An address by a former long-time professor/administrator will herald the start of the 142nd academic year at Hope College.
Dr. David Marker, who was on the Hope faculty for 19 years, serving as provost from 1974 to 1984, will be the featured speaker during the opening convocation on Sunday, Aug. 24, at 2 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel. He will present "Anchors of Hope in a Turbulent World."
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Dr. Marker left Hope to serve as president of Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, from 1984 to 1993. He was subsequently president of Des Moines University from 1993 to 1996, and executive director of the Science Center of Iowa from 1996 to 1998.
Now retired, he has since held a variety of interim appointments. He was interim president of Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, during 1998-99; was interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of students, and special assistant to the president, at Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii, from 1999 to 2002; and is currently serving a two-year appointment as interim vice president for academic and student affairs and dean of the faculty at Maryville University in St. Louis, Mo.
Dr. Marker joined the Hope faculty in 1965 as an assistant professor of physics. He was promoted to associate professor in 1968 and full professor in 1971.
His administrative career at the college began when he was appointed administrative director of the Computer Center in 1969. He became chairperson of the department of computer science and associate dean of academic affairs in 1973.
Dr. Marker was elected the recipient of the "Hope Outstanding Professor Educator" (H.O.P.E.) Award in 1970 by the graduating senior class. The college presented him with an honorary degree in 1984.
He is past chair of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; of the Iowa College Foundation; the Commission on Policy Analysis of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; and the Academic Deans Council of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. Among other appointments, he served on the Project Kaleidoscope Advisory Committee to enhance undergraduate science education nationally. He is the author of numerous articles published in professional publications concerning both higher education and theoretical physics.
Dr. Marker holds his master's and doctorate in physics from The Pennsylvania State University. His undergraduate degree, in physics and mathematics, is from Grinnell College, which awarded him an honorary degree in 1993 and an Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award in 1995.