Bethany College (Kansas)

Bethany College
Type Private
Established 1881
Affiliation Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
President William Jones
Students 716
Undergraduates 716
Location Lindsborg, Kansas, U.S.
Campus Rural, 53 acres (21 ha)
Colors Blue and Gold
         
Sports NAIA:21
Mascot Terrible Swedes
Affiliations NAIA, KCAC
Website bethanylb.edu

Bethany College is a small liberal arts college located in Lindsborg, Kansas, and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It was founded in 1881.

History

Bethany College at the turn of the twentieth century

Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Swedish-Lutheran settlers worked with the Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson, Bethany’s founder, to establish Bethany Academy on October 15, 1881, in the sacristy of Bethany Lutheran Church in Lindsborg, Kansas, with ten students. Growing rapidly, Bethany evolved from Academy through 1885, to Bethany Normal Institute in 1887, to Bethany College in 1889. Notable Bethany presidents in the 20th century include Rev. Dr. Ernst Frederick Wilhelm Pihlblad (1873–1943), who was a Professor from 1895 to 1904, and president from 1905 to 1941. Under Pihlblad, Bethany was accredited and became a member of the National Association of Schools of Music. Under the watch of Emory K. Lindquist (1908–1922), who took office of president in 1943, Bethany survived war troubles, grew in post-war America and improved its reputation. He is the author of Bethany in Kansas: The History of a College (1975).[1]

In July 2014, Bethany College announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Vogel as interim president. Dr. Vogel served as president of Wartburg College for 18 years and since retiring has served as interim president at other colleges and universities across the country.[2]

Academics

Bethany College has 14 academic departments. The school offers majors focused in education, humanities, fine arts, sciences, and social sciences; minors ranging from business and sacred music to theater and art; teaching endorsements for all majors in education; and six pre-professional studies including medicine, law and, physical therapy.

Athletics

Main article: Bethany Swedes

Bethany College's athletic teams are known as the Terrible Swedes or Swedes. The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and competes in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

Traditions

Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas

Notable alumni and faculty

An entrance to Bethany College


References

  1. Connelley, William E (1918). "Carl Aaron Swensson". A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  2. "President's Office". Bethany College. Bethany College. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  3. Lindquist, Emory (1953). Smokey Valley People: A History of Lindsborg, Kansas. Kempton. pp. 108–110.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bethany College.

Coordinates: 38°34′48.2″N 97°40′22.7″W / 38.580056°N 97.672972°W / 38.580056; -97.672972

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.