Charlotte vanOyen-Witvliet
Holds the John H. and
Jeanne M. Jacobson Professorship

Dr. Charlotte vanOyen-Witvliet holds the John H. and Jeanne M. Jacobson Professor of Psychology.

Dr. vanOyen-Witvliet has been a member of the Hope faculty since 1997. Her teaching responsibilities have included Introductory Psychology, Positive Psychology, Behavior Disorders, Clinical Psychology, Internships and Advanced Research Lab. She publishes in the field of emotion and psychophysiology research, with a specialized focus on justice, forgiveness, and gratitude.

With the support of the Fetzer Institute, the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University, the John Templeton Foundation, the Towsley Research Scholar Award, the Faith and Learning Fund, and the Frost Center for Social Science Research, she has conducted programmatic research with students, published peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and given professional presentations in local, national, and international venues. She has conducted 100 media interviews about forgiveness, with her research featured in venues such as "Time," "Newsweek," "Reader's Digest," "O: The Oprah Magazine," "USA Today," "The Los Angeles Times," "The Chicago Tribune," "ABC News Good Morning America," and CNN.

Witvliet has mentored dozens of Hope students in psychophysiology research, 20 of whom have co-authored journal articles or professional conference presentations with her, and 11 of whom have co-authored projects winning Psi Chi Regional Research Awards.

Before joining the Hope faculty, she trained as a scientist-practitioner clinical psychologist at Purdue University and completed her predoctoral internship at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center affiliated with Duke University.

She graduated from Calvin College with a B.A. in psychology and music in 1991, and completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Purdue University in 1993 and 1997 respectively.

The John H. and Jeanne M. Jacobson Endowed Professorship was established as a retirement recognition in honor of Dr. John H. Jacobson, who was 10th president of Hope College from 1987 to 1999, and his wife, Dr. Jeanne M. Jacobson, who was an adjunct member of the Hope education faculty and a senior research fellow with the college's A.C. Van Raalte Institute.

The Jacobson professorship is designated for a tenured faculty member with a commitment to the Christian faith who is an outstanding teacher-scholar or artist and who proposes to conduct a significant program of research or creative activity. The chair is open to faculty from any department, with appointment for a four-year term. Its first recipient was Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger of the religion faculty, appointed to the chair in 2003. It was most recently held by Dr. Caroline Simon of the Hope philosophy faculty.

Endowed chairs are established by donors who wish to assist the college on a permanent basis through the support of a faculty member. The gift is placed in the college's endowment fund with investment income used to support the work of the honored professor. In addition to recognizing faculty members for excellence, endowed chairs provide funding for summer research projects as well as some salary support.

Learn more about establishing an endowed professorship