De Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development

The de Vries Institute’s faculty collaboration grants provide up to $7,000 for Calvin University and Calvin Seminary faculty to gather to deepen faith integration in a variety of ways. For example, in August, the social work faculty invited local community members to speak into the design of Calvin’s new social work master’s degree, including how the program incorporates Christian faith into the practice of social work. ? They reported, “One of our faculty members observed a beautiful byproduct of the meeting. Not only did interagency networking occur, but there were many important connections made. For example, someone was reconnected to a hospice social worker who had cared for her father, former foster care parents connected with foster care workers, board members of social service agencies connected with staff members of that same agency, former students connected with former professors, people who completed their MSW together in the same program over 25 years ago reconnected, and former colleagues who hadn’t worked together for decades reconnected.” These projects have been fruitful for Calvin faculty. Perhaps your school could consider creating such opportunities for your faculty members? Perhaps you already do! Share your ideas for resourcing collaborative faculty work on faith integration in the comments. ? Learn more about these grants at: https://lnkd.in/eTBF7-vH

Interested in finding your next role? Join us at Calvin! The School of Education is seeking a full-time regular, tenure-track faculty member to teach special education with a preference for a specialization in literacy or early childhood education beginning August 2025. Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/e9CvfxNc

Sometimes academic life can feel siloed, without much collaborative thinking and community building. If you are looking for ways to grow as a group, consider organizing a cohort of faculty to take a Reflecting Faith course together this winter! While delving into a topic related to faith integration in higher education, you’ll deepen your thinking and strengthen your connections. Learn more about cohort registration at?https://lnkd.in/eZFyeki5

Registration is now open for the Kuyper Conference, taking place in Indonesia, March 2025! The conference will explore perspectives on the global history and legacy of neo-calvinism. At this conference, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong will receive the 2025 Kuyper Prize! Register at https://lnkd.in/ezsTffAw Indonesian residents only: register at https://lnkd.in/etCQcwSS

Check out the latest episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” podcast from Christian Scholar's Review, featuring Noah Toly. The episode dives into urban environments, community, and the shape of the Christian academic vocation—thanks to Noah for a nice mention of De Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development! Listen at https://lnkd.in/euyrucFv or your preferred podcast platform.

The conference on Integrated Education in a Reductionist Age was a rich time of shared learning and scholarly fellowship. Check out the conference plenaries: -Matthew Kaemingk: https://lnkd.in/eBg32MrH -Justin Ariel Bailey: https://lnkd.in/evSXzAHV -Katie Kresser: https://lnkd.in/e6WDf_wR This conference, co-sponsored by De Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development, The Kuyers Institute, and International Network for Christian Higher Education brought together more than 100 people from around the world to think deeply about faith and higher education.

Check out our November newsletter for updates and how you can get involved! https://lnkd.in/e8R4VKnV]

Last chance to register! Join a cohort of scholars from around the globe starting on November 4 to explore a central theme in the Bible - hospitality to strangers. Through this course, you'll explore how hospitality can serve as a vehicle for connecting faith and learning in higher education. Registration costs $100, though aid is available for those who need it (we offer a 50% or 90% discount). Contact Laurie Lemmen with registration questions, [email protected]. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eaBJtDsW.

Did you miss it? Dr. Robert Bishop, professor of philosophy and physics at Wheaton College, spoke at Calvin in September on “Contextual Emergence: Constituents, Context, and Meaning.” ? In this fascinating lecture, Dr. Bishop illustrated how “contextual emergence” captures the interplay between constituents and context. Drawing on examples from physics, biology, and neuroscience, contextual emergence avoids the problematic reduction of everything to the play of forces on elementary particles or the mysterious and disunifying “radical emergence” of ontologically given brute factors coming from nowhere. Through this lecture Bishop addresses several longstanding questions in the philosophy and theology of science. ? Watch on Youtube at https://lnkd.in/emPzAfSi.

How should the Christian call to hospitality affect your work in higher education? Join a cohort of scholars from around the world starting on November 4 to focus on a prominent theme in biblical theology - hospitality to strangers. Here's a clip from a video in the course featuring Prof. Abraham Ceballos-Zapata. Learn more and register at https://lnkd.in/eaBJtDsW