Calvin Alumni Association - Calvin Wire Newsletter

Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching and other Homecoming happenings

Over Homecoming weekend, the Board of Trustees named the recipient for the Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching. Biology professor Dave Warners, the 2009 recipient, joins a distinguished list of excellent teachers at Calvin College.

Homecoming was also a busy time for students and alumni. In addition to the various alumni events for Homecoming, the students were having their own fun with the Cold Knight Club and the Dorm Knight competition in the new Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex.

All are invited to the Calvin Around Town event featuring the Calvin Orchestra

Please join us for our next Calvin Around Town at the Frauenthal Center for Performing Arts in Downtown Muskegon on Thursday, March 5, 2009. The evening's highlights include a hors d'oeuvre reception, tours of the historic theater, and admission to the Calvin College Orchestra’s annual Concerto Concert under the baton of conductor Robert Nordling. You can register for the event ($10) on the Calvin Around Town secure registration site.

Calvin’s 80-piece full symphony orchestra presents two major concerts and tours annually. Each year the Calvin College Orchestra hosts a Concerto Competition with the winners selected to perform as soloists at the Concerto Concert. See these performers and the beautiful Frauenthal on March 5.

A foundation of prayer for the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex

The Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex-- which includes the Van Noord arena, the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center, the Venema Aquatic Center, the Hoogenboom Health and Recreation Center and the Strikwerda Outdoor Tennis Center-- was dedicated on February 20. President Byker, who addressed the crowd of over 1,000 which included faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the community, reminded those present that, according to Psalm 127:1, "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain." Prayer was a major factor in the building of the facitily before the first shovel was even dug into the ground. Read the story and follow the links to videos of activities from the complex in the first several weeks of activities going on there.

A letter from President Byker

President Gaylen Byker sent a campus-wide e-mail on Monday, February 23, 2009, to faculty and staff. In it he wrote about the tuition and room and board increases approved by the Calvin board of trustees for 2009-2010, the budget concerns for the college for the coming academic year and the salary freeze for faculty and staff next year.

Women's Chorale tour of Pacific Northwest

Calvin Woman's Chorale, an honor choir founded and led by Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, will tour Oregon, Washington and British Columbia during the college's spring break, March 21-28, 2009.

The Calvin Woman's Chorale has already performed at festivals throughout Michigan and sings at the annual Fall Music Festival, the Festival of Lessons and Carols, and presents a full concert each spring. The chorale toured the East Coast in 2005 and, following that tour, the choir released its debut recording, Music Down in My Soul. In 2007, the chorale spent three weeks on an tour to South Korea, China and Southern California.
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Online resources from Calvin covering...everything!

Need a little inspiration or want to do research on a topic? Consider checking the archives of the January Series lecture and cultural/arts series which covers topics as diverse as the world of ideas. There are also archives for Inner Compass, Calvin's television interview show that explores how people make their decisions about a wide variety of ethical, religious, and social justice issues. And, while you are looking, bookmark the entire collection of audio resources on Calvin's site, housed on Minds in the Making, an e-collection from Calvin.

Sports happenings...

As the winter sports season winds down, teams are heading into their respective tournaments and final competitions. Follow all the action on the sports pages which features countless photo galleries and offers in-depth reporting from award-winning writers.