Debra Swanson to Receive Teaching Award
Dr.
Debra Swanson, professor of sociology at HopeCollege, has been named
recipient of the 2008 "John F. Schnabel Distinguished Contributions
to Teaching Award" by the North Central Sociological Association
(NCSA).
She will receive the award on Saturday, March 29, during the NCSA's
annual conference, which is being held in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday-Saturday,
March 27-29.
The principal criterion for the award, according to the association,
is "excellence in some activity enhancing the teaching of Sociology
for the NCSA or within the North Central region." Those considered
must have been nominated by another member of the organization with
additional support from at least two other members.
Swanson has been a member of NCSA for 15 years and has been active
in the organization's teaching section. She has made several presentations
on teaching during association meetings through the years, and will
be the featured keynote speaker during the NCSA's 2009 annual conference
in Dearborn.
Read
the Press Release
March 13, 2008
Hope Science Divisions Honors
Two Professors
The
Division for the Natural and Applied Sciences at Hope College has
honored two faculty with awards designed to recognize excellence
in teaching or research.
Dr. Miguel Abrahantes, assistant professor of engineering, has received
the "Dean's Science Division Faculty Research Award." Dr.
Amanda Barton, assistant professor of nursing, has received the "Dean's
Science Division Mentoring/Advising/Teaching Award." Both awards
were announced during a luncheon at the college on Thursday, March
13.
The "Faculty Research Award" is based on research accomplishments
including publications, grant awards, significant presentations at
professional meetings and external professional recognition, and
the winner is chosen by an anonymous panel of faculty members from
among nominees by the division's department chairs and the dean.
The "Mentoring/ Advising/ Teaching Award" recognizes a
faculty member who has gone beyond the call of duty in being an exceptional
mentor, advisor and teacher to students, and the winner is selected
by a panel of students.
Read
the Press Release
March 8, 2008
Student Dance Work Chosen
for Regional Concert
A work choreographed and performed by HopeCollege senior Michael
Kaffka of Naperville, Ill., was selected to be performed during
the Gala Concert of the 2008 East Central Regional Conference of
the American College Dance Festival Association on Saturday, March
8.
Kaffka's work, titled "Singin' in the Rain Part
II," was one of only 12 chosen to be performed from
among 37 other dances representing 24 colleges and universities.
Founded in the early 1970s, the American College Dance
Festival Association (ACDFA) exists to support and affirm
the role of dance in higher education primarily through
the sponsorship of college/university regional conferences
and national festivals. More than 300 institutions are
members of the association, which is divided into 10
regions. The East Central region includes institutions
in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.
Read
the Press Release
March 6, 2008
Students to Participate in
Spring Service Trips
More
than 270 Hope College students be spending their spring break serving
others.
Some 18 service and mission trips have been planned for the college's
spring break, which runs Friday, March 14, through Sunday, March
23. The trips span the U.S. and also include sites abroad in Mexico,
Central America and the Caribbean.
Some 235 of the students will be participating in multiple mission
trips organized by the college's Campus Ministries Office. In addition,
13 students involved in the college's chapter of Habitat for Humanity
will participate in a work project in Georgia, and another 24 students
will travel with professor of kinesiology Dr. Steven Smith to Jamaica.
Read
the Press Release
March 5, 2008
Hope Theatre Production
Chosen for National Festival
The Hope College Theatre production of "Rose and
the Rime" is one a select group of plays nationwide
invited to be presented during the Kennedy Center American
College Theater Festival (ACTF) National Festival in Washington,
D.C., in April.
"Rose and the Rime," which was written at the
college, is one of only three full-length college/university-staged
plays chosen for this year's national festival from among
the best productions highlighted during the eight ACTF
regional festivals held around the U.S. in January and
February. "Rose and the Rime" was the only production
from the ACTF Great Lakes Region festival in Milwaukee,
Wis., to have the honor of being under consideration for
the national festival.
"We are incredibly excited and honored to be selected
to perform 'Rose and the Rime' at the Kennedy Center in
our nation's capital," said Michelle Bombe, who is
director of theatre, professor of theatre and resident
costume designer at Hope. "This honor is the culmination
of an amazing journey - from humble ideas of what might
happen if we brought in a guest artist to write a play
with and for our students, to a challenging and motivating
process of creation, to the incredible success it had on
our campus last spring, to having college theatre students
jumping to their feet at the regional festival in Milwaukee,
and now to be recognized on a national level - truly amazing."
Read
the Press Release
March 3, 2008
Students Place in Regional
Singing Competition
Hope College freshman Sarah Ashcroft and high
school student Audrey Rink, both of Holland, each
earned honors during the National Association of
Teachers of Singing (NATS) Great Lakes Regional
Competition, held at Ball State University in Muncie,
Ind., on Saturday, March 1.
Ashcroft took third place in the First-Year College
Women's Division. Rink, who is a junior at Holland
Christian High School, took second in the High
School Women 16-and-Under Division. They both study
with Linda LeFever Dykstra, who is an associate
professor of music and chair of the voice division
at Hope.
Ashcroft and Rink were among four students studying
voice at Hope who competed in the regional event
based on their achievement at the NATS Michigan
State Chapter Auditions in November. Ashcroft had
earned second place in the First-Year College Women
category, and Rink had earned first place in the
16-and-Under High School Girls Division.
Read
the Press Release
February
2008
February 25, 2008
Tom Hoover Named “Chef of the Year”
Tom
Hoover, executive chef with Hope College Dining Services, has been
named the "Chef of the Year" by the Greater Grand Rapids
Chefs Association of the American Culinary Federation (ACF).
He was recognized during the "Grand Culinary Affair" held
at Grand Rapids Community College on Tuesday, Feb. 19, which was sponsored
by the association and "Grand Rapids Magazine" to recognize
the restaurants presented with 2007 dining awards by the publication
as well as the top chefs, educators, students and other culinary professionals
honored by the association. The winners are also highlighted in an
article in the March 2008 issue of the magazine.
The "Chef of the Year" award is the most prestigious award
given by the American Culinary Federation Greater Grand Rapids Chefs
Association. It is presented annually to recognize a culinarian who
demonstrates continuous commitment to the food service industry through
personal and professional development, leadership and educational support
to fellow culinarians.
Read
the Press Release
February 23, 2008
Hope Students are Finalists
in Opera Competition
Hope College seniors Isaac Droscha of Mason and Meghan Moore of South
Bend, Ind., were named finalists in the Opera Grand Rapids Collegiate
Competition held on Friday, Feb. 22, at Calvin College in Grand Rapids.
They are two of nine finalists chosen from among 23 contestants from
Hope; Aquinas College; Calvin College; Grand Rapids Community College;
and Grand Valley State University.
They and the other finalists will compete in the final round scheduled
for Sunday, March 30, at 7 p.m. at Kreschmer Recital Hall in the Art
and MusicCenter at AquinasCollege. The public is invited to attend
the event, and admission is free.
Read
the Press Release
February 23, 2008
Hope Recognized Nationally
for Service Focus
Hope College has been named to the national President's Higher
Education Community Service Honor Roll for a second consecutive year
for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth
by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest
federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning
and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on
a series of selection factors including scope and innovativeness
of service projects, percentage of student participation in service
activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school
offers academic service-learning courses.
The 2007 Honor Roll, which recognizes schools for their community
service activities during the 2006-07 academic year, was announced
at the American Council on Education's Annual Meeting in San Diego,
Calif., on Monday, Feb. 11.
Read
the Press Release
February 21, 2008
“Anchor” Staff Members
Honored During Convention
The Associated Collegiate Press honored two members of the staff
of the weekly Hope College student newspaper "The Anchor" during
the "Best of the Midwest College Newspaper Convention" held
in Minneapolis, Minn., on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 15-17.
Ashley DeVecht, who is features editor and a junior from Byron Center,
received seventh place in the Single Page Design category for her
features spread "World Travelers," which she developed
with "The Anchor's" production manager, senior Nicholas
Engel of Grand Blanc. Senior Evelyn Daniel of Dearborn, who with
senior Emily Papple of Holly serves as editor-in-chief, received
10th place in the Editorial/Commentary category for her column "Voice
of Dissent."
"World Travelers" was the center-spread of the Wednesday,
Feb. 7, issue of "The Anchor." Additional contributors
to the spread included junior Amanda Anderson of Grandville (writer);
sophomore Meghan Fore of St. Charles, Ill. (writer); freshman Gina
Holder of Midland (graphics); and senior Dylana Pinter of Mundelein,
Ill. (graphics). The spread examined off-campus study and featured
question-and-answer interviews with four students: senior Theresa
Fernandez of Grand Rapids, who had studied in Philadelphia, Pa.;
junior Ryan Gary of Ada, who had studied in Wollongong, Australia;
junior Erin Richards of Clarkston, who had studied in Salamanca,
Spain; and junior Leah Wyatt of Colts Neck, N.J., who had studied
in Queretaro, Mexico.
Read
the Press Release
February 18, 2008
Book Views Teaching in
Lewis’s Christian Writings
With the live-action, big-budget film "The Chronicles of Narnia:
Prince Caspian" scheduled for release on Friday, May 16, a Hope
College professor's book offers insights building on a key scene
in "Prince Caspian," from C. S. Lewis's famous fantasy
series.
Dr. Peter Schakel of the Hope English faculty is the author of "Is
Your Lord Large Enough? How C. S. Lewis Expands Our View of God," published
recently by InterVarsity Press of Downers Grove, Ill. The book began
with a Hope College chapel talk in 2001 and was extended and refined
in a number of Senior Seminar courses at the college.
In "Prince Caspian," Aslan, the great Lion and Christ
figure, says to the young girl Lucy, "Every year you grow you
will find me bigger." Schakel's book uses that sentence as the
starting point for an examination of how Lewis's writings provide
help for readers seeking growth in their Christian lives through
an expanding, deepening understanding of God.
Read
the Press Release
February 6, 2008
Jorge Capestany Named
Michigan Pro of the Year
Jorge Capestany, manager of the DeWitt Tennis Center at Hope College,
has been named the "Michigan Pro of the Year" by the Professional
Tennis Registry (PTR).
He will receive the recognition during the PTR annual awards dinner
in Hilton Head, S.C., on Monday, Feb. 18.
It is the sixth time that Capestany has been named the "Michigan
Pro of the Year" by either the PTR or the United States Professional
Tennis Association (USPTA).
Capestany has managed the college's DeWitt Tennis Center since the
fall of 2003 and is a 26-year veteran of the tennis industry. In 1992
he became the youngest Master Professional in the history of the USPTA,
and he is currently one of only 120 Master Professionals worldwide.
Read
the Press Release
February 6, 2008
Hope Students Participate in Honors Band
A total of four Hope College students participated in the 2008 Michigan
Intercollegiate Honors Band, which presented a concert on Saturday,
Feb. 2, at Alma College.
The band featured students from several colleges and universities,
including Albion, Alma, Calvin, Cornerstone, Grand Valley, Hillsdale,
Hope, Olivet and Spring Arbor. The band's members were chosen from
lists submitted by conductors at the participating schools.
The participating Hope students were senior Rachel Daley (flute) of
Cleveland, Ohio; senior Catherine Ellis (percussion) of Hudson; junior
Joy Oosterbaan (French horn) of ByronCenter; and senior Allison Walter
(bassoon) of Mandeville, La.
Read
the Press Release
February 5, 2008
Hope Cameroon Project
Named Statewide Finalist
A successful and growing Hope College service project focused on
water quality and community health in the village of Nkuv in Cameroon
has been named one of four finalists for Michigan's 2008 Carter Partnership
Award.
The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for Campus-Community
Collaboration is given annually by Michigan Campus Compact (MCC) to
one partnership involving a Michigan college or university and a community
group, with its $10,000 prize divided equally between the campus and
community partners for working together in exceptional ways to improve
people's lives and enhance learning in the process. The winner from
among the four finalists will be announced and the award will be presented
during the annual Governor's Service Awards this spring, on a date
yet to be determined.
The Hope program, which is partnered with the Life and Water Development
Group of Cameroon, began during the 2005-06 school year as a service
project for the college's then-new student chapter of Engineers Without
Borders-USA (EWB-USA), with an emphasis on providing the remote village
with purified water. During the first year the effort expanded to include
the college's department of nursing, which surveyed the villagers'
health and began working with them to improve hygiene, sanitation and
nutrition.
Read
the Press Release
February 5, 2008
Robin Klay to Receive MCC Award
Dr.
Robin Klay of the Hope College economics faculty has been chosen to
receive a Michigan Campus Compact (MCC) Faculty/Staff Community Service-Learning
Award.
The award recognizes outstanding community service and service-learning
by faculty and staff at the colleges and universities that are members
of MCC. Recipients are honored for engaging or influencing students
to be involved in community service or service-learning through modeling,
influence or instruction. Each of MCC's member institutions has the
opportunity to nominate one recipient annually for the award, which
is the highest that MCC bestows on faculty and staff in the state of
Michigan.
Klay is a professor of economics at Hope, where she has taught since
1979. She was recognized for her role in establishing the college's "Hope
Blooms" off-campus study program in Mexico, an internship-based
experience that emphasizes service and cultural immersion and reflects
her longstanding commitment to helping others.
Read
the Press Release
February 1, 2008
Employees Recognized
for Service to College
Hope College staff members were recognized for service during
the college's 28th annual service award celebration on Friday, Feb.
1.
Honored as retirees were Barry L. Werkman, business services office,
40 years of service; Betty J. Dolley, copy center, 30 years of service;
Barb Helmus, health services, 28 years of service; Elaine VanWieren,
campus safety, 22 years of service; and Ronald Evink, physical plant,
21 years of service.
Recognized for 40 years of service were Tom Renner, public relations,
and Maria C. Tapia, computing and information technology.
Honored for 30 years were Rick Middlecamp, physical plant, and Cheryl
McGill Schairer, social sciences.
Read
the Press Release
January
2008
January 23, 2008
Vanessa Greene to Receive Giants Award
Vanessa Greene, director of multicultural education at Hope College,
will be honored during the 26th annual Giants Banquet and Awards Ceremony,
to be held at Grand Rapids Community College on Saturday, Jan. 26.
The Giants awards honor individuals and organizations for making exceptional
contributions in shaping the history and quality of life in Greater
Grand Rapids. Each is named for an individual who pioneered change
that fostered the inclusion of minorities into all walks of life in
the community.
Greene will be among 11 community members and two organizations to
receive the awards during the evening. She will receive the Phyllis
Scott Activist Award, named for Phyllis Scott, who fought for the rights
and dignity of minority students in a time when many inequalities were
prevalent in the Grand Rapids Public Schools.
Read
the Press Release
January 15, 2008
Hope Recognized for
Peace Corps Volunteers
Hope College has entered the annual rankings of the Peace Corps
on the organization's top-25 list of small colleges and universities
producing Peace Corps Volunteers in 2007.
Hope is the only school from Michigan on the top-25 listing
for small colleges and universities, and is fifth among all Michigan
colleges and universities of any size for its number of alumni
volunteers in 2007. The Peace Corps announced its top-25 listings
for 2007 on Monday, Jan. 14.
Hope is ranked 24th nationally among small colleges and universities,
with 14 alumni serving as Peace Corps Volunteers, up from 13
the year before. Since the Peace Corps' inception in 1961, a
total of 153 Hope alumni have joined the ranks, making Hope the
number-283 producer of volunteers of all time.
The Peace Corps ranks schools according to the size of the
student body. Small schools are those with fewer than 5,000 undergraduates,
medium-size schools have between 5,001 and 15,000 undergraduates,
and large schools have more than 15,000 undergraduates. Hope
has 3,226 students this year.
Read
the Press Release
CONGRATULATIONS COACH GLENN VAN WIEREN
600 Career Collegiate Victories!
January 15, 2008
Flying Dutchmen Win #600
Under Coach Van Wieren
The Flying Dutchmen posted the 600th victory under men's basketball
coach Glenn Van Wieren on January 12, 2008 when they defeated Olivet
80-71 in a road game.
Van Wieren becomes just the sixth coach in NCAA Division III men's
basketball history to achieve 600 victories. His 31-year record
is 600-201. His winning percentage (.749) is the best in this elite
coaching group.
He also has reached 600 victories faster than any other Division
III coach (801st game). The previous mark was by Glenn Robinson
of Franklin & Marshall who won number 600 in his 821st game.
Read
the Press Release
Great
Lakes Region College Theater Festival Photo Gallery
Hope Theatre Production is
Great Lakes Region Winner
January 13, 2008
The Hope College production of "Rose and the Rime" has been judged the
winner at the Great Lakes Region of the Kennedy Center American College
Theater Festival held this weekend in Milwaukee. It was selected from
nine productions presented at the festival from a five-state region. "Rose
and the Rime" is now eligible for consideration at the national festival
to be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in April. That decision
will be made in early March after all region festivals have been held.
Senior Sarah Watkins of Bloomfield Hills won the region festival's scenic
design competition for her paper project for "A Flea in Her Ear."
Senior Dane Clark of Grand Rapids was one of 16 finalists of the Irene
Ryan Acting competition. The competition began will more than 300 competitors.
Dane first did a scene from a contemporary play, "Bugs", then a
comic scene from "Tartuffe" and finally a monologue from "Romeo and Juliet."
"Rose and the Rime" premiered at Hope during the 2006-07 school year.
The show was written and created by Nathan Allen who was a guest artist
at the college at the time. He worked with our students in creating the
play. Allen is the artistic director of the House Theatre Company in
Chicago. The play is set in the fictional town of Radio Falls, Mich.,
where it is always winter. The community has been laid to waste by the
terrible Rime Witch, and is a world without flowers, apples, mail or
dancing -- but with an abundance of snow, wind and ice cream. The shining
beacon in the wintry gloom is a young, mute girl named Rose, who takes
it upon herself to make a treacherous journey to the frozen cave of the
Witch in the hope of changing her town's fate.
Press
Release
January 07, 2008
Hope Presents Awards to Faculty
Hope College presented awards honoring teaching, service and scholarship
to faculty members during the college's annual recognition luncheon
on Monday, Jan. 7.
The "Janet L. Andersen Excellence in Teaching Awards" were
presented to Dr. L. Maureen Odland Dunn, associate professor of kinesiology,
and Dr. John Shaughnessy, professor of psychology.
The "Ruth and John Reed Faculty Achievement Awards" were
presented to Dr. David Klooster, professor of English and chairperson
of the department, and Dr. Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, associate professor
of psychology.
Named a "Towsley Research Scholar" was Dr. Nathan Tintle,
assistant professor of mathematics.
The "Provost's Awards for Service to the Academic Program" were
presented to David Jensen, director of libraries with the rank of professor;
Dr. Nancy Sonneveldt Miller, who is dean for the social sciences and
professor of education; and Dr. William Mungall, who is the Elmer E.
Hartgerink Professor of Chemistry.
The Janet L. Andersen Excellence in Teaching Awards are presented
to faculty members who have been teaching at Hope for at least seven
years and who have demonstrated recognizable excellence in specific
activities or aspects of teaching. The award is named in memory of
Dr. Janet Andersen, a professor of mathematics at Hope who died of
injuries sustained in an automobile accident on Thursday, Nov. 24,
2005.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
January 07, 2008
Annual Recognition Luncheon
Honors Faculty
Hope College honored faculty members for service, academic
achievement and professional involvement during its annual recognition
luncheon on Monday, Jan. 7.
The luncheon traditionally marks the beginning of the college's
second semester. Participating were James Bultman, president; James
Boelkins, provost; Alfredo Gonzales, associate provost and dean for
international and multicultural education; Moses Lee, dean for the
natural and applied sciences; Nancy Sonneveldt Miller, dean for the
social sciences; and William Reynolds, dean for the arts and humanities.
Honored for 45 years of service was Charles Aschbrenner (music).
Recognized for 40 years of service were Nancy Sonneveldt Miller (education,
and dean for the social sciences) and John Tammi (theatre).
Honored for 30 years of service were Al Bell (history), Donald Cronkite
(biology), Billy Mayer (art), Barbara Mezeske (English), John Patnott
(kinesiology), Mike Seymour (chemistry) and Kathleen Verduin (English).
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
December
2007
December 12, 2007
Hope Chosen for National
HHMI Science Initiative
Hope College is one of only a dozen colleges and universities
nationwide and the only institution in Michigan selected by the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to implement a new genomics course that
will involve incoming freshmen in cutting-edge research during their
first semester in college.
The program, the Phage Genomics Research Initiative, has been developed
by HHMI's Science Education Alliance, which is a new initiative intended
to help shape science education nationwide. HHMI is committing a total
of $4 million overall over the first four years of the program, including
the support given to all of the individual colleges and universities.
The research-based, year-long laboratory course has been designed to
provide beginning college students with a true research experience that
will teach them how to approach scientific problems creatively and hopefully
solidify their interest in a career in science.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
December 12, 2007
Book Analyzes Writing of
Walter Wangerin Jr.
The latest book by Dr. Dianne Portfleet of the Hope College
English faculty offers a critical analysis of the writing of contemporary
author Walter Wangerin Jr.
Her book "Walter Wangerin, Jr.: Artist, Poet, and Prophet" was
published earlier this year by Greenleaf-Wilcop Press.
Wangerin, whose fiction and non-fiction alike focuses on faith and Christianity,
is the author of more than 30 books, including novels, collections of
short stories and essays, collections of poetry, children's books, volumes
focused on practical theology and devotionals. His first novel, "The
Book of the Dun Cow" (1978), won both the 1980 National Book Award
and the New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year award.
Writing for scholar and layperson alike, Portfleet, who is an adjunct
associate professor of English at Hope, examines Wangerin's work in light
of its exploration of faith and the way that he seeks to guide the Christian
community "down faith's thorny path" away from complacency
into commitment.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
December 11, 2007
Benefit Performance
Precedes Festival
Honor
The Hope College production of "Rose and the Rime," which
was written at the college, has been chosen for presentation during the
annual festival of the Great Lakes Region of the Kennedy Center American
College Theater Festival (ACTF) in January.
West Michigan theatergoers will have an opportunity to enjoy the production
a few days earlier. A benefit performance has been scheduled for Monday,
Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. at Hope in the DeWitt Center main theatre.
"Rose and the Rime" is one of only nine productions selected
for presentation during the festival from among a field of 35 entries
submitted from throughout the five-state region. The event will run Tuesday-Sunday,
Jan. 8-13, at Cardinal Stritch University and Marquette University in
Milwaukee, Wis. "Rose and the Rime's" festival performance
has been scheduled for Friday, Jan. 11.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
December 11, 2007
Anne Larsen Receives Award for Book
Dr.
Anne Larsen, professor of French at Hope College, has been awarded the "Translation
or Teaching Edition Award" for her book "From Mother and Daughter:
Poems, Dialogues, and Letters of Les Dames des Roches."
The University of Chicago Press published the book in its series "The
Other Voice in Early Modern Europe" in 2006. The Society for the
Study of Early Modern Women presented Larsen the award during the annual
meeting of the Sixteenth-Century Studies Conference in October in Minneapolis,
Minn.
The award citation states: "Madeleine (1520-87) and Catherine (1542-87)
des Roches, mother and daughter, count among the most celebrated and
prolific French women writers of the sixteenth century. Members of the
emerging urban elite in a society torn by religious wars, the Dames des
Roches boldly advocated female education and defended women's right to
participate in poetic and political discourse. Anne R. Larsen's introduction
to her exemplary bilingual edition clearly elucidates the historical
context in which these early modern intellectuals and proto-feminists
flourished."
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
December 4, 2007
Multi-Media German Course
Materials Published
A
collaborative effort to develop computer-based, multi-media teaching
materials for college-level German courses has led to the publication
of "Weiter geht's!" for second-year students.
Released earlier this year, "Weiter geht's!" ("Let's
Keep Going!") continues the multi-media "Auf geht's!" ("Let's
Get Going!") published in 2005 for beginning German students. Both
packages are produced by Live Oak Multimedia Inc. and distributed by
Evia Learning Inc.
Dr. Lee Forester of the Hope College faculty is the initiative's co-creator
and project director. The development team also includes Dr. Pennylyn
Dykstra-Pruim of the Calvin College German faculty, and David Antoniuk
and Olga Antoniuk of Live Oak Multimedia Inc.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November
2007
November 30, 2007
Tom and Carole Renner
Honored for Service
After spending more than four decades helping to put the
spotlight on Hope College students, faculty, teams, coaches and athletes,
Tom Renner is in turn receiving some enduring recognition from the college.
Renner and his wife Carole are being honored for their significant roles
in the life of the college by having the media section of the Richard
and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse named in their honor. A bronze plaque commemorating
the recognition will be unveiled during pre-game activities for the Hope
men's basketball game that begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, as part
of the Holland Sentinel Community Tournament.
"It is time to recognize Tom and Carole for their distinguished
service to Hope College for the past 40 years," said President Dr.
James E. Bultman. "Tom has received accolades from so many different
organizations, and it is fitting now for this place that receives most
of his attention to honor him and his wife Carole. Their work at Hope,
especially in intercollegiate sport, has been a team effort. No one could
give what Tom has given without the involvement and support of an understanding
spouse."
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 28, 2007
Aaron Best Contributes
to Article in “Science”
Dr.
Aaron Best of the Hope College biology faculty contributed to an article
published in "Science" that studies the genetic make-up of
a common intestinal parasite in the hope of leading to better treatments
for the disease it causes and even to better understanding of how human
life functions.
The parasite, Giardia lamblia, is found in water systems throughout
the world, including in the U.S. It can cause diarrhea, stomach aches
and nausea, and in chronic cases leads to malnutrition and poor development
in children.
Giardia lamblia changes forms when it goes from being outside the body
to residing within a human or animal host. Best's research focused on
analyzing the genome sequence for the organism, identifying the genes
and proteins that are involved with how it turns its genes on and off
- a process called transcription - to change.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 27, 2007
Anne Larsen Co-Edits Book on
Renaissance-Era
Women
Dr.
Anne Larsen of the Hope College French faculty is co-editor of the "Encyclopedia
of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, and England," which
draws on current historical, literary, art, and medical scholarship from
103 contributors to document the contributions of well-known and lesser-known
Renaissance women from Italy, France and England.
Larsen co-edited the volume with Diana Robin, who is a scholar in residence
in Classical and Italian literature at Chicago's Newberry Library, and
Professor Carole Levin, who is the Willa Cather Professor of History
at the University of Nebraska. The reference volume was published in
April of this year by ABC-CLIO of Santa Barbara, Calif.; Denver, Colo.;
and Oxford, England.
The work provides portraits of famous women such as Catherine of Siena,
Christine de Pizan, and Elizabeth I, and those less famous like Elena
Lucrezia Cornaro, who was the first woman in history to receive a doctorate,
and Louise Boursier, who wrote medical textbooks. It contains as well
numerous thematic essays on diverse subjects such as "Marriage"; "Music
and Women"; "Printers, the Book Trade, and Women"; "Literary
Patronage"; "Hospital Administration and Nursing as Careers
for Women"; "The Practice of Pharmacology and Laywomen"; "Music
in the Churches and Convents"; and "Religious Reform and Women."
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 27, 2007
Children’s Book by Albert Bell Wins Award
The
children's book "The Secret of the Lonely Grave" by Dr. Albert
Bell Jr. of the Hope College history faculty has won the inaugural Evelyn
Thurman Young Readers Book Award from Western Kentucky University Libraries.
To be eligible for the award, books must have a significant Kentucky-related
theme or have been written or illustrated by a Kentucky author or illustrator.
Bell's book is set in modern-day southern Kentucky and focuses on a mystery
dating back to the Civil War.
Bell will be honored with a reception at the university on Saturday,
Feb. 16. He will also be the featured speaker during an event sponsored
by the university's Center for Gifted Studies for students in grades
one through seven.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 27, 2007
Physics Researchers Work
with Australian
Company
A
new connection between researchers at Hope College and a company in Australia
is prized for the benefits that it can bring to both sides of the partnership.
Dr. Stephen Remillard, assistant professor of physics, has contracted
with Microwave and Materials Design (M&MD) PTY LTD of Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia, to contribute Hope expertise as the company seeks to commercialize
superconducting electronics. "We will support their R&D organization,
which is already a top-notch group of people in Australia," Remillard
said.
Remillard, who worked in industry for several years before going into
teaching, sees great benefits to companies in such arrangements, since
they present a chance to involve additional expertise and facilities
in meeting their research needs.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 19, 2007
Book Explores Faith and
Doubt in Shakespeare
Dr.
John Cox of the Hope College English faculty is author of "Seeming
Knowledge: Shakespeare and Skeptical Faith," which revisits the
question of Shakespeare's connection with religion by focusing on the
intersection of faith and skepticism in his writing.
The book was published earlier this fall through the new "Studies
in Christianity and Literature" series of Baylor University Press
of Waco, Texas.
Cox, who is the DuMez Professor of English at Hope, examines Shakespeare's
works in the context of the 16th century, when thinkers such as Thomas
More and Erasmus wrote skeptically to expose the weaknesses of Christians
without doubting the truth of Christianity itself.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 19, 2007
Chemist Participates in NSF-Funded Project
Dr.
Joanne Stewart of the Hope College faculty is one of seven chemists from
colleges and universities across the nation participating in a project
recently funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop an
online resource to help professors of inorganic chemistry work together
to improve their teaching.
The project is titled "IONiC," for "Intellectual Online
Network of Inorganic Chemists." It has received a $150,000 award
for development during 2008 and 2009 through the NSF's "Course,
Curriculum and Laboratory Initiative."
IONiC will use a Web site and other Internet technologies to develop
a virtual community that will serve as a way for colleagues from a variety
of institutions to work together conveniently regardless of distance
to share and develop materials related to teaching in the discipline
and to help each other improve through online discussions and workshops.
Following the network's development and initial testing, it will become
part of the National Science Digital Library, an online library for education
and research in science that is available to scientists around the world.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 19, 2007
Charles Aschbrenner Speaks
at European
Conference
Charles
Aschbrenner of the Hope College music faculty was an invited speaker
during the annual conference of the European Piano Teachers Association
(EPTA) held in Novi Sad, Serbia, on Friday-Monday, Nov. 2-5.
He presented the address "Intractable Tension and Rhythmic Incoordination:
Chicken or the Egg?" Following the conference he gave a master class
to piano students at the Music Academy of the University of Novi Sad.
Aschbrenner is a certified Dalcroze Eurhythmics instructor, and is intensely
interested in the issues of movement, rhythm and physical freedom in
performance. He has presented lecture-demonstrations across the United
States as well as at the College Music Society international conference
held in Vienna, Austria. His articles on rhythm and movement have appeared
in the "Journal of the Dalcroze Society of America," and his
Web site "Pulse Patterning for Pianists" has attracted international
responses.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 7, 2007
Heather Sellers Authors Book of Poetry
Heather Sellers of the Hope College English faculty is
author of "The Boys I Borrow," a new book of poetry published
by New Issues Press.
The poems are a real-life look into marriage, raising teen age boys,
and Nintendo. Sellers looks back at her own childhood in Orlando, Fla.,
contrasting her experiences there while watching stepsons come of age
in the Midwest. Billy Collins has praised the collection as "sensitive
and clever," and Beth Ann Fennelly has described the world evoked
in the book as "rendered with painterly precision and tender humor."
Sellers recently gave readings at Georgia State College and University
and Montgomery Community College in Philadelphia. On Friday, Nov., 16,
at 7 p.m., Third Stone Art Gallery, located at 120 E. Main in downtown
Fennville, will host a book party that will include a short reading and
book signing as well as music and refreshments. The event is free and
open to the public.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 7, 2007
Students Named Winners
in State Singing
Auditions
Multiple
Hope College singers and an area high school student who studies voice
at Hope earned honors in the National Association of Teachers of Singing
(NATS) Michigan State Chapter Auditions, held at Western Michigan University
in Kalamazoo on Saturday, Nov. 3.
Dane Clark, a senior from Grand Rapids, earned first place in the Musical
Theatre category.
Briana Sosenheimer, a sophomore from Fort Wayne, Ind., earned second
place in the Second-Year College Women category. Freshmen Sarah Ashcroft
of Holland and Lauren Conley of White Lake each earned second place in
the First-Year College Women category.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
November 3, 2007
Hope Music Students Honor Professor Lewis
The
students of the Hope College chapter of the national Delta Omicron music
honorary society have honored Dr. Huw Lewis of the music faculty with
induction as a Chapter Patron.
Lewis, who is a professor of music and college organist, received the
honor on Friday, Nov. 2, as a surprise during a ceremony held in conjunction
with an organ and orchestra concert in which he was performing in Dimnent
Memorial Chapel at Hope.
The college's Alpha Chi chapter of Delta Omicron nominated Lewis for
the award for the way that he represents the national organization's
mission of supporting excellence in music and musicianship.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
October
2007
October 29, 2007
Chapbook of Poetry by
David James Published
The
recently released third chapbook of poetry by David James of the Hope College
faculty celebrates the seemingly small but sometimes surprising moments and
realizations that become the component parts of the individual.
"Psychological Clock" has been published by Pudding House Publications
of Columbus, Ohio. The latest volume follows "Lost Enough" (July
2007) and "A Little Instability without Birds" (July 2006), both
published by Finishing Line Press. James is credited in each as D.R. James,
since another published poet has the same first and last name.
The new volume's 24 poems explore and reflect on a mix of common and singular
events, ranging from the familiar rituals of a hometown basketball game, to
the agility of squirrels as they raid the birdfeeder, to a conversation with
the condominium to which aging parents will soon move. The chapbook's title
is shared by one of the poems, which considers the value in taking a new look
at old assumptions.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
October 29, 2007
Student Named State’s
AmeriCorps Member of the Month
Hope College junior Jon Van Wyngarden of Holland has been
named the AmeriCorps "Member of the Month" for October for
the state of Michigan. He has received the honor from the Michigan Community
Service Commission (MCSC), which funds the state's 19 AmeriCorps programs.
Van Wyngarden is beginning his second year as a part-time AmeriCorps
member with Good Samaritan Ministries' "Faith in Youth" AmeriCorps
program, which is a mentoring program serving children from the area's
middle schools. His service site is Calvary Reformed Church, where he
works with youth in the after-school program. He has been praised for
his commitment to the families--children and parents alike--who live
in the community and attend the program.
Van Wyngarden's involvement blends his career interest in working with
children with his commitment to applying his faith to making a difference
in his community. He is pursuing an elementary and English composite
major at Hope, intending to teach in an area where he hopes to make a
difference outside the classroom as well.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
October 20, 2007
Relay for Life Raises Record Amount
The 5th annual Relay for Life sponsored by Hope College
has raised a record amount for the American Cancer Society.
More than 700 Hope students, faculty and staff raised $52,426 during
the event on October 19-20.
The event consisted of a 12-hour overnight walk in the college's Dow
Center. The event was moved indoors because of the inclement weather,
but it didn't deter the participants from surpassing the previous amount
raised by more than $10,000.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE / PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS
October 18, 2007
Students to Participate in
Van Andel Institute Research Day
A major regional conference designed to highlight the
significance of undergraduate scientific research in West Michigan will
include more than 40 presentations concerning faculty-student projects
at Hope College.
The Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids is hosting its first annual
West Michigan Regional Undergraduate Science Research Conference on Saturday,
Oct. 20. More than 160 students and faculty are anticipated for the event,
representing Aquinas College, Calvin College, Ferris State University,
Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, Hope,
the University of Michigan and the Van Andel Institute. The event will
feature approximately 100 poster presentations by the participating students,
as well as a keynote presentation by Dr. James Lightbourne, who is senior
advisor for the integration of research and education with the National
Science Foundation; and research seminars by faculty members from Calvin,
Grand Valley, Hope and the Van Andel Research Institute, including Dr.
Maria Burnatowska-Hledin of the Hope biology and chemistry faculty.
More than 40 projects conducted by Hope students are being featured
during the event. The topics range from a study of the limbs of apes,
to forgiveness, to the mineralogy of West Michigan dune sands, to the
effect of the immigration debate on Hispanic adolescents, to the effect
of copper sulfate in algae and pond systems, to the digital three-dimensional
modeling of dinosaur bones, to protein/DNA interactions and the control
gene expression in cancer and parasite research, to the design of robots
for use in space exploration.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
October 17, 2007
English Professor Honored
for Impact on
Sport
In a world of well-paid professional athletes, high-profile
coaches and notable sports personalities, the selection of a college
English professor as one of America's most influential sports educators
might seem to be out of place.
Not so, according to the Institute for International Sport which has
included Hope College emeritus English professor Jack Ridl on its first
list of the 100 most influential sports educators in America.
"In America and in many other countries, we honor elite athletes,
winning coaches, wealthy team owners and media moguls. We praise sports
educators yet we really do not honor them in a manner befitting their
admirable impact on society," said Daniel Doyle, executive director
of the Institute for International Sport. "This project is aimed
at honoring individuals and organizations who have creatively and effectively
used sport in the very best way -- as a means to educate and shape positive
values."
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
October 17, 2007
Statewide Dance Concert
Includes Faculty Work
Works by three members of the Hope College dance faculty
are being featured in the Showcase Concert that will culminate the statewide
Michigan Dance Council Dance Day being held at Hope College on Saturday,
Oct. 20.
Hope faculty members Rosanne Barton-DeVries and Linda Graham are among
the six choreographers who will have works in the concert as entrants
in the statewide Maggie Allesee New Choreography Award competition. In
addition, the concert program will feature a work choreographed by Hope
faculty member Steven Iannacone and performed by Hope-affiliate dance
company dANCEpROjECt (formerly Aerial Dance Theater) as a special guest.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
October 9, 2007
Multiple Authors Write Book
on
Measuring Student Learning
In the department of history at Hope College, learning
in one class follows the Yellow Brick Road. In an education course, it might
include producing a drawing of a refrigerator. In engineering, it can include
building a better athletic bandage roller.
More than a dozen educators share their insights into effective teaching
strategies as co-authors of the book "Beyond Tests and Quizzes:
Creative Assessment in the College Classroom."
The book features 14 chapters by current or former HopeCollege professors
concerning ways they have approached teaching and determining how much
their students have learned. It is being published this month by Jossey-Bass,
an imprint of John Wiley & Sons Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., and
was edited by husband-and-wife faculty members Barbara Mezeske, associate
professor of English, and Dr. Richard Mezeske, professor of education
and chairperson of the department.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
October 9, 2007
Exihibit Features Work of Hope Professor
The
Aquinas College Art and Music Center (AMC) Gallery is featuring the work
of celebrated Michigan photographer and Hope College professor Steve
Nelson in an exhibit entitled "Simultaneity"through Nov. 9.
The exhibit is free and open to the public.
Nelson, who is chair of the art department at Hope, is particularly
interested in examining the gap between "what is nature, and what
is human." "Simultaneity," which encompasses over twenty
original black and white photographs, explores that gap. "I feel
like nature is asking us, 'Where have you gone, why have you left, and
when will you return?'" said Nelson, who used a 19th century plate
camera in capturing the images. "It reinforces ambiguity as well
as detail."
The photographer also deliberately chose black and white over color. "In
my case, I think color would be a distraction. Ambiguity activates our
imagination as well as clarity," he said.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
October 8, 2007
Professor James Herrick
Honored by Students
Dr.
James Herrick of the Hope College faculty has received the 12th annual "Favorite
Faculty/Staff Member" award presented by the student body.
Herrick received the award on Saturday, Oct. 6, during halftime of the
college's Homecoming football game at Holland Municipal Stadium.
Recipients of the "Favorite Faculty/Staff Member" award are
chosen through a vote open to the entire student body and conducted at
the same time as elections for the Homecoming court and king and queen.
The students are not provided with a list of candidates for the award,
but rather are asked to write in the name of the person that they feel
should be honored. The award was first presented in 1996.
Herrick is the Guy Vander Jagt Professor of Communication at Hope, where
he has taught since 1984. His research and teaching specialties are rhetoric
and argumentation.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE / HOMECOMING PHOTO GALLERY
October 3, 2007
Nancy Miller Receives Athena Award
Dr. Nancy Sonneveldt Miller of the Hope College faculty
has received the third annual Lakeshore ATHENA Award.
Miller, who is the dean for the social sciences and a professor of education
at Hope, was honored during a luncheon on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at the Trillium
Banquet and Conference Center in Spring Lake. The event celebrated all
of the award's 21 nominees, who also included another member of the college's
administration: Vanessa Greene, director of multicultural life.
"We at Hope College are pleased to have had two outstanding members
of our administrative staff honored through the ATHENA Award program," said
Hope College President Dr. James E. Bultman. "Both Nancy and Vanessa
have made important contributions to the life of the college and the
area, and richly deserve recognition for their dedicated service to Hope
and the community.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
October 1, 2007
Student Receives Fellowship
to Explore
Ministry
Hope College junior Anna Finger of Anderson, Ind., has
been named a 2007 "Undergraduate Fellow" by the Fund for Theological
Education (FTE).
Finger is one of only 49 juniors and seniors at colleges and universities
across the United States and Canada to receive the awards for the 2007-08
school year. FTE awards the fellowships to college students who demonstrate
superior academic achievement and exceptional promise for ministry, with
the aim of encouraging them to consider vocations in ministry and teaching
and nurturing them in their exploration and study.
The recognition includes a $2,000 award for educational expenses or
for an experience relating to exploring ministry. In addition, Finger
also attended the FTE's 2007 summer Conference on Excellence in Ministry,
held on Wednesday-Sunday, June 20-24, at Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary in Evanston, Ill.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
September
2007
The alumni H-Club presented it's Hope
for Humanity Award to Russ DeVette '45 (left) who spent
37 years at Hope as a member of the faculty and coach.
Gord Brewer '48 (right) presented the award to his longtime
colleague.
September 30, 2007
DeVette to receive
Hope for Humanity Award
Russ DeVette has a humble, soft-spoken manner,
yet his impact on Hope College and Holland has been substantial.
DeVette, 84, of Holland, will be this year's recipient of the Hope for Humanity
Award, an annual recognition presented by the Hope alumni H-Club to graduate
athletes who have demonstrated the values of Christian commitment and service
to others in their careers after Hope.
A 1945 Hope graduate, DeVette taught and coached at Hope
for nearly 40 years, from 1948 until retiring in 1988,
with three years away in the 1950s to serve with the Marine
Corps and on the faculty of the University of Maine.
"I've had the privilege of knowing Russ for a long
time, and I'm a better person for it," said Ray Smith,
men's athletics director at Hope and H-Club board member.
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
Student Places Second in
International
Competition
Hope College senior Kevin Steinbach of Downers
Grove, Ill., has earned second place in an international
competition for translating Japanese.
Steinbach was one of two second-place finishers worldwide,
receiving the "Distinguished Translation Award," for
translating materials into English from Japanese in the Shizuoka
International Translation Competition organized by Shizuoka
Prefecture in Japan.
"This is the most respected Japanese translation competition
in the world. I commend Kevin for his remarkable achievement," said
F. Andy Nakajima, assistant professor of Japanese at Hope. "He
possesses not only a high level of understanding of the Japanese
language (both modern and classical), but also the esthetic
sense of the English language to make the sentences come
alive. Kevin is probably the youngest translator who has
won such a distinguished international award. I am very happy
that Kevin will be able to receive his award from Prof. Donald
Keene, the most distinguished Japanologist in the world,
whom Kevin highly respects."
READ
THE PRESS RELEASE
September 25, 2007
A new effort at Hope College will focus on inspiring
a brighter future for the local elementary-age and high school
students participating in the Children's After School Achievement
(CASA) and Upward Bound program at Hope.
The Michigan Campus Compact (MCC) has awarded a "Brighter
Futures" grant to the college for activities to help the
two programs place additional emphasis on overcoming obstacles
A new book by Dr. Barry Bandstra of the Hope College religion faculty
provides a detailed linguistic analysis of the first 11 chapters
of Genesis.
Kelly Jacobsma has been appointed director of libraries at Hope College.