Faculty
Johnathan Bascom

Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies

CONTACT:
jbascom@calvin.edu
phone: 526-7053
office: NH 081

J Bascom

COURSES: IDS 201, GEOG 230, 242

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. University of Iowa, 1989

Prof. Bascom's work experience includes an internship with the Africa Bureau of the US Agency for International Development. Much of his research and writing focuses on refugees and the issues that surround their migration, protection, and assistance. He has also written on a pedagogical approach to teaching Third World geography.

 

Roland Hoksbergen

IDS Program Director Economics

CONTACT:
hoksro@calvin.edu
phone: 526-6369
office: NH 181

Hoksebergen, Roland

COURSES: IDS 201, 351, 395

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. Notre Dame, 1986

Before coming to Calvin College , Prof. Hoksbergen worked for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) in Latin America . He has led off-campus semesters in both Ghana and Honduras . His research includes the role of civil society in developing countries and the strengthening of partnership networks among non-government organizations.

 

Tracy Kuperus

Interdisciplinary

CONTACT:
tlk5@calvin.edu
phone: 526-6534
office: NH 170

 

Kuperus, Tracy

COURSES: IDS 201, 395

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1995

Before coming to Calvin, Professor Kuperus taught in the political science departments at Westmont College (1995-96) and Gordon College (1997-2002). She has co-led Calvin's off-campus interim to South Africa. Her research has focused on church-state relations in South Africa and the interaction between civil society and democratization in southern Africa.

 

Daniel Miller

History

CONTACT:
mill@calvin.edu
phone: 526-6196
office: HH 474

 

Miller, Daniel

.COURSES: IDS 201, 395

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. North Carolina, 1987

Prof. Miller offers courses on the history of Latin America and he has taken
student groups to Central America and Argentina. His current research interests include the Mexican Revolution and the growth of Protestantism in Latin America.

 

Mwenda Ntarangwi

Anthropology

CONTACT:
mgn2@calvin.edu
phone: (616) 526-7658
office:SC 227

Mpesha, Aba

COURSES: IDS 355

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Prof. Mwenda Ntarangwi joined the Calvin faculty in January 2008. Ntarangwi's scholarship and teaching hinge on the intersection between culture and performance as analyzed through the lens of symbolic interpretivism.

 

Amy Patterson

Political Science

CONTACT:
apatters@calvin.edu
phone: 526-7028
office: DC 261L

 

Patterson, Amy

COURSES: IDS 201, 395

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. Indiana University, 1996

Prof. Patterson served in the Peace Corps in Senegal, working with rural farmers on agro-forestry and environmental education programs. She has conducted research on the role of women in local Senegalese politics, and the politics of AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 

Todd Vanden Berg

Sociology

CONTACT:
tvdberg@calvin.edu
phone: 526-6705
office: SC 235

 

Vanden Berg, Todd

COURSES: SOC 253

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. New York-Buffalo, 1996

Prof. Vanden Berg's fieldwork in Cultural Anthropology is with the Longuda of Adamawa State Nigeria. His research includes the topics of involuntary resettlement and religious integration, specifically on the witchcraft beliefs of Longuda Lutheran Christians. He has also led the interim to Jamaica.

 

Kurt Ver Beek

Sociology

CONTACT:
kverbeek@calvin.edu
Tegucigalpa, Honduras

 

Ver Beek, Kurt

COURSES: STHO 210, 211, 212

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. Cornell, 1996

Prof. Ver Beek has worked with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee in Central America for six years and now leads the semester and interim programs in Honduras. He has worked with many grass-roots organizations in Honduras and is a founder of the Association for a more Just Society (AJS). He is currently studying the long-term effects of short-term missions.

 

 

Other Calvin faculty with development expertise:

Adel Abadeer, Economics and Business, expertise in Egypt and the Middle East, currently researching modern-day slavery.

Johnathan Bascom, Geography, has expertise in Ethiopia and Eritrea, with a special interest in the situation of refugees.

Mark Fackler, Communication Arts and Sciences, has led many interim classes in Kenya.

Kathryn Jacobsen, Biology, is an international health epidemiologist."

George Monsma, Economics and Business, has conducted several interim classes to Kenya and is campus coordinator for the Daystar University, Kenya, semester program.

Ev Van Der Heide, Economics and Business, has studied economic development in Indonesia, focusing especially on labor and employment issues.

Uko Zylstra , Biology, has taught many classes on the world hunger situation.