UPDATES AND NEWS

From our faculty & staff

Assistant Professor Benjamin Faugstad (Music) published a new arrangement of "Joy to The World" for Chamber Orchestra with Veritas Musica Publishing. The debut performance with student conductor Mariah Munsen (BLC Music Major) took place on Friday, November 13, 2020, in Bethany's Trinity Chapel.

Associate Professor Chad Heins (Biology) recently participated in a podcast called the Wandering Naturalist produced by the Three Rivers Park District, Plymouth, Minnesota. Heins is a noted expert in spiders and spoke on the topic during the podcast.

Associate Professor Benji Inniger (Theatre) has been awarded a "Creative Support for Individual Artists" grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to compose a new work in six movements based on a psychological principle called The Transtheoretical Model, otherwise known as the stages of change. Each movement of the piece will musically describe one of the six stages of how we as humans identify and adapt to change. The piece will be written for five musicians and electronics and will be recorded and released later this year.

Associate Professor and Eleanor Wilson Chair for Speech and Communication Brian Klebig (Communication) has just published his fourteenth academic article, entitled "The Influence of Prevailing Regional Political Narratives on Intuitions Featured in Religious Message" in Communication Reports. Over the past year he has published research on topics ranging from terrorist messaging to children's literature, including a piece on morally ambiguous characters in the field's flagship journal, The Journal of Communication. He is currently conducting research on virtual reality's applications as a tool for achieving more meaningful interactions via telepresence, as well as for instruction of children on the autism spectrum.

Professor Julie Kjeer (Mathematics, Dean of Faculty) earned a Doctor of Education (EdD) degree in December 2020 from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Professor Emeritus Tom Kuster (Communication) was interviewed on Lutheran Radio KFUO about Bethany's Christ in Media Institute's Gospel Outreach With Media Conference 2020 online conference.

Assistant Professor Perry Lund (Computer Science) joined the Bethany faculty in January 2021. In addition to teaching computer science courses, Lund will also be teaching a physics class at Bethany. Lund is originally from Iowa and has spent time teaching in Washington and Florida prior to coming to Minnesota this fall.

Professor Ryan MacPherson (History) had an article published by University Faculty for Life (UFL) in Life and Learning entitled "Aborted Human Fetal Tissue in Vaccines: Ethical and Legal Considerations amid the Race to a COVID-19 Vaccine."

MacPherson presented a two-part webinar concerning "Lutheran Theology and Political Resistance" to the Ottawa Circuit of the Lutheran Church–Canada. Following the presentations, nearly two hours of Q and A addressed present-day concerns, including Canadian court rulings that favor legislative reform over the religious liberty rights affirmed in Section 2 of the Canadian Charter (similar to the U.S. First Amendment). In other words, what is the church to do when the government claims authority to restrict the church's proclamation of God's Word?

Dean of Students Rev. Andy Schmidt has left his position at Bethany after accepting a Divine Call to serve as pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, North Mankato.

Rev. Shawn Stafford (Adjunct Faculty, Religion) spoke at the St. Olaf College Classics Conversation Table in February 2021 about his classics education at St. Olaf, and how it helped and influenced his life as a pastor and professor.