Faculty and Staff Additions and Promotions

Left to right: Jill Tyler, Ashlyn Havens, Lydia Bowen, Joye Ford, Sue Matteson

Over the summer, the traditional admission team had several staffing changes. Jill Tyler joined Bethel as the director of admission and will lead the college’s traditional student recruitment efforts. Her career experience includes five years in college admissions, as well as leading an award-winning sales team with more than $300,000 in annual retail sales. She is a graduate of Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio. Bethel graduate Ashlyn Havens ’14 and Lydia Bowen, a graduate of North Central University in Minneapolis, Minn., joined the team as admission counselors. Joye Ford was promoted to associate director of admission operations and Sue Matteson was promoted to campus visit and event coordinator.

New Staff Fall 2017

Left to right: Trevor Clark, Jim Bennett, Tanya Sobaski

Trevor Clark joined Bethel’s Office of Marketing and Communication as graphic designer. Clark graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with a degree in Media Design. His career includes a variety of print and digital design experience, including creating signage and marketing materials for Major League Soccer and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, while working at a sports design firm in Indianapolis.

Jim Bennett ’88 is the new education department chair and Adult and Graduate Studies education program director. Bennett’s career has included working for many area school districts, most recently as director of curriculum and instruction for Wa-Nee Community Schools. Since 2014, he has been an instructor at Bethel, teaching a variety of classes for both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Tanya Sobaski ’08 joined Bethel’s nursing faculty as director of the BSN Completion Program and the MSN Program. This fall she completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice at Andrews University. In addition to nearly 20 years of experience as a nurse and nurse educator, Sobaski previously served as a faculty member at Lake Michigan College and Southwestern Michigan College, and as an adjunct professor in Bethel’s School of Nursing.

Andrew Bowen ’09 is the new sports information director for Bethel’s athletic department. Since 2007-08, Bowen has compiled and edited the men’s basketball media guide and has had it placed in the top four seven times in the CoSIDA’s College Division Publications & Digital Design Contest, including the best overall in 2008-09. Prior to Bethel, Bowen served as a youth pastor and previously worked for the South Bend Silverhawks (now Cubs).

Williams Presents on Racial Reconciliation in South Africa
Assistant Professor of Communication Theo Williams ’99 traveled to South Africa this summer with a team from RENEWED ministries to speak and help oversee a variety of events. The group also included Bethel alumni Courtney Richards ’87, Ryan Flemming ’97 and Anthony Houston ’16. Williams spoke in churches, schools, community settings and at a conference for social workers on the topic of racial reconciliation. The group also led basketball clinics, conducted sports and music evangelism and organized a youth day event for more than 350 participants.

Meister Publishes New Books
Professor of Philosophy and Theology Chad Meister, Ph.D., published three new books: The Cambridge Companion to the Problem of Evil; God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views; and Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction, 2nd edition. He has two more projects that will be published in 2018, Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed, 2nd edition, and a six-volume set, The History of Evil. Meister has focused much of his work on the problem of evil and suffering because it is considered to be one of the most significant objections to the belief that God exists, and it is a troubling problem for many believers as well. For more information, visit ChadMeister.org.

Ham Publishes 30th Book of Piano Arrangements
Associate Professor of Music and Artist-in-Residence Marilynn Ham will publish her 30th book of piano arrangements in March 2018. A Glorious Gospel Celebration will be a collection of Southern gospel favorites, including “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart,” “Look and Live,” “God Leads Us Along,” “Ring the Bells of Heaven” and “What a Day That Will Be.” Ham chose pieces that are favorites of her parents and friends of their generation. “I’ve played many pieces of this style over my life, so some of the ideas were already in my head, and I wrote the book in just two months,” she says. “It gave me something to pour my thoughts into after the passing of my husband. I know he would be happy I started to write again.”

Faculty, Students and Alumni Publish Articles

Right to left: Cassandra May, Brian Ellis, Deborah Gillum, Samuel Abraham, Edwin Carrington

Bethel senior Kathryn Weaver ’18 was the first author on “Using a health-rating system to evaluate the usefulness of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for anthelmintic study,” published in PLOS ONE. Assistant Professor of Biology Cassandra May, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Biology Brian Ellis, Ph.D., were co-authors. Ellis praised Weaver’s efforts, noting that, “Publishing a paper as the first author in a peer-reviewed biomedical journal, as an undergraduate student, is a rare accomplishment.”

Lauren Cox ’14, Lauren Crump ’14 and Renee Struwing ’14, three nursing alumni, were co-authors of an article that presented research they conducted while studying abroad in the Dominican Republic during their time as students. Dean of Nursing Deborah Gillum, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Nursing Samuel Abraham, were also co-authors of the article, “Building Cultural Competence: The Lived Experience of Semester Study Abroad Students,” published in the Journal of Community Nursing.

ASLChoice published an article by Assistant Professor of American Sign Language & Deaf Studies Edwin Carrington, “Deaf Material Culture: Deafmade Contraptions,” is the first in a series of academic videos that will be published based on Carrington’s master’s thesis project.

Left to right: Lisa Ericson, Hannah Stutzman

Several faculty from Bethel’s School of Nursing recently published articles. Assistant Professor of Nursing Lisa Ericson was the main author of “Symptom Management Theory,” published in the Encyclopedia of Nursing Research. Assistant Professor of Nursing Samuel Abraham and Assistant Professor of Nursing Hannah Stutzman ’06 collaborated on two articles; Stutzman was the main author and Abraham a co-author for one published in The Health Care Manager, and both were co-authors of one published in Cogent Psychology. Abraham authored two additional articles published in The Health Care Manager, along with articles in Cogent Medicine and LaPrensa Medica Argentina.

Staff interpreter and adjunct professor Jenny (Bright) Carroll ’06 receives an award for 10 years of service from payroll & employee Benefits Manager Cindy Kuehn ’01 during the employee banquet.

Faculty, Staff Honored for Years of Service
Faculty and staff were honored for years of service and enjoyed fellowship during the fourth annual all-employee appreciation and service awards banquet in May. Dinner was served by the Bethel College Track and Field Team.