The Bethany Theological Seminary Board of Trustees gathered at the Richmond, Indiana, campus for their semi-annual meeting March 27-29, 2009. The board retained its current officers: Ted Flory, Bridgewater, Virginia, chair; Ray Donadio, Greenville, Ohio, vice chair; Lisa Hazen, Wichita, Kansas, secretary; Carol Scheppard, Mount Crawford, Virginia, chair of the Academic Affairs Committee; Elaine Gibbel, Lititz, Pennsylvania, chair of the Institutional Advancement Committee; and Jim Dodson, Lexington, Kentucky, chair of the Student and Business Affairs Committee.

In addition to the formal reports and recommendations to the board, a focus of the meeting was discussion of the strategic direction plan. Over the past year, a revisioning of Bethany’s mission and role in the Church of the Brethren and society at large has been undertaken by the board, faculty and staff. Composition of a draft strategic direction plan was a directive from the board during their fall 2008 meeting and is the first formal step of a long-range planning process. The plan was drafted by Bethany president Ruthann Johansen, drawing from discussions with and input from trustees and all members of the Bethany campus community.

The plan presented challenges facing the seminary, goals for the seminary that address these challenges, and strategies for achieving the goals. These issues and their presentation in the plan were discussed both by individual trustee committees and the full board. With a few revisions, the plan was approved by the board. As the next step, the creation of a Strategic Planning Committee was approved, which will be appointed by the board chair in consultation with the president. The committee will prioritize the strategies and set a time line and benchmarks for meeting the goals.

Ted Flory, chair of the board, states, “The Bethany Board of Trustees, together with Bethany faculty, staff, and students, engaged in a deep, stimulating, vigorous, and inspirational discussion on the strategic direction paper for several hours on Saturday, leading to the board adopting the paper on Sunday in a unanimous vote. The Bethany board expresses deep appreciation to President Ruthann Johansen and the entire Bethany community for the significant work that brought us to this action.”

As stated by President Johansen in the plan: “In these challenges lie seeds of opportunity for the seminary to imagine and implement a bold vision faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and essential for the twenty-first century church and world.”

Student and Business Affairs

Among the recommendations brought by the Student and Business Affairs Committee was a tightened and balanced budget for 2009-2010. It was approved, while concern was expressed about economic uncertainties over the next several years. Seminary staff are hopeful that 2008-2009 will end with a balanced budget, and it was noted that Bethany’s endowments put it in a better financial position than many schools.

The following also received approval: Bethany graduate tuition and fees for 2009-2010; the 2009-2010 budgets for the Brethren Academy, Sustaining Pastoral Excellence, Brethren Journal Association, and Brethren House; the Brethren Benefit Pension Plan Resolution of the Board of Trustees; the TIAA-CREF Pension Plan Resolution of the Board of Trustees; and the Resolution Regarding Investments.

The committee also heard an encouraging admissions report, stating that applications in general are at a twelve-year high and applications to the Connections distance-learning program are at an all-time high. More than forty prospective students have visited campus through formally structured visit days, a new initiative this year.

Academic Affairs

The Academic Affairs Committee reported that work is continuing on formulation of overarching educational objectives and on a comprehensive assessment plan. The committee recommended and received board approval of the list of nine potential graduates for 2008-09.

Bethany Seminary has received final approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to operate an education program at the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center in Pennsylvania, offering distance-learning courses in partnership with the center. According to Donna Rhodes, executive director, the center has established the Hispanic Academy for Lay Leadership in collaboration with the Atlantic Northeast District.

Under the new leadership of Julie Hostetter, the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership is strengthening communication with external constituencies and is completing a major survey of pastors and denominational leaders to determine future priorities. Seventy-seven students participated in the Training in Ministry program this year, while nine students and supervisors participated in Education for Shared Ministry. Orientation sessions and graduations have been held for both programs.

The board unanimously approved the Academic Affairs Committee’s recommendation to promote Dr. Scott Holland to the rank of professor of peace studies and cross-cultural studies. Holland began his tenure at Bethany Seminary in 1999, having previously taught religion and peace studies at Westminster College, Carlow College, Duquesne University, and Ashland Theological Seminary. After receiving a master of arts degree from Ashland Theological Seminary, he earned a doctorate in theology from Duquesne University.

Holland is an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren and has pastored both Brethren and Mennonite congregations. As a writer and lecturer, he is well known in the areas of public theology, peace studies, and Christianity and culture. He has been centrally involved in the ten-year collaboration between the World Council of Churches Decade to Overcome Violence program and the Historic Peace Churches vision of Seeking Cultures of Peace. This has involved planning and participating in international conferences, lectures, and other projects. Holland’s cross-cultural work often takes him to Nigeria with seminary student groups and as an educator and preacher in collaboration with Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN).

A number of articles and books are evolving from Holland’s international work, including the recent How Do Stories Save Us? An Essay on the Question with the Theological Hermeneutics of David Tracy in View, copublished in the United States and Europe. He is also a contributing editor to CrossCurrents: The Journal of the Association for Religion and Intellectual Life. Over the past two decades, Holland has been published in a variety of books and professional journals and has presented at many conferences of the historic peace church denominations.

Dr. Rick Gardner, interim academic dean, states, "Scott Holland has profoundly enriched the Bethany community through his personal, poetic, and scholarly gifts. A creative teacher, he embodies in all his work what it means to combine the passions of the heart with the life of the mind."

Board members expressed their enthusiasm for the appointment of Dr. Steven Schweitzer as associate professor and academic dean at Bethany. Currently on the faculty at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, Dr. Schweitzer will begin his work at Bethany on July 1, 2009.

Institutional Advancement

The Institutional Advancement report centered on financial support for the seminary and developments in public relations. While the struggling economy has likely contributed to a decrease in gift income across the board, staff also sees the need to explore ways to strengthen the connection with Bethany’s constituencies. Factors to consider in this effort are declining denominational membership, the public perception of Bethany’s role in the denomination, and departmental staffing.

Revisions and expansion of Bethany’s web site are ongoing, with attention to ease of reading and greater access to information through links. Current initiatives in advertising and electronic communication were presented. A comprehensive manual of standards for graphics use, grammar and writing, and web layout and text is nearing completion and will be used by all Bethany employees.

The committee also devoted time to a survey of district executives on denominational awareness and higher education. Results were mixed with strong support for the witness and mission of the Church of the Brethren, congregational leaders with a Brethren education, and ministry education made available in the districts. Less agreement was expressed regarding suitability of various ministry training programs and the factors of location and cost in education.

Other Activity

Mary Jo Flory Steury with the Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board presented a timeline for the composition, review, and adoption of the denomination’s Ministerial Leadership paper, of which Bethany will be a part. The trustees also heard that Bethany’s special collections archival project has been completed. Funded by an Arthur Vining Davis Foundation grant, the project involved cataloging and preserving the Abraham Harley Cassel collection, the Huston Bible collection, and the William Eberly hymnal collection, housed in Earlham College’s Lilly Library.

President Johansen gratefully recognized the service and skills of two Bethany employees who are leaving the seminary. Zach Erbaugh, director of seminary computing since 2000, will be taking a job with Sentry Data Systems later this spring. Rick Gardner will be returning to retirement having served as interim academic dean during 2008-2009. Gardner had held the position of dean at the seminary 1992-2003.

On Saturday evening, the Bethany community and other guests were treated to the lecture "A Jewish Tentmaker Preaches Peace” by Dr. Dan Ulrich, honoring his promotion to professor of New Testament studies. Focusing on key passages from the book of Romans, the presentation explored the apostle Paul’s theology and communication with early Christian communities. A webcast of this lecture is available at http://cobwebcast.bethanyseminary.edu.

Following the board meeting, Bethany hosted its second annual Presidential Forum, "Weaving Wisdom's Tent: The Arts of Peace." A number of Bethany trustees, faculty, staff, and students were among the capacity registration for the two-day event. Three plenary speakers addressed peacemaking through the arts: Marge Piercy, poet, author, and international lecturer; John Paul Lederach, professor of international peacebuilding with the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies; and Douglas Kinsey, professor emeritus of art and art history at the University of Notre Dame.

Forum workshops explored biblical interpretation, conflict transformation, care of creation, and theopoetics as forms of art essential to peace and justice. Workshops on the visual arts and music were also offered, and the Manchester College A Capella Choir was featured in concert on Sunday evening. Worship services and small-group discussions rounded out the forum activities.