Bethany College Service Learning Center to Hold Agency Fair

The Bethany College Service Learning Center will hold its annual Agency Fair from 1-4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14 in Commencement Hall.

The event, now in its third year, is sponsored by the Service Learning Center and funded through a grant provided by PNC Bank. All agencies are welcome to reserve a table that will be provided at no charge. Agencies can discuss volunteer and service projects, internships and employment opportunities with student groups, faculty and staff members.

 

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.

Bethany College Joins Bison as National Mammal Campaign

Bethany College in June made the decision to partner with the National Bison Legacy Act campaign, a coalition that advocates and seeks the designation of the American bison as the national mammal of the United States.

The campaign’s aim is to create a geographically diverse coalition of Native American, bison production, conservation, sportsmen/recreation, education and health organizations and businesses to celebrate the American bison. Currently, the Vote Bison coalition has managed to introduce legislation in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate. To date, 15 senators and two representatives have co-sponsored the bills, according to officials.

More information, as well as the recently released campaign video, can be found at www.votebison.org.

For more information and news about Bethany College, visit www.bethanywv.edu.

Bethany Announces Partnership with Oglebay to Benefit Equine Programs

Bethany College recently announced a partnership with Oglebay Stables at Oglebay Resort and Conference Center that stands to benefit the college’s equine studies and riding programs.

 

Due to the growth and success of the programs, Bethany will now house its off-campus equestrian facilities at Oglebay Stables. These facilities will serve as a boarding space and learning laboratory in addition to the College’s own pasturelands and paddocks currently in use.

 

“Bethany College is very pleased to announce this important enhancement to our equine studies and riding programs. It’s another great example of the how we seek to improve and enhance the education of our students in all areas,” said Dr. Scott D. Miller, president of Bethany College.

 

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.

Bethany College President Leads National Thought Leaders’ Focus on Responding to Commoditization of Higher Education

Dr. Scott D. Miller, president of Bethany College, will serve as co-executive editor of the seventh volume of “Presidential Perspectives,” a thought provoking leadership series authored by college and university presidents.

 

The series features a collection of chapters aimed at providing insight on the issues facing higher learning institutions nationwide. This 2012-13 series will examine the topic of “Responding to the Commoditization of Higher Education.”

 

Philadelphia-based Aramark Higher Education, a leader in providing professional services to colleges and universities across North America, has sponsored all seven volumes in the series.

 

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.

Bethany College Welcomes New Students for 2012-13 School Year

Bethany College marked the start of the 2012-13 academic year on Aug. 25 with a formal matriculation convocation held in the Dr. Fred H. Tilock Amphitheatre at the Pennington Quadrangle.

Dr. Scott D. Miller, president of the college, was joined by faculty and staff in the ceremony that welcomed approximately 330 new students to Bethany. He said the Class of 2016 is among the strongest in over 30 years, the third-largest since 1977. The total of new students in each of the past four years represents the largest classes since the mid-1970s.

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.

Bethany College Partners with Carnegie Mellon University

Officials from Bethany College and Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) H. John Heinz III College met May 16th to officially sign an Accelerated Master’s Program agreement that creates six new areas of graduate study for Bethany students. The program allows qualified applicants to graduate with both a bachelor’s degree from Bethany and a master’s degree from CMU in 5 years.

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.

Bethany Hosts Annual West Virginia Regional Planning Conference

From May 15-17, 81 federal, state and local representatives met at Bethany College's Mountainside Conference Center to hear strategic program updates and to informally exchange ideas and practices.

Hosted by the Brooke-Hancock Regional Planning and Development Council, all 11 regional councils were represented while key presentations were made by the West Virginia Development Office and West Virginia Broadband Mapping Program. West Virginia's regional councils were created from the 1971 West Virginia Regional Planning & Development Act.

The Act mandates that West Virginia be divided into 11 regions to serve as "development districts" to more effectively use the State's resources and maximize small communities chances of attracting federal dollars. Given the uniqueness of the Conference Center, the rural beauty of Bethany and the relevance of presentations, the event received high marks from conferees.
For more Bethany College news and information, visit the website.

de Jong Elected to Board of Directors for The Neighborhood Academy

Sven de Jong, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, was recently elected to serve on the Board of Directors for The Neighborhood Academy. 

The Neighborhood Academy  is located in Pittsburgh, Pa. and serves as a college preparatory school for disadvantaged youth in the greater Pittsburgh area.  For the last three years members of the school have spent several days on the campus of Bethany College during the summer to take classes taught by Bethany College faculty and staff and to have an immersion experience of  living on a national liberal arts campus.

Rev. Tom E. Johnson, Jr. co-founder of the Neighborhood Academy received an honorary degree from Bethany College in 2008. More information on the Neighborhood Academy can be found at www.theneighborhoodacademy.org/.

Bethany President Recognizes Challenges, Opportunities and Competitive Advantages in State of the College Address

Bethany College welcomes a new academic year that will continue to position the College to serve the needs of a highly competitive marketplace, President Scott D. Miller said in his annual State of the College Address Aug. 21 to a crowded Commencement Hall and online viewers worldwide.

In his fifth speech as Bethany’s 19th president, Miller credited “strategic planning consistent with Bethany’s history and tradition” as the main reason that the College has maintained its leadership as a residential, liberal arts college committed to student success. He said Bethany has succeeded as a place where academics and student life complement each other with recognition that learning takes many forms, inside and outside the classroom.

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.

Bethany College Awards Kalon Leadership Scholarships

Bethany College has announced that several incoming freshmen for the 2012-2013 school year have been awarded the prestigious Bethany College Kalon Leadership Scholarships.

The students who have been chosen to receive the annual awards are Catherine Breault of Moundsville, W.Va.; Dakota Maravelis of Berkeley Springs, W.Va.; Julia Mouch of Toledo, Ohio; Tess Parry of Hillsboro, Ohio; Matthew Sipos of Chesterland, Ohio; Sarah Michelle Smith of Bluefield, W.Va.; Anne Taylor of Lancaster, N.Y.; Anthony Thompson of Wheeling, W.Va.; and Amanda Weber of Inwood, W.Va.

The Kalon Leadership Scholarship dates back to 1984 and is a competitive scholarship program for incoming freshmen.

Kalon award selection is based on past leadership achievements, school record, required essay and interview. Candidates must have demonstrated exceptional qualities of character and leadership; have achieved a record of distinction in service to their school and community; and have maintained a commendable academic average. They are required to provide a list detailing their extra-curricular activities in and out of school and the leadership positions that they have held. An essay pertaining to leadership, which is graded by members of Bethany’s English department, must also be submitted.

Each candidate is then required to participate in Kalon Weekend on Bethany’s campus. Students are able to tour campus, participate in seminars on leadership and attend the Kalon Luncheon, after which, everybody is interviewed individually by teams of three. These teams are comprised of a faculty or staff member, a current student and an alumnus.

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.

Bethany College President Elected Chair of Board of Directors of Academic Search, Inc.

Dr. Scott D. Miller, President of Bethany College, was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of Academic Search, Inc. at its annual meeting. Dr. Dana L. Gibson, President of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, was elected Vice Chair.

Jessica S. Kozloff, president of Academic Search, Inc. stated: “We’re delighted to have Dr. Miller chair our board. His grasp of the issues in higher education today will be invaluable, as will his commitment to leadership identification and development.”
A native of Pennsylvania, Dr. Miller has served as President of Bethany College since 2007. Prior, he was President of Wesley College in Delaware (1997-2007) and Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee (1991-97).

Dr. Miller serves as a monthly columnist for “College Planning and Management,” “The Huffington Post,” and “The State Journal.” He is also a publisher of “Presidential Perspectives,” a higher education thought series for college and university presidents throughout the country.

For 18 years, he has also served as a consultant to college presidents and boards.

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.

Summer Internships Provide Invaluable Workplace Experience for Bethany College Communications Students

Experience breeds skill. That’s what 12 Bethany College communications majors are learning through their summer internships in print, social media, radio, television and public relations.

Department of Communications and Media Arts Chair and Director of Internships M. E. Yancosek Gamble said, “Learning about your field, applying critical thinking skills from the classroom and gaining valuable work experience are just three reasons why we require our students to have at least one internship.”

“An internship crystallizes the classroom experiences and practical skill sets and allows students to be amazed both by what they do know and what they don’t,” said Gamble.

The 12 students represent approximately 20 percent of Bethany’s currently enrolled communications majors. A requirement for graduation from the department, the internships act as a rite of passage for students ready to apply the abilities they have developed in the classroom to real-world situations. And, while they give students exposure to a broader collection of media experiences than they have had in the past, the internships also give soon-to-be graduates the opportunity to focus their interests and finalize their immediate career goals.

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.

Bethany Announces Six New Faculty Members for 2012-13

Dr. Scott D. Miller, President of Bethany College, has announced the addition of six new faculty members for the 2012-13 academic year.

New members of the faculty are: Dr. Scott Brothers, Assistant Professor of Chemistry; Holly Hillgardner, Renner Visiting Scholar (Religious Studies); Angela Icard, Assistant Professor of Reading Education; Dr. Brandon Lamson, Assistant Professor of English; Dr. Jason Smith, Assistant Professor of Communications and Media Arts; and Dr. Joseph Walsh, Assistant Professor of Mathematics.

Dr. Darin E. Fields, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, remarked, “I am delighted to welcome these new faculty to Bethany. Their expertise and commitment to teaching will enrich and enliven our academic community to the benefit of our students.” He continued, “I am confident that their contributions to student learning at Bethany will be significant.”

"This group of new faculty is outstanding and it's a pleasure to welcome them to Bethany College. They will add even more depth to an already committed assembly of teacher-scholars. Their accomplishments and complete understanding of the community will only serve to further enrich the experience our students have as undergraduates at Bethany," Miller said.

For more on this story, visit Bethany College's website.