About
Mission and History
Bethany Archives
See collections of photos, records, and documents from Bethany’s rich history in the BLC Archives. Viewing the archives in person is by appointment only. Call 507-344-7325 or email blcarchives@blc.edu.
Introduction
Bethany Lutheran College’s Mission and History is based in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and committed to the teachings of the Bible as expressed in the statements of faith known as the Lutheran Confessions.
Our Mission
Bethany Lutheran College provides Christian higher education in a challenging academic environment where personal mentoring guides students to pursue knowledge, truth, and discernment for productive and fulfilling lives.
Our Purpose
Bethany Lutheran College engages students with the saving knowledge of Christ and assists them in developing their God-given talents and abilities for meaningful lives of service in the family, church, and society. A program of study grounded in the liberal arts and taught through the discerning lens of a Christian worldview equips students with knowledge, understanding, and adaptable skills.
Our Vision
… to produce compassionate graduates firmly grounded in Christian faith and teaching who REFLECT CHRIST’S LOVE with integrity, character, and unshakable values
… to be a center for EXCELLENCE IN ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP and in all aspects of higher education
… to place a priority on PERSONAL MENTORING from faculty and staff to students
… to provide OPPORTUNITIES for students to identify and develop their God-given talents and abilities
… to positively impact the lives of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters through a CARING CHRISTIAN ACADEMIC COMMUNITY
Our Core Values
Commitment to the Gospel
Because God’s Son, Jesus Christ, has lived perfectly in our place and paid for all sins, God declares all people to be innocent in His sight, an innocence received by faith. Bethany therefore proclaims this Good News to students that they may believe, and grow in faith and in the knowledge of Jesus as their sure hope for eternal life.
Pursuit of the Truth
Grounded in the liberal arts, the curriculum promotes a search for knowledge and wisdom by fostering independent critical thinking through the discerning lens of the Bible as the ultimate source of truth in order to support students’ spiritual development, intellectual and creative growth, self-understanding, responsible citizenship, and lifelong learning.
Focus on the Student
The College places the spiritual, intellectual, physical, social, and emotional needs of the student first in all decisions, policies, and procedures.
Our Pledge to the Student
Bethany Lutheran College pledges to offer each student the comfort of the Gospel, the true knowledge of our world as revealed in Scripture and reflected in nature, and a personal mentoring relationship in higher education as preparation for a life of purpose and meaning.
Our Expectation of the Student
Bethany Lutheran College expects all students to be fully engaged in the process of their education and to respect the mission of the College. We encourage students to pursue habits of excellence in all areas of their lives.
Our Statement of Faith
Bethany Lutheran College is a Christian liberal arts college. The College and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod are committed to the teachings of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God – the only authority for faith and life. The statements of faith known as the Lutheran Confessions are accepted as the correct understanding of the teachings of the Bible.
This commitment to the Confessions is summarized by the principles of the Lutheran Reformation: Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and Scripture Alone. Specifically, the College confesses that salvation is a free gift from God’s grace alone, not dependent upon our works. We receive forgiveness for our sins through faith in Christ alone, which is produced in the individual’s heart by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God and the Sacraments. Scripture alone is the standard by which all teachings and practices ultimately are evaluated.
Our Philosophy of Christian Education
The Christian faith governs the entire educational process at Bethany. Christian education implies a unique perspective on the past, present, and future, shaping a specific view of people and their relationships both to God and to others. These relationships are understood in light of the knowledge that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that He is true God and Lord of the universe through time and eternity. Our philosophy views knowledge and truth across the entire curriculum through the discerning lens of God’s Word.
History of BLC
In 1911, Bethany Ladies College opened with forty-four students and four faculty members, and a mission to educate young women. In 1927 the Norwegian Synod, later known as the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), purchased the college. The ELS operated the school as a co-educational high school and junior college until 1969, when the high school department was closed. Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary began in 1946 as a department of the college; in 1975 it became a separate institution.
In May 1996, the Board of Regents resolved to start moving Bethany from an associate to a baccalaureate degree-granting institution. In the spring of 2001 Bethany entered a new era in its history by granting its first baccalaureate degrees.
Regardless of these significant changes, Bethany continues to offer a student-centered Christian liberal arts education designed to prepare students for this life and for life in eternity.
Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Bethany Lutheran College is owned and operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS). The Evangelical Lutheran Synod is an American Lutheran church body of 130 congregations in full fellowship with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). The ELS is also a member of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), which currently consists of twenty-four church bodies throughout the world in fellowship with one another. Following Jesus’ command to bring the Gospel “to all nations,” the ELS operates missions in seven countries around the world: Peru, Chile, India, Korea, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Latvia.
College Insignia
The Bethany Lutheran College seal, logo, and mascot all speak to the proud purpose and heritage of the institution.
Seal
The college seal was made official by a resolution of the Board of Regents in 1932. The idea of the college seal originated with Ruth Seidel, who was an instructor at Bethany, and her artist brother, Wilbur Seidel of Chicago, who furnished the detailed drawing.
The Meaning
The seal is distinctive and most appropriate. The inscription (“henos estin chreia,”) is Greek and means “One Thing Is Needful,” the words of Christ spoken to Martha at that first Bethany. The “One Thing Needful” is the Gospel of the crucified Savior, expressed by the cross upon which the inscription is placed. For Bethany Lutheran College we thereby wish to declare that there is no true education, even as there is no salvation, without the Gospel of Christ, Son of God and Savior of the world from sin. That Gospel is, and must remain, the heart and soul of every educational effort at our beloved institution. The cross is encircled by a star with twelve points, upon which are shown rays of light extending from the cross. As the twelve apostles were commissioned to be bearers of the light from the cross, so the goal of our training at Bethany must not be our own advancement, but the spread of the Gospel.
Logo
The Bethany Lutheran College logo reflects the institution’s continuing commitment to the cross of Christ as the central foundation for learning. The logo was designed and adopted in 2024.
Mascot and school colors
With its strong Norwegian heritage, the Viking was a clear choice for the Bethany Lutheran College mascot.
Bethany’s athletic colors are red, white, and black.
The Bethany Song
High amid the trees you stand,
Bethany, O guide of youth,
Pointing up with kindly hand,
Filling heart and mind with truth.
When we leave your sheltered side,
May we all your hopes fulfill;
May your lessons e’er abide,
May your hand point upward still.
To Bethany we sing!
Bethany Song (Chapel Recording)
Past Presidents
Since its founding in 1927, Bethany Lutheran College has had ten presidents. The current president is Gene Pfeifer, who was inaugurated in 2015.
Dan R. Bruss
BLC President, 2003- 2015
Biography
Dan R. Bruss Ph.D. was the ninth president of Bethany Lutheran College (BLC). An alumnus of BLC (’73), he returned to lead his alma mater in January 2003 and served until June 2015.
Dr. Bruss attended Bethany Lutheran College where he received an associate in arts degree. He went on to earn his bachelor of arts in biology from Augsburg College (Minneapolis, Minn.) and a master of arts degree in chemistry from Minnesota State University, Mankato (Mankato, Minn.). Dr. Bruss earned a doctorate of philosophy in chemistry from Montana State University (Bozeman, Mont.). He began his academic career as an instructor at Bethany Lutheran College serving from 1975-1981.
Prior to his Bethany presidency, Dr. Bruss taught for twelve years (1990-2002) at Central College (Pella, Iowa). During this time, Dr. Bruss moved his way through the academic ranks earning the title of full professor. While at Central, he held a variety of leadership roles and was the faculty coordinator for the renovation and expansion of the Vermeer Science Center. He was twice the recipient of the Central College “Outstanding Performance Award for Institutional Service” and was also recognized with the “Huffman Award for Outstanding Support of International Education.” Dr. Bruss was also an assistant professor of chemistry at Albany College of Pharmacy (Albany, New York) from 1985-1990, where he earned the “Distinguished Teacher of the Year” award in 1989.
Dr. Bruss successfully combined a teaching career with research and was involved in a number of research projects including work with Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Sterling Drug, Inc. He has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed academic journals. Dr. Bruss successfully authored or co-authored grant proposals that garnered a combined half-million dollars in awards for Albany College of Pharmacy and Central College.
A supporter of community and state initiatives, Dr. Bruss has served as a member of the Greater Mankato Area United Way Executive Board of Directors, the Board of Directors for the Southern Minnesota Advocates, and as an Executive Committee Board Member of the Minnesota Private College Council.
A native of Franklin, Wisconsin, Dr. Bruss and his wife Kathy, who is also a graduate of Bethany Lutheran College, are the parents of two grown children. The Bruss’ are ardent proponents for international education and have participated in many international study trips and programs. Kathy is the study abroad coordinator for Bethany Lutheran College: She held a similar position at Central College. The Bruss’ are members of Mount Olive Lutheran Church (Evangelical Lutheran Synod) in Mankato. In their spare time, the couple enjoys gardening, biking, and traveling.
2015 Retirement Celebration Video
Marvin G. Meyer
BLC President, 1982-2002
Biography
Prof. Norman Holte
BLC President, 1978-1982
Biography
Holte received a call from the Bethany Lutheran College Board of Regents in August 1978 to serve as the first lay president in the school’s history. Holte had been a member of the Bethany faculty for 30 years prior to his presidency.
Rev. Theodore A. Aaberg
BLC Interim President, 1977-1978
Biography
Aaberg was the president of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary when he was asked to serve as acting president of the college after Raymond Branstad stepped down. Aaberg served until March 1978 when a health complication prohibited him from continuing.
Rev. Raymond Branstad
BLC President, 1970-1977
Biography
Branstad was serving as pastor of King of Grace Lutheran Church in Golden Valley, Minnesota when he was called to serve as president of Bethany. Branstad took this post on July 1, 1970 and served until August 1976. Branstad has also been a member of the college’s Board of Regents.
Rev. Dr. Bjarne Wollan Teigen
BLC President, 1950-1970
Biography
Teigen became president of the institution in 1950. He served in the capacity of president for 20 years before moving back into the classroom in 1970 and continued to teach until his retirement. He was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Rev. Dr. Sigurd Christian Ylvisaker
BLC President, 1930-1950
Biography
Ylvisaker became the institution’s third president in 1930. He held a doctorate from the University of Leipzig, Germany, and taught at Concordia College, St. Paul, and Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, prior to coming to Bethany. He served as president until 1950.
Rev. Walter E. Buszin
BLC Interim President, 1929-1930
Biography
Buszin was also an ordained minister and a faculty member in the music department at Bethany. He served one academic year (1929-30) as interim president.
Rev. Holden Olsen
BLC President, 1927-1929
Biography
Olsen had been president of Bethany Ladies College, an institution owned and operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association. The all-girls school was on the brink of folding when the Norwegian Synod purchased it in 1927. President Olsen served as the first president of the newly formed co-educational college. Olsen was president for the academic years 1927-28 and 1928-29.