Calvin College - History

History

The Christian Reformed Church in North America founded the school on August 4, 1876, as part of Calvin College and Theological Seminary (with the seminary becoming Calvin Theological Seminary) to train church ministers. It began with seven students enrolled in the first year. The original location was on Spring Street in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The initial six-year curriculum included four years of literary studies and two years of theology. In 1892, the campus was moved to the intersection of Madison Avenue and Franklin Street (Fifth Avenue) in Grand Rapids. In September 1894, the school expanded the curriculum for those who were not pre-theological students, making the institution in effect a preparatory school. In 1900, the curriculum further broadened, making it more attractive to students interested in teaching or preparing for preprofessional courses at universities. A year later Calvin admitted the first women to the school.

In 1906, the literary department of the college became known as John Calvin Junior College and the college held its first commencement. The student newspaper Chimes was first published in 1907. Around 1910, the West Michigan cities of Muskegon and Kalamazoo fought to have Calvin relocate to their respective cities. Muskegon offered US$10,000 (approximately $250,000 in 2007 dollars) and a tract of land to attract the college. The city of Grand Rapids countered with its own $10,000 offer and the junior college chose to stay in Grand Rapids. The two-year college in time became a four-year college, and the preparatory department was discontinued. John Calvin Junior College moved in 1917 to the Franklin Street Campus which at the time was the south east edge of Grand Rapids. Two years later the college appointed its first president, the Rev. J.J. Hiemenga. Then a year later, in 1920, the college transitioned into a four year college following the liberal arts philosophy of the Free University in Amsterdam as laid out by Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper. The next year the college awarded its first bachelor's degree. In 1924, with the opening of Grand Rapids Christian High School, the college offered its last year of preparatory education, focusing exclusively on higher education and opened its first dormitory. The next year, the college began offering a teacher training program and in 1926 appointed its first female faculty member, Johanna Timmer, as Dean of Women. The college dedicated its library, the Hekman Library on March 8, 1928. The college later dedicated its seminary building at the Franklin Street Campus on October 29, 1930. Still under the leadership of Rev. Hiemenga the college faced significant trouble during the onset of the Great Depression as financial hardship beset the college.

Although the school grew slowly in its early years, by 1930 it had reached its pre-World War I size of 350-450 students. By 1950 the enrollment had climbed to 1,270, this same year the college joined the M.I.A.A.. During this period, the college experienced severe space limitations at the land-locked Franklin Campus as enrollment continued to climb. Also at this time of growth, William Spoelhoef became president of Calvin. At the Franklin campus, the college was located on one large city block. In 1956, the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church authorized the college to purchase the Knollcrest Farm from J.C. Miller for $400,000 (approximately $2.9 million in 2007 dollars). Originally outside of town in the southeast of Grand Rapids, the Knollcrest farm increased Calvin's campus from approximately one large city block to 390 acres (1.6 km²) with a 100 acres (0.4 km²) nature preserve. Many were reticent about the project and the college's ability to finance it. Under the bold leadership of President Spoelhof, the college made plans to move forward. The Theological Seminary, since it did not need to be in close proximity to the college, built a new academic building on the site and began holding classes there in 1960. As space constraints became more noticeable, the college built its first academic building on the Knollcrest Campus and held classes there in 1962. For the next 10 years, the college continued to operate at both the Knollcrest and Franklin campuses, fully transitioning to the Knollcrest Campus in 1973. During the latter decades of the 20th century, Calvin grew to around 4,200 students, where the enrollment has remained since. In 1991, the Seminary and the College established separate boards of trustees.

At the turn of the millennium, with enrollment over 4,000 students, Calvin began several new construction projects. Among these were a new communications and political science building, a conference center and hotel. In 2006, Calvin announced an expansion of the Fieldhouse which was completed in the spring of 2009.

The curriculum has expanded to include professional training in a variety of fields, but the college maintains a strong commitment to a liberal arts curriculum, which the college views as a means to develop students' understanding of God's world and their place in it.

The school made national headlines in 2005 when US President George W. Bush served as commencement speaker. According to the Washington Post, more than 800 faculty members, alumni, students and friends of the school signed a full-page ad in the Grand Rapids Press, saying that Bush's policies "...violate many deeply held principles of Calvin College." Some protested by wearing stickers with the phrase "God is not a Republican... or a Democrat" to the commencement. The protests have given Calvin a reputation amongst evangelical Christians for having more liberal students and faculty than most other evangelical colleges.

In the summer of 2008, The Capella of Calvin College, the concert choir of Calvin under the direction of professor Joel Navarro, earned two third prizes in the Mixed and Free Category at the 37th Florilege Vocal de Tours Competition in Tours, France.

In August 2009, the College's Board of Trustees issued a controversial memo to all employees that said that faculty were prohibited from teaching, writing about, or advocating on behalf of homosexuality or homosexual issues like same-sex marriage. Many faculty members were critical of the policy and of the way it was adopted without consultation by the board. The Faculty Senate rejected the memo overwhelmingly by a vote of 36-4.

In September 2010, the college canceled a concert by Canadian indie rock band, The New Pornographers. According to an official statement released by Calvin, the concert was cancelled after several complaints were made due to the band's name referring to pornography.

In June 2012, the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church of North America voted to appoint Michael K. Le Roy as the president of Calvin College, succeeding President Gaylen J. Byker.