Bethany College (Kansas)

Last updated
Bethany College
Bethany (Kansas) College seal.svg
Type Private college
Established1881
Religious affiliation
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Academic affiliations
NAICU
President Elizabeth Mauch
Students805
Undergraduates 805
Location, ,
United States

38°34′48.2″N97°40′22.7″W / 38.580056°N 97.672972°W / 38.580056; -97.672972
Campus Rural, 53 acres (21 ha)
Colors Blue and gold [1]
   
Sporting affiliations
NAIAKCAC
Mascot Swedes
Website bethanylb.edu
Bethany (Kansas) College logo.svg

Bethany College is a private Christian college in Lindsborg, Kansas. It was founded in 1881, making it one of the oldest colleges in Kansas.

Contents

History

Bethany College at the turn of the twentieth century Bethany College.JPG
Bethany College at the turn of the twentieth century

Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Swedish-Lutheran settlers worked with the Rev. Carl Aaron Swensson, pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church, to establish Bethany Academy on October 15, 1881, in the sacristy of the church in Lindsborg, Kansas, with ten students. [2] The first building erected contained classrooms and a dormitory for men. A separate dormitory for women was built next. J. A. Udden was the first teacher. In 1882, the Smoky Valley district of the Kansas conference of the Augustana Synod took responsibility for the college; a board of directors was appointed and a state charter was received. [3]

In 1883, a large dormitory for men was constructed, and in 1885, a main hall with classrooms, a chapel museum, and library and science departments opened. The Kansas conference itself took responsibility for the school in the spring of 1885 and the name was changed to Bethany College and Normal Institute. By 1889, its present name, Bethany College, had been assumed and it had been granted permission to award academic degrees. [3]

Notable Bethany presidents in the 20th century include Rev. Ernst Frederick Wilhelm Pihlblad (1873–1943), who was a professor from 1895 to 1904 and president from 1905 to 1941. Under Pihlblad, Bethany was accredited and became a member of the National Association of Schools of Music. Under the watch of Emory K. Lindquist (1908–1992), who took office of president in 1943, Bethany survived war troubles, grew in post-war America, and improved its reputation. He was the author of Bethany in Kansas: The History of a College (1975). [2]

The Bethany College Board of Directors announced the appointment of Elizabeth Mauch as Bethany College President in 2020. [4]

Academics

Bethany College has 14 academic departments. The school offers majors focused in education, humanities, fine arts, sciences, and social sciences; minors ranging from business and sacred music to theater and art; teaching endorsements for all majors in education; and six pre-professional studies including medicine, law and, physical therapy.

Athletics

The Bethany athletic teams are called the Swedes (or Terrible Swedes). The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) since the 1902–03 academic year.

Bethany competes in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading, dance and eSports. [lower-alpha 1]

  1. Gaming competitions such as Call of Duty, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League and Valorant.

Traditions

Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas Bethany College in Lindsborg Kansas KS USA.jpg
Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas

Notable alumni and faculty

An entrance to Bethany College Bethany College entrance sign.JPG
An entrance to Bethany College

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Americans</span> American of Swedish birth or descent

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The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church was a Lutheran church body in the United States that was one of the churches that merged into the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) in 1962. It had its roots among the Swedish immigrants in the 19th century.

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Erland Carlsson was a Swedish-American Lutheran minister. He was one of the founders and served as president of the Augustana Lutheran Synod.

Dr. Emory Kempton Lindquist was the president of Bethany College (1943–1953) in Lindsborg, Kansas and Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas (1963–1968). He also served as a professor and authored many articles and books, especially regarding Swedish-American history.

Olof Olsson was a prominent Swedish-American Lutheran clergyman who served in several churches in the American Midwest. He was also the third president of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, serving from 1891 to 1899.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethany Swedes</span> Athletic teams

The Bethany Swedes are the athletic teams that represent Bethany College, located in Lindsborg, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) since the 1902–03 academic year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quince Banbury</span> American football player and coach (1883–1956)

John Quincy "Quince" Banbury was an American football player and coach.

George Carl "Cash" Carlson was an American football coach. he served as the head football coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas for seven seasons, from 1927 to 1933, compiling a record of 21–29–7.

Ray Dreyer Hahn was an American football and basketball player and coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the South Dakota School of Mines—now known as South Dakota School of Mines and Technology—from 1929 to 1934 and Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas from 1938 to 1942 and again from 1946 to 1956, compiling a career college football coaching record of 70–104–4.

E. Keith Rasmussen is a former American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas from 1965 to 1973, compiling a record of 42–39–3. Rasmussen was also the athletic director at Bethany from 1966 to 1974.

The Bethany Swedes football team represents Bethany College in the sport of college football. They are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC). Historically known as the "Terrible Swedes", the sport began at Bethany in 1893 when the college played two games and finished with a record of one win and one loss. The school played two games again in 1894, then did not field a team until 1901 when the program produced five wins, two losses, and one tie. As of completion of the 2009 season, Bethany has won 475 games, lost 363, and 31 games ended in a tie.

Curran White is an American college football coach. He is the offensive coordinator at Concordia University Wisconsin,, a position he has held since 2020. White was the head football coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas in 2019. He had previously worked for 18 years as an assistant coach at several college programs including his immediate prior post as offensive coordinator at Ottawa University.

References

  1. "Bethany College Brand Manual 2022". July 1, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Connelley, William E (1918). "Carl Aaron Swensson". A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 Blackmar, Frank W., ed. (1912). Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. Vol. I. Chicago: Standard Publishing Company. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  4. "President's Office". Bethany College. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  5. Lindquist, Emory (1953). Smokey Valley People: A History of Lindsborg, Kansas. Kempton. pp. 108–110.
  6. "Jacobson, Oscar Brousse (1882–1966)". Oklahoma Historical Society.