| Bethany College |
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|---|---|
| Established | 1840 |
| Type | Private, Liberal Arts |
| Religious affiliation | Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) |
| Endowment | $46.1 million[1] |
| President | Scott D. Miller |
| Students | 1,030 (910 full-time) |
| Location | Bethany, West Virginia, United States |
| Campus | Rural 1,300 acres (526 ha) |
| Athletics | 21 NCAA Division III Athletic Teams and an Equestrian club team. |
| Colors | Green and White |
| Mascot | Bison |
| Website | www.bethanywv.edu |
Bethany College is a private liberal arts college located in Bethany, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1840, Bethany is the oldest institution of Higher Education in West Virginia.
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Bethany's 1,300 acre campus is located in the northern panhandle of West Virginia, situated on the hilly Allegheny Plateau. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a 50 minute drive from campus. Wheeling, WV; Washington, PA; and Steubenville, OH are each about a half hour away.
A liberal arts college, Bethany was chartered on March 5, 1840, by the Virginia legislature and given "all degree-granting powers" of the University of Virginia. West Virginia's secession from Virginia on June 20, 1863 recognized existing Virginia charters; Bethany College continues to operate under the Virginia charter today.
Founded by Alexander Campbell, 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), 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 control. An early center of coeducation, Bethany has admitted women since the 1880s.
The College's roots stem from the Buffalo Seminary founded in 1818 by Campbell and held in the Alexander Campbell Mansion, home of Alexander Campbell and Thomas Campbell, located less than a mile away from the College's present location.
The College is the birthplace of Delta Tau Delta, an international social fraternity founded in 1858.
During World War II, Bethany was one of 131 colleges nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.[2]
A number of campus buildings are contributing resources to the Bethany Historic District.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[4] Pendleton Heights was listed in 1975 and the Delta Tau Delta Founders House in 1979.[4]
Bethany College offers a wide selection of studies, awarding bachelor of science or bachelor of arts degrees in more than 25 fields of study, many with options for specialization. Students may also include one or more optional minors.
Majors are offered in:
Minors are offered in:
Bethany is NCAA Division III recognized and is a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) as well as the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Its mascot is the Bison, and its colors are green and white.
The men's soccer team won the NCAA National Championship in 1994.
Fraternities and sororities constitute important social groups for upperclass men and women on campus. The five social fraternities and three sororities constitute approximately forty percent of the student body. Representatives from each serve on agencies which coordinate fraternal affairs and activities.
Social fraternities represented are Delta Tau Delta (which was founded at Bethany in 1858), Alpha Sigma Phi, Beta Theta Pi, Phi Kappa Tau and Sigma Nu. Sororities are Alpha Xi Delta, Phi Mu, and Zeta Tau Alpha.
The co-ed national service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega was granted a charter at Bethany in 2004. Members of Alpha Phi Omega are permitted to join social fraternities or sororities.
| Name | Function | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Old Main (Bethany College) | Old Main is the centerpiece of Bethany's academic buildings. Its tower dominates the campus and is the chief architectural feature noted as one approaches the College. | Old Main is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and was designated as such in 1970. The building is one of the earliest examples of collegiate Gothic architecture in the United States. |
| David and Irene Steinman Fine Arts Center | The Steinman Fine Arts Center provides facilities for music and theatre. A theatre occupies the central portion of the building. Teaching studios, studio-classrooms, a general rehearsal room for the larger vocal and instrumental groups, and individual practice rooms support instruction in music. | |
| Grace Phillips Johnson Visual Arts Center | This building offers facilities for computer graphics, television, painting, sculpture and design. | The Grace Phillips Johnson Visual Arts Center was formerly known as the Irvin Gymnasium (built in the year 1919). Renovation to its current state was finished in 1984. |
| Kirkpatrick Hall of Life Sciences | This hall accommodates laboratories, classrooms, and faculty for the biology and psychology departments. It also has a computer laboratory. | |
| Morlan Hall | Morlan Hall houses the communication, political science, history, economics, and language department offices. Its base floor contains a cafe with local wireless service. | |
| Richardson Hall of Science | This hall provides facilities for the chemistry, physics, and mathematics departments, as well as the two primary computer laboratories. | The Richardson Hall of Science is named for Robert Richardson, Bethany College's first science professor. |
| T.W. Phillips Memorial Library | This facility serves as the hub of an academic information network that provides the campus with over 250,000 items locally (books, periodicals, newspapers, audiovisuals, archival materials) and access to information through online subscriptions to ProQuest Direct, Lexis-Nexis Universe, JSTOR, Britannica Online, and many other sources. | The Center for Campbell Studies, housed in the Library, contains books, periodicals, letters, paintings, photographs, and museum pieces related to Bethany's founder and first President Alexander Campbell. The Upper Ohio Valley Collection, which includes books, magazines, maps, pictures, and ephemera focusing on the nine counties in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio surrounding Bethany, is also located in the library. |
| Name | Description/Living Arrangements | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Percy B. Cochran Hall | Completely remodeled in 2009-10, it again serves as a dormitory with suite-style living for 72 students. | Percy B. Cochran Hall, built in 1910, was named in memory of the son of M.M. Cochran, a longtime benefactor and trustee of the college. From its opening until 1971, it served as a dormitory for male students. Converted to faculty offices in 1974-75, it was closed in 2001. |
| Campbell Village | Campbell Village is a co-ed student housing unit. Each suite within contains a common room as well as four private, individual occupancy rooms. | "CV", as it is referred to by students, is a four-building complex, housing 380 students, and was completed during the 2000-2001 academic year. |
| Harlan Hall | Harlan Hall is a traditional all-male, double-occupancy dormitory. | |
| Phillips Hall | Phillips Hall is the only all-female residence hall. Its doors are always open, not only to its residents but to all Bethany students interested in visiting with Phillips residents, attending scholarly lectures in the famous Phillips Hall Lounge, and watching a series of movies at Maxwell's. | |
| Greek Hill [New Parkinson Place] | Greek Hill is a hilltop complex with 6 social Greek houses, consisting of three fraternities: Delta Tau Delta, Alpha Sigma Phi and Phi Kappa Tau and three sororities: Alpha Xi Delta, Phi Mu, Zeta Tau Alpha. | |
| Goodnight and Woolery | Both Goodnight and Woolery are co-ed dormitories. |
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