Bethel College to Dedicate Auditorium
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOfficials from Bethel College and the South Bend-based Kelly Cares Foundation will Thursday dedicate the new Paqui and Brian Kelly Auditorium on the Mishawaka campus. The auditorium, which is the largest lecture hall at the college, recently underwent renovations thanks to a gift from the Notre Dame football coach’s foundation.
The renovations included updated seating, lighting, flooring, new paint, a remodeled stage, and a larger backstage and storage area. The facility is also now ADA compliant.
The auditorium is located next to the college’s School of Nursing in the Middleton Hall of Science. Bethel College says the auditorium will be primarily used as a classroom space for large nursing and science lectures, and secondarily for theatre and music productions. It will also serve as overflow for the college’s chapel and vespers services.
"Education and healthcare are issues that are very important to us personally and are critical pillars of our mission at the Kelly Cares Foundation. Being able to support the new nursing school [facility] at Bethel College is the perfect alignment of interests and we are very pleased to have this opportunity," the foundation said in a news release. "The Bethel nursing program is a great community asset. And this wonderful new facility will serve the next generation of healthcare providers well."
The Kelly Cares Foundation was founded by Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelley and his wife Paqui in 2008. Bethel says the Kellys’ investment will continue to advance the success of the college’s science programs.