May 18, 2002 == FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The 31-member Calvin College Board of Trustees concluded its spring meetings
May 17 on the school's campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The spring meeting is
one of three annual sessions for the Calvin Board. The Board also meets annually
in October and February.
Internal business saw the election of Board officers for 2002-2003. Milt
Kuyers, a Milwaukee area businessman, will stay on as Board chair and was
appointed to a second, three-year term on the Board; Charles DeRidder, a CRC
pastor from South Dakota, will remain vice chair; and Ed Blankespoor, a Grand
Rapids pastor, will remain secretary. Those three, and Calvin president Gaylen
Byker, will represent Calvin at Synod 2002 (the official deliberative body of
the Christian Reformed Church).
In addition, two other members of the Board were reappointed for three-year
terms: Carol Bremer-Bennett and Robert Koole, educators from New Mexico and
British Columbia, Canada respectively.
The Board bid farewell to five retiring members: Tom DeMeester, Ken Ozinga, Ed
Wierenga, Jan DeRoos and Rod Alderink. And it approved the appointments of four
new trustees (with one yet to be named later this month): Douglas Bratt, a
Maryland CRC pastor; Craig Friesema, a Wisconsin businessman; David VanderPloeg,
a retired lawyer and executive; and Janice Van Dyke Zeilstra, President of
Darwill Press in Illinois.
In academic business the Board endorsed several new programs, including: an
environmental geology major, a major in information systems, a new minor in
biotechnology, a new 150-hour accountancy program, a medieval studies minor and
two on-line graduate courses in education. It also endorsed 13 regular faculty
appointments and interviewed another eight faculty members for appointments.
The Board also saluted four retirees at a special dinner on May 17 and confered
emeritus status on the quartet of Ralph Honderd (professor of physical
education), Merle Mustert (professor of music), Dale Topp (professor of music)
and William VanDoorne (professor of chemistry). And it recognized 10 professors
for 25 years of service to Calvin: Ron Blankespoor (chemistry), Ken Bratt
(classics), Barb Carvill (germanic languages), Sandra Clevenger (spanish), Dale
Cooper (chaplain), Ed Ericson (English), Greg Mellema (philosophy), Jeff
Pettinga (physical education), Corwin Smidt (political science) and John
Timmerman (English).
It ratified 12 Calvin Research Fellowship Awards and endorsed the selection of
Pablo Villalta to participate in Calvin's Graduate Study Fellowship Program for
Prospective Minority Faculty Members, a program in which Calvin pays for a
prospective faculty member's graduate school expenses prior to that person
returning to teach at Calvin.
Another faculty related topic was a discussion and adoption of the report from
the Board-appointed Ad Hoc Christian Schooling Exceptions Review Committee which
had as its mandate two task: first, to look at and clarify the exceptions to
Calvin's policy for faculty which requires them to send their children to a
local Christian school and second, to clarify the process via which faculty
apply for an exception to the policy.
The Committee included three Board members (Charles DeRidder, Ed Milt Kuyers
and Norberto Wolf), four Calvin faculty members (Ken Bratt, Debra Freeberg, Won
Lee and Nancy Meyer) and Calvin president Gaylen Byker. Their report already
had been approved by the Calvin Professional Status Committee and heartily
endorsed by the Calvin Faculty Senate, prior to coming to the full Board. In
addition, the report was presented on May 17 to Classis Grand Rapids East, a
geographic collection of 15 Christian Reformed Churches.
The Board had an approximately 55-minute discussion on both the report and
Calvin's historic rationale for the Christian school requirement. President
Byker noted that the basic grounds for the requirement rest on "a desire to have
teachers at Calvin who believe in and practice the kind of education we offer
here, a faith-centered education."
DeRidder told the full Board that the new document includes more listed
exceptions, but added that for every exception noted there has been an exception
granted in the past. He also said that the process for applying for exceptions
has changed significantly. One of the biggest changes is that the first request
now is made to the faculty member's department chair (rather than directly to
the president as was previously the case). The request now is consistent with
the normal chain of faculty governance at Calvin. The faculty, he said, is
heartened by this change and sees it as a significant change.
DeRidder also said that one comment of a committee member had stuck with him
for a long time. Early in their meetings this committee member, one of the
faculty people, said: "We need a document that is in tone, less paternalistic
and more affirming." The document that the committee produced, believes
DeRidder, is such a document.
In other business the board approved a number of administrative reappointments,
including two vice-presidents (Shirley Hoogstra as vice president of student
life and Robert Bekhof as vice president for development), two directors (James
Bratt as director of the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship and Glenn
Remelts as director of the Hekman Library) and one curator (Richard Harms as
curator of the Archives).
The May meeting coincides each year with Calvin's Commencement ceremonies, held
this year on Saturday, May 18 at 3 p.m. in the Calvin Fieldhouse. The Board
participates in Commencement and this year was part of a ceremony that includes
the presentation of bachelor's degrees to 850 graduates (about 500 women and 350
men), the 82nd such conferring of four-year degrees in Calvin's history. In
fact, Calvin awarded its first bachelor's degrees in 1921 to a senior class of
eight men. This year's class, the class of 2002, includes about 480 women and
370 men.
The 2002 Commencement speaker was Calvin professor Randall Bytwerk. He had been
scheduled to speak in 2001 but graciously gave up his slot when Calvin was able
to secure Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist as the speaker. Bytwerk
spoke about what the future might hold for the class of 2002, basing his remarks
on a survey he did of the Calvin class of 1952.
The Commencement Ceremony also was marked by the presentation of Calvin's
highest alumni honor -- the Distinguished Alumni Award -- to John and Juliana
Flietstra Steensma and Jack Kuipers. Calvin College has presented its
Distinguished Alumni Awards -- intended to honor those who have made significant
contributions in their field of endeavor -- annually since 1966. The Steensmas,
of Holland, Mich., are being honored for years of tireless service to the cause
of the disabled in both Michigan and abroad, specifically Korea. John Steensma
is a double amputee, having lost both arms in an accident at the age of 17.
Kuipers, a retired mathematics professor at Calvin, is widely acknowledged as
the father of virtual reality, but beyond that his mathematical models have been
used for technological advances in both industry and government.
The Board will next meet in October 2002 for a retreat in the new Prince
Conference Center on Calvin's campus.
For more on Commencement, see www.calvin.edu/commencement
-end-
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat May 18 2002 - 19:34:56 EDT