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Bethany College announces Laura Moreno as interim athletic director
Mar 22, 2019
LINDSBORG, Kan. – Bethany College announced on Friday that Laura Moreno ’09 will serve as interim athletic director.
“Coach Moreno has the right set of skills, competitive drive, and core values to serve as an excellent leader of our athletics division. She is the quintessential Bethany alumna, a successful professional who loves God and who loves people,” said Bethany President, Will Jones.
Moreno will immediately take on this role along with her duties as head softball coach. Her appointment as interim athletic director is for one year.
“I would like to thank President Jones for entrusting me to serve as the interim athletic director. As a Bethany alumna, I am honored, humbled, and excited for the opportunity to help lead the Bethany College Athletics Division,” Moreno said. “Bethany is a tremendous institution that holds a special place in my heart and I am thrilled to work with a quality group of coaches, students, staff, faculty, and administration. Rockar Stockar, Go Swedes!”
Moreno has been a member of the Bethany College community since she arrived as a student on campus in August of 2007. She was a two-year member of the Bethany softball team and graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sports Management with Magna Cum Laude honors.
Moreno served as an assistant softball coach for the Swedes for a year before moving to a head coaching position at Brown Mackie College in Salina, Kan. She was at Brown Mackie from August 2013 to July 2015. While at Brown Mackie, Moreno led her team to two NJCAA Region VI Tournament qualifications and a 27-26 record in 2012, the most wins in over 11 years of the program. Her team earned an average GPA of 3.0 in 2013 and 3.2 in 2012, earning NJCAA All-Academic Team honors in 2012. During this time, Moreno also recruited the most softball student-athletes in school history.
Moreno then returned to Bethany to serve as an assistant softball coach, athletics administrative assistant, and assistant sports information director. After two years, Moreno stepped into the head softball coaching position, adding the responsibilities of Assistant Athletic Director in September of 2017.
While serving as a head coach at Bethany, Moreno has maintained a 45-plus program roster. She also coached 17 All-Kansas Collegiate Athletics Conference (KCAC) selections, 27 KCAC Scholar Athletes, 14 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athletes, and helped lead the 2016 team to a KCAC Tournament Championship Runner-Up finish. Moreno serves as the Bethany College Champion of Character liaison to the KCAC and her teams earned KCAC Team of Character honors in 2017 and 2018. Moreno has also served on Bethany College Staff Senate and the Strategic Planning Committee.
“At the end of this year, it is my hope to name Coach Moreno as the dean of athletics. This period of time will provide her with an opportunity to earn the position and to decide if full-time athletic administration is a vocation she would like to pursue,” President Jones stated.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to educate, develop, and challenge individuals to reach for truth and excellence as they lead lives of faith, learning, and service. Bethany connects its past, present, and future with distinctive initiatives like Swedes to Sweden, a free
service-learning trip for the sophomore class to Sweden, and the Good Life Scholarship, presenting all local high school graduates with a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to the college. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.eduand is located in Lindsborg, Kansas, the fine arts and crafts capital of the state.
“Coach Moreno has the right set of skills, competitive drive, and core values to serve as an excellent leader of our athletics division. She is the quintessential Bethany alumna, a successful professional who loves God and who loves people,” said Bethany President, Will Jones.
Moreno will immediately take on this role along with her duties as head softball coach. Her appointment as interim athletic director is for one year.
“I would like to thank President Jones for entrusting me to serve as the interim athletic director. As a Bethany alumna, I am honored, humbled, and excited for the opportunity to help lead the Bethany College Athletics Division,” Moreno said. “Bethany is a tremendous institution that holds a special place in my heart and I am thrilled to work with a quality group of coaches, students, staff, faculty, and administration. Rockar Stockar, Go Swedes!”
Moreno has been a member of the Bethany College community since she arrived as a student on campus in August of 2007. She was a two-year member of the Bethany softball team and graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sports Management with Magna Cum Laude honors.
Moreno served as an assistant softball coach for the Swedes for a year before moving to a head coaching position at Brown Mackie College in Salina, Kan. She was at Brown Mackie from August 2013 to July 2015. While at Brown Mackie, Moreno led her team to two NJCAA Region VI Tournament qualifications and a 27-26 record in 2012, the most wins in over 11 years of the program. Her team earned an average GPA of 3.0 in 2013 and 3.2 in 2012, earning NJCAA All-Academic Team honors in 2012. During this time, Moreno also recruited the most softball student-athletes in school history.
Moreno then returned to Bethany to serve as an assistant softball coach, athletics administrative assistant, and assistant sports information director. After two years, Moreno stepped into the head softball coaching position, adding the responsibilities of Assistant Athletic Director in September of 2017.
While serving as a head coach at Bethany, Moreno has maintained a 45-plus program roster. She also coached 17 All-Kansas Collegiate Athletics Conference (KCAC) selections, 27 KCAC Scholar Athletes, 14 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athletes, and helped lead the 2016 team to a KCAC Tournament Championship Runner-Up finish. Moreno serves as the Bethany College Champion of Character liaison to the KCAC and her teams earned KCAC Team of Character honors in 2017 and 2018. Moreno has also served on Bethany College Staff Senate and the Strategic Planning Committee.
“At the end of this year, it is my hope to name Coach Moreno as the dean of athletics. This period of time will provide her with an opportunity to earn the position and to decide if full-time athletic administration is a vocation she would like to pursue,” President Jones stated.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to educate, develop, and challenge individuals to reach for truth and excellence as they lead lives of faith, learning, and service. Bethany connects its past, present, and future with distinctive initiatives like Swedes to Sweden, a free
service-learning trip for the sophomore class to Sweden, and the Good Life Scholarship, presenting all local high school graduates with a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to the college. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.eduand is located in Lindsborg, Kansas, the fine arts and crafts capital of the state.
Bethany College conferred degrees upon 99 students in Presser Hall Auditorium on April 27, 2024. The ceremony honored students who earned Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, and Bachelor of Music Education from the college during the 2023-2024 academic year. Summer, fall, and spring graduates were honored during a Baccalaureate worship service at 10:30 a.m. in Presser Hall, followed by Commencement at 2 p.m. Campus Pastor Melissa Woeppel led the Baccalaureate Service, and Rev. Lamont Wells, Executive Director of the Network of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Co llege and Universities (NECU). Gracelyn Gaskill '24, a chemistry and music major from Lindsborg, Kansas, provided special music for Commencement. Senior class speakers Inioluwa "Enoch" Ojo '24, a biology major from Katy, Texas, and Benjamin "Ben" Turner '24, a History and Political Science Major from Peyton, Colorado, gave thoughtful remarks on their time at Bethany College, taking time to thank their friends, faculty, and coaches. Dr. Brent Mai '85, Dean of University Libraries at Wichita State University, gave the commencement address, encouraging this year's graduates to go out into the world and exercise the four tenets of stoicism: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.
Interim President Steve Eckman commended the efforts of the faculty and staff in securing the grant, stating, "We are immensely grateful to the McPherson County Community Foundation for their incredible generosity. This grant will benefit our students and enrich the educational experiences available in the Smoky Valley community."
The newly appointed Presidential Search Committee will commence their work immediately, aiming to recommend a candidate for Bethany College's 16th president to the board by the April 2025 board meeting.