Maxine DeBruyn, who is the Dorothy Wiley De Long Professor Emerita of Dance at Hope, has received the 2011 "Good Shepherd Award" from Resthaven.
She received the award on Wednesday, May 25, during a reception at The Warm Friend in downtown Holland.
Resthaven's Board of Trustees presents the award to an individual or couple in recognition of support of the community's seniors. The organization described her as "A woman of unprecedented energy, talent and determination" and "a leader in senior wellness throughout the Holland/Zeeland community." For more than 20 years she has voluntarily led exercise classes for Resthaven residents and Evergreen Commons participants, in addition to teaching liturgical dance to many church groups.
DeBruyn joined the Hope faculty in 1965 and retired in 2006. In retirement she has continued to teach dance classes at the college.
She pioneered the college's department of dance with a single course. From that first class, the program grew into a department in 1974 and a major in 1984.
She chaired the dance program from its beginning through the 2004-05 school year, and was also head cheerleading coach from 1968 to 1996.
DeBruyn has been actively involved in professional associations and dance education regionally, nationally and internationally. Among other service, she is a past president of the National Dance Education Organization; past vice chair of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs; past president of the Midwest District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; past director of the National Association of Schools of Dance; past member of the Advisory Board of dance and the Child International (daCi); and past member of the Counseil International de la Danse, UNESCO, Paris.
She has received numerous honors for her extensive involvement in dance education. She received multiple service awards through the years from the Midwest District of the AAHPERD; a service and leadership award from AAHPERD in 1987; and the "Honor Award" from Michigan Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in 2000. She received a Presidential Citation from the National Dance Association for dance assessment in 1992. In 1989, her work in the arts was cited in the U.S. Congressional Record and in a Joint Concurrent Resolution from the State of Michigan Legislature. In October 2004, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Michigan Dance Council in cooperation with the National Dance Education Organization.
DeBruyn was named to the college's DeLong Professorship in 2002. She received the college's Ruth and John Reed Faculty Achievement Award in 2001, and was honored by the Alumni H-Club in 1985 and 1996.