Calvin News

For 1989 Calvin graduate Bill Corner coming back to his alma mater to succeed Jerry Steele as director of campus safety is a dream come true.

"I didn't know a soul when I first came to Calvin," he recalls, "but I grew so much at Calvin in so many ways, including spiritually. To be able to give back to this place that gave me so much will be very rewarding."

Corner's new boss, Calvin vice president for student life Shirley Hoogstra, is equally enthused about the hire.

"Finding someone to succeed Jerry Steele was no small task," she says. "But in Bill we have found someone with a reputation for high integrity, someone with an excellent working relationships with the area police departments and someone known to be a hard worker. In addition God has provided for Calvin a person committed to the mission of the college and with a heart for students. What could be better than that?"

In fact, it was a stint as a student worker in the Campus Safety department at Calvin that launched Corner on his eventual career path, one that includes 14 years with the Grand Rapids Police Department.

He entered Calvin in the fall of 1985, after graduating from Greenville High School, with designs on a career as a teacher and a coach. And he eventually graduated with a major in history and a minor in physical education.

But conversations with Calvin criminal justice majors who were his fellow student Campus Safety officers got him intrigued by the law enforcement field. And an aptitude test fortified his foray into police work.

"The CJ (criminal justice) majors were the guys I worked with at Campus Safety," he recalls, "and their stories about internships and their Calvin classes were so interesting it got me thinking. Later on I took a test at the Broene (Counseling) Center at Calvin that showed law enforcement would be a good fit for me."

So, after graduating from Calvin having never taken a criminal justice course, Corner set off for a year at Grand Valley State University, where he immersed himself in the field. He then attended and graduated police academy and in 1991 was hired by the Grand Rapids Police Department.

He took on a number of tasks within the GRPD over the years, including SWAT Team work, the detectives unit, general case work, family services and major case. He eventually rose to Sergeant and came to Calvin after two years working in internal affairs.

He says his varied experiences with the GRPD will help him with his new duties at Calvin.

"One of my primary roles at Calvin," he says, "is administrative. We have a big staff of students and full-time employees in Campus Safety. My work in IA was very administrative as well and I think my experiences in that department will be good for what I'll be doing at Calvin. In addition, having spent a number of years working in different communities has taught me a fair bit about getting along with people."

That last skill, Corner says, is something he hopes to pass on to his student officers who are sometimes at a disadvantage because of their student status.

"Calvin is a great community," he says, "and we don't have a lot of the problems that some of the bigger, state schools might have. We're a dry campus and we don't have fraternities and sororities. Right there that eliminates a lot of problems. On the other hand at a lot of state schools the officers are police officers with the power to arrest people. Our officers are fellow students. So sometimes it can be frustrating for them."

Corner also hopes to work with the entire Calvin community, educating people on campus that safety is something everyone is responsible for.

"People at Calvin are great," he says, "but perhaps sometimes a little too trusting. So, doors get left unlocked and valuables get left exposed. I hope to help people understand how we can better work together to ensure the campus remains a safe place and still a welcoming place."

He also hopes to continue the strong ties established by Steele between Calvin and the local communities.

"We're part of Grand Rapids," he says, "and we're close neighbors to East Grand Rapids and Kentwood. It's important for us to be a part of the Grand Rapids community and to be a good neighbor. Part of that means working with local law enforcement. We've done a good job of that in the past and I want to see that continue."

Corner is married to the former Ellen Winkle and the couple has three children.

For a picture of Steele and Corner see the Calvin Around Town website