Bethel College is searching for its next president.
The oldest Mennonite college in North America is looking for a leader to carry 139 years of faith, learning and service into what comes next — on 90 acres of Kansas prairie, with a community that knows exactly who it is.
North Newton,
Kansas
Colleges Midwest,
U.S. News 2026
What the next president inherits
A summary for candidates, nominators and anyone following the search. The full position profile carries the detail.
The college
Bethel College is a four-year liberal arts college in North Newton, Kansas, affiliated with Mennonite Church USA and founded in 1887 as the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Roughly 400 students study here, and every one of them has access to The Thresher Way — academic excellence, employment experiences, faith formation, service opportunities and community experiences woven into a single undergraduate education.
The role
The president is the chief executive of the college, reporting to the Board of Directors and leading a faculty and staff of dedicated educators. The next president will steward Bethel’s academic mission, enrollment and financial health, advancement and alumni relationships, and the college’s standing across the Mennonite church, the Newton community and Kansas higher education.
Priorities for the presidency
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What the committee is looking for
- Demonstrated executive leadership, in higher education or a comparable mission-driven setting
- A record of building enrollment, philanthropic support and financial stability
- Genuine commitment to Bethel’s Anabaptist-Mennonite identity and to Mennonite Church USA
- Respect for shared governance and the work of faculty and staff
- Skill as a public advocate for the liberal arts and for the college
- An earned doctorate or terminal degree preferred
Where the search stands
The board has asked the committee to move with deliberate speed. Dates shift as the search moves; this timeline is updated as each phase closes.
Board authorizes the search
Search committee seated
Position profile published, applications open
Priority application review begins
Semifinalist interviews
Finalist campus visits
Board appoints the next president
Updates, news and press releases
Everything the committee publishes about the search, newest first.
Who is doing this work
The committee represents every part of the college. Members serve as the point of contact for candidates, nominators and the campus community.
Cynthia Doyle Perkins
Becky Bartell
Sal Lujano
Clark Oswald
Zandra Sawatzky
Jon Zerger
A college that knows what it is for
Bethel graduates students who increase human flourishing in society — owning and enacting their faith, showing compassion for the powerless, thinking critically and bringing value to the workplace. That statement is not a slogan here; it is the standard the college measures itself against.
Students work through the Employment Experience Program, compete as Threshers in the NAIA and the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, and study in an Administration Building that has stood since 1888 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972.
Learn more before you write
Common questions about the search
How do I apply?
Send a letter of interest, a curriculum vitae and the names of five professional references to presidentialsearch@bethelks.edu. Full details are in the position profile.
Is my application confidential?
Yes. Applications and nominations are held in confidence throughout the process. Candidates are told before any information is shared beyond the committee, and finalists are named publicly only if they agree to a campus visit.
Can I nominate someone else?
Please do. Send the nominee’s name, role and email address to presidentialsearch@bethelks.edu, along with a short note about why they would serve Bethel well. The committee contacts every nominee directly.
Does the president have to be Mennonite?
>>> The board’s answer goes here. This is the question candidates ask most, and a clear answer saves everyone time. <<<
How can students, faculty, staff and alumni take part?
Listening sessions, the comment form and finalist campus visits are all open to the campus community. Dates are posted in the updates feed on this page.
When will the next president start?
>>> Target start date, once the board sets it. <<<