THE
OF DORDT UNIVERSITY
Faculty and students look to bring about a bit of restoration.
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How is Dordt staying true to The Task?
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FALL
2019
FROM THE PRESIDENT
PUTTING OUR WORLDVIEW TO WORK IN ALL SEASONS In 2020, Dordt University will invite all presidential candidates—Republican or Democrat—to campus. None are likely to be met with enthusiasm by everyone. Yet, we believe it is good to take advantage of our unusual standing as an early voting state to allow students, alumni, and the broader community who wish to participate meaningfully and up-close in the political process. Sifting through and weighing how a candidate’s views and policies best measure up to our understandings of what it means to act as a citizen is an important part of living a life of Christian obedience. As I wrote in my open letter about the political season in 2016, “Our goal is to have Dordt students graduate with a commitment to be politically active and biblically obedient, which I believe can only be achieved by having first-hand access to candidates.”
a text or other resource in our library or in a course does not imply that Dordt endorses the ideas or actions of the authors; instead, Dordt librarians and professors guide students to think biblically about issues they encounter. We believe students should listen and respond to people who see the world from different perspectives. This helps students to learn not only how to meaningfully engage with people they disagree with but also to sharpen their own understanding and beliefs. If we isolate our students from those we or they might disagree with or from those whose beliefs about specific issues make us uncomfortable, we will have poorly prepared our students for living as Christ-followers in today’s world.
and a commitment to the Reformed confessions. Our mission statement, “As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life,” captures this commitment. I am convinced that Dordt lives out that mission by making it possible for our students and community to actively engage the beliefs and ideas of the people who are shaping our world so that they become better able to apply, articulate, and own where they stand and what they believe. I’ve served as president for seven years, and I wake up every day thinking about how to make this mission statement real
Taking this approach is not without tension…But as an institution committed to a Christian, Reformed perspective that holds Scripture high and uses a redemptive-historical method to read and apply God’s Word, we need to understand how such people shape us and our world.
Bringing in speakers has always been part of Dordt’s mission to educate and equip students for service in Christ’s kingdom. Throughout our history, Dordt has had speakers as diverse as Jesse Jackson, George Bush, Donald Trump, Chaim Potok, Marilynne Robinson, and Shane Claiborne address audiences from the B.J. Haan Auditorium stage.
There are other instances on campus where students encounter different perspectives. In the classroom, professors take up difficult topics not because they endorse what is covered but because they want to equip students to engage with topics from a Christ-centered perspective. The Hulst Library at Dordt offers access to materials that provide a broad range of ideas and points of view. Including
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Taking this approach is not without tension. We will not always agree with the writers and thinkers, Christian and non-Christian, who are shaping our world. But as an institution committed to a Christian, Reformed perspective that holds Scripture high and uses a redemptive-historical method to read and apply God’s Word, we need to understand how such people shape us and our world.
and alive in every activity of the college and in the lives of each of our students. We want the young people we educate to love the Lord with their hearts, souls, minds, and strengths—and to love their neighbors as themselves in a culture seemingly less able or willing to do so in the public square today. In these events, as in all things, we are trying to live out our motto: Soli Deo Gloria—“To God Alone Be All the Glory”!
Dordt’s Educational Task and Framework, hiring processes, and oversight and support of faculty are rooted in the centrality of Scripture, the championing of a Christian worldview,
DR. ERIK HOEKSTRA, PRESIDENT
OF DORDT UNIVERSITY
FALL 2019 VOLUME 65 | ISSUE 1 The Voice, an outreach of Dordt University, is sent to you as alumni and friends of Christian higher education. The Voice is published three times each year to share information about the programs, activities, and people at Dordt. www.dordt.edu (712) 722-6000 Send address corrections and correspondence to voice@dordt.edu or VOICE, Dordt University, 700 7th Street NE, Sioux Center, Iowa 51250-1606
Contributors Sarah Moss ('10), editor and writer sarah.moss@dordt.edu Jamin Ver Velde ('99), designer and creative director Sally Jongsma, contributing editor Kate Henreckson, contributing writer Lydia Marcus ('17), contributing writer Kirbee Nykamp ('08), contributing writer Anneke Wind ('19), contributing writer James Calvin Schaap ('70), contributing writer Mike Byker ('92), contributing writer
DIFFERENT, BUT THE SAME T
his year, my best friends from college came back to Dordt for Defender Days. With their babies in tow, we walked around and talked about how much campus had changed since we’d graduated almost 10 years ago. Back when we were students, girls lived in East Hall. There was a road through the center of campus, from West Hall to Covenant Hall. Pine trees lined the path from Southview Apartments to the B.J. Haan Auditorium. Now, with the Science and Technology Center, the skywalk, the new nursing and theatre arts additions, campus looks much different than when we were students.
In some ways, Dordt feels like a more impressive place than when we attended. For example, Dordt has been named number one in student engagement in the nation for four years in a row by the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education. Dordt is now known as “Dordt University,” and campus has been transformed.
Still, some things haven’t changed. One afternoon during Defender Days, my friends and I ate lunch at the Grille, like we had when we were students. We recalled the professors who challenged us in a good way. We reminisced about the friends we made and the ways our faith had grown while we were Dordt students. And we talked about the everyday things—the books we were reading, the trips we hoped to take someday, the work we were doing. My Dordt friends and I picked right up where we left off, as if it hadn’t been years since we’d last seen each other.
FROM THE EDITOR
THE
That’s what we loved most about attending Dordt–the ways we were challenged and changed, whether through lifelong friendships, by our coursework, or in our faith life. Nearly 10 years may have passed since we were students, but we’re still grateful for how our experience at Dordt shaped our lives.
SARAH MOSS ('10), EDITOR
Adri Van Groningen ('18), photographer Ella Rynders ('19), photographer Retasya Badudu ('20), photographer Brandon Huisman ('10), vice president for enrollment and marketing brandon.huisman@dordt.edu
Our Mission As an institution of higher education committed to a Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life.
On the Cover On move-in day in late August, the football team welcomed incoming freshmen, transfer, returning, and Pro-Tech students by helping them move into the dorms and apartments. Photo by Bethany Van Voorst.
IN THIS ISSUE 4
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Students problemsolve and get stuck on Math 291.
Administration and faculty talk about what it means to stay true to The Educational Task of Dordt University.
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David Temte, a junior who passed away in June, had a big heart and a vibrant spirit.
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An engineering professor seeks to broaden the STEM identity.
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Dordt's summer research projects work on bringing about a bit of restoration.
Monique Lieuwen ('10) helps others experience how God is at work in the world.
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Khamko Baccam passed away in 1990, but his memory lives on.
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“There will be times this semester when you will get stuck, and that is okay. What is not okay, however, is giving up.” Read through the fall syllabus of Dr. Tom Clark’s Math 291 course, and you might be inspired to take the problem-solving seminar. Problem-solving, explains Clark, is at the heart of doing mathematics. No matter the type of problem, Clark wants his students to sharpen their mathematical problem-solving skills, develop perseverance when it comes to problem-solving, and practice creativity.
SARAH MOSS ('10)
NEWS
GETTING STUCK ON MATH 291
“You have to be okay with that feeling of being stuck. What do you do when you get stuck? You either quit or persist. I hope students get to experience both the getting stuck and the persisting because that feels good—and to believe that they are capable of solving hard problems,” says Clark. Every Monday at 3:15 p.m., 18 students cluster in groups around work tables. Clark introduces the class to a topic and spends about 15 minutes collaborating with the students on a problem. Then, the class breaks into groups so they can get to the business of doing mathematics. Clark moves between groups, giving hints and pushing students to think. “Mathematics is not a spectator sport. In this class we really want students to experience doing mathematics,” says Clark. “They can read problems, try, fail, solve some, ask questions. It’s their turn to be in the driver's seat.” To Michael Vander Wal, a computer science major, one of the key concepts Clark has taught in Math 291 is that problems cannot be solved if you don’t give them a chance. “There have been several times when I have looked at a problem and immediately thought, ‘Oh, this is way too complicated for me—I’ll just skip it and go to the next one,’” says Vander Wal. “But in most cases, when I actually try to solve the problem, I can either simplify it or find enough patterns to where I understand what is going on and can eventually solve it. When a problem is too complex, you try to at least do what you know you can, and then go from there.”
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“I want students to realize that problems worth doing are not done in five minutes,” says Dr. Tom Clark. “There are no ‘exercises’ in the real world—only hard problems worth solving.”
Group work is an important element of Math 291, says Clark, because a group can generate more ideas and provide more diversity of background information. “A good group can really work together to leverage a variety of strengths and solve things together,” he says. “Maybe one person sees a geometric angle to a problem, then someone else does the calculus, and someone else figures out what the problem is really asking.” Zach Bussard, an engineering major, has appreciated the group work. “In the working world, more often than not you have to work with other people to solve a problem,” says Bussard. “Professor Clark has been great in allowing us the freedom to experiment with our own ideas while also providing the right amount of assistance to get us back on track when we need it.” Students appreciate Clark’s exuberance for mathematics, too.
“Professor Clark is the perfect choice for this course,” says Lucas Den Herder, a secondary education major. “He brings high energy and is genuinely excited to learn with us, often discovering the answers to problems at the same time we do.” “I love teaching, and I love helping students learn about the subject that I enjoy so much,” says Clark. “It’s fun to see students learn and to get to talk to them one by one, but it’s even better to watch them really get excited about solving a problem because it’s connected to something they’re interested in.” SARAH MOSS (’10)
NEWS
JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)
"Ryan Smit and Bob De Smith are creative, collegial people—working with them was truly enjoyable," says Dr. John MacInnis.
ALMA MATER REFRESH Taking on a new name is more involved than most people may at first realize. When Dordt College became Dordt University in May, changing the language in Dordt’s alma mater was likely not one of the first things to come to mind for most people. But Music Professors Ryan Smit and Dr. John MacInnis and English Professor Dr. Bob De Smith took on the task. The updated version stays true to the original version written by Dale Grotenhuis and Merle Meeter, and, in the end, contains only two differences: the switch from “college” to “university” and a phrase change in the second line to rhyme with the name change. “Taken together, I believe these changes bring even more focus on Christ as the author and head of our beloved university,” says Ryan Smit, instructor of music. The challenge for the professors was to determine how much of the alma mater needed to be rewritten: whether to simply change “college” to “university” or to write a whole new set of lyrics and music. They decided it was important to preserve most of the original song and began writing a series of drafts. Once
they had arrived at a version they felt confident in, they decided it would be beneficial to hear the new version sung– and who better to sing it than the Dordt Concert Choir? “The added benefit of this process was receiving feedback from the 55 students of the Concert Choir, who have a strong interest in the project because of how often they sing the alma mater each year on tour,” says Smit. The students gave their opinions and even offered some additional changes, such as replacing a semicolon with a comma and removing a verb from the second phrase of the song to preserve the original rhythm. Holly Hiemstra (‘19), a choir member and nursing major, says she was hesitant about the changes at first but was pleased with the final result. “I was worried that they were going to completely rewrite the song, and I felt it would have been a bit sad to let that piece of Dordt’s history go,” she says. She has especially treasured the tradition of having alumni join the
FIRST VERSE: OLD VERSUS NEW Old: Respond all loyal hearts to Dordt; Our Christian college we acclaim. From near and far our ranks consort, United by our Savior's name. New: Respond all loyal hearts to Dordt; Our Christian university. From near and far our ranks consort, In Christ united and made free.
choir in singing the historic song from memory at concerts. MacInnis is also pleased that the new version effectively retains Dordt’s history. “I’m glad that small changes were enough to preserve the substance of the text and tune while allowing the song to reflect this new day in the university’s development and expansion. To God be the Glory!” ANNEKE WIND (’19)
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NEWS
ADOPTED FOR LIFE
First Mondays speaker highlights the importance of adoption. KATE HENRECKSON
On Monday, September 2, Dordt University hosted “Adopted for Life,” featuring Dr. Russell Moore, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and author of Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches. The event was sponsored by Kaitlyn’s Fund, Bethany Christian Services, and Dordt University. Families from the local community gathered together for food and fellowship with a delicious picnic supper hosted by Dordt Dining Services. After supper, the children participated in activities planned by Dordt’s track team, while the adults had the opportunity to listen to Moore speak on God’s heart for adoption. In his talk, Moore described how sometimes people interested in adopting would come to him, wanting to make sure they’d done their homework, so as to avoid being hurt in the adoption process. But, as Moore pointed out, any relationship with the potential for love has potential for hurt.
KATE HENRECKSON
“The greater the love, the greater the potential for hurt,” says Moore. “There’s a sense that adoption brings in all these unknowns that parenting does not. But in reality, any kind of parenting brings with it someone who is able to be completely unpredictable. Walking into the life of a child is going to require cross-bearing, and it’s going to require a sense of family that does not see this as
More than 190 people attended the “Adopted for Life” event.
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"The gospel of Jesus Christ means our families and churches ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans close to home and around the world," writes Russell Moore in his book Adopted for Life.
provisional, but sees it as permanent and ongoing, no matter what.” “Our identity is found in Christ,” adds Moore. “The gospel ought to inform our understanding of family, and adopting and fostering families have a duty, a calling, an ability, to inform the rest of the church of the picture of the gospel found there.” A number of families at Dordt have chosen to adopt and pursue this calling. Dr. Justin Vander Werff, an engineering professor, says, “Our family’s adoption journey has helped us learn to rely on God’s love, timing, and providential care to create, build, and mold our family. God has shown us as parents how each child is uniquely molded and equipped. He calls us to nurture and encourage each of our kids in different ways, according to their individual personalities and gifts.” Dr. Spring Dahl, an associate professor of agriculture, and her husband, Kyle, have adopted five children. “Adoption has meant following God’s lead down a wonderful, challenging, unexpected path, filled with sleepless nights, big morning hugs and beautiful smiles, daily trials, and unexpected blessings,”
says Dahl. “Proverbs says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.’ For us, that has meant recognizing God’s direction through it all, and grasping for his hand along the journey.” Moore described how adoption is a picture of our life as children of God. “If we understand what’s really taking place in adoption, we understand what it means to be in Christ. The apostle Paul is saying that Jews and Gentiles are together—we’ve come together by the spirit of adoption, and we are all children of God.” Aaron Baart, Dordt’s dean of chapel, has five children: two biological and three adopted. “Adoption for us has been an opportunity to live into the family God has called us to be,” Baart says. “It certainly has its challenges, but most good things do. At this point, I couldn’t even imagine what our family would look like without the biological and adoptive combination that makes up our home.” KATE HENRECKSON
NEWS
RETASYA BADUDU ('20)
During the 2019-20 academic year, Dordt will welcome 115 international students, including Canadians.
J1 VISA OPENS DOORS
Dordt is expanding its global footprint to bring to campus students, short-term and longterm scholars, and researchers looking to experience American culture in a specific context. As part of the State Department’s Exchange Visitor Program, Dordt has received authorization to invite J1 visa holders to campus. The Exchange Visitor Program encourages citizen diplomacy and allows private institutions like Dordt to invite students, scholars, and researchers to research and study on campus.
to see how American culture addresses things differently than their own culture might. The process to bring this program to Dordt began several years ago, requiring Dordt to show its current global involvement—to highlight how Dordt has had international students
“This is something Dordt has had interest in for some time,” says Adam Adams, Dordt’s director of global education. “The program gives us access to parts of the world that our students have maybe — Adam Adams, Director for Global Education never heard of; it helps break down stereotypical thoughts and ideas that we may have about other and partnerships for an extended period parts of the world. And all our students of time. Fittingly, it was approved on can learn from one another, because of May 21, 2019: about a week after Dordt the different cultural perspectives they College became Dordt University. bring on the kingdom of God.” In addition to improving their English Most students who come to the United fluency and being able to tell prospective States use an F1 visa—a degree-seeking employers that they studied in the United visa. These students must spend a year States, exchange students get involved in in the classroom before they can do Dordt’s community, says Adams. “Dordt any experiential learning outside the offers exchange students a particularly classroom. With a J1 visa, the student unique opportunity, compared to large is an exchange visitor and can stay for institutions in more urban areas, because varying lengths of time, giving them our students make friends at churches more opportunities for participating in and spend time in families’ homes, off-campus activities such as visiting experiencing rural community values.” local schools for teaching opportunities “I’ve met many friends from diverse or experiencing life on a farm. It’s a way countries,” says Sunbim Kim, an
This is something that Dordt has had an interest in for quite some time.
exchange student from South Korea studying at Dordt this fall. “I’ve learned about other cultures and perspectives. I really enjoyed WOW week; I will bring the games I learned there back to my country. I’m so happy to be at Dordt, and I have gratitude for God for giving me this wonderful opportunity.” Five students from Chongshin University in Seoul, South Korea, are spending the entire academic year studying at Dordt. Dordt is also partnering with Viaa University in Zwolle, the Netherlands, to bring three education students for the fall semester as well as three nursing students and two social work students for the spring semester. The students all have J1 visas. “This is a demonstration of Dordt’s global footprint,” says Adams. “We know that every tribe, tongue, and nation is part of the kingdom of God. So, we want to represent the diversity of the global church on our institutional campus. And now we are recognized by the U.S. government as an institution that is competent and prepared to host international guests.” Expanding Dordt’s global footprint with the J1 visa is timely, given that Dordt became known as Dordt University this year. KATE HENRECKSON
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NEWS
RUNNING THE RACE
David Temte, who passed away in June, had a big heart and a vibrant spirit. MYCAH HULST ('16)
On June 24—exactly one month after he and his 4x800 meter relay team claimed a national title at the NAIA National Track and Field Championships—junior David Temte passed away in a car accident in Montana. He and his twin brother, Benjamin, who also died in the crash, were returning to their hometown of Bloomington, Minnesota, from a twoweek road trip out west. They were 20 years old.
During the memorial, Wolf called for the Dordt community to take time to care for each other.
On September 11, the Dordt community gathered in the B.J. Haan Auditorium for a special chapel service celebrating David’s life. During the service, Nate Wolf, Dordt’s cross-country coach, spoke. Wolf recalled how, when David first transferred to Dordt and committed to running cross-country, he recognized David as more than just a running revelation. Over the 16 months David ran for Dordt’s cross-country team, David claimed many titles: All-American, a national champion, a conference champion, and a school record holder. But what mattered most to David were the connections he made with those he loved. “What I remember is David staying late after practice to talk with people as he stretched, or how he encouraged his teammates,” said Wolf in his speech. “I remember how he quietly slid over to include someone in conversation that other people had overlooked. It was his smile, his sense of humor, and how he showed his love for me and so many of you. It was the way he communicated that love for us.” On May 24, David along with fellow Dordt athletes Anthony Ghiorso, Matthew Van Eps, and Jebadiah Merkle were part of the first 4x800 relay team in Dordt’s history to earn the national title at the championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The next day, Wolf and the cross-country team stood at the top of the bleachers on
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care for others with a quick hug or an honest text. During the days leading up to his death, David had sent Snapchats and text messages to his friends telling them how much he loved them and, as Wolf said, “giving them one last message from his heart—being vulnerable one more time, being who he was one more time.”
“What I take from the 18 months that I knew David: Love more, care more, have more friends, be more vulnerable, be honest, tell people how you feel about them. If the depths of our pain over the loss of someone is only exceeded for the love we have for that person, then David was immensely loved.” Wolf said David understood what the author meant when, in Hebrews 12:1-3, he wrote about running the race with perseverance—David lived his life striving to persevere in his faith daily. “We will miss David more than words can express,” said Nate Wolf. “We are thankful we have God’s promises to hold onto and that David held onto those promises, too.”
the back stretch and watched as Van Eps sprinted down the home stretch to win the first-ever men’s individual track and field national title in the 800-meter race. “David and Anthony sprinted down the bleachers when Matthew made his way down the home stretch,” said Wolf. “They were wearing sandals, which went flying as they raced each other to see who could get to Matthew first. I remember the joy David had for that race—something he wasn’t even directly part of—and the way he was able to celebrate the success that day.” David, said Wolf, was always willing to take time out of his day to
“See your life in this world for what God says it is—it’s a race, and the prize the apostle Paul writes of is attained when we are united with Christ Jesus,” says Wolf. “David and Benjamin have run their race, and they have received their prize. I’m sorry it doesn’t lessen the depth of our grief or explain why this happened. But I am thankful we have the hope of the resurrection of the risen Christ. Our hope of seeing David and those we love that also claim Christ as savior is greater than any apology that I have for you. Claim it. Look forward to it. Let it change the way you live and the way you love and the way you express your love.” SARAH MOSS (’10)
MEMORIAL SERVICE To view the David Temte memorial chapel service, please visit https:// livestream.com/dordtwebcast/chapel/ videos/196134935.
NEWS
BROADENING THE STEM IDENTITY According to National Science Foundation (NSF) data, students who are academically talented but financially needy are the most likely to drop out of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs. JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)
With the support of an NSF grant, Dr. Manuela A.A. Ayee, an assistant professor of engineering, wants to change that narrative over the next five years. Ayee was awarded a $649,947 grant from the NSF for her project, titled “Retention of Undergraduates in STEM: Reducing Barriers to Success in Mathematics, Engineering, and Computer Science.” “Often, these students are not like the traditional STEM population—they might be female, from racial minority groups, or first-generation college students,” says Ayee. “They might feel different from the rest of the STEM population—like they don’t fit within the STEM identity. If you are already financially strapped and feel like you don’t belong, then you’re less likely to continue.” Through this project, Ayee and her Dordt colleagues hope to better understand the barriers to retaining academically talented, low-income students in STEM disciplines and develop interventions that diminish these barriers. “We will implement identity-building experiences with student cohorts, and we’ll introduce new curricular pathways that will help students easily transition from, say, a two-year program into a four-year STEM degree,” says Ayee.
Especially if students don’t have that level of support in their lives, I want Dordt to stand in the gap for them. — Dr. Manuela Ayee, engineering professor
Some of those cohort identity-building experiences will include peer mentoring, workshops, and partnerships with Sioux Center businesses such as Interstates, Link Manufacturing, Civco Radiotherapy, and Engineering Design Associates (EDA). What excites Ayee most about the grant is that Dordt will be able to award $410,000 in STEM scholarships and $10,000 for scholars to attend conferences within their discipline. “These scholarships will ease the
“We want students, after they graduate from Dordt, to successfully enter the STEM work force or to go on to graduate school,” says Dr. Manuela Ayee.
financial burden for students. It will get rid of a barrier that can cause much stress, such as how they are going to pay for tuition,” she says. Ayee has a personal reason for being passionate about the project. “I was a traditionally underrepresented student in STEM, being a woman and a racial minority,” she says. “My family were my cheerleaders and were there to encourage and support me no matter what.” Many people don’t have that type of support. Without it, some drop out of school.
“Especially if students don’t have that level of support in their lives, I want Dordt to stand in the gap for them,” says Ayee. Ayee will partner with other faculty on-campus to implement the grant, which began September 1, 2019, and ends August 31, 2024. They predict the grant will result in increased retention of first-year engineering, mathematics, and computer science majors; improved overall STEM graduation rates; continued high post-degree STEM job placement and graduate study rates; and the development of new curricular pathways into STEM four-year major programs. “This grant will help Dordt advance our task as an institution,” says Ayee. “We want to create effective kingdom citizens, and that also includes students who might be underrepresented within STEM fields.” SARAH MOSS (’10)
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NEWS
TWO NEW EXPANSIVE SPACES Two construction and remodeling projects were completed this summer on the Dordt University campus, energizing students and faculty in two departments. JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)
The theatre arts department moved into a new 12,000 square-foot building on the south side of campus, and the nursing department took over the former theatre space in the Ribbens Academic Complex. That extensively renovated area is now the Carl and Gloria Zylstra Nursing Education Center. Theatre arts now has an independent, flexible space featuring a black box theatre that seats 140 people, a spacious scene shop, and dedicated makeup and green rooms. The building also has a classroom equipped with cushioned flooring, a floor-to-ceiling collaborative whiteboard wall, and full-length mirrors. “It is amazing to act without worrying we are disrupting other departments,” says Christianna Marcy, a student. “The windows are wonderful. During our last department meeting, we watched two deer run through the prairie.” Expansive natural light in offices, classrooms, and group spaces is an upgrade that both theatre arts and nursing departments are celebrating. “I am so impressed with how well-lit and clean the lab appears each time I enter,” says Carolyn Liddle, a senior nursing major. “I enjoy having so much space to work in and being close to the rest of the campus.” The nursing program at Dordt previously included two years of coursework and
With 116 students in the program this fall, nursing is one of the Dordt's largest majors.
clinicals at St. Luke’s College of Nursing in Sioux City, a distance that curbed students’ ability to fully experience campus life. The program is now housed entirely on campus and has partnerships with more than 20 area medical facilities. Key features of the new nursing complex include an eight-bed ward with a variety of mannequins, ranging from infant to geriatric. Two high-tech simulation labs allow students to experience realistic situations in a controlled environment. “In a clinical setting, a student may
not have the opportunity to care for a patient whose heart stops,” says Melanie Wynja, instructor of nursing and simulation director. “In the simulation labs all nursing students experience this and other scenarios in a realistic and psychologically safe environment where it is okay to make mistakes and learn from them.” “One of the most exciting things is the look on the students’ faces when they realize, ‘This is for us,’” says Dr. Debbie Bomgaars, chair of the nursing department.
JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)
Both the nursing and theatre departments previously worked within limited spaces, and each department made significant contributions to the design and priorities in their new quarters. “The design will change the way we work,” Dr. Teresa Ter Haar, a theatre arts professor, says, noting that faculty and students will want to work up to the level of what the space provides. “It looks like a space where vital contemporary work is happening, and that feels exciting.” “The modern feel and the spaciousness of the building change how our program looks,” says Dr. Teresa Ter Haar. “Visitors have commented on the ‘wow’ factor of the space.”
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KIRBEE NYKAMP (’08)
DORDT CHOIR SINGS IN DORDRECHT I
n celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Synod of Dordt and the creation of the Canons of Dordt, the choir of Dordt—that is, the Dordt University Choir—ventured to the Netherlands to share the gift of music. The choir, represented by 14 current students and 29 alumni singers on this tour, gathered on Dordt’s campus on May 21 for three days of intensive rehearsal and a pre-tour concert before flying to Amsterdam on May 24. They were joined by six non-singing spouses and, of course, Director Ryan Smit. “Meshing as a choir in a short period of time was a learning curve, especially since most of the alumni had never had Professor Smit as a director before,” says Janelle Cammenga (’19). “In the end, our mutual love of making music and our concert choir traditions brought us together.” “I think I had a conversation with nearly every person on the tour, whether they were 19 or 56,” says Andrea (De Jong, ’07) Van Dyken. On May 29, the choir sang three songs at the five-hour Synod of Dordt 400th anniversary closing ceremony celebration, which was held in the Grote Kerk—“the big church”—in Dordrecht. The celebration also included performances by other professional musicians, messages from clergy, speeches from government officials, and a brief message from Dordt University President Dr. Erik Hoekstra about the role of church, family, and Christian education in faith formation. “The setting was a fascinating mix of old and new,” says Smit. “The Grote Kerk was built in the 11th century and contains a
fabulous pipe organ that is hundreds of years old. At the same time, there were TV cameras, projection screens, and a modern sound system for amplification and broadcast.” “It was an honor for our choir to be part of the event,” says Emily Borger (’16). The choir gave five additional concerts at churches in the central and southern parts of the Netherlands as well as at the Erasmus Medical Center. When they weren’t performing, the group explored Delft, Gouda, Kinderdijk, Haarlem, Bruges, and other famous cities. On most nights, after a day full of sight-seeing and singing, tour members stayed with Dutch host families, who welcomed them enthusiastically. “One of our host dads drove us to the beach at Katwijk aan Zee right after a concert, then took pictures like a proud dad when we sprinted into the ocean in full concert dress, pants rolled up to our knees,” recounts Cammenga. On June 2, the tired but happy choir made their way to Schipol Airport and flew back to the United States. “On the whole, the trip was a wonderful success,” says Smit. “It was a thrill to conduct such a fine gathering of alumni singers from the last 25 years, as well as a few current students.” “It was a choir experience like none I’ve ever had,” says Cammenga. “Getting to hear stories of Dordt throughout the years was amazing, and it really reminded me of what a special community I got to be a part of for four years at Dordt.” LYDIA MARCUS (’18)
Over the course of two decades, Professor of Language Studies Dr. Leendert van Beek translated eight small volumes of the sermons of Charles Spurgeon, a theologian, from English into Dutch. Each volume contains seven sermons, and each sermon took approximately one week to translate. Van Beek completed the translations in service to an interdenominational ministry foundation that supports intercultural church plants in large metropolitan areas in the Netherlands. Van Beek’s work was featured at a “Dordt Writes” event in September.
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“It was a thrill to conduct such a fine gathering of alumni singers from the last 25 years, as well as a few current students,” says Ryan Smit.
FACULTY NOTES
Professor of Nursing Dr. Debbie Bomgaars obtained certification as a nurse educator from the National League of Nurses. Certification implies expertise in a nursing specialty. Professor of Statistics Dr. Nathan Tintle was awarded a $353,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue research on statistical methods for analyzing human genetic data. To learn more, visit dordt.edu/news/48534. Professor of Chemistry Dr. Carl Fictorie and Professor of Biology Dr. Tony Jelsma presented posters at the annual meeting of the American Scientific Affiliation at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois on July 19-21. Jelsma’s poster was titled “The Limbic System and Christian Sanctification,” while Fictorie’s poster was titled “The Meaning of Measurement: On the Redefinition of the Fundamental Units of the Measurement.” In the spring, Professor of Engineering Dr. Kevin Timmer received the John Calvin Award, which is given annually to a Dordt faculty member who inspires students in the development of their world-and-life view.
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NEWS
FACULTY NOTES In July, Instructor of Nursing Melanie Wynja participated in the NCLEX item development panel of subject matter experts, which was held in Chicago. Wynja was selected on the basis of her clinical specialty and nursing expertise. This summer, Wynja also earned a national certification from the Society of Simulation in Healthcare, making her a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator. Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Tom Clark presented “Doing Mathematics the Wright Way” at the Association of Christians in Mathematical Sciences Conference at Indiana Wesleyan University. Clark also presented “Innovative Pathways in STEM Teacher Preparation” at the Mathematical Association of America’s MathFest in Cincinnati, Ohio; he co-organized a Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival as well. This fall, Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Melissa Lindsey and Director of Online Education Joe Bakker are leading a faculty book discussion through Small Teaching Online by Flower Darby. Eighteen faculty from a variety of disciplines have chosen to participate in the discussion. Professor of Chemistry Dr. Carl Fictorie published an article “I Wish—Thoughts from Science Education” in the July/August 2019 edition of Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought. In addition, Fictorie’s photography exhibit “The Lord Rejoices in His Work” was on display at the Campus Center Art Gallery September 25 – October 25. Professor Emeritus of Engineering Dr. Douglas De Boer presented a paper titled “God’s Grace in Weights and Measures” at the 2019 Christian Engineering Conference at Dordt in July. For the Journal of Markets and Morality, Professor of Economics Dr. Jan van Vliet wrote a review of the book Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear by Matthew Kaemingk.
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ATHLETIC TEAMS REACH SCHOLARLY MILESTONE B
eing named a scholar-team by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is noteworthy, especially since athletic team members must maintain a cumulative 3.0 grade point average (GPA) during an academic year. Having all varsity teams named scholar-teams? Historic. In July, the NAIA announced that, during the 2018-19 academic year, Dordt University had all 18 of its varsity teams earn the honor of scholar-teams—the first time in Dordt’s history that all teams have hit the mark. Ross Douma, Dordt’s athletic director, says coaches worked alongside student-athletes to help them reach their potential by connecting to on-campus resources and tutoring opportunities. “The academic success of our athletic teams is part of a collective campus effort to help each student have a positive academic experience,” says Douma. For the second year in a row, the Dordt University women’s basketball team had the highest GPA in NAIA Division II women’s basketball, with a 3.82 GPA. The football team earned the honor for the first time in school history with a 3.23 GPA, which is top among NAIA football teams. The men’s volleyball team also claimed the top NAIA GPA in the nation with a 3.56.
DORDT'S 2018-19 SCHOLAR-TEAMS SPORT/GPA/NAIA RANK Baseball: 3.25 (9th) Men’s Basketball: 3.21 (19th) Women’s Basketball: 3.82 (1st) Dance: 3.50 (8th) Men’s Cross Country: 3.50 (8th) Women’s Cross Country: 3.57 (12th) Football: 3.23 (1st) Men’s Golf: 3.36 (21st) Women’s Golf: 3.63 (15th) Men’s Indoor Track and Field: 3.40 (3rd) Women’s Indoor Track and Field: 3.66 (5th) Men’s Outdoor Track and Field: 3.40 (4th) Women’s Outdoor Track and Field: 3.66 (4th) Men’s Soccer: 3.47 (4th) Women’s Soccer: 3.67 (3rd) Softball: 3.59 (10th) Men’s Volleyball: 3.56 (1st) Women’s Volleyball: 3.61 (16th)
fit for our institution, and our coaches take academics seriously. It is because everyone is working together and has the success of our student-athletes as their goal that we can celebrate an achievement like this.”
For 10 years, the registrar’s office at Dordt has tracked athlete GPAs and compared them to the student body as a whole.
Ebby Prewitt, a senior biology major who plays on the women’s basketball team, says that time management is key when it comes to maintaining balance. She recalls a time when, wired from a game against Jamestown University, she and three teammates worked on a physiology lab report at 3 a.m. on the bus.
“Over that 10-year period, when accounting for the differences in GPA between men and women, you can’t tell an athlete from a non-athlete at Dordt by looking at the GPA,” says Jim Bos, Dordt’s registrar. “Our coaching staff recruits students who are a good
“Maintaining a balance is definitely a challenge,” says Prewitt. “I try to do my homework in-between classes during the day, and I make it a priority to relax with friends and do fun things as well as being committed to my sport and to academics.”
Professor Emerita of Music Dr. Karen De Mol served as an outside reviewer for the music department at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario.
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JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)
FACULTY NOTES
Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Tom Clark and Professor of Statistics Dr. Nathan Tintle received a $3,000 grant from the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) to support the Northwest Iowa Math Teacher’s Circle program.
“The women’s basketball team is committed to their work in the classroom and their personal development in their chosen field of study," says Bill Harmsen.
The NAIA scholar-team recognition Prewitt, who hopes to become a is the first for the football team in its physician’s assistant someday, says 11-year history. Joel Penner, Dordt’s the hard work she and her teammates head football coach, says the football put into athletics can and should be team intentionally prioritizes academic translated into working hard in the achievement alongside athletic ability. classroom. They partner with the Academic “The skill of discipline that we develop Enrichment Center, an on-campus in athletics can easily be applied to resource that provides tutoring services and helps students gain the skills they need to succeed academically. The football team also develops “academic game plans”—where players are responsible for weekly planning, accountability, tutoring appointments, and scheduling — Joel Penner, head football coach study sessions. The coaches help the players achieve their academics,” she says. “We have a goal goals. in mind, just like we would on the court, “We believe that no one rises to low and we are going to work as hard as we expectations, and this is as true on the can to achieve that goal.” field as it is for other areas of our lives,” The women’s basketball players rally says Penner. around each other not only on the Other teams have earned the scholarcourt but in the classroom as well, says team honor repeatedly, including the Prewitt. women’s and men’s cross-country “I can think of numerous times when teams, which were honored each year two or three of us had a tough anatomy since 2007-08. test right after morning workouts. “Ultimately, consistency is the key for Teammates would quiz each other good distance athletes and, I think, for during the lift and tell each other, ‘Good good students,” says Nate Wolf, Dordt’s luck, you’ll do great!’” she says. “We love cross-country coach. “The character to be known as a team that works hard traits we want to recruit are what make in all aspects of our life here on campus.” excellent students. We make this clear when we recruit student-athletes.” MIKE BYKER (’92)
We believe that no one rises to low expectations, and this is as true on the field as it is for other areas of our lives.
Director of the Pro- Tech Program Dr. Joel Sikkema was part of a panel titled “What’s ATE Doing Down on the Farm?” which took place at the 2019 High Impact Technology Exchange Conference in St. Louis in July. In June, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Planetary Science Dr. Channon Visscher participated in a month-long interdisciplinary faculty program in Oxford, United Kingdom, focused on the interaction between science and religion. While in Oxford, Visscher presented a seminar entitled “Chemistry of the Forming Moon” at the University of Oxford Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Planetary Physics Department. In August, Visscher gave a talk titled “Strategies to Advance Geoscience Understanding and Engagement in Religious Academic Institutions” at the Goldschmidt 2019 meeting in Barcelona, Spain; the abstract was co-authored by Anna Vekony, a senior biology major at Dordt. Assistant Professor of Engineering Dr. Derek Chitwood presented a talk entitled “Improvements to Ceramic Water Filters: Manufacturing Methods and New Designs” at the University of Oklahoma International Water Conference in September.
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NEWS
TRANSLATING KUYPER Until recently, many works of Abraham Kuyper, the renowned theologian, had never been translated into English. That has changed, in part due to the work of Dordt Economics Professor Dr. Jan van Vliet and the support of Dr. Rimmer de Vries. De Vries, a former chief economist and managing director of J.P. Morgan, is a passionate Kuyperian. In 2010, de Vries formed a translation team with a goal of translating 12 volumes of Kuyper’s work by 2020. Each volume would have its own editor and introductory essays on the effects of Kuyper’s thinking for our world today. The team was comprised of scholars from the J. van Vliet Netherlands, Canada, and the United States. Van Vliet was asked to serve as a translator, working on portions of the two volumes of Kuyper’s Om De Oude WereldZee, (“Around the Sea of the Ancient World"). The segment was titled On Islam. On Islam describes Kuyper’s experience as a journalist traveling through the Mediterranean Basin, studying and commenting on the cultural expressions of Islam he observed in the neighboring countries. Although he wrote from an early 20th century colonial perspective, Kuyper observed those cultures with respect, considering, among other things, how the different branches of what he called the Semitic group of families—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—might work together to stem the tide of modernism in Europe. He admired the faithfulness with which they observed prayer, pilgrimage, and giving to the poor, but he noted that they missed the element of “palingenesis”–the spiritual rebirth of repentance and faith– that is essential to Christianity. Van Vliet was born in The Hague, Netherlands, emigrated to Toronto at age five, and lived in a distinctively Dutch subculture within mainstream Canadian culture. His father, an accountant with an affinity for languages, had been a translator during World War II. Van Vliet’s mother, who spoke Dutch, encouraged
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her children to retain conversational knowledge of the language. Still, van Vliet says his fluency in conversational Dutch did not quite prepare him for translating Kuyper, given Kuyper’s tendency to use complicated, long-winded sentence structures. “I found him quite inaccessible at times, and I’m a scholar,” van Vliet says. “He writes in the prolix style of the old Puritans—if you can say something in 10 words, but there’s 100 words in the language to use, you’ll use them!” Van Vliet used his own childhood knowledge of Dutch, combined with translation tools, ancient dictionaries, and lexicons. All told, translating On Islam took van Vliet three years. In 2016, the work was finally finished and, in 2018, his translation of On Islam was launched at the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids.
“Kuyper has tremendous guideposts for us here,” says van Vliet. “We’re looking for a public theology that has foundational truth, in a world where truths are determined by one’s own personal cultural narrative. In this postmodern hour there is great opportunity for effective cultural engagement.” He believes Kuyper can provide some valuable insight for doing so. Kuyper was not perfect. “His focus on modernism, his colonial and Eurocentric frame of mind, and his concern for the danger that Islam might pose for the Dutch possession of the Indonesian islands does not endear him to people out of his time and place,” says van Vliet. Yet, in focusing so much on Islam, Kuyper was prescient with respect to speaking to today’s pluralistic reality. Kuyper’s work on Islam, van Vliet believes, provides us with a social
“From a philosophical angle, the works of Kuyper are crucial because Christian thinkers are seeking something solid in light of today’s decline of belief in moral absolutes.”
“From a philosophical angle, the works of Kuyper are crucial because Christian thinkers are seeking — Dr. Jan van Vliet, economics professor something solid in light of today’s philosophy of principled pluralism, decline of belief in moral absolutes,” says anchored in the biblical principles van Vliet. “Recognizing that science and of grace, hospitality, and embrace. progress—the central dogmas of the For Kuyper, the faithfulness of a lived modernity project—do not always move Christianity will bring about more us forward for the better, does not mean fruit—conversions to Christianity—than we abandon all. There is a better way to traditional means of evangelism. advance.” Van Vliet says Kuyper argued the same thing back in 1898. How does our worldview affect our understanding of reality or of different religions? How do we construct a social philosophy with which we can practice faithful cultural engagement from the perspective of the Scriptures?
“Kuyper’s personal curiosity regarding Islam sent him to the Mediterranean Basin in the first place. And we, for whom one of the greatest cultural and religious challenges is Islam, are benefactors of his insights.” KATE HENRECKSON
COMPASS PLANT LEAVES AND APPARENT RANDOMNESS A
n image of a compass plant leaf serves as the background of my computer. It probably looks like a generic leaf to most people, but to me it is an entire sermon. You see, I know many things about that leaf. When I look at it, my mind is filled with images of water potentials, stomata closing down in response to moisture loss, overlapping absorption spectra of carotenoids and chlorophylls, photons bumping electrons, proton gradients developing, ATP synthase turning—all these amazingly intricate details we have uncovered and done our best to describe. It inspires awe. But it does not end there. I recognize there is a vast amount of information we don’t know and arguably cannot know—there is even so much we could never predict. My human mind could never have predicted the position of each leaf vein or chloroplast, much less which carbon atoms would compose each chlorophyll, or which electron, stolen from a water molecule, would end up in which glucose molecule. Much of what is happening in this simple leaf is apparently random and seems unpredictable; yet, I know it is a compass plant leaf (Silphium laciniatum)—each leaf is always recognizable, identifiable, knowable.
models that reflect enormous amounts of collected data and amazing experiments conducted—models that make reliable predictions; models that have allowed us to do incredible things with plants. These models have allowed us to modify plant genomes, optimize their productivity, change their color, make management decisions about crops and wildflowers alike. So, in some sense, I can even say these models are true.
Plains. What appears sheer chaos at one level, becomes a predictable and recognizable form at another. This sermon has two lessons. First, just because something appears random— and maybe actually is in a very real sense—does not mean it has no purpose
An image of a compass plant leaf serves as the background of my computer. It probably looks like a generic leaf to most people, but to me it is an entire sermon.
Somehow this leaf assumed a meaningful form that is incredibly wellsuited to its environment on the Great
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or cannot be shaped into a form. It does not mean that God is not intimately engaged in working and sustaining all of it. It just means that it lies outside of my ability to truly comprehend it. Secondly, this is my conception of the leaf. My limitations are profound in understanding all that is happening in that leaf. I have wonderful, imagined
In the end, however, they are just models. When I say, “just models,” I don’t intend to diminish their accuracy, power, validity, or elegance. It is only to acknowledge that they are a reflection of something deeper. On the one hand, a reflection of a material reality—a reality that constantly pushes back against misrepresentation. On the other hand, a reflection of an infinitely imaginative creator who invites us to explore, be humbled by, and care for his ongoing creative work. These models you see don’t explain away God. They describe his regular providential work. My understanding does not dictate reality—it does not sustain reality, and it does not limit God. If that were the case, Christians worldwide should stop learning right now for fear of making God smaller and smaller. Instead, as we learn more about how the world works, we are given a deeper sense of the immensity of God’s power, his creativity, and his sovereignty.
DR. JEFF PLOEGSTRA (’99)
In All Things is a journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. We want to expand our imagination for what the Christian life—and life of the mind—can accomplish. In pursuit of this end, we will engage in conversation with diverse voices across a wide range of traditions, places, and times.
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CAMPUS KUDOS
A BIT OF RESTORATION
For the fourth year in a row, Dordt University has been ranked number one in the nation for student engagement, according to The Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education 2020 college rankings. To determine if the college effectively engages with its students, the rankings consider the number of accredited programs offered at Dordt, the level of student engagement, the opportunities for professors and students to interact, and whether students would recommend Dordt to a friend. To learn more, visit dordt.edu/news/48329.
Dordt’s campus is quiet during the summer, but it certainly doesn’t shut down. For student summer researchers, it’s home base for building on what they’ve learned in the classroom and doing collaborative research with a professor. On campus and across Sioux County, students and faculty spend their days exploring and studying a range of projects that tackle issues in the world around them.
Dordt has been ranked the third best regional university in the Midwest by the U.S. News and World Report 2020 rankings. Dordt has also tied for the second most innovative in the Midwest and the second best undergraduate teaching university. Read more at dordt. edu/news/48347.
This summer, three student-faculty research projects focused on restoring, conserving, or finding innovative solutions to challenges in Northwest Iowa’s natural ecosystem.
Dordt’s enrollment for the fall 2019 semester is 1,547, the second largest in the institution’s history. Dordt also welcomed the second largest freshmen class in 10 years. Learn more at dordt.edu/ news/48424.
“Within the realms of conservation and restoration, there are many important things that could or should be done, but we are called to make a difference where we are,” says Dr. Robbin Eppinga, a biology professor at Dordt who spent part of his summer studying silver carp in the Big Sioux River. The research projects involved small improvements, minimizing negative
Chemistry major Marcus Van Engen was awarded a travel grant from the Peptide Therapeutics Symposium in La Jolla, California, held in October.
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SARAH MOSS ('10)
Daniel Moe, a sophomore studying biology and political science, spent his summer interning for South Dakota Senator John Thune. Moe appreciated learning about the work that goes into legislating and constituent services. "Senator Thune currently serves as Majority Whip, a role that provided me a great appreciation for the work it takes to pass motions even after they have made it to the senate floor,” he says.
impacts of invasive species and restoring a small part of the natural ecosystem. “I think living faithfully as a Christian means being faithful in your part of the world—each of us doing what we can,” says Dr. Robb De Haan, an environmental studies professor who worked on Dordt’s prairie this summer. “When it comes to prairie management and thinking about conservation, we need to do our part in the small things. In the long term, that can have a big impact.” The students and faculty involved in research wanted to bring Christcentered renewal to the rivers, prairies, and fields of Sioux County—and to be witnesses to those who might be watching. “As Christians, our hope is in Jesus
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SARAH MOSS ('10)
It’s unlikely that silver carp will be eliminated from the waterways anytime soon. “That said, you don’t have to get rid of them to give the native species a chance for their populations to rebound and to survive,” says Dr. Robbin Eppinga.
Christ,” says Dr. Jeremy Hummel, an agriculture professor who researched pest management and insect diversity this summer. “Many non-Christians perceive the natural world to be their best hope, and if we Christians don’t respect creation, what kind of a witness are we providing to non-Christians? Will they be interested in learning about God?”
science major, takes the steering wheel and navigates the boat out into the muddy river. Sitting next to him on a wooden bench is Inioluwa Junaid, a
Within the realms of conservation and restoration, there are many important things that could or should be done, but we are called to make a difference where we are.
Recognizing the complexities of today’s economic, agricultural, — Dr. Robbin Eppinga, biology professor and natural resource systems, Eppinga, De recent Dordt graduate enrolled in a Haan, and Hummel and their students Ph.D. program in neuroscience at the found ways to bring a bit of restoration University of South Dakota. to Northwest Iowa. Here are glimpses into what that research entailed. Wyatt, Eppinga, and Junaid are researching silver carp—an invasive filter-feeding fish species making its JUMPING INTO SILVER CARP RESEARCH way northward from the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers into smaller rivers like Biology Professor Dr. Robbin Eppinga the Big Sioux. Silver carp eat almost 20 launches the 18-foot johnboat into the percent of their body weight every day, Big Sioux River at the Hawarden landing. weigh between 20 and 80 pounds, and Carter Wyatt, a junior environmental travel in large schools.
What’s most interesting about silver carp, though, is that they jump. “Imagine you’re out for a nice tranquil boat trip on the river, and then you’re bombarded by a hoard of Asian silver carp,” says Wyatt. “They pose a danger to boaters—they’re heavy, and if you get hit by one it can cause injuries.” Silver carp also threaten the tourism and fishing industries. “The area of most concern is the Great Lakes. When you look at the tourism and fishing industry there, the economic value is around $7 billion,” says Wyatt. “If the silver carp were to get into the Great Lakes, it would be extremely detrimental.” Silver carp also have negative effects on the Big Sioux. As an invasive species, silver carp cause problems for the native species that also feed on algae and zooplankton, altering the flow of energy in the river’s ecosystem. Silver carp consume so much food that native species often can’t keep up. As Wyatt guides the johnboat up the river, Eppinga sits in a lawn chair at the boat’s bow, directing Wyatt toward a
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creek feeding into the river. This is Finnie Creek, a spot where, on their last trip upriver, the group found a small school of silver carp. Junaid switches on the 360 GoPro camera that’s mounted on a PVC pipe—they will use the footage later to examine the fish’s jumping patterns—and pulls out a notebook. Eppinga hands a fishing net to his 13-year-old daughter, Elia, and he heads to the back of the boat. For five minutes, Wyatt revs the boat engine repeatedly; everyone in the boat holds tight. “If you catch the silver carp at the right frequency, a whole school will jump in your boat,” he says.
As Wyatt revs the engine, a dozen silver fish leap into the air and splash into the water. Junaid screams and leans toward Wyatt, while Eppinga and his daughter reach their nets as far out as they can to try to catch the fish. Eppinga bags one and scoops it into the boat’s live well. Giant fish come flying from all directions; one hits the boat’s fire extinguisher, another flops right into the boat. Eppinga tosses all of them into the live well. Over the engine, Wyatt yells, “This is awesome!” They spend 13 minutes in Pattee Creek and catch 23 silver carp. Later, when Wyatt and Junaid quantify the jump
SARAH MOSS ('10)
Their goal is to build a better trap for silver carp. In an attempt to create a species-selective trap, they are analyzing the carp’s jumping behavior in response to audio stimuli. Revving the boat engine is the first of many steps to achieve that goal; they need to find where the silver carp are, study their habitat, and try to capture one to take back to the lab.
No silver carp appear, so the team turns the boat back to the Big Sioux. They drive past Oak Grove Park and stay on the Big Sioux as it splits with the Rock River, eventually reaching Pattee Creek. Junaid checks the depth—eight feet— before Wyatt navigates the boat down the narrow, wooded creek. She flips the camera on.
frequency, they discover that, in five minutes, there were more than 700 jumps. After the fish stop jumping, Eppinga and his students test the water visibility as well as the PH, oxygen, and phytoplankton levels and then repeat the tests on the Big Sioux’s main channel. If they can replicate the carp’s preferred water conditions in the 1,000-gallon stock tank in Dordt’s engineering lab—a Experience what it’s controlled like to be part of the silver carp research. environment— Check out a 3D and get the fish video of the research to survive, they trip up the river at can test the voice.dordt.edu/ carp’s jumping online-exclusives. behavior in relation to audio stimulations.
IN 3D
“Nobody has used audio-induced jumping behavior to selectively trap fish,” says Eppinga. “Other traps use electric probes, which many species are susceptible to. But if you can selectively capture the silver carp during peak migration, you can reduce their populations and give native river species a chance.” This research project will only last four weeks during the summer, which is not enough time for Eppinga, Wyatt, and Junaid to build a better silver carp trap. Still, Eppinga has a vision for what he hopes to construct in future years: a raised flatbed pulled behind a boat that can capture and harvest silver carp when they jump into the trap. In future years, he would like to acquire a waterproof speaker that he can attach to the boat; that way, he can better track what audio stimuli the carp respond to.
Carter Wyatt enjoys fishing and wildlife, which is what initially drew him to the silver carp research. Inioluwa Junaid finds the silver carp’s jumping behavior most interesting.
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Junaid takes the helm and steers the boat down the river toward Hawarden. Wyatt spots a gray heron, and, moments later, sees an eagle soar overhead. As they ride along, Eppinga points out that they haven’t seen another human being all afternoon.
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SARAH MOSS ('10)
Dordt’s prairie benefits the local community. “Many people intentionally walk through the prairie to see what’s flowering or how tall the grasses are,” says Dr. Robb De Haan. “Giving people something to look forward to and appreciate is valuable.”
“It doesn’t seem like people love this river like Minnesotans love their lakes,” says Eppinga. “From a creation care perspective, I’d like to see more people view the Big Sioux not as a dirty place but as an interesting ecosystem with bird life and plenty of living creatures under the water’s surface, even if you can’t see them.” When asked why he thinks it’s important for Christians to be involved in conservation efforts, Wyatt points to Genesis 2:15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
“With Genesis 2:15, you can think of ‘to work it and take care of it’ as protecting and keeping or tending and gardening,” says Eppinga. “Both of those concepts fit with trying to help creation flourish—not just humans, but all of creation. Asian carp are wonderful creatures, but they
non-native species that grow there. De Haan guides the group toward the paved sidewalk that cuts through the prairie. He stops and plucks a plant with white flowers and purplish buds.
A WALK THROUGH DORDT’S PRAIRIE
“Here, take one stem and pass it on to someone else,” instructs De Haan. “Now, crush the stem between your fingers and tell me what you smell.”
It is a Tuesday evening in late June, and 12 people have gathered at the south end of the Dordt prairie to go for a prairie walk with Dr. Robb De Haan, an environmental science professor. Once or twice a summer, De Haan invites anyone from the Sioux Center community to come and explore Dordt’s prairie and learn about the native and
The group is silent for a moment. “I smell onions or chives,” says one person, and everyone else nods or murmurs in agreement.
SARAH MOSS ('10)
“As Christians, we are called to take care of creation. The Big Sioux River isn’t perfect—there’s a lot of silt, it floods often, and it has other issues,” he says. “But this silver carp research is something we can work on right now, in this moment. And I think that’s a way of being a good steward and fulfilling my calling as a Christian to be a good creation caretaker.”
should have their place. It’s likely we won’t be able to get rid of them entirely, so with our research, we want to help manage them long enough so the natural ecosystem can adapt.”
“Yes, this is wild onion. The bottom of the prairie—directly behind you—was never plowed, so there’s quite a lot of onion in here that pre-dates European settlements.” “So, it’s totally native?” asks a woman. “Yes, completely native.” “And you can cook with it?” asks another.
Wild onion is sometimes confused for wild garlic, which also grows in Dordt's prairie.
“Oh, you can, just chop it up and put it in your soup,” says De Haan. “Now, see this plant? Notice how its seeds look like pennies. It’s called field pennycress. The University of Minnesota has been working on the idea of using this as a winter crop, because it starts growing in
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the fall and finishes in the spring. During the winter, it removes nitrogen from the soil—the idea is to turn this weedy plant into a useful crop.” “It’s so pretty,” a woman says. “Does it dry well?” “Yes, but you need to hit them with some hairspray, or they’ll fall apart. The hairspray helps the seeds to hold together.” “That’s interesting—so crafty! I’ll be back to get some for my house,” jokes the woman.
Leading prairie walks to educate others about native and non-native plant species is just one way De Haan sees the restored prairie having an impact at Dordt and in the broader community. During the academic year, the introduction to environmental science, restoration ecology, agroecology, plant science, botany, and entomology classes all spend time in the 20-acre prairie, not to mention the photography classes that gravitate there. On any given day in the summer, dozens of people run, walk, bike, and skateboard through the prairie; some wander through the prayer garden perched on a little rise at the edge of the prairie, paying special attention to the nice mix of flowers and grasses along the way. “It’s been fun to see the way people in the community have embraced the prairie,” says De Haan. “When we first planted the prairie in 2007, most people in Sioux Center didn’t have an appreciation for it but, at this point, if the prairie were to disappear, I think there’d be quite an outcry. It’s something they didn’t know they were missing.” Once comprised almost entirely of prairie grass, Sioux County now has very few stretches of prairie left. De Haan believes that having the Dordt prairie available to students and the community is important for establishing a sense of place and remembering what the land used to be like. “If you live in an area where your soils have been shaped by prairie, it’s
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SARAH MOSS ('10)
De Haan smiles and guides his group to the next stop: a mulberry tree. “If you’re a prairie person, mulberries are a problem. Birds eat the berries, and then they drop the seeds wherever they perch. So, the mulberry trees spread really readily.”
Currently, Dordt’s prairie includes 90 species of grasses and wildflowers, and De Haan hopes to incorporate more. “You can never get enough prairie if you’re a prairie person.”
important to have a sense of what plants, insects, animals, and birds were part of this system. It helps to appreciate the history. Fortunately, it only takes five or six years to grow a nice prairie.” To De Haan, one of the most Reformed classes on campus is restoration ecology. In that class, De Haan and his students talk about the renewal of all things, but especially the renewal of beauty and diversity of all creation.
Dordt’s prairie looks much like a historical prairie might have looked in Northwest Iowa, but De Haan and his students must provide continued management to compensate for historical ecological processes that are no longer there. For example, bison used to roam the Great Plains and munch on prairie grass; now, De Haan and his students mow stretches of prairie to mimic the bison’s eating habits. Historically, prairies burned every five
When we first planted the prairie in 2007, most people in Sioux Center didn’t have an appreciation for it but, at this point, if the prairie were to disappear, I think there’d be quite an outcry. It’s something they didn’t know they were missing. —Dr. Robb De Haan, environmental science professor
“Having a prairie on campus is a living testimony to that concept,” says De Haan. “Not all of Sioux County should be prairie but, ideally, we should have kept the prairie and added the people, not lost the prairie. Dordt’s prairie brings back some of that beauty, and it’s an example of restoration on a small, doable scale. It’s indicative of what we can do as Christians.”
years or so; now, De Haan has eight to 10 students in his wildlife ecology class help conduct a controlled burn of a quarter of the prairie every spring. De Haan talks about the prairie parade— how, throughout the summer months, flowers bloom, hit their peak, subside, and make way for the next flower and
“The prairie has a nice mix of soils and environments; drier hilltops, hillsides, bottom areas that are wetter, slopes that face east and west. You have a variety of species in one part of the prairie that’s quite a bit different from another part of the prairie.”
at Dordt, I’ve found insects to be so fascinating,” says Hummel, an agriculture professor. “Conservative estimates say there are seven million species of insects; they’re the most diverse group of organisms on the planet. Even our simplest ecosystems are chock full of them.”
IN FULL BLOOM Check out a video of Dordt’s prairie in full bloom – visit voice.dordt.edu/ online-exclusives.
Many people who live in the Midwest assume they need to go to the mountains or the ocean to experience the beauty of God’s creation, says De Haan. He hopes that, by experiencing Dordt’s prairie, the community will realize that nature is right in their backyard. “We have a natural legacy and history in Iowa. You don’t have to go to Northern Minnesota or Yellowstone National Park to experience something beautiful.” The prairie also provides a way for Dordt and De Haan to love their neighbors.
“Growing up, my parents told me to go outside and find something new,” she says. “I’ve always had an insect collection, too. So, being curious and having that diversity mindset has helped me have the tools I need for this research project.” The insect-centric summer research project involves two parts, the first of which is pest management. They investigate parasites that feed on corn rootworm, a major pest of corn in the Midwest, and on bean leaf beetles, which can be damaging to soybean crops. “Insects have a big impact on agriculture,” says Hummel. “When insects aren’t controlled, there are considerable yield reductions in crops, which can lead to economic issues. And to control insects, we spend a lot of money on insect-resistant crops
like rootworm-resistant corn and insecticides.” Hummel says that, for every plant, there are often one or more specialized insects feeding on it. For example, corn rootworm larva feeds on corn roots, which decreases the plant’s vigor and can cause enough damage that the plant can blow over in a wind storm. When the rootworm becomes a beetle, it feeds on the corn silks and can cause significantly reduced ear size. Feeble plants and smaller ears of corn are not good for the farmer’s bottom line. But, just as there is a specialized insect for every plant, there are parasite species for every insect species. That surprised and excited Smith when she began the research. “Think of the hundreds of thousands of insect species, and there’s probably a parasite out there that specializes and targets just that bean leaf beetle. If you can weaponize or at least collect and use this one parasite, you could control an entire species and not touch anything else,” says Smith. “The parasites could serve as bio-controls—you could release the parasite into, say, a Northwest Iowa cornfield per the farmer’s request, and it could control and keep at bay those pest populations.” As part of their research, Hummel and Smith collect corn rootworm and bean leaf beetles by walking through alfalfa, corn, and soybean fields and sweeping ELLA RYNDERS ('19)
“Think about the great commandment, ‘Love God above all and your neighbor as yourself.’ It’s hard to love God and not care for what he’s made; it’s hard to love your neighbor and not be concerned about the world your neighbor experiences,” says De Haan. “Conservation work in many different forms is important for Christians, because it fits so integrally with the great commandment and the general idea of loving one’s neighbor and loving God— you can’t separate them.”
As a child in Winter Haven, Florida, Smith, now a senior agriculture and animal science major at Dordt, spent countless hours exploring nature.
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color to take over. Purple spiderwort, which blooms in the morning and closes by evening, makes an appearance; next, the purple meadow rue with its tall white clusters. The most prominent phase is the Maximilian sunflowers, towering golden blooms that turn the whole prairie yellow in September.
PEST MANAGEMENT MEETS INSECT DIVERSITY The concept of studying insects in Northwest Iowa may make some squeamish, but for Dr. Jeremy Hummel and Lilly Smith, it's the best way to spend a summer. “Ever since I took Dr. Goedhart’s entomology class when I was a student
“Creation was created not just for us to use but to give glory to God,” says Lilly Smith. “God created diversity—if you look around, you see more than one species of plant or animal.”
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ELLA RYNDERS ('19)
the crops with an insect net. They take the samples back to the lab, where they feed the insects and try to keep them alive for as long as possible. The goal is for the insects to stay alive long enough that a parasite—a nematode, fly, or wasp—emerges from them. Last year, Hummel caught 279 adult beetles and 117 beetle larva, and two endoparasitic nematodes emerged—“a low parasitism rate,” according to Hummel. This year, Hummel and Smith have caught 127 beetles. Hummel believes that, as insects develop resistance to insecticides, the agriculture industry should consider alternative options for pest management. “In the last several decades, our approach has been to spray agrochemicals first and then think of other options later,” says Hummel. “I think a better paradigm is to think about other pest management strategies first and say, ‘Agrochemicals and insecticides are a useful tool, but let’s use them at the end of a whole system of control strategies.’ We should do less fighting of creation’s organizational structure and find ways to better collaborate with it.” The second component of Hummel and Smith’s summer research is to conduct a survey of insect diversity at Oak Grove Park, specifically focusing on ground beetles, water beetles, and pollinators—insects that are indicators of ecosystem health. “Oak Grove is a little pocket of conservation surrounded by cornfields,” says Smith.
“Places like Oak Grove Park can be refuges for diversity that has largely been pushed out of our agricultural areas,” says Dr. Jeremy Hummel.
Most likely, what you’ve seen is a ground beetle. “Ground beetles are almost all predatory and beneficial, so don’t step on them,” quips Hummel. “This one family of beetles, the carabidae, are sensitive to
Christians need to consider what the word 'subdue' means within the context of Genesis 1:28. I see it as caring for and collaborating with creation, and that includes investing in creation care and valuing ecosystem diversity. — Dr. Jeremy Hummel, agriculture professor
As the Northwest Iowa prairies—places of deep insect and plant diversity—have been tilled to make way for corn, soybean, and alfalfa fields, the complex ecosystems have disappeared from the landscape. Less than one percent of the natural prairie remains in the Great Plains, which makes parks like nearby Oak Grove Park in Hawarden, Iowa, all that more important. Have you ever been on a walk and seen a black beetle skitter across your path?
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habitat changes—you can go 10 feet, and you’ll have a different community of ground beetles.” All over Oak Grove, Hummel and Smith placed 24 pitfall traps—a plastic sleeve and cup combination that has a collecting fluid at the bottom where insects expire quickly. Once a week, Hummel and Smith collect the samples and separate out the different insect species. They are creating a partial species list of what they discover, and
they are also curating some of the ground beetles into an insect display that will be used in Oak Grove’s new nature center. Ultimately, Hummel hopes to compile a field guide that Oak Grove visitors can take with them as they walk through the park’s prairie and the woodlands. Hummel grew up on a dairy farm near Lethbridge, Alberta, earned a Ph.D. in plant science, and has taught agriculture for 10 years. Having spent his entire life in and around the agriculture industry, Hummel has seen many agricultural practices work well, but just like with any other industry, he sees things that could be done better. He also thinks Christians should reconsider the way we often approach the cultural mandate given in Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” “It is important for Christians to engage in conservation efforts and in renewing natural ecosystems; God created ecosystem diversity. I think we as Christians need to consider what the word ‘subdue’ means within the context of Genesis 1:28. I see it as caring for and collaborating with creation, and that includes investing in creation care and valuing ecosystem diversity.” SARAH MOSS (’10)
JAMIN VER VELDE (’99)
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“Over the years, I’ve heard the name ‘Khamko’ many times,” says Anneke Tel. “My dad would show me old pictures and speak so highly of him. The story of Khamko’s tragic death hasn’t ever gotten easier to hear.”
KHAMKO’S LEGACY Dr. Bill Elgersma (’81) doesn’t award the Baccam Soccer Scholarship to just anyone. Elgersma, Dordt’s women’s soccer coach, looks for a leader who can shape a stronger team. When Anneke Tel, a freshman from Puyallup, Washington, inquired about Dordt last Christmas, Elgersma knew she possessed those intangibles and would be a good candidate for the scholarship.
defending and in her leadership.
“She is tenacious, fierce, technical, and a competitor,” says Elgersma. “We were short on backs, and, in December, she showed up to fill that need—seemingly out of thin air.”
“Leading by example” is what Elgersma looks for in the recipient of the Baccam Soccer Scholarship. It also reminds him why the scholarship matters so much to him. The Baccam Soccer Scholarship was established by the brother and sister-in-law of Khamko Baccam, a Dordt soccer player who died in a tragic car accident on November
When Tel came to campus to train with the team last spring, Elgersma saw that her greatest asset was her tenacity in
“It’ll take a year, like it takes for all freshmen, but she’ll lead by example, and that is infectious,” says Elgersma.
3, 1990. Elgersma, an assistant soccer coach at the time, recalls how Khamko also led by example—he was quiet and unassuming, but he delivered on the field. The other players looked up to him, and he was an instrumental part of why Dordt’s soccer team made it to the district championship game against Grand View University, which they forfeited on November 4, 1990, because of Khamko’s passing. After Elgersma alerted Tel to the scholarship, she said she would talk with
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JAMIN VER VELDE (’99)
her soccer coach and father, Art (‘92), about it. Elgersma had just pulled into his driveway after a long day of work when he received a phone call from Art Tel. “Do you know if the scholarship was named in honor of Khamko Baccam?” asked Art. “And did you know that I was in the car accident with Khamko in 1990?” No, Elgersma did not remember that Art was one of the five passengers in a car that, on the way back to Dordt from a Blades hockey game in Sioux City, careened off the road ten miles south of Sioux Center. Art Tel was one of the four passengers who walked away from the accident, while Khamko Baccam did not. Sitting in his car, Elgersma got chills. “I don’t think most people will understand the incredible unlikeliness of this: Syla and Tanya Baccam, Khamko’s brother and sister-in-law, establishing this scholarship, the award being offered for the first time last year, and this year’s recipient being a child of another passenger in that car,” says Elgersma. “Don’t tell me about coincidence.”
“Khamko was quiet, unassuming, and a tough player who delivered on the field. He was a huge part of our success at the time,” says Dr. Bill Elgersma.
“It was my parents’ hope that, coming to a new country, their son would be welleducated and live the American dream,” says Bouala. “So, Khamko worked hard.”
ABOUT THE BACCAM SCHOLARSHIP
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“We liked hanging out with our group of friends, just talking about anything and everything into the wee hours of the night,” recalls Art. “We learned a lot from one another. I very much enjoyed and cherished those moments.” By Khamko’s senior year, Bouala had graduated and moved to Kansas. In late October, she returned to Sioux Center to visit her family for a week. When she
JAMIN VER VELDE (’99)
The Baccam family fled Laos when Khamko was nine years old; they lived in Thailand for 15 months before Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Sioux LEADING BY Center sponsored the EXAMPLE family and enabled Two years ago, Syla and When she thinks them to come to the Tanya Baccam decided to of her little brother, United States. Bouala, establish the Baccam Soccer Bouala (Baccam, Khamko, Syla, and their Scholarship. Their family ’95) Lo remembers has always had a passion for other siblings began how Khamko soccer, and that is in part due attending Sioux Center to Khamko, Syla’s brother. The tried to set an Christian School, scholarship is intended to example for their where they spent attract top quality athletes who younger siblings. hours in the resource will contribute to excellence At 15 years old, room learning how to in the Dordt athletic program, Khamko started speak, read, and write specifically in the women’s working at the English. In regularly soccer program. Members of AutoDine in Sioux attending church and the athletic department select Center—rather getting to know those the recipient of the scholarship than pocketing the in the Sioux Center based on athletic ability and money he made, community, the family leadership promise. Khamko gave his came to know Jesus earnings to his Christ as their Lord and parents. He paid Savior. for his siblings’ clothing; he put himself After graduating from Western Christian through school. Khamko’s younger High School, Khamko decided to follow brother, Syla (‘99), recalls a time when he Bouala, who was working on a two-year wanted to go to Worlds of Fun in Kansas degree, and attend Dordt for a fourCity, and Khamko gave him the money year business degree. Khamko lived in so that he could go. North Hall, which is where he met Art
Tel. Art says Khamko was friends with everybody.
Being part of a team is like being part of a family, says Elgersma. “The athletes take little pieces of your heart."
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We liked hanging out with our group of friends, just talking about anything and everything into the wee hours of the night. We learned a lot from one another. I very much enjoyed and cherished those moments. — Art Tel, Dordt alumnus and Khamko's friend
got back to town, she called Khamko and asked him to stop by.
pastor, standing on their porch. He asked her to wake up her parents; he had something he needed to tell them.
“We could see Dordt’s campus from our backyard, so Khamko wasn’t far away, but he was too busy to come home because of school and soccer,” says Bouala with a chuckle.
REMEMBERING KHAMKO Soccer has always been important to Syla ('99) and Tanya (Draayer, ‘97) Baccam, just as it was important to Khamko. Syla and Tanya have encouraged their four children, Avril, Kylie, Skylar, and Tegan, to give soccer a try, and try they have. Avril, a junior in high school, is a starting center midfielder who plays for the FC Dallas Development Academy (DA). The DA is what feeds the national team, and its players are top in the nation. Last year during their inaugural year, Avril’s team won the DA national championship.
That week was a big week for Khamko, who played forward and was a captain for the soccer team. On Saturday, the Defenders would take on Grand View University in the championship game. But Khamko had rolled his ankle. After the game, Elgersma, Khamko, and Quentin Van Essen, the soccer team’s head coach, stood under the line of evergreen trees at the southside of the soccer field.
Kylie’s team and Skylar’s team both won the 2019 3v3 soccer national championship at Disney in their respective age groups. Kylie’s team
Khamko was quiet for a moment before replying, “I think it’ll be okay for tomorrow.” Elgersma left straightaway for Sioux City’s Tyson Auditorium. As head coach of the Dordt Blades, he and his hockey players had a big game against Iowa State University. He recalls how, that year, the soccer team had a tight relationship with the hockey players, so he wasn’t surprised when the auditorium was packed with Dordt students, including Khamko and other soccer players. The Blades ended up beating Iowa State for the first time in the program’s history.
returned to Disney in July 2019 to play in the World Futsal Championship where they walked away as champions. Syla and Avril were there on the sidelines, coaching Kylie’s team to victory at Disney. “Soccer just means something special to our family, especially because of Khamko,” says Tanya. Their family has found other ways to remember Khamko, too, particularly with Khamko’s jersey number, 16.
JAMIN VER VELDE (’99)
“You got any more goals in that foot?” asked Van Essen.
Syla and Avril Baccam coached Kylie to victory at the World Futsal Championship.
After the win, Art, Khamko, and three others headed back to campus. Ten miles south of Sioux Center, the vehicle lost control, went into the ditch, and rolled. Khamko was rushed to the Sioux Center Hospital, but he had already died. Bouala remembers waking up at 3 a.m. to the sound of knocking on the front door. She flipped on the light to find Reverend Don Draayer, Dordt’s campus
Syla and Tanya Baccam have a passion for Christian education and soccer. By establishing the Baccam Soccer Scholarship, they hope to build up the Dordt women’s soccer program.
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JAMIN VER VELDE (’99)
“Avril wore 19 because her team didn’t have 16, so she flipped the number upside down for Khamko,” says Tanya. “Kylie claimed number 16 in Khamko’s honor as well, and she has worn it throughout her soccer career.” In Puyallup, Washington, Art Tel has kept Khamko’s memory alive, too. He has told his children about Khamko, sometimes pulling out an old scrapbook he put together that includes pictures and stories about Khamko.
At the conclusion of the 2019 season, Bill Elgersma will retire from his position as women’s soccer coach. Elgersma has coached women’s soccer for 12 seasons; previously, he coached the men’s program for nine seasons.
“Over the years I’ve heard the name ‘Khamko’ many times,” says Anneke. “My dad has spoken so highly of him, and it’s clear to me that Khamko was someone who meant a lot to him.” When Anneke found out that the Baccam Soccer Scholarship was from Khamko’s family and that she had received it, she was in shock. “Being awarded the scholarship is both a blessing and a responsibility—a responsibility to bring honor to God, Khamko, and his family while I play the beautiful game that is soccer,” says Anneke.
“WHEN GOD CALLS YOU HOME, YOU GO HOME” After Khamko passed away in 1990, Elgersma says it felt like a black cloud hung over campus. As assistant coach, he watched his players navigate a world where one of their own was gone. Grand View offered to delay the playoff game until after the funeral, but the team opted to not play at all and instead closed the season out with Khamko’s funeral. “Nothing prepares us for death, particularly of classmates and peers,” says Elgersma, “And for many of my players on both the hockey and soccer teams, this was the first time they came to realize how short life really is and what is truly important.”
In addition to playing soccer at Dordt, Tel is majoring in elementary education.
we should talk about what happened to Khamko, and maybe the pain will be lessened for everyone,” says Bouala. Looking back at the years following Khamko’s passing, Bouala says she and her family are grateful for the support of the Dordt and Sioux Center community. “Dordt was wonderful to my family. They gave us a lot of support through a difficult time, and I think it helped strengthen my faith. At some points I have questioned why things happened the way they did, but I’ve come to accept that when the time comes for him to call you home, you go home.”
“My Dordt soccer family, both the players and their families, have left me with wonderful memories, and when the occasional email or card shows up, it’s like getting into a time machine and returning to another time and place,” says Elgersma. Looking back, he values the relationships he’s built with players. “We’ve won games, and we’ve lost. But what has always been most important is our relationship to God and each other. I doubt many could tell me our win/loss record in their time here, but my guess is they could tell me about some of their teammates and their lives. That’s the legacy of Dordt soccer.”
Art finds comfort in the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism: “He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my father in heaven.”
Was it random? If you want to call the Holy Spirit ”random,“ then fine. What are the odds of this happening? It’s not a coincidence.
Would Elgersma have thought the power of the Holy Spirit would work through a scholarship? Hardly. Still, Anneke appeared just when Elgersma was looking for someone who could lead his team by example—someone like Khamko. And it just so happened that Elgersma, the Tels, and the Baccams had all been impacted by Khamko.
— Dr. Bill Elgersma, women's soccer coach
“Was it random? If you want to call the Holy Spirit ‘random,’ then fine. What are the odds of this happening? It’s not a coincidence,” says Elgersma. “Regardless of who receives the scholarship in the years to come, no story will ever entwine the recipient with the family like this one.”
Talking about Khamko’s death is painful for Bouala. Still, she believes everything happens for a reason—including the timing of the Baccam Soccer Scholarship being awarded to Art Tel’s daughter. “Maybe God had a plan that at this time
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ELGERSMA WRAPS UP HIS COACHING CAREER
When Art thinks back to the months and years after Khamko’s passing, he remembers long conversations with professors and friends, trying to deal with the trauma of what happened. He learned to rely on God’s promises, even though it wasn’t easy to understand why what had happened did. Today, as then,
SARAH MOSS (‘10)
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JAMIN VER VELDE (’99)
TRUE TO THE TASK “The Task gives me confidence for the future of Dordt,” says President Erik Hoekstra. “Dordt is only 65 years old, so we shouldn’t get prideful, but we also need to celebrate that we have worked at keeping the purpose of Christ-centered education central to Dordt.”
The Educational Task of Dordt University TAKING ON THE TASK The Educational Task of Dordt University is an 18-page statement of purpose describing “how a Reformed confession of biblical faith impacts Christian higher education.” Students may not know much about it, but The Task is a lynchpin for a Dordt education—or, as President Erik Hoekstra says, an educational creed—a statement of beliefs that guide action. “While nearly every institution has a mission statement, very few have taken
the time to dive deeper into a document like The Task, and fewer still base such a document on Christian principles,” says Hoekstra. “Having a document like The Task provides the gravitational pull to align all our activities and efforts at Dordt in the same direction.”
“So, not in the sense that we just have on-campus Bible studies or chapel services wrapped around a traditional university but that, in a larger and deeper sense, everything here—from courses to co-curriculars—is permeated with the truth of the Gospel,” says Hoekstra.
The Task, says Hoekstra, has helped Dordt to stay in line with and is a deeper articulation of the Founders Vision—that “all the class work, all of the students’ intellectual, emotional, and imaginative activities shall be permeated with the spirit and teaching of Christianity.”
Although The Task was developed and adopted between 1979 and 1996, it was not the first document of its kind; another statement, adopted in 1961, consisted of 17 propositions to guide the development of Dordt’s educational program. A more detailed statement
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was created in 1968, titled ScripturallyOriented Higher Education. “The Task continues to be the foundation for our work at Dordt,” says Dr. Leah Zuidema, vice president for online and graduate education. “We are in a season of higher education where there are so many external changes and pressures on each institution. To stay viable and competitive, Dordt keeps innovating. Yet as we innovate, we need to maintain a strong sense of who we are. The Task clearly lays out our purpose. It provides a biblically based calling for us to pursue Christ-centered education. It defines how we work together—the ways in which we bear responsibilities and mutually submit to one another in our offices as students, faculty, staff, board, and president.” To Dr. Wayne Kobes, professor emeritus of theology, The Task provides guidelines for what Dordt believes and why. “The Task is our attempt to draw basic principles from Scripture and Reformed thought. We show that, as an institution, this is the direction we are moving, and that biblical principles undergird our beliefs,” says Kobes. “Within that, you can ask questions and debate issues, but we as an institution have a place to stand.” Having a place to stand is a bit rare these days, especially in higher education. “Many Christian universities don’t have a clear direction or are wishy-washy in what they believe,” says Kobes. “How do you prevent that from happening at Dordt? The Task helps us to stay the course.”
LIVING OUT THE TASK
Dr. Wayne Kobes says The Task is a thumbnail encapsulation of the Founders Vision, which states that “all of the students’…activities shall be permeated with the spirit and teaching of Christianity.”
and contemporary response. The hiring committees consider the personal statements just as important as a résumé, cover letter, or personal references.
Dordt. Then, after two years of teaching, faculty members respond once more to The Task, this time considering how they have developed their understanding of what it means to teach Christianly.
“I think asking faculty and staff to respond to The Task from the get-go clarifies Dordt’s identity for some. For others, it plants seeds of questions they should ask about what it means to be Reformed,” says Dr. Jeff Ploegstra, a biology professor at Dordt.
“When faculty write their two-year papers for the board of trustees, the expectation is that each person is interacting with The Task,” says Kobes.
And, even if faculty never specifically Students may not realize it, but The reference The Task in their classrooms, Educational Task of Dordt University is students are an integral part of influenced by it. the faculty and “Some view a staff experience Christian college as at Dordt. To apply having Bible study for a position at groups on campus, Dordt, faculty and going to chapel, staff must submit a or doing service personal statement projects,” says Kobes. where, in addition — Dr. Leah Zuidema, vice president for online and graduate education “But at Dordt, we to expressing their think about how religious convictions, that affects the very they interact with and comment Once hired, faculty and staff members structure, the organizational system, the on The Task and the four curricular wrestle with The Task again in New curriculum—individual classes. It’s not coordinates derived from the document: Faculty and Staff Orientation, a seminar simply that I’m teaching as a Christian—I religious orientation, creational designed to give new employees a want to think about the four coordinates structure, creational development, background for working and thriving at
To stay viable and competitive, Dordt keeps innovating. Yet as we innovate, we need to maintain a strong sense of who we are. The Task clearly lays out our purpose.
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The Task is theoretical in nature. In 1993, to make The Task more operational, Dordt’s faculty adopted The Educational Framework of Dordt University, which addresses how to apply The Task to the overall academic program. The Framework, as its preface states, “clarifies what the academic program should look like and how it should be structured to fulfill the mission of the university.” To this day, each academic department at Dordt is asked to design programs and courses that implement the goals posed under the four coordinates. “The Task is our why—why Dordt exists— and The Framework is our how—how we teach in light of our reason for existing,” says Aaron Baart, dean of chapel. In his courses, Dr. Ethan Brue, professor of engineering, uses Scripture not for devotions but for providing a weekly class outline and justification. “Scripture defines the space in which we construct the simple circuit. It does not supply the content, rather it guides and directs us to the field in which the details of engineering find their ultimate context.” If you attended Dordt, some of the terminology found in The Task might sound familiar. What about the word “sphere”—defined as “a realm of human life that has its own distinctive calling,
WHAT IS THE TASK? The Educational Task of Dordt University is broken into seven chapters: Chapter One (“Basis”): “At Dordt University, we confess that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, his infallible and authoritative revelation.” Chapter Two (“Context”): “The nature of education must be understood in the context of God’s mandate to steward the earth.”
The Education al of Dordt Unive Task rsity
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and how they come through in what I teach.”
Revised 2019
Chapter Three (“Structure”): “Participating in the educational task of Dordt University is to be understood as a calling.” Chapter Four (“Authority”): All authority is given by God and is therefore always delegated and representative.” Chapter Five (“Content”): “The central educational task of Dordt University is to provide Christian insight on an advanced level.” Chapter Six (“Implementation”): “Central to the implementation of the educational task of Dordt University is the curriculum, the basic means for sharing serviceable insight.” Chapter Seven (“Academic Freedom”): “Dordt University confesses that the source of true freedom is Jesus Christ. However, such freedom is not to be equated with Enlightenment philosophy.” It includes a glossary that defines frequently-used terms such as “cultural mandate” and “serviceable insight.” To read The Educational Task of Dordt University in its entirety, please visit dordt.edu/task.
authority, and responsibility”? That can be found in The Task. What about the notion of an “office”—that, in any social context, “certain individuals will have responsibility to care for the common good of the community”? That’s in The
Task, too. “The Task is very distinctly us—some language that’s been coined here at Dordt,” says Baart. “We like that it’s weird and different.”
JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)
Another oft-used term is “serviceable insight.” According to The Task, a Dordt education is about more than transmission of information or knowledge; it strives for transformation of the whole person. Wholly dependent on biblical wisdom, this transformation is cultivated in community and equips individuals to serve God and neighbor. “We do not pursue wisdom simply for wisdom’s sake or personal benefit,” says The Task. “Rather, we are seeking wisdom that enables us to better know, serve, and praise our Creator.” This is the definition of serviceable insight, as described in The Task’s glossary. To Brue, serviceable insight is not static. Every day as he reviews last year’s notes to prepare for his control systems course, he is challenged to put it into practice.
“For decades, Dordt faculty have been reiterating their commitment to the education that is unique at Dordt,” says Aaron Baart. “We do education differently at Dordt, and it’s because of The Task and The Framework.”
“Our educational goal of providing serviceable insight prompts me to ask, ‘How do I step into this classroom and respond to the risen Lord who turned
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to his broken church and said, ‘Feed my sheep’? What implications does this invitation to service with the backdrop of an empty tomb have for the modeling of a signal filtering system made up of operational amplifiers cascaded in series?’” Brue does not go into class with an easy answer; instead, he feels challenged to enter each day with a new context.
the notion of being office-bearers is what makes Dordt an engaging place to work and live.
alumni engagement—both in terms of legacy student enrollment and alumni giving percentages—are among the highest in the country. I think it’s a huge reason for our low faculty turnover and high student retention levels.”
“The Task describes how, at Dordt, we have five distinctive offices—board, student, faculty, staff, and president— yet we’re all similar in that we serve as office-bearers in Christ’s kingdom, rather than simply as volunteers, consumers, or employees,” says Hoekstra. “Having us
Educating, according to The Task, is the responsibility of the whole campus community, no matter what office you bear. “These students have been entrusted into our care by their parents— we’re using the Scriptures to help students realize their potential and learn how to apply it when they graduate. Their time at Dordt is formative, so that responsibility is heavy,” says Dr. Manuela A.A. Ayee (‘06), an engineering professor.
“My primary goal is not that the students have more insight into my particular field, to theoretically know how to mathematically model and predict the performance, or to simply create a circuit that functions,” he says. “My overarching goal is that all of these activities and the students—myself included— find their purpose and goal — Dr. Manuela Ayee, engineering professor in the fields of the Lord. Yes, serviceable insight relates to content, but it relates even more so all understand our work at Dordt in that to context. Before we get hung up on light makes a transformative difference exactly what sheep need to eat and how in both how and why we labor together. they should do so, we need to remember I think it’s at the heart of why The Wall that it all starts in the pasture. Sheep Street Journal has recognized Dordt as wandering around by themselves in the the top school in America for student wrong space altogether don’t get fed.” engagement over the past four years.
Having God’s sovereignty in the background reminds me that, whatever I’m seeing, God is allowing me to see—he allows us to unfold his creation daily.
Hoekstra thinks that, on a macro level,
In her research, Ayee recognizes how creation is structured and how all of creation is interconnected because God created it that way. Working on the molecular level, Ayee can’t touch, feel, or discover as much as she can deduce from experiments or computational work. “Having God’s sovereignty in the background reminds me that, whatever I’m seeing, God is allowing me to see— he allows us to unfold his creation daily,” she says.
I think it’s the main reason that Dordt’s JAMIN VER VELDE (’99)
“Something that happens in one sphere, like cells in the body, can move on and affect the rest of the body, causing disease, for example,” she says. “I see it as a breakdown of the order or structure God intended—not as a random occurrence. And, if this is a breakdown of creational structure, what can we do to move toward restoration?” Viewing belief as more than Sunday activity and recognizing God’s sovereignty over all provides an opportunity to think about what it means to be God’s disciples in all academic fields, including in research, says Dr. Abby Foreman, a social work professor at Dordt.
"I use Scripture for providing a weekly class outline and justification," says Dr. Ethan Brue.
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“If you come from a Reformed perspective and are doing research, you know that you are doing what God has called you to do, even if the word ‘Christian’ isn’t in the title of your research project,” she says. “I think that comprehensive view helps us to be confident in our research and scholarship and to think deeply about what it means to live our lives as disciples through our research.”
“This was an opportunity to put The Task in the hands of the next generation of faculty to shape it and own it at a deeper level,” says Baart. “Our mandate was to refresh the language—we were not supposed to rewrite the document. Everyone loved the vision; the content was not up for grabs. We had to maintain the meaning but use language that was a better fit for today.” “The goal was to make the principles more understandable to a wider Christian audience,” says Foreman, a committee member.
ADRI VAN GRONINGEN ('18)
Three years ago, Kobes, Baart, and a committee of faculty and staff worked to refresh the language of The Task.
refresh. Foreman believes the revised version is more readable without losing the integrity and conviction of the original version. And she thinks that the willingness to work through the long process demonstrates how much the mission and task of Dordt means to its employees.
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REFRESHING THE TASK
In a role where I am responsible to lead change on an ongoing basis, I find the stability and flexibility called for in The Task to be essential for decision-making. — Dr. Leah Zuidema, vice president for online and graduate education
To do that, the committee rephrased certain words or phrases that may have been difficult for some to understand and provided a glossary of frequentlyused terms like “office” and “serviceable insight.” “You might think that refreshing or changing a few words wouldn’t take much time, but it did,” jokes Foreman. The Task took nearly three years to
GATHERING EXTENSIVE INPUT In addition to committee meetings where faculty and staff made line-item edits, Baart and Kobes met frequently to rework drafts of The Task. They brought in retired faculty, including Dr. John Van Dyk and Dr. Calvin Jongsma, to speak to the context of when the original document had been written. Baart and Kobes held open forums where faculty and staff could respond; they built time into faculty workshops where faculty could provide suggestions on how to update the language. The committee wrestled with words and phrases—for example, with regard to the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:28, they asked whether the translation should say “subdue the earth” or “nurture the earth.”
“If we took out a sentence, the faculty wanted us to say why we took it out,” says Foreman. “They wanted to be careful that nothing was watered down or lost.” “People care,” says Ploegstra. “They care about Dordt’s identity, and they want the college to thrive and do its task well.” “The Task is our theology and philosophy of education—it’s our worldview; it’s what we believe we are trying to instill in every student that comes to Dordt,” says Baart. “It’s a longer version of the mission statement—it explains who we are, why we do what we do, and why that matters.”
Dr. Leah Zuidema leads innovative initiatives around campus. During Defender Days, she spoke at the dedication of the Carl and Gloria Zylstra Nursing Education Center.
endures is that we live in response to our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord–in anything and everything that students learn, whether in class, in co-curricular activities, in residence life, or in campus ministries. What changes is that each new generation of students faces new cultural challenges and opportunities. The Task holds us responsible to shape learning experiences in anticipation of what our graduates will need in order to live faithfully for Christ.” One of Zuidema’s favorite passages from Chapter 6 of The Task speaks to this:
In the 2020 U.S. News and World Report college rankings, Dordt tied for second most innovative school in the Midwest. With programs like Pro-Tech and stateof-the-art facilities like the Carl and Gloria Zylstra Nursing Education Center, Dordt leaders try to think outside of the box regarding higher education. The Educational Task of Dordt University helps them do so by providing a unique take on how a Reformed confession of biblical faith impacts Christian education.
“Dordt provides insight into crucial challenges and opportunities facing contemporary culture. Living in a global community, we continually encounter issues that require discernment and thoughtful engagement. Dordt implements a curriculum sufficiently flexible to address these challenges and opportunities as they arise. In our study of history and contemporary problems through a Reformed perspective, Dordt instills the ability to discern the spirits and to engage in redemptive transformation of cultural activity.”
“As we innovate, The Task gives us guidance about what needs to stay the same and what can—and should—change,” says Zuidema. “What
“In a role where I am responsible to lead change on an ongoing basis, I find the stability and flexibility called for in The Task to be essential for decision-making,”
STAYING TRUE TO THE TASK
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Lydia Marcus (’18) and Ashley Huizinga (‘18) presented a poster at the annual meeting of the American Scientific Affiliation at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois on July 19-21. Their post was titled “Breast Cancer Epidemiology: A Case Study in Using Science for Social Justice.” This summer, Aaron Van Beek (‘18) was recognized as an Iowan of the Day at the 2019 Iowa State Fair. Van Beek, a third-grade teacher at Kinsey Elementary School in Sioux Center, is the president and director of the Midwest Honor Flight, an organization that “provides veterans with honor, respect, and closure with an allexpense-paid trip to our nation’s capital.” Van Beek was one of 10 Iowans to receive the Iowan of the Day honor, which recognizes individuals for their volunteer efforts.
Cora Okkema (’16) is working on a master’s degree at the competitive Livestock Behavior and Welfare Program at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Through this program, Okkema has the opportunity to study under Dr. Temple Grandin, a world-renowned expert in animal science and an autism spokesperson. Evan Westra (‘11) was selected as a 2019 CFE Media and Technology Engineering Leader Under 40. Westra, who works as a lead project engineer at Interstates in Sioux Center, has worked on projects in many industries such as flour and feed milling, oil seed processing, meat processing, and grain elevators. The award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the success of their companies and to the control and plant engineering professions.
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JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)
ALUMNI NOTES
Campus artwork displays the biblical story of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
says Zuidema. “These principles are at the heart of developing the 2020-25 strategic plan; they are essential as we plan new online and graduate programs. I’m thankful for the foresight that the original authors had in writing The Task and for the in-depth conversations that were so crucial as our committee worked together to refresh The Task.” “Staying true to The Task means keeping the biblical narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration central to education at Dordt,” says Hoekstra. “I believe that the core of sin is when humans put themselves at the center of the story—rather than Christ. It’s what we read about when original sin crept into the Garden of Eden—it’s what happened throughout the people of Israel’s time. It’s also what has caused the loss of vision for formerly Christian colleges and universities like Harvard and many others.” “The Educational Task of Dordt University reminds to us to remain grounded in God’s call for Dordt,” Hoekstra adds. “While we need to keep innovating and growing as an institution—adding programs and improving delivery options—we need to test it all in light of The Task and continually ask ourselves whether we’re remaining faithful to God’s revelation to us in Scripture and creation.” SARAH MOSS (’10)
WHAT ARE THE FOUR COORDINATES? The four coordinates guide the application of The Task within the curriculum. The four coordinates are: Religious orientation: “Who owns the cosmos and who owns your heart?” Students need to know where they and others stand, acknowledging that the whole world belongs to God. Creational structure: “How do things hold together?” Students need to understand that God made the world as a structured interconnected whole, obedient and subject to his laws. Creational development: “How do things unfold?” Students need to know how our world became what it is now and that everything they do affects the world for good or for evil. Contemporary response: “How are we called to respond?” Students need to translate what they learn into thoughts and deeds that will enable them to live and work in the world as Christ’s disciples. To learn more, please see page 13 of The Educational Task of Dordt University.
JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)
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2019 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD
At the Defender Nation Dinner in October, Michelle Adams spoke to more than 120 people about her work at Tesoros de Dios in Nicaragua.
MICHELLE ADAMS ('03) Director of Tesoros de Dios in Nicaragua helps children with special needs to find acceptance and get better access to educational opportunities. “Honestly, I don’t view myself as ‘distinguished’ or different than anyone else who is doing what they were called to after college, so it was hard for me to accept this award,” says Michelle Adams (’03), the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award. Adams has served the disability community in Nicaragua since she graduated from Dordt with a special education and elementary education double major in 2003. Adams’ passion for special education began as she watched her cousin, Katie, who is diagnosed with Williams Syndrome, grow up. Katie and her family faced challenges throughout her elementary school education, and they
INTERVIEWS To watch a video interview of this year's Distinguished Alumni Award and Horizon Award recipients, visit dordt.edu/alumni-awards.
were profoundly blessed by the work of ELIM Christian Services in Palos Heights, Illinois, during her high school years. When it came time to choose a college and a major, Adams says Dordt was an easy choice: Dordt offered a good special education program and a nice financial aid package. Plus, her Aunt Pam—emeritus professor of education—
and Uncle Charlie Adams—a former professor of engineering who passed away in 2017—taught at Dordt at the time. “At Dordt, I learned to be a little bolder and more willing to take a step into the unknown,” says Adams. “I remember Syd Hielema, and others, challenging us in chapel and GIFT. On one occasion, I was so positively challenged that it gave me the courage to call the pastor in Coney Island where I had been on a PLIA trip to see if they needed help for the summer. I ended up spending the summer between my junior and senior years with that church in Coney Island and learning much about ministry where life is not so easy or safe.”
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After graduation, Adams moved 3,000 miles south to Managua, Nicaragua, to help Nicaragua Christian Academy develop a program for children with special needs. As a teacher there, Adams began to dream of a school for Nicaraguan children with disabilities, one that would serve this underserved community. “Meeting with some friends about it and mapping out a vision, we named this dream school ‘Tesoros de Dios,’ which means ‘God’s Treasures,’” says Adams. “We connected the name with 2 Corinthians 4, having treasures in jars of clay. Later, this chapter had even more meaning to me as I reread the first verse, ‘Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.’” Through her work at Nicaragua Christian Academy, Adams met Lorena Mántica, the mother of one of Adams’ students who needed extra classroom support. In 2004, Mántica started a pilot horse therapy project on her horse farm. She called her center “Rahamin,” which means “Mercy of God.” Within a few months the center was serving 20 children. “Since it was a passion of mine to work with kids with disabilities, I volunteered periodically with the program and was blessed to watch it grow. More kids were involved every time I visited,” says Adams. In 2006, as her three-year contract with Nicaragua Christian Academy ended, Adams became a full-time volunteer with Rahamin.
After earning her education degree at Dordt, Adams developed a program for children with special needs at Nicaragua Christian Academy.
“There are a few institutions and therapy programs in Nicaragua offering services to children with disabilities, which were in operation many years before Tesoros de Dios came into being. Los Pipitos, for example, has various sites around the country. They are a semi-private institution that charges families for their services. There are also public hospitals with therapy programs and public special education schools located in a few of the departments
that they are not alone in the challenges they face as they raise their child. “We believe the child’s well-being depends heavily on the caregiver’s wellbeing, so we have a family counselor who provides Bible studies for moms and family members who attend, as well as counseling, if needed,” says Adams. Staff members also work with the families to create an individualized plan for each child and then work together towards reaching established goals.
By God’s grace, I have seen a definite shift in the perception of disability in Nicaragua, particularly in Managua.
“Families find another home and family in Tesoros de Dios; they learn principles “I decided to volunteer and values for life, discipline full-time with Rahamin and the need for consistency — Michelle Adams, Distinguished Alumni Award recipient as a step of faith to help in therapy, and trust. They children with disabilities in know they can go to staff Nicaragua,” says Adams. “I did not know with questions or concerns and receive across Nicaragua. There are, however, what would come of it, or if this dream the support they need. We accompany not nearly enough programs to meet school ‘Tesoros de Dios’ might eventually families—sometimes even to the end the need, and even fewer that are take form or not. I only knew that I could of their child’s life. Families see they are affordable,” says Adams. offer education and love to the children receiving quality services at no charge, who were attending Rahamin, and I Tesoros de Dios, located in the capital and this is a gift from God for them.” could learn more Spanish and more city of Managua, offers free services about the culture. Little did I know that, Tesoros de Dios currently serves 130 to children with disabilities and their within a few months’ time, Lorena would children—with more than 100 children families with the stipulation that a parent resign, and I would be asked to become on the waiting list. The organization or guardian accompanies their child so director of this program.” has become known across Nicaragua, they can learn how to work with their but most of the children it serves come child at home. The parents or guardians Shortly after, the organization was from Managua and the surrounding become part of the family of Tesoros de renamed Tesoros de Dios. communities, in part, because it is too Dios, meeting other people who have costly for families who live far away to children with a disability and realizing
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Adams has also observed that parents are now a little quicker to accept their child’s disability. “They can now see their child as someone with abilities and gifts and not just a victim with a curse or incapable of doing anything." She believes this happens more easily when society is more accepting of people with disabilities; families don’t feel as condemned and fearful of negative comments. In the future, Adams hopes for continued restoration in Nicaragua. She hopes Nicaragua becomes a place “where families know and share in the love of God, a place where all kids have the opportunity for a good education.” She hopes Tesoros de Dios continues to be a light and a refuge for people with disabilities and their families. The Dordt community shares Adams’ vision. “As a new graduate, she relied on the support of her former professors at Dordt to help her develop the special education program at Nicaragua Christian Academy,” says Kris Hancock, a former teacher and board member of Tesoros de Dios. Dordt Associate Professor of Education Dr. Kathleen VanTol learned about Tesoros de Dios 10 years ago, when Wendy Gomez (’12) left her home in Nicaragua to study special education at Dordt. Gomez, who is now a program manager at Tesoros de Dios, came to Dordt to learn to work with children with disabilities. After taking a special
Adams has worked with educational leaders across Nicaragua to improve education and acceptance for persons with disabilities.
education course taught by VanTol, Gomez asked VanTol to help support Tesoros de Dios. When VanTol visited Tesoros de Dios for the first time in 2011, she was inspired by the work Adams and others were doing in Nicaragua. “Michelle is leading change in Nicaragua for persons with disabilities,” says VanTol. “Since then, Dr. VanTol has come back to do workshops with us for the schools we’re working with here. She’s been a vital part of the work we do here. We’re very thankful,” says Adams.
In 2018, Adams had the opportunity to mentor a Dordt student who is now a special education teacher. Jessie Walvoort (’18) has been familiar with Adams’ work at Tesoros de Dios for most of her life—she grew up in Adams’ hometown of Oostburg, Wisconsin, and her church there supports Tesoros de Dios.
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“By God’s grace, I have seen a definite shift in the perception of disability in Nicaragua, particularly in Managua,” says Adams. “Around 2012, an inclusion law passed requiring schools to accept children with disabilities. Before this law was passed, we battled with schools to accept our kids. When the law was passed, however, suddenly schools were not only opening doors to our children, but also coming to us asking for help and training in how to include children with disabilities.”
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come to Managua regularly. In an effort to meet the need for disability services of more people with disabilities across the country—and even in neighboring countries—Tesoros de Dios partners with organizations, churches, families, and teachers to share advice on how to best include and serve people with disabilities.
“In high school, I really enjoyed Spanish and wanted to do something with special needs,” says Walvoort. “Ever since then, it’s been a dream to go down to Nicaragua. In my sophomore year of college, I learned that Dr. VanTol was connected to Tesoros de Dios and does work with the school.” With the help of VanTol, Walvoort spent part of her semester of student teaching at Tesoros de Dios in 2018. “What I appreciate about Tesoros de Dios is the love that is showered on the students that attend,” says Walvoort. “The staff all have a huge heart for the kiddos. I appreciate Michelle’s passion for her work and her dedication to Tesoros de Dios. I admire all that she has done in service of the Lord.”
Those involved in awarding this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award believe that Adams and Tesoros de Dios clearly illustrate what it means to seek Christ-centered Though Adams renewal for one’s has not done community much teaching and that it herself in recent acknowledges The Distinguished Alumni Award years, she has God’s work and recognizes alumni who have found the skills distinguished themselves in God’s faithfulness she learned at an extraordinary fashion, who to Adams and give evidence of living out of a Dordt useful as Tesoros de Dios. Reformational worldview, and who she has partnered Viewed this way, demonstrate exemplary service to with teachers like Adams feels more the community and the world. VanTol and has comfortable mentored teachers accepting the at Tesoros de honor. “As I have Dios. “I think the prayed and talked education program as a whole does an with some others about receiving the exceptional job of preparing teachers, Distinguished Alumni Award, I have particularly the importance of classroom come to the conclusion that this is an management, lesson planning, and opportunity to give God glory for what goal writing,” says Adams. “Even if I he has done and is doing in my life,” says don’t know exactly how to teach what Adams. “I am humbled and thankful for is needed, I at least have an idea of this opportunity and hope that others what needs to be taught and am able to are encouraged to follow God’s call for communicate that need to professionals their lives, no matter what the challenges like Dr. VanTol, who can do the actual may be.” teaching. I would give credit to my education at Dordt for much of that.”
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD
LYDIA MARCUS (’17)
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2019 HORIZON AWARD
After working as an engineer-in-training for four years and studying for the professional engineering test, Monique Lieuwen earned her P.Eng. certification. Michaela (Groot, ’10) Friesen was there to cheer her on when she was given her official license.
MONIQUE LIEUWEN ('10) Whether as an environmental engineer or a project manager, Lieuwen has helped others experience how God is at work in the world. Monique Lieuwen (’10) came to Dordt in 2006, from Lethbridge, Alberta. “I really wanted to go to a Christian university, and I wanted to go away from home and have my own adventure,” says Lieuwen, whose mother and several cousins attended Dordt. “I’ve just always known about Dordt—it was the only place I considered and the only place I applied to. I think I always knew I was supposed to go there.” Lieuwen’s favorite part of college was being part of the community—having
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all her friends in the same building and developing deep relationships over their four years together. She and her roommates loved sharing life together. And Lieuwen found that small class sizes allowed professors to really know and care for their students. She also loved participating in intramurals; at one point, she remembers playing on three intramural floor hockey teams simultaneously. “That’s what Canadians are good for I guess,” she adds with a laugh. She also played intramural volleyball, sand volleyball, and ultimate frisbee.
“I’m a really practical person, so I wanted to study something useful, something in which I could get a degree in four years and get a good job that I enjoyed.” Gifted in math and science, she found herself drawn to engineering. “I especially loved that, at Dordt, I learned not just to do engineering but to do it from a Christian perspective.” As a student, Lieuwen participated in AMOR and PLIA: short-term mission opportunities for students. With AMOR, she went to Nicaragua, working on construction projects that included
After college, Lieuwen knew she wanted to move back to Canada, so she applied for jobs throughout Alberta and British Columbia. The first offer she received was in the environmental engineering department at the city of Abbotsford in British Columbia. “In hindsight, I can really see that was God’s plan. The city never hired anyone straight out of university, so I don’t really know how I got that job,” she says. “I was the youngest one there.” Lieuwen focused on issues such as water quality. She went into ditches and creeks and took water samples, coordinated studies on garbage, compost, and recycling, and taught others how to be environmentally friendly. In her work for the city, Lieuwen was able to put the Christian worldview she had learned at Dordt into practice. “I learned to see it not just as testing water quality, but as taking care of God’s creation,” says Lieuwen. “That’s why I do what I do. It brings meaning to the tasks.”
ABOUT THE HORIZON AWARD
God created the sun and there was light and energy.
You’re called. God created silicon and gave it crystalline structure.
God calls. Are you ready to serve? Monique Lieuwen Lethbridge, Alberta Junior engineering major
God calls people to create with what he’s made so engineers design solar collectors.
Find your place in God’s world. 498 4th Avenue, N.E. ▪ Sioux Center, Iowa 51250-1606 712-722-6020 ▪ www.dordt.edu ▪ advancement@dordt.edu
As a student, Lieuwen was featured in a Dordt advertisement in spring 2009.
certified as a professional engineer in Canada before doing anything else.” Lieuwen was pulled but not quite convinced. The work required fundraising one’s own salary. “I probably thought about it for a year,” she says. “I really think only God could have changed my mind. Because one morning, I just woke up and thought, ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen if I do this?’”
There aren’t many professional engineers who quit their job the week they get their license. I don’t know if I would advise it. But that’s what I did.
While working for the city, two of Lieuwen’s friends went on a trip with GAiN (Global Aid Network): a Christian humanitarian organization that coordinates projects — Monique Lieuwen, Horizon Award recipient such as microfinancing, water well projects and So Lieuwen applied at GAiN and working with refugees. They told her immediately received an offer. Because about their experiences, and something she was still waiting for her engineering about it struck her. license, she told GAiN that she couldn’t “I had always wanted to do something humanitarian with my engineering degree,” Lieuwen says. “But I didn’t know what that would look like. I did know that I wanted to work for a Christian company. What’s the point of doing it unless you’re doing it to share the love of God? But I also knew I needed to be
take the job; the timing wasn’t right. The license came in the mail two days later. “That was the moment I knew: this is God,” says Lieuwen. “I called GAiN back and asked if the offer still stood. It did. So I took it. There aren’t many professional
Monique Lieuwen (’10) is the recipient of Dordt’s 2019 Horizon Award. The Horizon Award recognizes “young alumni who are emerging leaders and innovators, working effectively and creatively toward Christ-centered renewal in every area of their lives and work. This award identifies alumni who are community-minded and entrepreneurial—those who are using their knowledge, gifts, and talents to participate in God’s redemptive work in the world.”
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laying concrete for a new school. With PLIA, she served on the coordinating committee for two years, helping with logistics and chairing the committee one year. These projects taught Lieuwen what it meant to sacrifice and serve those around her. Though she didn’t realize it at the time, they planted in her a desire to do humanitarian works of service later in her life.
Alicia Bowar, Dordt’s associate director of alumni and parent relations, describes how the Alumni Council started the award three years ago. “They wanted to recognize younger alumni who are working in God’s kingdom,” says Bowar. “The work younger alumni are doing in their communities is significant, and there are always many nominees. It’s a hard choice to determine who to honor and recognize. We want to share the stories of these young alumni with a broader audience to encourage and affirm the work they’re doing.” When asked how she felt about receiving Dordt’s Horizon Award, Lieuwen laughs. “I think I was shocked,” she replies. “I also felt humbled that someone took the time to nominate me and honor me that way.” “Monique’s work is very community-minded, focusing on the needy, leading teams of people traveling internationally to help displaced hurting people,” says Bowar.
engineers who quit their job the week they get their license. I don’t know if I would advise it. But that’s what I did.” Today, Lieuwen does project management for GAiN, overseeing projects in Paraguay, Syria, Haiti, Iraq, and Lebanon. She uses many of the skills learned in her time working for the city: managing projects, working with contractors, and making budgets. All of the projects happen alongside ministry programs, partnering with churches,
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“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question we are asked often throughout our lives. For many students, the nonchalance of middle school—“I don’t know; I have lots of time to figure that out,”— disappears and, by the end of high school, is replaced by fear and anxiety about what major to study, what career path to pursue, and what job to accept. In my role as associate director of the Career Development Center, I have the privilege of hearing the hopes and dreams of students. Sometimes they are presented timidly, with fear and anxiety nearly extinguishing any excitement about the possibilities. Students can be so afraid of “getting it wrong”–choosing what they see as the wrong career or wrong major. It is at this point that my privilege shifts to responsibility. I have the incredible responsibility to steward these hopes and dreams by helping the students identify a path forward. Privilege, responsibility, and, ultimately, fulfillment. When I see a student catch a glimpse of what their future vocation might look like, I witness a bit of fear giving way to excitement. I want to see students live out the purpose that God has instilled in each of them. I want to hear the stories of how they are impacting their communities, their workplaces, and their families 10, 15, and 20 years down the road. And I hope that maybe all can experience the joy and energy that comes from knowing we are right where God wants us to be.
demonstrating the love of God in word and in deed.
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GROWING INTO GOD'S PURPOSE
In Paraguay, Lieuwen works with a microfinance project to assist women living in severe poverty, issuing microloans that allow them to start their own businesses so they can provide for themselves and their families. In the Middle East, Lieuwen works with refugees and displaced people. GAiN partners with churches to hand out bags of blessing: food and nonfood items that displaced families need. Alongside both projects, people have an opportunity to learn and grow spiritually, if that is what they desire. Lieuwen also leads teams of volunteers to the field. She’s taken one team to Lebanon, one team to Ukraine, and three teams to Paraguay. “I really love helping other people experience how God is at work in the world,” she says. “It’s so fulfilling and rewarding; I feel like I’m making a difference. And the longer I’m here, the more I can look back and see that
To learn more about Lieuwen's work with Global Aid Network, visit globalaid.net.
it was truly God who called me here. He is using my skills and abilities to be his hands and feet. It’s really humbling to know that we can be part of God’s redemptive work in the world.” KATE HENRECKSON
Thank You
Thank you to the many donors who support student scholarships
687 1.51 500 $
Number of Dordt students who received donor-funded scholarships this year
Amount awarded (in millions) through donor-funded scholarships this year
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Number of attendees at the scholarship donor banquet in September 2019
Interested in joining the Dordt scholarship community? Please contact Dave Vander Werf at dave.vanderwerf@dordt.edu or 712-722-6020.
AMY WESTRA
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BRINGING WHAT’S OUT THERE HOME PHOTO COPYRIGHT THE LAND INSTITUTE
Whenever Dr. Lee De Haan (’95) and The Land Institute (TLI) score major publicity for Kernza, the perennial grain they’ve been developing, De Haan’s phone rings. People want to know what he’s up to because they find Kernza as biologically fascinating as it is environmentally blessed. When he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2001, De Haan came on board at TLI in Salina, Kansas, to work on the institute’s whole menu of perennial grain projects. It didn’t take
long, however, before he found himself concentrating on Kernza. You may have read about Kernza in National Geographic (twice, in fact) or in the New York Times or Washington Post, or maybe, more recently, heard about it on NPR. It’s a perennial crop capable of
producing enough grain to be harvested successfully and be a viable forage for successive seasons in the right climate. One late summer planting will yield three to 10 harvests of an earth-friendly grain that grows from grass and tastes like wheat, a new domesticated crop bred from wheatgrass.
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JAMES CALVIN SCHA AP ('70)
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What perennial Kernza offers environmentally is staggering: potentially, it promises to use one-sixth (maybe less) of a farmer’s average herbicide use, and it requires a fraction of the time to plant. When it eventually becomes widely available, prices for Kernza seeds will drop when compared to the seed required for a harvest of its annual cousins. What’s more, if De Haan and his Kernza researchers are right, our air and water may well be significantly cleaner, precious carbon will remain in the soil, and wildlife will find their way into far more abundant habitat. People who hear about Kernza call Dr. Lee De Haan at TLI because they want to know more about it—and how they can get ahold of it. For those calls, he has, right now, the same answer: not a lot of Kernza seed or grain or flour is available, because while the full-time work De Haan began a decade and more ago has created wonderful opportunities, to produce a product for sale on a mass scale (thousands, even millions of tons) will require more research, much of it genetic, and significantly more development. “We need to scale it up,” he says. “The first step is genetics, because genetics can continue to improve on yield.” For De Haan, that means more time in the lab, more time selecting and sorting individual plants, and more time-consuming research. “If tiny seeds fall to the ground at harvest, it means fewer seeds in the bin,” he says. “Those problems and others like them need to be fixed genetically.”
Kernza plants help to build soil health, retain clean water, sequester carbon, and enhance wildlife habitat, according to The Land Institute.
What the many phone calls make clear, however, is that all of the work he’s been doing at TLI has not been in vain. That there is need for perennial grains is something he’s never questioned; that there is such concentrated demand is new. In some ways, he says, the development of Kernza is ahead of schedule, so far ahead that its availability
Kernza was developed from an undomesticated distant cousin of the kind of annual wheat varieties that, every season, are grown from Missouri to Manitoba, and west to the Rockies. While Kernza is still in development, it is blessedly eco-friendly and may well increase food production around the world in ways that can as yet only be imagined. Perennial grains like Kernza have immense root systems that find nutrients far out of reach for their annual cousins. What’s more, those extensive roots hold onto and even build more organic matter in rich prairie soils, thereby serving as insurance against erosion, while offering abundant and wonderful habitat for wildlife. And, they promise cleaner ground water, requiring less fertilizer use.
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JAMES CALVIN SCHA AP ('70)
WHAT IS KERNZA?
right now can’t keep pace with the demand. In 2007, a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed the Kernza crew to plant it in an ordinary farm field, harvest it in July, then fill up a semi with Kernza grain that was milled in western Kansas to yield 5,000 pounds of flour. “I took some home,” he says, “and we made just about everything we could think of.” His initial taste testers included three home-schooled kids and his wife, Sheila (Rasmussen, ’95), who, he claims, pull no punches on his creations—it’s just thumbs up and thumbs down. But Wes Jackson, the man whose vision created TLI, loved the chocolate cake De Haan had baked and told him to make another one just like it for a board meeting. One of the board members, the founder of the Chipotle restaurant chain, had employed a Chicago baker to mix up some rolls for the meeting, too. The board gave it all some sweet reviews. Soon enough, Chipotle had some restaurants create tortillas with Kernza to see what their customers thought.
General Mills' particular story helps clarify the nature of the rising interest in what De Haan and TLI are up to. Recently, General Mills wrote up its own corporate objectives with regards to sustainability: by 2050, they want to be “carbon neutral.”
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General Mills—Gold Medal Flour, Bisquick, and almost anything with the name Pillsbury—came to TLI, inquiring about Kernza. General Mills’ need for flour is immense—Wheaties, Rice Chex, Cocoa Puffs, Captain Crunch, and every last kind of Cheerios, after all. Every year General Mills, all by itself, buys a significant portion of all the wheat produced in the nation.
the traditional pillar of wheat-growing areas in the northern Plains states. They know it will grow from Canada to southern Kansas, but still need to determine where specifically it will produce most bountifully—and when and why.
JAMES CALVIN SCHA AP ('70)
All went well. People in the know at Chipotle, and elsewhere, like Kernza; but even today, there simply isn’t enough of it to make it a standard ingredient.
There’s no question about the flour produced from Kernza grain. People claim it’s sweet, and De Haan’s own baking has proven it will do fine in the oven, make stupendous chocolate cake. The problem right now is getting the grain in sufficient bulk from the field to the dining room table. The cost of production at present is too high for ordinary farmers, given its smaller yields. Despite De Haan’s decade and
What the many phone calls make clear is that all of the work he’s been doing at TLI has not been in vain. That there is need for perennial grains is something he’s never questioned; that there is such concentrated demand is new.
That is demanding. Their corporate concern, De Haan says, is with their consumers, of course; but it emerges from “a commitment to be doing new and sustainable things for problems created by climate change.” Since any chaos in the wheat community will affect their viability, they clearly see the need to examine brand new technologies like Kernza, flour that can be milled from perennial grains.
The demand is there, but no one knows better than De Haan what it will take to be able to meet that demand.
JAMES CALVIN SCHA AP ('70)
Today, TLI has plots of Kernza planted in experimental fields all over the continent, from Vermont to Utah, and throughout
more of work, Kernza isn’t yet the environmentally-sound option to seed crops he’s confident Kernza will become. But it may be sooner than some might believe. But then there’s the phone. When he started at The Land Institute, the dream seemed way, way “out there.” To critics, all perennial grains seemed far more a fantasy than a possibility. But today, people keep calling, some of them with ample economic means, enough to help fund research. And then there’s this. Not long ago, De Haan went to Europe to meet a number of people at a conference set up to bring together researchers working on perennial grains. While there, someone suggested that he visit a university in Belgium, where professors and students were working specifically on Kernza.
The Land Institute says Kernza grain grows best in cooler northern latitudes.
He stopped for a moment, stunned. Once upon a time he could count on one hand the number of people
A Kernza plant’s roots can reach 10 feet or more beneath the soil surface—more than twice the depth of annual wheat roots.
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For a long, long time already, De Haan has dedicated his professional life to Kernza, the development of perennial grains as a means of making agriculture—and all of our lives—more environmentally sound. It was an interest of his for a long time, but at TLI it became a calling, for which, he says, he’s probably especially fit. “I love working on a project like this,” he says, “something that’s going to take a long time, something that’s as demanding as Kernza is, but something that promises what it does, real rewards.” By experience, by predilection, and by passions, it seems clear a Minnesota farm boy turned world-class researcher discovered in Kernza a job, a calling designed for him—or that he was designed for it.
KERNZA IN THE DORDT PRAIRIE It’s been here for years already, just about as long as Dordt has had its own prairie. One can assume that Dr. Lee De Haan didn’t have to twist his brother’s arm too far to talk Professor Robb into some researchand-development space. Back then, on any walk through the prairie east of the campus, you could not have missed the Kernza plot; but today, you need to look just beyond the south end of the soccer field, where, come July, a tall and healthy field of row crops— mostly Kernza—stands up proudly. Dordt’s research contribution to the development of perennial grains, as Biology Professor Dr. Jeff Ploegstra explains, helps examine the way a northwest Iowa environment affects “genotype interactions, overall yield, and changes to soil microbiology.” Dordt’s research plot is one of many. “One can imagine,” Ploegstra says, “that plants that have improved yield in Kansas may not actually perform better if grown in Iowa, and vice-versa.” Thus, sections of Dordt’s research plot are testing various seed types, to see “how temperature, precipitation, disease vectors” affect growth and yield of the grain, as well as the bacteria and fungi of the soil itself.
Career counselors like Drop by sometime. The plot to say that a calling is quite beautiful—in more is the place where ways than one. your passion and gifts connect with the world's needs. Dr. Lee De Haan would look up from his lab work, smile, and undoubtedly nod his assent. JAMES CALVIN SCHAAP ('70)
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investing time and research into the development of Kernza, probably knew every one of them, in fact. There he was, in Europe, being told that research scientists in some Belgium university, people he didn’t know and had never met or even heard of, were doing work he had no idea was going on.
Pictured are the Rog and Dorothy De Haan family—Greg ('88), Dorothy ('61) Roger ('60), Robb ('85), Susan ('88), and, in front, Lee ('95).
THE DE HAAN FAMILY L
ee De Haan says he was just a kid when his dad and his brothers started talking about perennial grains. From their farm near Hollandale, Minnesota, Dad and brother Greg went off to Rochester, Minnesota, one night to hear Wes Jackson speak. Jackson, the long-time president of The Land Institute, was—and still is—a trusted, booming voice in sustainable agriculture. They came back fascinated, but fully conscious of the fact that a radical move toward perennial grains would require years of research and development, as it has. That speech was 35 years ago. Meanwhile, brother Robb (’85) and his family were spending three years in Africa for Christian Reformed World Missions. When Robb came home, he made clear what he’d learned about African agriculture: what was needed badly was “different kinds of plants.” Lee says he was only a kid back then, but he remembers that for some time thereafter the whole idea of “different kinds of plants” kept finding its way into discussions during chores and around the dining room table, often enough that De Haan couldn’t help but be interested himself. When Robb and his family returned from their three-year term in Africa, he went to graduate school at the University of Minnesota, where “different kinds of plants” continued to be his interest and his academic focus, so much so that he told his graduate committee what he wanted to do for his thesis was work on perennial grain, specifically high-yielding Illinois
But his graduate committee was wary; they believed the study he was proposing was altogether too likely to fail. After a couple of years of hard, hard work, they advised him that he could end up with nothing. The whole idea of perennial grains, they said, was still, well, “out there.”
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JAMES CALVIN SCHA AP ('70)
bundle flower. He even got so far as to make crop collections from a variety of places in the Midwest. He was ready. A box of seeds sat there in his office.
Just then, Lee was finishing a double major at Dordt (plant science and biology) and looking to attend graduate school to get the same kind of education brother Robb had at the University of Minnesota. Like serendipitous juxtapositions? Try this one. At the very same time, De Haan was beginning what his brother was just then finishing. In fact, when De Haan was traveling to the Twin Cities to interview for acceptance at the U of M, Robb was travelling to Sioux Center to interview for a teaching job at Dordt. Remember that box of Illinois bundle flower seeds? When, later that summer, Lee got to the university, he moved into the same office his brother had used and thereby became heir to Robb’s dream dissertation project. “Here’s the seeds,” Robb told him. “I couldn’t do anything with them.” That old box was, in its own way, both a challenge and a dream. The four children of Rog (’60) and Doris (Maas, ’61) De Haan continue to share a serious interest in and concern for creation, about the world God’s created, the world in which we live. The oldest son, Robb, has taught agriculture, biology, and environmental studies at Dordt since 1995.
Pictured are the Lee and Sheila De Haan family—Lee ('95), Sheila (Rasmussen, '95), and children Jamin, Alicia, and Malachi.
Susan (’88) spent three years volunteering at a Vietnamese church plant while doing a TESOL master’s degree at Wheaton. Her passport is stuffed with stamps: China, Russia, and, finally, Romania, where she spent six years as a teacher. For several years in
Way back when, Dad De Haan would tell his kids that while none of them would likely stay on the farm, each of them would have the valuable childhood experience of growing up on a farm.
Greg (’88) is in Florida, where he works for ECHO, a non-profit that begins its mission statement like this: “For the 795 million people who are hungry today, the world is a challenging place.” ECHO aims to “promote sustainable farming techniques, nutritional plants, and appropriate technologies.”
Rochester, Minnesota, she taught grade school kids from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sudan, Japan, Korea, and Latin America in a room with “Newcomers” over the door. Today, she’s a classroom teacher’s aide who helps kids with hearing issues.
And then there’s Lee (’95), who has been developing Kernza for 16 years—and, for the record, still occasionally spends time developing Illinois bundle flowers. Way back when, Dad De Haan would tell his kids that while none of them would likely stay on the farm, each of them would have the valuable childhood experience of growing up on a farm, planting and harvesting, working with livestock, fixing machinery, keeping up with chores, appreciating, heart and soul, the beauty and power of nature all around. Lee says his dad wasn’t wrong. Mom De Haan, Lee and his siblings say, taught them compassion, forever baking things for people she knew who were having trouble making a go of it. That was the mix, the family chemistry—that and always a strong faith. Whatever it was—something in their DNA, something in their childhood, their education, their time at Dordt— commitment is boldly visible in the family, a serious commitment to what Dordt calls “kingdom work.” JAMES CALVIN SCHAAP ('70)
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