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• Mycah Westhoff, a first-year freshman and soprano vocalist from Newton, took first place in both the Freshman Women's Classical and Music Theater (Underclass) competitions at the annual meeting of the West Central Region of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Nov. 5-6 at Fort Hays State University. Eleven Bethel students competed and six, including Westhoff, advanced to the semi-final round.


• Bethel is the only Kansas private college to be ranked in the Forbes.com listing of America's Best Colleges 2011.


• Bethel is the only Kansas college to rank in the top 12 nationally of liberal arts colleges that surpass predicted graduation rates, according to the April 2011 Postsecondary Education Opportunity, a research letter that serves U.S. public policy makers in the field of education.


• Bethel had the only NAIA golf team from Kansas to make the Golf Coaches Association of America "President's Special Recognition" academic honors list, and one of only two in the region (along with Oklahoma Christian College, Oklahoma City) to do so.


• Bethel College's nursing program has expanded to serve practicing nurses with registered nurse (RN) status who want to earn a bachelor's degree in nursing. The Higher Learning Commission, Bethel's accrediting body, on July 29 informed Bethel President Perry D. White of its approval of the college's application for accreditation of an online RN-to-BSN program, to open in 2012. (The RN-to-BSN program has been in the catalog for some time but not as an online option(.


• Bethel is one of only three Kansas colleges listed in Colleges of Distinction 2011-12.


• Bethel is the highest-ranking Kansas college in the top tier of U.S. News & World Report's Best Midwest Regional Colleges category for 2011-12.


• Bethel College has earned the Champions of Character Five Star Institution Award from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for 2010-11. This was the second straight year Bethel received the honor, along with 219 other colleges and universities and 23 athletic conferences.


• Bethel is the highest-ranking Kansas college in the Liberal Arts Colleges category of Washington Monthly's annual college guide for 2011-12.


• This fall at the annual meeting of the Kansas Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, Rodney Frey '67, Bethel College registrar since 1991, received KACRAO's highest honor, the Laura Cross Distinguished Service Award, which goes to individuals who have served in an enrollment management position for a substantial portion of their careers and have made significant contributions to KACRAO.

Pictured above: This summer, Bethel College's Sand Creek Trail was designated a National Recreation Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior. A National Recreation Trail must be nominated through application by its managing agency or organization and must meet the requirements of "connecting people to local resources and improving their quality of life." The NRT Program supports designated trails with benefits that include promotion, technical assistance, networking and access to funding. In the photo above are, from left, Jake Goering '41, a member of the Sand Creek Trail Committee, Richard Rempel '63, SCT manager, and David Kreider '82, SCT Committee chair.