Search Committee
Richard Felix, Ph.D.
Chairman of Search Committee
Denver, Colo.
Richard Felix, Ph.D., is president emeritus at Azusa Pacific University in California and former president of Friends University in Kansas. He has been a longtime member of the Young Presidents Organization, and in 2004, Felix was appointed as the president and chief executive officer for the United Christian College Fund. Also in 2004, The Tyndale House published his book, “The School of Dying Graces.” He holds a doctorate degree from the University of Notre Dame, a post doctorate certificate from Harvard University School of Business and several honorary degrees, including one from Bethel College.
William C. Gates
Mishawaka, Ind.
William C. Gates worked for Gates Toyota for more than 30 years before retiring as the company’s president in 2009. Under his direction, the dealership received the Toyota President's Award seven times; this is the highest award a Toyota dealership can achieve for customer satisfaction in sales and service. Currently, Gates serves as a board member with LifeWorks, a South Bend ministry serving area college students, and as a board member of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, a ministry to college students. In the past, he has served as chair of the South Bend Alumni Association, chair for Trinity Evangelical Free Church in South Bend and a board member for the Maranatha Bible and Missionary Conference in Muskegon, Mich. Gates holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Miami University.
Dawn Goellner
Granger, Ind.
Dawn Goellner serves as the Director of Bethel’s Masters of Business Administration program and is an Associate Professor. She earned an M.B.A from Syracuse University and a Master of Arts from the University of Nebraska. She has considerable experience teaching English, marketing, and management, and has represented U.S. business abroad as an attaché in Mexico and Venezuela.
Brian L. Hamil
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Brian L. Hamil is the managing partner of Hamil, Lehman and England, P.C, a certified public accounting firm in Fort Wayne, Ind., that specializes in business consulting/strategic planning, financial reporting, and tax compliance and planning. Hamil serves as the national chair of biomedical services for the American Red Cross and as a member of the audit committee for the Fort Wayne Zoological Society. He previously served on the board of directors for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). Hamil is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), and holds a Bachelor in Accounting and a Bachelor in Business Administration from Bethel College and a Master in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.
William A. Hossler
Fort Wayne, Ind.
The Rev. William A. Hossler is the president of the Missionary Church. He has served as a pastor for more than 30 years, spending most of that time at Colonial Woods Missionary Church in Port Huron, Mich., where he founded counseling, radio, television and publishing ministries. The author of two books, Hossler was also named Alumni of the Year at Bethel in 1985, and served as president of the Alumni Association. In 1998, he became district superintendent of the East Central District of the Missionary Church, and three years later, Hossler stepped into his current position. Other recent accomplishments include helping to start an online pastoral training program, restructure the denomination and create a five year vision plan. Hossler holds a Bachelor of Arts in bible and ministry, a Master of Ministry and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Bethel College.
Randall Lehman
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Randall Lehman is a wealth management advisor associated with Northwestern Mutual, a company that works with individuals and businesses to determine and monitor their needs for future financial security and to develop appropriate solutions. Lehman is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Fort Wayne Estate Planning Council. He has earned the professional designations of Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Accredited Estate Planner (AEP). Lehman is active in his church, The Chapel, in Fort Wayne, and a supporter of the Vera Bradley Foundation. He is a 1982 graduate of Bethel College.
Elizabeth McLaughlin
Granger, Ind.
With a rather eclectic educational and professional background, Elizabeth McLaughlin has a B.S. in English and Speech Communication from Taylor University, a Master of Ministries from Bethel College, and PhD in Communication Studies from Regent University. McLaughlin has a broad background in advertising and public relations serving in several local not-for-profits and local agencies as public relations director, account executive and copywriter. She was an owner and partner in a local advertising agency for five years. She is married to Donald McLaughlin, and they have two daughters, Kaitlin and Holly and one Lutheran cat.
Robby Prenkert
Elkhart, Ind.
Robby Prenkert holds ministerial credentials with the North Central District of the Missionary Church and is a lifelong attendee and member of churches within the denomination. He holds a B.A. in English from Bethel (’92), an M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College Graduate School (’94), and a D.Litt. from Drew University, where he wrote a dissertation called “The Wonder of Mentors Never Met: A Memoir of a Reading Life: Part I” (‘07). At Bethel, Robby is the Chair of the Committee on the Humanities, which provides oversight for the new (2009) Humanities major and double major. He enjoys reading and discussing the world’s greatest stories with students.
Chris Scott
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Christopher Copan Scott ('15) is a philosophy major who was born and raised in Miami, Florida. When he was a junior in high school, a job loss left Scott's mother unable to pay for his schooling or their home. It wasn't long before she faced foreclosure and asked Scott to leave. Instead of letting his circumstances get him down, Scott used them as an opportunity to learn. He began pouring himself into the study of philosophy. At church, he connected with a philosophy professor, who took him in as a son. This professor connected him to Bethel and Professor of Philosophy Chad Meister, PhD. Scott is a member of the BUILD honors program, the Billy Kirk Leadership program, and is also the Student Body President at Bethel College. “Bethel affords me the academic and spiritual flourishing that I need at this time of my life,” Scott says.
Dr. Jerry Thacker
Mishawaka, Ind.
Jerry Thacker graduated from Bethel College in 1972 with a B.A. in education; earned his M.S. in 1975, his Ed.D., in 1987, and completed the executive program on negotiation at Harvard Law. Thacker has dedicated his life to public education with the goal of encouraging student academic success. He was recently named the 2012 Indiana Superintendent of the Year for his work in the Penn Harris Madison School Corporation. Under Thacker’s leadership, the P-H-M Corporation has been rated as an “A” district by the state of Indiana (2010), it’s schools have been recognized as “Indiana Four Star Schools” (2011), and has received “National Blue Ribbon Schools” recognition and honorable mention in the “American School Board Journal” (2012).
