SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 49

(By Senators Ferns, Yost, Kessler, Leonhardt and Stollings)

Recognizing Bethany College on the 175th anniversary of its charter.

            Whereas, Bethany College, located at Bethany, Ohio County, was chartered by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a four-year liberal arts college on March 2, 1840, and was recognized as a college by the new State of West Virginia in 1863, and is therefore, the oldest college in the State of West Virginia; and

            Whereas, Alexander Campbell, one of the principal founders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States established Bethany College for the “Instruction of youth in the various branches of science and literature; the useful arts and foreign languages” and while Bethany College is affiliated with the Christian Church, the church exercises no sectarian control on the college; and 

            Whereas, Bethany College has provided its students with an excellent education to prepare them for service in a myriad of careers including the law, (Thomas Buergenthal, retired International Court of Justice, the Hague) medicine (Dr. John Niederhuber, chief executive officer, Inova Translational Medicine Institute), community service, (Dr. Arthur B. Keys Jr., former CEO International relief and Development) as well as broadcasters Dave Sims (Seattle Mariners), Faith Daniels and Bob Orr among many others; and 

            Whereas, Bethany College has benefitted from talented faculty members including Amos Emerson Dolbear, American physicist and inventor, who, while serving on the faculty at Bethany College in 1868, invented the electric static telephone, but even before that, had invented the first permanent magnet and metallic diaphragm for the telephone receiver. He was not sophisticated in the U. S. patent laws and lost out on the invention of the telephone to Alexander Graham Bell, even though his invention predated Bell’s by 11 years. However, Marconi had to purchase Dolbear’s patent to market his radio in the U. S.; and

            Whereas, Bethany College has benefitted from excellent lay leaders through the years, including U. S. President James A. Garfield, who served on the Bethany College board of trustees from 1866 until 1881, and was serving as a BC trustee at the time of his assassination. President Garfield was lieutenant in the Union Army and a staunch advocate for civil rights after the war and although he only served a few months in office, he appointed several former slaves including Frederick Douglass to prominent government positions; and

            Whereas, In addition to President Garfield, four other U. S. presidents have visited the Bethany College campus including John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford. In addition, from 1840, when Alexander Campbell served as the first president of the college, only 19 individuals have served as president with Scott D. Miller, Ph. D., now serving in that position. Among the 19 presidents, the late, Governor Cecil Underwood served as Bethany College’s 13th president and served from 1972-1975; and

            Whereas, Bethany College admitted female students in 1877 and has continued its commitment to provide a quality liberal arts education to students from 28 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and nine countries; therefore, be it

            Resolved by the Senate:

            That the Senate hereby recognizes Bethany College on the 175th anniversary of its charter; and, be it

            Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the appropriate officials of Bethany College.