Bethel Means Business

What’s the most popular area of study at Bethel? Business and economics. With 13 full-time Christian faculty, courses of study in Europe, and a graduate-level MBA, business education at Bethel is growing in quality and numbers. Last year, 127 graduates from the College of Arts & Sciences entered careers in finance, accounting, marketing, human resource management, economics, international business, and even business education.

More large Minnesota-based corporations, including Target, Wells Fargo, Best Buy, General Mills, and UnitedHealth Group, are recruiting Bethel grads. “Earlier generations of Bethel alumni in executive positions are seeking out Bethel grads because we’re known to prepare very well-rounded people,” says Chuck Hannema, co-chair of the Department of Business and Economics. He adds that the “faith piece” is another key credential.

“Our grads are incredibly well-prepared, plus they live the value system that the business world is seeking, but doesn’t know how to teach,” says Hannema. “We talk about how we can change the world for the better by using capital wealth—discussions not always approached at a secular school.”

One exemplary business student is finance and accounting major Luke Sullivan, a starting center on last year’s football team and frequent volunteer with the urban homeless ministry Sharing and Caring Hands. In a streak unmatched by 20 other college business programs in Minnesota, Sullivan is the third Bethel student in three years to win a prestigious scholarship from Financial Executives International (FEI).

“Volunteering is my responsibility as both a citizen and a Christian,” says Sullivan. “Bethel has given me the spiritual and technical foundation to be a thriving Christian in any type of organization. I can live out my faith through how I approach my work.”

Proving their solid preparation, Bethel business majors consistently average above the 90th percentile on the Major Field Test, a national final exam. And they get placed in plum internships. After a stint at the nonprofit Youthworks!, Sullivan also interned at one of the “Big-Four” accounting firms, KPMG, where he gained public accounting experience serving key clients Cargill Inc. and TCF Financial Corp. “These internships will make me a much more employable graduate,” says Sullivan, “and a more effective employee right off the bat.”