Bethel University is a private Christian university and

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

Arden Hills, Minnesota Arden Hills is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,552 at the 2010 census. Bethel University and Seminary is located in the city of Arden Hills. Also, the campus of University of Northwestern – St. Paul ...

. It was founded in 1871 as a seminary and is affiliated with

Converge Converge may refer to: * Converge (band), American hardcore punk band * Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body * Limit (mathematics) * Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines *CONVERGE CFD s ...

. The university enrolls 5,600 students in

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

, graduate, and

programs. Its main campus is situated on about 290 acres on the east side of Lake Valentine just south of

Interstate 694 Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US H ...

History

Bethel University has its origins in the Baptist Theological Union's Swedish Seminary, which was founded by Swedish

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

pastor John Alexis Edgren in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

in 1871. In 1914, the

Baptist General Conference Converge, formerly the Baptist General Conference (BGC) and Converge Worldwide, is an evangelical Baptist Christian denomination in United States introduced by Swedish Baptists that emerged late in the 19th century. It is affiliated with the Bap ...

has become the school's main partner.Randall Herbert Balmer, ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition'', Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, p. 74 The seminary merged with Bethel Academy and relocated its campus to

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. In 1931, the Academy became Bethel Junior College. The addition of a four-year liberal arts college program created ''Bethel College and Seminary'' in 1947. The school relocated from St. Paul to

in 1972. In 2004, the institution changed its name to Bethel University.

Academics

The university offers degree programs through four different schools. The College of Arts and Sciences is its traditional undergraduate program, Bethel offers

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

s in 106 majors and emphases of study, 43 minors, and 11 pre-professional programs. The College of Adults & Professional Studies offers associate degrees,

bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

, and a number of certificate programs. Through its

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

, Bethel offers ten

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s, including a physician assistant program, as well as a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in educational leadership. Bethel also offers a number of graduate certificate programs and licenses. The school's seminary, called Bethel Theological Seminary, is located primarily on the Arden Hills campus. It also has a location in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

and offers a number of fully online programs. It offers Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advance ...

(D.Min.) degrees, along with several

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA) and certificate programs.

Accreditations

Bethel has been accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

since 1959. Its nursing program is approved by the Minnesota Board of Nursing. Bethel's business program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs.

Arden Hills campus

Bethel University - Arden Hills, Minnesota

Academic buildings

There are six main academic buildings located at the center of Bethel University's main campus in

. They run from southwest to northeast and are connected on the first three floors by weather-protected skyways and tunnels. Starting from the Southwest and running to the Northeast, the buildings are as follows (with abbreviations in parentheses): Benson Great Hall and Lundquist Community Life Center (CLC), Barnes Academic Center (BAC), Brushaber Commons (BC), Clauson Fine Arts Center (CC), Hagstrom Student Services Center (HC), and Robertson Physical Education Center (RC).

On-campus housing

Freshman residences

There are four freshman residence halls on campus. Three—Bodien Hall, Getsch Hall, and Edgren Hall—encircle a cul-de-sac just south of the academic buildings, informally known as Freshman Hill. The fourth, Nelson Hall, is the largest of the freshman residences, and located nearby on the north side of the academic buildings. It is the oldest building on Bethel University's current campus in Arden Hills.

Residences for returning students

Two residence halls, Arden Village and Lissner Hall, mostly house returning students. North Village, a collection of five buildings formerly used as housing for seminary students, houses returning students and offers a full kitchen in every suite. It is located at the far north end of the campus. Heritage Hall, opened in 1999, is a suite-style residence hall, housing juniors and seniors. Students enrolling after Fall 2019 must be 21 years of age prior to September 1 to live off-campus with the exception of those who commute from their parents’ home.

Brushaber Commons

The Brushaber Commons, a $30 million, 106,000-square foot student commons area, opened in 2009. The Brushaber Commons is named after retired Bethel President George K. Brushaber. In addition to serving as a gathering point for students, the commons includes a dining center, coffee shop, restaurant, campus store, office space, public meeting areas, and an admissions center.

Benson Great Hall

Benson Great Hall, Bethel's performing arts center, is a 1,700-seat concert hall with a 4,000-pipe Blackinton organ located in the center of the Lundquist Community Life Center. This hall houses worship services, theatre productions, and can be rented by outside performers. Benson Hall has hosted a variety of events in the past, providing a venue for Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, a location for high school graduations, and the 2018 Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. Benson Great Hall offers a green room, backstage dressing rooms and bathrooms, custom sound dampening, lighting, and set design for special events.

Student life

The university

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

is ''O God of Bethel, by Whose Hand'' by

Philip Doddridge Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter. Early life Philip Doddridge was born in London the last of the twenty children of ...

. A morning prayer chapel service is offered each class day, as well as

vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

on Sunday evenings, but attendance is no longer mandatory.

Covenant for Life Together

All full-time students in the College of Arts and Sciences are expected to abide by the Covenant for Life Together. The Covenant is a lifestyle agreement that focuses on living a life of faith and personal morality. The Covenant emphasizes a respect for all persons and ethnic traditions and requires students to refrain from any sort of extramarital sex, homosexuality, pornography, gambling, illegal drugs, and tobacco in any form. Under the Covenant for Life Together, students in the College of Arts and Sciences were initially prohibited from dancing or consuming alcohol year-round, but the rules were eventually relaxed to allow alcohol consumption when classes are not in session. Alcohol consumption by full-time students in the College of Arts and Sciences is still prohibited during the academic year.

Publications

Bethel University has a student news publication, ''The Clarion'', which is printed during the school year and distributed on campus as well as online.

Athletics

The Bethel University athletic teams are known as the Royals. The university competes at the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

level in 18 intercollegiate sports and is a member of the

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is a college athletic conference which competes in NCAA Division III. All 13 of the member schools are located in Minnesota and are private institutions, with only two being non-sectarian. ...

(MIAC).

Women's

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

* Cross country *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

* Soccer *

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

Men's

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

* Cross Country * Football *

Ice Hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

* Soccer *

Track and Field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

Facilities

* Bethel University Arena is located at the

National Sports Center The National Sports Center (NSC) is a multi-sport complex located in Blaine, Minnesota. Its site includes a soccer stadium, over 50 full-sized soccer fields, a golf course, a meeting and convention facility, and an eight-sheet ice rink, the Sup ...

Blaine, Minnesota Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region ...

and has been the home of men's and women's hockey teams since 2007. * Hargis Park, the home field of the Bethel University baseball team, opened in the spring of 2000. It features an entirely turf field, an outdoor turf batting cage, two clay bullpen mounds, major league length dugouts, press box, and inning-by-inning scoreboard in left field and capacity to over 500 spectators. * Ona Orth Athletic Complex opened for play in the fall of 2003 and is home to Bethel's tennis, softball, and soccer teams. The facility includes a fast-pitch softball park, six tennis courts, and a soccer practice/game field with branded team building. * Robertson Center Gymnasium has been the home of Bethel basketball and volleyball since 1972. * Royal Stadium, the home of Bethel's football team, was built in 1995 and renovated in 2001.

Notable alumni

Undergraduate

* Chad Anderson,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

former member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint ...

* Bill Mounce, former director of the Greek program at Gordon-Conwell University and current board member on the

Committee on Bible Translation The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The ''NIV'' was created as a modern translation, by Bible scholars using the earliest a ...

. * Jeff Hayden, Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are h ...

; former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives * Abigail and Brittany Hensel,

dicephalic Polycephaly is the condition of having more than one head. The term is derived from the Greek stems ''poly'' (Greek: "πολύ") meaning "many" and ''kephalē'' (Greek: "κεφαλή") meaning "head". A polycephalic organism may be thought ...

parapagus twins, stars of TLC's '' Abby & Brittany'' *

Joel Hodgson Joel Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K'') and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007, ''MST3K'' was list ...

, creator of (and main character in) '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' * Randy Hultgren, Republican former member of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

from

* Steven R. Jensen (1985), current Chief Justice of the

South Dakota Supreme Court The South Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of South Dakota. It is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices appointed by the governor. One justice is selected from each of five geographic appointment districts ...

* Randy Jessup, Republican member of the Minnesota House of Representatives * Mark Johnson, Republican member of the Minnesota Senate * Sheldon Johnson, Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the Minnesota House of Representatives * Peter Ludlow, a professor of philosophy at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Dawson McAllister Dawson McAllister (November 14, 1946 – December 17, 2020) was an American speaker, radio host, and author. He was the host of the radio program ''Dawson McAllister Live'' on Sunday nights from 10:00pm–2:00 am ET, which had an average audienc ...

, talk-radio host * Chris Meidt,

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

staff, 2007–2009 *

Bob Merritt Bob Merritt is the retired senior pastor of Eagle Brook Church in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, a megachurch. Early life and education Merritt's father was Calvin Merritt, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Neshannock Towns ...

Eagle Brook Church Eagle Brook Church is a non denomination multi-site megachurch based in Centerville, Minnesota. It is affiliated with Converge. Weekly church attendance was 20,923 people in 2023. The senior pastor is Jason Strand. History The church was founde ...

pastor and author * Jeff Nelson,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

umpire * Doug Ohlson, abstract artist. * Doug Pagitt, influential figure in the emergent discussion * Mary Pawlenty, former district court judge and wife of former

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and presidential candidate,

Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty (; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 39th governor of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House o ...

* Linda Runbeck, Republican member of the

; former member of the

Kirk Stensrud Kirk D. Stensrud (born March 1962) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represented District 48A, which included portions of western Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County in the Twin Cit ...

, Republican former member of the

* Ron Tschetter, former director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...

* Pam Wolf, Republican former member of the

* Harvey L. Wollman, Democratic former

Governor of South Dakota The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of South Dakota. The governor is elected to a four-year term in even years when there is no presidential election. The current governor is Kristi Noem, a member of the Republican Party who t ...

Seminary

* Joshua Becker,

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post– World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

writer * Gary Smalley, prominent author, family counselor, and motivational speaker

Notable current and former faculty

Leith Anderson Leith Anderson (born 1944) is president emeritus of the National Association of Evangelicals and Baptist pastor emeritus of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, after serving as senior pastor from 1977 through 2011. Early life and education ...

, president of the

National Association of Evangelicals The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an association of evangelical denominations, organizations, schools, churches and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than 45,000 local churches ...

* Greg Boyd, theologian and pastor * E. Earle Ellis, professor of theology * Michael W. Holmes, professor of New Testament *

Steven Keillor Steven James Keillor (born April 25, 1948) is a Minnesota historian and author. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D in American History from the University of Minnesota; currently, he is an adjunct professor at Bethel University (Minnesota), Be ...

, adjunct professor of history * Alvera Mickelsen, former professor of journalism * Roger E. Olson, former professor of theology *

Wayne Grudem Wayne A. Grudem (born 1948) is a New Testament scholar turned theologian, seminary professor, and author. He co-founded the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and served as the general editor of the ''ESV Study Bible''. Life Grudem was bo ...

, Theologian and New Testament Scholar * John Piper, theologian and pastor *

Thomas R. Schreiner Thomas R. Schreiner (born April 24, 1954) is an American Reformed New Testament scholar. He is the James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He previously taught at Bethel U ...

New Testament Scholar * Andrew Rock, varsity track and field coach

References

External links

* {{Coord, 45, 3, 30, N, 93, 9, 45, W, type:edu_region:US-MN, display=title Liberal arts colleges in Minnesota Educational institutions established in 1871 History of Chicago Universities and colleges in Ramsey County, Minnesota 1871 establishments in Minnesota Private universities and colleges in Minnesota Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Baptist universities and colleges in the United States