Notes from the Bethel College fall board meetings
The Collegian news staff compiled their notes from the general sessions of Bethel's fall board meetings.
Ahead of Fall Fest weekend, the Bethel College board of directors visited campus for the semester’s board meetings. The Collegian news staff was present at the general sessions which were the only sessions open to the media and public.
Oct. 6, 8:30-9:30 a.m. — APRIL POWLS:
President Jon Gering introduced the topic for this fall’s board meetings: “Knowledge is not enough” — a quote from a previous president of Bethel College who briefly transitioned Bethel into a work college roughly 90 years ago before it returned to its current form during World War II.
Gering also discussed the rise of college tuition and living in general. “If something is going to cost more, you better have a return on that investment,” he said.
Gering proposed that Bethel should prepare its students for careers as well as educate them in their fields and outlined seven points the college can pursue to achieve this goal. They are summarized as follows:
Provide employment opportunities for students
Create a sustained ethos of service
Increase the visibility of campus life and create community through the incoming Thresher Media Network
Identify and complete changes to campus real estate to serve the college and its community
Redesign student support services to meet the needs of a diverse student population
Redesign the curriculum so it’s consistent with the college mission and responds to student needs and expectations
Implement a comprehensive stakeholder life cycle system and work to upgrade technology periodically
After a brief small group discussion about the strategic plans discussed, this session concluded.
Oct. 6, 3:45-4:30 p.m. — MARCUS LaBONDE:
This session focused on the Thresher Way Program — which is a shared, integrated set of experiences that define student life at Bethel College — and implementing this new program at Bethel in the near future.
The ultimate goal of the program is to “provide a compelling, distinctive, high-value educational model that becomes nationally recognized for its documented ability to increase human flourishing.”
They also discussed the five ‘experiences’ of Bethel student life: Faith, academic, community, employment, and service. These experiences are put together to create the acronym FACES.
Some of the goals for students through the Thresher Way Program rubric are as follows:
Becoming interdependent
Valuing vocation and purposeful life work
Acting on dreams and imagination
Making meaning in narrative
Bethel leadership is trying to grow and change the institution for the betterment of its students — and they believe that with the Thresher Way Program they’ll be doing just that and more.
Oct. 7, 2:10-4 p.m. — LAUREN McCREARY:
The main focus of the final session was discussions that board members had with current Bethel College students. These conversations pertained to complaints regarding mental health issues on campus, Thresher Days, sanitation in Haury, and more.
For Thresher Days, complaints argued that there should be less orientation at the beginning of the school year for freshmen and transfers and that it would be best spread out throughout the semester.
For Haury Hall, discussions were held as to whether it should be updated or torn down for improvements. Haury is currently not appealing to most prospective students on their visits and isn’t assisting in the recruitment process for many athletic teams.
Vocation in the curriculum. Some departments don’t adequately supply careers needed after college and most students may find it hard to find opportunities where others are not. Student employment is providing good things but might need some attention. Class sizes are enlarging, leading to less involvement. Bethel has seen major improvements in its test scores.
The Wellness Center is “almost halfway there” and has a “solid plan to get there.” Facilities at Bethel are in good condition, but the completion of the Wellness Center is needed because of the limited gym space with overlapping practices.
Action items: Joel Gaeddert was voted as the new Alumni Representative. Zandra M. Sawatzky was voted as the WDC Representative. The Directors Committee reelected Thomas A. Penner as Board Representative for his first full term.
The board passed a six-percent increase in tuition — the largest increase in “quite a while.” Its intention is to assist in infrastructure updates and raises for employees.
The board adjourned on Oct. 7 and will meet again in the spring.