New Faculty

Stephen Martin, D.C.M., music department chair and associate professor of music; Holly Tapley, MD, assistant professor of biology; Abbie Mantor, Ph.D., assistant professor of biblical studies.

Pamela Campbell, Ph.D., has been appointed as the vice president for administration and finance and CFO, beginning Sept. 23. Campbell comes to Bethel from Columbia Schools in Brooklyn, Mich., where she served as superintendent with the responsibility of CFO for 11 years. Among her accomplishments at Columbia Schools, she facilitated the passage of a $30.6 million renovation bond issue and related facility updates, initiated a new budget process and remedied a negative fund balance. Campbell earned three degrees from Michigan State University: a B.S. in General Science and Math Education, an M.A. in Educational Administration and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration. She also has an M.A. in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University. In her new role, she will oversee Human Resources, Information Technology, Conference Services, the Physical Plant, SODEXO (dining services), the Business Office, Campus Safety, Sufficient Grounds Café and the Campus Store. Read more at BethelUniversity.edu/News.

New Directors and Promotions

Julie Beam, Ph.D.
Tom Carpenter ’07, ‘12
Courtney Chapman ’12
Richia “RJ” Hayden-Jennings, M.A., LMHC
Shawn Holtgren, ’95, ’97, Ph.D.
Keith Koteskey, Ph.D.
Joshua Maurer ’18

Julie Beam, Ph.D., has been promoted to vice president for student development & success. In this role, she will provide leadership for Student Life, the Wellness Center and Academic Success. Previously, Beam served as the dean of students, overseeing residence life, student care and conduct, campus activities and more. Read more.

Tom Carpenter ’07, ‘12 has been promoted to director for community services. In this role, he will be expanding his previous role as associate director for community life by overseeing and supporting male resident directors and the new Living Learning Communities.

Courtney Chapman ’12 has been promoted to the director of residence life & engagement. In this role, she will be expanding her previous role as associate director of student wellness by providing oversight and leadership for residence life in addition to student wellness and conduct, campus activities and First Year Experience.

Richia “RJ” Hayden-Jennings, M.A., LMHC, has been promoted to director of counseling services in which she will continue providing counseling services, working with interns and coordinating outreach services for the Bethel community and students. Previously, Hayden-Jennings served as the associate director of counseling services.

Shawn Holtgren, ’95, ’97, Ph.D., has been named vice president for spiritual life & university affairs. In this role, he will have a greater focus on campus spiritual life, athletics, intercultural learning and engagement and global engagement and career services. He will also be providing leadership for key initiatives supporting the president. Read more.

Keith Koteskey, Ph.D., has been named the interim dean of humanities & social sciences. Koteskey will retain his previous roles as associate professor of Christian ministry and chair of religion and philosophy, but his responsibilities will expand to include working with seven department chairs to ensure quality instruction and curriculum for our students as well as reviewing student academic appeals, increasing financial efficiencies across departments, strategizing ways to shape curriculum to attract new students and implementing new projects.

Joshua Maurer ’18 has been named the director of acting where his role will include overseeing the development of actors, teaching theatre courses, directing shows and leading department recruitment efforts. He will also be teaching the vocal ensemble Voices of Triumph. Previously, Maurer served as
an admission counselor.

Accomplishments

John Haas, Ph.D.
Abbie Mantor, Ph.D.
Cristian Mihut, Ph.D.

John Haas, Ph.D., associate professor of history, published the following articles with Current in 2023: “Observations for students in higher ed at the beginning of the semester,” “No Laughing Matter?,” “And a happy 40th anniversary to Robert Schuller’s Self-Esteem: The New Reformation,” “Difficult students and free speech in the college classroom,” “The bogeyman threat of Christian Nationalism,” “Welcome to Pottersville,” “A Cut to the Flesh” and “Religious War & Religious Peace.”

Abbie Mantor, Ph.D., assistant professor of biblical studies, completed her doctoral dissertation titled “Caring for the Sufferers Among Us: Job through the Lens of Classical Rhetoric and Modern Psychological Trauma Studies.” Her work argues that the intersection of classic rhetorical studies and modern trauma studies illuminates how the book of Job continues to connect with sufferers and highlights how we can care for the sufferers among us.

Cristian Mihut, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, was awarded a fellowship from the Center for Philosophy of Religion at Notre Dame to study and write on the nature and value of gentleness during the 2023-2024 year. The fellowship is funded by the Templeton Foundation, as part of the “Intellectual Humility and Oppression” initiative/grant.