Bethel launches the Anderson Family College of Health Sciences
With a generous $20 million dollar gift, Bethel positions itself to be a leader in excellent faith-based healthcare education in the Midwest through the Anderson Family College of Health Sciences.
By Heather Schnese S’12, content specialist
October 10, 2024 | 9 a.m.
Bethel University has launched the Anderson Family College of Health Sciences, taking the next big step in providing solid, faith-based healthcare education. “This tells the healthcare industry in our area that we are focused and excellent at training professionals,” says Bethel University Provost Robin Rylaarsdam.
The new college combines Bethel’s healthcare-related courses and departments from the College of Arts & Sciences as well as the College of Adult & Professional Studies and Graduate School—applied health sciences, public and community health, counseling, undergrad and post-baccalaureate nursing, undergrad and graduate social work, medical sciences, nurse-midwifery, physician assistant, and one of several pre-med pathways. “This allows us to have synergy between different professional programs as we collaborate with healthcare systems to provide clinical training spaces,” says Rylaarsdam. “And it increases our ability to do inter-professional training, preparing our graduates better for their careers—they’ll practice in groups with different types of healthcare workers, all cooperating for the patient's benefit.”
A launch celebration on October 9 brought together students, faculty, donors, alumni, and area healthcare partners to honor donors Barb and Rollie Anderson and their family and officially name the school. “The Anderson’s gift will add jet fuel to our shared vision of creating the premier Christ-centered college of health in the Midwest,” says Mark Hintz, Bethel’s vice president of transformational giving.
Those in attendance heard from Bethel nursing grad Wendy Ulferts ’93, who currently serves as vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer at North Memorial Health; Nate Chau ’22, GS’25 who majored in biokinetics (human bioenergetics) and is now in his second year of Bethel’s physician assistant program; and Cindy Goetz, interim program director for the physician assistant program. Together they shared the biggest needs of the healthcare industry today and how Bethel’s programs are uniquely equipping graduates to meet them.
Many of the Anderson family are such Bethel graduates. The Andersons' generosity pays homage to a long Bethel legacy and a deep family lineage of healthcare professionals. Barb’s dad was a dentist, mom a physical therapist, sister a physician, and brother a chemist; she graduated from Bethel with a masters in counseling psychology in 2001. Both of Barb and Rollie’s children graduated from Bethel—their daughter with a bachelor’s in nursing in 1993 and a master’s in nursing in 2022; their son with a bachelor’s in business in 1998. And now many grandchildren and their spouses have graduated from Bethel with both healthcare and non-healthcare degrees.
“We deeply respect Bethel’s mission, vision, and values. They align with ours—honesty, responsibility, community action, and remaining Christ-focused,” says Rollie. “We’ve been blessed beyond our expectation in many ways—not just monetarily but also in terms of opportunity. So, we feel very strongly that we’re stewards and have a responsibility to the greater community.”
Initial investments by the Anderson family will provide critical funding for new clinical spaces, while long-term investments will help keep costs stable for students and provide scholarships to attract future leaders, regardless of financial need. The scholarship builds on Bethel’s ongoing efforts to make its blend of transformative academics and a Christ-centered community attainable to more students. Perhaps most significantly, Bethel announced in September that it is repositioning its tuition for the College of Arts & Sciences from $44,050 to $25,990 starting with the 2025-26 school year. With Bethel’s new clear and transparent tuition, gifts like the Anderson’s will stretch even further—making a Bethel education more attainable for more students. This generous commitment will also inspire a community of fellow investors to help Bethel reach the $40 million needed to fully launch the college.
"The Anderson Family College of Health Sciences is a testament to God’s faithfulness."
— Ross Allen, Bethel University president"It's a privilege and an honor to come alongside a family who deeply desires to worship God through their giving,” says Hintz. “As esteemed leaders and visionaries in our community, the Anderson family's legacy and commitment to advancing education precedes them.” Both the Andersons and Bethel hope the college will help equip future healthcare providers who will serve others with competence but also Christ-like care, making an impact in lives long into the future.
Says Bethel President Ross Allen: “The Anderson Family College of Health Sciences is a testament to God’s faithfulness. For decades, Bethel has been dedicated to preparing healthcare professionals who excel in their fields and embody the values of compassion, integrity, and innovation. We are incredibly grateful to our generous donors for making our first named school a reality, which allows us to further the work of being the hands and feet of Jesus through our Christian work in healthcare."
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