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Faculty and Staff News

by | Apr 24, 2026

Bethel Welcomes New Professors in STEM

Sean McGuinnessSean McGuinness, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics, brings a dynamic blend of research, teaching and national service experience. to Bethel. Most recently a professor at Ivy Tech Community College, McGuinness also spent three years with the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) after earning his Ph.D. and M.S. in Physics from the University of Notre Dame, where his research focused on medical applications of low-energy nuclear physics.



Cody A. Ruiz, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, brings a strong interdisciplinary background in molecular biology and anthropology to the classroom. He most recently taught genetics and general biology as an adjunct professor at Bethel and has served as a research assistant in the Molecular Anthropology Lab at Kent State University since 2015. He earned his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology at Kent State, an M.A. in Biological Anthropology from Kent State and a B.S. in Biological Sciences and Anthropology from the University of Notre Dame.


 


Heather HostetlerHeather Hostetler, CNM, joins Bethel University as an assistant professor of nursing, bringing over two decades of experience in nursing, women’s health and maternity care. A certified nurse midwife since 2014, she has served with Beacon Medical Group OB/GYN. Hostetler is also a proud Bethel alumna, having earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2002 before completing her Master of Science in Nursing, with a focus in Nurse Midwifery, at Frontier Nursing University in 2014.




Bethel Welcomes New Athletic Director


Jason LewkiczJason Lewkowicz, was named Athletic Director for the Bethel Pilots, beginning his tenure July 1, 2025. Lewkowicz brings a wealth of experience to the role and has an extensive background in Christian higher education, most recently at Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina. He follows former Athletic Director Tony Natali, who retired in May 2025 after 26 years of service to Bethel. Read more at BethelUniversity.edu/Lewkowicz.




Bethel Welcomes New Vice Presidents


Adam BanterAdam Banter, MBA, was named Vice President for Finance & Operations and CFO at Bethel University, and began his tenure August 25, 2025. Banter is a strategic and mission-driven leader with 20+ years of experience in banking, finance, operations, higher education, real estate and business ownership. He is committed to Christ-centered service, institutional growth and the responsible stewardship of resources in support of academic and student success. Read his full release at BethelUniversity.edu/Banter.


 


Joel JohnsonJoel K. Johnson, Ph.D., was named Vice President for University Advancement and began his tenure September 8, 2025. Johnson is a mission-driven advancement executive with 21 years of experience in Christian higher education, specializing in major gifts, donor engagement and strategic campaign leadership. He most recently served as Director of Advancement at the Institute for Worship Studies in Jacksonville, Fla. Read the full release at BethelUniversity.edu/Johnson.




Bethel Welcomes New Admission Leadership


James SavannahJames Savannah ’24, ’25, is a two-time Bethel graduate, receiving both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Bethel. He began as director of admission February 23, 2026. Savannah comes to Bethel with a distinctive background in university admissions, organizational leadership, financial services and community-focused media. He most recently served as a high-performing admission counselor at Trine University in Angola, Ind., where he oversaw a geographic territory, managing inquiries, developing partnerships and guiding prospective students from initial contact through enrollment.


 


Bethel Awarded NetVUE Grant for Faculty/Staff Development


Bethel University has been awarded a professional development grant through NetVUE (Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education), a program run by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC). This $24,890 grant will go toward faculty and staff professional development, providing opportunities for collaboration, resources and trainings, an extended faculty retreat and more. This is a one-year grant that will run from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026


Estepp Publishes Article in Athletic Journal


Mary EsteepMary Estepp, assistant professor of kinesiology, contributed to an article published in the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics. The article, “NCAA DI athletic trainers’ perception and use of psychological techniques during sport injury rehabilitation,” was a finalist for the Most Outstanding Article Award with the journal.


 


 


Retirements


 Patti Fisher, retired in October 2025 after serving for nearly 13 years as senior director of information technology.


April Hart, associate professor of nursing, will retire after 24 years of preparing the next generation of nurses at Bethel.


Profé Nan Hussey, Ph.D., associate professor of Spanish and German, will retire after 15 years of service.


Terry Linhart, Ph.D., associate vice president for adult, graduate & extension studies, will retire from higher education at the end of the academic year, after 27 years of dedicated service to Bethel.


Norm Spivey, Ph.D., professor of psychology, will retire after dedicating 38 years of service to Bethel.


Miriam Wertz, retired in December 2025 after 22 years of service dedicated to Bethel, most recently as executive assistant to the president


		
		


			
			

				
			


				NAIA Swim Nationals Shows the Benefit of Community Partnerships
														

													NAIA Swim Nationals Shows the Benefit of Community Partnerships
											

				
					
by  | Jul 16, 2025
Deb Thompson, head coach of Bethel’s swimming and diving teams, has been coming to work on Bethel’s campus since 2018. This year, however, she spent most of her time in Elkhart, Ind.


Nestled downtown on the Elkhart River is the Elkhart Health and Aquatics Center (HAC), home of the Bethel swimming and diving teams. Recently built in 2019, it is one of the largest public swimming facilities in the nation. This year, it also was the host site of the 2025 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Swim and Dive National Championships.


“The Elkhart Aquatics Center is a world-class facility,” Tony Natali, Bethel athletic director, said in an interview. “We look forward to working with the NAIA to provide a great student-athlete experience to all those who attend.”


This event brought over 400 athletes, along with their coaches and families, to Elkhart for a four-day competition. For Elkhart, this meant a substantial boost to the local economy.


The NAIA states on their website that National Championship events have the potential to draw between 1,300-1,500 visitors and generate between $400,000 and $600,000 in local tourism revenue.


Athletic tourism accounts for over $1 billion in economic activity in the Michiana region, and Bethel is proud to play a significant role in continuing to grow that number. Staff and students spent more than 18 months working with the Community Foundation of Elkhart County to prepare for this event, and everyone was excited to showcase the quality of our region’s amenities, facilities and hospitality.




“I’m very proud of the students for all their hard work and commitment,” Thompson says. “They spent weeks getting up at 4 a.m. to practice and sacrificed their time to volunteer for this event.”


Thompson and her students know that the benefit of an event like this goes both ways.


“Bethel University benefits from the exposure and national recognition of hosting,” Thompson says. “Our students know how lucky they were to compete at a familiar venue.”


Through the combined efforts of the Bethel team and support from Elkhart County, this event showed that our community has a lot to offer and that Bethel is an integral part of its success.


			
			

				
			


				Forming Lives of Impact: New VPAS Focuses on People
														

													Forming Lives of Impact: New VPAS Focuses on People
											

				
					
by  | Jul 7, 2025
The day before Dr. Abson Joseph’s interview for Bethel University’s Vice President for Academic Services (VPAS) position, he and his wife, Larisa, were walking through campus. They both felt that something was different about this place.


“There was something that grabbed a hold of my heart,” says Joseph.


That “something” was the people – particularly the students. Joseph became the VPAS at Bethel in July 2024. Now almost a year into the role, his passion for this community has only grown.


“It matters to be a good person who [for instance] happens to do nursing… [or] happens to be a businessman,” says Joseph. “Bethel cares for what happens to the heart.”


Joseph sees his role as a true ministry – one that God has revealed on a path that has taken some unexpected turns.


From Joseph’s first year on this earth – when four different tragedies threatened his life – God formed him for this moment. In the aftermath of those tragedies, Joseph’s parents promised that, if God spared him, they would dedicate him to God’s service.


That call has led Joseph around the world through 18 years of higher education experience in both faculty and administrative roles. His varied background allows him the unique perspective necessary for the current moment at Bethel.


“I am in a position where I have received and have given in multiple contexts,” Joseph says. “This allows me to serve the students well because I understand what they are going through.”


Joseph’s experience as a father of two daughters has catalyzed the importance of the four years that Bethel faculty have with the students who come to campus.


“The things that we do within those four years [bear impact] five, six, ten years downstream. This is a big responsibility.”


Joseph reminds himself daily of the purpose behind his work. It is the same purpose that stirred within him and his wife on their visit to campus and has now become his mantra: forming lives, not buildings.


“[My focus is] to build systems, policies and procedures that allow us to touch the student’s heart and bring about that transformation.”


			
			

				
			
				
			


				Via Crucis: Art Helps Us Experience Christ’s Passion
														

													Via Crucis: Art Helps Us Experience Christ’s Passion
											

				
					
by  | Jun 10, 2025
Chad Jay, Assistant Professor of Art at Bethel University, prefers that the subjects of his paintings reflect people or images he has seen in real life. This can be clearly seen in his new exhibit for Via Crucis, a series of 15 paintings depicting the stations of the cross.


Early in 2023, Jay and Becki Graves, Director of Worship Arts, were looking for a way to engage students in art across multiple disciplines. They wanted to create a project that would highlight topics that bring Christians together.


“What connects us all across so many denominations?” Jay asks from his seat in the Weaver art gallery on campus, where his paintings are currently showcased. “The Passion story.”


Soon after starting to collaborate, Jay and Graves discovered a unique funding opportunity to make their project come to life. Graves applied for and was awarded a Vital Worship Grant from Calvin University. With the funding in place, they agreed to launch a project called Via Crucis, or “The Way of Suffering”.


The entirety of the project features art from multiple disciplines including choral arrangements, original music written and produced by the Worship Arts class and Jay’s series of paintings.




“Creating this body of work was a deeply personal and moving experience.” Jay says. “My hope is that Via Crucis will not simply be viewed but prayerfully experienced, drawing viewers into the mystery of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection in a way that resonates with their own journey of faith.”


Bethel students and the community have been invited to engage with the Via Crucis paintings by walking through the gallery and leaving notes about their experience, which Jay has been pleasantly surprised to see more of every day.


The exhibit, along with choral music and original poetry, was presented to the public at St. Paul’s Memorial Church in South Bend on April 11, 2025. People throughout the community were able to experience the central story of the Gospel through art.


			
			

				
			


				From Refugee to Child of God
														

													From Refugee to Child of God
											

				
					
by  | Jun 7, 2025
Throughout her life, Olga Petrosyan ’06 has seen God’s hand at work in her story.


When she was just four years old, her family was forced to flee for their lives from their home in Azerbaijan, losing nearly everything they had, including lucrative careers as an English teacher and space engineer. Ethnically Armenian, they faced rejection and persecution everywhere they went – from Russia, to Ukraine, to Armenia and back to Russia. Her family settled in Volgograd, Russia, with her grandparents, in a house without running water, heat or a septic system. Eventually, in 2009, her parents sought, and won, asylum in the United States.


Their harrowing true story is the subject of the feature film “Between Borders,” produced by former missionaries Lonnie and Isaac Norris, now streaming on Amazon and Angel. It stars Elizabeth Tabish of “The Chosen” as Violetta Petrosyan, Olga’s mother and one of the film’s central characters.


Olga (left) with mother Violetta and sister Julia in Volgograd, Russia, around 1991


For Olga, seeing her young life portrayed on the big screen has been both triggering and healing.


“I was very scared to see it. I stopped reading the script because I was so triggered,” she says. “When I saw the film, I cried from beginning to end. But through every scene, it was healing.”


One of the central themes of the film, and the real life of the Petrosyan family, is coming to faith in Christ through the outreach and kindness of the Norris family, who were missionaries at a Nazarene church in Volgograd. It was during this time that Olga also decided to dedicate her life and her gifts – including her singing voice – to God.


“I prayed a dangerous prayer that I would be able to study music at a Christian college one day.”


She was first introduced to Bethel after her parents visited campus and connected with longtime Bethel professor Duane Beals, Ph.D., and his wife, Charlotte, while they were in the United States representing Russia at the Nazarene General Assembly in Indianapolis. They videotaped campus for their daughter to see.


When Olga saw the video, she was amazed, but the prospect of coming to Bethel seemed impossible. Her parents earned only $100 per month with their incomes combined. However, Charlotte Beals’ sister, Jewel Norris, and her husband, Jim (the parents of missionary Lonnie Norris), learned of Olga’s dream and started the process of fundraising.


They reached out to all of their friends and family and were able to raise enough support to send Olga to Bethel for just one year. So in 2002, she boarded a plane and flew across the world to Mishawaka, Ind., to begin her Bethel journey.


“I remember every class started with prayer. [I experienced] teaching the love of Christ and was encouraged in my faith. It was a dream. I wondered. ‘Is this what heaven is like?’” she says.


Enough support was raised for Olga to continue her studies at Bethel for a second year, and then a third, and then a fourth.


“It was by the provision of the Lord that I graduated from a Christian college with a music degree,” she says.


Following graduation, Olga married her husband David Christoffersen and served as a missionary and worship leader in Denmark for 13 years. They had two children, Caspian and Leah. The couple relocated to the United States in 2019, where Olga spent five-and-a-half years as a worship leader at Pathway Community Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., the current home church of the Norris family who introduced her family to Christ in Volgograd.


		
		


 


Today, she serves as an associate producer at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., collaborating with 13 church campuses.


“God equips us all along for our next steps,” Olga says. “Nothing is wasted.”


Though she struggled with her identity living “between borders,” she now considers her citizenship in Heaven and proudly claims the identity of “child of God.”


Olga hopes that those who see the film will see Jesus in her family’s story, and put a face to the word “refugee.”


Learn more about the film she and her family are featured in at BetweenBordersMovie.com.


			
			

				
			


				Focusing their Lives on God, Family and Education
														

													Focusing their Lives on God, Family and Education
											

				
					
by  | May 27, 2025
For Wyn and Carol Laidig, investing in Bethel University merges their core values with a conviction to live their lives according to what the Bible says. The couple made a very large gift toward the Faithful Campaign, which is focused on Bethel’s people, purpose and place. This investment is the largest individual gift the university has ever received and makes up a significant portion of the $6.5 million capital campaign.


“I hope we help keep the university on solid footing, rooted in the absolute truth of the Bible, and help equip Bethel to take steps into the future,” Wyn says. “It’s our prayer that many more will join us in this worthy endeavor.”


They know Bethel is a place where their gift will make a significant impact. Already, it has been put to use to make much-needed renovations to Shupe Hall and Oakwood Hall (our freshman dorms), replace the roof on Goodman Gym, attend to deferred maintenance projects and fund positions in spiritual life and marketing.


The Laidigs believe in the power of education, taught from a biblical worldview, to produce leaders with humble conviction for the cause of Christ.


“As a believer, professor and someone in ministry, these things all came together at Bethel,” Wyn says.


He first became connected with Bethel through board member Sam Davenport, who asked him to consider serving on Bethel’s Board of Trustees. He became further invested when he served as an adjunct professor, leading May Term trips to Israel – an experience he describes as life-changing.


Though Wyn began his career as a professor of electrical engineering and physics, and Carol as a nurse, the Laidigs served for 20 years on the mission field. They raised their family as missionaries in Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world. Wyn served as a country director for 300 missionaries and worked on Bible translation through Wycliffe. Carol homeschooled their children and provided medical care in remote communities.


The Laidigs returned to the United States in the early 2000s, when their children were in college and Wyn’s father was ready to sell his family business. Wyn took over Laidig Systems, Inc., a world leader in bulk material storage and reclaim, and served as president until his retirement in April 2025. Over the course of his career with Laidig Systems, the company grew exponentially.


Today, the Laidigs are focused on ministry and fellowship, counseling and spending time with their grandchildren.


“I hope when people look at me, they’ll say, he made mistakes but he always tried to live his life according to the word of God,” Wyn says.


Learn more about the Faithful Campaign and how you can join the Laidigs in giving at BethelUniversity.edu/Faithful.


			
			

				
			


				Answering a Call to Serve
														

													Answering a Call to Serve
											

				
					
by  | May 8, 2025
Last fall, a group from Bethel gave up their fall break (Oct. 9-13) to serve on a disaster relief trip to East Tennessee, in an area devastated by Hurricane Helene. With an overflowing trailer of supplies donated by St. Mark Missionary Church, the team of six (five students and Missionary-in-Residence Jeremy Tice) set off from campus at 3 p.m. and arrived in Tennessee at 3 a.m.

Though the trip was put together last-minute in response to prompting by Bethel’s president and cabinet, things worked out providentially. They worked with the Missionary Church network within East Tennessee to identify the need.


“The church [where we stayed] was about an hour away from a distribution center in the mountains,” Tice says. “When we got [to the distribution center] Thursday morning, almost immediately they were passing out the supplies we brought. We were meeting an immediate need.”


The first day, the Bethel team helped clean out a home devastated by the hurricane. The owner was a woman named Ruby who was living what Tice describes as a “Job story.”


The day before the Bethel group arrived, she had lost her husband. Two of her children had passed away a few years ago; the third was addicted to drugs, so she was raising her 10-year-old granddaughter. And last year, she spent 28 days in the hospital and was still recovering. When Hurricane Helene ripped through Tennessee, it destroyed her home.


The Bethel team was in the right place at the right time to serve in love. They mucked out rooms, removing wet and moldy items, carpeting and drywall. The next morning, they had the chance to meet Ruby.


“Through tears, she shared her story. We had no words but asked if she would accept hugs, and all melted into each other’s arms,” Tice says. “It was heartbreaking to throw all of her belongings away, having been destroyed by the flood, then the following weeks of molding.”


The Bethel team was able to clear the home, making it possible to dry out and rebuild. Miraculously, the one photo book Ruby was praying for survived with no damage. The students had made it their mission to find it and were shocked to discover the binder and pictures were clean, despite everything else on the floor being ruined. When they handed it to Ruby, she broke down crying and praising God.


The next day, the Bethel group joined another team that was working to plant a church in the town of Hampton, Tenn. Together, they removed mud-saturated drywall and paneling, where flood waters had reached three feet. They left the house ready to receive new life, while expanding this church planting team’s presence in the community.


The Bethel group worshipped with their host church Sunday morning and returned to campus around 11 p.m. that evening, exhausted but filled with gratitude.


“I think when disasters happen, people think ‘I want to help, but I don’t know how.’This is perspective-changing for us. To know we can be used to help people come out of the depths of despair was just really impactful,” Tice says.


		
		


			
			

				
			


				[VIDEO] More Than a Game
														

													[VIDEO] More Than a Game
											

				
					
by  | Dec 30, 2024
Bethel University Athletics programs focus on developing the whole person instead of just a player’s athletic ability.


This summer, the Bethel Men’s Soccer team traveled to Mexico for their preseason and served in an orphanage for a few days. After returning, the team partnered with the Women’s Soccer team to host a soccer clinic with Summit Soccer at Summit Church. Hear from coaches and players how both experiences shaped students’ perspectives and drew them together as a team.



			
			

				
			


				Sharing Christ Through Soccer
														

													Sharing Christ Through Soccer
											

				
					
by  | Dec 16, 2024
Bethel’s Men’s and Women’s soccer teams traveled 12 miles north to Niles, Mich., in August to put on a skills clinic for the youth of Summit Soccer, a ministry of Summit Church. Summit students, led by Bethel athletes, practiced skills like dribbling, shooting, passing and scrimmaging, ahead of their season’s start.


Now in its 17th year, Summit Soccer draws families from all over Michiana with its faith-focused youth league, which runs from August to October.


“We were excited to help them fulfill their mission and purpose,” said Bethel Men’s Soccer Head Coach Thiago Pinto. “They have one of the largest programs in the Midwest with nearly 500 kids.”


The clinic and partnership between Bethel and Summit Soccer were first thought of in the spring of 2024 during a meeting between Bethel and Summit. Bethel Men’s and Women’s soccer coaches Thiago Pinto and Jason Freeman, along with Professor Kent Eby, Ph.D., met with Summit Lead Pastor Dan Miller, who also currently serves as Vice President of the Missionary Church, and Summit Soccer director Nakita Walter.




“Our mission [at Summit] is leading people to follow Christ. We use soccer to do that. Bethel uses soccer to share Christ around the world,” Miller said.


It was that shared mission that brought the two groups together.


“Now in partnership, we can learn from Bethel. We have an opportunity – almost like a feeder program for Bethel. We had parents who were very excited and wanted to come to Bethel. This is a relationship-building connection with the university and the local church,” said Miller.


Walter agrees, noting that friendships were built between Summit and Bethel players at the clinic, which made students excited to see the college athletes in action.


The evening before the Summit Soccer clinic, the Bethel Men’s soccer team had just returned from a mission trip in Mexico, where they served at an orphanage and did outreach clinics, yet they brought a magnetic energy and drew kids in on their level.


“It was very touching to me – one of the kids, at the end of the [clinic], told his dad he wanted me to be his coach,” said Bethel midfielder Jovaunn Ramos, a graduate student from Belize. “I’m happy they were able to open up to me.”


Beyond the clinic, Bethel coaches helped Summit Soccer by putting on a coach training seminar, and Bethel players attended Summit’s August 31 game. Then, Summit Soccer players reciprocated, attending Bethel’s September 7 men’s and women’s games.


The hope for both groups is that the relationships built will extend beyond the soccer season, as Summit Soccer looks to partner with Bethel again for the 2025 season.


“This is an investment in time and relationship,” Miller said.


        


			
			

				

				

				 
			

				
				
				
				
				

				
				
				
				
				
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