19 minute read
Scholarship
RARE FORM
HOW STORIES CHANGED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
BY RACHAEL BAKER AND AMY WILSTERMANN
As a collaborative team, Baker (left) and Wilstermann (right) use their individual areas of expertise to address complex problems from different angles. On a given day, they might be building computational models, pulling clinical data to better understand patient symptoms, or working with zebrafish to understand how changes to mitochondrial proteins lead to hearing loss.
What is a rare disease?
Rare diseases are rare. Each disease affects less than 100,000 people in the United States and most lack FDA-approved treatment or therapy. But cumulatively, rare diseases are quite common. There are thousands of these diseases, and one in 10 people in the U.S. are affected by one.
There is a plaque outside our lab dedicating our research efforts to the memory of a girl named Harper.
We were introduced to Harper by a medical geneticist at Spectrum Health when we had recently started collaborating on rare disease research. Our research focuses on rare diseases that are caused by the dysfunction of mitochondria, subcellular structures that play a critical role in energy production in cells.
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO.
Harper had a mutation in the mitochondrial protein that we study, BCS1L. This mutation had not been observed in any other patients, and the medical geneticist had a very common but deceptively challenging question: Is the mutation in BCS1L responsible for Harper’s symptoms?
Using structural modeling, we determined that the BCS1L mutation was indeed the likely cause of Harper’s symptoms. While useful for diagnostic purposes, this information provided little help. There are no treatments for Harper’s rare disease. Sadly, Harper passed away, but important questions about diagnosing and treating rare diseases like hers remain.
We are still studying Harper’s mutation in our yeast model system to learn more about its role in cell function. We hope this knowledge may eventually lead to a treatment.
WE’RE DIFFERENT NOW.
When we began our project, we hoped that our work would impact patients in the rare disease community. What we did not anticipate was the impact that rare disease community members would have on us.
Stories from patients like Harper and their families changed us. Their resilience is inspiring. Our interactions have shaped the way we think about our work as scientists, research mentors, and teachers.
We have begun to incorporate patient stories into our teaching in the lab and classroom. For example, students learn about Harper through a reflection her mother wrote. We encourage students to be attentive to the unique challenges faced by the people they serve through their work in a research setting, a health care setting, or in their community.
While each rare disease has a different underlying molecular cause and a different set of resulting symptoms, the experience of being “rare” has many common elements. We are passionate about investigating a particular set of mitochondrial rare diseases, and we are also passionate about building community and support around the common experiences of rare disease patients and family members.
YOU HAVE A ROLE TOO.
The Rare Calvin website, calvin.edu/research/ rare-disease, contains information about our scientific endeavors and educational resources for students, patients, families—and you. Research students conduct important experiments in the lab and they partner with us on educational and outreach projects that support the rare disease community.
In addition, Elle Hazlett ’21 served on the leadership team with us that established the Rare Disease Network, a collaborative effort between Calvin, Spectrum Health, MSU, and GVSU that aims to connect rare disease researchers and care providers in west Michigan. The goal is providing excellent care and support to those affected by rare diseases.
When we started our collaboration, we might have considered raising student awareness of rare disease challenges and support of the rare disease community tangential to our research goals, but now these are essential, missional, and fulfilling components of our work.
Rachael Baker ’08 is an associate professor in the chemistry and biochemistry department.
Amy Wilstermann is a professor of biology and is a director of the Honors Scholars Program.
READ MORE
To learn more about this research project and read a story written by Harper’s mother, visit calvin.edu/spark.
INTRODUCING OUR NEW PROVOST
While the title provost didn’t emerge at Calvin until the early 1980s, the role of provost or chief academic officer has been present at Calvin for more than a century. The provost is second in command and acts for the president when absent. Noah Toly is the ninth person to hold this position at Calvin.
In July, Noah Toly began his tenure
as provost of Calvin University. He was appointed to the position vacated by Cheryl Brandsen, who retired this summer. Toly comes to Calvin from Wheaton College, where he served for the past 15 years as executive director of the Center for Urban Engagement, chair of urban studies, and professor of urban studies and politics and international relations.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO CALVIN UNIVERSITY?
Even from a distance, Calvin seemed to me like an institution that isn’t turned in on itself, that doesn’t exist for its own sake, but rather knows it exists for the sake of something else, that it exists for the sake of the church and the world. You can see this in the vision of trusted partnership articulated in the strategic plan, and you can see it embodied in programs and centers like the Calvin Prison Initiative and the Clean Water Institute.
I have always admired Calvin. It is a university that has made room for a flourishing of life and mind across the disciplines. It is known for deep commitments to excellent teaching, outstanding scholarship, and fidelity to Reformed Christianity.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CALVIN’S MISSION?
Calvin’s entire mission statement is a beautiful articulation not only of what Christian educators should be doing, but also what we should aspire to as Christians, what the church should aspire to. And, especially that last part of the mission statement: “live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.” It seems appropriately ambitious, and I think it requires faith, hope, and love—we need all three of the theological virtues to do this work. Faith in God who works through creation and redemption, hope in his transformative work of new creation, and love for God and for our neighbors are all required if we are to live as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON IN YOUR OWN SCHOLARSHIP?
I’m currently writing a biography of Jacques Ellul, the French theologian and social theorist, for the Eerdmans Library of Religious Biography. While the pace of my work on that project will change, I plan to continue my work on that book. Beyond that project, I can imagine opportunities to collaborate with others, including Calvin faculty, on projects related to urban or environmental politics.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR?
One thing I hope I’m known for is as a gentle and faithful leader who empowers others on campus.
And one of the things that’s close to my heart is continuing the good work of diversifying the faculty and pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion: partly for the sake of an improved subjective sense of belonging on the part of everyone in the community, partly for the sake of a great education—because it’s missional—and partly for the sake of witnessing to the truth of what God’s doing in the world. I look forward to working with Michelle Loyd-Paige [executive associate to the president for diversity and inclusion], Michael Le Roy [president], Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim [associate dean for diversity and inclusion], and others to continue the good work already happening here.
WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?
I’ve got a long list of things I enjoy even though I’m not very good at them. Golf is at the top of that list. To say there’s a lot of room for improvement would be an understatement, but it is fun and challenging. But if we’re talking about something I enjoy and do well, it’s definitely cooking.
HONORING OUTGOING PROVOST
Cheryl Brandsen ’79 served at Calvin for 32 years. She spent the first half of her career teaching in Calvin’s sociology and social work department, a department she also chaired. Brandsen spent the latter half of her tenure at Calvin in administrative leadership roles, serving as an academic dean from 2008–2014 and since 2014 as the university’s provost.
During her time as provost, Brandsen led the university through significant changes, such as restructuring the academic division to align with a university model and a revision of the university’s core curriculum. In this work, Brandsen’s colleagues praised her strong commitment to Calvin’s mission, her clear-eyed vision for enacting the mission in new ways, and her tenacity to bring those plans to life.
As provost, Brandsen encouraged Calvin to take seriously its commitment to promote the welfare of the city and the healing of the world—a central tenet of the university’s Vision 2030. A couple of major steps taken during her tenure that support this commitment include the establishment of the Calvin Prison Initiative, which serves students at Handlon Correctional Facility, and the significant expansion of both Calvin’s in-person and online graduatelevel offerings.
OF LEARNINGLAYERS
LIBERAL ARTS: WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT MATTERS
BY SARAH POTTER JOHNSON ’00 ILLUSTRATED BY GABRIELLE EISMA ’22
Gabrielle Eisma wanted to go to art school and be surrounded by other artists only studying art. For her, a liberal arts education wasn’t a selling point for Calvin—it was a strike against it. But because she wanted to study writing as well as art, she ended up at Calvin where she could major in both.
“I was wrong about liberal arts,” said Eisma, who provided the art for this piece. “It’s opened my eyes to so many connections. It’s the whole liberal arts aspect of Calvin that has shaped my creative process.”
Eisma is not alone with crediting a liberal arts education with influencing her work. When reflecting on their Calvin education, Calvin graduates will inevitably remark on the merits of liberal arts and how it’s changed them.
—GABRIELLE EISMA ’22
BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS STUDENT
LIBERAL ARTS TO OUR CORE
Liberal arts is not a simple term to define. The word “liberal” might suggest some political ideology, and “arts” might suggest a neglect of the sciences. Sometimes it’s used to describe interdisciplinary work. Other times it seems like liberal arts is synonymous with the humanities.
Back in 1965, the Calvin Curriculum Study Committee considered not even using the term because it means different things to different people. Ultimately, that faculty group wrote a 108-page document called the Christian Liberal Arts Education (CLAE), which has been a foundational document in curriculum decisions since then.
Professor emeritus Kenneth Pomykala served on the University Core Task Force in 2019–2020 and helped the task force to understand how foundational documentation like the CLAE should shape Calvin’s current decisions. He explained that the authors of CLAE retained the term “liberal arts” to express one aspect that everyone agreed on: “that a liberal arts education is one which is not aimed at equipping the student to hold down some specific occupation—meaning non-vocational and non-professional education.” In other words, a liberal arts education is marked by learning opportunities that don’t have direct ties to the student’s professional aspirations. It’s a future history teacher taking a mathematics course or someone who wants to become a chemist studying communication. It’s a broad education, with students taking courses from different disciplines simultaneously.
At Calvin, liberal arts is animated for every student through the core curriculum. The CLAE document established the first core curriculum, and there have been a few iterations since then, including a new version that students began this fall.
The term core is intentional. Most higher education institutions recognize a need for general education requirements, but Calvin’s commitment is deeper.
“The gen ed label suggests that these courses are less important than the courses in a student’s major,” said English professor Chad Engbers, who served on the Core Transition Team. “Core suggests that these courses are at the vital center of everything we do. If you cut out the core of a reactor, you no longer have a reaction.”
THE CORE REACTION
“When students take courses in different disciplines, they begin to draw connections that change how they see the world,” said Carolyn Anderson, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and the newly appointed director of core. “Complexities are revealed that we might have otherwise missed because our disciplinary perspective was too narrow.”
“Our tendency as humans is to make things simple,” said psychology professor Julie Yonker. “We want things to fit neatly into boxes. But the world isn’t like that—people are complicated. Society is complicated.”
Liberal arts education exposes students to disciplines and modes of learning that they might not gravitate toward. “It keeps you humble,” said Yonker. “Humility allows us to say that we don’t have all the answers within our field of study.”
Anderson agrees. “I don’t think a broad, liberal arts education is going to enable someone single-handedly to solve the complex problems of the world. Rather, it allows us to understand why different perspectives are necessary. Liberal arts gives us the eyes to see that we need more people at the table.”
LIBERAL ARTS FOR VOCATION
By definition, liberal arts classes are distinct from professional training. But time and time again, it’s precisely the liberal arts education that propels Calvin graduates in their careers.
“If an employer hires a Calvin grad, they will always come back and hire another one,” said TaRita Johnson, director of Calvin’s Career Center. “It’s that combination of the entire core and the major. Calvin students have a moral compass, intellectual horsepower, and drive for results. They aren’t the typical employees, and it’s the liberal arts that gives them the ability to critically think, problem solve, and be flexible.”
Cal Jen, business professor emeritus, couldn’t agree more. “Breadth [of learning] allows students to adapt more quickly and easily to all areas—including business—of our rapidly changing world.”
—TARITA JOHNSON
DIRECTOR OF THE CALVIN CAREER CENTER
ELEMENTS OF THE NEW CORE
Reformed: Students will begin Calvin with the course “Community and Commitments,” which will introduce Calvin’s Reformed Christian theological heritage. In their last year, they’ll take “Contemporary Challenges and Enduring Questions,” which invites students to live out their vocation in Christian witness to the world.
Lean: The updated core requires fewer credit hours, comprising about 30–40% of a student’s total credits. The credit requirement for graduation remains the same, so students will have the ability to take more electives, add a major or minor, or even change majors and still graduate in four years.
Flexible: Students have more choices than previous iterations. For example, instead of requiring a specific introductory philosophy course, students can choose a philosophy course that interests them to satisfy a number of different categories.
Broad: As with other core curriculums, students will have the opportunity to take classes across campus, in disciplines like world languages, religion, art, music, philosophy, history, natural sciences, social sciences, mathematics, health and movement, rhetoric, and literature.
Relevant: Students come to Calvin with questions, hopes, and aspirations. Through the lens of Reformed faith, students will learn about diversity and difference, global cultural competency, and environmental sustainability. These topics are layered throughout the curriculum, intended to prepare students for lives of Christian service.
A REFRESH
The core hadn’t undergone a significant revision since 2001. A general sense from the faculty was that it needed an update to fit the new university structure and student needs.
One reason is that some programs need a higher number of credits to confer a degree as part of their accreditation. These higher credit loads meant that students wouldn’t be able to complete the core and their major requirement in four years, so a patchwork of exceptions were granted, making the core disjointed and inconsistent.
Now, core has been reimagined as flexible and coherent for all academic programs. It is also designed to be attractive to prospective students looking at colleges, relevant to them throughout their lives and careers, and true to Calvin’s long-standing commitments.
“We were finding that students considered core classes as less essential than their major courses,” said Anderson. “We want to change that.”
The University Core Task Force was chaired by Joel Westra, professor of political science, and included faculty from across the university. “Provost Cheryl Brandsen pushed us to think creatively, and our faculty colleagues encouraged us to balance coherence, flexibility, and disciplinary breadth. In some sense, we all had to compromise, but what we ended up with is something we ultimately were really satisfied with,” said Westra. The core is already a bright spot for faculty, said Engbers, who now serves as one of several faculty core fellows. “For the past two years, faculty have continually had to face reductions. The pandemic is forcing everyone to progressively get used to less and less,” said Engbers. “The new Calvin core, on the contrary, gives faculty more.”
How does the new core give more? One example is the new course called “Community and Commitments,” which students take their first semester on campus. Unlike the course all students took in the previous core, “Community and Commitments” seeks to provide all students with a common foundation for their time at Calvin. Students will read the same book, City of God by Augustine, and establish a broad basis of Reformed thinking.
Knowing that all students have a shared understanding and vocabulary will allow professors to start discussions in future classes at a deeper level.
“The ‘Community and Commitments’ course already is bringing together faculty from across the university to reflect upon and to discuss the meaning and significance of a Reformed Christian approach to learning,” said Westra. “Just as we want our students not to limit themselves to narrow disciplinary perspectives, the new core encourages us as faculty to continually broaden our perspectives as well.”
—DAVID KOETJE
PROFESSOR, BIOLOGY
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW: LIBERAL ARTS
By David Koetje, biology
Headlines in recent years haven’t always been positive about the future of liberal arts. But it’s far too soon to write the tombstone for the liberal arts. In fact, with the complex challenges of the 21st century, I believe that liberal arts are in for a resurgence.
Why? The problems the world faces today are not problems that can be addressed by one discipline alone.
Let’s take the issue of food security. How can we ensure good food for everyone and also be good stewards of the environment?
This is a complex, global problem. As a biologist, I can’t pretend that I have all the answers to solve the problem. We need to engage perspectives from the social and behavioral sciences. We need to understand how food is intertwined with culture and language. Insights from political science, communication, history, agriculture, and geography are also crucial. A complex challenge like this calls for concerted action based on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary problem-solving.
Liberal arts education prepares people for this type of work. When students take classes outside of their major, they’re not only learning the skills and facts of that discipline, they’re learning the importance of thinking in different domains. They’re learning how to ask questions that matter to biologists, politicians, farmers, and sociologists. These questions take us outside the boxes of each discipline in ways that recognize the multi-dimensional nature of the challenge and promote creative, sustainable, and just solutions.
What the world needs right now is more liberal arts graduates with the skills and the motivation to meet these complex challenges. And we need to be talking about how a Calvin education achieves this through the interplay between our major programs and our new core.
GRADUATION DOUBLEHEADER
UNIQUE COMMENCEMENT
On Saturday, May 22, 2021, history was made at LMCU Ballpark in Grand Rapids. After a 364-day delay, Calvin University’s Class of 2020 returned for its formal Commencement ceremony. It marked the first time degrees with the name Calvin “University” on them were conferred, it was the 100th conferring of baccalaureate degrees in Calvin’s 145-year history, and it also marked the first time students in the Calvin Prison Initiative were awarded bachelor’s degrees. The Class of 2021, which also finished its final year of college during a pandemic, celebrated as the second half of this unique double header. In total, more than 1,600 graduates participated either in-person or online between the two ceremonies.
—EMERSON SILVERNAIL
CLAIRE MURASHIMA
student body president, Class of 2021
“Whether you got to this point in your life by attending college in a country where you knew nobody, taking classes at the Handlon Correctional Facility, or by following two generations to Calvin, I hope that you can look back and see the unmistakable pattern of God’s faithfulness during your time at Calvin.”
MICHAEL DUTHLER
Calvin Prison Initiative graduate Class of 2020
“What began for me with an acceptance letter to [Calvin Prison Initiative] has formed me into the man who I am today and is inextricably bound with how I see myself in the future—someone who desires to break in God’s Kingdom, be that agent of renewal, to restore shalom, by sharing my education with others, by living out my vocation in a way that glorifies and magnifies God and allows his presence to be known in whatever sphere I touch.” “I think your generation is going to make breathtaking contributions. But you are going to need to be intentional about looking for the goodness. ... Be that Christian who sees the goodness and light and opportunity, even in the dark places. Even in the troubled times.”
—WILLIAM P. ROBINSON
Commencement speaker
Scan to watch the Commencement video.
Or go to our YouTube channel and see more memories from May 22, 2021.
