A Job Faithfully Done

When Dr. Barb Bellefeuille assumed the role of president of Bethel University, first on an interim basis in July 2021 and then officially as president in March of 2022, she committed to three years and three priorities.

She set out to: strengthen Bethel’s mission through a renewed focus on the relationship between the university and the Missionary Church denomination; care for Bethel’s people through strategic hires, including building Bethel’s cabinet; and fortify Bethel spaces for the future through the $6.5 million Faithful campaign.

Now, three years later, she has worked hard to advance these priorities.

During Bellefeuille’s tenure, Bethel has strengthened its relationship with the Missionary Church through intentional missional alignment and key events. In 2023, two annual traditions began, including, “Bethel Day with the Missionary Church,” where churches around the country take time in their Sunday services to celebrate Bethel University, and “Missionary Church Day at Bethel,” where pastors are invited on campus to attend chapel, enjoy lunch and interact with students. Bellefeuille has supported Bethel’s presence at all four regional Missionary Church summer camps, district and leadership conferences and the SHIFT National conference. She re-established the Pastors’ Prayer Walk each August and worked with Enrollment to increase scholarships for Missionary Church students.

She has worked to care for Bethel’s people in a variety of ways. She was responsible for five cabinet hires, a faculty/staff chaplain to care for employees spiritually and the establishment of a Vice President for Spiritual Life and University Affairs. She instituted an 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. work week, with half-day Fridays in the summer, and started the annual “Lighting of the Pilot Lights” to mark the Christmas season.

She cared for Bethel’s place through the “Faithful Campaign,” focused on strengthening Bethel for the future through an emphasis on its purpose, people and place. Because of this campaign, she secured the largest single gift from a living donor in Bethel’s history. This enabled many deferred maintenance projects to be completed, including renovations in the freshman dorms, Shupe and Oakwood, exterior work on the Huffman Administration Building, roofing on the Goodman Gymnasium, new HVAC systems for the Academic Center, flooring for the common areas in Sailor Hall and much more. The campaign also allowed for the hiring of several key positions, including a marketing partner to expand Bethel’s reach to prospective students.

But perhaps most importantly to her personally, she helped keep campus focused on Jesus through annual themes based on scripture, including “He must increase, I must decrease” and “Speak Jesus.”

“I think I’m most fulfilled by how we’ve re-centered our purpose,” Bellefeuille says. “My first chapel focused on biblical truth. During [that] chapel, we laid out Bibles signed by faculty and staff … and every single one was taken. Later I heard a story of a student reaching out to a faculty member for prayer, just because they had written in that Bible.”

A lifelong educator, Bellefeuille has made herself particularly accessible to students, continuing to mentor several students as she’s served as president. She started “Barb’s Barn Bash,” an annual fall harvest party, and can often be seen at campus events, stopping to talk and laugh with students on the sidewalks.

“I have felt very privileged to have had the opportunity to represent such an institution. It is an honor. As a female president, I trust I have been able to encourage future young ladies to aspire to leadership.”

As Bellefeuille wraps up her 13th year at Bethel (she served as Vice President for Academic Services from 2012-2021), she looks forward to taking a spiritual retreat, enjoying a slower pace for the first few months and spending more time with the animals on her hobby farm in Granger. But she also plans to remain a good friend of the university and Christ-centered higher education.