| 50th_anniversary_of_the_bethel_wuppertal_exchange_program.pdf |
Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, ca. 1951
To see the entire booklet, 33 pages, click the PDF file above. Below, a few excerpts.
In the Fall of 1951 Bethel College welcomed the first participant in what has become a truly unique exchange program between Bethel College and the Bergische Universität-Gesamthochschule Wuppertal (BUGH). In the intervening fifty years 151 students have participated in this exchange program and thereby gained a better understanding of themselves and another culture, while becoming fluent in their new language. As a part of the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of the Bethel/Wuppertal exchange program, this booklet containing words of welcome, brief history, personal essays, and photographs has been compiled. The historical segment, written by Erna Fast, a Bethel alumae, who was instrumental in establishing the exchange program, originally appeared in a booklet published for a 1994 Fall Fest Bethel/Wuppertal Exchange gathering. She has graciously offered it for inclusion in this booklet as well.
Bethel College, North Newton, KS, Welcoming students from around the world, especially Wuppertal, Germany.
WELCOME
We are delighted to welcome alumni and friends of the Bethel College/Wuppertal Exchange program for the celebration of the 50 year anniversary of the program. It is only a small measure of the profound personal significance of the exchange program that so many have returned from near and far to join in observing this milestone. As I have visited with Wuppertal alumni on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in the last six years, I have been impressed again and again with how these persons treasure the deep friendships, the changes in world views, the challenges to thinking and believing that arose from the experience of living and studying in Wuppertal or North Newton.
This program has left its mark on hundreds of students. But it has left its mark on our college as well. International study-exchange programs were rare in 1951. That Bethel College and the then “Pädagogische Hochschule” created this program speaks to the firm conviction that serious encounter and exchange among persons of different cultures and nationalities is essential to real education. That conviction has continued and grown at Bethel College in a variety of formats and programs, but the Wuppertal program was and is the prototype. We celebrate this remarkable program, its inspiration, its history and the mark it has left on the scores of people who have through it immersed themselves in growth and learning.
Dr. Douglas Penner
President of Bethel College
This program has left its mark on hundreds of students. But it has left its mark on our college as well. International study-exchange programs were rare in 1951. That Bethel College and the then “Pädagogische Hochschule” created this program speaks to the firm conviction that serious encounter and exchange among persons of different cultures and nationalities is essential to real education. That conviction has continued and grown at Bethel College in a variety of formats and programs, but the Wuppertal program was and is the prototype. We celebrate this remarkable program, its inspiration, its history and the mark it has left on the scores of people who have through it immersed themselves in growth and learning.
Dr. Douglas Penner
President of Bethel College
Administrative Building, Bethel College, North Newton, KS.
Since my arrival at Bethel College in 1985, I have been associated with the Bethel/Wuppertal Exchange program. In reflecting on the 50thanniversary of this program, I am reminded how much such an exchange program can be compared to a person. Like an individual, the program has experienced and survived occasional hardships, developed a network of friends, taken its place in educating students and broadening their world view, matured and taken on its own personality. Within the educational framework of Bethel College, the Bethel/Wuppertal Exchange program has given participants the opportunity for total immersion in a foreign culture and for developing proficiency in a foreign language, invaluable experiences in a liberal arts education, especially for language majors. Such a long-standing and affordable exchange program, the envy of many other language departments, deserves both the recognition that comes with its 50th anniversary and the continued support of Bethel College and the Bergische Universität-Gesamthochschule Wuppertal.
Over the years I have appreciated the opportunity to interact with the students from Germany, to meet older participants in Wuppertal and to see the students from both institutions develop during their year in Wuppertal or in North Newton. I cherish the friendships that I have made through this program. In more recent years a group of the German participants founded the Förderverein, an offically registered organization dedicated to supporting Bethel College in a variety of ways and currently chaired by Christiane Renger. Thank you to each of you who are members of the Förderverein for looking after the Bethel students studying in Wuppertal and making their experience in Germany even more beneficial. I would like to personally thank Professor Uwe Multhaup, my colleague in Wuppertal for his support and guidance of the program in Wuppertal, especially since he has handed over responsibility of the program to his colleague, Professor Bettina Hofmann. On behalf of the Language Department I welcome all participants of the program to this celebration and thank you for your personal contribution in giving this program life, direction, and character.
Dr. Merle Schlabaugh
Professor of German & Editor of this booklet to celebrate 50 years of the Wuppertal-Bethel exchange program.
Over the years I have appreciated the opportunity to interact with the students from Germany, to meet older participants in Wuppertal and to see the students from both institutions develop during their year in Wuppertal or in North Newton. I cherish the friendships that I have made through this program. In more recent years a group of the German participants founded the Förderverein, an offically registered organization dedicated to supporting Bethel College in a variety of ways and currently chaired by Christiane Renger. Thank you to each of you who are members of the Förderverein for looking after the Bethel students studying in Wuppertal and making their experience in Germany even more beneficial. I would like to personally thank Professor Uwe Multhaup, my colleague in Wuppertal for his support and guidance of the program in Wuppertal, especially since he has handed over responsibility of the program to his colleague, Professor Bettina Hofmann. On behalf of the Language Department I welcome all participants of the program to this celebration and thank you for your personal contribution in giving this program life, direction, and character.
Dr. Merle Schlabaugh
Professor of German & Editor of this booklet to celebrate 50 years of the Wuppertal-Bethel exchange program.
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