Directory

Dr. Jonathan (Jon) C. Gering became the 15th president of Bethel College on Jan. 29, 2018. He is a passionate and vocal advocate for higher education, a life-long academic, and a leader of innovative practices.

President Gering was raised on a dryland wheat farm in eastern Washington near the small town of Ritzville. “Growing up on a farm taught me about seasonality and timing, the value of ‘character-building’ work, and the importance of community,” Gering said. “I was close to the land and its living organisms, which fostered an interest in biology.”

The son of two Bethel alumni, Gering transferred to Bethel College after a year at Walla Walla (Wash.) Community College. He graduated cum laude in 1994 with a B.A. in biology. Gering worked with Dwight Platt, professor (now emeritus) of biology, on his senior thesis project, which focused on the status of amphibian populations in Harvey County, Kan.

The research was a formative experience for Gering. “I learned about expertise and mastery in my disciplines, about what it meant to be a professional, and about the historical arc of my discipline,” he said. “Research teaches character. I learned how to cope with failure and success, how to deal with criticism, and what it meant to have intellectual ownership of an idea. Ethics matter in research as they do in life.”

Gering earned his graduate degrees (M.S., Ph.D.) in ecology from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. “At Bethel, I became interested in the question of why there are so many species on Earth,” he said. “I wanted to provide an answer to the grand ecological and evolutionary question about global species diversity.”

Gering’s master’s thesis quantified the migratory and resident landbird communities in the forests on Andros Island, Bahamas. His research spurned an interest in Caribbean ecology and cultures. He has visited and led trips to numerous Caribbean countries, especially Belize (formerly British Honduras). Gering’s dissertation research on the arboreal (tree-dwelling) beetle communities in deciduous forests of Ohio and Indiana examined what aspects of the environment most strongly influenced the number of beetle species in the tree crowns. His work was published in leading scientific journals such as Conservation Biology and Ecology Letters.

Immediately upon graduating from Miami in 2001, Gering took a professorship in the biology department at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., the state’s only highly selective public liberal arts and sciences university. “I was very comfortable at Truman because of my experiences at Bethel and Miami,” Gering said.

At Truman, he taught numerous biology courses and mentored undergraduate and graduate students, but eventually became interested in the school’s institutional saga. “Truman started as a normal school, then became a regional state school, and finally a nationally recognized liberal arts institution. I realized that institutions need effective and committed leaders as they grow and change.”

After being promoted and tenured, Gering became the chair of biology, and eventually founding dean of the School of Science and Mathematics at Truman. During his administrative tenure, Gering facilitated the creation of a new academic program (a Statistics department and major) and curricular enhancements such as hybrid and online courses that have proven their attraction to prospective students; collaborated with Truman’s Office of Advancement to oversee completion of the Del and Norma Robison Planetarium and Multimedia Theater; and navigated the annual budgeting process during a period of fiscal readjustment at the institution. Gering was dean from 2009-16, at which time he applied for and was granted a year-long sabbatical.

Gering returned to Bethel as president in January 2018 because he wanted to lead Bethel through its own institutional saga. “By choice and intent, I have immersed myself in the culture of three exceptional liberal arts and sciences schools, one private – Bethel – and two public – Miami and Truman,” he said. “They are variations on the same theme: preparing students to live and learn in a complex world.”

Gering emphasized the individual benefit and public good of a liberal education: “In an educational context, liberal means ‘free.’ And historically it meant that the recipient was not tied to one occupation. To complete a liberal education is to be ‘careers-ready.’”

At Bethel, Gering has led the institution through a shared, open process of rewriting the mission and vision of the institution. He developed the college’s strategic plan, Knowledge is Not Enough; initiated an $18M comprehensive campaign; and started several new academic and athletic programs. The college has benefitted from five years of enrollment and endowment growth.

Gering has worked with the Chambers of Commerce, economic development boards, and K-12 leaders and business representatives (to secure funding for STEAM alliances). He produces the For the Love of College and Inside Bethel podcasts and writes a column for Bethel’s alumni magazine, Around the Green.

Gering has been married to Deborah since 1995. They have three children in high school and college.

“Transformational leadership is a necessity for most colleges and universities,” Gering said. “That process starts with creative thought about what might be possible given the culture, capacity, and resources of the institution.”