Dr. Brian Bolt is a professor of kinesiology and men’s golf coach at Calvin University. Dr. Bolt returned to his alma matter in 2005 to teach and coach. He has served in multiple leadership roles, including Department Chair. In the classroom, his work focuses on teacher education courses, motor learning, philosophy of physical education and sport. His writing and speaking centers on teaching and coaching and the practical connections between sport and Christianity. On the golf course, his team celebrated its first-ever MIAA title in 2010 and first trip to the NCAA Division III Championships in 2011. Since then, they’ve added two more titles (2013, 2017) and more invitations to compete at the national level.
Dr. Bolt is graduate of Calvin College, ’90. He earned his Masters of Arts in teaching at UNC-Chapel Hill and his PhD in teacher education and physical education at UNC-Greensboro. Before coming to Calvin, he taught and served as kinesiology department chair at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia for 8 years.
Dr. Bolt’s wife Joni is also a Calvin graduate, and they have three children: Grace, Maria, and George.
Dr. Chad Carlson is an assistant professor of kinesiology and junior varsity men’s basketball coach at Hope College. Dr. Carlson returned to his alma mater to teach and coach in 2014. In the classroom, his work focuses on the philosophy of sport, the history of sports and their role in cultural trends, and the connection between sports and Christianity. His research is focused broadly on the socio-cultural aspects of sport—check out his recently published book, Making March Madness: The Early Years of the NCAA, NIT and College Basketball Championship Tournaments, 1922-1951, (University of Arkansas Press, 2017). And, he has served in various service and executive roles within the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport and the Northern American Society for Sport History.
Dr. Carlson is a graduate of Hope College, ’03. He earned his Masters of Arts in health, physical education and recreation, and pedagogy program at Western Michigan University, and his PhD in kinesiology and the history/philosophy of sport program at Penn State University. Before coming to Hope College, he was an assistant professor, assistant chair and graduate program coordinator at Eastern Illinois University.
Dr. Carlson’s wife Kathi is also a graduate, and they have two children: Brielle and Bryce.
