Category: Summer 2022

Distinctive Hope: A Dozen Strong

Hope’s 12 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular-season championships in team sports during the 2021-22 school year reflect the college’s consistent excellence in athletics: strong performances in event after event, from sport to sport, and across fall, winter and spring. Hope’s league-record MIAA Commissioner’s Cups — the 38th this year, 22 more than any other member… Continue Reading →

From the President: Matthew A. Scogin ʼ02

Dear Friends and Family of Hope College, An important strength of Hope is that the college isn’t distinguished by one quality, but many. Some institutions of higher education are known for outstanding teaching and strong mentoring relationships with faculty and staff. Some are known for research and scholarly inquiry. Some are known for faith development.… Continue Reading →

Quote Unquote: Commencement

As the members of Hope’s graduating Class of 2022 prepared to receive their diplomas and cross the stage into the future, Commencement speaker Dr. Marcus Fila shared one last lesson before they became alumni: “Play the Long Game.” More than 710 graduating seniors participated in the ceremony, held on Sunday, May 8, at Ray and… Continue Reading →

Campus Scene

NEW SCHOOL YEAR The college’s 161st academic year is nigh, with the members of the incoming Class of 2026 arrive on Friday, Aug. 26, for the start of New Student Orientation that evening. The rest of the students will begin to return on Sunday, Aug. 28. The Opening Convocation marking the official beginning of the… Continue Reading →

Blazing Trails

At Hope, more than 400 students are the first in their families to pursue a four-year degree, often referred to as first-generation college students or more affectionately “first-gen.” And while attending college is a major life change for every student, first-gen students experience additional challenges. Especially as Hope pursues Hope Forward — making a Hope… Continue Reading →

A Sacred Space

If you step into the newly renovated Saint Anne Oratory at the Carol C. Schaap Chapel in the basement of Graves Hall, where the former Schoon Meditation Chapel was located, you’ll find it to be a place of peace and quiet, of uncommon beauty — a place of palpable sacredness. As the Most Reverend David… Continue Reading →

HSRT is Golden

After all these years, its origin story has taken on a bit of a mythical quality, and it goes like this: It’s 1971, and a long-awaited theatre on the campus of Hope College has finally been completed. While its new paint smell slowly dissipates, two young and ambitious theatre professors, John Tammi and Don Finn,… Continue Reading →

Why Do Wetlands Come and Go Between Dunes?

“On Sunday afternoons, after church and dinner, one of my favorite places to go was the area that’s now called the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area,” said Professor Suzanne DeVries-Zimmerman ’82, a West Michigan native and assistant professor of geological and environmental science instruction. “I just thought the whole area was fascinating — these wetlands in… Continue Reading →

What Makes Athletes Tick?

From the start, it’s been go, go, go for Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Dr. Femi Oluyedun. (Growing up with three brothers may have contributed to that lifestyle and mindset.) From a childhood immersed in sports to a stint on Wabash College’s soccer team as an undergraduate psychology major, through his years of study for his… Continue Reading →

A New Jewel in the Crown

A major addition planned for the DeWitt Center will provide essential instructional and rehearsal space for the college’s internationally recognized and nationally accredited Department of Dance, along with other improvements that will benefit everyone who is either on stage or in the audience in the adjacent main theatre. Facing Columbia Avenue near the main entrance,… Continue Reading →

Outstanding Spring Caps a Record Year for Hope Athletics

A successful spring season secured the 38th MIAA Commissioner’s Cup trophy for Hope Athletics, the most among member schools. It was the first time in three years the all-sports award was handed out. Four spring teams earned MIAA regular-season championships — baseball, men’s lacrosse, women’s tennis, and women’s outdoor track and field — giving Hope… Continue Reading →