Faculty and Staff News – Fall 2018

Meister Publishes Nine Books
In the past year, nine books co-written by Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Religion and Philosophy Chad Meister, Ph.D., have been published. This is the culmination of seven years of Meister’s work on the topic of evil and suffering, which has been his focus because it is considered one of the most significant objections to the belief that God exists, and it is a troubling problem for many believers as well. Books include: The Cambridge Companion to the Problem of Evil; God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views; Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed, 2nd edition, and a six-volume set, The History of Evil.

McLaughlin Publishes Chapter on John Wesley
Associate Professor of Communication Elizabeth McLaughlin, Ph.D., published a chapter in the book Words and Witnesses: Communication Studies in Christian Thought from Athanasius to Desmond Tutu. The book looks at how Christians should address problems, controversies and crises in communication today by looking at influential Christian thinkers throughout history. McLaughlin’s chapter on John Wesley is titled, “Bearing Witness Through Divine Gift, Sacred Choice and Embodied Action.”

International Literacy Association Selects Fish as Team Leader
Assistant Professor of Education Michelle Fish ’94, Ph.D., was chosen by the International Literacy Association (ILA) as a Children’s Choices team leader. She will assist in facilitating the annual Children’s Choices book recommendations by recruiting a team of 2,500 young readers from nine states who will evaluate hundreds of new children’s books. This opportunity allows Fish to promote authentic and purposeful reading opportunities for young readers, while working closely with elementary school teachers, and stay abreast of current trends in children’s literature.

Stackowicz Speaks at TEDxUND Event
Director of Career Development Matthew Stackowicz presented a TEDx talk titled, “Dare to Be a Visual Storyteller,” at the University of Notre Dame. His topic included examples from how Bethel’s Career Development Office uses visual narratives, and how universities, businesses, and the community can start telling new stories to change their futures.

Elam Named Vice President for Enrollment Management
Terrell Elam, Ph.D., was named Vice President for Enrollment Management. Elam most recently served as Dean of Admissions for Liberty University, the largest nonprofit Christian university in the United States. He leads Bethel teams in Traditional Admissions, Adult & Graduate Studies Admissions, Financial Aid and Enrollment Marketing. His skills and experience will further advance the goals of Bethel’s strategic enrollment initiative, GROW, which focuses on athletic, traditional admissions and online recruitment areas. Elam began his career in K-12 Christian schools, serving as principal, assistant administrator and administrator at schools in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland before moving on to higher education. He holds a Ph.D. in Education from Capella University. While at Liberty, with a total resident population of nearly 15,000, he created a national marketing campaign, redesigned the transfer credit process and launched personalized marketing initiatives for graduate students, as well as a digital marketing campaign. Additionally, he taught doctoral-level courses online in Conflict Resolution, Educational Leadership and Educational Psychology, among others.

NEW FACULTY 2018
BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Enzley Mitchell IV, assistant professor of Kinesiology; Kevin DeKoninck, assistant professor of Accounting. Front row, left to right: Beth Bailey, assistant professor of Nursing; Susan Lee ’94, assistant professor of Education, Joy Barnes, assistant professor of Nursing.
NOT PICTURED: Terry Chi, Ph.D., assistant professor of Psychology; Dale Robbins ’08, assistant professor of Nursing (at Grace).

Student Life Additions and Promotions
Nat Montiel ’15 has joined the Student Life team as a Resident Director. He most recently was working at Gull Lake Ministries in Hickory Corners, Mich., as their Program Coordinator.
Ben Bulgrien ’15 has joined the Student Life team as a Resident Director. He comes back to Bethel after spending three years at Grabill Missionary Church as a missionary resident, where he experienced all facets of church ministry. Julie Beam has been promoted to Dean of Students.

Retirements
Becky Aldridge ’07, Office Manager, Center for Academic Success – 23 years of service.
Carolyn Aukerman, Sodexo – 22 years of service.
Connie Cramer, Associate Professor of Nursing – 21 years of service.
Marilynn Ham, Associate Professor of Music and Artist in Residence – 29 years of service.
Peggy Jarusewic, CPA, Associate Professor of Business – 36 years of service.
Debby Jacobsen, Office Manager, Wellness Center – 30+ years of service.
Mike Kendall, Ph.D., Professor of Music – 19 years of service.
Carol Ziegler, Administrative Assistant for the Physical Plant – 19 years of service.