About Us: Faculty and Staff

Faculty

Ryan Bebej
Assistant Professor

616-526-7564
bebej@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 211

Yaw Bediako
Assistant Professor

616-526-7619
tbedia64@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 127

Curt Blankespoor
Professor

616-526-6498
cblankes@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 123

Hessel Bouma III
Professor

616-526-6401
boum@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 221

Randall DeJong
Assistant Professor

616-526-7625
rdejong@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 109

David Dornbos
Associate Professor

616-526-8578
dld9@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 205

Keith Grasman
Professor

616-526-6024
kag4@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 103

Phyllis Haugabook Pennock
Instructor

616-526-6083
ph25@calvin.edu
Office: Science Building 155

Arlene Hoogewerf
Professor, Department Chair

Faculty Profile
616-526-8668
ahoogewe@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 101

David Koetje
Professor

616-526-7047
dkoetje@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 105

Richard Nyhof
Professor

616-526-6347
nyhr@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 111

Darren Proppe
Assistant Professor

616-526-6662
dsp5@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 207

Anding Shen
Associate Professor

616-526-6025
as28@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 209

Peter Tigchelaar
Professor

616-526-6346
ptigch@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 107

John Ubels
Professor

616-526-6219
jubels@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 213

Randall Van Dragt
Professor

616-526-6497
vdra@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 113

David Warners
Professor

616-526-6820
dwarners@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 125

John Wertz
Assistant Professor

616-526-7621
jwertz59@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 131

Amy Wilstermann
Associate Professor

616-526-7620
amw26@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 129

 

 

Staff

Pat Buist
Administrative Assistant

616-526-6608
pbuist@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 100

Nate Haan
Project Manager for Plaster Creek Stewards
Acting Director of Native Landscapes

616-526-6496
nlh3@calvin.edu
Office: 120 DeVries Hall

Lori Keen
Laboratory Services Manager

616-526-6080
keel@calvin.edu
Office: 203 DeVries Hall

Scott Prentice
Laboratory Equipment Technician

616-526-8849
sap5@calvin.edu
Office: 212 DeVries Hall

Jeanette Henderson
Ecosystem Preserve Program Manager

616-526-7601
jmh46@calvin.edu
Office: Bunker Interpretive Center 108B

Mark Schotanus
Research Technician

616-526-6552
mschot98@calvin.edu
Office: DeVries Hall 216

 

Faculty research and scholarship

Ryan Bebej studies the evolution and paleontology of whales and other aquatic mammals, focusing on the evolution of vertebral function and aquatic locomotion.

Curt Blankespoor is working on host-parasite interactions, student-centered learning pedagogies, animal behavior and entomology.

Hessel Bouma III is working on Christian perspectives on biomedical ethics in intersexuality. Funded through Templeton, CCCU and Calvin College.

Randy DeJong is studying the interactions of Schistosoma parasites with their snail hosts as well as aquatic invertebrate ecology. Funded by Calvin College.

David Dornbos researches the physiological basis of the invasion of non-native plants as it relates to ecosystem restoration and quantification of the carbon assimilation on greenspace. Funded by Pierce Cedar Creek Institute and Calvin College.

Keith Grasman studies the effects of environmental pollutants on the health of fish eating birds - gulls, terns and herons of the Great Lakes and loons in the Adirondack Mountains. Funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Arlene Hoogewerf studies bacteria and how they form communities called biofilms. Funded by NIH AREA grant and Merck AAAS.

David Koetje is working on curricular and pedagogical innovations in biology introductory courses; integrating agro ecological and biotechnological perspectives to promote sustainable agriculture. Funded by Calvin College.

Richard Nyhof studies heart muscle cell adrenergic receptor activity and calcium channel activity in regulating glucose membrane transport.

Darren Proppe is studying how noise from human development is effecting animal communication, behavior, and distribution. He works primarily with songbirds.

Anding Shen studies immune cells called T cells which are the major target of HIV. She is investigating why it is so difficult to eradicate HIV. Funded by Calvin College and outside collaboration.

John Ubels is working on the physiology and cell biology of the lacrimal gland and corneal epithelium. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Alcon Laboratories.

Randy Van Dragt's research topics are Pacific lowland prairie restoration, plant succession on abandoned oil well sites in northern Michigan, and forest succession of the Calvin College Ecosystem Preserve. Funded by Au Sable Institute, The Nature Conservancy, and Calvin College.

Dave Warners is working on restoration of deciduous forest ecosystems, systematics and evolution in asters, poplars and birches, as well as engaging faith communities in creation care. Funded by the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship and Calvin College.

John Wertz studies microbial communities in the guts of termites as well as the study of function of microerophiles in health and disease in the human intestine. Funded by outside collaborators and Calvin College.

Amy Wilstermann investigates the interactions between topoisomerase II and DNA and between topoisomerase II and drugs that target the enzyme. Funded by Calvin College.