Bethel Magazine Summer 2020 by Bethel University

TE U of IB y s TR N c e L IO ga arn IA T le B C EC SE ing Jay 0 st t SP la n . 3 e ide p Th res P

Virtual Reality

Summer 2020

In response to COVID-19, Bethel University transitioned to a virtual instruction learning environment in just two weeks—while maintaining the real sense of community that’s in our DNA. p. 12

Meet President-elect Ross Allen p. 2 College of Arts & Sciences

Military-affiliated students and alumni exemplify selfless service p. 19

College of Adult & Professional Studies

Alumnus helps Twins prepare for baseball’s return p. 26

Bethel Seminary

Graduate School

Heads Up! For 25 years, the smiling faces of Jay and Barb Barnes have been part of the Bethel crowd. On June 30, President Barnes retires. Read a tribute on p. 30.

CONTENTS 02 04 10 12 16

MEET THE NEW PRESIDENT ethel University welcomes B President-elect Ross Allen.

UNEWS Bethel University community updates

SPORTSHORTS Highlights from the best of Royal athletics

VIRTUAL REALITY In the wake of COVID-19, Bethel quickly transitioned to a virtual instruction learning environment.

LOOK UP! n osprey nesting site on A Lake Valentine has the community looking up.

19 24 26 30 48

SELFLESS SERVICE ilitary-affiliated students and M alumni lead and serve worldwide.

WHAT DOES VIRTUAL LEARNING LOOK LIKE? See how academics, community, and faith have moved online.

SPRING THROWS A CURVE Jeremy Raadt ’04 is helping the Minnesota Twins prepare for baseball’s return.

A LASTING LEGACY pecial 18-page tribute section honoring S President Jay Barnes, Bethel University’s fifth president, who retires in June

ALUMNEWS What’s new with Bethel alumni

Summer 2020 Volume 11 Number 2

photos by AJ Barrett ’21

Editorial Offices 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul, MN 55112-6999 | 651.638.6233 | 651.638.6003 (fax) | bethel-magazine@bethel.edu Address Corrections Office of University Advancement | 651.635.8050 | university-advancement-updates@bethel.edu Bethel Magazine is published two times a year by Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul, MN 55112-6999. Postage paid at St. Paul, Minnesota, and additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA. Copyright © 2020 Bethel University. All Rights Reserved. Bethel University is sponsored by the churches of Converge. It is the policy of Bethel not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, or disability in its educational programs, admissions, or employment policies as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments. Inquiries regarding compliance may be directed to: Compliance Officer, Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul, MN 55112-6999.

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Ross Allen Named Bethel University’s Sixth President-Elect Allen is the first Bethel alumnus to lead the university After an extensive nationwide search, the Board of Trustees unanimously named Ross Allen the sixth president-elect of Bethel University on February 27, 2020. Formerly chief financial officer and vice president for business and finance at Azusa Pacific University, Allen was chosen to succeed President Jay Barnes, who will retire on June 30, 2020. For nearly his entire career, Allen has specialized in helping organizations transform their financial results and advance their mission and vision. During a 25-year tenure at Medtronic—a multinational medical device company—he led seven successful corporate transformations in Denmark, Switzerland, and across the United States. In his most recent position at Azusa Pacific University, a private Christian school in California, Allen played an instrumental role in positioning the institution for a strong and vibrant future.

Summer 2020

“It’s deeply humbling to look back and see how God has used the last 20 years to prepare me for this role at Bethel,” Allen says. “It’s an honor, and I’m thrilled to be able to work with such talented people who

“It’s deeply humbling to look back and see how God has used the last 20 years to prepare me for this role at Bethel.” are passionate about developing scholars to pursue God’s glory and do great things for Christ.” Allen was a Royal long before he received the call to the presidency—he attended Bethel as an undergraduate student, where he ran track and cross country, met his

wife, Annie, and graduated with a business administration degree in 1984. “My time at Bethel profoundly shaped who I am and how I live,” he says. “It’s the place where my faith became my own, where I started my family, and where I realized I could glorify God through a career in the marketplace.” During an annual retreat to Yosemite National Park with college students, Allen had “a literal mountaintop experience” that helped him recognize an unexpected call to a second career in Christian higher education. He remembers looking out over the Sierra Nevada mountain range, silently trying to discern what God wanted him to do next. “I sensed God speaking within my heart,” he says. “I felt as if God was saying, ‘Look around you, Ross. Everything screams out My glory. There’s nothing you can do that’s more glorifying to Me than stepping forward in faith.’ In that moment, I realized I needed to stop searching and make a commitment.”

Pending a final vote of affirmation this summer by the Bethel Corporation (which consists of delegates to the Converge and Bethel biennial meetings), Allen will begin his first term on July 1, 2020. Visit bethel.edu/magazine/rossallen to read more and see a video interview.

photos by Ty Walls ’18

A few days later, Allen accepted the chief financial officer role at Azusa Pacific University, where he helped lead a dramatic turnaround and prepare the university for a new season. “The results Ross achieved in his previous role align with our recent work to position Bethel for a bright future,” says Presidential Search Committee Chair Jim Green. “We are incredibly excited to see how his ability to build relationships with faculty and staff—along with his experience in healthcare—will drive Bethel’s mission forward.”

Bethel University

JAYTALKING

A conversation with President Jay Barnes

Despite the Unexpected, a Future Filled with Hope “This isn’t how it was supposed to be…” That was the mark, this is not the first time we have dealt with the blog title that hit my inbox from Kade, one of my student unexpected. What we have learned—and know to be true friends—a graduating senior. I could empathize with now—is that God is with us in these disrupting events. Kade and his classmates who were suddenly missing He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. God is out on final celebrations, spring rituals, and face-to-face also adept at accomplishing His purposes in surprising goodbyes with friends, coaches, and ways. More people are hearing the faculty mentors. good news about Jesus through virtual But this is how it is. Much of the church than we could have imagined— world is disrupted as weddings, and hundreds are professing that jobs, financial markets, travel plans, Jesus is Lord for the first time. The and entire industries search for the apostle Paul (no stranger to difficult new normal. Bethel is not alone in circumstances) reminded his hearers finding new ways to carry out its in Romans 5 that suffering produces life-changing mission while the novel perseverance, which produces coronavirus wreaks havoc. At Bethel, character, which produces hope. Paul we scrambled to bring students back returned to that theme of hope near from study abroad programs in South the end of the book as he wrote, “May Korea, Italy, and other parts of the the God of hope fill you with all joy and globe. We brought athletic teams back peace as you trust in Him, so that you from spring break trips. We moved may overflow with hope by the power of students out of campus residences. the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13). “May the God of We created space for faculty to turn This is my last “JayTalking” column. hope fill you with face-to-face courses into virtual Barb and I have been blessed by the all joy and peace learning experiences. The Office of privilege of serving together at Bethel as you trust in Him, Christian Formation and Church for the past 25 years. I hope the lives so that you may Relations created online spiritual of our students have been changed as growth opportunities. The Office overflow with hope much as our lives have been. We have of Student Life assigned each team by the power of the worked with great teams, formed deep member a list of students to contact. friendships, and watched God elevate Holy Spirit.” Enrollment teams developed new Bethel’s trajectory—just as the work Rom. 15:13 strategies to connect prospective of our faculty and staff elevate the students to Bethel’s mission. The Office trajectories of our students. We are of Marketing and Communications thankful for generous donors, including developed and implemented plans to connect with all those who surprised us on ROAR Day in April with segments of the Bethel family. Everyone went above and record-setting support. We are thankful for a mission beyond—to do what had to be done. rooted in God’s Word. We are thankful for a heritage that For Barb and me, well past our “three score and ten” is solid and a future filled with hope. Soli Deo Gloria.

Summer 2020

UNEWS

photo by J.D. O’Brien

Updates from the Bethel community

Science Space Expands An 18,000-square-foot addition featuring cuttingedge lab and classroom space for Bethel’s growing biology and chemistry programs will open in fall 2020. The new addition features interactive, multimediaequipped classrooms; private labs for student-faculty research teams; 27 fume hood-equipped work stations; a “mudroom” for outdoor equipment storage; and a chemistry prep room. The project is part of a

Healing through Play In fall 2020, Bethel will launch a Play Therapy Certificate program to train therapists to engage with the youngest of clients, using children’s natural affinity for play to help them do the hard work of healing. The program will offer specialized training to equip professionals to compassionately and creatively help children cope with life events. “This certificate seeks to train students in the specific needs of children and adolescents to best serve them, their families, and our communities through play therapy,” says Jennifer Nelson, associate professor, program director, and clinical director of Bethel’s M.A. in Counseling program.

multi-year, donor-funded renovation and construction project designed to support the growing number— and size—of programs in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Along with increasing numbers in longstanding majors like biology, biochemistry, and chemistry, Bethel has added new majors in computer engineering, digital humanities, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, neuroscience, and software engineering. Today, 18% of Bethel undergraduate students are majoring in the sciences, and such growth matches national trends projecting increases in the number of STEMrelated jobs. The three-story science addition bolsters Bethel’s presence in these fields, while Bethel continues to emphasize a Christ-centered worldview and commitment to a robust, liberal arts learning experience. “With a decades-long history of strength in the sciences, this new space will further Bethel’s mission by helping students and faculty together to apply deep Christian faith to the complexities of scientific exploration in today’s world,” says President Jay Barnes. Visit bethel.edu/magazine/science-addition for more.

The experiential program offers unique courses taught by expert instructors who are passionate about serving children well, and is suitable for current graduate students and mental health professionals who are looking to add a certification in play therapy to their suite of therapeutic skills. Visit bethel.edu/magazine/play-therapy for more.

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Gaming for Community In January 2020, The Underground—a popular Bethel meeting space—was roaring with cheers, shouts, and the smashing of buttons as two-person teams competed on screen. The game? Rocket League—a game where rocketpowered cars play soccer. Bethel’s first esports club event drew 15 teams as multiple groups came to cheer for their friends. But the event accomplished a broader goal by bringing Bethel’s community of gamers together. Staff sponsor Adrian Smithee ’18, GS’20, who works in Information Technology Services, helped organize the event. When he was a freshman resident assistant, Smithee found that many students played video games—but often in isolation. He wanted to entice students across campus out of their rooms to do what they loved, surrounded by a community of like-minded people. “Let’s get students into community with other people who like to play the same games they do,” says Smithee. “They might not meet otherwise.” Physics and computer science major Kyle Howey ’23 agreed. “It’s a really great way to connect with people,” says Howey, a student leader of the club. Visit bethel.edu/magazine/esports-club for more.

Strong Enrollment in Special Education Programs Launched in fall 2019, Bethel’s Bachelor of Arts in Special Education is already exceeding expectations. “The new degree program is beating all of our enrollment projections,” says Associate Provost Randy Bergen. After expecting 22 enrollees, the program attracted 44 students—32 in the College of Adult & Professional Studies and 12 in the College of Arts & Sciences. The B.A. in Special Education allows traditional undergraduate students, paraprofessionals, and noncredentialed educators to gain teaching credentials 6

Summer 2020

specific to special education. It’s the first Bethel program where traditional undergraduate and adult students take courses together before graduating from their respective schools. The program builds on Bethel’s successful Master of Arts in Special Education program and addresses a widening gap between the growing number of positions needed to adequately support Minnesota students and the number of qualified teachers who can do so. The M.A. in Special Education also continues to draw strong numbers, enrolling 88 new students—60 were projected—to bring the total number of students in the M.A. program to 256. Visit bethel.edu/magazine/special-education for more.

Finnish Education Comes to Minnesota

Karen Student Leads Trip Home

Jeannie Mayer GS’20 is bringing principles of a Finnish education to Menahga Elementary School in Minnesota—and to the Bethel community—all in the name of serving students well. Mayer, an elementary school principal, adjunct professor, and student in Bethel’s Ed.D. in K-12 Leadership program, is a passionate advocate for education, always striving for ways to improve her students’ experiences. When she became a principal in Menahga, a central Minnesota community with strong Finnish roots, many community members offered suggestions based on what they knew of the Finnish education system. Not long after, she learned of an opportunity to study in Finland through her doctoral program at Bethel. Finland is consistently one of the highest performing countries when it comes to education, according to the Program for International Student Assessment. The Bethel course Experiencing Global Education allows Ed.D. students to see the Finnish education system up close. After studying in Finland, Mayer was inspired to implement changes at Menahga Elementary, and has repeatedly shared her successes in educational circles. “I believe God put me on this earth to make a difference in the lives of as many children as possible,” she says.

Ku Gay Nahpay ’20 led a December 2019 mission trip to Thailand. But this trip carried special significance: Six of the seven students on the team had cultural roots tied to Southeast Asia. “For many of us, it was like going home,” she says. Nahpay, a social work major, is one of the thousands of Karen people displaced by decades of civil war and unrest between Burman and Karen groups in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Karen people have taken refuge in the U.S. and other countries, including an estimated 140,000 in refugee camps in Thailand. The trip served as a self-awakening for Nuhpay, challenging her to be a humble and patient leader as the group dedicated itself to first learning about others, then engaging with the culture. In the future, she plans to seek a career as a mental health therapist for Karen communities. Visit bethel.edu/magazine/thailand-trip for more.

Visit bethel.edu/magazine/jeannie-mayer for more.

Bethel University

Thriving Medical Alley Offers Jobs and Internships

Creative Teaching Spaces Two new teaching labs in Bethel’s Lakeside Center— formerly the Bethel Seminary complex—look more like a coffee shop or lounge than a traditional classroom. And that’s precisely the point. The labs, funded through a Twin Cities Consortium grant from the Bush Foundation, were designed to follow educational best practices, like the flexible teaching spaces that are becoming more common in schools across the U.S. and at Bethel. The classrooms have no clear front of the room and feature a variety of seating options: high-top tables where students can sit on tall stools or stand, square tables of different heights, couches, and scattered “poufs” and stuffed ottomans. Such spaces encourage better engagement, especially from students who learn best in tactile or communal settings. But today’s teachers must also learn to teach flexibly. “Young students need to be able to move, and we need to allow our college students to move, too,” says Associate Professor of Education Jolene Pearson. “This space is really creative, and it inspires students to want to teach that way.” Visit bethel.edu/magazine/new-teaching-labs for more.

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Business finance major Gunnar Bloom ’19 is living out his dream of working for Boston Scientific—a global medical device company with locations in the Twin Cities. And Bethel’s Center for Healthcare Excellence helped him get there. “Bethel’s healthcare endorsement allowed me to tailor my education in a way that specifically related to my goals after graduation,” he says. Launched in fall 2018, the Center for Healthcare Excellence is seeing rapid growth. Offering a healthcare endorsement to students in any major, it positions them to graduate and find rewarding careers in a thriving industry. In spring 2019, 40 students were enrolled. Another 95 freshmen—about 8% of the incoming class— added the endorsement to a variety of diverse majors in fall 2019. While biokinetics, nursing, and natural sciences make up the largest percentages, majors like business, communication studies, computer science, education, engineering, and social work are also represented. All majors receive a tailored educational experience aimed at custom-fitting students with a job they’re passionate about. The center’s goals are supported by Bethel’s unique location in “Medical Alley,” a swathe of Minnesota geography extending from St. Cloud to the Twin Cities and then south to Mankato and Rochester, putting Bethel at the center of one of the largest clusters of healthcare organizations in the world. Visit bethel.edu/magazine/healthcare-endorsement for more.

Greek in Spanish After leading popular Bible seminars in Spanish several times a year for Latino pastors and ministry leaders, Professor of Biblical Studies Juan Hernández Jr. is now teaching a new course: Introduction to Biblical Greek for Spanish Speakers. The course, which debuted in fall 2019, is the first of its kind in the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. Spread over four semesters, it introduces students to New Testament Greek, ultimately equipping them to read the Bible in its original language. While it’s open to traditional Bethel undergraduates who are bilingual or majoring in Spanish, most students are Latino adults who were drawn for different reasons to Hernández’s classroom. Hernández hopes the seminars and this course will mark the beginning of a blossoming relationship between Bethel and the Latino community, which accounts for almost 10% of the Twin Cities’ growing population. Visit bethel.edu/magazine/biblical-greek-in-spanish for more.

STAY CONNECTED! bethel.edu/news

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And still, we ROAR. On April 16, the Bethel community showed their Royal pride and set new records for annual ROAR Day giving. In a time of challenge and uncertainty, 603 donors gave $212,410 to support the Bethel Fund and the Student Emergency Assistance Fund for students with unexpected financial needs due to the COVID-19 crisis.

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Want to help? Visit bethel.edu/give Bethel University

SPORTSHORTS

photos by AJ Barrett ’21

photo by Carl Schmuland

Highlights from the best of Royal athletics

ALL-AMERICAN Women’s basketball wins MIAC regular season and tournament championships, capping a historic 26-2 season and hosting NCAA tournament first and second rounds for the first time ever.

academic

EXCELLENCE

Dawson Brown ’19 (football) and Tina (Hoppe) Dalki ’18 (volleyball) are Bethel’s 14th and 15th recipients of a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically. Sophomore Megan Boegel is named a women’s basketball Elite 22 winner, awarded to the studentathlete with the highest GPA who meets high, sport-specific athletic requirements. A social work major with 3.98 GPA, she’s the 14th Bethel student-athlete to receive the honor since its inception in 2013. Follow the Royals:

Summer 2020

bethelroyals.com

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@bethelroyals

Senior Taite Anderson becomes the first-ever First-Team AllAmerican in program history after selection by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). She’s also named to D3hoops.com All-America Second Team, the first player in program history to earn this honor, as well as First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American and MIAC Player of the Year. She’s the Royals’ second alltime leading scorer, set the single-season scoring mark with 554 points, and ranked fifth nationally in field goal percentage with a program single-season record 62.8%.

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WINNING COMBINATION Senior biokinetics major Taite Anderson is selected MIAC MVP, and Head Women’s Basketball Coach Jon Herbrechstmeyer is chosen MIAC Coach of the Year.

REPEAT

SHOWING

photo by Teresa Brubaker

photo by Carl Schmuland

FAST FINISH

Women’s track & field posts a secondplace finish at the MIAC Indoor Championships, the highest finish in program history. Both the 4x200m relay and the 4x400m relay take home first place. Freshman Kelsie Sealock wins the 60m hurdles in 8.78 seconds, setting a school record with the sixth-best time in Division III this year. Senior captain Delia Labatt earns her third straight indoor 400m title.

SILENT SPRING Spring sports are suspended nationwide in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

We acknowledge the loss of Bethel’s spring sports season, and honor the hard work photo by Nathan Klok ’17

and dedication of the student-athletes who missed spring competition. Yet no one knows how to face adversity with character and strength better than our student-athletes. Together...

Men’s basketball makes its 25th all-time appearance in the MIAC playoffs and its ninth straight trip to the postseason, one of only two MIAC teams to appear in 19 of the last 20 MIAC playoffs.

WE ARE ROYALS

Bethel University

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bethel University transitioned to a virtual instruction learning environment in a span of two weeks—all while maintaining the real sense of community that’s always been a Bethel hallmark. by Michelle Westlund ’83 design by Tom Vukelich ’82

VIRTUAL REALITY

One day in March 2020, reality seemed to shift overnight. The coronavirus pandemic had already infected more than 100,000 people worldwide, causing more than 3,400 deaths. In late January, the virus had reached the west coast of the United States. By March 8, U.S. cases numbered 422. Then in rapid succession, the dominos began to fall. On March 13, there were 1,896 COVID-19 cases in the U.S., and a national state of emergency was declared. By March 16, reported U.S. cases increased to over 4,500 and the state of Minnesota—like many others nationwide—began shutting

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down to try to slow the pandemic’s spread. Thousands of people started working from home, and restaurants, theaters, museums, and other public gathering places were ordered to close. Sports seasons—from the NBA to all levels of collegiate spring sports—were suspended or canceled. K-12 schools closed, as teachers, parents, and students made rapid accommodations for what would quickly become known as “the new normal.”

Changes at Bethel

Bethel University faced a new normal, too. In March, in the interest of community safety and

wellbeing, the university canceled all Bethel-sponsored travel and on-campus events through the end of May; closed residence halls; and instructed students, faculty, and staff to study and work virtually through at least May 31. In the span of a two-week extended spring break, all face-to-face classes moved online and most staff transitioned to working from home. Later, as the impact of the pandemic widened, Bethel suspended all semester-long study abroad options for the 2020-21 academic year. In mid-April, Bethel announced that spring commencement would take place

“A strong sense of community has always been a hallmark of Bethel University, and we are committed to staying connected during this challenging time.” – President Jay Barnes

virtually in online celebrations May 23-24. Live ceremonies are scheduled for August 14-16 pending a final decision in early July. If necessary for safety and wellbeing, those ceremonies will be held in December. Shortly after commencement plans were announced, Bethel moved all summer term classes online.

Experienced in online delivery

While the rapid transition to a virtual instruction learning environment was an exercise in collaboration and flexibility— facilitated by a dedicated technology support team—online learning is not new to Bethel. As far back as 1994, Bethel Seminary became the first seminary in the nation to offer online classes, serving as a model for distance learning at seminaries across the country. Even before the coronavirus, Bethel Seminary offered most of its degree programs online. And Bethel’s adult undergraduate and graduate programs are similarly positioned. Most adult programs were already online, and the Graduate School offers multiple master’s degree programs, a doctoral program, certificates, and professional licenses in an online format. Educational technology and

support for virtual learning were already well established in Bethel’s adult programs. The new challenge was to make the transition for undergraduate faculty and students—in just two weeks. Professors worked tirelessly to prerecord lectures or prepare for live video presentations, where students participate with classmates in real time. Faculty and staff continue to provide the same academic support and mentoring they always have, through virtual platforms like Google Meet and Zoom. Some faculty have found that online delivery has promoted new creativity and connection. Mark Bruce, associate professor of English, opened live online student chats to interested alumni, former students, colleagues, and friends. “They’ve added some wonderful energy to a group of already wonderful students in the class,” he says. “We read together, chat, and joke. It’s been a great time, a fun community, and a good learning opportunity.”

Grieving what’s lost

Tech-savvy students have been quick to adapt, but there’s still a layer of grief in their transition. The loss of face-to-face community, at a place where community means so much, is hard to accept. Students

miss connecting over coffee, at Bible studies, and in residence halls. Athletes are grieving the loss of spring sports competition. And perhaps most of all, seniors are mourning the milestones they won’t be celebrating the way they’d planned. “On spring break, we didn’t realize it would be the last time we’d be together as roommates,” says Lucas Bentrud ’20. “This won’t be the spring semester we’d hoped for.” It’s not the spring semester President Jay Barnes had hoped for either. Aside from the sheer number and urgency of the coronavirusrelated decisions he faces, he is also preparing for retirement on June 30—all while working from his home, just like other Bethel employees. “This is not exactly my dream plan for my last semester at Bethel,” he says. Yet he has collaborated with President-elect Ross Allen to keep Bethel’s vital sense of community strong and intact in the face of unprecedented changes. “A strong sense of community has always been a hallmark of Bethel University, and we are committed to staying connected during this challenging time,” Barnes says. “Our shared values, faith, and care for one another draw our community together, and they will continue to sustain us during this time apart.”

Bethel University

“This pandemic invites us to remember what we value most. It invites us to remember how our lives impact the lives of others.” – Christine Osgood Director of Wellbeing Initiatives

Staying connected

If the pandemic seemed to explode almost overnight, so too have Bethel’s new ways of staying connected. MyBethel, an online dashboard available to anyone in the Bethel community, has a new tab for community resources. This page is a centralized location for COVID-19 updates, information on studying and working remotely, and links to spiritual and wellbeing content. A new feature, “Monday Meetup,” spotlights various Bethel community members as they offer encouragement and tips for the new normal. The Office of Christian Formation and Church Relations, headed by Campus Pastor Laurel Bunker, continues to offer Chapel and other

spiritual encouragement online. Options include “Bethel Today,” a daily 10-minute conversation with faculty or staff, and the twiceweekly student spotlight “Beyond the Brick.” The team offers two weekly devotional series: “Hope and Healing” with Bunker, and “The New Abnormal” with Assistant Campus Pastor Jason Steffenhagen. Midweek, there’s “Chapel 2.0.” The efforts of Bunker and her team caught the notice of Christianity

Today media, where Bethel was mentioned in a story about Christian colleges getting creative with virtual chapel. Bunker sees the current challenges as opportunities to go deeper and wider in faith. “Take heart and take courage in this season,” she says. “Keep looking for ways to serve one another, even if virtually. This too shall pass.” Bethel’s counseling services team also offers support and advice for this unique season. Their resource

Creative Community With spring classes moving online, students and faculty are getting creative—for good. Students in University Professor of Art Ken Steinbach’s sculpture course are designing and producing whimsical, colorful clinical masks for kids, intended to make COVID-19 precautions less frightening. “We’re doing what we can to fight back against this thing,” says studio art major Matt Bonvino ’20. “In these trying times, it’s the community—it’s people—who can come together and make a difference.” Visit bethel.edu/magazine/mask-project for more.

Summer 2020

Bethel Community Resources

Spend your time purposefully—during COVID-19 or any time—with these resources for growth and encouragement.

Alumni Book Club page, “Coping with COVID-19,” provides tips for managing the anxiety that comes with the uncertainty of the times. “This is an important time to keep regularly communicating with our support people—even if we can’t see them in person,” says Miriam Hill, director of counseling services. “Creating new rhythms for connection, self-care, and productivity promotes good mental health. Many of us are also experiencing significant loss in this unexpected season, and it can help to give ourselves space to acknowledge and grieve those losses.” A holistic view of wellbeing has been an intentional part of Bethel’s ethos and curriculum for a number of years. Now, the wellbeing initiative website offers a one-stop information clearinghouse for Bethel students and employees, with links to everything from online workouts, mental health resources, and academic support. And to keep the Bethel community grounded as they shift to new ways of learning and working during this time of uncertainty, Christine Osgood, director of wellbeing initiatives, shares daily wellbeing meditations and practices. The ultimate goal, Osgood says, is not to just get through this challenging time, but to allow it to transform us for good. “This pandemic is challenging,” she explains. “It is fueling anxiety, fear of the unknown, and grief. However, it is also inviting each of us into a deeper place of intentional living. Gone are the days of mindlessly moving through our hours. This pandemic invites us to remember what we value most. It invites us to remember how our lives impact the lives of others. It invites us to remember that God has always been calling us and continues to call us to partner with Him in the renewal of this world.” BU

Join a virtual community of alumni book lovers to read and post about books from a variety of genres. Visit pbc.guru/bethel

RightNow Media Membership

Bethel’s partnership with RightNow Media allows alumni, faculty, and staff to access a streaming library of more than 20,000 biblically-based videos—completely free. Sign up at rightnowmedia.org/account/invite/ betheluniversity

Wellbeing Updates

Bethel’s Center for Wellbeing provides content to support the wellbeing of the Bethel community. Visit wellbeing-at-bethel.com

Bethel University Library

Alumni, students, staff, and faculty can access Bethel’s online video library at bethel.edu/ library/research/find/video or browse the e-book collection at bethel.edu/library/ research/find/ebooks

Faculty Podcasts

Many Bethel faculty-produced podcasts can be found online. Check these out: • Channel 3900 network. A variety of thoughtprovoking shows from Bethel professors in diverse fields. Visit cwcradio.podbean.com • Whole & Holy. Bethel Seminary podcast for ministry leaders. Visit bethelseminarypodcast.podbean.com • G reatRidge Station. Sam Helgerson, program director for Bethel’s M.A. in Strategic Leadership, hosts a podcast for leaders. Visit grstation.podbean.com • Lead Stories Podcast. Stephanie Williams O’Brien, adjunct faculty for Bethel Seminary and the College of Adult & Professional Studies, co-hosts this leadership development podcast. Visit leadstoriespodcast.com

Bethel University

by Monique Kleinhuizen ’08, GS’16 design by Darin Jones ’97

Summer 2020

photo by Wang LiQiang—shutterstock.com

LOOK UP!

Bethel’s decades-long partnership with a local park district has resulted in the reintroduction of ospreys to the Twin Cities area—including a nesting site on Lake Valentine that keeps biology students and faculty looking up.

photo by Ty Walls ’18

Ken Petersen, professor best practices and data of biological sciences, began collection techniques as his spring Wildlife Ecology and they contributed to one of Management course as he usually does, the biggest success stories with a reading from 1 Kings 4. “Tucked in those the district has ever seen. verses, the writer logs how King Solomon described Unexpectedly, those birds and reptiles and fish, and how people all over the students would move to world took notice of that,” Petersen explains. “Wisdom online learning in the face doesn’t only have to do with how people interact with of the global COVID-19 people and how nations interact with nations. By pandemic. Petersen’s Ken Petersen studying the natural world, we’re engaging in godly reading that day served Professor of Biological Sciences wisdom. This is becoming wise.” His students were to take part “To see the osprey hunt and dive into the in a project decades in the making: water to grab a fish is just spectacular. Getting a partnership with the Three people interested in them has been a pretty Rivers Park District to reintroduce and monitor ospreys—large, fishamazing thing to be a part of.” eating birds of prey—in the eightSteven Hogg county Twin Cities metro area. Three Rivers Park District Wildlife Supervisor The class would visit and measure nesting sites, learning industry

The Osprey Reintroduction Project A Timeline 1972

The use of DDT in pesticides is outlawed. By this time, osprey are long nonexistent in the Twin Cities, with the population impacted in outstate areas as well. The chemical causes bird fertility to drop and egg shells to become thin and fragile, making it unlikely that a chick would survive incubation. With almost-nonexistent hunting regulations adding insult to injury, the osprey is now found only in northeast Minnesota.

1984

Three Rivers Park District decides to start a pilot project, moving six young osprey from northern Minnesota to Carver County Park Reserve. They’re banded for tracking purposes and hand-fed fish in a protected “hack box” until they fledge the nest. The hope is that they will migrate back to the area to breed.

1995

There are 10 active sites—where pairs have returned to nest—producing 19 fledged young. The project grows, with Three Rivers Park District recruiting volunteers to hand-feed more birds to be released.

1998

Bethel’s first osprey nesting site—a 30foot aluminum pole bought for $300— is erected on Lake Valentine, near the former seminary buildings.

2000

“All of a sudden, they took!” says Three Rivers Park District Wildlife Supervisor Steven Hogg, who coordinates the osprey project as part of a holistic program to encourage native species locally. He describes the turning point when ospreys began to nest not only at the intended sites, but also in other man-made structures like water towers and railroad bridges.

Bethel University

“Why should people care about ospreys? Because their Creator cares. I can’t eat an osprey. I can’t wear it. It has no instrumental value to me or anyone else. But it’s one of millions of distinct and beautiful creatures that are part of the global biosphere we live in, and it plays a particular role. They’re doing what they were made to do as part of a healthy, delicate ecosystem. As a Christ-follower, as an image-bearer of God, that matters to me.” Ken Petersen

Professor of Biological Sciences as a call to respect the natural world—in his course and in life—and also as a prophetic encouragement to his students to cast their eyes upward, even as their world would rapidly change in so many ways. Ospreys, or Pandion haliaetus, are native to Minnesota. They nest in tall trees that offer good visibility of lakes or ponds, and shelter from predators. The Twin Cities’ many bodies of water make the area an inviting place for ospreys, but deforestation, unregulated hunting, and pollution had completely wiped them out from the metro over the last century. Bethel University is home to one of about 100 artificial nesting sites that have since been erected in the Twin Cities through the Three Rivers Park District Osprey Reintroduction Project, and one pair of ospreys returns annually to raise their young on Bethel’s own Lake Valentine. Professor of Biological Sciences Teresa

Mid-2000s

Former Bethel parent and former Three Rivers Wildlife Specialist Judy Voigt Englund enlists Ken Petersen and his students to help compile and make sense of the plethora of tracking data gathered through the project.

2010

The oldest bird ever tracked through the project is discovered. He was 22.

2013

Despite the team’s best attempt to “think like a bird,” ospreys aren’t using Bethel’s nest structure, so Professors Jeff Port and Bryan Anderson decide to try a new spot on the other end of Lake Valentine.

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DeGolier remembers when Bethel’s first nest structure was installed. She says science at Bethel has progressed significantly since then, with high-tech laboratories giving students hands-on experiences they didn’t have when she started teaching in the 1990s. But she and her colleagues still share a flurry of excitement each spring when the resident ospreys return to campus. “There’s this race, trying to see who will be the first to notice them. And we’ll yell ‘They’re back! They’re back!’ like they’re grandchildren or something. One of our goals is to get students outdoors and away from their technology...to get them to look up!” says DeGolier. “At least with the ospreys, there’s a certain type of beautiful cohabitation that’s possible.” BU Read about the project, and find ways to get involved, at threeriversparks.org/page/species-reintroduction.

2015

By now, an army of volunteers monitors the nesting sites established across the Twin Cities. The Three Rivers team launches an online dashboard for its “citizen scientists” to track nest occupation and identify trends that could make their efforts more effective.

2016

The first pair of ospreys is seen nesting at Bethel, on the southwest, marshy end of Lake Valentine. The pair has been back every year since.

2020

There are about 100 active nests tracked through the project, with 130+ fledged young last year. COVID-19 has prohibited many of the spring site visits, and Bethel students have instead worked with past years’ data remotely. But the project still illustrates an impressive upward trend in the population, over time, and keeps tabs on one species that’s largely unaffected by the pandemic. Petersen lists Englund and Hogg as co-authors on the project data and findings to be published in the Journal of Raptor Research.

Selfless Service From campus to combat zones to the Pentagon itself, Bethel’s military-affiliated students and alumni lead and serve as selfless ambassadors for Christ.

by Katie Johnson ’19 and Jenny Hudalla ’15 design by Kristi Ellison ’10

Bethel University

haplain John Morris S’86 has counseled and comforted others in the rain, under the stars, on the back of military tanks, and even while jumping out of a plane. The retired Army colonel has dedicated his life to creating a welcoming space for military-affiliated personnel—close to home and around the world. “As a chaplain, I had to be where they were,” he says. “It’s not about them coming to find me. It’s getting out, being with the people you serve, and learning to love them. You gotta get your rucksack on and walk with them.” Now the executive director of Bethel’s Office of Military and Veteran Services, Morris has brought his rucksack to campus. He helps military-affiliated students embrace their humanity after experiencing combat, adjust to life at home after deployment, and pursue 20

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their goals in the military or beyond. When he talks with prospective students about the educational benefits associated with the GI Bill, he often explains, “You have a lot of options, so why not pick the best?” For Morris, the best is Bethel. Since taking the helm of the Office of Military and Veteran Services last year, he has seen departments across the university support military-affiliated students in a significant way. The financial aid office has streamlined its processes to accommodate various military benefits, and the registrar’s office applies military training as credits toward completion of a degree program. Professors have volunteered to attend seminars on how to best serve military-affiliated students in the classroom, and the Wellness Center offers personalized physical training. Thanks in part to Morris’ efforts, Bethel is designated as both a Yellow Ribbon school and a military-friendly institution. These things matter to Morris because he considers militaryaffiliated students first-class citizens. “These people signed a blank check with the country, guaranteeing that they would lay their lives down if needed,” he says. He knows firsthand how Bethel can influence these students, and he witnesses how these students

influence Bethel. “Veterans lift the community to the next level, and military members challenge the community to selfless service— because they’re already doing it.” Morris “gets it” because he has lived the life of a soldier. He has been to combat three times, saw some of the worst fighting in Iraq, and has served everywhere from the front of a congregation to the heart of the Pentagon, where he was an actions officer for the U.S. Army chief of chaplains. When he attended Bethel Seminary, he experienced what he calls a “world-class education” fitting for military-affiliated personnel who want to be challenged academically and grow in their faith. “I always tell young soldiers, ‘Don’t come to Bethel if you don’t want to work hard,’” Morris says. “‘You’re going to be known and valued here, but you are not going to be coddled. The student-faculty ratio is small so you can get life breathed into you. The professors here will love you. They will pray for you. The Christ-centeredness here is not a slogan. It’s a reality. You cannot help but be impacted by the Christian community here—for the better.’” Here, meet Bethel students and alumni who—like Morris—are serving others honorably and selflessly, here and around the world.

Caring for the Soul of the Army In his youth, Tom Solhjem S’88 was, by his own description, a rebellious kid who was angry and hurt by his parents’ divorce. He used drugs, got kicked out of public school, and eventually joined the Army—not because of any noble aspirations, he says, but because he needed to get away. The Army as it was then didn’t solve his problems. His risk-taking behavior increased, as did his drug use, and he became suicidal. He hit bottom quite literally when, in a drug-induced state, he fell from a four-story barracks. And that’s when God showed up—in the form of the sergeant first class medic who treated him. “This man saw my pain, and he listened to me,” Solhjem says. “As our friendship developed, I saw him praying and reading his Bible. At one point, we talked all night, and

in the morning I knelt at my bunk and gave my life to God.” The medic referred Solhjem to a chaplain from Minnesota who became a life-changing source of support, encouragement, and mentoring. Then Solhjem prayed a fateful prayer. “I didn’t want to be in the Army,” he says. “But I prayed for God to call me to whatever He wanted—even if that was being a chaplain.” Not long after, Solhjem moved to the Twin Cities to attend Bible college, and by his senior year he began exploring options for graduate education. Bethel Seminary, with its diversity in perspective, drew his attention. “At Bethel, you’re in a community with others who are not like you,” he says. “You learn to respect different theological backgrounds; you gain a broader understanding of people of faith. Real formation is in the rub with others.” Solhjem has served as a chaplain for 31 years, 17 of those with Special Operations, where it was “an honor and privilege to serve with our finest,” he says. He’s served more than five and a half years in combat, an assignment he embraces as part of the calling. “Being in combat is what you train for,” he says, “to be there to inspire and to tend wounds, both physical and spiritual.

Chaplains share the hardships of those we serve and are there, if necessary, to give up our lives in that service.” Today, Solhjem serves at the Pentagon as the U.S. Army chief of chaplains, where he advises the most senior leaders of the world’s greatest fighting force—a global enterprise that includes 6,000 Chaplain Corps members serving 1.5 million soldiers and civilians and 4.6 million family members. “The Army exists for one reason,” he says. “To protect our freedom and win our nation’s wars. And U.S. Army chaplains have been called to care for the soul of that Army for 244 years.” The man who didn’t want to be in the Army is now the spiritual leader for the entire U.S. Army, an irony that does not escape him. Today’s Army is not the Army it was in the 1970s, and Solhjem is not the man he was then, either. “I have seen God do so much that I can’t take credit for,” he says. That includes his personal journey of transformation—a journey that led him from the brink of suicide to a place where he is ready and willing to live out his life in service to others, and, if called upon to do so, give up his life for the sake of others.

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Choosing Actions That Change the World In her youth, Cassandra Dixon ’20 moved 13 times. Her family immigrated from Liberia 25 years ago, and of her five brothers and three sisters, Dixon is the first to be born in the U.S. Her parents encouraged each of their children to be great in their own way, and for Dixon, greatness took the form of service—for her country and the hurting people living within it. By the time she graduated from high school in 2016, Dixon knew she wanted to be a doctor. She explored her options to fund the many years of school ahead, and enlisting in the Army National Guard seemed the most viable— until she received an Act Six scholarship, a full-tuition leadership award that prepares students to impact their urban communities. Dixon no longer needed to join the military to pay for school, but she

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decided to enlist anyway because she believed there was value in the challenge of military training. “If I could do basic training, I could do anything,” she says. Basic training proved to be just the right fit for Dixon. She loved the camaraderie as her unit strived toward goals together. She pursued advanced individual training as a culinary specialist and now serves in that role with the National Guard one weekend each month. Because basic training overlapped with the fall semester, she started at Bethel mid-year, and found the transition challenging. But then Dixon met John Morris, executive director of military and veteran services, on one of his first days at Bethel. He noticed how she carried herself and asked about her military training. “From the beginning, he has encouraged my leadership and my belief in myself,” Dixon says. “His influence has inspired me.” Dixon in turn has inspired others. To support other military-affiliated students, she formed a Student Veterans of America (SVA) chapter at Bethel last year. She attended an SVA leadership training in Washington, D.C., in September 2019, and in January 2020, she represented Bethel at the SVA National Convention in Los Angeles.

The sense of community built by these strong connections has provided a support that Dixon says is unique to Bethel. “There’s a genuine love here,” she says. “I don’t know if you get that anywhere else.” That love has become increasingly real to her as she continues to actively grow in her faith. “I’ve noticed a huge change over my time at Bethel,” she says. “I’m growing, finding out who I am, and finding out for myself who God is.” In addition to her militaryaffiliated connections, Dixon has developed a community of fellow Act Six scholars. Act Six is more than just programming, she says. Instead, “it’s a group of students who share the same vision,” she explains, “who are actively choosing actions that can help change their communities and the world.” That sense of empowerment motivates Dixon. She takes this opportunity seriously, noting that each decision has the potential to make a difference. Rather than focusing on what she can’t do, Dixon considers the full extent of her potential impact. “Who can I inspire with my choices and actions?” she wonders. “Who am I going to inspire by being who I am?” Visit bethel.edu/militaryveteran-services to learn more about resources for Bethel’s military-affiliated community.

Ryan Singh ’21

Jonathan Eliason ’92

Biokinetics and biology double major Retired Air Force diagnostic imaging quality control manager and section supervisor

Biology major Retired Air Force surgeon; current professor and vascular surgeon at University of Michigan

Singh supervised military and civilian personnel on an X-ray and fluoroscopy floor and inspected radiological images for quality control. He hopes to use the communication, leadership, and relational skills he learned through both his military and Bethel experiences to become a doctor. “It’s important for Christians to be represented in the military because of our compassion and servant mentality to those around us, not only in the U.S. but internationally as well,” he says. “The military gives us a unique platform to be profound ambassadors for Christ, allowing His message to be heard and felt from all corners of the world without discrimination.”

Eliason spent more than four months in 2006 and 2007 deployed in Balad, Iraq, at the former Iraqi National Air Force Base with the U.S. Air Force during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Along with performing more extensive, open surgeries, he was part of a team exploring how to bring minimally-invasive surgeries to a combat zone. After his time in the military, he helped develop a life-saving catheter used for soldiers and trauma victims. “During my time at Bethel, the personal investment, the opendoor policy, the obvious love and care that were poured into me—I can’t put a price tag on that,” he says. “It was so valuable, and I know Bethel has remained that way.”

Conor Nordmeyer ’21

Jana (SunDheim) Nohrenberg ’95

History and biblical and theological studies double major Army National Guard Sergeant and religious affairs specialist

During a 10-month deployment in Kuwait his junior year, Nordmeyer assisted and advised the chaplain and commander to ensure troops were able to practice their religions. He completed administrative duties for Sunday services and also served as battalion historian for Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion. He helped administer suicide prevention training, which encourages soldiers to become more comfortable talking about mental health and to interact with other soldiers who may be struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide. “I wouldn’t be here at Bethel without the military, and I don’t think I’d be where I am today without Bethel,” he says. “Both put me in a position that has really helped me develop myself.”

Nursing major U.S. Army Colonel and Chief Nursing Officer at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany

Nohrenberg directs nursing practice to ensure patient care and clinical and staffing standards meet regulatory requirements for five Army Health Clinics across Belgium, Germany, and Italy. She also oversees primary and specialty healthcare provided by more than 3,200 personnel to over 209,000 beneficiaries. “Bethel ensured that I had the fundamental baseline knowledge to be a professional nurse,” she says. “Coursework in leadership and management set the foundation for skills that I would build upon and develop over the past 25 years as an Army officer. Bethel’s Christ-centered approach ensured that I had the life skills, resiliency, and moral foundation to help me as a leader and in my own personal life.” BU

Bethel University

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Summer 2020

• Clubs and •Counseling Services organizations are connecting provides virtual sessions. online. • Students are breaking out envelopes and stamps and sending encouragement by snail mail.

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ACADEMICS A CADEMICS

•Some classes are facilitated live through video platforms like Google Meet or Zoom, where students participate in real time. •Faculty are ready to help! Instead of dropping by a professor’s office, students schedule a video chat during virtual office hours.

•Academic support is always available through the Academic Enrichment and Support Center. •Some video platforms even allow students to split up into small groups for better interaction. •For classes that aren’t held live, discussions take place through forum posts.

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Spring Throws a by Jason Schoonover ’09 design by Darin Jones ’97

Spring training canceled. Major League Baseball season suspended. But in the face of uncertainty and challenge, one alumnus is using his passion for data—and skills he honed at Bethel—to keep the Minnesota Twins ready for baseball’s return. On opening day this spring, baseball stadiums across America—including Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins—sat empty. Players shared stories online with the hashtag #OpeningDayAtHome. Fans watched replays of their favorite games from the isolation of their homes, sheltering in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic. After an offseason of promise and hope for the Minnesota Twins, Major League Baseball canceled spring training in mid-March and postponed the start of the season in response to COVID-19. Baseball, like countless areas of everyday life, came to an unexpected and abrupt halt. But Twins President Dave St. Peter was already planning for the future. “Baseball will return,” he told reporters. “Our job is to be ready for that.” Jeremy Raadt ’04 is one of the leaders tasked with ensuring the Twins are ready when baseball returns. As director of baseball systems, he leads a team that creates software and programs to track statistics and data to improve the Twins. When priorities shifted from preparing for opening day to adjusting to remote work, he and 26

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While the players rightfully receive accolades when the team succeeds, Jeremy’s team is just as important to our success.” Daniel Adler Assistant General Manager, Minnesota Twins his team of developers were thrust into a new challenge. “We live at the intersection of technology and baseball,” he says. “Without games being played, everyone is turning to technology as an opportunity to continue to make the team better.”

A dream job

Months before COVID-19 gripped the world, Raadt walked across an empty, snow-coated Target Field on an overcast January morning. The mood was one of excitement and hope. A day earlier, the Twins had introduced third baseman Josh Donaldson after signing him to a $92 million contract, the largest in team history. The former MVP joined one of baseball’s best lineups, one that led the team to a 2019 American League Central title. That day, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic highlighted how the signing was part of a new era of Twins baseball under Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine. The baseball world was buzzing about the Twins. “Together they’ve deconstructed and then rebuilt the oldest of old-school organizations with sweeping, systematic changes to scouting, player development, analytics, drafting, coaching, and all things in between,” Gleeman wrote. Since Raadt joined the Twins as the team’s first baseball developer, he’s been a driving force in that rebuilding process behind the scenes.

Assistant General Manager Daniel Adler commends the work of Raadt and his team as vital in today’s game. “While the players rightfully receive accolades when the team succeeds, Jeremy’s team is just as important to our success,” Adler says. “Without the work of his team, the ways we make trades, sign free agents, and coach players would all be inferior to our current processes.” Raadt admits the opportunity fits him like a glove. “This has been kind of a dream job,” he says. He grew up combining his love of baseball with his love of math and numbers. He copied box scores and stats into notebooks at the library to seek patterns and ways to understand the game. Playing video games, he focused on franchise modes where he could construct rosters and make trades. He played baseball, but admits he was more of a mathlete than an athlete, displaying an affinity for computers and starting a part-time job as a software developer in eighth grade. By the time Raadt graduated from Bethel with majors in computer science and business finance with a concentration in small business management, his favorite sport was in a time of transition. After people like statistician Bill James pioneered baseball analytics, baseball data started catching on with teams, and the book and subsequent movie Moneyball helped bring baseball Bethel University

The information age

In Target Field’s visiting clubhouse, Raadt points to an indoor batting cage. “We’re always trying out new gadgets to see what can give us an edge,” he says. “So we’ll come down here and just test stuff out.” Such work is common, as

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America’s pastime is now firmly in its information age. Teams are using many tools to track data and are always looking for more. “Technology’s getting more and more impressive,” Raadt says. “It’s really a cool time to be part of baseball.” When Raadt started, the Twins had a small database of stats and information, and they only had about six cubicles—some unfilled—for

photo by J.D. O’Brien

science and data to the broader consciousness. But it was only the beginning. Data exploded throughout baseball—for teams and even fans like Raadt. While working in software development, he used the treasure trove of public baseball data to build computer projection models. “It was strictly a passion,” he says. “I loved the data. I wanted to try to figure it out.’” Raadt reached out to the Minnesota Twins in 2014 to request additional data to use in his models. Instead, he received a job interview. He didn’t expect to get the job, but he communicated in his interview a desire to use data to create meaningful insights and empower the team. He was hired. Raadt credits his Bethel professors with helping him develop the skills that ultimately made him hirable to the Twins. His computer science courses taught him how to learn and adapt in a growing and changing field. But perhaps most importantly, business and economics faculty helped him overcome his biggest weakness, teaching him how to communicate and present ideas. “I felt like the professors knew that if they could influence their students, that would have ripple effects on the rest of students’ lives in society, and they really took that to heart,” Raadt says.

It’s incredible to see everyone coming together and supporting each other. In baseball you don’t give up—you just get stronger.” Jeremy Raadt ’04 developers. Today, Raadt’s baseball systems offices for research and development are spilling over into former conference rooms. He estimates the team gathered more data in two weeks of the 2019 season than it had during its entire history before 2014. “That’s how much data we’re getting,” he says. “Every year

it’s exponentially growing as we’re starting to get new sensors and new technology.” Along with identifying players to pursue in trades or free agency, teams can use data to alter a hitter’s swing and launch angle to produce more power, or change a pitcher’s grip to produce more spin and movement on the ball. But such steps require communication and collaboration— from the major league club all the way through the Twins’ farm system. Adler calls Raadt and his team a key competitive advantage for the Twins. While most clubs have access to similar data, the Twins seek to stay a step ahead by quickly generating insights from data and then communicating those insights throughout the organization. “Jeremy’s team is pivotal to both of those tasks,” Adler says. “The way they work with the other functions of our baseball operations group— research, scouting, coaching, and administration—allows us to make the most of the data and research produced.” Raadt says “a culture of inclusiveness” in the organization is vital. For years, stereotypes often pitted some players and scouts as old-school baseball “jocks” butting heads against new-school “nerds” in front offices. The depiction of this divide is Raadt’s biggest complaint about the movie Moneyball. While divides still exist, Raadt sees the Twins’ ability to overcome them as a key to the team’s success. He takes pride in the ways his baseball systems team collaborates with coaches, the strength and conditioning staff, and scouts to find ways technology can help them.

Coming out stronger

The Twins’ inclusive culture is proving even more important as the team strives to be prepared to win when baseball returns after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the season was delayed, much of Raadt’s role has focused on supporting the hundreds of coaches, scouts, and front office personnel who rely on the Twins’ baseball systems. “It’s been invigorating to work with our leaders and my team to figure out what this new world looks like,” Raadt says. “Instead of giving up or being complacent, we kicked it up another gear and are working toward building new tools and capabilities to ensure we come out even stronger.” In some ways, the switch to remote work was smooth. Raadt’s developers are capable of working anywhere with an internet connection, and the team had already built many tools to support the frequent travel of scouts and coaches during a regular season. But social distancing and quarantines also brought new challenges for Raadt’s baseball

While we are all focused on winning, Jeremy is a key moral voice when the temptation to ‘win at all costs’ can be very real.” Daniel Adler Assistant General Manager, Minnesota Twins systems team. Without the ability to physically scout players, they’ve explored ways to scout in a virtual environment, looking to add troves of videos online so scouts can continue to work from home. They’ve looked for ways to continue developing players, while also building tools and reports to allow coaches to analyze data in new and greater ways. In return, coaches and scouts have reached out to Raadt asking what they can do to help. “It’s incredible to see everyone coming together and really supporting each other,” he says. “In baseball you don’t give up—you just get stronger.”

Getting through this together

Even before COVID-19, baseball was facing a tumultuous offseason in the wake of investigations into the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox—2017 and 2018 World Series champions, respectively—for illegally stealing pitch signs. But in a climate of questionable ethics that is often part of professional sports, Adler credits Raadt for setting a strong example. “While we are all focused on winning, Jeremy is a key moral voice when the temptation to ‘win at all costs’ can be very real,” Adler says. “He epitomizes the servant-leader ideal. He’s selfless and humble, and leads his team not because of his title, but

because he has earned the respect of each member through the way he’s demonstrated that he cares about their personal growth and the success of the team.” That leadership continues serving Raadt as the team faces the challenges of COVID-19. On top of baseball, he feels a responsibility to ensure he’s caring for the people on his team first as they adapt during a difficult time. He admits it’s been tough for many to adjust to the new normal—the solitude, uncertainty, and the need to balance life and work at home. “What an incredible opportunity we have to serve people right now,” he says. “People don’t need to be managed. They need to be loved. They need to be served. They need to know they’re not alone and we’ll get through this together.” Raadt’s faith is a driving force in how he treats others, and it’s giving him comfort during uncertain times. He often turns to Matthew 11:28: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” COVID-19 has given Raadt more opportunities to share his faith with others when they ask how he stays positive and calm. His faith, he says, provides hope and a perspective larger than a pandemic. “Light always shines the brightest in the dark,” he says, “and I feel an obligation to be that light to people who need it.” BU Bethel University

A Lasting Legacy James H. Barnes III Bethel University President 2008-2020

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or imagine.” Ephesians 3:20

Editor | Michelle Westlund ’83 Design | Kristi Ellison ’10

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President Jay and Barb Barnes

or 25 years, Jay and Barb Barnes have called Bethel home. They arrived in Minnesota in 1995 when Jay became Bethelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s provost, and in 2008, Jay became the fifth president of Bethel University. His quarter-century of leadership has been marked by his unique gifts and passions: a heart for students; a passion for diversity;

and a desire to invest in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; including students, faculty and staff, and alumni. Through seasons of growth, challenge, and change, Jay has been fully committed to advancing and enhancing Bethelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission, building on the firm foundation established by the leaders before him and casting a bold vision for the future. Bethel University

A Lifelong Commitment My heart has been pulled toward seeing God work in others’ lives in educational settings, so that people are different as a result of the encounters they’ve had in classrooms, faculty offices, hallways, work offices, athletic teams, and elsewhere.

ay Barnes’ commitment to education has been lifelong. He has dedicated his career to the fusion of student development with rigorous academics and spiritual transformation. A mathematics graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois, he holds an M.A. in educational counseling from the University of Connecticut and an Ed.D. in college student personnel work from Loyola University of Chicago. He served in the military as a personnel psychologist, and was successively a teacher, vice principal, and principal at Black Forest Academy in Kandern, Germany. He was a residence director at Wheaton College, then served first as dean and then vice president for student development for 15 years at Messiah College in Pennsylvania. In 1995, Jay became provost at Bethel; that title later changed to executive vice president and

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provost of the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Adult & Professional Studies, and Graduate School. For 13 years, he led the educational team of these three schools, preserving the vital integration of academics and spiritual formation during a period of unprecedented growth. In 2004, he helped navigate the institution’s transition from Bethel College & Seminary to Bethel University. Jay became Bethel University’s fifth president on July 1, 2008. Under his guidance, Bethel has continued to set a standard as a leader in Christian higher education for the 21st century. The university has strengthened academics in a number of ways: • Edgren Scholarships that allow faculty and students to collaboratively pursue fully funded summer research • The University Professor designation recognizing top-flight faculty • Investment in science and research, with four new engineering programs launched and six faculty earning National Science Foundation (NSF) grants • Expansion in business and economics, Bethel’s largest department, including a new business center housing

to Education operations for a student-managed investment fund â&#x20AC;˘ Dramatic increases in international study, positioning Bethel as a national leader in study abroad During Jayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tenure, Bethel has continued to reshape its main campus, adding the Wellness Center and continuing work on new and remodeled spaces for the sciences. And Bethelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campus has expanded with the acquisition of the Anderson Center, which houses fully remodeled spaces for key administrative offices and posttraditional programs, including Bethel Seminary. Beyond Bethel, Jay has advanced a holistic approach to Christian higher education across the country. He has been actively involved in numerous educational organizations, including serving as board chair of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. In 25 years of service at Bethel, Jay has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to serving students, increasing diversity, and investing in the lives of all members of the Bethel community.

Bethel University

A Heart for Students W

hile Jay Barnes’ legacy includes academic leadership and campus expansion, perhaps his most lasting impact is on Bethel’s students. Having worked in student development throughout his career, he was intentional about investing in Bethel students from the very beginning. As provost, he taught a few courses to maintain a direct connection to students. As president, he and Barb quickly became beloved for their involvement and approachability, continuing to lead engaged couples’ groups and Bible studies. For countless students, Jay and Barb helped make Bethel “home.”

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I think about every student you influenced in those 25 years, and what those students have gone on to do and be because you took time to invest in them. Your impact has been deep and wide. -Lindsay Norman ‘04, GS’06

The kindness in your eyes and your loving welcome to the Bethel community immediately put me and my parents at ease. I knew that Bethel could become my safe place for the next four years. -Ally Freed ‘12 Bethel University

A Passion for Diversity B

ethel University’s core value of reconciliation is a particular passion for Jay Barnes. With an intentional focus on honoring the worth and dignity of all people, the Bethel community has grown significantly more diverse in race, ethnicity, and ability during his presidency.

50% Between 2008 and 2018, the number of students of color at Bethel rose by about 50%

BUILD

Launched in fall 2015, Bethel’s BUILD program was the first of its kind in Minnesota. BUILD is an integrated twoyear postsecondary, residential program that provides life-changing learning experiences for students with intellectual disabilities.

Military and Veteran Services The Office of Military and Veteran Services, created in 2019, is committed to serving militaryaffiliated students, empowering them to grow into careers where they serve as leaders and world-changers. 36

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I’m thankful that Bethel better resembles the diversity of the body of Christ. —Jay Barnes

Jay’s efforts to ensure that all our students leave Bethel with a storm-hardy faith have been an inspiration to me and my work at Bethel and beyond. —Ruben Rivera Chief Diversity Officer

Bethel University was appointed to the 2020-21 Military Friendly Schools list, a prestigious and comprehensive guide for veterans and their families.

Act Six

The national Act Six program equips young Christian leaders from urban communities, empowering them to make a difference on their campus and in their communities. Bethel’s Act Six program, in partnership with local affiliate Urban Ventures, launched in 2014, with nearly 50 Act Six scholars involved so far.

Cultural Connection Center

Bethel’s Cultural Connection Center opened in 2015 and is dedicated to strengthening the multicultural fabric of the university. Bethel University

Dear Jay, I am still floored that you took the time to write a personal note to me and send it to my home in our time of intense grief and suffering.

I as an individual, and we as a community, have been so much richer because of your leadership.

Your commitment to being present in the lives of students is inspiring and an awesome representation of Jesus Christ. I will never forget how you came up to me freshman year after a home football game and knew my name!

You definitely made my college years some of the most wonderful and welcoming years of my life. Jay, being in your small group on Monday nights was a faithsaver. Your wisdom, truth— and willingness to be open with the guys—has been one of the best examples of a God-fearing man that I have ever seen.

Thank for your unwavering faith and courage. Your work has been exemplary. 38

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You have led in such a way that made my experience as a student, and now as an employee, completely life-changing.

In a turbulent world, and a turbulent personal life, you made Bethel a safe place to be. When I rolled into Welcome Week, I wasn’t just carrying a car full of college stuff. I was carrying every last bit of faith I could muster...The look of compassion in both of your eyes, from that first moment at Bethel, is something that I’ll take with me forever.

My time at Bethel could be described in one word: priceless. Your compassion, excellent leadership, and broad and inclusive worldview made me embrace the concept of universal brotherhood.

I am glad to have served alongside you as a faculty member, and I promise to do my best to keep your legacy of God’s grace alive here (but of course I will use discernment when it comes to dealing with students who conjure endless excuses for handing in late assignments). Thank you for continually showing up in the lives of students. For knowing and valuing them by calling them by name, cheering them on at events, inviting them over to your house, and speaking into their lives.

Thank you for standing up, being welcoming, and exhibiting humility. As you leave, I think of Matthew 25:23: “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”

You wove your ethos into the fabric of Bethel. Part of this ethos is a commitment to cultural and racial diversity. Bethel is a better place because you promoted a culture of inclusion and equity. We pray you will find relaxation, refreshment, and joy in your next chapter of life. We love you. Bethel University

Partners in Life and Service T

hrough every stage of their long journey together, there’s been one constant in the lives of Jay and Barb Barnes: They’re a team. “That’s true wherever they’ve been,” says Richard Johnson, Barb’s brother. Barbara Johnson was born in Webster, Massachusetts, and grew up in a family of four on a 1750s homestead formerly farmed by her great-uncle in Woodstock, Connecticut, near a large extended family of many cousins. She became a registered nurse through a program at West Suburban Hospital School of Nursing in Oak Park, Illinois, and received a bachelor’s degree in biology and nursing from Wheaton College, Illinois. While working as the camp nurse at Deerfoot Lodge in the Adirondack Mountains of New York in the summer of 1970, she met Jay, who was also on staff. They’ve been a team ever since. They married in 1971 and have three children: Rebecca, James IV, and Mark, as well as eight grandchildren. Barb shares Jay’s love for college students, and has served alongside him as his career took them to various colleges and universities. When Jay became Bethel’s provost, Barb took a job in the campus print services office, and later

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served students in the Academic Enrichment and Support Center before stepping down to assume the duties of first lady when Jay was named Bethel’s president. That allowed her to partner with Jay, travel with him, and organize events like Friends of Bethel President’s Trips. In their years at Bethel, the two have teamed up to serve students by leading marriage retreats, engaged couples’ groups, and Bible studies, in addition to their supportive presence at myriad campus events including Welcome Week, Homecoming, and finals week—where they serve students hundreds of late-night cinnamon rolls. A talented photographer, Barb has shared her love of photography with the Bethel community, and for 12 years designed Bethel’s annual Christmas card. Her photography ventures—which she calls Abba’s World Encountered (AWE)—point to the intimacy of connection between Creator, created, and creation. A special highlight was a family photo safari in Kenya, where she captured once-in-a-lifetime photos of African wildlife. Barb’s love of photography intersects with her other passions: gardening, canoeing with Jay in northern Minnesota, and travel worldwide.

Barnes Family Album Barb and Jay, Black Forest Academy, Germany, 1974

Honeymoon , top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, 1971

Wedding day, June 26, 1971 Bethel University

Barnes Family Album

Barb and Jay with children Mark , Rebecca, and James, 1981

Mark , Rebecca, and James join Jay and Barb for Jayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presidential installation, March 27, 2009

The Barnes family with dog Keilah, 1988

The Barnes family, Kenya, 2020 42

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Together at Bethel, 2008

Bethel group reconciliation trip, South Africa, 2006

Togetherâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;wherever! Welcome Week, 2018

Bethel University

JayTalking Jay President Jay Barnes gets the last word because we’re unapologetically Christ centered, committed to taking who we are as followers of Jesus into the marketplace of ideas and saying, “Bethel’s here and these things matter. Adventurous Christ-followers show up.” Our view of humanity is important. Our view of justice matters. We’re on the side of those who are hurting. We’re on the side of people at the margins. The reality is that someone else will define my legacy, and it will be more clear 10 years What do you hope is down the road, perhaps, than it is right now. When people the legacy you leave think of my time of leadership after 25 years at Bethel? at Bethel, I hope they say When I was Bethel’s provost, that I acted with integrity we did a team-building exercise and compassion, that I was a where we wrote our hopes for truth-teller, that I lived with the university on a four-by-six a congruence between what card. I’ve actually kept that I believed and how I behaved, card. I wrote that I wanted and that I treated people with Bethel to be better when I’m care—that I helped elevate the done than when I started; I trajectory of other people’s wanted to help elevate the lives. I hope they say that Bethel trajectory of Bethel’s reputation is in a better place than it was as the type of place where when I started. students and faculty are better because Bethel is better; and I Reflecting on your time wanted to act with integrity in at Bethel, what are you my work. most proud of? During my time at Bethel, we tackled some messy things and First, I’m joyful that Barb were willing to wade into the and I have been able to do this issues of the day. We did that together. That has been an 44

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incredible blessing. I’m very thankful for what we were able to accomplish in my time here, and that almost all of these things were done in partnership with others within the university. For example, the Edgren Scholars program—summer research partnerships between faculty members and students, funded for both—has been an amazing thing for working relationships. And we were able to initiate the University Professorship award, recognizing the best of the best within our faculty with a life title of University Professor, along with a financial reward and time to do their own over-and-above research. Another priority for me was elevating our study abroad programs, and we’ve seen significant growth in that arena. In many ways, Bethel has become a national leader in study abroad programs. Seeing our own country and other countries in a different lens and developing the self-confidence to thrive in other cultures— these are important outcomes of our study abroad program. We’re thankful for building projects and renovations that help us serve our students well. We’re very excited about

the engineering and science expansion. I’m thankful for those who stepped up to fund the business and economics renovation and the Wellness Center, as well as those who helped us fund scholarships and other priorities that give strength to our academic programs. We’re also thankful that Bethel has become more of an external advocate for Christcentered higher education. We’ve worked hard to be more visible in governmental circles and leadership beyond our normal area of influence. So Bethel’s work on, for example, the Fairness for All Initiative (with the National Association of Evangelicals and the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities) has enhanced our reputation. We’ve worked hard to develop relationships with our senators, our member of Congress, and others in leadership at the state level. These are important investments in Bethel’s future and worth celebrating at this stage of Bethel’s history.

What is God showing you at this stage of your life and career? I like this statement: “Daily

decisions determine direction and destiny.” I use it often in my conversations with students, and I hear it repeated back to me by people who have heard me say it. And as much as I say it to others, it is a reminder to myself that every day I’m making decisions. They don’t necessarily seem like big ones at the time, but I’m reminded that, in a sense, there are no little decisions—those daily decisions determine direction and destiny.

You don’t have to have it all figured out—you can trust God with what you know and what you don’t know. You can trust God to be with you in all seasons. Another one of my themes is “Don’t do life alone.” You need people around you who bring different kinds of things to your life. I think of the people who’ve sat around our Cabinet table at Bethel, and what each of them brings. I think of how Barb and I do life, and how she’s good at some things, while I’m good at other things. But we’re better together. Whether you see Him clearly

or not, you have those “God moments” that remind you that God clearly was at work in a certain way at a given time. You can point to them and say, “I have no explanation for this other than God did it.” So as I think of this life stage and going forward into new things, we know some things; other things we don’t know. There’s a natural process of grieving things you really love, that you’re leaving behind and won’t be able to replace in the next stage, and there’s excitement about what is to come.

What parting words do you have for faculty and staff? One of the things that makes me a little teary is how much I love our faculty and staff. What I want them to know is that they matter to God—they’re created in His image. No matter what kind of a day they’re having, that part is always true. I want them to know that what they’re doing is important. It’s important to Bethel’s mission, and that mission could not be carried out without the work that each one does, whether they’re teaching in a classroom or landscaping our grounds. Bethel University

Each one matters to Bethel, and each one has an influence on our students. I want them to know that Bethel’s mission matters in the world, and that even in changing and challenging times, a Bethel education is needed now more than ever. So even though higher education is going through a tough season, even though we’re resculpting Bethel for the future, Bethel’s mission truly matters. I’m grateful for the sacrificial way that our faculty and staff colleagues live that mission out every day.

What about students? What parting words do you have for them? 46

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When I think of students, the story that always comes to mind is about a trip Barb and I took to Denali National Park. We wanted to see Mount McKinley, as it was known then, which is hidden in the clouds 80% of the time. As we made our way there, we came upon a group of people looking up and off into the distance. So we joined the group and looked up at a certain angle that we felt sure was the top of the mountain. But someone tapped us on the shoulder and said, “Don’t look here. Look higher.” I feel like a Bethel education is tapping students on the shoulder and saying “look higher.” And that’s one of the messages I want to leave with them: Be willing to try something different. Go through a door where you think maybe you don’t belong, but low and behold, God might surprise you. I want students to see themselves as having worth and value, as truly created in God’s image. There’s this tug of war between who we think we are and who we think we should be. There are voices speaking into that tug of war for all of us, voices of shame that say, “You’re no good. You don’t matter to anyone. You’re not worth anything.” And there

are voices of grace that say, “God loved you enough to come in the flesh, in the person of Jesus, and die for you. Someone thought you were worth dying for.” I want students to listen to that voice of grace, that grace identity, in their struggle. I want students to remember they are children of God.

What is your prayer for Bethel in the years to come? I pray that Bethel will always be mission-true. There are so many pressures in our culture that want to push us away from our mission—compromises to grow enrollment in this way, compromises to raise funds in that way. I don’t think you get ahead through compromise in that sense. You get ahead by knowing who you are, knowing what your foundation is, and being true to it. For Bethel, that foundation is built on the truth of Scripture. It’s built on the person and work of Jesus Christ. It’s rooted in the reality of the Trinity. I pray that God will raise up next generations of leadership at Bethel who will lead the university in ways better than I’ve been able to lead Bethel. That there will be teams of

people who commit to support Bethel. That there will be teams of people who want to work at Bethel. That there will be students who see that Bethel is a place where God is at work, where their lives will be transformed in remarkable ways.

Barb and I are praying for those who follow us. We will always be there to support, encourage, and cheer for Bethel. And I’m excited to see what God does in Bethel’s future.

What are you most passionate and energized about as you look toward retirement? Barb and I are looking forward to having time to walk, reflect, read Scripture, and travel together. We’re also looking forward to the next door that God has opened to us: I’ll be following President Lundquist’s example, taking on the part-time role of president of the Christian College Consortium.

Any final thoughts? In the world of higher education, Bethel is distinct for a number of reasons. Part of that is our heritage—our immigrant Pietist heritage really matters. I’m thankful for the way we’ve talked more about that in the last decade, because it’s a reminder of how important our roots are. That heritage sets us apart from other leading institutions in Minnesota, private colleges, and Christian higher education broadly. And it’s a heritage to build on, to celebrate, and to be thankful for. It’s a heritage that talks about the importance of Scripture, the importance of our faith and sharing that faith with others. Our heritage builds on a truly remarkable individual who founded Bethel. John Alexis Edgren is one of the most unusual university founders you could ever imagine in terms of his linguistic ability, aptitude in math and science, deep love for Scripture, and gift for taking Scripture and translating it into other settings. Bethel has a great future, in part because we stand apart in so many ways. My hope is that going forward we will

continue to prize the excellence of our heritage—one that admitted women to study in 1879, one that caused Edgren and his brother to fight on the side of the Union during the Civil War because they had seen the evils of slavery. Our heritage embraces a broad view of education that combines a strong academic grounding with a strong foundation in Scripture, integrated together in a life-transforming way. That’s a heritage for Bethel to celebrate and build on. That is who we are.

Bethel University

ALUMNEWS Measure our performance by what God accomplishes through our graduates after they have been prepared at Bethel to go out into the world to serve.” —John Alexis Edgren, founder

60s Retired pastor Patrick Welch ’68 has created eight music albums, including one with the title song “Shoes of Peace.” He plays in local venues near his residence in Hendersonville, N.C.

Jane Stavem ’89, GS’93 was named superintendent of the Sioux Falls school district, Sioux Falls, S.D. She was previously superintendent of Lake Washington school district in Redmond, Wash. She has served in education for 31 years, including time as a music teacher.

Michael Novotny ’95 received the Outstanding Achievement for Youth Award from the Central Texas Youth Coalition. He is currently serving in his ninth year as superintendent of the Salado Independent School District in Salado, Texas.

80s

90s

Kris Kirby ’98 was recently named chief financial officer at Business Broker Investment Corporation (BBIC) and brings an extensive background in corporate finance to the role. Minneapolis, Minn.

Carol Madison ’80 is the owner of Just Carol Editorial Resources. She is the editor of Prayer Connect magazine and the author of Prayer That’s Caught and Taught: Mentoring the Next Generation. She is also director of prayer ministries for Hillside Church in Bloomington, Minn. Byron Perrine ’80 is a Christian writer and retired pastor. He published three books in 2019: How Can the Sinner Love God’s Law?, Christianity—What It Is and What It Means, and Cristianismo—Que es y qué significa. He resides in Highland, Mich. Douglas Barkey ’83 has been appointed dean of liberal and fine arts at the University of The Bahamas. Barkey has over two decades of experience working in higher education and is a practicing artist with exhibits around the world. Nassau, Bahama Islands. Sydney (Hoffmann) Millage ’89 is a certified biblical counselor. She is the author of Sanctuary: Help and Hope for Victims of Domestic Abuse, published in October 2018. She resides in West Liberty, Iowa.

Karl (Anderson) Anderbeck ’94 and Kristen (Storbeck) Anderbeck ’94 marked 20 years of serving overseas with SIL International in July 2019. Karl is a senior language assessment consultant. He completed his Ph.D. dissertation in December 2018 and heads a multinational team conducting research among minority language groups. Kristen is an educational consultant for families serving with organizations throughout Asia. They hope to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this year with their two college-aged children.

00s Barbara (Groth) Sieben ’00 was hired as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Business at the University of Northwestern. St. Paul, Minn. Robert Nash S’04 published Last Words: Seven Sayings from the Heart of Christ on the Cross in January 2020. The book explores the words of Christ on the cross and is intended for devotional use. Sawyer, Mich.

Visit bethel.edu/alumni to: • Update your contact information • Submit news • Find out about alumni events • Get involved and support Bethel • Learn about benefits and services for alumni • Nominate an Alumnus/Alumna of the Year

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Gregg Lindberg ’04, GS’06 is the deputy city manager of the city of Burnsville, Minn., where he oversees the city’s administrative services division and contributes to the city’s executive leadership team. Robert Budahl ’05 is the author of “Assessment of the Analytical Models Utilized in the Cox Report,” published in the American Intelligence Journal. Sioux Falls, S.D. Arianne (Braithwaite) Lehn ’07 published a collection of prayers titled Ash and Starlight: Prayers for the Chaos and Grace of Daily Life through Chalice Press. Wilmette, Ill. Mary Helen Schmidt ’08 was nominated for best supporting actress in a short film at the London International Filmmaker Festival 2020. The award highlights her performance in She Is Mine from international filmmaker Sena Tunali. Schmidt will also appear as a regular in the television series “Cypher” to be released in 2020.

10s Amy Christensen CAPS’11 was promoted to vice president of clinical services at UCare, an independent health plan, after 10 years at the organization. She brings 23 years of nursing experience and expansive knowledge of the healthcare industry to the role. Forest Lake, Minn.

Marriages Hannah (Johnson) ’17 married Jonny Burgstahler in December 2019. They reside in Stewart, Minn.

Births Viviana Elizabeth was born in August 2019 to Christina (Chynoweth) ’01, GS’08 and Salvador Chyerez. She joins Caleb, 10; and Marco, 6. Minneapolis, Minn. Reuben was born in October 2019 to Dirk and Kjersten (Swenson) ’14 Oudman. Mineral Point, Wis. Elise was born to Roxanne (Erickson) ’02 and William Lorenz in July 2019. She joins Alaina, 7; Alec, 5; and Karl, 3. Benson, Minn.

Knox was born in October 2019 to Kari (Blair) ’07 and Adam ’08 Alquist. He joins Blair, 8; Breck, 5; Davi, 4; and Jude, 2. Brainerd, Minn. Zoe Kate was born in March 2019 to Cassie (McCullum) ’10 and Zac ’13 Bush. Zoe joins Craig David, 3. Chaska, Minn. Noah Christopher was born to Monique (Champeau) ’08, GS’16 and Christopher ’08, GS’19 Kleinhuizen in November 2019. Hugo, Minn.

Deaths Fred Stearns ’57, S’61 died July 20, 2019. He was an elementary teacher for 37 years and a substitute teacher for 13 more. He is survived by wife Theda (Lindarnan) ’62; daughter Karlynn (Jason) Donner; and grandchildren Noah, Abby, Joey, and Eli Mattfield. Kent Haas CAPS’79, age 62, died October 1. He is survived by father Harold, brothers Kevin and Christopher, sister Deborah, and many other relatives and friends. Jim Anderson died November 2. A professor in Bethel’s English department in the 1970s, he was known for his infectious enthusiasm for literature, his ability to motivate students to be their best, and his love of country music. Les Arasmith died December 25. He was a Bethel professor from 1979-1989 who taught in several areas, including economics. Professor of English Emerita Jeannine Bohlmeyer, age 87, died March 24 after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. She started at Bethel in 1958 and taught for 30 years, and was passionate about books and literature. In her retirement, she traveled around the world and knitted more than 700 mittens for Twin Cities children. Professor of History Emeritus James Johnson, age 92, died October 11. A Navy veteran, he taught at Bethel from 1962-1992, specializing in American history and publishing on the history of American evangelical movements. He loved music, fishing, and debating about politics.

Homecoming and Inauguration of President-elect Ross Allen

October 2-4, 2020

In uncertain times, one thing is certain: There’s no place like home. We’re planning to celebrate the strength and resilience of the Bethel community with Homecoming events, including class reunions for the undergrad classes of 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015, and the seminary class of 1970. A Platinum Alumni Brunch will honor the undergrad classes of 1945, 1950, 1955, 1960, and 1965. Visit bethel.edu/homecoming for more details or to help plan your class reunion.

Bethel Magazine includes Alum News from all schools of Bethel University. “S” indicates news from Bethel Seminary alumni, “CAPS” indicates news from the College of Adult & Professional Studies, and “GS” indicates news from Graduate School alumni. All other news is from College of Arts & Sciences alumni. While Bethel strives for accuracy in all we do, we cannot be responsible for the content of news items submitted by alumni. The inclusion of news items here should not be construed as an endorsement of their content by Bethel Magazine or Bethel University. Due to limited space, Bethel Magazine reserves the right to exercise editorial discretion in the publication of alumni news and photos.

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Every day we’d see the work of God in a new way. Sometimes it was the sunset over the ocean without another person in sight, sometimes it was in the smile of a stranger we met in an isolated village, sometimes it was in the changing landscapes. No matter where you looked, He showed up. For me, traveling feels a lot like God is taking you on a ‘bring your child to work’ day. He shows you all of the things He created, all of the people He loves, and how He is with you everywhere you go.”

BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATION STUDIES MAJOR KATELYN LARSON ’20 TOOK THIS PHOTO IN MARRAKECH, MOROCCO, DURING THE SPRING 2019 SEMESTER AT SEA TRIP.

Bethel Magazine Summer 2020

Articles inside

VIRTUAL REALITY

ALUMNEWS

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MEET THE NEW PRESIDENT

SELFLESS SERVICE