.

Sandra Earnest is an associate professor of nursing. She received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in nursing administration from Case Western Reserve University. She has five years of teaching experience from a variety of colleges. Earnest’s professional experience includes many years of clinical experiences in hospitals, home health care and hospice, and rehabilitation centers. She also has 19 years of managerial experience in a variety of settings.

Rachel Lapp will serve as an assistant professor of communication during a one-year appointment. She received a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College in 1995 and is completing a master’s degree in multicultural communication at the DePaul University School of Communication this fall. Lapp worked as a newspaper journalist for nearly two years and was director of public relations at Goshen College for eight years. She was co-author of “More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Indiana Women” (The Globe Pequot Press, 2006).

David Hilty Lind is the assistant professor of sociology. He received a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College in 1997 and a doctorate in rural sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2007. His dissertation is titled “Exploring the ‘Good’ in Local Food: Tales of a Mid-Western Milk Route.” Lind was the coordinator of research and special projects for the Project Construct National Center.

Steven P. Miller will teach history on a half-time basis this academic year. He received a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College in 1999. He went on to receive both a master’s degree and doctorate in history from Vanderbilt University. His book “The Politics of Decency: Billy Graham, Evangelicalism, and the End of the Solid South” is forthcoming from the University of Pennsylvania Press. He has previously taught courses at Vanderbilt and Webster University in St. Louis.

Jerrell Ross Richer is an associate professor of economics. He received a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College in 1985. He went on to receive a master’s degree and doctorate in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His fields of specialization included environmental, public and urban economics and his dissertation focused on local measures to control rapid urban growth. While living in Sebastopol, Calif., over the past 10 years, Richer conducted research for the U.S. Forest Service and taught in the Department of Business and Economics at Sonoma State University and at New College of California in the first master’s of business administration in sustainable enterprise program.

Adam Roth is a gift fund officer in the Development Office. He received a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College in 2005. Roth did Mennonite Voluntary Service in San Antonio, Texas, and carpentry work in Atlanta, Ga.

Ryan Sensenig is an assistant professor of biology. He received a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Mennonite University and a doctorate in ecology from the University of California, Davis. He also has biology and earth science teaching certification. Sensenig’s doctoral research was conducted in Kenya where he studied the effects of grassland burning on grazing animals. For the past six years he has taught ecology at a high school and has won a number of state and national teaching awards.

Tamara Shantz is the assistant campus minister. She received a bachelor’s degree from Conrad Grebel College/University of Waterloo and a master’s of divinity degree from Yale Divinity School in 2007. She has served as a youth pastor at Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church, a summer pastor at St. Jacobs Mennonite Church, a summer spiritual mentor for Future Quest of Queen’s Theological College and a summer event pastor for the !Explore program of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary.

Regina Shands Stoltzfus is a half-time assistant professor and teaching courses in Bible and religion, as well as peace, justice and conflict studies this year while completing her doctoral work at Chicago Theological Seminary. She received a bachelor’s degree at Cleveland State University and a master’s degree in biblical studies at Ashland Theological Seminary. She was associate campus pastor at Goshen College several years ago and frequently has taught adjunct courses for the college. Shands Stoltzfus previously served as an associate pastor at Lee Heights Community Church. She was a co-author of “Set Free: A Journey Toward Solidarity Against Racism” (Herald Press, 2001).

Rose Shetler is a gift fund officer in the Development Office. She received a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Goshen College in 2006. She has been a nurse at the Courtyard Healthcare Center and received nurse’s training at Scott Community College in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Kristyn Sleeseman has been an admission counselor in the Enrollment Office since September 2006. Sleeseman earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Christian College (McPherson, Kan.) and is completing a master’s degree in higher education from Geneva College. She has been an admission counselor, resident director and director of residence life at Central.

Sherry Wenger is an associate professor of nursing. She received a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College in 1981 and a master’s degree in nursing with a community health care systems focus from Oregon Health Sciences University School of Nursing. Wenger previously served as assistant professor and assistant director of the RN to BSN Completion program at Goshen College. She has taught at two community colleges and was a research nurse at University of Iowa. Wenger has played a key role in the development of the Anabaptist Disabilities Network (ADNet). Most recently, she has been a school nurse in the Goshen School System.

Kayla Wietgrefe is an assistant professor of biology in a one-year appointment. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s degree from Purdue University at the IPFW campus in 2007. Her thesis research was on the molecular mechanisms of temperature-dependent sex determination in Red-eared Slider turtles. Wietgrefe has been an adjunct faculty member at Ivy Tech in Fort Wayne and has taught at Brown Mackie Community College, also in Fort Wayne.

Judy Weaver-Yoder is an associate professor of nursing. She received a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College in 1976, a master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1995 and certification in midwifery in 1995 from Frontier Nursing School of Midwifery and Family Nursing. Weaver-Yoder has worked in obstetrics at Goshen General Hospital and Elkhart General Hospital for 13 years and as a nurse midwife at Genesis Nurse at Midwifery of Indiana since 2004. She taught at Bethel College (Mishawaka, Ind.) for the past 10 years.

Scott Williamson is an associate professor of music on a one-year appointment. He will conduct the Chorale and Men’s Chorus, in addition to teaching and supervising music education student teachers. Williamson received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from James Madison University and Westminster Choir College, and earned a doctorate of musical arts degree from the University of Maryland. He was the winner of the 2005 International Opera Singers Competition, held by the Center for Contemporary Opera in New York. Williamson has been an associate conductor and chorus master for Opera Roanoke since 1998, and was director of choral and vocal activities at Shepherd University from 1999 to 2002. Having served as associate director of choral and vocal activities at Washington & Lee University from 1996 to 1999, he returns there frequently as artist-in-residence. He has recently performed with the Tulsa Opera, Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, Opera Roanoke, St. Andrew’s Music Series in New York, Young Victorian Theatre and the Bard Music Festival. His upcoming performances are with the National Chorale, Saint Thomas Church in New York, Virginia Tech and the Masterworks Chorale.

Several faculty have also moved to new positions within the institution: Ken Pletcher moved from athletic director and associate professor of physical education to a major gift officer in the Development Office; and Deanna Risser moved from assistant to the provost and vice president of finance to manager of business operations/budget analyst.

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.