Annual Report Text, 1999-2000

The time had come for a change. After 26 years in the same office and laboratory, I needed a room with a different view. I requested and was granted an early retirement from Hope College so that I could focus my activities on writing projects. This will be my last opportunity to summarize my yearly activities in the Chemistry Department Annual Report. The biographical sketch below also appeared in the program for the Faculty Retirement Dinner held on May 5, 2000, so I apologize if you have already read it.

I was born and reared in Nebraska and educated at Westmar College (BA, Chemistry, Math) and Colorado State University (PhD, Organic Chemistry). After three years of biochemical research at the University of Michigan Medical School, I taught biochemistry at Grand Valley State University for two years. I then joined the Chemistry Department at Hope College in 1974. Some of the highlights from my 26 years at Hope include: 1) teaching biochemistry and organic chemistry to hundreds (maybe even thousands) of students; 2) directing the research of over 70 Hope students; 3) publishing over 40 research papers; 4) receiving over $750,000 in grant money; 5) serving six years as chair of the department; 6) being named the Drs. Edward and Elizabeth Hofma Professor of Chemistry; 7) publishing a lab book (Modern Experimental Biochemistry, three editions, Benjamin/ Cummings Publishing) and a text (Concepts in Biochemistry, working on second edition, Brooks/Cole Publishing); and 8) spending a sabbatical year with Nobel Laureate Tom Cech at the University of Colorado/Boulder. Although I found working in my office and laboratory exciting and rewarding, there are two activities that were more challenging and will longer be remembered--restoring a 100-year old house in Holland with my wife, Christel, and enrolling in an English writing class during a May Term.

I am "retiring" only from teaching and laboratory research. I will continue to write textbooks, educational articles, and nature essays. In addition, I will remain active in biochemical education at a national/international level by serving as a consultant for undergraduate biochemistry programs, working on the Educational Taskforce of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and joining the Editorial Board for the journal, "Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education."

Christel, Mausi (our Himalayan), and I have moved to Bozeman, Montana where we are building our dream home. Christel recently retired after working 22 years as an environmental chemist for GM. We have already begun spending our free time hiking the mountains, antiquing, and transforming our property into a sanctuary for mountain bluebirds, deer, elk, and wildflowers.