Faculty/Staff News – Fall 2016

GREAT Job Awards  
In April, President Gregg Chenoweth, Ph.D., recognized a select number of Bethel employees who have done an exceptional job living out the GREATer priorities (see p. 30 for more about GREATer). Recipients honored in a special ceremony included: Norm Spivey, Ph.D., professor of psychology; the Retention Project team; Bill and Debbie Jones, missionaries in residence; Vickie Pennington, housekeeping; Matthew Stackowicz, director of career development and experiential learning; the BIG Room design team; and Johan Godwaldt, associate professor of theatre. Visit BethelCollege.edu/GreatJob4 for more details.

Cerling Certified as National CAEP Reviewer (1)
Kristie Cerling ’96, Ed.D., education department chair, has been certified as one of about 500 nationwide CAEP (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation) reviewers, an exclusive designation as national certification is no longer being offered. She also completed state-level training, and is credentialed to serve on accreditation reviews for other schools at the state or national level. Cerling pursued this certification to gain an inside view into the accreditation process to better lead Bethel’s education program.

Meister Publishes Book (2)
Professor of Philosophy Chad Meister, Ph.D., published a new book this summer, Contemporary Philosophical Theology, with co-author Charles Taliaferro, professor of philosophy at St. Olaf College. The book focuses on key topics in contemporary philosophical theology.

President’s Contract Renewed (3)
In May, the Bethel College Board of Trustees acted unanimously in their decision to give Bethel’s seventh president, Gregg Chenoweth, Ph.D., a contract extension through 2021. Board Chairman Brian Hamil ’82, announced this reappointment following the board’s spring meeting. “Dr. Chenoweth’s new contract reflects the confidence the Board of Trustees has in his leadership,” says Hamil. “We appreciate the achievements he has made and look forward to having Gregg and Tammy Chenoweth remain a part of the Bethel College community for many more years.”

Helmuth Appointed to CCCU Commission (4)
Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), recently appointed Andrea Helmuth ’95, Bethel’s assistant vice president for traditional enrollment, to the CCCU’s Chief Enrollment Officers Commission. Helmuth is one of six members of the commission, which advises the CCCU on relevant enrollment topics and collaborates with CCCU members to coordinate the annual enrollment conference.

Zellers, Abraham Collaborate with Student to Publish Article (5, 6)
Rebecca Zellers and Samuel Abraham, both assistant professors of nursing, along with MSN student Coreena Schroyer ’15, were recently published in The Health Care Manager. The article, “Increasing Registered Nurse Retention Using Mentors in Critical Care Services,” discusses the effect of a mentoring program on easing nurses’ transitions to the workplace.

Faculty and Staff Interpret for U.S. President, Presidential Candidates  
Bethel Staff Interpreter and Adjunct Professor Jenny Carroll ’06 provided American Sign Language interpretation for President Barack Obama during his visit to Elkhart, Ind., in May. Carroll is one of 19 interpreters who contract with Community Services with All Deaf (CSAD), an organization that arranges interpreting services. Department Chair and Associate Professor of Sign Language Interpreting Angela Myers and Staff Interpreter/Lab Coordinator Amy Constable ’02 were also hired to provide interpretation for political rallies held in South Bend. Carroll and Myers interpreted for Bernie Sanders, and Myers and Constable interpreted for Donald Trump.

Bethel Welcomes New Faculty
New faculty are pictured, left to right: Timothy Ferdinands, Ph.D., assistant professor of math; Jeshua Franklin ’04, D.M.A., assistant professor of music; Rachel Lindvall, M.A., assistant professor of kinesiology; Michael May, MFA, assistant professor of art; Keith Koteskey, M.A., assistant professor of Christian ministries.

New and Promoted Directors
Tyler Grant ’09 has been named director of semester abroad and task force. He joined Bethel’s Admission team in August 2015 as communications manager. He previously worked as a counselor at the Youth Service Bureau (South Bend), a readiness specialist at the American Red Cross (Oregon) and a policy development intern at Covenant Children’s Homes (India). He earned a B.A. in international studies from Bethel and a master’s in global development and justice from Multnomah University. He has traveled internationally to Haiti, Kenya, Egypt, Canada, Mexico and Greece.

Stephanie Gonzalez, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, has been named director of health services. She has been a nurse for 11 years and has worked in college health for the past six years, most recently at University of Notre Dame student health center. She received her BSN and MSN from Indiana University South Bend.

Rachel Kennedy ’91 has joined the Bethel team as the director of the Center for Academic Success. Kennedy received her B.A. from Bethel in psychology, communications and English. She went on to earn a master’s in special education from Western Governors University. For the past eight years, she has worked for the InterMountain Education Service District in eastern Oregon, (initially as a special education teacher and recently as a consulting teacher/evaluation team coordinator).

Cindi Pedersen ’96 has been named interim financial aid director. Pedersen has served in the Office of Financial Aid for nearly 20 years, most recently as the assistant director of financial aid. Over the course of her career, Pedersen has obtained a tremendous understanding of state and federal aid, knowledge of compliance regulations, skills as a financial aid professional and has a proven history of excellence in the financial aid office.

Meredith Tschetter has joined the marketing and communications staff as art director/brand manager. She comes to Bethel from Lippert Components in Elkhart, Ind. She earned a B.A. in art from Taylor University, but has many Bethel connections. Her entire immediate family (and their spouses), maternal grandparents and many of her cousins are Bethel graduates; her grandfather is also a former district superintendent of the Missionary Church.

New AGS Staff
Katie Gilbert is the newest enrollment counselor on the Adult and Graduate Studies team. Gilbert was born in Niles and earned a B.S. in business administration from Ferris State University. Before coming to Bethel, she served as a recruiter at The Medical Foundation, working with area high schools and colleges to share the importance of local blood donations and help set up blood drives.

Staff Promotions
In the Office of Admission, Jessica Taylor has been promoted from campus visit and event coordinator to communications manager. Joye Ford will assume Taylor’s former role after nine years of service with admission, most recently as senior operations assistant.

In the Business Office, Gail Stutzman has been promoted to the position of staff accountant after serving as accounts payable manager for 25 years. Shelly Cunningham ’95 will assume Stutzman’s previous position and duties. Her 15 years at Bethel has provided the background needed in this role. Lori Skyrm ’14 has been promoted to student accounts manager, after assisting in student accounts for the last two years. Diana Graybill has been has been promoted to student accounts assistant after nine years at Bethel.