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PRESIDENT BY G E NE PFE IFE R • PRESIDENT, B E THANY LUTHERAN COLLEG E
Carrying out our Mary, Martha purpose Paul Gerhardt was a pastor in Germany, but also a prolific hymnist. It is said that the majority of Gerhardt’s hymns were written as the result of his own personal trials and grief. History notes that Gerhardt experienced much suffering in his life as he and his parishioners lived in the era of the Thirty Years’ War. Within his own family, four of his five children died young, and his wife died after a prolonged illness. Gerhardt’s hymns appear in many hymnals today including one entitled “Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me?” The third verse begins with the words, “God oft gives me days of gladness, shall I grieve if He give seasons of sadness?” During the past two years, there have been challenging times all around. We also know there will continue to be difficulties in the future. However, even amid the ongoing pandemic, right now Bethany is blessed by our almighty God with a season of gladness.
...Even amid the ongoing pandemic, right now Bethany is blessed by our almighty God with a season of gladness. During the current pandemic, when most higher education institutions are struggling with declining enrollment and challenging financial pictures, at Bethany by God’s grace and blessings, we are thriving while carrying out our two-fold Mary/Martha Bethany mission. In this article, I’d like to share some of the ways God is blessing our Christian higher education mission at this time. Bethany strives to be like Mary intently focusing on and supplying our students with the Good News message of the Gospel—The One Thing Needful. This is accomplished in required religious studies classes, during daily chapel worship and small group Bible studies, and evidenced through annual baptisms 4
of Bethany students, and when our students and alumni become connected with churches in their local communities. And while dedication to the Gospel is Bethany’s most important focus, we also strive to carry out our Martha purpose by equipping students and alumni for productive and fulfilling lives and vocations. Bethany continues to expand upon this aspect of our mission in various and deliberate ways. For the second time in three years, Bethany is ranked the number one college in Minnesota for its graduates’ social mobility (U.S. News National Liberal Arts Category). This means in comparison to what would be expected of Bethany graduates based upon their academic profile and demographic background, our students outperform what would be predicted. Yes, Bethany is number one in Minnesota and number forty in the nation among a prestigious group of National Liberal Arts Colleges in a ranking category that measures a College’s ability to equip alumni to have successful and fulfilling careers while climbing the socioeconomic success ladder. Another way Bethany is fulfilling its Martha purpose is through a deliberate expansion of our academic program options for students. An institutional first, Bethany recently launched a master’s degree program in clinical mental health counseling. Taught from a Christian perspective, the program has sixteen degree-seeking graduate students in this online program. In addition, in Fall 2021 we launched two new majors in fine arts administration (combining strengths in both our fine arts and business courses), and another program in Spanish. Bethany now offers 29 majors from which students can choose. In addition to these new program offerings, in an effort to add value and better support for the vocational employment needs of Bethany alumni, the College launched a full-time Career Services Office with the goal to help our students gain valuable
