Keva Bethel

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

Early life Bethel was born Keva Marie Eldon on 18 August 1935 in Nassau, Bahamas 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 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.

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 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 degrees to an institution fully-accredited to confer Bachelor's degrees 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. 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. In 2012, the University of The Bahamas renamed the university administration building as the "Keva M. Bethel Building" in honor of her advocacy for the Bahamian government to invest in national education.