Bethany Accepting Nominations for Alumnus of the Year Award

The Alumnus of the Year Award was established by the Office of the President to recognize outstanding loyalty and accomplishment by alumni of Bethany College. The award recognizes not one achievement, but is reserved for those who have attained and maintained excellence throughout their career and in their service to others.
Criteria/selection:

1. Must hold a degree from Bethany College.
2. Must demonstrate outstanding professional accomplishment and personal deeds on behalf of Bethany College.
3. Nominations may come from all constituency groups of the College.  Nominations should be sent to:

Office of the President Bethany College Old Main Bethany, WV 26032

4. Nominations should be made in the form of a formal letter detailing the strengths of the nominee.
5. The Director of Alumni and Parent Relations & President's Cabinet will serve as the screening committee for the award.
6. The President of the College will choose the recipient.

Nominations Sought for President’s Awards

Bethany President Scott D. Miller is again seeking nominations from all campus constituencies for the President’s Awards for Excellence in Performance. One will be awarded to a member of the faculty and another to a member of the staff. Recipients will be announced during the annual Honors Day Convocation. Nominations should be sent directly to the President at:

President’s Office
Bethany College
Bethany, WV 26032.

For more stories about Bethany College, please visit the official website.

Annual Moonbeam Breakfast Held

Bethany College students enjoyed the annual Moonbeam Breakfast Wednesday night in the Ogden Dining Hall of Benedum Commons. The Student Activities Council and Chartwells sponsored the event. Students took a break from studying and enjoyed breakfast served by faculty and staff. They also had the opportunity to enjoy a relaxing massage, decorate christmas bulbs and were entered into a raffle for an IPAD and Walmart gift card.

For more on Bethany College, please visit the website.

Multilingual Caroling a Tradition in Bethany

One of the many treasures of Bethany is the annual singing of carols.  Once again this year, on Dec. 12 Bethany faculty and students from the German and Spanish Clubs delighted the Bethany community with Christmas caroling at several homes in the town of Bethany.

In addition, for the first time ever, these two language clubs were invited to perform at a Christmas Caroling Concert at the Bethany Community Center for the greater Bethany community.  This wonderful cultural event was sponsored by Bethany Mayor Jay Eisenhauer and Bethany’s Town Council.  Refreshments were provided by the town for the attendees and participants.  This all-student group of carolers was led by professors of world languages and cultures Dr. Harald Menz, who played guitar, and Dr. Joseph Lovano, together with Gerhard Schultze and Chelsea Sebetich, the German and Spanish Club Presidents respectively.  The group of two dozen sang Christmas carols in English, French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish for all to enjoy.

For more stories on Bethany College, please visit the website.

Bethany Professors Participate in International Studies Workshops

Dr. Anju Ramjee, professor of business and economics, and professors of world languages and cultures Dr. Harald Menz and Dr. Joseph Lovano on Nov. 29-30 participated in the West Virginia Consortium for Faculty and Course Development in International Studies’ 32nd Annual Workshops in International Studies.

The event was titled “Global Crises, 2012” and was held at the Lakeview Resort and Conference Center in Morgantown, W.Va. The annual workshops focused on the following four sessions: “The Dynamics of Violence and Human Rights in Latin America,” moderated by session chair Lovano; “Youth and Transformation: How Young People are Grappling with Change in Eastern Europe, East Asia, and the Arab World;” “Energy, Resources and Crisis,” attended by Menz, who is Bethany College’s institutional representative to FACDIS; and “It’s All About Economics,” attended by Ramjee.

For more stories about Bethany College, please visit the website.

Traditional Tea Ceremony Held

On Saturday, December 1, the Bethany College Japanese Culture Club with assistance from the Japanese Outreach Program hosted a traditional Tea Ceremony at the Mountainside Conference Center.  Known as Chanoyu, Sado or Chado, this ancient art form focuses on the aesthetics of tea preparation more so than the drinking of tea itself.  Associated heavily with the rituals of Zen Buddhism, tea ceremonies feature images of beauty (such as flowers and art) to reflect and mediate.   The preparation and the drinking are meant to be spiritual in deep silence and serenity.  Everything comes from preparing the tea with one’s heart.  The guests, especially the principle guest, are all taken into account when a tea master sets to their work.

During the event, the Japanese Culture Club presented a direct image of the ceremony.  Professor Fujiko Sawtarie hosting with Mr. Nobuyuki Tanaka, Ms. Nobuko Felt, and Club members serving as demonstrators with opportunities for audience members to partake in the ritual following the demonstration.  Commentary was provided by Professor Sachiko Wood. The club provided a dinner of yakisoba following the demonstration in Harder Hall.

For more stories about Bethany College, please visit the website.

Kappa Delta Pi Welcomes 14 New Members During Induction Ceremony

The Bethany College Education Department on Dec. 2 inducted 14 students into the Alpha Beta Tau Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society in education. The new members are: Alana Allen, Brenna Anderson, Mike Bashioum, Chelsea Benson, Mindy Bierhals, Emily Jump, Corey Mays, Jessica Miller, Kristina Moff, Deanna Morrison, Bethany Mullins, Allison Pegg, Heidi Soriano and Alex Tylka.

Chad Barnett, headmaster of Linsley School and a Bethany alumnus, was the guest speaker. Following the ceremony, Angela Icard, assistant professor of education and Kappa Delta Pi adviser, introduced the new officers for the coming year: Chelsea Benson, president; Allison Pegg, vice-president; Jessica Miller, secretary; and Brenna Anderson, treasurer.

Selection as a member of Kappa Delta Pi is based on high academic achievement, commitment to education as a career, and a professional attitude that assures steady growth in the profession. Students must have sophomore status and have completed 12 credits in education with a 3.25 GPA to be considered for membership. The Alpha Beta Tau Chapter at Bethany College was installed on Oct. 24, 2004, and has inducted more than 200 members.

For more stories about Bethany College, please visit the website.

Bake Sale Held to Benefit Schistosomiasis Control Initiative

The business administration and accounting club and the economics club on Dec. 3-4 held a bake sale in Morlan Hall. The more than $100 raised by the clubs will go to the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, which is a charitable organization  that treats young children in sub-Saharan Africa for parasitic worms that can cause anemia and even long-term developmental problems. It only takes $5 for them to protect a child for 10 years.

The students involved in the bake sale were Amber Ridings, Jared Roque, Allison Snyder, Cameron Cooper, Alexander Tyre, Peter Franklin, Evan Sargo, Kelly Becquet and Johntel Coleman.

In the picture are Dr. David Youngberg, adviser to the economics club; Dr. Anju Ramjee, adviser to the business and accounting club, Franklin, Cooper, Sargo, Tyre and Coleman.

President, Senior Staff Attend Post-Election ACE Briefing

Bethany College President Scott D. Miller, Senior Vice President Sven de Jong and Executive Assistant to the President Mort Gamble recently attended a briefing by American Council on Education Senior Vice President Terry Hartle on what the 2012 elections mean for higher education. The briefing included a detailed discussion of the fiscal cliff and its potential effects on education funding.

For more stories from Bethany College, please visit the website.

Scanlon ’94 Named Bordas & Bordas Director of Communication and Philanthropy

Bordas and Bordas has named Carrie Scanlon ’94 as the new director of communications and philanthropy. She will coordinate the firm’s communications, community and media relations and philanthropic efforts.

Scanlon has more than fifteen years of experience in marketing, public relations and sales. In previous appointments, she has been responsible for grass-roots public relations efforts as well as award-winning advertising campaigns, record-breaking special events and product launches.

A graduate of Bethany College with a degree in public relations, Scanlon also holds a Master's degree in communication theory and research from West Virginia University and is finishing her doctoral studies in communication media and instructional technology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Scanlon has presented at national and regional communication conferences on public relations and the use of social media. In 2011, she presented at the International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Applications regarding the use of social media as legal evidence in family court.

For more stories from Bethany College, please visit the website.

Bethany Chaplain Travels to Republic of Ireland

The Rev. Scott Thayer, chaplain of Bethany College, traveled to the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Northern Ireland on Nov. 1-16 with a group of eight clergy from the upper Ohio River Valley. This trip was part of a three-year-long study opportunity with the Institute for Clergy Excellence.

Sponsored in part by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., the group is studying alternative expressions of Christian faith that are emerging outside the institutional church. They met with numerous groups and individuals in Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland to determine the degree of religious involvement of people in those countries, especially young adults. Some of the most fruitful conversations occurred in pubs, hotel lobbies, and on the streets. The group also visited a number of historical sites that were important in the founding of the Presbyterian Church and the Disciples of Christ, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Ahorey.

For more stories on Bethany College, visit the website.

"Read to Me Day" Event Held at Public Library

The social work, equine studies and education programs on Nov. 15 coordinated a “Read to Me Day” event at the Brooke County Public Library in Wellsburg, W.Va. Amy Van Horn, administrative assistant for social work career counseling and placement, developed, planned and coordinated the event which featured Lois Szymanski, author of 22 children’s books on the Chincoteague ponies found in Maryland.

Szymanski prepared a PowerPoint presentation, which provided detailed information on the ponies, their environment and how she develops and writes her stories. Following her presentation, she visited with members of the audience and autographed copies of her books.

Approximately 60 people were in attendance, including over 30 children. Bethany College volunteers from the equine studies and education programs provided the children with coloring books and other information about the ponies. Each child was also treated to a visit with Sea Feather, one of the Chincoteague ponies currently leased to Amy Van Horn and her daughter, Eden Rice. A glimpse of Sea Feather can be had at the Bethany College Paddocks area, where he is currently boarded.

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