Voice Fall 2018 by Dordt University

ISSUE 1 OF 3

OF DORDT COLLEGE

NEWS FALL 2018

VOLUME 64

THE

BEING LIGHT Students, alumni, and faculty find ways to work and serve as salt and light in the world.

UNIVERSITY LOGO REVEAL 12

TECH AND RESPONSIBILTY 14 DORDT: WHAT'S IN A NAME? 21

Leading Off WITH THE PRESIDENT

ALWAYS WINTER, NEVER CHRISTMAS “It is winter in Narnia,” said Mr. Tumnus, “and has been for ever so long...always winter, but never Christmas.” In October, Dordt was privileged to host Dr. Gabriel Salguero as our October First Mondays speaker, and he used this famous line from C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe to express the despair many of us may feel in our culture today. A leading evangelical leader on issues of immigration, Salguero suggested that if we’re paying attention to our national conversations on immigration as well as on a host of other issues, we might be tempted to succumb to such dispirited thinking. As we live as Christ’s kingdom citizens in this world, we need to face the reality of the “not yet” side of our lives. I’d love to be the college president who tells students that life on campus will always be sunny and that, after graduation, all of their dreams will come true. Yet, it’s our acknowledgement of our

sinfulness and the resultant brokenness of this world which makes the work at Dordt even more important and inspirational to me. While the world may feel that it’s “always winter, but never Christmas,” as followers of Christ, we need to be dealers in hope, waking up each day ready and willing to take up our cross and follow him. The gospel story proclaims, “He is risen, he is risen indeed!” and this reality allows us to bring Christmas to our work on a daily basis. Here at Dordt, we have the opportunity to work with students to help them see with gospel glasses the brokenness in the world. Simultaneously, we also provide them with biblical wisdom and help them develop the head, heart, and hands to take the hope they have in Christ out into the world. As president, I have the privilege of having every freshman over for dinner in the fall semester; it’s become a tradition, and these evenings are always highlights for me. At every dinner, I read the last verses of Isaiah 40: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, and they will walk and not faint.” It’s that hope which we cling to—even in the throes of winter. Christmas isn’t just coming—it’s here! Thanks be to God!

DR. ERIK HOEKSTRA, PRESIDENT

Voice THE

OF DORDT COLLEGE

FALL 2018

VOLUME 64 | ISSUE 1 The Voice, an outreach of Dordt College, is sent to you as alumni and friends of Christian higher education. The Voice is published three times each year to share information about the programs, activities, and people at Dordt. www.dordt.edu (712) 722-6000 Send address corrections and correspondence to voice@dordt.edu or VOICE, Dordt College, 498 Fourth Ave. NE, Sioux Center, IA 51250-1606 Contributors Sarah Moss ('10), editor sarah.moss@dordt.edu Sally Jongsma, contributing editor Jamin Ver Velde ('99), art director and designer Jonathan Fictorie ('19), photographer Jenna Stephens ('19), photographer Kate Henreckson, contributing writer Lydia Marcus ('17), contributing writer James Calvin Schaap ('70), contributing writer Erika Buiter ('20), student writer Brandon Huisman ('10), vice president for enrollment and marketing brandon.huisman@dordt.edu Our Mission As an institution of higher education committed to a Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward Christcentered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. On the Cover The Defender Nation Dinner is one of the many events held during Defender Days. This year, the dinner honored Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Dr. Chuck DeGroat (’92), and Horizon Award recipient, Dr. Elizabeth Blankespoor (’03). Photo by Kate Henreckson.

Inside

Editor’s Notes

THIS ISSUE

JONATHAN FICTORIE ('19)

WEEK OF WELCOME WOWS During Week of Welcome (WOW) in late August, WOW staff members including Dordt senior Ytsje Vandermeer welcomed incoming freshmen, transfer, returning, and Pro-Tech students to campus.

NEWS

FEATURES

Three students explain what drove them to become entrepreneurs and how they balance school and work.

Dordt's student loan default rate is well below the national average.

A First Mondays speaker shares his perspective on immigration, justice, and Christian hospitality with Dordt and the Sioux Center community.

Engineering and computer science professors tackle what it means to create and use technology responsibly.

The word “Dordt” signals a rich institutional history, a memorable synod, and a unique name.

James Calvin Schaap (’70) shares stories from the class of 1968, reflecting back on a year that profoundly shaped the U.S. and the world.

ALUMNI

Dr. Elizabeth (Vander Ziel, ’03) Blankespoor is an accounting professor at the University of Washington and this year’s Horizon Award recipient.

Dr. Chuck DeGroat ('92), the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, explains how his Dordt education still influences his work as a professor of pastoral care and Christian spirituality at Western Theological Seminary.

BEING LIGHT

ext time you’re on Dordt’s campus on a Tuesday or Thursday, stop by the Defender Grille for a rice bowl. I like to add chicken, peanut sauce, and asparagus to my bowl, but there are many other options to choose from. I've had several students and staff members tell me that getting a rice bowl is one of the highlights of their week, as it is mine. Behind the scenes, Dordt Dining Services quietly and diligently creates food like the rice bowl and caters oncampus events such as the Defender Nation Dinner, which is pictured on the cover. They show hospitality through the simple act of providing a meal; in doing so, they serve as “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). This issue highlights Dordt students, faculty, and alumni who are working to be salt and light. You’ll read about an associate provost who became a Fulbright scholar to encourage others, engineering and computer science faculty who push students to think critically about technology, and alumni who have done great things in the fields of accounting and ministry. “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven,” says Jesus in Matthew 5:15. Wherever or whatever our spheres of influence, be it in hospitality or scholarship, may we keep being salt and light for others.

SARAH MOSS (ʼ10), EDITOR

NEWS

LEAH ZUIDEMA, FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR Dr. Leah Zuidema’s passion to make Dordt a great place to learn is part of what drove her to apply to be a Fulbright scholar. “I wanted to push the boundaries a little bit,” she says. “We haven’t had a Fulbright scholar from Dordt, and I wanted to test that so I could encourage faculty and show them that they can do this as well.”

While in France, Zuidema visited universities, research institutes, and government officials in Montpellier and Paris, France, as well as in Brussels, Belgium. She says she learned more about Europe’s educational systems, which are changing as a result of evolving ideas about education.

Zuidema, who serves as Dordt’s associate provost, received a 2018-19 Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant for the International Education Administrators (IAE) seminar. The award allowed her to spend two weeks in France in October.

by emphasizing global connections for faculty and students. "When you experience another culture it serves as both a window and a mirror—

“When you experience another culture it serves as both a window and a mirror—you see something that’s different from where you are, but also you see yourself in ways you hadn’t been paying attention to previously.”

“I love travel, I love learning, and I love learning about education and how it works. This Fulbright opportunity brought all those things together. It was also a chance to work with bright minds, people who are top-notch learners, who are globally minded,” Zuidema says. “Applying was a challenge, too. It was kind of like competing to get into the Olympics of academia.” JENNA STEPHENS ('19)

“Each day we met with leaders from universities and research institutes who are partnering on projects with global scale and impact—many of them focused on agriculture and on public health,” says Zuidema. “We also saw on —Dr. Leah Zuidema, associate provost a daily basis how ‘student mobility’ and international experiences are major priorities in you see something that's different from Europe.” where you are, but also you see yourself in ways you hadn't been paying attention She says one big takeaway from the to previously." experience is that she better understands how many opportunities there are for ERIKA BUITER (’20) a place like Dordt to make a difference

WHAT'S IN A TITLE? Dr. Leah Zuidema’s titles at Dordt include associate provost and dean of curriculum and instruction. So what does the average day look like for her? “As an associate provost, I work with the provost on things related to the academic work of the college, especially faculty hiring and faculty development,” says Zuidema. In her role as dean of curriculum and instruction, Zuidema coaches faculty on questions related to their courses and teaching. She also oversees curriculum changes, working on the faculty’s behalf so they can focus on their students.

"The Fulbright experience was even better than I could have imagined," says Dr. Leah Zuidema.

“I might write an accreditation report or prepare for a visit from an accreditation review team, which is fun in its own way,” Zuidema says. “I enjoy helping make Dordt a great place for students to learn in a Christ-centered way. Rather than doing that directly with students, I do it by working with faculty and on behalf of faculty.”

HATS OFF TO MY FAIR LADY To director Teresa Ter Haar, head of Dordt’s theatre department, My Fair Lady is a complex classic. “Characters trying to become more than they were born to be is a trope in our culture, and this show tells that story in such a delicious, interesting way,” she says. “Higgins is a bit misogynistic, yet we still root for him to get the girl, and we also want to see Eliza transform herself and best Higgins. I want to tell the story in a way that honors what was originally written but doesn’t let it necessarily stay there.” Portraying leading man Henry Higgins in a more positive light is one of the ways in which Ter Haar and junior Zach Dirksen are making My Fair Lady more personal and multifaceted. “I want to explore Higgins differently than Rex Harrison did in the film,” says Dirksen, who plays Higgins. “I want to make him less of a villain, so that the audience is rooting for him even though he is a less-than-benevolent presence.” Senior Holly Hiemstra makes her Dordt theatre debut as Higgins’ young prodigy, Eliza. Hiemstra loved theatre in high school but thought she would be too busy to participate in college as a nursing major. Still, she decided to audition for My Fair Lady, and the rest is history.

NEWS

This fall’s production of My Fair Lady is the first mainstage musical the Dordt theatre department has put on in four years. THE ROLE OF HATS

One of the most interesting things about Dordt’s production of My Fair Lady may be that the costume shop designed and created 32 elaborate period hats and hair pieces for the show. “The British have this longstanding tradition of women wearing glamorous dresses and huge hats,” says Ter Haar. “It’s wonderful, marvelous, and ridiculous. To this day, women go to the ascot races wearing these marvelous hats; it’s such a British tradition.” Junior Katie Fictorie, the assistant costume designer, made all of Eliza’s hats and designed many others. All the women wear at least two hats, which are all black and white. Fictorie created these hats from the ground up, using buckrum: the base material from which most hats are made. The buckrum is stiffened, glued to a base, and then decorated with fabric. To help her in the process, Fictorie brought in tiny model hats, including a three-inch-tall ascot, and took photos of the process. She documented all of her work and plans to submit it in this year’s American College Theatre Festival competition. “I based my hat designs on the dress designs, using images from my research and my own ideas,” says Fictorie. “It was my first time designing costumes for a mainstage production. It’s been very fun.”

“I love the transformation,” says Hiemstra as she prepared for the show. “I play two different characters: a rough and uncultured girl who transforms into this elegant lady. I hope the audience falls in love with her at every stage of the show.” Ter Haar hopes that My Fair Lady delights the audience but also causes them to think about the complicated nature of relationships.

Doolittle relationship in the musical is problematic by today’s standards,” says Ter Haar. “In our production, we try to complicate that relationship in ways that open up our audience’s understanding of friendship, what it means to live in community, and of grace.” KATE HENRECKSON

“The traditional Henry Higgins and Eliza

KAITLYN BAL JEU ('20)

CONCERT BAND RAISES MONEY FOR HOSPICE HOUSE

NEWS

Campus Kudos Dordt has been ranked the top Iowa college by U.S. News & World Report for the second consecutive year. Dordt also ranked second on the list of most innovative regional colleges in the Midwest as well as sixth on the “2019 Regional Universities— Midwest” list.

In May, agriculture majors Rachel (Limmex) Postman and Brianna Evans presented at the Conference on Innovation in Agriculture Education in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Their presentation was titled "Two-Day Educational Haitian Goat Management and Production Workshop."

The students stayed two nights with members of the Reformed church and enjoyed each other’s company immensely, even though the Hungarians spoke little English and the students spoke even less Hungarian. “With our host, a translator, and a little help from Google Translate, we were able to share many moments of laughter and hold short conversations,” says junior nursing major Alexa DeRuyter.

Chemistry major Marcus Van Engen was awarded a travel grant from the Peptide Therapeutics Symposium in La Jolla, California, in October. Van Engen delivered a poster presentation titled “Using N-linked Glycosylation to Stabilize Bivalirudin.”

But it was the faith that students and their Hungarian host families shared that created a special bond that became evident during the band’s performances on the Sunday and Monday of Pentecost. Band members also shared in the work of the Hungarian church; their concerts helped raise funds for Majosházai Hospice House, which opened in September 2018 in Majoshaza, Pest, Hungary. The hospice house offers a comfortable and peaceful environment where terminally ill people can live out their final days. Majosházai Hospice House serves cancer patients from 20 towns and villages located in the Ráckeve and Szigetszentmiklós districts

While in Germany, Austria, and Hungary, students had a chance to explore and learn about cultural and historical landmarks.

outside of Budapest. “Hospice care is sometimes a difficult concept to understand, but it plays an important role in healthcare,” says DeRuyter. “It is one area of nursing that I can foresee becoming involved with as a nurse. I know that many people will be blessed by this facility, and I was thankful that our concerts could benefit such a powerful cause.” LYDIA MARCUS (’17)

PHOTO SUBMITTED

This past summer, Tara Tilstra, a civil and structural engineering major, had the opportunity to intern with Hastings + Chivetta (H+C), an architecture, engineering, and planning firm based out of St. Louis, Missouri. At H + C, Tilstra made 3D models of buildings and rooms, color-coded floor plans, and made realistic renderings of future buildings. Dordt has received a grant of $24,945 from the Council of Independent Colleges and Lilly Endowment. These funds will allow Dordt to dig deeper into vocational discernment, particularly through the use of the StrengthsFinder tool.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

n the spring of 2018, 47 members of Dordt’s concert band performed two concerts in a Hungarian Reformed church as part of the band’s 10-day, seven-concert tour of three countries rich in musical history—Germany, Austria, and Hungary.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) recognized 16 Dordt teams as Scholar-Teams. NAIA Scholar-Teams must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA for the entire school year.

Following the performance, members of the community gave students a tour of the hospice house, which was still under construction at the time.

JONATHANFICTORIE ('19)

Dr. Tony Jelsma, a biology professor at Dordt, is partnering with researchers at Sanford Health to study oxidative damage on cells.

NEWS

SANFORD HEALTH PARTNERS WITH DORDT IN RESEARCH

The collaboration is part of what inspires Jelsma when getting students involved in research. “It helps students think about what they want to do after Dordt, and it gives us an understanding of biology that is deeper than we can get in the classroom,” Jelsma says. The research focuses on the Thioredoxin-1 gene, which corrects bodily oxidative damage. “Oxygen is essential for life, and it is intimately involved in our metabolism. However, oxygen is also a reactive molecule and can cause damage to other components of our cells when it reacts with them. Our bodies are designed with many mechanisms to repair that damage, and thioredoxin is a protein that repairs one such type of oxidative damage,” Jelsma explains. To study oxidative damage, Dr. Bethany Mordhorst, a post-doctoral fellow at Sanford Health, engineered a special mouse. She injected it with a drug to turn off, or “knock-out,” the gene. The mouse’s organs were collected, sliced, and put into slides so that Jelsma’s histology class could analyze their cell structure. Members of the class analyzed the organs of Mordhorst’s mouse but found few results. Receiving more organs later in the semester, they began to find additional abnormalities. As the semester concluded, biology majors Sydney Faber (’20) and Michaela Schotanus (’19) decided to continue the research into the

By examining organs from genetically engineered mice, students Sydney Faber and Michaela Schotanus learned about biomedical research and the disease process.

GOT IDEAS? Know of a similar collaboration that Dordt might pursue? Email Dr. Tony Jelsma at Tony.Jelsma@dordt.edu.

summer. They conducted a blind study of the mice, not knowing whether the organs were from engineered or normal mice. Their most significant result was finding abnormalities in the stomach structure of the engineered mouse. “This is real research, and we’re learning new things that we didn’t know before,” says Jelsma. In August, they presented their findings at a small research symposium at Sanford. “Presenting at the conference at Sanford was an amazing opportunity,” says Schotanus. “Being able to present all of our hard work was exciting.” Jelsma, Schotanus, and Faber are still studying the stomach structure, kidneys,

and brain this fall. According to Mordhorst, Dordt’s research has been instrumental to her project at Sanford. “One of my favorite parts of our collaboration has been conversing with Dr. Jelsma and his students about their theories of how these pathologies might have started and how they progress,” says Mordhorst. “They are enthusiastic and passionate about these findings. Our lab was very impressed with Dr. Jelsma’s students and how well-versed they were in pathology and the relevant scientific literature.” Partnerships like this give students like Schotanus and Faber valuable experience and allow them to explore career opportunities early. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to take part in this project,” says Faber. “Dordt does a wonderful job of offering students internships with real-world applications.” ERIKA BUITER (’20)

NEWS

t is a campus visit day at Dordt, and the Eckardt Lounge is filled with laughter, the scent of fresh coffee, and brightlydecorated tables in black and gold. Parents and high school students mingle with admissions counselors, sipping coffee and snacking on breakfast treats. Eventually everyone finds their seat, and President Erik Hoekstra makes his way to the front of the room. “Welcome to your campus visit day for Dordt University at Dordt College,” he jokes, alluding to the upcoming move to university. Later, Aaron Baart, dean of chapel, reminds students to enter the college search process confidently.

for the future.” “I’m amazed at how much this place has changed since I went here,” says Jeremy. “The facilities are phenomenal, especially compared to when we attended.” The campus visit experience runs from Thursday night through the weekend. Student ambassadors take high school students through dorms and coffee shops, then to Thursday night Praise and Worship, giving them a feel for the spiritual climate. Many stay overnight in the dorms, since on-campus living is such a big part of the experience. On Friday they attend a presentation, grab lunch in the Commons, and take a campus tour.

“The important piece is experiencing what the people are like.” —Greg Van Dyke, director of admissions

“The one who loves you more than you know is going before you,” he says. “Whether that leads you to Dordt or elsewhere, know that we are all part of this grand, beautiful kingdom that is breaking in.” “I love how friendly everyone is,” says Shane Van Essen, a high school student who visited from Edgerton, Minnesota, with his parents Jeremy and Kimber, who are Dordt alumni. “They all care about where you’re from and what you’re interested in, and they give you advice

KATE HENRECKSON

CAMPUS VISIT DAYS: AN INSIDE LOOK

“From the moment they arrive on campus to the moment they leave, we want high school students and their families to feel welcome,” says Jade Van Holland, an admissions counselor. One meaningful part of the campus visit day is when high school students and their parents sit down with faculty members to talk through a specific program or major. Dr. Tim Van Soelen, an education professor, says that he likes to talk with families about how Dordt's

Erica (Groen, ’16) Boer is one of ten admissions counselors who work closely with high school students and their parents as they consider Dordt.

education program helps students foster a love for who they teach, what they teach, and how to teach. “I want them to see Dordt and my department as places where they can continue to discover and uncover the calling God has for them,” says Van Soelen. High school students and their parents come from all over the country and the world for a Dordt campus visit. Dordt admissions works hard to ensure that these students feel at home and truly experience what it’s like to attend Dordt. "The important piece is experiencing what the people are like,” says Greg Van Dyke, director of admissions. “Creating that feeling of home in a place where you’re going to belong, grow, and be transformed during your two or four years on campus—that’s what we’re striving for.” KATE HENRECKSON

KATE HENRECKSON

STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS

“Then my friend’s sister needed photos of her one-year-old daughter, and other people started asking for photos,” says Van Groningen, a graphic design major. “It kept building.” Van Groningen, who will graduate in December, now has her own photography business; for the past two years, she has done shoots for families, high school seniors, weddings, and more. She has also learned to juggle her love for photography with college classes and two other jobs. “It’s not easy to balance school and work,” says Van Groningen. “My calendar is important; without that, I couldn’t keep everything straight.” Van Groningen also took photography classes from art instructor Doug Burg, who has his own photography business. “It was great to learn how to go beyond the automatic settings on my camera, set up a business, deal with customers, and create contracts,” she says. Van Groningen isn’t the only student running a business while studying at Dordt. Cole Evans, a sophomore business major from Edgerton, Kansas, partners with a friend to rent out three houses that they fixed up in Kansas City. Evans says that, while he is at Dordt, his friend handles most of the landlord responsibilities, and Evans spends time on the finances and paying taxes.

NEWS

When she was a sophomore, Adri Van Groningen convinced her parents to split the cost of a Canon camera with her. When she came back to campus after Christmas break, she started taking photos of her friends just for fun.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Three students apply what they learn in the classroom to their own businesses.

Faculty Notes

Adri Van Groningen started off as an education major but soon switched to art so she could hone her skills as a photographer.

Evans appreciates that Dordt’s business professors have given him advice about making smart investments. “Everyone is going to make mistakes—no business is perfect. The more I can talk with my professors and learn from them, the better decisions I make.” Mark Schouten, a second year Pro-Tech student, also runs a business remotely; he does custom crop farming in Surrey, British Columbia. Employing six staff, Schouten leases a 1,200-acre ranch to grow alfalfa hay. Conveniently, this year’s three cuts went to a dairy across the street from his property. Schouten has a foreman who manages the ranch in his absence, but he still has weekly meetings and other responsibilities. He says that managing a business and keeping up with schoolwork means that he has to plan and manage his time well. He also says that his Pro-Tech courses like Animal Nutrition and Farm Business and Management have helped him to better understand his product and to grow as a business owner. “If you are a college student thinking of starting your own business, don’t let anything hold you back,” advises Schouten. “Being a business owner has helped me learn and focus more on my coursework, because what I’m learning in the classroom has helped me to succeed.”

David Versluis, professor of art, worked with art majors to create a mural for the exterior of the Science and Technology Center as a project for a senior seminar course. The image incorporates agriculture (depicted through a fluid line ending in a wheat stalk), physics (an S-line and a motion diagram), and biology and chemistry (a stylized chemical compound). Dr. Teresa Ter Haar, professor of theatre arts, was chosen to participate in the CCCU Women’s Leadership Development Institute (WLDI) last June. Dr. Sacha Walicord, professor of business administration, has been named visiting professor of apologetics at the Akademie fuer Reformatorische Theologie (Reformed Theological Seminary) in Giessen, Germany. Dr. Gwen Marra, professor of education, recently began her term as president of the Northwest Iowa Reading Council for the 2018-19 school year. The council plans literacy-focused professional development meetings for area teachers. Dr. Joshua Zhu, professor of chemistry, co-authored a paper titled “Toward Automated Enzymatic Synthesis of Oliogasaccarides." It was recently published in the peerreviewed journal Chemical Reviews, a publication of the American Chemical Society. Dr. David Henreckson, professor of theology, was elected president of the Fellowship for Protestant Ethics, an early-career network for Protestant moral theologians. He will serve for the 2018-19 term.

SARAH MOSS (’10)

NEWS

DORDT'S DEFAULT RATE WELL BELOW NATIONAL AVERAGE

The national average when it comes to the student loan default rate is 10.8 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Dordt’s average? 2.8 percent. JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

Defaulting means a student borrower didn’t make on-time minimum payments, and a school’s default rate is the percentage of students who are failing to make minimum payments. “I’ve always known that Dordt has a low default rate, but comparing it to the national average shows just how exceptional it is,” says Harlan Harmelink, Dordt’s director of financial aid. Harmelink highlights some factors that he believes have kept Dordt’s default rate low. First, Dordt students come from families and communities that often have a strong sense of fiscal responsibility. That sense of obligation to pay back what is owed is also emphasized by Dordt’s financial aid office. Second, says Harmelink, the financial aid office and the advancement office work hard to make sure that students leave with a manageable debt load. “Everyone’s definition of a ‘manageable debt load’ is different,” says Harmelink. “Some people don’t want any, while others realize that once they’ve graduated they’ll work in a higher-paying field where they’ll be able to pay their debt back quickly.” Harmelink and his staff advise high school and college students to apply for any scholarship they can, get a work study position on campus, or find a parttime job in the local community. Federal loans should be the last option, and Harmelink encourages families to borrow only what is necessary. “For the class of 2018, the average debt load was just below $22,000 per student who walked across the stage and received their diploma last May,” says Harmelink. “This amount is lower than at any of the state universities and comparably-sized private institutions.”

Harlan Harmelink says that, of the more than 1,500 students enrolled at Dordt, 98 percent receive financial aid. Last year, more than $40 million in financial aid was given to students.

Graduating with debt can have its challenges, but Harmelink says Dordt's career outcome statistics show that Dordt graduates can feel confident in their likelihood of finding a job that will help them to pay off their loans relatively soon. “A third reason I think Dordt’s default rate is so low is because Dordt students are well prepared to find jobs and begin to serve in God’s kingdom,” says Harmelink. Approximately 99 percent of Dordt's 2017 graduates reported that they were employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation, which is when student loans start coming due. This puts recent graduates in a position to be able to make those loan payments. Still, Harmelink knows that it is not uncommon for high school students and their families to experience sticker shock when they see what it will cost to attend college. But he encourages them to think of it as an investment and to work closely

with the financial aid office. “There are so many scholarships for incoming freshmen and for returning students,” he says. “People are surprised when they hear that Dordt costs $40,000 per year and yet the average student comes away with around $22,000 in total debt.” That shows the variety and volume of resources that are available to students. Harmelink emphasizes that $22,000 is an average and that "some will leave with less and some with more.” Harmelink and the financial aid office pledge to give each student all the help they can as they manage their debts. “I think it speaks to the value of a Dordt education when you can leave with less debt than at other institutions, and you are likely to have a job or be in graduate school within six months or before repayment begins,” he says. SARAH MOSS (’10)

KATE HENRECKSON

NEWS

More than 15 community leaders joined Dr. Gabriel Salguero in the Campus Center Board Room to discuss immigration policy and Christian hospitality.

WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR? “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (I John 4:18)

n October 1, standing before a packed B.J. Haan Auditorium, Dr. Gabriel Salguero gave a talk that was striking, humorous, and intensely convicting. His talk was titled “Beyond Despair: Lessons from Narnia and the Gospel.”

Christian Hospitality.” The panel also included an immigration lawyer, a DACA recipient, and a pastor of a local Catholic church. The evening event was highly attended, with an engaged audience seeking to understand how immigration policy affects our undocumented neighbors, and what Christian hospitality

“Love is a decision that you will respect the image of God in the other, no matter how different.”

“Look at me,” Salguero asked his audience earnestly. He gestured to his face, his dark eyes and brown skin. “Look at me. Mira me. —Dr. Gabriel Salguero, First Mondays speaker What do you see? Am I your ally or your demands of us as kingdom citizens. foe? Am I a glorious future or a dystopic dread? In my church, I have both sheriffs The next morning, a group of people and state troopers, undocumented from Sioux Center and the surrounding immigrants and DACA recipients. People communities gathered in the board ask me whether something happens that room, sharing coffee and conversation. allows these people to pass the peace of Around the table were men and women Christ, to see each other not as labels, representing education, public health, but as brothers and sisters. Yes, I reply. It the business sector, mental health, and is love.” faith communities, including some key Latino voices.

In the evening, Salguero participated in a panel discussion titled “Who Is Our Neighbor: Immigration, Justice, and

“We are all working with similar goals, but we don’t often know what others are

John Lee, a Dordt board member and local pastor, opened the conversation by posing three questions. What is God doing in our current time and place? What has God specifically equipped each of us to do in our respective callings to join in that work? How do we best work with others in order to accomplish the rest?

Salguero’s presentations all focused around love, which he says is the highest of Christian virtues. “Love is a decision that you will respect the image of God in the other, no matter how different. Fear distorts your reality. But perfect love casts out fear—it allows you to see me and me to see you. You at Dordt—will you be able to see differently? We are the ones the world is waiting for, to put on gospel lenses, to replace fear with love.” KATE HENRECKSON

KATE HENRECKSON

Salguero is president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NALEC), a coalition of Hispanic evangelical churches and nonprofits committed to gospel-centered advocacy. He has also served on the White House Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Advisory Council and is a pastor of a multicultural church of 4,000 in Orlando.

doing," says Lee. "This meeting was a gift for our community. It allowed us to learn from Dr. Salguero’s wisdom and insight, but also to learn from one another, as together we seek ways to serve our neighbors in our respective callings.”

NEWS

DORDT REVEALS THE UNIVERSITY LOGO O

n Friday night during Defender Days, Dordt revealed the Dordt University logo. The logo reveal came after more than five months of research, design, and feedback that went into the decision-making process. Blending classic and contemporary, the logo captures the uniqueness of Dordt University. The gold cross at the center of the logo highlights how, at Dordt University, Christ is at the center. The “U” is shaped like a graduation stole, and its stylized ends symbolize hands and arms open to God’s leading. Last May, outside consultants came to campus and held focus groups of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents to determine the current brand perception of Dordt and to uncover insights for positioning and

communicating Dordt. The responses students and others gave were analyzed and compiled into a brand assessment, which was the foundation for the initial logo designs. The designers then shared the logo designs with Dordt’s marketing office, who met with groups on campus including students, the university initiative task force, and the administrative cabinet to get feedback. The design was finalized in early October. “Dordt is not flashy. Dordt is not dull. But Dordt is bold—not in a sense that is reckless or abrasive, but in a sense that, regardless of trends, our dedication to our mission is unwavering,” says Jamin Ver Velde, creative director at Dordt. “That’s what I see in this logo design; it’s not afraid to be unique." “I like the new logo because it directs

For more information about the Dordt University logo, visit u.dordt. edu/logo.html.

my eyes to the cross,” says Megan Van Den Berg, student government president and senior education major. “It clearly shows me that Dordt’s mission remains the same and that, as Dordt University, we will keep equipping students to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all areas of life.” “We are excited to share this new logo with our constituents, and we look forward to when Dordt will officially become known as Dordt University,” says President Erik Hoekstra. The logo will be implemented on Dordt’s campus starting on May 13, 2019, when Dordt will officially become Dordt University. SARAH MOSS (’10)

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

More than 500 students, alumni, parents, and employees gathered in the Campus Center for the Dordt University logo reveal.

IN ALL THINGS E X PLORE S T HE CONCRE T E IMPLIC ATIONS OF CHRIS T’S PRE SENCE IN A L L FACE T S OF LIFE

believe most of us sense that technology is impacting our lives, but we often don’t completely understand how. It feels like technology is generally helpful, allowing us to do more things more quickly, but we might hesitate to declare it “good” in a Genesis sort of way. I also think most of us would acknowledge that blaming an iPhone for occasional rude, antisocial behavior is akin to blaming the fires of hell for a burnt beef roast just pulled from the oven. In light of this, it may be tempting to conclude that technology is neutral and that we either use it appropriately or misuse it. While it is true that each of us has control of, and is responsible for, how we use technology, it is a dangerous misconception to believe that our technologies are completely benign. Every human-made tool from a sharpened stick to a microwave oven is biased. Each encourages certain behaviors and habits, while making others more difficult. A microwave oven makes it possible to cook a small portion of food quickly, which in turn makes it easier to heat-up leftovers or a packaged meal. This gives family members the freedom to keep their own individual schedules, possibly making it more difficult to maintain a regular family mealtime. In addition, with a microwave on the countertop, conventional cooking starts to feel like a waste of time. Clearly, the microwave isn’t forcing us to abandon family mealtime, but its built-in characteristics make skipping family dinners a more doable option. In a strict sense we have control over the extent to which we

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON:

allow our technologies to shape our lives, but unless we vow not to use them at all, technologies always change the world and our interaction in it.

including our families. It is now rare, to use our earlier example, for families to find time to eat together because it is “normal” to be too busy.

While it may be easy to see how technology gives us new and important choices, it may not be clear how this is necessarily dangerous. We know that God has created us to depend on him and to depend on each other as we love and serve in community. In fact, it is within our close relationships where, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we often experience and share the gracious love of Christ most deeply.

So while our iPhones and other technologies are not, in themselves,

FEATURES

My iPhone Made Me Do It

It is a dangerous misconception to believe that our technologies are completely benign.

In contrast, American society seems to value personal independence over meaningful relationships. They seek fulfillment in accumulating more and in doing what they want, when they want, independent of anyone else. This cultural bias often gets expressed in the technologies that our society produces and in what is considered to be the normal patterns of day-to-day life. We need to be cautious because these cultural currents are eroding our closest relationships and with them, Christian community,

destroying our relationships, it is critical to remember that they come with biases that are, in concert with the surrounding cultural patterns, trying to pull us away from each other and ultimately from God. In our current cultural context, wisdom may in fact require us to use less technology in all things. DR. KEVIN TIMMER

In All Things is a journal for critical reﬂection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. We want to expand our imagination for what the Christian life— and life of the mind—can accomplish. In pursuit of this end, we will engage in conversation with diverse voices across a wide range of traditions, places, and times.

FEATURES

RESPONSIBILITY AND TECHNOLOGY Machine learning, big data, artificial intelligence—today, it seems as if technology is advancing and changing at warp speed. What do such developments mean for responsibly creating and using technology? What does it even mean to create and use technology responsibly?

veryone uses technology, and people in many professions have a hand in creating the many new technologies that keep springing up. However, it is computer programmers and engineers that are usually on the front lines of major developments. Whether building better software for the latest version of the iPhone or designing earthquakeproof schools, engineers and programmers are shaping our culture and our future. “When you create a tool and let it loose into the world, it’s going to have consequences,” says Dr. Nick Breems, computer science professor. “That’s why we make tools—we wish to shape the future in some way.”

“Think about the iPhone,” says Timmer. “Its design shapes our interactions with other people and with creation, because phones are used every day. Design isn’t only about making a product physically safe—it’s about contributing to healthy, flourishing relationships of every kind.”

ILLUSTRATION BY JENNA STEPHENS ('19)

Breems co-teaches Technology and Society with Dr. Kevin Timmer, an engineering professor. The class challenges senior engineering and computer science majors to wrestle with what technology is and what a biblical perspective on technology might include. Breems, Timmer, and their students talk about the theories and philosophies behind technological developments, including how engineering and programming are—at their core—about relationship design.

JONATHAN FICTORIE ('19)

FEATURES

With the power to create technology comes great responsibility. Kari Sandouka, a computer science professor, tries to help her students grasp some sense of that responsibility by teaching them about the Association for Computing Machinery’s code of ethics and professional conduct. She challenges her students to adhere to the code of ethics as they create code and build software. One part of the code states, “Ensure that the public good is the central concern during all professional computing work.” Sandouka says that’s important, but it can be difficult for computer science students to understand the impact of what they’re creating. “When it comes to the ‘public good,’ you have to think not only about what the software you’re creating is meant to do, but also about how people are going to use it,” says Sandouka. “That’s the point of having customers involved with the process; if you’re designing software, you need to get feedback and involve others with testing. You can’t just think you know everything, because you’re probably going to use the software differently than someone else.” Sandouka cites the Hawaii false missile alert that went awry in January 2018 as an example of why testing matters.

Prior to working at Dordt, Kari Sandouka was a programmer at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. She says her industry experience informs her practical, project-based teaching style.

multiple sections were pieced together. The negative effects of the virus were discovered in 2010. “Most of the programmers did not even know what the final outcome should look like,” Sandouka says. That made it nearly

“When it comes to the ‘public good,’ you have to think not only about what the software you’re creating is meant to do, but also about how people are going to use it.”

“My students and I looked at pictures of the missile alert interface, talked about the poor design, and considered what —Kari Sandouka, computer science professor could have been done,” says Sandouka. “Was impossible for them to think about “the it the programmers’ fault or the users’ public good.” So she asks her students to fault? Unfortunately, there are a lot of think about helpful questions they might examples like that out there.” ask as they want to write programs that Sandouka admits that it’s not always easy promote good rather than harm. to know how a client will use a product. To Sandouka, wrestling with complicated “An extreme example is the Stuxnet issues such as these is an important part virus, which launched an attack on an of a programmer’s education. Iranian nuclear facility. The effects “I put the questions out there, but I can’t of the virus were discovered in 2010.” always answer them for my students,” Programmers were each asked to code a says Sandouka. “Students need to think section without knowing what the other about where the technology they create programmers were doing, and then the

is going to go.” Sandouka and Breems hope that this sense of responsibility continues after students graduate. This past summer, Breems and recent Dordt graduate Josh Heynen (’18) decided to study whether Dordt alumni who work as programmers feel responsibility for what they are creating. “For this research project, we don’t care as much if people follow the rules established by their employer or industry, as whether or not they have their own rules,” says Heynen, who majored in psychology and minored in computer science. “We want to know if programmers feel personally responsible, if they put the responsibility for their work on their employer, or if they do not care.” Based on what Heynen uncovered in his literature review, he and Breems created a survey they plan to send to Dordt alumni who work as computer programmers. Heynen’s work on the project concluded in July when he began work as a technical coordinator at Premier Communications in Sioux Center, but the research will continue into next summer. “As Christians, we’re called to be stewards and take care of the earth,” says Heynen.

FEATURES

“But if you’re a low-end programmer and only a little piece of a giant puzzle that creates something for your organization, there’s a great distance between you and the end product. There’s also a huge diffusion of responsibility. If something goes wrong and everyone believes that it’s someone else’s fault, that’s bad.” Breems hopes that programmers take a macro view of their work. “We need to look further than the next debug cycle and say, ‘If this software actually works, what is it going to do to the world? Is that a better place to be?’” he asks.

blurred. “In some recent commercials, Facebook has talked about trying to go back to being a platform where people can connect with friends,” says Sandouka. “Facebook creators probably didn’t foresee that their creation would be used for cyberbullying, personal data collection, and ad manipulation. Now

“We need to look further than the next debug cycle and say, ‘If this software actually works, what is it going to do to the world? Is that a better place to be?’” —Dr. Nick Breems, computer science professor

How about for the average technology user—what level of responsibility should consumers feel when it comes to utilizing technology? “The creator of tools bears responsibility for the results, but often the user shoulders more of that responsibility than the creator does,” says Breems. Facebook offers a good example of how the lines of responsibility of the consumer and of the creator can become

they’re saying, ‘We’re reducing ads and the algorithms that target people for particular reasons.’ But bad things are still happening on Facebook and other social media platforms. Is that the company’s responsibility, or is it the responsibility of the people who use it?” Dr. Ethan Brue, an engineering professor, sees a connection between producing and consuming.

“In the world of technology, production and consumption are integrated,” says Brue. “Products are designed for consumers, and they dictate how a person consumes them in many ways. But consumers need to understand how their desires shape products and their production.” When thinking about how people use technology, Brue prefers the term “cocreator” to “consumer.” “To ‘consume’ means to use or burn something up. So using the word ‘consumer’ tends to dictate the way we buy and use things—everything becomes consumable,” he says. “But we should see ourselves as responsibly stewarding a product, asking whether there are ways that we can take care of it, and not considering it as something to use and throw away.” He challenges his students to think about how many people a product can impact and engage during its lifetime. Brue suggests that focusing on the word “responsible” can help us understand what it means to co-create technology responsibly. “Sometimes the word ‘responsible’ can feel like a command or another rule to follow, but the root of ‘responsible’ is ‘response,’” says Brue. “It is relational—I’m responding to someone who’s said or

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

Josh Heynen says the summer research project combined his knowledge of research methods and his interest in technology.

“Another thing to remember is that the first word for creation always begins with God," adds Brue. “He invites us to respond to brokenness but also to delight in the joy of creating.” It is a fine line, says Heynen, between creating something and letting it master you.

FEATURES

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

given something. We’re not the first voice—we’re the second."

“I think it’s important as a user to not let the technology control you,” he says. “Ask, ‘How can I use this and not let it use me?’ Have a good reason for why you’re using it.” Breems also encourages technology users to keep in mind that “nothing is really free.” “If you’re not paying for a product, you are the product,” says Breems. “When you’re on Facebook, they’re selling you to advertisers. I think we would be creating a better world if we were willing to pay for services and not have ads do so.” He admits that it’s hard to give up something that is seen as free, though. And, Breems and Sandouka say, programmers and engineers should keep in mind that what they create doesn’t end with them. “Fifty percent or more of the code a programmer writes is given to someone else,” says Sandouka. “You don’t own it for your lifetime. I teach my students that it’s not just about getting your product out there and making sure it’s okay for the public to use. You need to pay attention to how it’s further developed, because it will have a life beyond you.” “Responsibility for programmers and engineers is more than just providing quality products and avoiding ethical lapses,” says Breems. “It involves choosing one possible shape of the future over another. We want students to take ownership of the future they’re creating—they need the technical skills to accomplish the task at hand, and they need to have a biblically-based understanding of the larger world which will be shaped by the consequences of their handiwork.”

“I hope my students come out of the History of Science and Technology course reminded that the history of technology doesn’t stand alone and that it should be understood as part of human history,” says Dr. Ethan Brue.

TECHNOLOGY IS... The traditional definition of technology goes beyond wearables, self-driving cars, and robots. “Technology is a human activity—it’s something we do,” says Timmer. “We do it in freedom and in responsibility to God, using our gifts for practical ends and purposes.” “Technology is everywhere and across all time,” says Brue. “It includes everything from sewing machines to Kleenex. Each age has had technologies that fit its cultural context and particular understanding of the world. Technology doesn’t just happen and we adapt to it; it’s rooted in our deepest desires of what we want the world to be. Technology is neither good, nor is it evil, nor is it neutral. It comes into culture and redefines us.” In his History of Science and Technology course, Brue looks at the concept of the non-neutrality of technology by examining what we mean by “progress.” Using 10 data points, including gas mileage and cost of production, Brue asks his students to decide whether the Model T or the Hummer is a better vehicle. Based solely on the 10 data points, Brue’s students discover that the Model T is in fact a better vehicle than the Hummer—the Model T has better gas mileage and costs less than a Hummer to produce. “The point is not to say that we should go back to the Model T,” says Brue. “The point is to wake up to what criteria we’re using to say something is better, because that criteria is indicative of our cultural values. So often, people assume that progress is linear. When we believe that ‘this is better than that,’ we define what progress means, and that says something about our environment and how we view others.” To Brue, real progress is only possible when we base our criteria on what we can share for the sake of others, rather than on maximizing what we can produce or consume. “Progress can only be measured by the strength of communion with other people, with creation, and with God,” he says.

SARAH MOSS (’10)

FEATURES

33 FOR

DORDT GETS ENGAGEMENT AWARD THIRD YEAR IN A ROW P

At a panel discussion during the summit, Hoekstra and administrative officials from Washington University in St. Louis, New York University, and the University of South Florida shared strategies for improving student engagement. “Dordt was the only Christian college on any of the panels throughout the day, and we were certainly the smallest school,” says Hoekstra.

EMMA DARWIN

resident Erik Hoekstra was sitting in an auditorium at New York University with other senior leaders in U.S. higher education when the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education announced that Dordt College had, for the third year in a row, been named number one in the nation for student engagement. Hoekstra had been invited to participate in the U.S. Student Success Forum and to be present when the rankings were made public.

THE RANKINGS The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education created the college rankings based on four pillars that emphasize key areas in teaching excellence: resources, environment, outputs, and engagement. The engagement category comprises 20 percent of the overall score and considers if a college or university effectively engages with its students. Specifically, it examines: • The level of interaction that students have with faculty and other students while on campus • The students’ engagement in learning and critical thinking • The likelihood that students will recommend the college to others • The number of subjects and accredited programs available.

At the panel session, President Erik Hoekstra shared the stage with Mark Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis; Ralph Wilcox, provost at the University of South Florida; Katherine Fleming, provost at New York University; and Phil Baty, panel moderator.

To learn more about the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education rankings, visit 3for3.dordt.edu.

at Dordt, it’s a salt and light time for us,” tweeted Hoekstra while at the forum. The goal of the U.S. Student Success Forum was to explore ways schools can engage and support students’ learning by hearing from institutions which, they say, "teach students better instead of just teaching better students.” Hoekstra heard examples of how larger universities like

“It’s that unified commitment to our core mission—namely, ‘to work effectively for Christcentered renewal in every area of life’—which makes the engagement so strong at Dordt.”

“It’s about our compelling mission and our common purpose,” says Hoekstra. “As we go about our work together, our faculty spend extra time with our students to serve them not only academically, but —President Erik Hoekstra emotionally, spiritually, and socially. When faculty act in that manner, students Michigan State University and Georgia notice and respond positively. It’s that State University try to engage with unified commitment to our core mission— students and how difficult that can be for namely, ‘to work effectively for Christschools who have tens of thousands of centered renewal in every area of life’— undergraduates. Still, some institutions which makes the engagement so strong are getting creative: Dartmouth College at Dordt.” has started a pilot program of 60 students, using cell phone technology Following his panel session, Hoekstra and artificial intelligence to monitor says that audience members thanked him whether students are eating, exercising, for sharing his perspective as a Christian and having conversations with other and as a president of a small college. students.

“I think that Dordt’s advantage is our ability to engage with students on a personal level,” says Hoekstra. He believes that the personalized attention Dordt students receive is what has earned the college its top ranking in student engagement for three years in a row.

FEATURES

Phil Baty, editorial director of the Times Higher Education global rankings and panel moderator, pointed out that “Dordt College, a highly distinctive Christian institution, scores highest on our student engagement survey, based on 200,000 responses from current U.S. students.” He asked Hoekstra to explain “the institutional culture that has produced such strongly engaged students, and the policies in place to support students.”

Kaysha Steiger, a sophomore business major at Dordt, has experienced that personal attention in her interactions with her professors. “Dordt students feel like they really matter to their professors,” says Steiger. “And Dordt staff members do a great job of getting students involved in oncampus activities throughout the year. I’ve found that Dordt is a place that puts community first.” Dr. Elizabeth (Vander Ziel, ’03) Blankespoor, the 2018 Horizon Award recipient, recalls how integral her experience at Dordt was in growing her faith and helping her mature. “At Dordt, you have time to interact with people in a meaningful way and challenge each other to think about what we want out of life and how faith fits into that,” says Blankespoor. “A Dordt

“When people from historic and prestigious schools have looked at Dordt’s website ahead of time and want to hear about the ‘secret sauce’ we have

The student engagement ranking considers to what extent students have the opportunity to interact with faculty and whether the college provides collaborative learning experiences.

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

FEATURES

JAMIN VER VELDE (’99)

Faculty Notes Dr. Jan Van Vliet, professor of economics, was elected this past June to the board of directors of Soccer Chaplains United (SCU). SCU is a group of chaplains and counselors that serve two major league soccer teams as well as teams within the USL and other schools. Van Vliet’s role is to advise the executive director on educational, credentialing, and ordination requirements for potential chaplains and counselors. Dr. Channon Visscher, associate professor of chemistry and planetary sciences, worked with researchers from NASA to study ultra-hot Jupiters: planets that orbit so close to their host stars that they burn on the “day” side while staying cool on the “night” side. Their research was featured in a NASA press release to help scientists understand the fascinating chemistry of these scorched worlds. Dr. Bruce Vermeer, professor of psychology, presented a workshop titled “Neuropsychological Aspects of Aging: Implications for Assessment & Intervention.” His workshop was part of the annual conference of the South Dakota Psychological Association in Sioux Falls.

"I love the camaraderie of this place," says Dr. David Mulder. "Dordt has a very strong faculty, and it’s a blessing to serve alongside colleagues who challenge me to live out my faith in my teaching practice on a day-by-day basis."

education is designed to challenge us to think deeply about what it means to be a Christian.” Dr. David Mulder, an education professor at Dordt, says that faculty, staff, and administrators view their work as a calling and an opportunity to serve students.

Jacob Van Wyk, professor emeritus of art, will mount a large art exhibit called “Apocalyptic Vision” in November at Northwestern College. This exhibit features more than 40 works from the past 35 years in various media, including lithographic prints and etchings, oil pastel drawings, and clay sculptures. The artwork explores subjects such as the mystery of angelic presences, life and death, and biblical imagery of the end times. Over the next two years this exhibit will also be mounted at Mount Marty College, Morningside College, and the University of Sioux Falls.

“Dordt students are amazing,” says Mulder. “Most students who come to Dordt are looking to be stretched, and that’s a big part of what we are about as faculty: not giving students pat answers to challenging questions, but wrestling through thorny issues along with our students and examining them through the lens of a Reformed worldview.” Dr. Leah Zuidema, associate provost, agrees. “Year after year I continue to be impressed with the passion and expertise that our faculty and staff bring to Dordt,” says Zuidema. “They want to

be part of a transformative experience for students. They care deeply about our students, pay attention to what interests them, and challenge them to keep growing.” Dordt was not the only Christian institution to be ranked highly in student engagement; Oklahoma Baptist University, Cedarville University, and Harding University were also ranked in top spots for engagement. “In the broader culture, I think that’s a wonderful witness to the fact that students and faculty are created as image-bearers,” says Hoekstra. “The first question posed in Dordt’s Educational Framework is, ‘Who owns your heart?’ When Christian institutions can talk at the heart level, we’re able to more directly address ultimate things that matter. I think that's what gets students more engaged.” SARAH MOSS ('10)

FEATURES NEWS

ARTWORK BY JONATHAN FICTORIE (19)

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Naming A Rich Inheritance

n May 13, 2019, Dordt College will become known as Dordt University. A new logo was unveiled at Defender Days in October, and throughout the 2018-19 academic year alumni events will celebrate the name change. However, the “Dordt” part of the name will remain. “With the university initiative, the question arose as to whether Dordt was the right name going forward,” says President Erik Hoekstra. “But there was a swift, overwhelming response that it was, indeed, both compelling and appropriate.” Dordt’s mission statement declares the institution’s commitment to a Reformed understanding of the

world; keeping Dordt in its name demonstrates that ongoing commitment. Besides, some argue, the college’s name is not only meaningful; it is also unique. In March, the Chronicle of Higher Education launched a March Madness-style tournament on Twitter to “determine which college has the best name.” Dordt was chosen to compete against 100 other institutions of higher education, including Slippery Rock University, D’Youville College, and Moody Bible Institute. Led by Hoekstra, Dordt students, alumni, and other supporters took Twitter by storm, voting their way from the “Tweet Sixteen” to the “Eltweet Eight.” In the end, Dordt made it to the final four before being

FEATURES

“Ah, Dordt,” wrote Steve Kolowich, senior writer at the Chronicle of Higher Education in his article “I Set Out to Find the College with the Best Name.” “I liked it from the start.” The light-hearted tournament was a good reminder that the name “Dordt” not only reflects its heritage and mission but helps it to stand out. College and university names that are unique have the potential to be remembered, particularly if the institution’s graduates and outcomes are high quality. Dordt has now been in the top 10 in rankings such as U.S. News & World Report for 15 years and was recently ranked number one in student engagement for the third year in a row by the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

“The name ‘Dordt College’ is known and highly appreciated by many, and, I’m convinced, will stand as long as the institution exists.” —B.J. Haan, Dordt's first president

“In the early years of the school, the name 'Dordt' perhaps didn’t have the gravitas to carry such a unique moniker,” Hoekstra says. “But we believe that Dordt now has the potential to become a distinct, nationally-known name, similar to institutions such as Gustavus Adolphus, St. Olaf, or Dartmouth.” Hoekstra’s sentiments were shared by the college’s founder in his time as president. “The name ‘Dordt College’ is known and highly appreciated by many, and, I’m convinced, will stand as long as the institution exists,” wrote Dordt’s first president, B.J. Haan, in his memoir A Zeal for Christian Education. How did the founders settle on the name “Dordt”? On March 18, 1937, a classis of the Christian Reformed Church met in Austinville, Iowa, to discuss the possibility of opening a new Christian college. Grundy College in Grundy Center had closed its doors three years before, and Christian education supporters saw a need for a new school in the Midwest that could train teachers. In September of 1955, Midwest Christian Junior College, a two-year teacher training school, opened its doors. But many felt that the name “Midwest Christian” was flavorless; they also

“Dordt College has always tried to stay close to God’s people, believing that no kingdom venture can have the blessing of the Lord unless it represents and serves the people of God,” said B.J. Haan in his memoir, A Zeal for Christian Education.

wanted to leave open the possibility for offering a four-year program. In A Zeal for Christian Education, thenDordt president B.J. Haan describes how “after searching for a name that would describe our educational principles and purposes, we settled on the name ‘Dordt’ after the great synod of Dordrecht, where the confessions of the Reformed Calvinistic churches were adopted.” There was some disagreement between the English spelling of the town’s nickname (“Dort”) and the Dutch spelling (“Dordt”), but the Dutch spelling was eventually agreed upon.

Over the years some have questioned the name “Dordt.” A 1984 issue of the Diamond, the student newspaper, explored the possibility of a name change. Some administrators felt that alumni were having difficulty explaining the name and that another name might have a stronger draw. However, a subsequent student survey showed that most students preferred the name “Dordt.” And the article received numerous letters to the editor, all strongly disagreeing with the idea of a name change. “Does this college really want students

DORDT COLLEGE ARCHIVES

eliminated.

Dr. John Hulst, the college’s president at the time, agreed that the name “Dordt” was distinctive. “It does associate us with a significant part of our heritage—a part which spoke clearly of glorifying our sovereign God in all we do."

the University of Leiden,” says Dr. Scott Culpepper, history professor at Dordt. “He had a glittering personality and novel ideas, and students were attracted to that. Soon he had a following not just at the college, but among pastors throughout the country.”

Even though the issues had arisen within the Dutch Republic, churches from all over the world wanted to be involved, because the topics were so central to Reformed theology.

“I can see one good thing arising from this issue,” Hulst added. “At least we’re forced to ask ourselves, ‘Why do we have our name and what does it mean?’ Our name is important. I hope that we keep ‘Dordt,’ but I hope that we have a greater understanding of the meaning and why it was chosen for our future attitude and direction.”

A SYNOD TO REMEMBER

When Arminius died in 1609, his followers—known as the Remonstrants— released a statement proposing five points of doctrine that challenged Reformed theology. And soon, the theological conflict became political. Many leading Dutch noblemen were sympathetic to the Remonstrants, while

leading pastors held strongly to the Calvinistic Reformed perspective. The Remonstrants began to use the power of the state to enforce their views, putting in place local militias throughout the provinces to protect those who followed their ideas. But when Maurice of Orange, stadtholder (“ruler”) of the Netherlands, became Reformed, he ordered the Remonstrant militias to stand down.

FEATURES

who are so narrow-minded that a name prevents them from attending a certain school?” wrote a former student. “We should be proud of our unique heritage and character.”

To solve the debate without bloodshed, Maurice determined to hold a synod—a grand council—to debate these theological differences. And even though the issues had arisen within the Dutch Republic, churches from all over the world wanted to be involved, because the topics were so central to Reformed theology. The assembly met for nearly a year, and the resulting decisions, which became known as the Canons of Dordt, are still confessional standards for Reformed churches today. “The Canons helped clarify the nature and power of divine grace in a way that has formed the Reformed theological imagination for 400 years,” says Dr. David Henreckson, Dordt theology professor

Dordt College was named for the Synod of Dordrecht (Dort), but what exactly happened at that year-long synod? What made it so important that, 400 years later, Reformed thinkers and historians are celebrating its occurrence? The Synod of Dort arose as the result of a controversy that had been brewing for many years. Reformed leaders at the time were dedicated to the vision of John Calvin, who saw the entire process of salvation as superintended by the grace of God. The human will, Calvin had argued, was so damaged by the fall that we are incapable of reaching out to God, unless he first draws us to himself. But another group of people led by Jacob Arminius began to question aspects of this theology. They argued that, despite the fall, the human will could understand the need for salvation and reach out to God. They also suggested that it might be possible to resist God’s call, or for someone who had once believed to turn away from God and lose their salvation.

THE SYNOD'S OATH On November 13, 1618, 84 Reformed church delegates from all over Europe gathered in an upper room in a building in Dordrecht, Netherlands. Before beginning the proceedings, the members swore an oath: “I promise before God, in whom I believe, and whom I worship, as being present in this place, and as being the searcher of all hearts, that during the course of the proceedings of this synod, which will examine and decide not only the five points and all the differences resulting from them but also any other doctrine, I will use no human writing, but only the word of God, which is an infallible rule of faith. And during all these discussions, I will only aim at the glory of God, the peace of the church, and especially the preservation of the purity of doctrine. So help me, my savior, Jesus Christ! I beseech him to assist me by his Holy Spirit!” Thus began the Synod of Dort.

“Arminius was a popular professor at

FEATURES

and director of the Andreas Center. “It articulated the efficacy of God’s grace, his all-loving care for us, the way he draws us to himself in the person of Christ through the power of the Spirit, and our utter dependence upon his grace for every good thing we enjoy. That grace ought to drive us to gratitude: to turn us outward toward our neighbor in thankfulness for what God has given us. All these ideas flow out of the decisions made at the Synod of Dort 400 years ago, and they are still a part of our Christian life and service today.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME? “The Synod of Dort shaped all of Reformed theology,” says Culpepper. “Not just the Dutch tradition, but English and Scottish Presbyterianism as well. A lot of people are influenced by its theological legacy every day and don’t even know the history of it.” “Not many people actually know what happened at the Synod of Dort, but there is an awful lot of tangible residue from that important event that is still very evident in the way people live and

Each delegate who attended the Synod of Dort received a medal. One side of the metal displayed a view of the Synod of Dort, and the other side showed a view of Mt. Zion being battered by the personification of the four winds.

“Not many people actually know what happened at the Synod of Dort, but there is an awful lot of tangible residue from that important event that is still very evident in the way people live and talk.” —Mark Volkers, digital media professor

PHOTO SUBMITTED

talk,” says Mark Volkers, a digital media professor at Dordt. Volkers says that, whether they recognize it or not, Dordt students and graduates live in ways that demonstrate the Reformed principles that emerged 400 years ago in the city of Dordrecht. And those principles affirm that the name “Dordt” best fits the institution that was known as Midwest Christian Junior College back in 1955. “Today, Dordt University best describes who we are and who we are becoming,” said President Erik Hoekstra as he announced the name change to students and the press. “Over the years, we have developed academic and cocurricular programs that grow out of our mission to prepare students to serve in the professions they enter and the communities in which they live. Dordt now looks and acts more like a university than a college. But it is still Dordt.” In August, the Dordt men’s basketball team took a trip to Holland, in collaboration with Ton Sels, a Dutch businessman who shares Dordt’s Reformed worldview and has helped the city of Dordrecht plan the Synod of Dort's anniversary celebration.

KATE HENRECKSON

Kelly Tien (’80) graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, on June 9, 2018, with a master of arts in theology. At McMurry University’s spring commencement ceremony, Pamela Veltkamp (’84) received the Gordon R. and Lola J. Bennett Award, the university’s highest faculty honor. This award is presented for conspicuous accomplishments in furthering the aims of the university. Criteria for the award include excellence in teaching, contributions to the governance of the university, leadership on committees, and support of better community relationships. The “Dordt: What’s in a Name?” kiosk features a website that highlights videos of alumni and faculty explaining the history and influence of the Synod of Dort. To view the website, visit synod.dordt.edu.

400 years and counting I

n celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Synod of Dort, Dordt College will hold a year of festivities focusing on the Synod and its impact today. In November, representatives from Dordt will travel to Dordrecht to participate in the city’s celebratory opening ceremony kicking off a seven-month celebration that will include conferences and an art exhibition titled “Work, Pray, Admire: New Views on Calvinism and Art.” Mark Volkers, a digital media professor at Dordt, has partnered with Dordt’s marketing office to create a video exhibit titled “Dordt: What’s in a Name?” The exhibit features a microsite that displays a series of videos highlighting the Synod and how it has quietly influenced alumni. In the series, members from Dordt's faculty and administration describe Dordt’s connection to the Synod, explain why the Synod took place, and talk about what happened at the Synod. Five alumni also describe what their Dordt education and being Reformed means to them. In the spring, the Dordt art gallery will feature artifacts from the Dordrecht Museum that focus on themes of hospitality, language, and the Calvinist identity. Another show will include material from Dordt’s own archives,

including the Dutch “Statenbijbels”: Calvinist translations of the Bible into Dutch. From April 4-6, the Andreas Center will host a conference titled “The Prodigal Love of God: Reencountering Dort at 400 and Beyond.” Speakers will include Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson; Timothy George, a leading Baptist theologian and expert on Reformation church history; James K. A. Smith, a prominent public theologian and best-selling author; and Richard Mouw, esteemed theologian and member of the neo-Calvinist movement in America. The conference, which will include plenary talks, panels, and papers from thinkers all over the country, will feature conversations about the legacy and future of Protestantism as well as opportunities facing the global church. In May, alumni and friends of Dordt will participate in the Synod of Dort celebratory events as part of a learning vacation to Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. They will visit important places of the Reformation: John Calvin’s church in Geneva, the Ulrich Zwingli monument in Zurich, and the Heiliggeist Church in Heidelberg. The trip will end in Dordrecht, where the group will attend the closing ceremonies.

FEATURES

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

ALUMNI NOTES

Carol DeYoung (’86) was named the 2018 Woman of the Year by Country magazine. DeYoung owns a 110-acre farm in upstate New York, which she runs almost exclusively on her own. Whether baling hay, driving tractors, constructing fences, raising livestock, building custom pig houses, or even constructing her own log cabin, DeYoung has a passion for stewarding God’s creation and leaving it better than she received it. In October, Darryl (’86) and Shelly (‘87) De Ruiter moved to Haiti to begin a two-year service mission with an organization called Many Hands for Haiti. In October, Tim Antonides (’92) published his debut novel Rain. His novel depicts a married couple’s desperate pursuit of having a child. Antonides earned his Ph.D. in English language teaching and his MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with his wife and two sons. Sally Haack (’00) was appointed as vice president and director of human resources for St. Francis Regional Medical Center. She has supported Fairview Ridges, Fairview Southdale, and Bethesda hospitals as a human resources strategist. With a deep understanding of metro-area healthcare systems and employment matters, Haack has held positions within the Fairview system since 2005.

FEATURES ALICIA BOWAR ('05)

FIFTY YEARS LATER, THE CLASS OF â&#x20AC;&#x2122;68 REMEMBERS This summer, the class of 1968 reminisced with lots of laughs. They spent time traveling through T remembered stories, some embellished a bit, retelling yarns in dozens of colorful conversations.

But serious moments occurred too, public and private, old friends chatting not simply about their college years but about the divergent paths they took the day after they flicked mortar board tassels aside.

heir year is especially notableâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;1968, a year that conjures images for almost all of them, not all of them happy or sweet. Vietnam dominated. Death tolls there were staggering: 16,592 American soldiers died that year, 200,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. The impact on many new graduates was profound and helped shape the rest of their lives. The following are some of their reflections, in their own words.

SYLVAN GEERITSMA

This excerpt from Sylvan’s essay illustrates part of what he came to learn. After basic advanced infantry training, I completed officer candidate school and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in military intelligence. Deployed to Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division, I was in charge of an electronic surveillance unit for half of my tour.

Armies dehumanize “the enemy.” It’s easier to kill a “gook” in black pajamas than a person—even an evil person. Demonization and dehumanization are forms of hate. Sixty years after his war, my father still talked with bitter hatred about the “Japs” as a devious species. When I took bayonet training, we were told to imagine we were stabbing the enemy at home in bed with our wives or girlfriends, because it’s easier to kill what you hate. Military language is confessional, religious language: ethos, creed,

Soldiers, too, are partly dehumanized. The extent of change and damage varies from one person to the next—drugs, suicide, long-term PTSD. Soldiering is arguably the most self-sacrificial of callings, not just because of the risk of physical death or injury, but because it sacrifices the self with a more recently recognized disorder than PTSD, something called “moral injury.” Yet that is not the last word, because the last word is always grace. We all know a familiar poem that DORDT COLLEGE ARCHIVES

During my first week overseas, at a training class on rules of engagement, we were reviewing the Geneva Conventions and combat rules—you fight soldiers; you don’t harm women, children, civilians and friendlies, etc.

Revulsion overwhelms most of us because God did not create us to kill. Genesis 9 says that when we kill, we are destroying the image of God. It is as if we are trying to destroy the closest thing we see to God—burning him in effigy. That doesn’t come naturally. We are not created to do that.

mission, spirit, immersion (as in baptism), commitment. The change required is eerily parallel to Christian conversion. Recall Paul’s language in Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 of taking off the old self (civilian) and putting on the new self (warrior). Or consider Paul saying in II Corinthians 5:17 that if anyone is in Christ, she is a new creation. Parallel that with the idea that if anyone is in the army, he is a new creation; the old (cook or postal clerk) is put away; the new (warrior) is put on. Some say the army breaks you down and rebuilds you into the kind of creature they need.

FEATURES

Sylvan Geeritsma was one of those who returned to Dordt’s campus this summer to share and listen with others who gathered for this year’s 50th anniversary reunion. The student body president in 1968, Sylvan found himself in a military uniform not long after graduation, an experience he has written about in a moving and thoughtful essay that you can read in its entirety in the September Pro Rege at http://bit.ly/ MoralFogofWar .

it is to kill? I mean real close-up killing in which you see fear in a man’s eyes, you see the messy blood, you bludgeon, you plunge in the knife or bayonet, you hear him beg for his life for the sake of his children.

A man stood up, hardly old enough to have finished high school. He was in Vietnam before, he said, and served with highly-trained guys sent into enemy territory. “Do you really mean that now if we are discovered in the jungle by a woman and a couple of kids,” he said, “we can’t kill them anymore?” The instructor repeated what he mouthed earlier: “The rules say…” He didn’t even have to wink. The answer was clear. Nobody could say he didn’t teach the rules; everybody knew he didn’t. We were in Vietnam to “win the hearts and minds of the people,” which makes counter-insurgency seems almost evangelical, doesn’t it? But if you knew of mothers and children who died, would their deaths “win the hearts and minds of the community”? Fifty years ago, it seemed to me that war is about purposeful killing on a large scale. Did you ever think about how hard

Sylvan Geeritsma was one of 103 students who graduated from Dordt in 1968.

FEATURES

SAM MELHORN / ASSOCIATED PRESS

challenges us to begin exchanging guns for garden tools and atomic bombs for medical isotopes. God almighty will finish the job, but he calls us already now to begin, by his grace, to make into reality the prophecy of this poem: They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more. Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid. for the Lord almighty has spoken.

JOHN SCHUURMAN John Schuurman worked as a professional actor before becoming a pastor. He retired from the pulpit at Wheaton Christian Reformed Church. He and his wife Janet Damon (’72) live in Wheaton, Illinois. While home from Dordt for the summer of 1967, I hung out with a University of Denver student who rented a room in my parent’s basement. He was a history major and due to graduate the next year, too. Mark was brilliant, articulate, and passionate in his derision of “Johnson’s War.” It took him about three nights over beers at the Rathskeller to transform this fairly naïve jokester who went to a tiny Iowa college into an activist ready to take up a sign and join in the beautiful people’s demands for a better world. Thus prepared, I came back to Dordt for my senior year. I loved 1967-68 Dordt. I soon discovered the professors who would welcome a pointed question, the ones who such things only bewildered, and the ones who were out to see that the national nonsense was not going to happen in their yard. Some of it went gloriously fine in talks over food—despite the cuisine—and in smoky dorm room debates over cards and coffee. I should add that a small band of brothers—about three I think—restrained ourselves from trying to occupy President Haan’s office.

Many graduates of 1968 will never forget the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who, days after leading a march to support Memphis sanitation workers on strike, was fatally shot on April 4, 1968.

All of us on campus, whether politicized or not, were young and brave and just beginning to understand our nascent power as baby boomers. Time and a degree of turbulence would tell what we’d make of it.

BETTY (VINK) WIELAND After 25-plus years of working for Christian Reformed Home Missions, Betty (Vink) Wieland retired to enjoy the gift of a second marriage. Her husband, Dave, died of multiple myeloma in May of this year after sixteen years together. At home in Grandville, Michigan, she still does some freelance speaking and writing but mostly simply enjoys her retirement. For me, 1968 benchmarked God’s molding of the woman I have become. After graduating from Dordt in May, I was eager to leave my Iowa roots and explore. Our country was in chaos, but my Reformed foundation was solid. Or so I thought. In August I moved to the Chicago suburbs to teach. Flower children students and three feisty housemates invaded my

cozy world. I tasted the bitterness of war through a roommate’s fiancé, who was fighting in Vietnam. Answers weren’t simple anymore. Marriage, kids, and leading an outreach Bible study called Coffee Break followed. I learned to love the unlovely, accept differences, and forgive. Then my world fell apart. Divorce. All my little blackand-white boxes came tumbling down. I wore a big “D” on my forehead. But when I needed grace the most, God provided it. Over and over. Looking back, I see that what I caught from my Reformed education was not what I was taught. I was taught guiltgrace-gratitude, TULIP and a Reformed worldview. All neatly packaged and tied with a bow. What I caught was that there were “rules” for belief and behavior, and I was to keep my mouth shut and tough it out if life got hard. Guilt-grace-gratitude still ground my faith. But I resist the finger-pointing judgment of guilt. It is too brutal. I choose to live in grace and gratitude. Too much hatred fills our fractured world. I desire to heal, not hurt. I don’t always do it well. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain. But I know grace. God gives it generously. So must I.

GERRY STIEMSMA

Bert Van Niejenhuis, who grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, retired in 2008 after a lifetime in secondary education. He and his wife, Erna, reside in what he calls “the dynamic hamlet of Neerlandia, Alberta.” He enjoys volunteering and camping and still golfs “cow”-handed.

Like Geeritsma, Gerry Stiemsma found himself in Vietnam soon after graduation. When he returned stateside, he started a career in the classroom, stayed there for 42 years, retiring at 70 from Waukegan (Illinois) Public Schools. He and his wife Karen Ulferts (70), live in Silver Lake, Wisconsin.

I remember reading an article about cultural imperialism in the Edmonton Journal’s Weekend magazine in the 1960s, something titled “One Day the Slaves Will Rise.” By the spring of 1968 the Vietnam War effort was visibly going awry. The increasing brutality of the American military seemed to strengthen the enemy’s resolve.

After graduation that year I did farm work during the day and worked a factory job at night. While driving home I remember hearing, live, the assassination of Robert Kennedy. The draft notice came August 15, but my introduction into military life was a God thing. He blessed me with a fantastic Christian bunkmate—from Augustana. We figured out we’d played baseball against each other in college.

My blooming relationship with Karen, my future wife, was great comfort. Her love, concern, and the constant flow of letters uplifted and blessed me. In college, I remembered hearing about the Tet Offensive and not thinking much about it. Less than a year later, I was in it.

JERRY BUTEYN After teaching German (and some English grammar) at Christian schools in Michigan, Jerry Buteyn found his way back home to the family farm in 1976 and took a Michigan bride DECLAN HAUN/CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM/GETTY IMAGES

Four of us visited Chicago on spring break that year, staying at the home of a Roseland grocer, whose neighborhood was already changing color. While enjoying the psychedelic posters and strobe lights in an Old Town shop after dark, suddenly, ominously, we heard a clerk warn us, “The King’s been shot—you should get outta here!” So we did.

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered. I remember my brother, Glen, pounding his fist against the wall and saying, “What’s wrong with this country?”

Things changed. In the deep South, the small huts made me feel as if we were still in sharecropper days. During my bus ride from basic training, I sat staring at a world I’d not seen before while sitting next to a guy who was part African American and part Native American. When we stopped in Memphis at the bus depot, we were given instructions not to leave the building. Angry rioters and demonstrators controlled the streets.

FEATURES

BERT VAN NIEJENHUIS

Next morning in a restaurant on the Loop, heavily-armed national guardsmen raced by in Jeeps. From the Prudential Building’s 40th floor we saw the mayhem in the streets: burning buildings and speeding fire trucks. Police were under orders to shoot and kill looters. That afternoon in Cicero we witnessed squad cars full of officers, rifles attached to the dash. In August I eagerly ordered a class set of TIME magazines. Teaching social studies became exhilarating—especially on “Current Events Friday.” Every month featured a new revolution. The Chicago riots were a microcosm of the rest of 1968. They prepared me for my most effective teaching day ever—9/11. The slaves were rising and still are. Maybe U.S.-style democracy is not the best solution for every nation. Riots are another strong memory from 1968. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., they broke out in more than 100 major U.S. cities including Chicago, where 11 lives were lost and entire neighborhoods were decimated.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

FEATURES

along with him. They have a grandson, a sophomore, at Dordt College. That year, two of us student-taught at Edgerton, Minnesota, staying with a family who made us breakfast every morning. I remember the news being on, updates on the war in Vietnam. In February the highest weekly totals of death and injury for the Vietnam War week were tallied: 540 and 2,547. Yet I had to block that out and go across the street to teach German and English. It was scary. I didn’t get drafted. The high school where I taught that fall was full of rich kids. One of them even asked me why I taught school—there wasn’t any money in it. The two most difficult high schools in town, teachers said, were South High (heart of the inner city) and East Christian (very affluent). At South, you were thankful to go home with your physical health, at East with your mental health. Such was my first year of teaching, 1968. I learned more about dealing with students (even rich ones) than they learned German from me, but still, 1968 was a really a great time in life.

BARBARA MEYER As a claims advocate in an insurance brokerage, Barbara Meyer helps clients through whatever “sticking points” might occur in a claim. Her husband, Larry (also ’68) is retired from positions as a pastor and a high school Bible teacher. They live in Kenmore, Washington. “There is a crack in everything–that’s how the light gets in.” That’s Leonard Cohen. Our life in 1968 brought a twist on those words. War, racial tension, and riots were everywhere, but we were insulated in our last year in college–an exciting but anxious year filled with our new marriage, practice teaching, finishing up courses, and moving. The first crack came when Larry was called to report to the draft board for a war we were barely conscious of, yet knew we didn’t believe in. He got a divinity deferral, but we knew many

The Vietnam War was a major political issue in 1968. Many students, including some from Dordt, protested the war at rallies around the country.

young men didn’t and maybe would die. A little light on the actual dark plight of the world. The second crack came when we moved to Michigan for seminary years. We had heard about riots in the area from a cousin who said she would never go out at night. But in our naïveté, we thought we were protected from all that. We were riding downtown one Saturday, when a group of rioting young men came to our car and rocked it. The look on their faces stayed with us. Another little light on the plight of those caught in racial problems. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” Did our years at Dordt help us understand a bit more when we finally saw more? Rock-solid teachings made for a resounding “yes.”

JIM VANDEN BOSCH Jim Vanden Bosch is a filmmaker and the founder of Terra Nova Films, a Chicago-based non-profit that produces and distributes films on aging-related issues like elder abuse and geriatric healthcare. He lives in Lamont, Illinois. When memories give us an entryway

to revisit meaningful pieces of our existence, they also give us a way to assess who we were compared to who we have become. As I reflect on the memories of my years at Dordt, it is clear to me that those years were a nutritive starting place for who I would later become. It was the Reformational perspective that was just beginning to take hold there during those years that propelled me into a way of thinking which, over the remaining years of my life, enabled me (often in fits and starts) to accept rather than deny growthful change. How amazing that a cloistered kid could grow from a participant in a march (led by a Dordt prof) to the Sioux Center park in support of the Vietnam War into someone who now abhors abusive domination of any kind. How amazing that the seeds of a new perspective could help me through the crucible of painful life events, including a divorce, and allow those events to help crack open new vistas of grace and growth. How amazing that the very religion that birthed Dordt, and that still tries to define and understand God, finally enabled me to see that any attempt to define God is impossible, and is, instead, often an expression of a humanly hubristic attempt to make a god in our own image. Amazing grace! JAMES CALVIN SCHAAP (’70)

SETTING THE DIRECTION ne of the most rewarding parts of my job in human resources is sitting in on dozens of interviews every year. Toward the end of every job interview, I provide an opportunity for the candidate to ask questions that might help them discern if Dordt and this position is the right fit. Inevitably, they ask a question such as “What do you like best about working at Dordt?” or, “What is the culture and environment like at Dordt?” As an HR leader, I find it encouraging to sit back and listen to Dordt faculty and staff describe Dordt’s culture to prospective employees. Recently, I heard comments such as: “I love the sense of community we have here.” “I appreciate that there are high expectations here, but collaboration,

ALUMNI NOTES Please send news of your alumni gatherings, professional accomplishments, civic participation, and volunteer activities. We'd love to include them on our pages. Damon Dotson (’02) is a musical artist from Okoboji, Iowa. He has opened for such legendary artists as Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys, and B.B. King. Dotson has released four of his original albums and has performed additional shows throughout the Midwest. Derek Imig (’06) was named assistant coach of the year for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association in the high school division. The coaches, who were selected by a vote of their peers, were recognized for their lasting commitment to positively impact student-athletes, institutions, and communities. This past season, Imig helped lead Blanchet Catholic School’s varsity girls’ basketball team to the 2017 Oregon State

accountability, and support for each other.” “I enjoy opportunities to worship with faculty, staff, and students every Wednesday in chapel.” “I love the sense of collaboration and respect between my colleagues. This is a place that encourages research, ideas, and innovation.” “I feel valued for my knowledge and experience, and I am encouraged and supported in my professional development.” One of my favorite descriptions given this past year was at the end of an interview. When asked to describe the culture at Dordt, the staff member said, “For me, it is like we are on a big ship. We all have our distinct roles or sections of the ship; some work in the kitchen or maintenance, some are in guest services, others are navigating and setting the direction to steer the boat. We all have

different skills and different tasks, but at the end of the day, it is a blessing to be in a place where we are all working to move the ship in the same direction. We all know who we are but most importantly whose we are. We know who we serve, and that guides everything we do. Things can go wrong, but the focus people have at Dordt for our mission and glorifying God helps us stay on course.” I feel blessed to be a part of this community and look forward to seeing how God will continue to bless Dordt in the 2018-19 academic year through the efforts of current and new faculty and staff who continue to build a vibrant culture together where we can serve God.

SUE DROOG SERVES AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP AT DORDT.

Activities Association Class 3A State Championship with a third-place finish. His award was presented as part of the WBCA convention, coinciding with the Women’s Final Four in Columbus, Ohio.

neighborhood and civic transformation, serving the marginalized, developing local incarnational leaders, and engaging in peacemaking efforts. To learn more about Street Psalms, visit www.streetpsalms.org.

Joe Hoksbergen (’05), whose pen name is Joe Hox, has illustrated three books, which were released on October 8 from New Growth Press. They are the first three in a series titled Good News for Little Hearts, and the books are designed for parents and counselors to read with children. The first book, Zoe’s Hiding Place, deals with the topic of anxiety, Jax’s Tail Twitches with anger, and Buster’s Ears Trip Him Up with failure. Learn more at https://newgrowthpress.com/zoeshiding-place-when-you-are-anxious/ .

Corey Moss (’10), a certified public accountant, has been admitted into the partnership of Nichols, Rise & Company, LLP in Sioux City, Iowa. Moss works with a wide variety of small businesses and individuals, but he also has concentrations in farming, medical, construction, real estate, and investment entities.

Jessica (Walker, '06) Louwerse received a master’s degree in urban global leadership from Bakke Graduate University in June. She is currently in Alaska, co-leading the 2018 Anchorage Urban Peacemaking Fellowship, a project of the Street Psalms Urban Training Collaborative. In Anchorage, she is pursuing her passions of

ALUMNI

Ruth Mahaffy (’13) has been recognized by the American Library Association for her excellent work with the English as a Second Language program and with the Sioux Center Public Library. In a new report from the American Library Association, the library has been highlighted as part of the American Dream Literacy Initiative, a grant program that supports services for Adult Language Learners. This past May, Arielle (Johnston, '16) Flynn received a master of science degree in genetic counseling from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

ALUMNI

Dr. Elizabeth Blankespoor's current research focuses on the influence of information costs and technology on corporate disclosure and market participants’ use of information in capital markets.

University Graduate School of Business. eceiving the Horizon Award this year was unexpected,” Raised in a missionary family, says Dr. Elizabeth (Vander Ziel) Blankespoor spent her childhood living in Blankespoor. “I am grateful that Dordt Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. encourages graduates to go out and influence the world and honored that they appreciate my actions. When I look at my fellow grads from Dordt, though, I see that they’re all doing great things and living out God’s will in their communities. So receiving this is a challenge to continue striving and looking for opportunities to bring — Dr. Elizabeth Blankespoor ('03) positive change.”

“It’s easy to say, ‘As a

business major, the way to serve Christ is to donate money,’ but it’s so much bigger and richer than that.”

Since graduating from Dordt in 2003, Blankespoor has been immersed in the world of accounting. She currently serves as an associate professor of accounting in the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington in Seattle. Previously, she was an associate professor of accounting at Stanford

"I remember thinking it was normal for the lights to randomly go out and to play charades by firelight,” recalls Blankespoor. “I didn’t realize that was unique until I came back to the Midwest.” She also lived in Ohio, Idaho, and South Dakota before enrolling at Dordt.

“I’ve been able to learn Dr. Elizabeth about different Blankespoor was the focus of an alumni cultures and feature article in the people and to Spring / Summer 2013 have unique issue of the Voice. experiences, Please visit bit.ly/ and that has ElizabethBlankespoor opened my to read that article. eyes,” she says. “It’s helped me realize that you can adapt to a lot of different places.” When considering where to go to college, Blankespoor applied to a few Christian colleges but decided on Dordt once she visited campus. “It felt like home; I liked the people and campus,” she says. “In retrospect, I laugh a little to think that an 18-yearold chose my life. I had no idea at the time how much I would appreciate Dordt. Dordt’s intentional focus on teaching a Reformational worldview is

IVAN LVOV

ELIZABETH BLANKESPOOR

Blankespoor first became interested in accounting in seventh grade after winning a math competition. At that point, she knew she wanted to become an accountant, but it wasn’t until she enrolled at Dordt that she became passionate about the subject. “I love the logic and the structure of accounting. It’s about thinking through transactions and how to represent the underlying economics. At its core, though, it’s about communication— the whole point of accounting is to understand and communicate what is going on in a business,” says Blankespoor. Blankespoor realizes that many people perceive accounting as uninteresting.

After double-majoring in accounting and computer science at Dordt, Blankespoor served as an accounting analyst for JCPenney and worked as an auditor at Ernst & Young. “After Dordt, I thought about grad school and even started a few applications, but I held off. I wanted to work first to make sure I enjoyed it and had a sense for how accounting really played out. After doing that for a few years, I realized that I wanted more space to ask questions and explore.” So she earned a master’s degree in accounting at the University of Utah and a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Michigan.

The Horizon Award recognizes young alumni who are emerging as leaders and innovators, working effectively and creatively toward Christ-centered renewal in every area of their lives. This award identifies alumni who are community-minded and entrepreneurial—those who are using their knowledge, gifts, and talents to participate in God’s redemptive work in the world.

they’re set by people, which means that sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t,” she says. “Understanding that nuance brings the topic alive. I also appreciated learning from the students and understanding their experiences. Working at Stanford was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the world of academia and business.”

“I chose to focus on archival data for my Ph.D. research because I was excited about the programming and data analysis that comes with it. I was also drawn to the topic of disclosure research—how firms communicate with their investors and what they choose to share in their financial statements. This comes back to communication—what should be communicated when.”

This summer, after six years at Stanford, Blankespoor, her husband Adam (’00), and their two children moved to Seattle.

After finishing her Ph.D. program, Blankespoor landed a job at Stanford University where she did a combination of research, teaching, and service.

Her current research continues to focus on how companies communicate their financial information to their investors, what costs investors face when gathering and understanding that information, and how technology can change the way information is conveyed and used.

“It was a fun combination in that I could ask questions, use data analysis to try to answer those questions, and then communicate that evidence back to other researchers, the media, policymakers, and my students as I worked to show them the importance of accounting.”

Looking back on her Dordt experience, Blankespoor appreciates how Dordt faculty taught her to think holistically about living her faith.

She particularly enjoyed opening her students’ eyes to the breadth of accounting. “We talked about how accounting standards change all the time and that KATE HENRECKSON

“It’s an area that people are quick to dismiss—they see it as bookkeeping and as unimportant—but it underpins much of how we think about things, how we allocate money in the stock market,” she says. “It’s often called the language of business. When I talk with students, even if they’re not accounting students, I tell them that they need to know accounting because it’s how they’re going to understand business and communicate with people. It’s relevant and important in so many settings.”

ABOUT THE HORIZON AWARD ALUMNI

so valuable. Every day there was living and interacting with a small community of people in a meaningful way, and challenging each other to keep Christ at the core. We were taught to think deeply about what it means to be a Christian and how that affects our daily lives.”

“It’s easy to say, ‘As a business major, the way to serve Christ is to donate money,’ but it’s so much bigger and richer than that. I appreciated Dordt’s worldview and its challenge for us; many conversations at Dordt centered around the call to bring shalom in all things. In business, that could mean solving meaningful problems with a product or service, creating opportunities for people to work and unfold their calling, and making sure resources are being used well. To do that, you need to know what’s happening with those resources, to monitor the business’ performance. Accounting plays a central role in making sure that we are allocating resources wisely, whether in a for-profit or non-profit organization.” SARAH MOSS (’10) Blankespoor was honored with the Horizon Award during Defender Days in October.

ALUMNI

PHOTO SUBMITTED

CHUCK DEGROAT

Dr. Chuck DeGroat regularly writes about the intersection of psychology, theology, and Christian spirituality on his website, www.chuckdegroat.net.

he 2018 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award Dr. Chuck DeGroat (’92) began his college career studying aeronautics at Dowling College on Long Island. But, after a year and a half, he realized that his vision and his mathematical abilities would prevent him from becoming a pilot. “My pastor at the time was a graduate of Dordt,” says DeGroat, “and he said, ‘I think if you go out and visit Dordt, you’ll fall in love with the place.’” DeGroat’s pastor was right, and DeGroat transferred into Dordt’s philosophy program in the spring of his sophomore year. “Being a philosophy major and studying with Professor John VanderStelt was an

incredibly formative season in my life; it changed the way I thought about the world. It stretched me theologically,” says DeGroat. “When I went to seminary in the 1990s, I found the work incredibly easy. I was taught to think at Dordt College. I was challenged to write substantial academic papers, to make good arguments, to read writers who were hard to read. The education I received was spectacular.” After graduating from Dordt, DeGroat earned both an M.Div. and an M.A. in counseling from Reformed Theological Seminary in Oviedo, Florida. He served at Willow Creek Church in Orlando for six years and began a counseling center at the church. He also did some adjunct teaching at Reformed Theological

Seminary and eventually became director of spiritual formation. In 2008 he moved to City Church in San Francisco, where he also started a counseling center, and co-founded Newbigin House of Studies, a seminary with a nine-month lay-training program. Now, DeGroat is a professor of pastoral care and Christian spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Reflecting on his career of teaching and writing, DeGroat notes that the books he read and the thinkers he met while at Dordt reappeared in the programs he developed later in his career. In fact, DeGroat says that he wouldn’t have even known about theologian Lesslie Newbigin—the namesake of the Newbigin House of Studies— had he not studied

with Dr. Michael Goheen at Dordt.

DeGroat has written several books in which he invites people to flourish and enjoy “worthiness in Christ,” including Wholeheartedness and The Toughest People to Love. The book he is working on currently, When Narcissism Comes to Church, stems from his experience working with pastors who have narcissistic tendencies.

This commitment to the “soul of the church” has caught the attention—and the hearts—of a wide audience, including a Dordt alumnus who nominated DeGroat for the Distinguished Alumni Award.

“The award has prompted in me some self-reflection on the good teaching and experiences, but also on my own immaturity and need for significant

“I discovered a God who isn’t merely

interested in plucking souls from evil bodies for some heavenly worship service, but a God who sent his beloved Son into a world He deeply loves to unleash its flourishing.”

“The Distinguished Alumni Award is given to those who have distinguished themselves in some fashion, who give evidence of — Dr. Chuck DeGroat ('92) living out of a reformational worldview, and who are able to make a valuable contribution to the Dordt academic community,” explains Alicia Bowar, associate director of alumni and parent relations. “Chuck was chosen for the Distinguished Alumni Award because of the way he is equipping others through his pastoral care and because of the transformative influence he is having in lives of others as he grapples with finding our wholeness and center in Christ.”

growth and maturation over the last 25 years,” says DeGroat. “I hope that people I know who’ve never heard of Dordt find themselves intrigued, and that this creates a pathway for continued friendship and partnership for the kingdom.” LYDIA MARCUS (’17)

KATE HENRECKSON

“These are pastors with a bent toward grandiosity, a sense of entitlement—not humility,” explains DeGroat. “One of the features is a very low empathy for other people. That seems counterintuitive in people who are pastors. What happens is that they have a spiritual persona that they wear, but they do it mostly for their own ego. We’d actually say that the ministry attracts people with narcissistic personality disorders.”

DeGroat says that receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award was “completely unexpected.”

ALUMNI

“Dordt laid the philosophical foundation for me to think of people as whole,” says DeGroat. “I came to Dordt with a very dualistic theology, but I left with a vision of humanity and the world that was deeply holographic and redemptive. In sum, I discovered a God who isn’t merely interested in plucking souls from evil bodies for some heavenly worship service, but a God who sent his beloved son into a world he deeply loves to unleash its flourishing.”

and that it casts a vision for honesty and transformation, for individuals and systems.”

Unsurprisingly, having a narcissistic pastor deeply impacts a church’s culture. “The current #MeToo and #ChurchToo movement, alongside stories of renowned pastors being caught in narcissistic and abusive patterns and, of course, the horrific scandal among Catholic clergy, combine to create a fertile moment for the church to confront narcissism—narcissistic leaders and systems,” says DeGroat. “In many respects, we’re asking narcissistic leaders to take a hard look within, something they are not prone to do. My hope is that the book is a wake-up call, that it puts words and stories about what people often intuit but can’t really name,

DeGroat has spent more than 20 years in pastoral ministry, seminary teaching, and clinical counseling.

NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID OMAHA NE PERMIT NO 776

498 4th Avenue NE Sioux Center, Iowa 51250

“I want that to be me someday.” It’s incredible how God has provided during my time here at Dordt. I recently met an amazing woman whose passion for education and serving the underprivileged was truly inspiring. She didn’t graduate from Dordt; neither did her son. Yet, her love for Dordt and its mission to equip teachers for kingdom service inspired her to give. It’s truly humbling to know that her generosity helps make it possible for me to focus on my classes without constantly worrying about finances. Her gifts allow me to pursue God’s calling in my own life to teach and serve. I see her willingness to be guided by the Holy Spirit, the amazing story she has to share, and the influence that her gifts have had in my life and in the lives of countless other students and I think, “I want that to be me someday!” HANNAH VELDHUIZEN Junior from Emo, Ontario

D ORD T ANNUAL

FUND

For more inspiring stories and ways to give, visit dordt.edu/fund.