Ross Allen

It was an honor to host Karen Swallow Prior as this year’s Karlson Scholar and hear her share wisdom from You Have a Calling, including her insight that passion and calling are often conflated in ways that can mislead people seeking God’s direction.

Such fun to hang out with the Royal’s Baseball team in Florida over spring break last month (4 home runs and a 13-7 win!) Nice to spend time with the player’s wonderful parents who entrust their sons to Bethel and Coach Raabe and the rest of the community.

So good to worship and celebrate the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities 50th anniversary this past January. President Carl Lundquist from Bethel was key to its founding and would be glad to see the continued commitment to advancing Christian higher education.

What a joy to see students choosing to express their commitment to Jesus visible through baptism here on campus! Their witness and testimony is a blessing to us all.

We are so excited about our new Speech Pathology Program. Earlier this academic year, we hosted staff from Rep. Betty McCollum and Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s offices to share more about our emerging work and how Bethel is stepping into this much needed field to better serve Minnesota.

What a blast! Winter Family Weekend brought so much energy to campus. Skiing, bonfires, live music, and most importantly, great people. Talking with families and hearing how much they love being part of the Bethel community never gets old. We can’t wait to do it again.

So impressive to see our students speaking with such confidence about their research and the knowledge they have gained last semester at the Biology Symposium.

A few weeks ago, we hosted Bethel alumni serving in the MN Legislature. Encouraged by how their Bethel education equips them to navigate division and serve collaboratively for the good of our state. Proud of these Royals—and glad to share our new spaces with them!

Our annual Smorgasbord before the Festival of Christmas concert has become a beloved tradition for many in our community. It was great to see departments attend together, and fun to reconnect with so many retired employees and Bethel supporters.

This year marked the 69th production of the Festival of Christmas. This year’s theme, A Savior, Who Is Christ the Lord, is so fitting—reminding us that everything we do at Bethel ultimately points us back to Jesus Christ. I hope you’ll join us next year!

Grateful for our incredible coaches at Bethel. Honoring Rick Ronning for his years of dedication to tennis and celebrating Gretchen Hunt’s 25 years leading volleyball. Their excellence—and the way they shape Christ-centered leaders—makes all the difference. Thank you!

It was wonderful to see these highlights from Little Women. Our Music and Performing Arts department continues to impress with the talent and dedication they bring to the stage. Grateful for the creativity that make productions like this such a gift to our community.

Part of our Homecoming weekend included the induction of our newest cohort to the Pietas Honors Program. Welcome to this impressive group!

We are so proud of the work our Royals are doing out in the world. This year’s recipients of our 4 under 40 awards represent the best of Bethel. Congrats to Jay Hilbrands '13, Alisa Sparks '08, Matt Therrien '07, and Kaycee Stanley '09! Read here: bethel.edu/alumni/awards/…

During Homecoming week, we honored Linda Goodwin ‘79 as our 2025 Alumna of the Year. From her faithful service on the Board of Trustees to her mentorship through BethelBiz, she continually reminds us to place every decision before God and to praise Him for every blessing.

Congrats to the '75 Championship Football team and thanks to Ward Anderson for a great celebration honoring their achievement. We stand on the shoulders of those who laid the foundation of honoring God with their excellence.

What a joy to see such an amazing turnout for the 10th anniversary of the BUILD program at Bethel! BUILD is a remarkable embodiment of our mission and a testament to God’s faithfulness. Thank you to everyone in our community who have worked so hard to create this program.

Homecoming is off to a fantastic start! The gym was packed last night for the HOCO cheer competition. I am glad I was off the hook for judging but a shout out to the amazing Annie Allen. She loves on our students like no other, and she makes everything more fun!

Honored to join Lithuanian special education leaders visiting Bethel through the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership Program. Their passion for inclusion reminds us how much we learn from one another in serving students of all abilities.

It’s been an incredible start to the fall sports season for all of our teams! The shared ethos of our coaches and players to pursue excellence as a form of worship is what sets us apart. Thank you to all the families, alumni, and students who show up to cheer on our Royals.