December 2016
Cover Story
-
The woman at the center of the story
With her young adult novel, Magpie’s Blanket, Kim Schmidt helps to recover a piece of Native American history told from a female perspective.
Inquiry
-
Bridging the generation gap
Rashaka Lucas has been learning about aspects of wellness across the lifespan, in his connections with his host family and with senior citizens in a water aerobics class he leads.
Excerpts
-
I John 4:8
I’ve gone to church most of my life, but never really considered myself a very religious person.
Alumni
-
Alumni see Rio Olympics from the inside
Kaitlyn Preheim and Jennifer Scott are lifelong friends who were Sunday school classmates and youth group members at Zion Mennonite Church, Elbing, before going to Bethel and ultimately graduating in 2014 with majors in social work. They now live in Merriam, and they are experienced travel buddies – most recently this past August, when they went to Rio de Janeiro to volunteer at the Summer Olympics. Alumni Relations Director Brad Kohlman ’07 caught up with the pair to find out more.
Around the Green | Faculty & Staff
-
President White to leave at end of academic year
President Perry D. White has announced his plans to step down at the conclusion of the 2016-17 academic year, concluding seven years of service to the college.
-
Vice president for advancement resigns
Pamela K. Tieszen, Bethel College vice president for institutional advancement, has submitted her resignation, effective Dec. 31.
-
Professor goes back to high school
Allen Jantz ’84, professor of education, decided the best way to do his job was to go back to school.
-
New books examine Mennonite engagement with society in Europe, Kansas
Bethel celebrated the release this fall of two books in its Wedel Series, produced by the Mennonite Library and Archives (MLA).
Around the Green | Campus
-
Hall-of-Fame volleyball team had chemistry and competitiveness
According to the numbers, Bethel’s 1976 volleyball team was one of the most dominant in school history.
-
Exhibit raises money, and more, for refugee artists
A silent auction of artwork shown through the month of September in Bethel’s Regier Art Gallery raised more than $3,000 for the artists—but its value went beyond money.
-
Museum seeks artifacts for new exhibit on WWI conscientious objection
As the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I in 1917 approaches, Kauffman Museum is working to tell a less well known piece of that history.
-
Bethel looks at ways to improve enrollment after 2016 numbers fall
Bethel saw a dip in enrollment for 2016, but the news wasn’t all bad.
-
Bethel releases long-awaited mobile app
For alumni and friends who have been looking for another way to find out—and share—what’s happening on campus, or just to stay connected, the “Bethel College-Kansas” app is available on Apple and Android devices.
-
Fall Festival 2016
(Saturday, Oct. 1)
Around the Green | Students
-
Preheim finds culture, service and ministry during summer in the city
Junior Ryne Preheim was looking for a summer in the city, and he got it by experiencing summer in a city church.
-
Summer in the lab yields personal, research results
For some Bethel students, a great summer meant staying in the lab, at major research universities in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
-
Students add pieces to new museum’s story
After 100 years in the making, the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened to great fanfare in Washington, D.C., and in diverse locations around the country, including Bethel College.
-
Students gain practical experience while aiding Admissions efforts
They say you only have one chance to make a first impression – and that applies to college, too. Making prospective students aware of a school and getting them to consider it are key early steps in the admissions process.
-
Threshers through and through
Highlighting students who exemplify Bethel’s seven core values
- Service Day, Sept. 21
Class Notes
Advancement
-
A ‘roll of honor’ especially for alumni
The Board of Directors created the Bethel College Heritage Roll of Honor in 2002 as an organization of people who have remembered Bethel in their estate plans or through deferred gifts.
-
Seven-figure gift will establish endowed chair in accounting
A gift from an alumna and spouse will go to create an endowed chair within Bethel’s Department of Business.
Encore
-
Revelations in wood—65 years of the sculpture of John Gaeddert
When making their rounds of the Green, regular Fall Festival-goers have come to expect to see John Gaeddert ’50 next to a table of striking wooden sculpture (in Osage orange, bristlecone pine, black walnut and other woods native to Kansas and Colorado) on the east side under an oak tree. And no wonder—because he was there for at least 35 years.