Marcel Guevara '04. Erica (Young) Guevara '06 and Javier Guevara '05 were honored as the 2014 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.

Marcel Guevara ’04. Erica (Young) Guevara ’06 and Javier Guevara ’05 were honored as the 2014 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.

Athletic Hall of Famers Honored
On Sept. 7, Bethel hosted the 2014 Athletic Hall of Fame induction banquet in the Wiekamp Athletic Center. This year’s Hall of Fame inductees included Marcel Guevara ’04, a three-year letter winner in baseball; Erica (Young) Guevara ’06, a four-year letter winner in track and field; and Javier Guevara ’05, a four-year letter winner in baseball.

Bethel Honors Fallen Fire Fighter
On Aug. 11, Bethel hosted the funeral services for Assistant Fire Chief Jamie Middlebrook, a volunteer firefighter with the New Carlisle, Ind., Fire Department who died in the line of duty on Aug. 5. More than 700 firefighters and police officers, along with members of the community, attended the service.

Chin youth and young adults worship during the Herald Vision Conference of the Chin Baptist Church, USA, the first conference of its kind to be held in the United States.

Chin youth and young adults worship during the Herald Vision Conference of the Chin Baptist Church, USA.

Bethel Hosts Conference for Chin Refugees
Nearly 550 Chin Burmese youth and young adults gathered on Bethel’s campus for the Herald Vision Conference of the Chin Baptist Church USA. This was the first conference of its kind to be held in the United States. Attendees, ranging in age from 15-25, were primarily refugees who came to America to escape religious persecution in the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar (formerly Burma). Currently, three Chin Burmese students are enrolled at Bethel.

New Applied Politics Major
Bethel recently announced the creation of the applied politics major, a unique program for students who want to pursue a career in politics. It will offer students multiple opportunities to dialogue with elected officials, work on election campaigns, serve with advocacy organizations and build lifelong professional networks. Students will also participate in three internship experiences.

“A typical political science program is heavy on philosophy and quantitative analysis, but it doesn’t offer a variety of practical opportunities for students,” says Dave Schmidt, Ph.D., associate professor of history. “We’ve designed the applied politics major to be more pragmatic — we want graduates to walk away with a résumé full of real-world experiences. We want them to have demonstrated competence that will lead to valuable career opportunities.” For more information, visit BethelCollege.edu/AppliedPolitics.

Chenoweth-Hesburgh

President Chenoweth (left) is pictured giving a GREATer Award to The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame.

Bethel Recognizes GREAT Contributions by Local Leaders
In May, Bethel recognized three local leaders who have made our community greater by presenting them with the GREATer Award, which will be given annually. The three recipients, chosen for their contributions in education, government and business, were The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame; Indiana State Senator Carlin Yoder; and Paul Zurcher, founder and president of Zurcher’s Best-One Tire and Auto Care. “As Bethel implements our GREATer agenda, we know these values are already embodied by extraordinary people within and beyond the college,” says President Chenoweth. “This GREATer Award allows us to honor local heroes who already modeled it for our community.”

AGS Partners with StraighterLine
Bethel College adult and graduate studies recently announced a partnership with StraighterLine, a leading provider of affordable, flexible and transferable online college courses. Bethel is the first local college to partner with StraighterLine, providing adult and graduate students with low-cost online courses that allow them to create a degree path customized to their needs. “We believe this partnership will benefit our students by offering an additional option for satisfying their general education and elective credits, while completing their major course work at Bethel,” says Toni Steffensen Pauls, Ph.D., vice president for adult and graduate studies. “With the increasing concerns about the rising cost of education, we want to give students options that allow them to be in control of their educational experience.”

Bethel Named College of Distinction
For the third year in a row, Bethel is one of a select group of colleges to earn the prestigious designation as a College of Distinction. The honor is based on Bethel’s excellence in four areas: engaged students, great teaching, vibrant campus communities and successful outcomes. High school guidance counselors and educators nominate colleges and universities for2014recognition by Colleges of Distinction, which then evaluates each school based on qualitative and quantitative research.

Bethel Named to Best College Lists
Bethel recently received national recognition for academic quality and value. Christian Universities Online named Bethel one of the 50 Most Affordable Christian Colleges and one of the 50 Best Christian Colleges. Bethel was also one of only 665 colleges in the nation recognized as Money Magazine’s best colleges for your money. The list was comprised of institutions of all sizes, including universities such as Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Notre Dame.

Bethel Sports Network Coming Soon
This fall, the communication and media arts department will launch the Bethel Sports Network, with the goal of broadcasting athletic updates, interviews with coaches, talk shows and live coverage of various sporting events. The initiative was made possible by a $40,000 Lilly Grant that allowed the department to purchase new equipment, including four high-definition cameras, a virtual set and a tricaster, which provides the technology for streaming, recording and multi-camera live production. Students will gain hands-on experience with broadcasting, reporting, editing and producing.

From left: Sarah Morrison '14, Kevin Brown '15 and Abigail Krik '15.

Sarah Morrison ’14, Kevin Brown ’15 and Abigail Krik ’15.

Students Honored with President’s Servant Leadership Awards
Sarah Morrison ’14, Kevin Brown ’15, Abigail Kirk ’15 and Tessa Yoder ’15 (not pictured) received the prestigious President’s Servant Leadership Award in chapel last April. Established in 2003, the award recognizes students who are nominated by their peers, faculty and staff as servant leaders in the areas of ministry and community service. Each award comes with a $1,000 scholarship, of which each student keeps $750 and donates $250 to the charity of his or her choice.