In keeping with Calvin University’s vision to embody a Reformed Christian witness, the board of trustees and faculty senate has unanimously affirmed new expectations for faculty, senior administrators, and board members. These expectations strengthen Calvin’s mission to equip students to think deeply, act justly, and live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.
Calvin faculty, senior administrators, and board members remain committed to the ecumenical creeds and historic confessions of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, which founded the institution in 1876. The university continues to affirm this connection to the church, which informs and shapes its Christian educational philosophy.
“We recognize that there are many serious academics, with sincere Christian commitments, who have not had the opportunity to develop a theological understanding of their particular field of study. Calvin University is a place that embraces this exploration,” said Provost Cheryl Brandsen.
Two years ago Calvin received a generous gift to support the launch of the Global Faculty Development Institute to advance this understanding among its faculty and to support an exchange of knowledge with Christian faculty around the world.
The university envisions stronger connections to the global Christian church and partnerships with protestant congregations supportive of Calvin’s Christ-centered mission.
“We seek deep, mutual partnerships with congregations eager to support and nurture our faculty and staff in the Christian faith. We hope that Calvin’s mission will bless those communities as they bless us,” said President Michael Le Roy.
The board and faculty also continue to affirm Reformed Christianity as the basis for integrating faith and learning. The educational vision of Christ’s lordship over all creation remains central to the principles that animate a Calvin education. Faculty appointed to positions are encouraged and invited to deepen, strengthen, and articulate this understanding of learning and scholarship as they advance in their careers at Calvin.
Le Roy explained, “The university seeks to engage global challenges through the eyes of Christian faith, and understands faculty interested in this project will continue to be central to realizing this vision.”
Calvin’s recent launch of a series of short courses on the pandemic crisis by some of the best Christian thinkers illustrates this unique perspective.
The strengthened faculty expectations also make explicit that Calvin University is committed to helping form a particular kind of learning community—with faculty and staff who demonstrate dispositions that mark a life of Christian faith and practice and who actively contribute to forming a diverse and welcoming community.
“We want our campus community to be marked by a faculty community whose Christian faith commitments are lived out in everyday interactions with each other, interactions that give expression to the fruit of the Spirit in our lives,” said Brandsen.
