Inspiring Stories

After taking a bit of a break for the holidays, I and other colleagues hit the road again this winter and spring to visit Calvin alumni in their own communities around the world. In most cases, the main reason for these gatherings was to introduce more of you to President and Mrs. Boer. I enjoyed our Q&A sessions with the president, an informal opportunity for him to connect with alumni and to share his vision for Calvin’s future.

Our gatherings also reminded me of the incredible ways God uses Calvin grads to work toward renewal in his world. Sometimes this happens in very public spaces, but more often it occurs behind the scenes, as alumni give back within their local communities.

In Long Beach, California, Curt ’89 and Laura ’90 DeGroot graciously hosted an alumni gathering with the president, during which we also welcomed Calvin’s first men’s volleyball coach, California native Spencer Fredrick. It’s a perfect example of hospitality that celebrates cherished Calvin connections and creates new ones. Officially welcoming Coach Fredrick to Calvin is just one sign of the expansive strategic plan for the university’s athletics program, something you can read about in this issue of Spark

In this issue you’ll also read about our shared Calvin story, spoken in the words of current faculty and students. Their reflections remind us what we hold in common and nudge us toward continued growth and learning.

And you’ll meet alumni of all ages and vocations, whose faith inspires them to build relationships: from an art teacher turned entrepreneur, whose passion is gathering people together; to a Chicago lawyer, who helps current students discern God’s calling; to a former social worker, who founded a non-profit that helps reunite children in foster care with their parents.

You’ll also meet two urban farmers growing fresh produce for their neighbors, an author whose picture books nurture kids’ wonder and curiosity, and a young professional whose choice to travel solo across North America reconnected her to what she values most. Whoever and wherever we are, God continues to use each of us to reach his world for his glory in a rich variety of ways.

In just a brief time, we will officially welcome yet another graduating class into the broader Calvin alumni community. I look forward to witnessing how God continues to use the Class of 2023’s gifts for his good work—this is our continuing Calvin story.

Finally, in this season of Easter, I wish each of you a moment of restful reflection on “the great love the Father lavished on us” through the ultimate sacrifice and resurrection of his son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May his gift of grace strengthen us on every road ahead.

BY JEFF HAVERDINK ’97 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

Corrections From The Winter 2022 Issue

At Spark, we believe it is important to carefully attend to even the smallest details of alumni stories. However, from time-to-time, editorial errors do occur. We regret these inaccuracies.

Jenny deFouw Geuder’s ’04 new book, Drawn to Birds: A Naturalist’s Sketchbook, was mistakenly identified on page 45 as Amazon has Drawn to Birds: A Naturalist’s Sketchbook. Astute readers likely noted that deFouw Geuder’s book can be purchased at amazon.com

“The Gift of Faith” on page 40 incorrectly identified An Dinh ’11 as an associate professor of speech-language pathology at Toledo University. Her correct title is assistant professor of speech-language pathology at the University of Toledo.

Transforming A Campus Into An Arboretum

In 2022, Calvin University’s campus was designated as an arboretum. While having an arboretum on a college campus isn’t necessarily uncommon, having an entire campus designated that way is rare. The care Calvin’s campus has received over the past several decades from certified arborist Bob Speelman is also unique. During his 34 years at Calvin, he’s planted more than 300 trees on a campus full of thousands of them.

On a walk around campus, Speelman, who the arboretum is now fittingly named after, talked trees. He shared memories of trees planted, ones that fell, and of the intentionality behind where and why each tree found a home on campus.

During the walk, he picked out some of his favorite trees—each making his list for its own reason: architectural beauty, rarity, even sentimentality. All have memories attached to them, and each was planted or cultivated by Speelman over the years.

The new designation was accredited by Arbnet, a global network promoting arboretum management, tree science and conservation, and education.

School Of Health Creates Blueprint For Student And Client Success

Calvin University’s new School of Health has rolled out a new blueprint for future development. The plan brings many health-related disciplines, including nursing, pre-health sciences, kinesiology, public health, speech pathology, and audiology under the auspices of the school. Pulling multiple disciplines into close proximity will give students a more comprehensive understanding of the medical field.

Keila Pieters, a senior nursing major, said, “We are excited to collaborate with our fellow students from related disciplines. To be in the same space will provide us greater opportunities to connect with and learn from one another.”

Adejoke Ayoola, dean of the School of Health, believes “collaborating across disciplines in the field is essential to caring well for patients.” She and her colleagues have worked to establish trusted partnerships in the Grand Rapids community and are excited for how the new school will help them better equip students to care well for their neighbors and future patients.

“One of the things we are interested in is interprofessional education, to all work together as professionals, because our focus is the patient,” said Ayoola. “We can actually design holistic programs that will involve all of our students and meet the needs of our community.”

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WORLD-RENOWNED ARTIST MAKOTO FUJIMURA AWARDED KUYPER PRIZE

Makoto Fujimura will be the recipient of the 2023 Kuyper Prize, which is awarded by Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary. Fujimura is the first visual artist to receive the annual prize, which is presented each year to a scholar or community leader whose outstanding contribution to their chosen sphere reflects the ideas and values characteristic of Kuyper’s Neo-Calvinist vision of religious engagement.

“Through Fujimura’s work, his diverse global audiences are drawn to reflect upon deeper truths about human brokenness and restoration, which were central to Kuyper’s theology and politics,” said President Wiebe Boer.

Fujimura is a world-renowned modern artist, author, and speaker, who is the founder of the International Arts Movement and the Fujimura Institute. He uses the art of kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery (often with precious metals), to take what is shattered and make it whole again.

A $10,000 monetary prize accompanies the award, which Fujimura said he will donate to IAM Culture Care and Embers International for their collective “Kintsugi-Peace Making” work. He will be awarded the prize during the Kuyper Conference which runs May 9–11, 2023, on the campus of Redeemer University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Student Documentary Helps History Come Alive

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Calvin’s archaeological work in Umm al-Jimal, Jordan, seniors Abi Van Doorne and Andrew Deters filmed “The West Church.” Their 12-minute documentary celebrates the decades-long partnership with the community there to preserve the 2,000-year-old site—a project begun by the late professor emeritus Bert de Vries ’60.

Darrell Rohl, assistant professor of history and director of Calvin’s archaeology program, requested photos and video footage during his three-week summer course in Jordan. Van Doorne and Deters, both interested in archaeology, traveled with Rohl and co-directed the documentary as the final project of their fall semester film and media production class.

The many partners on the Umm al-Jimal project are working to get the site added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Van Doorne and Deters hope their documentary will help advance that goal.

At the Media Showcase in December, Van Doorne and Deters reflected on the significance of their project and their experience. “It was really cool to become engrained in the community and work on this project together,” said Van Doorne.

Engineering Students Shifting Carbon Into Neutral

In early September 2022, Professor Matt Heun posed a question to his Engineering 333 class: What would it take to eliminate Calvin’s natural gas-related net CO2 emissions from its heating? To up the ante, there was a real client for this project, and he was seated in the back of the room: President Wiebe Boer.

The 45 students involved from Heun’s classes conducted a site analysis of all campus buildings, totaling 1,800 hours of work over three months. In late November, four students presented “An Analysis of Calvin’s Heating System in the Pursuit of Carbon Neutrality.”

The team presented strategies such as reducing heating load through efficiency improvements, shifting the fuel source of heating systems from natural gas to electricity, and removing carbon emissions from electricity.

“I was really impressed with the final public presentation from our Calvin University Engineering 333 students,” said President Boer. “I’ve worked in both McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group, and the process our students followed and the solutions they came up with were at the same level of rigor and excellence.”

Implementing the strategies would help Calvin achieve the President’s 2017 Climate Commitment, which stated Calvin would be carbon neutral by 2057.

Calvin Adds Two New Cohort Programs For Fall 2023

Sustainability and creation care have long been core values at Calvin, but campus sustainability program director Tom Hartzell says the new Sustainability Fellows cohort will provide a more meaningful experience for students.

Under Hartzell’s direction, student fellows will take courses together, will be paired in small teams with a community partner to address real sustainability issues, and will develop leadership skills by planning and executing a sustainability summit.

The Common Good Coalition will also be added to the university’s portfolio of programs in the fall of 2023. Student members of this cohort will take classes together that investigate how the common good manifests in material culture.

Investigating the common good means asking “how we get people to flourish, to thrive, to engage and to participate,” said Mark Mulder, director of the cohort.

Mulder, who is also a professor of sociology and director of the urban studies minor, said, “We need good public spaces, such as sidewalks, streets, hospitals, libraries, nature trails, parks—these are all material manifestations of the common good. We’ll be exploring how we draw people out into society to participate.”

In total, Calvin University offers five cohorts for students to pursue their passion in a tight-knit community.

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Find more campus news daily at calvin.edu/news

Calvin Student Awarded Prestigious Hatfield Prize

For senior Emily Steen, the realities of prison were no longer out of sight, out of mind when former inmate Nick Nichols visited one of her core classes to talk about the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI). As a student in the sociology program, Steen often attended classes that included students finishing the degree they started inside Handlon Correctional Facility.

She quickly discovered the formative impact programs like CPI have in preparing students to be prime citizens. She also recognized the real struggles the paroled students face upon re-entering society, from barriers to employment to social stigma. Steen knew changed lives needed to be met with changed systems.

Sociology professor Mark Mulder encouraged Steen to apply for the Center for Public Justice’s (CPJ) Hatfield Prize. CPJ is a Christian civic education and public policy research organization based in Alexandria, Virginia.

Steen’s research project was one of just three nationwide to receive the Hatfield Prize. The award provides her with funding and access to dig deeper in understanding the challenges of re-entry and to explore policies and partnerships that could be formed to make it smoother for returning citizens.

FROM HOSTILITY TO HOSPITALITY: CALVIN RENEWS CIVICS EDUCATION

Teaching tolerance is a chief aim of civics education in K-12 schools. But, according to David Smith, director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning, it’s time to go deeper. “What if instead of starting with tolerance we actually approached civics education through the lens of Christian hospitality?” asked Smith.

Under Smith’s leadership, the Kuyers Institute has become a leading center of innovative thinking around Christian education over the last 15 years. Their latest endeavor is The Civic Hospitality Project, a partnership with Calvin’s Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics.

The project, funded by the Issachar Fund, gives K-12 educators curricular tools and exercises they can use to develop their civics lesson plans. The resource comes at a time when the United States is experiencing increased political polarization. “A country has to review what it means to share common citizenship, and Christians are well suited to lead,” said Micah Watson, the director of the Henry Institute.

Educators across North America have tested the curriculum in their classes, and Smith and his team incorporated their feedback in refining the resources now available at civichospitality.com