de Vries Institute

Teaching Christianly?

sin2@calvin.edu — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:58:17 +0000

Teaching Christianly? sin2@calvin.edu Fri, 02/28/2025 - 12:58

How does faith inform teaching? This is a relevant question to professors at ��app University who hope to equip their students to think deeply, act justly, and live wholeheartedly (the ��app mission statement), and one that David Smith explores in his book On Christian Teaching: Practicing Faith in the Classroom. Professor Smith serves as director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning and coordinator for the de Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development at ��app. The de Vries Institute asked Professor Jennifer Holberg, chair of the English department, to lead a faculty reading group this past spring that explored the book and its overarching questions together.

Holberg described the book’s approach to teaching as “incarnational”: encouraging teaching the whole person and teaching well. In his book, Smith calls teachers to understand their theology and deepest principles, and then challenges them to examine whether their classroom practices do (or do not) reflect those principles. Professor Chad Engbers of the English department, a regular attendee of the reading group, called it “an invitation to sit down at a little critical distance from our important work and really think that work through in light of our greater mission.”

Chris Hartemink, professor of Engineering, said “I was very compelled by the notions that every minute in the class matters, and that, dare I say it, every square inch of the classroom can be used wisely. And when I look at my own tendency to lecture at a whiteboard for nearly the entire hour, that is convicting. I have made adjustments to several simple things like student seating, or how groups are assigned, or surveying my students about their hopes and fears, to try to foster that sense of community.”

By re-examining how to foster community in the classroom, these professors found community in the reading group. Faculty members, across many disciplines and experiences, joined a Teams meeting for an hour and a half every Thursday night during the month of March to discuss the chapters that they’d read. They shared what methods of teaching they might be trying, or what had worked for them in the past. “It is inspiring to hear how other faculty at ��app innovate in the classroom,” said Hartemink.

The reading group fostered growth, fellowship, and moments of mentoring during the pandemic—a time of isolation, uncertainty, and redefining the classroom experience. Engbers summed it up: “Every night when I joined the Teams meeting of that discussion group, I would look at the array of faces on my screen and be grateful to teach at ��app among such dedicated teachers. Here was a group of people, young and old, across multiple disciplines, who all found it worth their time to spend an hour after dinner to think and talk a little bit more about their work.”

Just as the professors equip students, so Professor Holberg credits the DeVries Institute with equipping faculty to think deeply about Reformed theology and creating intentional spaces of fellowship—especially at a time when fellowship was hard to find. The experience reminded her “how much we value the community of scholars that we’re a part of.” Matt Lundberg, director of the de Vries Institute said, “Smith’s book is a gift to Christian faculty, one that stimulates our imaginations regarding the possibilities of faith-shaped pedagogy. It wonderful to have colleagues like Prof. Holberg and the other members of this group who are so eager to invest in one another in the shared quest of Faithful teaching.”

Congratulations to David for winning the prestigious Lilly Fellows Program 2021 Book Award! Read ��app's press release about the award.

Mon, 10/04/2021 - 12:00

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Anastasia Watson

Christian Practices in Team Science

sin2@calvin.edu — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:53:42 +0000

Christian Practices in Team Science sin2@calvin.edu Fri, 02/28/2025 - 12:53

It’s simple: faith changes people in the way that they act, think, and live. This is important even (and maybe especially) for Christians in the thick of scholarly pursuits such as science. The conversation surrounding faith and science doesn’t have to be divisive. In fact, ��app biochemistry professor Rachael Baker has found that faith is a tool that can make a better scientist.

After attending ��app as an undergraduate studying science, Professor Baker recalled having good conversations with her professors about the relationship of faith and science but still feeling unprepared for the secular environment that she encountered at graduate school. When she came back to ��app to teach, she focused on how to prepare students to be faithful scientists.

One place where this is particularly important is in Team Science. Team science is an effort to learn, teach, and research in an interdisciplinary and collaborative way in order to solve complex and pressing societal problems. “Scientists aren’t always trained to work together, but they need to be,” said Baker. Christian practices that flow from living and worshipping in a community together can be used in team science to promote productivity and flourishing, which is joyfully clear from the Practices for Success in Team Science summer course. This project was supported by the ��app Center for Christian Scholarship, the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning, and the de Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development.

Along with professors Amy Wilstermann and Julie Yonker, Professor Baker developed the eight-week curriculum to guide students through applying Christian practices to collaborative research. The students need their research mentor to approve their participation, and the mentors themselves prepare through a faculty workshop.

The first week develops an understanding of Team Science. The next seven weeks explore faith practices: Commitment, Hospitality and Silence, Study and Humility, Stewardship and Rest, Sharing Life and Self Reflection, Reflection and Gratitude and, finally, Rule of Life. These practices benefit scientists’ ability to function as a team and work to build a thriving community. “A successful community increases the likelihood of having a successful team,” said Professor Baker.

Although the increased productivity and improved research over the lab course is promising, “it’s exciting but contained,” according to Baker. The summer program was for STEM students with faculty research mentors, but this approach holds great promise for greater application in the classroom. Building a good community and motivating students are “transformative in the classroom.” Students gain tangible experience of Christian practices and teachers participate in and guide a flourishing and productive community – exhibiting just how much faith changes the way we act, think and live.

Wed, 10/20/2021 - 12:00

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The Scientific Vocation and Christian Discipleship Faculty Seminar

sin2@calvin.edu — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:39:57 +0000

The Scientific Vocation and Christian Discipleship Faculty Seminar sin2@calvin.edu Fri, 02/28/2025 - 12:39

In his decades of teaching geology at ��app, Ralph Stearley noticed that many people assume that there is some kind of deep conflict between faith and science, an attitude that plays out in different ways. In graduate programs in the natural sciences, there are Christian professors who are sympathetic to their Christian students, professors who don’t care or worry about relating faith to science, and even some professors who are overtly hostile towards practicing Christians. “It really varies by institution and within institutions, by department,” said Stearley.

The hostility might sometimes be a unique combination of personalities and situations. It could present itself in response to the belief that some scientific content is incompatible with faith, as surveys show that believers in STEM fields such as physics and math don’t experience as much hostility as biology and astronomy, for example. And it could even be subtle discomfort, such as the expectation that graduate students will work on Sundays.

Tragically, antagonism towards Christian scientists is found in faith communities as well as scientific ones. Stearley has noted that “these graduate students and young professionals often receive the same message of ‘warfare’ at their local congregations. I know a geologist who felt he had to leave his church because the pastor preached a young Earth while looking directly at him, in multiple sermons.” Faithful scientists are caught in the middle of suspicion and hostility from both sides.

For Stearley, who retired from full-time teaching in 2019 but remains actively engaged in research and teaching, the key to addressing this challenge begins with ��app faculty members and equipping them with key resources in Reformed theology. When attempting to bridge divides between faith and science communities, the Reformed tradition “is robust against both avenues of attack. . . [Reformed] theology can deal with that kind of stuff -- the theological foundation is ‘muscular’ enough to address those creational issues. ��app [University] has something to offer people.”

Stearley planned a year-long seminar called "The Scientific Vocation and Christian Discipleship" for faculty members mainly in the natural sciences at ��app. A grant from the Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical University helped to fund the planning of the program, and the de Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development at ��app is funding the seminar itself.

Meeting throughout the 2021-22 academic year, participants will work through a series of rigorous books and articles on the doctrine of creation, eschatology, and the history and philosophy of science as it relates to religion. The goal is to give these participants a deep grounding in Reformed Christian theology in connection to research and teaching in the various natural sciences and related disciplines such as math and computer science.

De Vries Institute director Matt Lundberg expressed enthusiasm for this project: “An opportunity to take a deep dive like this will be invaluable for these faculty members. They are on the front lines with ��app’s students and have the opportunity to equip students with the confidence to see how bold faith and scientific rigor complement one another.” Chemistry professor Laura Westrate, a participant in the seminar, said that “having an opportunity to sit down with other scientists at ��app on a regular basis to talk vocation and integration of science and faith has been extremely rewarding. Not only for my own personal development but also in the way that I can use these interdisciplinary discussions to enrich the way I tackle science and faith in my classroom.”

In addition to exploring theological questions and wide-ranging historical work that refutes the idea that science and faith are naturally "at war" with one another, meetings of the group are working through Eugene Peterson's book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. On the book’s role of encouraging discipleship, Stearley said, “The book is centered on the Psalms of Ascents, Psalms 120 through 134.  These were probably sung by the people of Israel as they travelled to Jerusalem three times yearly for the regular holy festivals. They are particularly suited for people who are pilgrims and disciples, which Peterson stresses right away and emphasizes throughout the volume. So the book is eminently designed to encourage Jesus's disciples (that is, us) to persevere over the ‘long game’. And to rejoice along the way.”

Through the whole experience, these faculty members will have the opportunity to grow in their faith and develop stamina for these challenging aspects of their profession, their vocation as science professors, and their service to the church. They will be better equipped to help their students understand that top-notch scientific work and strong faith commitments are not only compatible, but in elegant harmony with one another. As Stearley puts it, “That is true for Christians teaching anywhere, but is very relevant to us here at ��app, because we are heavily invested in a Kingdom-vision, long-game approach. In fact, we are in this for the longest game possible, which will stretch into the new heavens and the new Earth.”

Fri, 12/17/2021 - 12:00

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N.T. Wright on Wise Faith Integration

sin2@calvin.edu — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:33:56 +0000

N.T. Wright on Wise Faith Integration sin2@calvin.edu Fri, 02/28/2025 - 12:33

At ��app, the concept of faith and learning integration – the belief that faith should inform everything that we think and do across all disciplines and tasks of academic work – is a driving force behind ��app’s mission. There’s a collection of key words or phrases that consistently appear in the efforts to practice the integration of faith and learning: vocation, Imago Dei, general and special revelation, shalom, creation – fall – redemption, Christian hope, and the sovereignty of God, among many others. Each phrase invokes a rich element of Christian tradition. At the same time, each phrase can be oversimplified into a cliché or buzzword that misses out on the theological fullness that it’s intended to point to. As part of the ��app Symposium on Worship this past January, Matt Lundberg, director of the de Vries Institute, hosted a conversation with biblical scholar and theologian N.T. Wright that was intended to go “beyond cliché” and refresh the depth of these phrases.

The audience that registered for the Zoom event had the chance to steer the conversation, filling out a survey before the event and submitting questions with topics that they wanted to hear Prof. Wright address. Common survey responses and submitted questions asked Wright to consider creation – fall – redemption with special interest in the fall, as well as the topics of the “image of God” and vocation. As Wright spoke on Imago Dei and vocation, he shared the rich image of humans belonging to the “royal priesthood,” acting as an angled mirror that reflects God into the world and the world’s praises back to God. “Vocation is always to some role within that royal priestly work, bringing God’s order into the world whether as an administrator, as a computer scientist, as an artist, whatever.”

Wright returned to this conceptualization of vocation when he discussed sin and the fall. He explained the fall as a choice that humans made to favor their claim to power and knowledge over their duty to God’s will – and we continue to face this choice every day. Sin distorts both reflections, royal and priestly: “When human beings pay attention to some aspect of creation, rather than the Creator, and allow that to dominate and determinate who they’re going to be, then everything’s going to go wrong.” To fulfill their vocations as members of the royal priesthood, people must choose instead to be “always open to the call to be reflecting God into the world and reflecting the world back to God.”

As evidence of ��app’s commitment to theological mindfulness in all areas of life, the Zoom audience included diverse faculty, staff members, and administrators within the ��app community. The faculty represented departments as diverse as history, education, biochemistry, business, English literature, speech pathology, computer science, biblical studies, nursing, and world languages. Professor Kate Strater from the Education Department said that “Even though the conversation with N.T. Wright was online over Zoom, it had the feel of a personal conversation, which I was not entirely expecting after months of online meetings. It was helpful that we could submit ideas and themes beforehand to direct the conversation. I am grateful to have had this experience.”

Professor Abraham Ceballos from the World Languages department agreed: “I have been concerned by how some ideas commonly used in faith and learning integration can be interpreted in ways that highlight power rather than service. For that reason, during the Q&A I asked about what [Wright’s] perspective is on dominionism, the idea that Christians should take over and rule all spheres of life. He explained how Genesis 1 is not about having power over one another… He also explained how Jesus defined the Kingdom of God in terms of his vocation: to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many… As a junior faculty member starting to articulate what it means to integrate faith and learning in my field of study, this conversation with N.T. Wright was the perfect talk to attend.”

N.T. Wright has been a great friend of ��app over many years, and his insights from the “Beyond Cliché” conversation highlight his role as something of a theological optometrist, helping Christians to correct their theological vision and restore theological richness to the language we use to invoke parts of Christian tradition in faith and learning integration. Video clips of Wright’s explanations in this conversation will be used in future de Vries Institute programming (including Reflecting Faith faculty development courses).

Sat, 03/26/2022 - 12:00

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Faith Cultivating Creativity

sin2@calvin.edu — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:24:23 +0000

Faith Cultivating Creativity sin2@calvin.edu Fri, 02/28/2025 - 12:24

In the summer of 2022, ten ��app faculty members from a wide variety of disciplines gathered for an intense week together exploring the relationship between Christian faith and creativity. The seminar, “Faith Cultivating Creativity,” sponsored by the de Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development, invited participants to reflect together on the role of creativity in life and learning. Prof. Lew Klatt of ��app’s English department and Prof. Anna Greidanus of ��app’s department of visual and performing arts served as co-leaders of the seminar.

Each day of the seminar consisted of a rhythm of devotions, group art exercises, poetry, wide-ranging discussions, and a shared meal. Chapters of Makoto Fujimura’s recent book, Art and Faith: A Theology of Making, provided framing themes for each day’s projects and conversations. For example, the first day’s theme was, “If God is Artist…” Other days focused on motifs such as “making is loving” and “imagination + tears,” a key feature of Fujimura’s kintsugi art and his theological reflection upon suffering.

In working closely together, seminar leaders Greidanus and Klatt drew from their areas of expertise (visual art and poetry, respectively) to craft a faculty development experience that fused together careful consideration of key concepts with hands-on making that brought those concepts alive. As Greidanus put it, the experience joined together “making and the meaning of making.” Klatt observed that one result of the seminar was an invitation to consider a new way of understanding God—“God the Artist before God the Lecturer.” He was also struck by Fujimura’s encouragement to Christians to think of redemption not merely “as repairing or fixing but as metamorphosis and new creation.”

The faculty who participated in the seminar found it deeply impactful. Though from a diverse range of disciplines and with varying levels of experience in areas of art and design, the participants encountered meaningful insights for their lives as Christians and their work as scholars from the week’s contemplation of ideas along with an experience of the creative process. Julie Wildschut, an engineering professor, was “amazed by the overlap between pottery and my materials science class for engineers. Anna [Greidanus] was talking about the earth and materials and the amazing transformation through heat. Her descriptions involved soils, conservation, chemistry, engineering, and art. It inspired me to see if there is a way to get my [engineering] students over to the art studio for a ceramics lab.”

Similarly, Dave Warners, from ��app’s biology department, also reveled in the profound connection between the topic of the seminar and his work as a restoration ecologist. “Although often overlooked, imagination and creativity are essential components of doing restoration ecology well, and beauty is an elusive, though deeply desired goal. It’s not just about returning functional ecosystem services or cleaning up a polluted stream; it’s more about coaxing beauty out of a degraded landscape, similar to how a sculpture draws beauty out of a lump of clay.”

History professor Eric Washington was struck by the connection between art and his own discipline: “One of the definitions of history that I use is by John Fea, who defines history as the art of reconstructing the past. Just as creating art is a process so is history, especially the writing of history. Like working with clay as a source of a finished piece, historians have primary material that needs to be shaped and molded into a narrative.” And philosophy professor Rebecca DeYoung appreciated the “contemplative” mood of the seminar, observing that it was an appropriate counterbalance to “the Reformed attitude of constant activity.”

In addition to being a challenging and refreshing experience for these faculty participants, the seminar promises to bear fruit for their ongoing work as teachers and scholars. Warners noted: “My teaching will be enhanced by bringing in some of the pedagogical and content insights I gained from this week.” Similarly, English professor Gary Schmidt said “And to have a week when we all felt nourished, and fed (body and soul) in such lovely ways--well, it really was spectacular. I know that this is going to affect my writing classes in terrific and exciting ways.”

Wed, 09/21/2022 - 12:00

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Restorative Practices and Situations of Academic Dishonesty

sin2@calvin.edu — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:18:00 +0000

Restorative Practices and Situations of Academic Dishonesty sin2@calvin.edu Fri, 02/28/2025 - 12:18

On October 18, 2022, the de Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development hosted restorative justice expert Ted Lewis for a workshop with ��app staff and faculty. Lewis applied the principles of restorative justice (an alternative to more punitive or retributive approaches to justice) to situations of student academic dishonesty.

Lewis explained that in cases of academic dishonesty, universities and colleges (especially those guided by faith commitments) should consider aiming for the following:

Processes that address harms of academic dishonesty (both to the individual student and the academic community) holistically and supportively through trust-building and dialogue.
Processes that that empower offending students to share, listen, reflect, learn, and take positive responsibility for their actions.
Processes that address the needs of those most impacted and support the reintegration of students into the learning community.

In a restorative approach, Lewis said, the rules for academic integrity must be shown to serve the relationships involved in the academic community. Processes for enforcing the rules, in turn, need to address the relationships that are harmed by the violation of rules.

Lewis is a restorative consultant and mediator for the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is also founder and coordinator of the Restorative Church project. His other activities in the area of restorative justice include service on the board of directors of the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice and as series editor for Wipf & Stock Publishers' Restorative Justice Classics series.

In addition to this workshop, Lewis also gave presentations to ��app's Student Life leadership team, the staff of the ��app Institute of Christian Worship, and the Religion Department. He gave a handful of talks and trainings that were organized by the ��app Peacemakers student organization. And he spent 15 hours at the Handlon Correctional Facility training 12 graduates of the ��app Prison Initiative as restorative justice facilitators.

Wed, 10/19/2022 - 12:00

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De Vries Postdoc Pursues Public Theology

sin2@calvin.edu — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 17:49:07 +0000

De Vries Postdoc Pursues Public Theology sin2@calvin.edu Wed, 02/26/2025 - 12:49

In an interview, the late German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg was asked about the description of his theology as “interdisciplinary.” He said, “Because God is the creator of everything and will be the redeemer of everything, theology has to be concerned with everything. This doesn’t make theology interdisciplinary in a superficial sense. It is interdisciplinary because theology is concerned with only one thing, and that is God.” This perspective is often described as public theology: in addition to church tradition, theology also has a relevant place in the secular world.

��app religion professor and de Vries postdoctoral fellow Jae Yang notes, however, that Pannenberg’s theology, though broadened beyond concern solely for the church, is still limited in its conception of other spheres of life. “Pannenberg’s public theology tends to favor academia, theology’s relevance and equivalence in terms of the natural and social sciences and this idea of ‘reason.’ My own research is on clarifying and expanding the “public” to include spheres such as the family, politics, and the economy, also drawing on not just academic and scientific knowledge, but on universal experiences and instinctual perceptions.” He is currently working on a book about this topic that is under contract with Fortress Press.

Dr. Yang is interested in public theology because of its “great potential to change the world, not just the church.” This interest is reflected not only in his research on Pannenberg, but also in his research on Asian American theology. This facet of his research is “primarily around how Asian and Asian American philosophies, worldviews, and religions can shape and form Asian Americans to be public-minded citizens. Particularly, on how Asian American Christian theology can form Asian American Christians who change society and fight for justice based on theological convictions.” Here, Yang’s research is informed both by his interest in public theology and his background as Asian American. He feels that “being both Asian and American, but also neither fully Asian nor American, provides a great creative energy.”

As a member of the de Vries Institute’s postdoctoral cohort, Yang teaches classes for the ��app Religion Department, pursues his research work, and meets with faculty mentors and the other postdocs to practice what it means to be a Christian scholar. The postdoctoral fellows take part in workshops and discussions on topics that range from teaching and grading to the “publish or perish” mindset in academia. What Yang has appreciated about the fellowship’s learning opportunities so far “is the reading we have done around shalom and community-based learning. Thus, public theology should not just be about communicating theological information to the public, but about embodying and exhibiting a theological ethos.”

As part of the fellowship, postdocs also learn alongside faculty mentors to aid in the practical application of faith integration concepts. Professors Won Lee and Rick Plantinga in the Religion department have both served as mentors for Yang during his first year of teaching at ��app. The mentors observe the importance of listening in the mentorship process, something that Yang does well. Lee said, “he is always open to hear from me and others to improve his teaching. In our regular meetings, he listened well, asked good questions, and applied the learned ideas promptly (which I saw while visiting his class several times over the semester).”

Plantinga observed that mentorship isn’t always a simple undertaking. “Trying to amass the complexity of the profession for someone new to it is challenging and takes time. The mentor shares experiences; the mentee takes what seems helpful. [Yang] has been a good and faithful listener and learner.”

As for the mentee, Yang appreciates his mentors’ advice and “insights on being an academic.” As he heads into the second year of the postdoc program, Yang will have the experience of the first year to draw upon as he refines his craft as a teacher striving to help his own students learn what Christian commitment means for their role as citizens of the world.

Thu, 04/20/2023 - 12:00

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De Vries Institute

rvbroek@calvin.edu — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 12:16:11 +0000

De Vries Institute rvbroek@calvin.edu Wed, 07/17/2024 - 08:16

The de Vries Institute at ��app strengthens the connection between faith and learning. We provide deep learning and wide-ranging resources for Christian educators and leaders around the globe and across the range of academic disciplines.

Kuyper Prize and Conference

��app and ��app Theological Seminary are delighted to announce that the 2025 Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life will be awarded to the Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong, renowned Indonesian pastor, evangelist, and theologian. Read more. The prize will be awarded to Rev. Tong at the 2025 Kuyper Conference, which will be held in Jakarta Indonesia.

More information »

Key initiatives

Reflecting Faith Online Courses

Deepen your grasp of how thoughtful Christian faith can inform your academic work through short online learning experiences focused on integration of faith and learning.

Explore Learning Modules »

��app Faculty Fellowships

For new ��app faculty members, this program provides a way to reflect on the relationship between faith and learning while deepening your connection to the ��app community.

Faculty Fellowships

De Vries Postdoctoral Teaching Fellows

An opportunity for new Ph.Ds across academic disciplines to gain teaching experience and participate in professional development focused on undergraduate instruction and scholarship.

Postdoctoral Fellows Program

Kuyper Conference and Prize

Join a community of scholars, pastors, ministry professionals, and civic leaders at the Kuyper Conference. The conference builds on the tradition of theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper.

Kuyper Conference and Prize

Faith and Learning Collaboration Grants

��app faculty and staff can receive grants of up to $7000 to encourage conversations about faith integration.

Collaboration Grants

Who we are

In consultation with our international advisory council, the institute aims to expand the capacity of Christian faculty members to integrate the Christian faith with their work as scholars in meaningful, authentic, and transformative ways. Read more about us.

Matthew D. Lundberg

Dr. Matt Lundberg, professor of religion at ��app, is the director of the de Vries Institute. He draws on his expertise in Reformed theology, ethics, and teaching to develop and expand the institute’s missional work.

Matt's full bio

David I. Smith

Dr. David I. Smith is a professor of education, director of Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning, and coordinator of the de Vries Institute, all at ��app. He is also the Senior Editor of the International Journal of Christianity and Education.

David's full bio

De Vries Postdoctoral Fellow Tackles the Politics of Water

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 05:24:40 +0000

De Vries Postdoctoral Fellow Tackles the Politics of Water Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/17/2024 - 01:24

The State of Michigan is no stranger to clean water issues. As the Flint and Benton Harbor water crises continue to have environmental and financial impacts on their residents, the need to find an environmentally just and politically feasible solution is pressing. This kind of solution requires an interdisciplinary approach to research and community engagement, which is just the kind of work Michael Dirksen is doing with ��app’s Clean Water Institute.

Professor Dirksen is a de Vries Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, part of a cohort that spends two years at ��app developing their teaching and shaping their work as Christian scholars. As part of this program, Professor Dirksen teaches for ��app’s political science department, works on his own research, and participates in professional development with faculty mentors and other members of the postdoc cohort. His time at ��app has also included a partnership with the Clean Water Institute and the City of Grand Rapids to research the state-mandated process of removing all lead service lines.

What are lead service lines? Service lines are pipes that connect individual homes to water mains, millions of which predate the 1986 federal ban of leaded pipes in plumbing systems. Changes made to the Michigan Safe Water Drinking Act in 2018 require that the state replace all lead service lines within the next twenty years—an extremely costly and time-consuming project. Due to a lack of comprehensive records, rural communities are at a disadvantage when it comes to service line assessment, and due to a lack of adequate funding most Michigan communities struggle with how to afford this project. Dirksen’s question: is there a better way to do this?

This summer Dirksen will work with three ��app student researchers—Ben Enos, Micah Machiela, and Adham Rishmawi—as part of a McGregor Summer Research Fellowship to examine this question from different angles. Douglas Vander Griend, the director of the Clean Water Institute, is “very grateful to Prof. Dirksen for being our resident expert who is willing to shape the opportunity for ��app students to partner with the City of Grand Rapids.” According to Dirksen, both sides of the partnership have reasons to invest in such a project, such as raising awareness about clean water issues in Michigan and the city’s response to them.

A particularly important aspect of the project is the interdisciplinary approach to research and its application. A political scientist may not be the first kind of scientist that comes to mind when thinking about clean water issues, but as Vander Griend explains, “to introduce lasting solutions inevitably takes expertise from many different disciplines: business, sociology, psychology, world languages, and of course political science. Political scientists, for instance, can help navigate the role of government in building and supporting the infrastructure that is relied on to deliver clean water throughout a city.”

Dirksen is also excited about the way this project combines the interests and skills of different fields. For example, he highlights the need for Urban Studies “to study how this impacts urban and rural communities differently.” Vander Griend added that “[the Clean Water Institute] has experts in all of these [fields] and should find various ��app students who are passionate about making a difference with regard to clean water and skilled in these areas, and ready to learn more.”

Dirksen’s time with the de Vries postdoc cohort continues to shape his scholarship and research efforts. While he has long believed that Christian values could inform teaching and scholarship, he “used to think there’s no way to be a Christian teacher or researcher.” His time at ��app as a post-doctoral fellow has convinced him otherwise. Whether about research or classroom practices, he has benefited from the opportunity to think further about the role faith can play in academic work. As De Vries Institute director Matt Lundberg observes, “Michael Dirksen has thrown himself into the various opportunities offered by this fellowship. It has been especially gratifying to see how his research skills are contributing to the transformative work of ��app’s Clean Water Institute.”

Thu, 03/16/2023 - 12:00

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��app turns two

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 05:24:40 +0000

��app turns two Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/17/2024 - 01:24

On July 10, 2019, in a grand celebration, ��app announced the changing of its last name from “college” to “university.” This move was part of Vision 2030. In short, its goal is to allow the mission of ��app to be accessible to a greater diversity of learners worldwide through becoming a university, becoming a trusted partner, and through deepening and strengthening the institution’s commitment to Reformed Christian faith. There’s no question that in just two years, ��app is leaning into this new vision. Here are ten of the ways ��app has done so in just 24 months.

1. Launched the ��app global campus, adding in-person and online graduate programming.

2. Established the School of Business, the first school in the university structure. In March 2021, ��app broke ground on the new $22.25 million building

3. Launched The de Vries institute for Global Faculty Development in an effort to deepen and strengthen the university’s commitment to the integration of faith and learning.

4. Completed two of the best fundraising years in ��app's 146-year history, including a record-shattering 2020 with $64.3 million in gifts and new pledges.

5. Graduated the first two cohorts from the ��app Prison Initiative program marking the first time in the history of the state of Michigan that inmates earned bachelor’s degrees behind bars.

6. Launched the Spanish Immersion program allowing high school students who are fluent in Spanish to have the opportunity to earn a minor in Spanish before coming to college.

7. An independent assessment of ��app’s financial position yielded an A- rating. In March 2021, S&P Global Ratings defined ��app’s outlook as stable.

8. ��app opens new doors for students with disabilities. A $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education puts ��app on a path to be the first university in Michigan to offer a Comprehensive Transition and Post-Secondary program.

9. ��app led during a pandemic. It developed a playbook for reopening for private institutions in Michigan, developed summer courses to help churches and citizens navigate living in a COVID-shaped world, secured a first-of-its-kind partnership with a diagnostics company, opened up its on-campus conference center for first responders, became a vaccination clinic, and rallied community members to serve outside of their normal job areas to ensure students could live and learn on campus during 2020-2021.

10. ��app students became Fulbright and Goldwater scholars, Lilly and Hertz Fellows, and even helped develop a patent for Toyota. And professors continued to advance scholarship and receive top honors in their fields, from being named a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing to receiving the rank of chevalier from the General Consul of France.

Sat, 07/10/2021 - 12:00

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Matthew Kucinski

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Matt Kucinski

de Vries Institute

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