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Volume 57 / Number 2 / Winter 2007

Bethel Focus

A Magazine of Bethel University

Taking The Next Step Campaign

In 1950, Bethel College & Seminary had an enrollment of just 500, largely from the Midwest. Today, a record 6,000 students are at Bethel University pursuing degrees in nearly 100 fields across four schools. All 50 states and 35 countries are represented. Bethel has truly become a world-class university—the largest in the Christian College Consortium.

Along the way, partners have stepped up to help us seize ever-greater opportunities for kingdom impact through Christian higher education.

Now we are at another crossroad. Bethel needs greater resources to match our transformation into a leading university. We have filled our buildings beyond capacity; we have expanded the ranks and duties of faculty—the heart and soul of Bethel's distinction—to the limits of their means and ours. We have stretched limited financial aid around a growing number of needy students.

To meet these challenges, Bethel University publicly launched "Taking the Next Step" on October 5. This six-year, $105 million comprehensive resource campaign—the largest in Bethel's history—will provide additional facility space; build and maintain a stronger Annual Fund; provide funding for special projects; and grow our endowment for student aid, new programs, and long-term support.

Although the campaign doesn't end until 2008, gifts are already having an impact on the quality of a Bethel education for every current student, and are ensuring a bright future. Since the quiet phase of this initiative began in 2002, Bethel's generous donors have given or pledged a total of $71.5 million.

Now we need all of Bethel's partners to take this exciting step together. Please read about the "Taking the Next Step" campaign on the following pages. I challenge you with urgency to step out with me into a new level of stewardship that, in God's power, will carry Bethel University forward into the century ahead.

Campaign Goals
Facilities To build a University Commons, renovate existing space, and expand capacity in two Bethel Seminary locations.		$55 million
Annual Fund To provide daily resources needed for academics, student services, and campus operations.		$15 million
Current Program Support To fund special projects and initiatives.		$10 million
Endowment To increase reserves that fund financial aid, new programs, and facilities.		$10 million
Planned Gifts To create long-term support for Bethel through wills, trusts, and annuities.		$15 million
Total:		$105 million

University Commons

A "Family Room" for the Bethel Community ($30 million)

When construction began on the Arden Hills campus in the late 1960s, the buildings for Bethel College (now the College of Arts & Sciences) were designed for 1,000 students pursuing basic majors. But demand for Bethel's unique Christian higher education has exploded.

Rather than turn away young men and women or limit the fields of study they can pursue, Bethel has chosen to develop as many Christian leaders as possible in as many fields as possible. Today,enrollment in the College of Arts & Sciences is 2,900 students earning degrees in 78 fields!

To accommodate growth over the years, the original academic buildings have been repeatedly adapted for purposes directly related to instruction. In the process, other important aspects of campus life and student services have been gradually
compromised.

A new University Commons, Bethel's first student center, will address all aspects of this problem. The University Commons will extend toward the seminary, and provide more adequate gathering space for dining, meeting rooms, student organizations, a centralized Campus Life office, the Campus Store, and a casual student assembly area.

The 110,000-square-foot building will be attached to the Carl H. Lundquist Community Life Center and extend toward Bethel Seminary along Lake Valentine.

Here is what the new building will achieve:

Provide relationship space

"The Carl H. Lundquist Community Life Center and Benson Great Hall make a wonderful 'front door' for Bethel, but we've never found 'the family room,'" says Jay Barnes, provost of the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Adult & Professional Studies, and Graduate School. "We're at a crucial point in terms of facilities on campus. If we really believe in the whole-person educational model, we need to have the interaction spaces, the conversation spaces, to make that happen."

With offices for student organizations, lounges, six new conference rooms, and a student assembly, University Commons will create the kinds of gathering spaces the Bethel community lacks. These places are vital for students to make life-shaping
connections with peers, staff, and faculty.

For example, University Commons will have a casual student assembly area with a proscenium stage. Up to several hundred students can gather there for lively discussions with one another or with guest speakers, or hold other events. This unique area will be more intimate than Benson Great Hall, but larger than any other student meeting space currently available.

"Students today are more experiential. There's an allure about dialogue," says Nathan Freeburg, associate dean for leadership development. "Bethel has the reputation now to attract great speakers, authors, and artists. With its relaxed atmosphere…this [venue] will be a place to challenge students about what it means to be a biblical Christian in this ever-changing, postmodern world."

And there will be more space to simply conduct business. "Whether it's students or staff getting together, we simply do not have enough conference rooms," says Bruce Kunkel, vice president for campus services. "The function of the university is being hampered because we have to limit the number of meetings that can be held." One of the planned conference rooms will be large enough for award dinners and other formal gatherings.

The Office of Student Life, which now has personnel scattered throughout campus, will also come together in one location in University Commons, creating a centerpoint to help students with questions and concerns.

Relieve dining congestion

With seating limited to just 450 even after several reconfigurations, the current Dining Center is badly crowded at mealtimes and during special events. A new Dining Center in University Commons will greatly expand capacity and seat people on two levels
overlooking Lake Valentine.

Also moving to a larger space in University Commons will be Market Square, the popular
a la carte restaurant that suffers from shoulder-toshoulder congestion as well. "Many more staff and students would like to use Market Square, but they don't have time to stand in line or find a place to sit," notes Kunkel. Currently, an adjacent conference room becomes overflow space during peak hours, adding to Bethel's shortage of meeting rooms.

In addition to expanded seating, food serving areas in the new Dining Center and Market Square will also double in size. The larger space will shorten lines and reduce tray collisions; and will enable Bethel's food service to offer more health-conscious meals marché style (prepared to order at each station).

Expand the Campus Store

Bethel's Campus Store has functioned in the same space since 1972, despite stocking books and material for more than twice as many students, faculty, and degree programs. The store now also serves Bethel Seminary as well.

"We have to use so much of the store's [office] space for storage of books and school supplies that staff are crammed in nooks and crannies," says Wanda Nelson, director of campus stores. "We have to time orders and quantities of inventory so carefully because there is no room for reserves."

A new Campus Store in University Commons will be 50 percent larger, allowing for a wider range of published materials, more apparel, and a line of "convenience store" items. "For the first time," says Nelson, "Bethel's Campus Store will have adequate
offices, storage, and retail space."

Other Capital Projects

Renovations

($2.7 million)

As many student services move over to new space in University Commons, 36,000 square feet will be freed up in the existing college buildings. Plans are underway to identify the most effective new uses of that space. Goals include expanding the library, removing the temporary classrooms near Kresge Courtyard, and eliminating shared offices.

Fitness Center

($9.5 million)

Bethel's athletic and recreational facilities need to contribute to a holistic education of body, mind, and spirit. A long overdue plan calls for an expansion of the existing Sports and Recreation Center, now limited to basic game courts and a running track. New amenities would include a fitness center, weight training room, laundry, equipment room, food court, and new classrooms. Whether participating in Bethel's 17 varsity sports or its many club teams and intramural leagues, students will have a furnished place in which to compete, form friendships, and build a lifetime habit of physical wellness.

Lissner Hall (completed)

($6 million)

This new residence, completed in 2005, is the most visible sign of early campaign progress to date. It houses 288 sophomores.

Seminary St. Paul Renovation

($1.5 million)

In just 14 years, the seminary's enrollment in St. Paul has grown from 383 students to 1,010 (counting distance learners who must still come to campus for annual intensives). To accommodate such significant growth, some faculty offices are now off campus, and reception and lounge areas are sub-divided into high-traffic cubicles. The proposed renovation would convert the unused seminary gymnasium into classrooms and offices, and an elevator will be installed, providing access for the disabled.

Seminary San Diego Addition

($5.3 million)

The proposed expansion will provide needed space for larger classrooms, offices, a preaching lab, library expansion, an instructional technology classroom, a student lounge, and a 350-seat auditorium for worship, conferences, and celebration. The project will enable Bethel Seminary San Diego to have greater outreach and impact at a crossroads of the world.

Resource Goals

Annual Fund ($15 million)

The "Taking the Next Step" campaign is not just about buildings. No form of giving has a more direct and immediate impact on the daily lives of students and faculty than the Annual Fund.

The Annual Fund helps support financial aid, resources for spiritual formation, student services, campus upgrades and maintenance, faculty and staff development, and new initiatives.

Not only does the Annual Fund meet Bethel's expenses beyond tuition income from year to year; an increasing number of Annual Fund donors also signals that Bethel has a strong base of loyal support—a factor in inspiring major capital gifts.

"We have found that record growth of the Annual Fund in recent years has been especially encouraging to leadership donors as they consider their [campaign] commitments," says Rollie Anderson, chair of the advancement committee of the Board of Trustees.

Current Program Support

($10 million)

The campaign also seeks contributions that are earmarked for specific needs. Bethel benefits from timely designated gifts for items such as financial aid, equipment, and new program initiatives.

Endowment

($10 million)

The endowment fund is similar to an individual's savings account, financing future needs as they arise. Investment earnings from the endowment can be tapped for facilities, financial aid, and new programs and faculty for years to come.

For much of the last 30 years, unrestricted gifts to Bethel have gone into development of the Arden Hills campus. "Now that our infrastructure is more established, a transition can occur for the endowment to also build for the future," says Mark Orgel, chair of the Bethel Foundation's investment committee.

The Board of Trustees has set a goal for Bethel's endowment to grow from its current $25 million to $100 million by 2015. "The endowment is really the underpinning of an institution's financial stability," says Angie Hjelle, executive director and corporate counsel for the foundation.

Planned Gifts

($15 million)

In addition to outright gifts, donors can help build Bethel's endowment (see above) through "planned gifts." These include will provisions, trusts, and annuities. Such flexible stewardship options allow donors to create a legacy of support for Bethel's future, often while carrying personal financial benefits for the donor.

For more information and updates on the campaign, visit www.bethel.edu and click on "Taking the Next Step" Campaign.