Kenneth Bratt

Education

• B.A., Calvin College, 1968
• Ph.D. Princeton University, 1985

Biography

Prof. Bratt is a native of Grand Rapids and a 1968 graduate of Calvin, as are his wife Laurel, their three children (Christina, Jessica, and Justin), their son-in-law Travis Porter (a history major), and their daughter-in-law Sarah Van Wingerden. As a Calvin senior Ken taught classes in the days when there was such demand that students in upper-level courses were recruited to teach first-year Latin! Drafted after graduation during the Vietnam War, his previous teaching experience landed him an assignment at the US Army Chaplain School in Ft. Hamilton, New York, instructing chaplain assistants in such subjects as liturgy. His graduate training was at Princeton University where he first engaged with classical archeology at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and wrote his dissertation on Herodotus. 

Academic interests

During his 36 years at Calvin Ken taught virtually every course in the Classics curriculum, chairing the department for two terms and directing the Honors Program for 20 years. His major research interests are in the archeology of early Christianity, a subject he pursued during two sabbaticals in Athens and a January term in Israel. The fruits of those studies shaped his teaching of annual courses in classical art & architecture as well as many Calvin Interim courses in Greece, Turkey, and Italy. Today he continues to teach frequently for the CALL program (in which he is Curriculum Director) and to lead Calvin Alumni / CALL trips to Italy (2016), Greece (2019 & 2023), Croatia (2022), and the Rhine Valley (2024). 

Awards

Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching, Calvin College, 2006