Calvin Announces New Provost

January 6, 2006 == MEDIA ADVISORY

This summer Calvin College will have its first woman provost, the
second-highest ranking college official after the president.

Claudia Beversluis, currently the dean for instruction at Calvin, is being
recommended as Calvin's seventh chief academic officer, and the first woman in
the post after a nationwide search that attracted almost 60 nominees.

Beversluis was one of three candidates recommended by a campus-wide search
committee to Calvin president Gaylen Byker, who chose Beversluis in what he
described as a decision made easier by the excellence of the candidates.

"All three finalists were terrific," says Byker, who celebrated 10 years at
Calvin this summer and who also chose Beversluis' predecessor, Dr. Joel
Carpenter. "But I am confident that in Dr. Beversluis we will have a provost
who is a good fit for the position. It's a very important position for any
college campus, but especially important at a place like Calvin where our
faculty both teaches and does cutting-edge scholarship. I'm excited to see
where Dr. Beversluis will lead our faculty during her appointment."

If Beversluis is approved by the Calvin Board of Trustees (in February) and
the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church (in June) she will take over for
Carpenter, who will end a 10-year tenure as provost to become director of a
new institute on Calvin's campus, the Nagel Institute for the Study of World
Christianity.

Beversluis, a 1974 graduate of Calvin, says she applied for the job after
feeling a sense of calling.

"I had many people on campus ask me if I planned to apply," she says with a
chuckle. "It was hard to ignore that kind of input. When a community that you
are part of calls you to leadership I believe that you have to say yes. So I
applied."

Having gone through an intense search process and gotten the nod, Beversluis
says it's now up to her to deliver.

"I feel some pressure," she acknowledges, "but also tremendous support and
encouragement. We have such a terrific faculty here. I love our faculty. But I
do feel that our faculty needs a lot of support to do their jobs well. The
provost is a person who can influence that, who can support our faculty, thank
them, give them the resources they need to do their work."

For the complete story, including an audio interview (MP3) with Dr.
Beversluis, an interview with the Provost search committee co-chairs, the
official announcment from Calvin president Gaylen Byker, high-res pics and
more see:

http://www.calvin.edu/admin/provost

Contact Claudia Beversluis at 616-526-6122

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Received on Fri Jan 6 10:30:08 2006