Going Beyond in 2024: A Year in Review
The 2024 calendar year at Calvin University included adding new programs, new spaces, and even featured a few firsts for a university that’s almost 150 years old. Most importantly, it included many stories of students, faculty, staff, and alumni living out the mission of Calvin University of being Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.
So, as another year draws to a close, News & Stories highlights 10 ways Calvin experienced momentum this past year. Note: This list is representative and in no way exhaustive of all the great things happening at Calvin.
1. Calvin expands offerings for all learners
In 2024, Calvin added a new master’s program in nursing, created two new degree completion programs, launched an aerospace concentration in engineering, and began offering the Wayfinder program in the 49507 zip code. The university also hired its first-ever dean of graduate studies signaling its ongoing commitment to strengthening and expanding its graduate-level offerings.
2. More students choose Calvin
In 2024, Calvin welcomed its largest incoming class in the past decade and its total enrollment now exceeds 3,600 students. Nearly 20% of first-year students hail from outside the United States and another 20% are first-generation.
3. New spaces open up
In 2024, Calvin opened up impressive new athletic, community gathering, and academic spaces, from a state-of-the-art soccer stadium to three reimagined floors of the Hekman Library to new and improved lab spaces in the School of Health, Calvin spent 2024 building up its campus, significantly improving the student experience.
4. Teachers impress in and out of the classroom
U.S. News & World Report listed Calvin as the best university for undergraduate teaching in its Regional Universities Midwest category. So, teaching is clearly top priority, but research and scholarship are also highly regarded. From earning a Fulbright in Jordan to a fellowship at NASA to receiving an honorary doctorate from a university in the Netherlands, profs continue to impress outside the classroom too.
5. Investments are made in the arts
In 2024, Calvin made enhancements to its theatre program, investing in people, places, and programming, including bringing back the theatre minor. Another investment in the arts that Calvin made was bringing back its music education program.
6. A football team and marching band are launched
In 2024, Calvin University kicked off its first official football season, which included an impressive win over Oberlin. Equally as impressive is that Calvin launched and fielded a marching band, which performed on field for the first time during Homecoming and Family Weekend, just ten weeks after their initial practice.
7. Students continue to stand out
Three students at Calvin received Goldwater scholarships, which is widely considered to be the most prestigious award for undergraduate students in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering in the United States. Another pair of students earned prestigious Fulbright scholarships to teach and study overseas.
8. Long-held partnerships celebrated, new ones established
In 2024, Calvin and its partners in the village of Umm Al-Jimal celebrated the 2,000-year-old ruins becoming a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. Calvin has been working alongside the people of Umm Al-Jimal in Jordan since 1972. The university’s School of Health also established a new partnership with Baylor University, providing physical therapy education opportunities for Calvin students.
9. A new president warmly welcomed
After serving as interim president for eight months, Greg Elzinga was officially appointed as Calvin’s 13th president. The unanimous approval by the Calvin University Board of Trustees was based on the recommendation of the presidential search committee who applauded Elzinga for his exemplary leadership, vision, and commitment to the university during a period of significant transition.
10. Caring for creation held as a high value
From students creating a design for a potential future solar farm on campus to the Plaster Creek Stewards receiving another significant grant and being recognized as a 2024 West Michigan Sustainable Business of the Year honoree, Calvin continued to advance its commitment to caring for creation in 2024.