We are grateful to Registry Member Steven Eckman for taking the time to share insights into his role as Interim President of Bethany College. It is great to hear that he has been able to help the college move forward from the pandemic and he has set up the role for the incoming president. Well done!

"My time at Bethany College was an eye-opening experience for me. The faith-based tradition was different than most of my career was used to, but I found the people who work for and support this place to be supportive and genuinely concerned for the health and well-being of the school. I have also never experienced the close, symbiotic, relationship of the Lindsborg community and the College. Many of the citizens and leadership of Lindsborg attended Bethany and supported its operation and its heritage. Bethany's mascot is the Swede, based on the fact that the founders of the school immigrated from Sweden in the late 1800s and established both the town and the College. The Swedish heritage is still predominant in the community (Lindsborg is often referred to as "little Sweden"). The College has struggled since the COVID pandemic but appears to be making progress with phenomenal alumni and donor support. I have enjoyed great support from the Board, faculty and staff while here. The new president arrives on May 1, and it has been my role to make her presidency anticipated and successful. Congratulations to Dr. Laura Crawley on her appointment as the next President of Bethany College."