Wuppertal Exchange Program
75th Anniversary
This year the Bethel-Wuppertal Exchange Program will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in both Wuppertal and North Newton.
One specific event in Germany will be celebrated on June 4th at 6 p.m. in the CityKirche in Elberfeld, Wuppertal, with a concert featuring the Bethel College Choir and the University Vokalensemble.
The celebration at Bethel will take place during the annual Fall Fest weekend with several events occurring on October 16-18, 2026.
Contact persons in Germany are Professor Bettina Hofmann and Alexander Fröhlich.
The Bethel contact persons are Professor Mark Jantzen and Professor Emeritus Merle Schlabaugh.
More information will be forthcoming in the future weeks and months. We hope that as many alums as possible of this unique exchange program will be able to participate in this milestone celebration.
History of the Program
When it began in 1951, the program was affiliated with the Pädagogische-Hochschule in Wuppertal, which later became the Bergische Universität. Over 150 students have gained firsthand experience in a different culture, built lifelong friendships, and developed language proficiency as they completed academic work at a foreign university.
The exchange program is administered by Daniel Quinlin, Professor of Languages, and Bettina Hofmann, a member of the English faculty in Wuppertal. Anyone desiring more information on the program should contact Professor Quinlin.
Friends of Bethel in Germany
Förderverein der Freunde des Bethel Colleges
In recent years, German participants in the program and Bethel alumni in Germany founded the Förderverein der Freunde des Bethel Colleges (Friends of Bethel in Germany), to fellowship and especially support Bethel students studying in Wuppertal.
Anniversary celebrations have taken place in 1966, 1976 and 2001 to commemorate the program. Special 15th-, 25th- and 50th-anniversary documents record these observances and the program’s history.