Presidents of Bethel College

Cornelius H. Wedel (1860-1910)

Cornelius Heinrich Wedel was born in South Russia and in 1874 migrated with his family to what is now Goessel, Kan. From 1876 to 1880, Wedel taught school in that community, and in 1881, he answered the call to do mission work in Darlington, Okla. However, he left that work the following year due to eye troubles.

Wedel attended McKendry College, Lebanon, Ill., and Bloomfield Theological Seminary, N.J. In 1890, he took a position at the Halstead (Kan.) School, teaching there for three years. He continued his studies, though, at Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pa., receiving an M.A. degree.

When Bethel College opened in 1893, he became the first president as well as the professor of Bible, a position he held until his death in 1910. ¹

Jacob H. Langenwalter (1877-1965)

President of Bethel College 1910-1911 and 1921-1924

John W. Kliewer (1869-1938)

John Walter Kliewer, born in a German Mennonite community in Russian Poland, migrated to Kansas with his family in 1874. Kliewer went to high school in Newton and then continued his education at Halstead Seminary. After teaching a few years, he attended Bethel College and Garrett Biblical Institute, from which he received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1901.

Bethel College called on him to become president in 1911; he resigned the post in 1920, but was called on again to become president of the college in 1925, serving until 1932. In 1925, both Garrett Biblical Institute and Bluffton College gave him honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees. Kliewer presided over Bethel at a transitional time in the college’s history. ²

John E. Hartzler (1879-1963)

John Ellsworth Hartzler grew up in Cass County, Mo. He received a B.A. from Goshen (Ind.) College, a B.D. from Union Theological Seminary, New York, an M.A. from the University of Chicago, a law degree from Hamilton College of Law, and a Ph.D. from Hartford Theological Seminary.

Before coming to Bethel College, Hartzler served as pastor of Prairie Street Mennonite Church, Elkhart, Ind., and dean and president of Goshen College. He became a professor of Bible at Bethel in 1918 and served as president from 1920 to 1921. When the Witmarsum Theological Seminary opened in 1921 at Bluffton (Ohio) College, Hartzler took the position of president.

In 1936, he joined the faculty at Hartford Theological Seminary, serving there for 11 years. ³

Edmund G. Kaufman (1891-1980)

Edmund G. Kaufman grew up near Moundridge, Kan. He earned an A.B. from Bethel College, an A.M. from Witmarsum Seminary, Bluffton, Ohio, a B.D. from Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, Ill., and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

From 1917 to 1925, Kaufman served as a missionary in China, working as superintendent of the Mennonite Mission School in Kai Chow.

Kaufman became president of Bethel College in 1932 in the middle of the economic depression. During his tenure, he led financial drives, a building program and helped revise the curriculum. In 1938, the college became accredited through the North Central Association. Before he left office in 1952, Kaufman saw the development of the Mennonite Library and Archives and the acquisition of the Kaufman Museum.

“His commanding presence on campus was expressed in chapel services, in his required senior course in Basic Christian Convictions, and in his rigorous attention to the details of college activities.” ⁴

David C. Wedel (1908-2009)

David C. Wedel, originally from Goessel, Kan., was a student at the Bethel Academy in the mid-1920s and graduated from Bethel College in 1933. From 1936 to 1946, he pastored First Mennonite Church in Halstead.

Upon the invitation of President E.G. Kaufman, Wedel served one year as acting dean of Bethel while the current dean was on sabbatical. After that, he went on to get his doctorate in Christian education from Iliff School of Theology, Denver, Colo. In 1952, he took over the presidency of Bethel College, serving in that capacity until 1959.⁵

J. Winfield Fretz (1910-2005)

Joseph Winfield Fretz graduated from Bluffton (Ohio) College. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Divinity at Chicago Theological Seminary and then M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from the University of Chicago.

Fretz taught sociology at Bethel College from 1942 to 1963, serving as Bethel’s interim president from 1959-1960. He left Bethel in 1963 to become the founding President of Conrad Grebel College, Waterloo, Ontario. After serving in that position for 10 years, Fretz stepped down to teach sociology at the college, which he continued until he retired in 1979. Upon retiring, he moved to North Newton. ⁶

Vernon Neufeld (1920-2008)

Vernon Neufeld was born in Shafter, Calif., and raised on the family farm. After high school, he spent several years on the farm before deciding to pursue a college education. Neufeld graduated from Bethel College in 1949 with a B.A. in music. He continued his studies at Mennonite Biblical Seminary, receiving a divinity degree in 1954. In 1955, he moved to New Jersey so that he could carry on his studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, earning a masters and doctoral degrees, in 1957 and 1960.

Neufeld began teaching in the Bethel College Department of Bible and Religion in 1959, and after teaching only one year, he accepted the position of president, serving from 1960-1966. During his presidency, the Fine Arts Center was planned and constructed. Also, he played a significant role in the beginning stages of the Associated Colleges of Central Kansas (ACCK).

Following his tenure, Neufeld returned to California to work as executive director for Mennonite Mental Health Services; he later retired and moved to Bakersfield. ⁷

Orville L. Voth (1924-2008)

Orville L. Voth was born in Rosthern, Saskatchewan. He grew up a "campus kid" since his father, John Voth, was on the Bethel faculty and taught Bible and industrial arts from 1925-46. Voth graduated from Newton High School but was forced to take a break from his studies at Bethel College when he was drafted into Civilian Public Service in 1943. He served in Fort Collins, Colo., and Kalamazoo, Mich.

After graduating from Bethel in 1948, he continued his education at Oklahoma State University, receiving an M.S. in chemistry with a minor in physiology. He then went on to earn his Ph.D. in biochemistry with minors in bacteriology and organic chemistry from Pennsylvania State University.

Voth began his teaching career at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. He served as interim academic dean at Bethel College and then as president from 1967-71 before returning to Kansas Wesleyan as vice president of academic affairs. He ended his career as director of independent study at the University of Kansas. ⁸

Harold J. Schultz (1932- )

President of Bethel College 1971-1991

John E. Zehr

President of Bethel College 1991-1995

Douglas A. Penner

President of Bethel College 1995-2002

E. LaVerne Epp

President of Bethel College 2002-2005

John K. Sheriff

Interim President of Bethel College 2005-2006 and 2009-2010

Barry C. Bartel

Barry C. Bartel grew up in La Junta, Colo. He graduated summa cum laude from Bethel College in 1984 with majors in mathematics (computer science emphasis), peace studies and Bible and religion.

Since graduation he and his wife, Brenda, have served under Mennonite Central Committee for three years in Haiti and five years with Bolivia. Bartel also graduated from Willamette University College of Law, Salem, Ore. He worked as an attorney in Denver, Colo. before taking the position as President of Bethel College in 2006, serving through 2009.

Perry D. White

President of Bethel College 2010-