Buildings

Nearly 40 academic, administrative, and residential buildings are located on the 1,300-acre campus. The principal academic structures are listed below.

Bethany House (1948) houses the Office of Student Life, Center for Enrollment, Department of Business and Communications and Media Arts, and the Renner Art Gallery.

Health and Wellness Center (2001) is a collaborative partnership of Bethany College and the Brooke County Health Department. It offers medical services, public health information and services, and wellness activities for the College and the community.

Commencement Hall (1872) provides the setting for convocations, concerts, lectures, dramatic presentations, and numerous summer weddings. During 1983-1984, the Hall was restored to its original state.

Cramblet Hall (1905) was constructed through a gift from Andrew Carnegie. Originally the library, it was remodeled in 1961 to house administrative offices. It is named in honor of two presidents of the College, Thomas E. Cramblet and his son, Wilbur Haverfield Cramblet.

Hummel Field House (1990) provides physical education facilities for men and women and is home to the College’s basketball and volleyball teams. Formerly Alumni Field House (1948), the building was extensively renovated during 1989- 1990. Adjacent to the field house are football, soccer, and softball fields, and a quarter-mile track. The Nutting Gymnasium is housed within Hummel Field House.

Judith R. Hurl Education Center (2008), formerly the Bethany Public School (1924), accommodates laboratories, offices, and classrooms for the Education and Physical Education Department. The building, a gift of Dr . Rodney Hurl, a 1952 graduate of Bethany College, was named in honor of his late wife, Judith R . Hurl.

Grace Phillips Johnson Visual Arts Center (1984) offers facilities for television, painting, sculpture, and design. The Sandra Weiss Berkman Studio for Ceramic Arts is attached to the Center. The building was formerly Irvin Gymnasium (1919).

Thomas Phillips Johnson Recreation Center (1994) includes the John J. Knight Natatorium, Sandwen Arena, racquetball courts, bodybuilding facilities, locker rooms, an indoor track, and a general-purpose floor that accommodates a number of sports, including basketball, volleyball, and tennis. This building was designed to support general recreation and intramural athletics.

Kirkpatrick Hall of Life Sciences (1999), formerly Oglebay Hall (1912), accommodates laboratories and classrooms for the Biology and Psychology departments. The building, a gift of Earl W . Oglebay of the class of 1869, was renovated and restored in 1998-1999 and renamed the Kirkpatrick Hall of Life Sciences, honoring Forrest H . Kirkpatrick of the class of 1927, long-time professor and dean of the College.

Oglebay Stables (2012) is located ten miles from the campus and serves as the home for the Equestrian Club. The Center is operated under a cooperative contract arrangement.

Old Main (1858) is the centerpiece of Bethany’s academic buildings. Its tower dominates the campus and is the chief architectural feature noted as one approaches the College. Old Main is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The building is one of the earliest examples of collegiate Gothic architecture in the United States. Old Main was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990. The Aleece Gresham Gardens were placed in front of Old Main in the summer of 1998.

T. W. Phillips Memorial Library (1959), part of the Mary Cutlip Center for Library and Information Technology Services, serves as the hub of academic information services, providing campus with access to books, periodicals, newspapers, media, and a variety of learning tools including online databases and technology resources. The library also houses a substantial number of Archival and Special Collections which exist to preserve rare and specialized materials. The two largest are The Center for Campbell Studies which contains materials related to Bethany’s founder and first President Alexander Campbell and The Upper Ohio Valley Collection which is focused on resources related to the nine counties in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio which surround Bethany. The Library is also home to an extensive children’s and young adult collection located in the Grace Ryland and William Henry Robinson Children’s Library.

Richardson Hall of Science (1964) provides facilities for the chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics programs; two computer labs; and the Math Science Community Learning Center. It is named for Robert Richardson, Bethany’s first science professor.

David and Irene Steinman Fine Arts Center (1969) provides facilities for music and theatre. A fully equipped theatre occupies the central portion of the building. Teaching studios, studio-classrooms, rehearsal rooms, costume construction facilities, a general rehearsal room for the larger vocal and instrumental groups, and individual practice rooms support instruction in music and theatre.