Forming Lives of Impact: New VPAS Focuses on People

The day before Dr. Abson Joseph’s interview for Bethel University’s Vice President for Academic Services (VPAS) position, he and his wife, Larisa, were walking through campus. They both felt that something was different about this place.

“There was something that grabbed a hold of my heart,” says Joseph.

That “something” was the people – particularly the students. Joseph became the VPAS at Bethel in July 2024. Now almost a year into the role, his passion for this community has only grown.

“It matters to be a good person who [for instance] happens to do nursing… [or] happens to be a businessman,” says Joseph. “Bethel cares for what happens to the heart.”

Joseph sees his role as a true ministry – one that God has revealed on a path that has taken some unexpected turns.

From Joseph’s first year on this earth – when four different tragedies threatened his life – God formed him for this moment. In the aftermath of those tragedies, Joseph’s parents promised that, if God spared him, they would dedicate him to God’s service.

That call has led Joseph around the world through 18 years of higher education experience in both faculty and administrative roles. His varied background allows him the unique perspective necessary for the current moment at Bethel.

“I am in a position where I have received and have given in multiple contexts,” Joseph says. “This allows me to serve the students well because I understand what they are going through.”

Joseph’s experience as a father of two daughters has catalyzed the importance of the four years that Bethel faculty have with the students who come to campus.

“The things that we do within those four years [bear impact] five, six, ten years downstream. This is a big responsibility.”

Joseph reminds himself daily of the purpose behind his work. It is the same purpose that stirred within him and his wife on their visit to campus and has now become his mantra: forming lives, not buildings.