Institute History

The A. C. Van Raalte Institute was established in 1993, through the generosity of Hope College graduate and trustee, Peter H. Huizenga (class of 1960). The initial idea for an institute was provided by James Ver Meulen, a former member of the Hope College Board of Trustees with a strong interest in the history of Hope College and the nineteenth-century Dutch immigration to western Michigan. Before his death in the mid-1980s, Ver Meulen wrote to fellow trustee Huizenga, proposing that they meet to discuss his concept of a research institute on Dutch American studies, which would be located at the college. A few years later, Peter Huizenga provided the means to translate the idea into reality.

On 19 January 1993, the Huizenga family made a major gift to establish and endow the A. C. Van Raalte Institute. The gift was made in honor of Mrs. Elizabeth Bovenkerk Huizenga, the mother of B. J. Buntrock, Peter H. Huizenga, Suzanne Huizenga Kanis, Virginia Huizenga Jurries, and J. C. Huizenga. The endowment provides support for the Institute, now housed in the Theil Research Center on the western edge of Hope's campus. Peter Huizenga has remained actively engaged with the Institute throughout its history and has often provided additional support for its work.

The Institute is named in honor of the founder of Holland, Michigan, the Reverend Dr. Albertus C. Van Raalte (1811-1876), who also played a key role in the founding of Hope College. Van Raalte arrived in western Michigan with a small group of followers on 9 February 1847. His vision for this colony of Seceders from the State Church of the Netherlands is incorporated into the Mission Statement of the A. C. Van Raalte Institute.

Hope College President John H. Jacobson appointed Dr. Elton J. Bruins, the Evert and Hattie Blekkink Professor of Religion Emeritus, as director of the Institute in April 1993. Bruins had devoted much of his career to research on Albertus C. Van Raalte, and Ver Meulen had often encouraged him in his work. Ver Meulen had also suggested to Peter Huizenga that Elton would be the ideal person to head up the research institute that he envisioned. Elton Bruins had been retired from teaching less than a year when he was appointed to head up this new research institute.

The Institute became a physical presence in January 1994, when Bruins was given office space in Van Zoeren Hall. He resigned his post as founding director on 1 July 2002 but has remained active as a researcher. In January 2004, on the occasion of the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Institute, he was named the Philip Phelps Jr. Research Professor. This newly-created research professorship honors the memory of one of the principals of the Holland Academy, who became the first president of Hope College. Elton Bruins’ research on Phelps has led him to argue that Phelps should be acknowledged as the legitimate founder of Hope College, although Van Raalte had a major role in its establishment. In collaboration with the late Karen G. Schakel, Elton Bruins edited the correspondence between Van Raalte and Phelps; the resulting book, Envisioning Hope College: Letters written by Albetus C. Van Raalte to Philip Phelps Jr., 1857 to 1875 was published in 2011 by Van Raalte Press and Wm. B. Eerdmans and is no. 71 in the Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America series. Even though he officially retired from his research professorship in December 2008, Elton remains actively engaged as a consultant to the Institute.

In May 1996, the foremost scholar of nineteenth-century Dutch American studies, Dr. Robert P. Swierenga, joined the staff of the Institute. A Chicago native and friend of Peter Huizenga, Swierenga took early retirement from his post as professor of history at Kent State University in Ohio, to accept appointment as the A. C. Van Raalte Research Professor and adjunct professor of history.

Dr. Jacob E. Nyenhuis was appointed Senior Research Fellow at the Van Raalte Institute in September 2001, following his retirement from the Hope College faculty in June 2001 after twenty-six years at the college, the last seventeen as provost and professor of classics. He was named the director of the A. C. Van Raalte Institute 1 July 2002.

In anticipation of this move into larger facilities, the staff was expanded in December 2003 to include two new Senior Research Fellows: Dr. Donald J. Bruggink, the James A. H. Cornell Professor of Historical Theology, Emeritus, of Western Theological Seminary, and Dr. Earl Wm. Kennedy, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Northwestern College (Iowa). In January 2010, Nella B. Kennedy, former archivist, art historian and lecturer in Dutch language at Northwestern College (Iowa), was appointed as Senior Research Fellow and Official Translator.

In Fall 2003, a new Visiting Research Fellows Program was launched by the Institute, with Dr. Hans Krabbendam of the Roosevelt Study Center, Middelburg, the Netherlands, and Dr. Lynn Winkels Japinga, Associate Professor of Religion at Hope College, as the first two fellows. Each year since then, the Institute has welcomed fellows from near and far to carry on research on topics consistent with the Institute’s mission.

Since the Institute's earliest years, Hope College students and recent graduates have worked as research assistants to members of the Institute. Karsten Voskuil, Elisabeth Dekker, John Krueger, Seth Bruggers, Jodie Grabill, Theresa Hansen, Esnart Sakala, Michelle Lubbers, Ramona Fruja, Vickie Dryfhout, Christina Van Regenmorter, Erica Heeg, Cynthia Bachhuber, Mary Otterness, Michael Douma, Daniel J. Carter, Lauren M. Berka, Laura Shears, Kimberly Boyd, and Brigid Maniates have all made considerable contributions to the Institute.

Building upon the solid foundation of the Institute’s first decade and with the benefit of handsome new facilities, the Institute staff members have charted a direction in the second decade that is a logical trajectory from the early vision for this center of research and writing. The vision and dedication of the staff, the support of the Huizenga family, and the gift of Dr. and Mrs. Theil have helped to make the Van Raalte Institute a significant center for scholarly research and publication.

Updated 5 June 2013