De Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development

Calvin invests in faculty members by providing a course release at key junctures of their early years (typically in their 2nd and 4th years) to enable sustained reflection on the relationship between faith and learning.?Called Faith and Learning (F&L) Fellows, cohorts are supported and challenged through reading, reflection, writing, mentorship, and guided conversation. Meet this year’s F&L Fellows groups pictured below!

We warmly invite you to attend a reception to celebrate Dr. Karin Maag, Director of the Meeter Center, who received an honorary doctorate degree from the Theological University of Utrecht. The reception is Monday, March 24 at 4:00 p.m. in the Spoelhof Center Atrium at Calvin University with prayer and brief remarks at 4:20 p.m. Click the link below to read more about Karin's remarkable contributions to the field of Reformation history over the past three decades. We hope you will join us to celebrate this extraordinary honor! https://lnkd.in/gEc2HsDX

The Democracy and Education series continues this week with an event on Thursday (March 20), Continuing the Conversation: Teaching for and through Democracy. ? Participants will engage in an interactive discussion led by John Walcott based on some of the big ideas and questions that have emerged. After a brief review of the previous events, we’ll consider questions like: ·???????How can educational institutions (PK-12 and higher education) equip democratic citizens? What are the implications for what we teach and how we teach? ·???????What are actions that individuals can take in response to policies that they believe are harmful to citizens and/or a threat to democracy? ·???????What does it mean to teach the truth when we can’t seem to agree on what is true? ·???????What impact do changes to (or elimination of) the Department of Education have on students, schools, and communities? ? Bring your questions and join if you’re available!

Day 2 of the 2025 Kuyper Conference included Calvin Theological Seminary professor Yudha Thianto delivering a plenary address and Calvin University students Alyssa Gerritsma, Charlotte Reynolds, and Sydney Wagenmaker participating in a panel discussion with Prof. Micah Watson. At the banquet bringing the conference to its conclusion, Calvin University president Greg Elzinga and Calvin Seminary president Jul Medenblik awarded the 2025 Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life to the Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong. The organization and hospitality shown by International Reformed Evangelical Theological Seminary in Jakarta was second to none.

Day 1 is complete at the 2025 Kuyper Conference hosted by the International Reformed Evangelical Seminary in Jakarta! Calvin University president Greg Elzinga and Calvin Theological Seminary president Jul Medenblik offered remarks of welcome to the 606 participants.

Julienne Brock is serving as a de Vries Post-doc Teaching Fellow in Calvin’s Biology department from 2024-2026. We asked a few questions to learn more about her. ? ? What do you like about teaching? I have always loved fostering curiosity in my students.?I love when my student asks me a question that lets me explain some incredible aspect of how the human body works, but I love it even more when my student asks me a question that I don't know the answer to yet.?I say, "that's a good question!" and have them write it down in a forum on Moodle.?When I can carve out some class time, we get to answer a bunch of these good questions together.?Curiosity is a powerful posture that allows us to be open to lifelong learning. ? ? What is your area of research? Ovarian cancer.?In graduate school we made a mouse model that developed a type of papillary serous ovarian cancer, and I studied the genetic underpinnings of the disease in hopes that it can lead to more specific and effective cancer treatment. ? It has been a privilege to have Julienne in this cohort of post-doc fellows!

Reminder: event tomorrow (Tuesday, March 4) ? With funding from the de Vries Institute’s Faith and Learning Collaboration grants, a series of presentations on democracy and education continues on March 4 with speakers Erek Kooyman, Sara Leo, and John Walcott discussing educational policy implications of recent political actions. This event is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

Job alert! INCHE (International Network for Christian Higher Education) is seeking a new, part-time, Executive Director. INCHE is a worldwide network of Christian universities and colleges that contribute to each other’s educational development. INCHE does this through initiatives that inform, connect, and equip its global administrative and faculty leaders through conferences, seminars, webinars, quarterly newsletters, other online resources, and grant-funded professional development opportunities. Learn more about this opportunity at:?https://lnkd.in/gFfvf2n3

We’re gearing up for this important conference, taking place in Jakarta in just over two weeks. Plenary speakers will be Prof. Dr. George Harinck , Prof. Dr. Govert Buijs, Prof. Paul Marshall, and Prof. Yudha Thianto with Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong receiving the Kuyper Prize. Learn more at https://kuyper2025.org/

Mark your calendar! With funding from the de Vries Institute’s Faith and Learning Collaboration grants, a series of presentations on democracy and education continues on March 4 with speakers Erek Kooyman, Sara Leo, and John Walcott discussing educational policy implications of recent political actions. This event is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!