About the Provost
Dr. Claudia DeVries Beversluis ’74 is the seventh chief academic officer of Calvin College. Provost Beversluis began serving at Calvin in 1990, and for the past six years has served as dean for instruction. Prior to coming to Calvin, Provost Beversluis worked for eight years as a clinical psychologist at Pine Rest Christian Hospital and later served as the minister of congregational life at Church of the Servant, both in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A native of Chicago, Provost Beversluis received her masters in clinical psychology in 1981 and her Ph.D. in 1983 from Loyola University. Her teaching and research have been in brain and behavior, identity development, gender and sexuality, adolescents and worship, and community engagement. She is the co-editor, with Dr. Gail Heffner, of the book Community and Connection: Service Learning and Christian Higher Education. She also recently made two trips to Korea to lecture on Christianity and science and on faculty and student development.
The Role of the Provost
The Provost is the chief academic officer of the college, the administrative leader for the academic affairs division of the college, and a prominent advocate for the mission of Calvin College.
Among the duties and responsibilities of the Provost are the following:
- Employ and develop a distinguished, multicultural faculty of Reformed Christian conviction.
- Providing excellent faculty development opportunities to preserve and strengthen excellence in teaching, scholarship, advising, and service.
- Promote excellence in teaching and learning by providing support and training for effective pedagogy,
creative course development and winsome integration of faith and learning.
- Promote substantial and challenging faculty scholarship and art.
- Promote international leadership in Christian thought.
- Continue the development of dynamic, liberal-arts driven curricula that incorporate global and multicultural perspectives.
- Collaborate with the Student Life Division to ensure seamless
education for our student body.
- Provide administrative leadership in the planning, budgeting, implementation, and evaluation of academic divisions.
- Foster strong external relationships with academic partners by maintaining, along with deans and,
faculty members, regular contact with partners via meetings and committee service, to provide leadership,
perform an ambassadorial role and consider and evaluate new ideas and perspectives.
- Articulate and promote the Reformed Christian liberal-arts mission of the College.
- Develop effective cross-divisional relationships.
- Serve as chief executive officer of the college in the absence of the President.
- The Provost also supervises six academic deans, the registrar and two executive assistants.
Academic Affairs Division
Provost
Claudia D. Beversluis, Ph.D. (Loyola), Professor of Psychology
Academic Deans
Academic Dean for the division of Arts, Languages, and Education
Dean A. Ward, Ph.D. (Virginia), Professor of English
Academic Dean for the division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Uko Zylstra, Ph.D. (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam), Professor of Biology
Academic Dean for the division of Social Sciences and Contextual Disciplines
Cheryl Kreykes Brandsen, Ph.D. (Michigan State), Professor of Social Work
Dean for Institutional Effectiveness
Dean for Multicultural Affairs
Michelle R. Loyd-Paige, Ph.D. (Purdue), Professor of Sociology
Dean for Research and Scholarship
Janel M. Curry, Ph.D. (Minnesota), Professor of Geography & Environmental Studies
Registrar and Director of Academic Services
Thomas L. Steenwyk, M.A. (Michigan State)