Dr. James Kennedy of the University of Amsterdam will present "Are Christian Colleges Good for Christians?" as the 13th annual Pew Faith and Learning Lecture at Hope College on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 11 a.m. in the Maas Center auditorium.

The public is invited.  Admission is free.

Kennedy is a professor of Dutch history at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.  He was formerly professor of contemporary history at the Free University of Amsterdam.  He was an associate professor of history at Hope and a research fellow with the college's Van Raalte Institute from 1997 through the 2004-05 academic year.

He and Dr. Caroline Simon of the Hope philosophy faculty co-authored the 2005 book "Can Hope Endure? A Historical Case Study in Christian Higher Education." He is also among the scholars who contributed essays to the 2007 festschrift "A Goodly Heritage: Essays in Honor of the Reverend Dr. Elton J. Bruins at Eighty," writing "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?: An Essay on Hope College's Four Presidential Eras."

Kennedy is a specialist in Dutch history since World War II.  His publications include "A Concise History of the Netherlands," forthcoming from Cambridge University Press, and nine other books and 50 articles on Dutch and American religious history.

He appears frequently on Dutch and European television and radio and writes regularly for several newspapers.

Kennedy is a 1986 graduate of Georgetown University. He holds a master of arts in religious studies from Calvin College, and a doctorate in European history from the University of Iowa.

The Pew Faith and Learning Lecture is sponsored by Hope's Pew College Society Program, which exists to encourage students to pursue careers in college and university teaching as Christian service.  The society, established in 1997, has 50 junior and senior members.

The Maas Center is located at 264 Columbia Ave., on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street.