Calvin Honors the Legacy of Dr. John Perkins
Dr. John Perkins was a civil rights leader and an internationally known speaker, teacher, and author. He received numerous honorary doctorate degrees and several awards for his work in racial reconciliation and community development. On Friday, March 13, 2026, Perkins died at the age of 95.
While Perkins’ impact had an international footprint, evidenced by him being honored in major news publications around the world this past week, his deep love and meaningful influence were also profoundly felt at Calvin University.
“We are forever grateful for the many ways Dr. Perkins has engaged with our community over the years and modeled for us what it looks like to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God,” said Greg Elzinga, president of Calvin University. “While his legacy is already grand, it will continue to grow as the seeds planted during his life blossom in the hearts of men and women. The result will be a healthier multicultural community—both here at Calvin and around the world.”
Modeling the mission
Perkins’ relationship with Calvin is longstanding. He and members of his family and foundation, have visited Calvin numerous times over the past few decades. Those visits were opportunities for students to see a living example of Calvin’s mission.
In 2019, Dr. John Perkins was awarded the Kuyper Prize in a ceremony hosted by Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary.
“What struck me most was how naturally his life embodied the very things we aspire to teach our students,” said Josh Samarco, director of the Center for Intercultural Student Development. “Whenever he visited campus, he didn’t come with fanfare or self-importance. He came with a gentle insistence that reconciliation is possible, that forgiveness, justice, community, and love are not abstract ideals but practices available to us through Christ. When he spoke about ‘walking together’ and making a better world for our children, it felt like an invitation to the Calvin community: Live this. Don’t settle for talking about it.”
Leaning into a shared commitment
One of the ways Calvin has leaned further into its shared commitment with Dr. Perkins to racial reconciliation and Christian community development over the years is through its involvement with The Christian Community Development Association (CCDA). Founded by Dr. Perkins in 1989, the organization is a network of Christians committed to living in underserved neighborhoods with the goal of building relationships and seeing communities and people holistically restored.
Upon returning from a semester abroad in Honduras in the late 1990s, Ryan VerWys ’00 was looking for a framework for pursuing more holistic mission work in the United States. He was then introduced to the work of John Perkins and his comprehensive view of the Gospel, justice, and shalom … and he was “hooked.”
Over the next 27 years, VerWys said, “I went from a super-fan, reading everything he ever wrote, to having the privilege to serve on the CCDA Board of Trustees alongside him.”
Translating learning to action
More importantly, VerWys is one of many Calvin alumni putting principles they’ve learned from Dr. Perkins’ life and work into practice.
“My entire career and ministry have been shaped by his example and teaching,” said Verwys, CEO of ICCF Community Homes whose aspiration is vibrant communities in West Michigan with connected neighbors, housing justice, and abundant opportunity. “CCDA has been a supportive community of learning and practice for Rachel VerWys ’00 [CEO of Safe Haven Ministries] and me for more than two decades. It’s impossible to quantify how much that has shaped my worldview and ministry philosophy. I am deeply indebted to JP and hope to be a leader like he was, proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed, loving the church towards faithful impact, and raising up new leaders to continue that work for generations to come.”
The Verwys are just two of many Calvin alums leading nonprofit organizations who have been heavily influenced by Dr. Perkins. Faculty and staff at Calvin have also been shaped by his life and work.
“Personally, Dr. Perkins is one of my spiritual heroes,” said Stacia Hoeksema ’94, who has taught in Calvin’s sociology and social work department since 2003. “His work changed the trajectory of the life of my family as we sought to live out the CCD principles which have impacted the choices we have made about how Jesus and justice fit together influencing where and how we live, work, worship, shop, send our kids to school, etc. The kingdom has been substantially impacted by John Perkins, and I hope Calvin continues to lean into his legacy.”
Tangible expressions of legacy
One tangible way his legacy continues on campus today is through the John M. Perkins Leadership Fellows program, a two-year, cohort-based experience for students focused on Christian community development, racial justice, and leadership. One of Calvin’s living-learning communities in van Reken Hall is also named in his honor.
“Calvin is one of the colleges that the Perkins Foundation has been pouring into for many years,” said Hoeksema. “The Perkins have been important partners of Calvin, and we are grateful for the ways the family has invested in our students through the years.”
In March 2026, Annie Mas-Smith (far right) and members of the Perkins Fellows cohort spent spring break serving and learning in the Woodlawn neighborhoods.
Annie Mas-Smith ‘06, director of Calvin’s service-learning center, was leading a spring break trip last week with members of the Perkins Fellows cohort when she received the news of Dr. Perkins’ death. The group was serving alongside a nonprofit in the Woodlawn neighborhoods, a significant area on the southside of Chicago where Dr. Perkins and others engaged in extensive racial reconciliation work.
“His faith was a driving force in seeing the image of God in everyone, of seeking reconciliation and empathy,” said Mas-Smith, who also taught a course this past fall, titled: The Life and Legacy of Dr. Perkins. “This trip to Chicago wasn’t specific to Dr. Perkins, but his teachings were infused in everything we did.”
Living legacy
The same is true of his legacy at Calvin. Years from now, a google search of “Dr. Perkins AND Calvin University” may turn up the Kuyper Prize he received in 2019, the January Series lecture he gave in 2014, his Commencement address in 2003, or the floor or fellowship named in his honor. But his impact reaches far beyond what may appear in a headline.
“His impact at Calvin isn’t defined by a single event or award. It’s the way his life expands our imagination for what faithful Christian leadership looks like. It’s the way he pushed us toward a more courageous engagement with racial justice, one that insists on both truth and love. It’s the way he reminded us that healing begins with proximity, humility, and the willingness to see others as image-bearers worth our time, sacrifice, and solidarity,” said Samarco. “Dr. Perkins’ impact on Calvin over the years has given us, the Calvin community, a clearer glimpse of the kingdom of God he dedicated his life to building.”