Calvin University and Handong Global University strengthen partnership
On November 24, 2025, leaders from Calvin University and Handong Global University signed a new MOU (memorandum of understanding). The agreement serves as the latest example of both institutions' commitment to their long-held partnership.
In late November 2025, leaders from Calvin University traveled to Handong Global University (HGU) for the INCHE (International Network for Christian Higher Education) Asia-Oceania Conference. The conference came at the intersection of two significant anniversary years, INCHE’s 50th and HGU’s 30th. In three decades, HGU has established itself as a leader in Christian higher education both in Asian and global contexts.
The conference, which brought together Christian scholars and university leaders from across the region under the theme “Holistic Intelligence in Higher Education: A New Paradigm in the AI Era,” also prominently featured Calvin University faculty and alumni.
David I. Smith answers questions at INCHE's 2025 Asia-Oceania Conference.
David I. Smith, professor of education and director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning at Calvin University, was the keynote speaker at the conference. Deborah Haarsma, who taught at Calvin for 15 years in the department of physics and astronomy, attended her first conference as incoming president of INCHE alongside outgoing president Shirley Roels, who previously taught for three decades at Calvin.
“Having this visit to Handong Global University fall in the middle of our university’s 150th anniversary year was fitting,” said Greg Elzinga, president of Calvin University. “Seeing our faculty and alumni leading global conversations and organizations spanning many sectors and spheres served as yet another tangible example of the vast impact of a Calvin education. One thing that becomes more and more clear in my travels is that our world needs more Calvin alumni who have been equipped to think deeply, act justly, and live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.”
The visit to Handong Global University also included a pair of other significant moments. Calvin University and HGU signed a new MOU (memorandum of understanding). The two universities have held a strong partnership for decades, including an existing agreement that provides for student exchanges and faculty exchange. One such example is a short-term exchange of Calvin and HGU mathematics faculty members, organized by Calvin's De Vries Institute and a counterpart institute at HGU, which will be happening in the spring of 2026.
The signing of the new MOU signals Calvin's intention to participate in HGU’s new Holistic Intelligence Alliance, including collaboration in the development of the Handong Open Platform for Education (HOPE), which will make a variety of new online learning opportunities available to member institutions.
President Dosoung Choi presents President Greg Elzinga with an honorary doctorate degree.
HGU President Dosoung Choi also conferred an honorary doctorate degree upon President Elzinga. The honor recognized Elzinga’s outstanding leadership in advancing Christian higher education, his lifelong commitment to ethical governance, justice, and reconciliation, and his vision for strengthening Christian universities globally. Not only did the honor serve to recognize Elzinga’s decades-long leadership in higher education and nonprofit work, but it also reaffirmed the growing institutional friendship between Calvin University and Handong Global University.
“I am extremely grateful and humbled to receive this honor from such a well-respected global partner,” said Elzinga. “And I am excited to see how God will continue to open up opportunities through this partnership that will lead to mutual benefit for both the Handong and Calvin communities and ultimately for the flourishing of the world.”
