Tag: featured

Home of Champions

Thrice as Nice! The Hope College women’s basketball team forged a milestone in the Steel City as the third women’s NCAA Division III program in history to win three national championships, following up titles in 1990 and 2006. The 2021-22 season provided an opportunity for a championship run that had been denied in both 2020… Continue Reading →

The Wonder of Creation

It is no surprise that the Pine Grove is the heart of campus not only literally but figuratively. For as long as Hope has been, its towering white pines and their cousins have served at once as campus crossroads and as a welcoming oasis. Endlessly patient, they can be a tranquil refuge from the demands… Continue Reading →

The ‘And’ of God

On September 12, 2021, the Rev. Ross Dieleman ’04 opened a sermon series at Fellowship Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan, with an interactive call-and-response: “Macaroni and — .” The congregation responded: “Cheese.” Dieleman continued: “Lost and — . Rise and — . Forgive and — . Grace and — . Naked and — .” From… Continue Reading →

Where Dreams Begin

In post-war Japan in the 1950s, Maurice Kawashima was an orphaned teenager who took a well-deserved break from supporting himself and from his studies and went to the theatre to watch Stagecoach, the classic 1939 film starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne. Someday, he thought, he’d like to visit the nation that he was seeing… Continue Reading →

Leading with the Heart

A member of the Hope College Board of Trustees invited Dr. Richard Frost, retiring dean of students and vice president for student development, to lunch. He wanted to get Frost’s view on how the student body was faring, particularly as they weather the pandemic, and perhaps gain some insights to the qualities needed for 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 →

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 →

Hope Receives National Award for Excellence in Diversity

Hope has received the 2022 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. As a recipient of the annual HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — Hope was… Continue Reading →

New Vita Scholars Program Develops Pastors Faster

Hope and Western Theological Seminary have established a “3-2” pastor-preparation program that will provide specialized training for ministering to underserved communities. The new Vita Scholars Program (Vita is Latin for “Life”) will enable students to graduate from Hope with a Bachelor of Arts degree and from the seminary with a Master of Divinity degree after… Continue Reading →

“Algorithm + You = Art”

Viewers play a major role in a Hope professor’s award-winning entry in the international ArtPrize competition held this fall. They collaborate for an experience that is different every time. Created by Dr. Charles Cusack, professor of computer science and mathematics, “Algorithm + You = Art” invites those visiting it to enter a phrase and pick… Continue Reading →

A Honey of a Project

It takes eight to 12 bees a lifetime to produce enough honey to fill a single teaspoon. The three hives installed on the Hope campus this past spring generated 10 gallons that ultimately found their way to the shelves of the college’s bookstore to provide a sweet taste of campus and West Michigan. That’s a… Continue Reading →

The Road to Epic

As Dr. Steve Boerigter, who became chair of the college’s Board of Trustees in July, anticipated retirement from Los Alamos National Laboratory, he wanted to begin with something once-in-a-lifetime epic. It didn’t take long for him and spouse Kathy Reeder ’83 Boerigter, who’d retired from teaching a couple years earlier, to decide — as experienced… Continue Reading →

10 Under 10

Every year, the Holland Bowl Mill creates beautiful wooden bowls that are used as the physical awards for the college’s “10 Under 10” award recipients. Below the recipient’s name and graduation year, the bowl states that each is “an agent of Hope living faithfully into their vocation.” While this year’s recipients’ vocations range from social… Continue Reading →

A Catalyst for Hope

In the latest of his seven New York Times bestsellers, Bomber Mafia: A Dream, A Temptation and the Longest Night of the Second World War, Malcolm Gladwell, the world-renowned author, journalist and visionary thinker, draws a conclusion after researching the “Bomber Mafia,” the small but renegade band of 1930s U.S. Army pilots who sought to… Continue Reading →

Thank You!

There is an aphorism to the effect that trees are planted for the next generation. To teach is much the same — although the results are often more immediate and observable. Both are acts of giving and faith, a commitment to a future hoped for and unseen. The eight faculty retiring this year have devoted… Continue Reading →

Jairus Meer Goes to Washington

I am lost. I am lost in a world of endless possibilities.” With this dramatic statement, Hope College junior Jairus Meer opened his keynote address at the 12th Annual National Summit of the Courageous Conversation Global Foundation (CCGF) in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3, 2022. Meer, who is earning a major in biology and a… Continue Reading →

Tipping the Scales

A single grain of rice is almost inconsequential, measuring about a quarter-of-an-inch long and weighing 1/64 of a gram. But as one Hope alumna discovered, one grain of rice can tip the scale and make all the difference. Amy Back ’06 Ahiga, relying on her faith and the idea that doing something small can have… Continue Reading →

The Global Travel Program Is Back

After a pause due to the pandemic, we are excited to relaunch the Global Travel Program. Since 1961, alumni and friends of the college have had the opportunity to explore the world as lifelong learners and gain a deeper understanding of different cultures. Recently, more than 900 people have expressed interest in traveling with the… Continue Reading →