Keva Marie Bethel, CMG (18 August 1935 – 15 February 2011) was a Bahamian educator and the first president of the

College of the Bahamas The University of The Bahamas (UB) is the national public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas with campuses throughout the archipelago. The main campus is located in the capital city of Nassau, on the island of New ...

Early life

Bethel was born Keva Marie Eldon on 18 August 1935 in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

to Rowena (née Hill) and Sidney Eldon. She attended Queen's College in Nassau, graduating in 1950. In 1954, she enrolled at Kirby Lodge School in Little Shelford, in preparation for the Cambridge examinations. After two years of study, she entered

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

studying languages, with a specialisation in French and Spanish, graduating in 1959.

Career

Government High School

Eldon returned to Nassau in 1959 and began teaching at Government High School. She completed her master's degree in 1963 and, in 1966, she was appointed Deputy Headmistress of Government High School and began involvement in the planning phases for the establishment of the

College of the Bahamas

In 1975, when the College was launched, she transferred there as the first Chair of the Humanities Department. Later she served as academic dean, and vice-principal.

President of the College

In 1981, Bethel completed her PhD at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

and, the following year, was appointed as Principal of the College of the Bahamas, leading the organisation for the next sixteen years. During her tenure, she worked to change the curricula from offering

Associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

s to an institution fully-accredited to confer

Bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Neo-Latin, Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and university, universities upon completion of a course of study lasting ...

and pressed for the reorganisation of the college into a university. When the College was reorganised in 1995, she became the inaugural president and that same year was made a companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

. She served as president through 1998, when she retired.

Retirement

After her retirement, Bethel began writing a book chronicling the history of education in the Bahamas, which was unfinished when she died. During this time, she also served on the National Advisory Council in Education and Government Student Loan Programme. The College of the Bahamas became the University of the Bahamas in 2016.

Personal life

In 1962, she married E. Clement Bethel and the couple had two children, Nicolette and Edward. Her only sibling was Bishop Michael Eldon, first Bishop of Nassau.

Death and legacy

Bethel died from ovarian cancer on 15 February 2011 in Nassau, eight days after her brother. She is remembered for her contributions to the development of education in the Bahamas and particularly to the University of the Bahamas.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethel, Keva 1935 births 2011 deaths People from Nassau, Bahamas Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Bahamian educators Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George University of Alberta alumni Women school principals and headteachers