A half-million dollar gift will allow Bethany College in Lindsborg to revitalize its campus.

According to the school, the Dean Coughenour Trust committee designated a generous $500,000 gift to Bethany College to fund the west end campus revitalization project and other infrastructure initiatives as identified by the 2022-2027 campus master plan.

Dean Coughenour owned and operated AgPress Inc. in Manhattan, KS from 1958-1986. He was a practical man — generous to his family, employees, and community. A direct communicator who, according to his daughter, Susan Coughenour Lundstrom ‘78, “he was not flashy, but saw value in the necessary and would have been drawn to a project like this.” The west end campus revitalization project will include paving the gravel parking lot, providing proper drainage and landscaping to the west end of the Bethany College campus.

Dean began his philanthropic gifts to Bethany College in the early 1980s shortly after Susan’s graduation and continued giving annually until his passing in 2012. He had developed a relationship with the Advancement Team of Stan Talbott and Kenny Sjogren who embodied the Bethany College core value of community.

Dean’s original motivation to give to Bethany College was in appreciation of the education that Susan, and her “Swedeheart”, Greg Lundstom ’77 received. The Dean Coughenour Trust Committee is pleased to continue this relationship with Bethany College.