New Students, Homecoming, and Credo

Greetings:

A few updates now that the fall semester is well underway and the whirlwind of Hyllningsfest and Homecoming has settled. 

We welcomed 315 new students to Bethany campus this semester. The students who make up our current student body come from twenty-five different countries. In the US 37 different states are represented. Following Kansas the larger numbers are from Texas, Colorado and California, respectively. This means a diverse student population with nearly 46% representing an ethnicity other than white. The Swedish culture of the local community was experienced by Bethany students during the Hyllningsfest biannual festival, early October. Student organizations entered floats in the grand parade, enjoyed main street festivities, hosted reunions; celebrated Homecoming and it’s unique traditions such as Lift High the Cross, a talent show, coronation and more. 

Much of my time has been focused on work with Credo, a higher education consultant group, helping to navigate all the preparation and information gathering to build the next strategic plan.  We will also prepare a Campus Master Plan over the next year to help us prepare for the future of Bethany. Greg Vaughan arrived to assist us with the transition to hiring a new Vice President for Enrollment Management.

In case you missed it, currently, the campus is asked to follow CDC guidelines in a continuing effort to mitigate COVID. Thankfully we have been able to make a few modifications based on vaccine status so campus life feels a little more normal. The biggest change is opening the cafeteria for dine-in for vaccinated individuals. For carrying out meals,  we upgraded to various sizes of reusable containers which are much more sustainable than styrofoam.

A few other exciting things- we hosted the Business Career Conference, which is primarily for the purpose of giving Bethany students more knowledge about career opportunities by providing dialogue with successful alumni from different business fields. We also held the Bethania Pre-Audition Choral Workshop which brought both alumni and high school students to campus. 

Additionally, just last weekend the Chamber Orchestra of the Smoky Valley made their debut here in Lindsborg at the Swedish Pavilion in  Heritage Square. The orchestra is sponsored by Bethany College. You can sign up for the Insight, a subscription based weekly e-newsletter, to read Bethany news and events weekly. Go to https://www.bethanylb.edu/insight to subscribe

Sincerely, 

President Mauch