Residence Life

It’s much more than a cluster of buildings.

Residence life at Taylor is more than that. Halls are intentionally integrated, so underclassmen are living with and learning from upperclassmen and vice versa. In living together, students are exposed to a variety of people and opinions, as well as a host of shared experiences.

The goal is to create an environment that encourages personal and spiritual growth and fosters the basic values of Christian community, such as consideration for others, integrity and self-discipline.  Residence Hall staff work to facilitate this growth in partnership with Men's and Women's Programming.

Things to bring to campus 

Residence Halls

• Bergwall Hall
• English Hall
• Gerig Hall
• Sammy Morris Hall
• Olson Hall
• Swallow Robin Hall
• Wengatz Hall

Campus Apartments

• Campbell Hall
• Fairlane Apartments
• Wolgemuth Hall

Wengatz Hall

Wengatz is the largest men's residence hall on campus, housing 267 men.

Like Olson, Wengatz is traditionally arranged with student rooms, both double and triple, lining a central corridor.

Student rooms are carpeted and the furniture is stackable, which affords students the opportunity to be creative with room layouts.

Each student is provided with the following:

• a bed
• a dresser
• desk
• chair
• bookcase
• wardrobe

The first floor has a social lounge, as well as a recreation area. In addition to the main lounge, study lounges are located on each wing.

Wengatz is located on the south side of campus, west of Olson Hall and across the street from Gerig Hall. Wengatz does not have an elevator and is not an air-conditioned facility.

Travis Yoder, Wengatz Hall Director

I am Travis Yoder, and I am the Residence Director in Wengatz Hall. I born and raised in Warsaw, IN and graduated from Taylor in 2005 with a B.A. in Sociology. I returned to Taylor shortly after to be the Assistant Residence Director in Wengatz for 3 years. While back again, I graduated from Taylor a second time with an M.A. in Higher Education in 2009. I’ve returned to Taylor now, for a third time, after working as a Residence Director and Housing Coordinator at Eastern University (St. Davids, PA).

I consider it a very distinct privilege to work with and be involved in the lives of students here, in Wengatz. I believe in the purpose and mission of Christian higher education and am deeply committed to Taylor’s call to integrate faith and learning as well as its approach to whole-person education. From such a perspective, the residence hall becomes so much more than simply a bed and a place to store one’s belongings. Isaac and I, along with 14 Personnel Assistants are pursuing change. The goal is for the Men in Wengatz Hall to leave this place as different people than when they arrived. The passage of 4 years’ time will inevitably offer some change in a person’s life, but we will be looking to come alongside the students in Wengatz to call them to change in ways they otherwise might not have been open to. Call it growth, maturity, development or anything else; we are focused on these men leaving Wengatz with a better sense of Christian character, social justice, emotional health, and personal identity than when they first arrived. Because of its unique set-up and make-up, the residence hall has a unique capacity to promote this change in nurturing and supportive ways as well as in challenging ways. Though one might seem a more desirable avenue than the other, both can be tremendously transformational to result, ultimately, in the positive change of the men who call Wengatz home. Thus, we are about the kind of change best summed up by what Paul is calling for in Ephesians 4 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Email Travis at tryoder@taylor.edu

Nick Coats, Wengatz Assistant Hall Director

Hi, my name is Nick Coats and I am a 2009 graduate from Taylor University. As an undergrad at Taylor, I majored in Sports Management and minored in Psychology. I am currently a student in Taylor’s Masters of Higher Education and Student Development (MAHE) program.

It has been amazing to see how God has directed my paths the past 3 years while working in the education and business worlds, as well as becoming a part of the Future Leaders Program at McLean Bible Church in Washington DC. Future Leaders was an intensive development program designed to help young leaders reach their full ministry potential. I have always had the deep desire to serve and make a significant difference in this world in my short time here, thus realizing my call to ministry and desire to truly impact people through discipleship. 

I am honored at the opportunity to work with Travis and with the men of Wengatz Hall as we pursue whole person change, spiritual maturity and a desire to impact the world in the way the Lord has gifted us. I myself had a life-changing experience in my undergrad years at Taylor, and I truly believe in the Residence Life program and what it stands for. I am thrilled with the opportunity that I have been given and to invest in and spur on the men of Wengatz Hall.

Email Nick at nick_coats@taylor.edu.