Servant Leaders-in-Residence

The Center for Faithful Leadership's Servant Leaders-in-Residence program seeks to enhance Hope College's ability to create leaders. Servant Leaders-in-Residence are people of outstanding character and competence who are transformational leaders who live "purpose-driven" and "others-focused" lives, unselfishly serving students and helping educate them "for lives of leadership and service... in the context of the historic Christian faith."

• Virgil Gulker
• Paul Jones
• Jim Cnossen (see below)

Jim Cnossen

The third person named as Servant Leader-in-Residence is Mr. Jim Cnossen. Mr. Cnossen is actively involved with the Center for Faithful Leadership in four areas: CFL Advisory Board Member, ASI Consulting, CFL Mentoring Program, and HEI coursework design.

Jim has extensive experience within the Automotive Industry, a proven track record of leadership within the Information Technology field, and unique experiences as an entrepreneur implementing ideas and solutions within a for-profit environment. Jim has expert knowledge and senior level management experience in strategic IT leadership, business process re-engineering, and manufacturing operations all within an international context. He is recognized as a visionary and a results-oriented leader with strong communications and people-related skills.

After 30 years with Ford followed by several years of Management Consulting, Jim brings a distinguished record of providing solutions that address strategic business needs from within Fortune 5 corporations. Drawing from his automotive and manufacturing experiences, these solutions typically are an effective blend of people, process, and technologies.

During his career at Ford, Jim held 14 different management positions within both the IT and non-IT functions. In these positions, he was responsible for IT operations in virtually every major segment of automotive operations including Product Development, Manufacturing Engineering, Production Operations, Finance, Purchasing, Sales & Marketing, Dealership Operations, Strategic Corporate Decision Support, and Corporate Data Center Operations. In addition, he held responsible operating positions in plant production operations and quality management.

Academically, Jim has strong credentials with two undergraduate degrees (Math/Science and Engineering), a Masters Degree in Systems Engineering, MBA graduate work, and held Adjunct Professor positions at the University of Michigan, Henry Ford Community College, and Walsh College.

“We are blessed to have Jim on our team,” says Steve VanderVeen, Director of CFL. “Jim complements the strengths we have by providing CFL with the additional process-thinking competencies we need. But more importantly, Jim is a person of deep character, perspective, and heart for students. Like all of us, his desire is to empower and transform students to be positive change agents to the glory of God. To quote another Jim, he seeks to “grow world Christians in the soil of Hope.”

Here's What Students Said:

"Last spring 2010, I met Jim and knew by the first conversation he was a person of great character. Over the last year, I have had the privilege and opportunity to work alongside Jim on a few ASI projects and here’s what I learned.

Jim is the type of leader who reflects all that it means to be a servant-leader--putting others first, empowering others, and collaborating on shared visions. He dedicates much of his time investing in the lives of college students, although most of his work is done behind the scenes of the CFL and ASI programs. For example, Jim is an Advisor to ASI, he frames many proposals, he is a mentor in the CFL Mentoring Program, and most recently, he and Virgil created the entrepreneurship-focused May Term course for HEI.

Jim plays an essential role in developing and engineering new ways of learning for Hope students. He also equips college students with savvy business skills. Although Jim is the type of leader who ‘throws his titles out the door’ when you’re in a meeting with him, his titles and work knowledge are extensive and impressive. We are blessed to have Jim contribute to our learning experience.

I know I have discovered new business management and leadership skills while working with Jim that I will use in the “real world” when I start work at Dow Chemical. Thanks, Jim, for generously sharing your wisdom and leadership skills with us. You are someone who students see as a role model. What a blessing and encouragement it is to know you and your deep desire to “grow world Christians in the soil of Hope.” -- Lindsay Allward