Bethany College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

Bethany, West Virginia Bethany is a town in southern Brooke County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 756 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. It is best known as the home of Bethany College, a private libe ...

, United States. Founded in 1840 by minister Alexander Campbell of the

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1 ...

, who gained support by the Virginia legislature, Bethany College was the first institution of higher education in what is now West Virginia. The college has an enrollment of approximately 620 students.

History

A liberal arts college, Bethany was chartered on March 2, 1840, by the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

legislature and given "all degree-granting powers" of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. West Virginia's secession from Virginia on June 20, 1863, recognized existing Virginia charters; Bethany College continues to operate under the Virginia charter. It was founded by Alexander Campbell, a minister in the

who provided the land and funds for the first building and served as the first president. Bethany has been a four-year private liberal arts college affiliated with the

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

, since its inception. This religious body, of which Campbell was one of the principal founders, continues to support and encourage the college but exercises no

sectarian Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or religious conflicts between groups. Others conceive of sectarianism a ...

control. An early center of

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

, Bethany has admitted women since the 1880s. BethanyColl-BethanyWVA

The college's roots stem from the Buffalo Seminary, founded in 1818, by Campbell; sessions were first held in his

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

in Bethany, home of Alexander Campbell and his father Thomas Campbell. The new Buffalo Seminary, " a continuing education arm of the College" is less than a mile away from the College. The college is the birthplace of

Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta () is a United States–based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapt ...

, an international social fraternity founded in 1858. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bethany was one of 131 colleges nationally that took part in the

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

, which offered students a path to a Navy commission. A number of campus buildings are contributing resources to the

Bethany Historic District Bethany Historic District is a national historic district located at Bethany, Brooke County, West Virginia. It encompasses 111 contributing buildings on the campus of Bethany College, the central business district, and surrounding residentia ...

. The Historic District was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982. Pendleton Heights was listed in 1975 and the

Delta Tau Delta Founders House Delta Tau Delta Founders House is a historic home associated with Bethany College, at Bethany, Brooke County, West Virginia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was built in the early 1850s, and is a two-sto ...

in 1979. The campus is also home to the Parkinson Forest, which in 2019 was added to the national Old-Growth Forest Network. The designation identifies the Parkinson Forest as the oldest Old-Growth Forest in Brooke County.

Academics

Bethany College offers a wide selection of studies, awarding Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degrees in more than 25 fields. If a major does not appeal to a student, Bethany offers students the opportunity to design their own major through the Interdisciplinary program. Bethany also offers dual majors, which is a combination of two majors. According to recent research, 95% of Bethany College graduates carry student loan debt, averaging $25,704. The endowment fund in 2016 was worth $46.7 million. According to ''U.S. News'' tuition and fees are $28,444 and room and board costs $10,270 (2017–18). About 29% of Bethany students graduate in four years.

Student life

Bethany College has multiple opportunities for student engagement, ranging from sports to social events. The school has Men's teams for baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, track & field and volleyball. Women's teams include many of the same sports as Men's, with the addition of acrobatics & tumbling, softball, wrestling and equestrian club. There is no Women's team for baseball or football. The main social event at the school is Homecoming Weekend, which takes place in October. This event is highly anticipated by both current and former students alike. Notable alumni visit the school to speak at seminars, the school hosts a special breakfast, fraternities and sororities hold their own events, and there are various sporting events.

Athletics

Bethany College athletic teams are nicknamed the Bison. The college is a member of the

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

Presidents' Athletic Conference The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Of its 11 member schools, all private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning, nine are located in Western Penn ...

. Bethany men's and women's teams compete in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: acrobatics, baseball, basketball, cross country, equestrian, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.

Notable alumni

Virginia Dare Aderholdt Virginia Dare Aderholdt was an Arlington Hall cryptanalyst and Japanese translator. She decrypted the intercepted Japanese surrender message at the close of World War II on August 14, 1945. Early years Virginia Aderholdt was the daughter of Oscar ...

, an

Arlington Hall Arlington Hall (also called Arlington Hall Station) is a historic building in Arlington, Virginia. Originally it was a girls' school and later the headquarters of the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography operations ...

cryptanalyst and Japanese translator, who decrypted the intercepted Japanese surrender message, August 14, 1945. * W. W. Anderson, attorney, known for shooting

Frederick Gilmer Bonfils Frederick Gilmer Bonfils (December 21, 1860 – February 2, 1933) was an American businessman and publisher who, alongside Harry Heye Tammen, owned ''The Denver Post'', the '' Kansas City Post'', and the Sells Floto Circus. Early life Born in ...

and Harry Heye Tammen of ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...

''. * Joseph Baldwin (1852), educator and founder of

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a Public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Kirksville, Missouri, United States. It had 3,664 enrolled students in the fall of 2024 pursuing degrees in 55 undergraduate ...

. * James Beauchamp "Champ" Clark (1873), Democratic representative from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...

. * Walter M. Bortz III, educator and 23rd president of

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth ...

. * Thomas Buergenthal (1957), retired U.S. judge on the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

. *

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(1979),

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

news anchor. *

Wilma Z. Davis Wilma Zimmerman Davis (31 March 1912 – 10 December 2001) was an early American codebreaker during World War II.Frahm, Jill"Cryptologic Almanac 50th Anniversary Series Wilma Z. Davis" 28 February 2003. Retrieved on 1 March 2018. She was a leading ...

(1912-2001), codebreaker during World War II and the Vietnam War. * Daniel Coleman DeJarnette Sr. (1822-1881) Democratic representative from

, served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and then in the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly/legislature of the Confederate States of America that existed from February 1861 to April/June 1865, during the American Civil War. Its actions were, ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. * Richard E. Doran (1978), Florida Attorney General. *

Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, manager, and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship ...

(1986), professional wrestler. *

William Ferrel William Ferrel (January 29, 1817 – September 18, 1891) was an American meteorologist who developed theories that explained the mid-latitude atmospheric circulation cell in detail, and it is after him that the Ferrel cell is named. Biography F ...

(1844), meteorologist. * Sid Gepford, NFL player. *

Bob Goin Robert Goin (October 3, 1936 – October 12, 2019) was an American football and baseball coach and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at Bethany College (West Virginia), Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia fro ...

(1959), athletic director in Florida State University and University of Cincinnati. *

Caroline Gordon Caroline Ferguson Gordon (October 6, 1895 – April 11, 1981) was an American novelist and literary critic who, while still in her thirties, received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1932 and an O. Henry Award in 1934. Biography Gordon was bor ...

(1916), novelist and critic, author of ''Penhally''."Gordon, Caroline (1895 – 1981)." The Crystal Reference Encyclopedia. West Chiltington: Crystal Semantics, 2005. Credo Reference. Web. 17 September 2012. * Kristan Hawkins, president of

Students for Life of America Students for Life of America (SFLA), also known as simply Students for Life (SFL), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, anti-abortion organization that has formed groups of high school and college students across the country. Currently, there are over 2,00 ...

(SFLA). * Kaye Gorenflo Hearn, Justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina. *

Joseph Rucker Lamar Joseph Rucker Lamar (October 14, 1857 – January 2, 1916) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court appointed by President William Howard Taft. A cousin of former associate justice Lucius Lamar, he served from 1911 until ...

(1877), Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States. *

Edgar Odell Lovett Edgar Odell Lovett (April 14, 1871 – August 13, 1957) was an American educator and education administrator. He was the first president of Rice Institute (now Rice University) in Houston, Texas. Lovett was recommended to the post by Woodr ...

(1890 lass valedictorian, first president of

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

. *

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is a two-time Emmy Award and four-time Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award winner, and has been nominated for an Acade ...

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-winning actor (attended; transferred to

Goddard College Goddard College was a Private college, private college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle. The college offered undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With predecessor ins ...

.) * Oliver S. Marshall (1850–1934), president of the

West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the West Virginia Democratic Party, Democratic P ...

1899 to 1901 from Hancock County. * William King McAlister (1850–1923), justice of the Tennessee Supreme CourtNoted Tennessee Jurist Is Dead
, ''The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle'' (May 18, 1923), p. 7. *

Frances McDormand Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and film producer. In a career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awa ...

(1979), film, television and stage actress and winner of four

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

s including Best Actress for '' Fargo'' (1996) and ''

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' is a 2017 crime drama film written, directed, and produced by Martin McDonagh. It stars Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, a Missouri woman who rents three roadside billboards to draw attention to ...

'' (2017), and Best Picture and Best Actress for ''

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'' (2020). * John William McGarvey (1829–1911), religious educator. * Don Megerle,

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

award recipient, and 33-year Head Swim Coach for

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, 1971-2004. He was a swimmer for Bethany in the late 1960s. * Adrian Melott (1968), astrophysicist and cosmologist. * John E. Niederhuber, 13th director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). * George Tener Oliver (1868), United States Senator from Pennsylvania (1909 to 1917). *

John O. Pendleton John Overton Pendleton (July 4, 1851 – December 24, 1916) was a U.S. Representative from West Virginia. Biography Pendleton was born in Wellsburg, West Virginia (then part of Virginia), the son of Confederate veteran Joseph H. Pendleton and Mar ...

(1871), United States Representative. *

Tom Poston Thomas Gordon Poston (October 17, 1921 – April 30, 2007) was an American actor, appearing in television roles from the 1950s through the early to mid-2000s, reportedly appearing in more sitcoms than any other actor. In the 1980s, he played ...

-winning actor (attended but was not graduated from Bethany College). * Jeffrey L. Seglin, (1978), writer of the weekly column "The Right Thing," faculty member,

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. * Dave Sims (1975),

-winning sportscaster. *

Sukhi Turner Dame Sukhinder Kaur Gill Turner (born Sukhinder Kaur Gill, 13 April 1952), commonly known as Sukhi Turner, is a New Zealand politician who served as the Mayor of Dunedin, New Zealand, from 1995 until her retirement from the position in 2004. Sh ...

, mayor of Dunedin, New Zealand, during 1995–2004.

Notes

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{coord, 40, 12, 21, N, 80, 33, 37, W, region:US-WV_type:edu, display=title Buildings and structures in Brooke County, West Virginia Education in Brooke County, West Virginia Universities and colleges established in 1840 Universities and colleges affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Private universities and colleges in West Virginia Tourist attractions in Brooke County, West Virginia 1840 establishments in Virginia Liberal arts colleges in West Virginia