Calvin board wraps February meetings

The 31-member Calvin College board of trustees concluded its winter meetings this weekend on the school's campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The winter meeting is one of three annual sessions for the Calvin board, which also meets in October and May.

Tenure interviews are always a highlight at the February board meeting. This year's meeting was no exception.

The Calvin board interviewed and granted tenure to: Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim (Germanic languages), Chad Engbers (English), Todd Kapitula (mathematics and statistics), Linda Naranjo-Huebl (English), Marcie Pyper (Spanish), John Ross (HPERDS) and David Urban (English).

Besides the tenure interviews, the Calvin board also approved for reappointment an additional 28 faculty members.

The board also attended a special faculty/board dinner where Calvin's 18th-annual Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching was given to professor of English Jim Vanden Bosch. The award includes a one-of-a-kind medallion and provides the winner with a significant financial stipend thanks to the George B. and Margaret K. Tinholt Endowment fund, set up at Calvin by a donor in honor of George Tinholt, a former member of the Calvin board of trustees.

Another important item for the board of trustees was approval of the new 2010-2011 rates for tuition, fees and room and board. The overall budget will be set when the board of trustees meets in May.

Tuition and fees for 2010-2011 will be $24,645, while room and board will be $8,525. With additional required fees of $225, the total costs for 2010-2011 will be $33,395. This represents an overall tuition increase of less than 3.3 percent.

Calvin vice president for enrollment management Russ Bloem notes that Calvin continues to deliver a high-quality, high-value education at a cost below that of its peers.

Bloem notes that the cost to attend Calvin College is considerably less than the national average for four-year private colleges, adding that "the difference is even more striking when you look at colleges and universities that are comparable to Calvin academically."

Calvin's commitment to remaining affordable is evidenced by the maintaining of a strong financial aid program. The college expects to increase its financial aid distribution by seven percent for the 2010-2011 school year. More than 90 percent of the Calvin student body will receive some form of financial aid, making the actual cost to attend Calvin, in most cases, well below the $33,395 total figure.

-end-
Received on Tue Feb 16 10:09:09 2010