Bethel College at Mishawaka

Bethel College opened in Mishawaka, Indiana, in autumn 1947, realizing a longstanding Mennonite Brethren in Christ ambition for higher education. Daniel Brenneman had urged creation of a training institute in 1893, and J. A. Huffman later championed a Christian liberal arts college and proposed the name Bethel. Church approval came in 1944, followed by purchase of the Mishawaka property in 1946. Woodrow I. Goodman became the first president.

The institution developed arts and sciences alongside preparation for ministry and Christian service. Teacher education began in 1955, and regional accreditation followed in 1971. Its sponsoring tradition became part of the Missionary Church. On May 6, 2019, Bethel College became Bethel University. The location is essential to identifying this chart annotation: it concerns the Indiana institution, rather than Bethel College at North Newton, Kansas, or other universities that share the Bethel name.