11 things to know about President Stoltzfus

February 12, 2018

Full coverage of the presidential inauguration (videos, photos and stories): goshen.edu/inauguration

Dr. Rebecca (Becky) Stoltzfus ’83 became Goshen College’s 18th president on Nov. 1, 2017. As we celebrate her inauguration, here are 11 things to know about President Stoltzfus:

She was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and grew up in North Lima, Ohio.
When she was little, Becky dreamed of becoming a farmer’s wife and to live in a big stone farmhouse in central Pennsylvania with children and a dog.

Becky (left) and her older sister Tina.

“Note that my childhood was so gendered that I could not conceive of myself as the farmer!”
When she was a student at Goshen College, Becky’s favorite activities included lying around on a dorm floor discussing the meaning of life and love late into the night, taking piano lessons and serving as an accompanist to the Chamber Choir.
Her favorite spot on campus?

“Walking the sidewalk from the Science Building to the Church-Chapel when students are between classes.”
She knows (to varying degrees) 6 languages.

“I have studied and become conversational or beyond (at least for a time) in French, Haitian Creole, Spanish, Indonesian and Swahili. And I’m quite proficient in English.”
She’s visited 40+ countries

(In alphabetical order: Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France , Guatemala, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.)
Her favorite food is a tie between well-prepared steel-cut oats for breakfast (“with cinnamon and touch of nutmeg and salt”), or an excellent piece of fish for dinner (“like seared tuna, medium-rare, with sesame-chili-soy sauce and wasabi on the side with a side of baby bok choy”).
Her favorite song, at the moment at least, is “Take Me to the Alley” sung by Gregory Porter.
While she loves Rise N’ Roll donuts, she claims that the homemade ones that she and her husband Kevin make are even better.
Her favorite silly movies are Anchorman and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
Becky and Kevin are known for reading children’s literature aloud to each other at night.

“Lately, its Frog and Toad stories.”

She was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and grew up in North Lima, Ohio.

When she was little, Becky dreamed of becoming a farmer’s wife and to live in a big stone farmhouse in central Pennsylvania with children and a dog.

When she was a student at Goshen College, Becky’s favorite activities included lying around on a dorm floor discussing the meaning of life and love late into the night, taking piano lessons and serving as an accompanist to the Chamber Choir.

Her favorite spot on campus?

She knows (to varying degrees) 6 languages.

She’s visited 40+ countries

Her favorite food is a tie between well-prepared steel-cut oats for breakfast (“with cinnamon and touch of nutmeg and salt”), or an excellent piece of fish for dinner (“like seared tuna, medium-rare, with sesame-chili-soy sauce and wasabi on the side with a side of baby bok choy”).

Her favorite song, at the moment at least, is “Take Me to the Alley” sung by Gregory Porter.

While she loves Rise N’ Roll donuts, she claims that the homemade ones that she and her husband Kevin make are even better.

Her favorite silly movies are Anchorman and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

Becky and Kevin are known for reading children’s literature aloud to each other at night.