Spirited Community

Calvin's thoughtful Christian community strengthens heart, soul, mind and body.

Calvin students, faculty and staff value the task of serving God together through intellectual exploration, spirited interaction, worship and work.

• To foster each student's faith, Calvin offers numerous campus-wide opportunities for worship, including daily chapel services, the student-led LOFT (Living Our Faith Together), foreign language chapels and dorm Bible studies.

  • An additional 700 events focused on spiritual growth (prayer services, Bible studies, service projects and a weekly hymn sing) are sponsored by student organizations, student life staff, and the Lilly Vocation Project each year.

  • The Faith Web site, dedicated to worship and discipleship opportunities at Calvin, now includes a live feed from the daily chapel service. And why is it called the Faith website? Find out here.

• Across the curriculum, students and faculty analyze all aspects of culture and respond to God's call to make all things new. This begins with Calvin's first-year student program, which includes a class called Prelude and an Interim class called Developing a Christian Mind. These courses provide new students with a framework for building a worldview — a framework of faith that supports their entire Calvin education.

• Calvin brings multicultural issues alive through a variety of programs such as Rangeela, the Grassroots Living-Learning Community, and Project Neighborhood.

• Calvin---one of only seven institutions nationwide---engages middle school students in research on campus as part of the TRIAGE program. This opportunity came thanks to a $720,000 National Science Foundation grant.

• Celebrating both arts and ideas, Calvin's festivals, symposia, lecture series and other events attract participants from around the world. These events have grown out of the college's commitment to enhance learning by bringing the best among international Christian and secular musicians, writers and thinkers to campus.

  • The acclaimed January Series is the three-time recipient of the national award for best college lecture series.

  • The Festival of Faith & Writing hosts both celebrated writers -- including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize and Newbery Award -- and unheralded talents.

  • The Symposium on Worship and the Arts welcomes 1,400 attendees to explore fresh ideas in worship.

  • The Festival of Faith & Music is the latest Calvin event to explore Christianity and the arts.

  • The concert series sponsored by the Student Activities Office brings over 50 performing artists to campus each year.

  • In addition to these large-scale events, each month departments across campus invite over 30 outside experts and guest lecturers to promote student learning beyond the classroom

• A faculty and staff "mentoring" program facilitates one-on-one relationships with students, and the residence hall staff helps build connections and meaningful friendships for students living away from home.

• Calvin also builds campus community through fun and wacky annual events such as Chaos Day, the Mud Bowl, Airband, the Cold Knight plunge (a.k.a. Sem Pond Jump), Siblings Weekend, the engineering department's cardboard canoe contest, departmental paint ball competitions and numerous student life events.

• Resources abound at Calvin for the health and well-being of students, staff and faculty.

  • Calvin's 400-acre campus boasts state-of-the-art science, communication and research facilities.

  • The Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex includes a health and recreation center, track and tennis center, aquatic center, four full-sized basketball courts, two weight rooms, ten locker rooms, and a 38'H x 80'W climbing wall.

  • There's also a well-lit walking/jogging/biking trail that encircles the campus, an 80-acre Ecosystem Preserve, and a new cross country course to offer plenty of places to exercise.

  • There are physical education courses, intramurals and club sports, NCAA Division III athletic competition, and a Healthy Habits program.

  • Health Services provides a primary care clinic and a variety of services to students, including immunizations; screenings for eating disorders, depression and stress; and smoking cessation programs.

  • The Broene Counseling Center helps with a wide variety of personal and relationship issues. The staff offers counseling and support groups for survivors of abuse, for students dealing with stress, and for those coping with ADD, eating disorders, sexual identity and other challenges.