BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT The campus was first laid out in the late nineteenth century, beginning with a single four-story building that held classrooms, administration, student and some faculty housing, dining facilities and a two- story chapel with pipe organ. It has grown to include to some 15 major buildings, four major athletic fields, and other facilities. • Bud Pearson Swedish Chapel and J.E. and L.E. Mabee Welcome Center was added to the Bethany landscape in September 2014 and is the first fullyfundraised building on Bethany’s campus in more than 30 years. The building’s location, purpose and design are all reflective of Bethany’s Lutheran and Swedish identity as well as of the Directions of Excellence. It sits in the heart of campus and serves as the spiritual center for the Bethany community. The Pearson Chapel is used for spiritual worship and weekly chapel services. The Mabee Welcome Center houses the admissions offices and offers hospitality to all those who visit Bethany College. • Burnett Center for the Performing Arts is used for theatre productions, recitals, lectures, and classes. • Mingenback Art Center is recognized as one of the most functional instructional centers for visual art in the region and houses the Mingenback Art Center Gallery along with designated computer labs for both graphics and digital arts, along with eSports. • Nelson Science Center houses the laboratory sciences and mathematics departments with facultydesigned labs for biology, chemistry and physics, equipped for best student learning methods and safety practices. The campus computer lab is located in Nelson Science and has fresh technology including PCs, a MAC, high speed duplex-capable printers, DLP projectors, and Bluetooth wireless technology. • Pihlblad Memorial Union houses the cafeteria, mailroom, campus store, and Student Development Office. The lower level includes a recreational area known as “The Pit.” • Presser Hall consists of a three-story building for offices, classrooms and practice rooms and the auditorium, which was designed to showcase annual presentations of the Messiah, George F. Handel’s well-known oratorio. The main floor is home to the offices of Business, Registrar, Financial Aid, Communications/Marketing, Academic & Student Affairs, and the President. The lower level includes faculty offices for English, Communication, Theatre, Religion, and Philosophy, Human Resources, and other administrative offices. The Music Department occupies the second and third floors. ** Presser Hall auditorium seats more than 1,700 with an additional 500 seating capacity on the stage. The hall’s exceptional acoustics can support large choral/orchestral performances and solo recitals with equal clarity.
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** The auditorium also houses the 80 rank Thomson-Mingenback Organ and a Bösendorfer Imperial 290 concert grand piano. ** The Music Department classrooms include the Wiedemann Digital Keyboard Laboratory, equipped with computers and digital pianos; an instructional smart room; and digital recording equipment. The instrumental area is well equipped with instruments appropriate to the needs of band, orchestra, small ensembles, handbells, and jazz ensemble. Steel lockers are available for the protection and security of instruments. ** Practice facilities include Wenger sound proof modules; a 3-rank Klug and Schumacher tracker organ; and a 6-rank Reiger positive organ used for concerts and tours; an 8-rank Reuter pipe organ in Burnett Center; an Eric Herz two-manual harpsichord, a Salvi concert harp; plus grand and upright pianos in the practice rooms. Three residence halls are coeducational: Alma Swensson Hall, Gregory Hall, and New Hall. Warner Hall houses only male students, while Anna Marm Hall houses only female students. Swede Suites is an apartment-style unit for upper-class students. The Sjogren Center is located at 425 N. 2nd Street (west side of campus.) Originally a residence, it was gifted to the College by Elsie Dorf (class of 1927) in approximately 1986 and currently houses the Offices of Advancement and Alumni Relations. The Wallerstedt Library is a one-stop shop for valuable academic resources outside of the classroom. It is an integrated learning space connecting library resources, the Writing Center, and the Student Success Center (SSC). The space provides electronic and physical resources, active collaborative spaces, quiet areas for study, computer lab, and offices for the Education Department, and meeting rooms in Lindquist Hall. Bethany’s Education Department is housed in the lower level of Wallerstedt Library and in the Benson Education Center dedicated in 2015 to Dr. Sterling (Bud) Benson, the Chair of the Education Department up until 1995. The Wallerstedt Social Science Center provides faculty offices for various departments along with eight classrooms that are outfitted with digital projectors or TVs and have wired and wireless network access. Indoor Athletic Facilities: The Stroble-Gibson Centennial Center (Physical Education Center and Gym) is a 20,000 square foot facility attached to the Hahn physical education center. It has 2 full size basketball courts, a main court that can be subdivided for intramural sports, indoor practices,
