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.[3][4]
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.
In 1981, Bethel completed her PhD at the University of Alberta[3][4] 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.[2][5]
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.[6] She served as president through 1998, when she retired.[2]
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.[4]
The College of the Bahamas became the University of the Bahamas in 2016.
Bethel died from ovarian cancer on 15 February 2011 in Nassau, eight days after her brother.[7][4] She is remembered for her contributions to the development of education in the Bahamas and particularly to the University of the Bahamas.[8]
