Farewell program to honor Gaylen and Susan Byker

On Wednesday, May 16, the Calvin College and west Michigan community will have an opportunity to honor President Gaylen Byker and his wife Susan for their 17 years of service to Calvin College.

The program, "A Byker Farewell: God's Grace and Gratitude," will be held at 8 p.m. in the college's Covenant Fine Arts Center (CFAC). Calvin professors Randall Bytwerk and Gary Schmidt, Calvin Chaplain Mary Hulst and Fuller Theological Seminary President Richard Mouw, are a few of the participants involved in the program, which is open to the public.

The farewell program features a new musical work, "Parable," written by local composer and Calvin alumnus, Sean Ivory. "Parable," which will be performed by the Calvin College Alumni Choir, was commissioned by the farewell events committee and funded by the Calvin Alumni Association.

There will be a reception in the CFAC west lobby following the program.

Byker, a 1973 graduate of Calvin College, returned to his alma mater in 1995 to become the college's ninth president. During his tenure, Byker has helped the college develop new academic programs and strengthen existing ones. In 2001, Calvin implemented a new core curriculum, which strengthened the integration between faith and learning in the classroom. Included in the new core is a first-year student program, which provides incoming students with a framework for building a Reformed Christian worldview--a foundation of faith that supports their entire Calvin education.

Byker has also helped in building institutes and centers at the college to extend the mission of Calvin to the ends of the world. The Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning, Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity, the Van Lunen Center for Executive Management in Christian Schools and the Center for Innovation in Business were all established under Byker's leadership.
He has been influential in helping Calvin emerge as a leader among colleges and universities in global engagement. Calvin's off-campus programs have greatly expanded under Byker's watch, now offering students study-abroad opportunities on six continents, including 13 semester programs and 30 interims. In 2011, the Institute of International Education ranked Calvin second nationally among all baccalaureate institutions in its annual Open Doors Report for the total number of students who participate in a short-term study abroad. In that same report, Calvin was ranked fifth for the number of international students studying on campus.
Finally, Byker will be remembered for his ability to fund raise. During his years at Calvin, he successfully led a $150 million capital campaign, which provided funding for scholarships and financial aid, faculty research, centers and institutes and new campus facilities.
Byker followed Anthony Diekema (1976-1995) and William Spoelhof (1951-1976) in the Calvin presidency. They are the only three to serve as Calvin's president in the past 60-plus years.
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Matt Kucinski
Media Relations Manager
Calvin College
msk23@calvin.edu
616.526.8935 (office)
616.307.7429 (cell)
Received on Fri May 11 14:30:15 2012