Category: Spring 2017

Distinctive Hope: Rope of Hope

Faith and community find expression in many ways at Hope, not least of all together as students journey alongside one another and faculty and staff as they grow into a fuller understanding of what they believe and how it will guide their lives. At the school year’s final Gathering worship service each April, the connection… Continue Reading →

From the President: Dr. John C. Knapp

Dear Friends, As I write this letter, the annual phenomenon known as “March Madness” is in full swing. This year, Hope College caught a bit of the madness, with both our men’s and women’s basketball teams advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III tournament. No matter what their sport, Hope’s student-athletes reflect… Continue Reading →

Quote, Unquote: Julian Hinson ’10, MLK Lecture

Julian Hinson ’10 Drawing on his own experiences, Julian Hinson ’10 outlined three levels of engagement for his audience to follow in living into the message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hinson delivered the address “Dismantling Injustice: Creating a New Legacy for a Better Future” as the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights… Continue Reading →

Campus Scene

BACCALAUREATE AND COMMENCEMENT WILL BE SUNDAY, MAY 7 The college’s 152nd Commencement, celebrating the graduating Class of 2017, will be held on Sunday, May 7, at 3 p.m. at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium. Baccalaureate will be held earlier in the day, at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel. Approximately 750 graduating… Continue Reading →

Sport and Religion

In America — with its foundational tenet of religious freedom and expression and with its fanatical devotion to sport participation and consumption — a prominent and perplexing marriage weds fierce competition and sincere faith on our playing fields, televisions, and newsfeeds. In kneeling Tim Tebow and post-game-midfield prayers, in evangelistic Athletes in Action and in… Continue Reading →

Boerigter Institute

A new, college-wide initiative at Hope, the Boerigter Institute, will help ensure that every student is robustly prepared for career success and professional growth. This significant effort is made possible by a major gift from SoundOff Signal in honor of Founder and Chairman George Boerigter ’61 and his wife, Sibilla. A task force of Hope… Continue Reading →

Hands-On Learning from Day1 and Beyond

As Eleda Plouch, a freshman from Greenfield, Indiana, prepared for her first semester of college last summer, various thoughts raced through her mind. Would she enjoy her classes? How would she deal with the stress of schoolwork? And would she find a core group of friends? Those concerns all dissipated though, as soon as she… Continue Reading →

Concert Series Offers More than Entertainment

The student-organized Hope College Concert Series books leading-edge performers (with credits ranging from Coachella to NPR to performing with Elton John) who electrify their audiences—and what happens on stage is only the beginning. Its heart lies in post-show “talk-backs,” master classes, meals with the artists and their crews, and meaningful exploration with them and together… Continue Reading →

Living History, Active Learning

Picture Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and George Washington on the Hope campus, more than two centuries removed from the creation of the United States Constitution, discussing the story of how the document that has guided the nation throughout its history came to be. That’s what happened as Hope’s DeWitt Center main theatre was… Continue Reading →

King of Diamonds

In the time it takes you to read this — just the word “this” — DJ Reyburn ’99 will make up his mind. In fact, in the time it takes you to read this — “this” now being this entire story — DJ Reyburn will make at least another 50 decisions. Ball, strike. Fair, foul.… Continue Reading →

The Heart of Hope

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Hope’s faculty make a tremendous difference. Talk to any alum, no matter the era, and he or she will share stories of a mentor — and usually many — whose enthusiasm, guidance and personal interest, running in tandem of course with their scholarly expertise, were transformative. The eight faculty… Continue Reading →

Rising Star: Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren

Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren of the psychology faculty has been named a Rising Star in research by the Association for Psychological Science, a recognition most often bestowed on scholars at institutions with graduate-level programs. The Rising Star designation recognizes outstanding scientists in the earliest stages of their research career post-Ph.D. whose innovative work has already… Continue Reading →

Window to Hope’s History: Kletz

Among Dutch settlers and their descendants in Holland, the term kletz paired with koffee meant an informal chance to chat, and so the snack bar that opened in Van Raalte Hall in October 1944 became the “Koffee Kletz.” Even as its menu and formal name have evolved, the Kletz has been a meaningful part of… Continue Reading →

Two to Receive Distinguished Alumni Awards

The Hope College Alumni Association will honor two alumni during the annual Alumni Banquet on Saturday, April 29. The association will present Distinguished Alumni Awards to Michael Magan ’88 who resides in London, United Kingdom, and is currently the chief operating officer of Momo Group, a global mobile banking and payments startup headquartered in London;… Continue Reading →

Association Honors Two Young Alumni

The Hope College Alumni Association honored Sarah Sanderson ’03 Doyle of Tokyo, Japan, and Dr. Josiah Dykstra ’02 of Severn, Maryland, with Young Alumni Awards on Thursday, March 2, as emerging leaders who have already been making an impact through their lives and careers. Sanderson Doyle is a Rotary International World Peace Fellow studying and… Continue Reading →

Closing Look: Brain Day

A young visitor to campus makes ready to use the power of his mind, transmitted via electrodes, to move another person’s arm. The experience was among several presented by Hope students, faculty and others on Saturday, March 11, for kindergarteners through 12th graders for National Brain Awareness Week. Did the event help inspire the next… Continue Reading →