B E TH A N Y Magazine
CA M PUS N E WS
Photo by David Norris
BY L ANCE SCHWARTZ • DIREC TOR OF INSTITUTIONAL COM MUNICATION
Professor Emeritus Thomas Kuster at the naming ceremony.
Bethany Lutheran College named the Honsey Hall communication/studio wing in honor of Professor Emeritus Thomas Kuster on Saturday, October 6 as part of the Fall Festival/Homecoming weekend. The area is referred to as the Thomas A. Kuster Media Center. It is a multi-use space serving a variety of students with its video editing suites, production studio, classroom, and conference rooms. The Center is also home to KTV—Mankato's community access television station. Kuster first came to Bethany in the fall of 1962 at which time he taught both Latin and English while he was also a seminary student. It was also during this time that Kuster started Bethany's first debate team. When he returned to BLC in 1991, he became the first faculty member to hold a named chair—the Eleanor Wilson Endowed Chair for Speech and Communication. He brought the speech/debate program to national prominence in the 1990s. His involvement at the national level was both impactful and inspirational for Bethany's faculty. His commitment to excellence helped to develop the baccalaureate culture at Bethany. While Kuster was "building" Bethany's first four-year major, he consulted with leaders in communication studies from across the nation, and as a consequence, the communication program quickly rose to
MEDIA CENTER NAMED IN HONOR OF KUSTER
prominence and is now considered to be a model program. Bethany's production studio was also the idea of Dr. Kuster. It has grown now to become a widely recognized asset to the College. There is no doubt the growth of the communication program and production studio is the result of Kuster's striving for excellence for the program, which the Lord has blessed accordingly. Kuster's vision allowed the communication program at Bethany to flourish and become what is now considered to be a regional, if not national, leader in communication studies. After retiring from full-time teaching, Dr. Kuster established the Christ in Media Institute (CMI) in 2009 (see "One Thing Needful" column on page five). CMI holds regular conferences and committee meetings with the goal of finding new ways to bring the gospel to souls throughout the world by developing and gathering the expertise required for the effective production and distribution of Christian media in a variety of cultures. Kuster, and his wife Judy, also an academic leader and a distinguished alumna award recipient at BLC, raised nine children—several of whom were adopted. The couple dedicated their lives to their large family and put forth the same tireless effort to their children's upbringing as they did to their vocations.
A VIDEO RECORDING OF THE NAMING CEREMONY IS AVAILABLE AT: BIT.LY/KUSTERMEDIA18 9
