Calvin faculty and staff
Pennylynn Dykstra-Pruim Professor, German
As a Taiwan-born professor of the German language, Professor Pennylynn Dykstra-Pruim is used to a few double-takes. “For me, that is sort of like a little symbol of our increasingly multi-cultural world,” she said.
Roland Hoksbergen Professor, economics
Roland Hoksbergen was 15 years old in 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.Hoksbergen has dedicated his life since then to helping the underprivileged across the globe.
Daniel Garcia Professor, communicatins arts and sciences
Calvin professor of film and filmmaker Daniel Garcia has found himself in some interesting situations, all in the name of his vocation. He has sneaked surveillance equipment into a jail. He has helped sell blue jeans.
Tom Hoeksema Professor, education
When Tom Hoeksema was about to graduate from Calvin’s education program in 1968, education professor Bert Bos noticed the work he was doing with people living with disabilities at Pine Rest Hospital. “Maybe you can help us do that here,” said Bos.
Leonard van Drunen Professor, business
As a college sophomore, Calvin professor of business Leonard Van Drunen was not on track to become a future employee at Merrill Lynch or JP Morgan, working in high rises in New York City, Tokyo and London.
Susan Felch Professor, English
She knows what it is to have a lantern. “In Papua New Guinea,” Susan Felch said, “when the lights went out, and there were only the stars, you had a little hurricane lamp, and it only showed you the next right step.”
Charsie Sawyer Professor, music
The name, “Charsie,” is an heirloom worn by several women in her family, including her mother, whose other significant gift to her daughter was a generous musical legacy.
Ed Miller Professor, Spanish
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average American will change careers three to five times in their lifetime. For Calvin professor of Spanish Ed Miller, that statistic does not apply.
Ruth Groenhout Professor, philosophy
College freshmen are notorious for quite a few things. One is changing their area of study. Professor of philosophy Ruth Groenhout was no different when she was a Calvin student.
Sergio da Silva Professor, psychology
Calvin psychology professor Sergio da Silva conducts research that puts people to sleep. He recently completed four years of research on sleep apnea, a disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep.
Jeff Tatum Professor, sociology
Lawyer turned professor is a common enough story. But Calvin professor of sociology Jeff Tatum’s story is anything but common—he was not supposed to survive a traumatic brain injury he got as a toddler.
Matt Heun Professor, engineering
Voyaging to Mars. Preventing ozone depletion. Achieving carbon-neutrality. Calvin engineering professor Matthew Heun has contributed to all three recent “scientific” challenges.
Corwin Smidt Professor, political science
Reporters from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Christianity Today, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today have sought the opinion of Calvin professor of political science and director of the Henry Institute, Corwin Smidt.
John Witvliet Professor, music and religion
This winter John Witvliet, Calvin professor and director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship turned 40. He has a closet talent for mathematics. He holds five degrees. He teaches in two Calvin departments and the director of one groundbreaking institute.
Jim Jadrich Professor, physics and astronomy
Growing up, he had two ambitions: to be either a professional baseball player or a mad scientist, the professor of physics and astronomy said about himself. The baseball dream did not pan out. The mad scientist dream, on the other hand, just might have.
John Wertz Professor, biology
Meet a new biology professor who dissects termites for a living but says he is deathly afraid of grasshoppers.
Jeanette Henderson Ecosystem Preserve manager
The windows of Jeanette Henderson’s new office look over the South Pond in the Calvin Ecosystem Preserve, but she hasn’t spotted the Green-backed Herons out there.
Don De GraafProfesor, HPERDS
He showed up at Calvin as student in 1978, thinking he would get a degree in business and from there find a job. He has, however, deviated from this initial plan. He has become things and been to places he has least expected.
Dale De YoungAssociate director of the physical plant
For 27 years Dale DeYoung has been doing work at Calvin that he almost hopes no one notices. De Young, an associate director for the physical plant, serves as the general contractor for remodeling projects and additions.
Elizabeth Vander LeiProfessor, English
"Many would call it staggering around and falling into things. I look at that as God’s providence,” said Calvin professor of English Elizabeth Vander Lei of what life has thrown her way.
Roger DeKockProfessor, chemistry
He does not have cable, and he subscribes to The Atlantic Monthly. He owns a 1983 Goldwing motorcycle, and his great uncle hid Jews in his barn in the Netherlands during WWII. His favorite molecule is water.
Ken BrattProfessor, classics
After 30 years in the classroom, teaching is still a thrill for Calvin College classics professor Ken Bratt, the 2006 winner of the college's Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching.
Barbara CarvillProfessor emerita, German
Beginning at age 10, when she and her family fled East Germany, Barbara Carvill has often felt like the new person in a strange place. But at most stops along the way she was made to feel welcome, and she’s never forgotten what that was like.
Ken ErffmeyerVice president, advancement
In his new post Ken Erffmeyer will oversee Calvin's alumni and public relations department, its communications and marketing team and the development office (Calvin currently is in the midst of a $150 million capital campaign).
Lee HardyProfessor, philosophy
Lee Hardy learned some valuable lessons as a young boy, working for his dad in Fullerton, Calif., at the family-owned drugstore. "I got to see how my father related to people," he recalled.
Bob SpeelmanSupervisor, landscape operations
When this time of year rolls around, Bob Speelman is eyeing the willow buds: “They get very, very large and green,” he said of this first sign of spring on the Calvin campus.
Todd Vanden BergAssociate professor, sociology
Worlds collided for Calvin professor of sociology Todd Vanden Berg on Wednesday, April 30, 2008. “I had just started teaching my anthropology of religion class, and my parents walked in … ,” he said. “It was a little disconcerting."
Judy Vander WoudeProfessor, speech pathology
Growing up as one of 11 children, including four siblings adopted from Korea, Calvin College professor Judith Vander Woude had plenty of opportunities to listen to the conversations around her.
