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| hope college > van raalte institute |
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Institute History The A. C. Van Raalte Institute was established in 1993, through the generosity of a 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, Mr. 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, Mr. 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. Dr. 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. In the same year, Dr. Jeanne M. Jacobson
resigned from the faculty of Western Michigan University to accept a
position as Senior Research Fellow
of the Van Raalte Institute and adjunct professor of education. Dr. Jacobson's
background includes an interest in American history and Dutch and Huguenot
immigration to America, and extensive experience as an editor and author. In September 2004, the Van Raalte Institute
and the Joint Archives of Holland moved into the new Theil Research Center
at 9 East Tenth Street,
on the western edge of the Hope College campus. The Theil Research Center
was a gift from Eleonore Goldschmidt Theil in fulfillment of a commitment
made by her and her late husband, the eminent economist Dr. Henri Theil. 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. The Institute also has maintained an active
program of translation of critical documents from Dutch into English.
Dr. Henry
ten Hoor, Professor
Emeritus of English at Hope College; Simone Kennedy, a native of the
Netherlands; William Buursma, a retired Christian Reformed Church minister,
and his wife Althea; and Nella Kennedy, a retired art historian and
a native of the Netherlands, all have provided translation services to
the Institute in recent years. It is the goal of the Institute to have
all major Van Raalte documents accurately translated so that future
students
and scholars will not be hampered in their research by a lack of knowledge
of the Dutch language. 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 for 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. Revised on 29 Nov 2005 |
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