fRom JubIlEETo JubIlaTIoN2011 DoRDT collEgE pRESIDENT'S REpoRT aND VISIoN 2020 campaIgN SummaRY

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maRKERS foR ThE fuTuRE

maRKERS foR ThE fuTuRE

doug Burg

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Launching a comprehensive fund-raising campaign for Dordt College during our Jubilee Year in 2004-2005 was a natural idea. In just 50 brief years, a full-fledged, academically respected, and biblically focused college had emerged from the open fields of an old mink farm.

What could make more sense than looking ahead to the next fifty years with a multi-year fund-raising campaign aimed at raising a million dollars for each year of the college’s history? True, $50 million was triple what Dordt College had raised before in a campaign. But, the economy was booming and the college was on a roll. It seemed a great time to move ahead.

The Lord may have been teaching us a lesson in humility. Our enthusiastic start soon ran full force into the headwinds of a global economic disaster that forced us to ask deep questions about what we were doing. We had to ask why our college existed and whether its mission was of such value to the kingdom of God that it warranted the extravagant commitment of funds and support that we were asking of God’s people.

Through this process, we’ve relearned something we’ve always known: that all blessings flow from God. At the conclusion of the campaign our goal not only has been met, it’s been exceeded. So now it truly is time to praise together the God from whom all these blessings have flowed.

Thanks to more than 14,000 donors, we have new stories to share about students recruited, projects completed, faculty supported, buildings constructed, and programs initiated—all because of the overwhelming response to this campaign.

As you page through this report documenting the impact of Beyond Jubilee:Vision 2020, I

think that what we are doing is similar to what the Lord himself commanded the Israelites when they passed through the Jordan into the promised land. He told them to pick up stones from the middle of the river and pile them up on the other bank as a monument to the way God blessed them in the past so that coming generations will be encouraged to rely on his faithfulness for the future.

As Reformed Christians we emphasize that what really counts is the story of God’s coming kingdom, not our reminiscences of past achievements. After all, we believe that what makes all the difference in the world is God’s own work and not our own efforts.

That’s what we are trying to do—relate the stories of what God has done through this campaign. Then, like the stones on the bank of the Jordan, this brief report will, we trust, provide at least a glimpse of the glory that our Lord has in store for his global kingdom work, including his still unfinished plans for Dordt College.

When we began this campaign, we employed a consultant to do a survey of our constituents to understand their thoughts about a major fundraising effort. His report indicated that while we do have a loyal constituency, our donors were not half so interested in giving to Dordt College as an institution as they were in providing resources for service to the kingdom of God. The consultant’s recommendation?

Make sure you can show people that their gifts to Dordt College will make a difference in the kingdom. Our goal was not to raise money just to make this a nicer college.

As you’ll see in the following pages, the friends of Dordt College did come through. Or to say it more accurately, God’s people came through with true dedication to the work of the sovereign Christ in whose kingdom Dordt College is just one small part. By God’s grace, we will remain faithful to the educational task and mission that he has entrusted to us.

I hope that you will not only enjoy reading this report, but that you will also keep it around so others will see it and ask, “What do these stones mean?” and that you’ll be able to say, “It means you must be as faithful in the future as these folks were in the past.”

If that happens, this Jubilee Campaign will be a Vision not only for the year 2020, but for as far beyond as the eye of faith can see. And then the motto emblazoned on the college seal half a century ago truly will continue to shine as a beacon for the future too. Soli Deo Gloria—to God alone be all the glory.

pRESIDENT caRl E. ZYlSTRa u

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We’ll also introduce you to some of the people who made this campaign something to celebrate and to some of those who benefitted from it in concrete ways. Thank you for your generous contributions and faithful support.

ThE ImpacT oN ouR facIlITIES | 6

The Douglas and Henrietta (Miedema) Ribbens Academic Complex has transformed learning spaces and opportunities for education, art, and digital media students. Students in all majors are enjoying upgraded technology, new classrooms, and inviting public lobbies and study areas.

The Science Building gained a new molecular biology laboratory and DNA sequencing equipment. A new observatory sits on its roof. The nursing program moved into facilities that include a clinical practice lab and offices. And engineering received new prototyping and fabrication equipment, as well as soil mechanics testing equipment.

The Clock Tower near the Campus Center has become a focal point of the campus.

With over $50 million given, the Beyond Jubilee: Vision 2020 Campaign is complete. In this special issue of the 2011 President’s Report, we’ll tell you how your gifts to the campaign are helping Dordt College achieve its mission.

wE’VE REachED ouR goal!

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wE’VE REachED ouR goal!

Newly developed and landscaped entrances and an open mall extending from one end of campus to the other have created green spaces and a safer environment for students.

The restored prairie on the south end of campus has become a magnet for birds and wildlife as well as walkers and bikers.

New locker rooms and weight rooms support Dordt’s athletic programs.

The John and Louise Hulst Library was redesigned with today’s students’ needs in mind.

ThE ImpacT oN ScholaRShIpS | 20

The Vision 2020 Campaign raised over $10 million for new scholarships.

ThE ImpacT oN acaDEmIc pRogRamS | 24

New programs: Four new programs were introduced, and six majors added new emphases as options within their existing programs (see page 28).

The Andreas Center for Reformed Scholarship and Service was established, creating opportunities for faculty, students, and staff members of Dordt College to develop Reformed Christian scholarship and service that relates to today’s global community.

ThE ImpacT oN opERaTIoNS aND ENDowmENT | 32

Dordt College Fund dollars are providing everyday support for academic, experiential, co-curricular, and service programs.

doug Burg

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donors: douglas and hEnriEtta (MiEdEMa) riBBEns

Between them, Douglas and Henrietta (Miedema) Ribbens gave 71 years to Dordt College, helping shape and run the institution as it moved from a junior college with less than 100 students to a thriving four-year college of more than 1,200 students. Dr. Douglas Ribbens served Dordt College for 37 years as a professor, registrar, academic dean, director of the library, and vice president for academic affairs. Henrietta (Miedema) Ribbens was Dordt’s first secretary and served in the academic office for 34 years, in the early years doubling as bookkeeper and eventually serving as assistant registrar.

Education has always been and continues to be important to both of them. Douglas was Dordt’s first professor of education, teaching when the college opened its doors in 1955. Henrietta began working for the college in the spring of 1958 and helped hundreds of elementary education students with teacher placement and teacher certification. Because of their involvement in and commitment to Dordt College, the academic building that opened in the fall of 2009 was given their name.

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jordan EdEns ('13)

ElliE dykstra ('12)

jaMin VEr VEldE (‘99)

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RIbbENS acaDEmIc

complEXdoug Burg

Today’s smart classrooms allow professors to integrate web and video effortlessly.New technology is the first thing that pops to mind when faculty members are asked about their new space. “It’s fantastic,” they say.

Education professors are just as enthusiastic about the new spaces. Flexible classrooms allow them to model group and project learning. Dedicated science and mathematics classrooms keep resources stored in the classroom and close at hand. And, the model science lab has been used by local schools who don’t have laboratories themselves.

The large workroom has become a shared space where faculty and students work shoulder to shoulder preparing for their classes.

“It offers a great model for what teaching will be

like once they get into their own classrooms,” says Dr. Pat Kornelis.

Dr. Ed Starkenburg adds, “We’re better able to simulate and model a K–12 environment for our students.” And that, he and his colleagues believe, will help them do a better job of training teachers committed to having a lasting impact on the lives of young students who are learning to live and serve in God’s world.

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Faculty say:

“The technology helps us teach more effectively without calling attention to itself.”

“Students have quickly become skilled at using smart technology for class presentations and in their student teaching.”

These responses spill from faculty as they talk about the difference that smart boards, iPads, document cameras, and even excellent lighting have made in their classrooms.

Before the education department moved into its new facilities in the Ribbens Academic Complex, professors would be seen pushing a COW—a Computer on Wheels — loaded down with the technology they needed.

“You had to reserve it and then hope no one had taken one without reserving it,” says one professor. Another adds “and then to make sure everything worked the way it was supposed to, you had to find time to get into the classroom and test it out.” Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn’t.

Now the technology works.EDucaTIoN

doug Burg

doug Burg8

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wEndy goMEZ MataMoros, Managua, nicaragua

Wendy Gomez Matamoros is one of the few in her family who have gone to college or university. She has wanted to teach students with special needs since she was a student at Nicaraguan Christian Academy (NCA). It was there that she decided she’d like to study special education at Dordt College. Several of her teachers were graduates of Dordt, and a special education major was not available in her country.

“I applied, and God opened doors for me to come,” she says. Scholarships made it possible for her to afford her Dordt education. “To my extended family it is truly amazing that I have been given this opportunity.”

Gomez Matamoros was mentored at NCA by Michelle Adams (’03) who works with Tesoros de Dios (God’s Treasures), an organization that helps children with disabilities “grow and develop in a spirit of love and excellence.” (See article on Dr. Kathleen VanTol on pg. 26)

“Dordt College has given me more than I even expected,” says Gomez Matamoros, who has an infectious sense of enthusiasm and appreciation for what she’s been able to experience. “I knew the academics would be hard, but I’ve been challenged in a good way and my English has improved. I’m eager to share what I’ve learned back in Nicaragua.”

Gomez Matamoros says she’s learned to look at the world through “spiritual lenses.” These lenses have helped her see children with special needs as image bearers of God who can “see God through trees and people even if they can’t learn in the same ways others can.”

“Faith is integrated at a deeper level here,” she says, admitting that so much talk about faith and worldview annoyed her a bit when she first came. “I learned how much I still needed to learn,” she says now.

As graduation nears, Gomez Matamoros knows she’ll miss the community of which she’s become

so fond over the past four years, but she is also eager to return to her family and culture and begin the work she’s being prepared to do. She’ll work for Tesoros de Dios, traveling to schools to share resources and ideas on how to integrate into regular classrooms the many children with special needs who don’t have the opportunity to attend Tesoros de Dios.

paul hanaoka (‘10)

The new art facility features over 10,000 square feet of spacious studio, display, and storage areas.Custom cabinetry, polished masonary floors that are easy to maintain, exceptional lighting including large sky lights in the painting and ceramic sculpture rooms, a large gallery lounge space, a floor-to-ceiling glass display case, studio hallways, and a gallery next to the art offices allow the department to rotate and feature exceptional art works by past and present students in a wide range of media. Seven vented stations capture and control dust and chemicals.

Student art is displayed throughout the multiple mini-galleries that fill the art department so that the whole Dordt College community can see and respond to these works. This strong commitment to the visual arts continues to be a feature of

Dordt’s campus and is something visitors often notice. Both outside and in, numerous artworks are on display. The renovated art department will encourage the creation of compelling art by Dordt College students for years to come.

Faculty say:

The things I appreciate most are the proper ventilation systems, dust collection, fume hoods, and clean air systems. This has given us a safe and healthy environment as we work in the art studios and photography darkroom.

David Versluis

The art addition has been great for creating larger scale work in a full range of media and techniques. The new spaces encourage professionalism. Jake Van Wyk

In the new well-lit painting studio, students can work on dramatic baroque-esque still lifes that glow in the bright spotlight, or they can open the shades and flood the space with the south-facing light from the glass tower’s windows. Just about any lighting variation is possible—an important feature for the maturing painter. Matthew Drissell

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jaMin VEr VEldE (‘99)

ZEchariah EdEns (‘12)

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aRT & DESIgNaanna stadEM, siouX Falls, south dakota

Why did you come to Dordt College? Google. If you Google “Christian College in the Midwest,” Dordt comes up. As a result, I’m here. What attracted me on my first visit, were the multiple signs announcing mission trips, campus ministry opportunities, and the overall feel of a focus on Christ. Prior to Dordt, I didn’t think a college could be so obvious in its beliefs. As an incoming art student, I was attracted to the new art department. When I toured, art students worked in a makeshift trailer—now there’s a new large, organized space completely dedicated to art. My typical day is spent in that general vicinity.

I was nervous when I came, because I knew no one and wasn’t related to anyone who had attended Dordt College previously. However, the faculty does a great job making sure every student feels welcomed, informed, and prepared.

Is Dordt what you expected? I’m a firm believer in God working in

unexpected ways; Dordt is no exception. Every semester catches me off guard as I learn new things, take new classes, and become involved in student life. Coming to Dordt College is more than classes, letter grades, and six-page papers. It’s about preparing for life, defining your worldview, and with the aid of Christ, helping you discover your identity and passions.

What’s unique about studying art at Dordt? I’ve always loved art and English. I’ve come to love photography, graphic design, and journalism. I didn’t add my journalism minor until my junior year, but because of the Core program, the flexibility of a liberal arts school, and professors diligently informing me of my opportunities, I was able to fit it into my four-year plan. I’ve also been able to take classes in youth ministry, another interest of mine. Each class provides insight into your personal life and how what you’re studying will fit into a life striving to glorify God; I’m learning how to honor God with my photos and words with every

photo I take and paper I write. Not every school offers this kind of teaching; it’s truly a blessing. What is Dordt College about? Dordt College is about preparing students as stewards of God’s world, academically, mentally, physically, and spiritually. I, personally, have grown in each of these areas, whether it’s through small group Bible studies, working for the school newspaper, attending class, building relationships with my peers and professors, or taking advantage of the Recreation Center.

Do you receive financial aid or scholarships?I received a substantial academic scholarship and a music scholarship. Without these, I would not be here. Freshman year I was invited to the scholarship banquet to personally thank my donor for making my education possible. The support and passion people have for a younger generation’s education is truly inspiring and beautiful. I’m incredibly thankful for assistance in living out my dreams.

jordan EdEns (‘13)

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The graphic design and video production lab is a 1,600 square foot state-of-the-art facility, one of the only labs of its kind in the region.

It includes• Hewlett Packard workstations with dual 22”

monitors• Macintosh workstations with 24” monitors• HD projectors and surround sound• computer workstations containing Avid, the

leading film editing software tool today, along with the latest tools for animation and DVD authoring

• graphic and web design software including Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, and After Effects

• an instructor’s podium that runs both Mac and PC, with the ability to project onto a 16-foot screen

Faculty say:

Our digital media lab is one of the premier media labs in the State of Iowa, quite possibly in the greater region. Having been on campuses with no place for their media students to call “home,” I know how important it is not only for our majors to have a place to call their own, but one they can be proud of. Our students understand that Dordt College is offering them world class facilities to accompany their world class education.

Recently, a senior digital media student told me that he is trying to get as much film making in as he possibly can while at Dordt because he realizes it may be a long time before he has this kind of access to high quality equipment and facilities. It takes more than equipment and facilities to make good films, but those are essential ingredients. And Dordt has them. Mark Volkers

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DIgITal mEDIadEan riggott

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DIgITal mEDIa

MarcoM award

Last year, students Aaron Yoder and Andrea Kreykes set out to produce a fast-paced and energized two-minute video capturing the vibrant spirit that is present in academics, worship, and campus life at Dordt College. They did—and they also won a prestigious Platinum MarCom Award sponsored by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals.

“The flow of the video creates a great deal of excitement, and the music is catchy and complements the action. We love to show it at every opportunity,” said Admissions Director Quentin Van Essen, who asked the duo to create the video. It can be viewed at www.dordt.edu/admissions/visit.

MarCom is one of the oldest, largest, and most respected competitions in the industry. Of approximately 5,000 entries, only 18 percent won the Platinum Award, the organization’s highest honor.

Thanks to funds raised through the Vision 2020 Campaign, Dordt digital media students have been earning a reputation for creating excellent productions, many of which have won national and international awards. You can learn more about Dordt College’s digital media program and production company, Prairie Grass Productions, at www.dordt.edu/media.

Mark VolkErs

thE dordt prairiE

Dordt College’s 20-acre tall grass prairie, located on the southeast side of campus, becomes a sea of wildflowers as summer progresses. It is also a “living laboratory” for students majoring in environmental studies, biology, and agriculture.

Today it is used by the Flora of North America class for plant identification. Ecology and Field Biology students learn about ecosystem restoration using the prairie as an example. They also help with restoration work each year. Biology students do a research project on the habitat of a unique prairie bird, the dickcissel. Art classes use the prairie for landscape and botanical work, and botany students walk the prairie, select a plant of interest, and examine it in detail.

Creating a native prairie was a dream of some on campus since Dordt purchased the Kuhl Heritage Farm. In 2005, students in Professor Robb De

Haan’s Seminar on Creation Stewardship, in a semester-long research project, drew up a plan for such a restoration. The prairie was planted in 2008 and now boasts a diverse mix of about 80 species of wildflowers and grasses.

Today, many people living in Iowa have never walked through a tall grass prairie, and most would have a hard time recognizing one if they saw it. This isn’t surprising since 99.9 percent of the tall grass prairie in Iowa has been converted

to other uses, generally row crops, making this native grassland one of the most endangered ecosystems on earth. The restored Dordt College Prairie has brought back and helped preserve unique species of wildflowers and grasses; it is providing a habitat for birds, butterflies, and wildlife; and it is offering local residents a chance to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of this part of God’s creation.

“God has been active in this world for a long time in significant and surprising ways,” says De Haan. “He has shaped this landscape and the world around us. It didn’t just happen; it was shaped in such a way that it could support a wide array of plants and animals that we call prairie. That’s a lot of what this project is about.”

To see the prairie through the seasons, go to http://bit.ly/AaRseT

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jordan EdEns (‘13)

jaMin VEr VEldE (‘99)

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As I’ve come through the seasons of life, experiencing in each one the steady faithfulness of God’s providence and covenant promises, I’ve gradually learned to depend upon God’s perfect timing.

In my lifelong vocation as a nurseryman, I well understood that God sends the rain and the sun—and not always on my schedule. But I know that everything is in His tender care, and it is unfolding each hour of every day.

The Vision 2020 Campaign is another example of God’s flawless timing. It has come at just the right moment in Dordt College’s history. It is providing new opportunities for students and faculty to be planted in the fields that God has established for them. It is setting the stage for the next generation of constituents to provide, through their prayers and sacrificial offerings, the “rain and sun” necessary for our college’s health and growth.

The campaign has added many new features to the campus, including one of my favorites—the new clock tower and carillon. It’s my prayer that all who pass by the clock tower will not only take note of the swift and sure passage of time, but also will look “beyond time” to the source of our life and our hope for life eternal.

Soli Deo Gloria!Henry Van KlaverenCo-chair of the Vision 2020 Campaign

Henry Van Klaveren, together with his late wife, Helen, operated Hollandia Nurseries in Visalia, California. Their contributions made possible the clock tower, new entrances, and other campus projects.

campuS gRouNDS

donor:hEnry Van klaVErEn

doug Burg

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EnginEEring

Gifts to the Vision 2020 Campaign have provided more hands-on learning opportunities for students, helped engineering enrollment grow, increased student freshman CAD (computer-aided design) experience, expanded what seniors can do in senior design projects, and even served Dordt’s maintenance department. This has led to curriculum revisions, hiring a new laboratory technician, and reallocating building space for an engineering research laboratory.

Dr. Ethan Brue says it is difficult to describe all of the benefits and opportunities the campaign has brought. Here are a few:

CNC (computer numerical control) prototyping equipment: (CNC 3-axis mill, CNC lathe, CNC plasma cutter) These innovative machines allow engineering students to explore the almost seamless process from 3-D model to physical

prototype. Drawings can be downloaded directly to these CNC machines, enabling the mill or lathe to automatically determine an appropriate tool path for material removal.

“Re-tooled” fabrication laboratory: Industrial-grade fabrication equipment and quality hand tools have seen heavy use by students, employees, and faculty: wood working equipment (table saw, combo sander, band saw) and metal working equipment (hydraulic shear, leaf brake, horizontal band saw, drill press).

A new lab-scale wind tunnel replaced an older student-designed version that had been used for over 20 years, but was in need of repair and redesign.

A concrete compression tester allows students to test concrete cylindrical specimens according to the ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) standard specifications.

A geotechnical load frame provides the opportunity to do unconfined compression tests and triaxial tests on soil specimens.

Lab computer/control and data acquisition software, used with the soil testing equipment, helps automate tests in a fashion similar to what is done in the geotechnical industry.

Facility improvements have given better engineering laboratory space, safer work areas, and improved dust and fume collection, material handling, and material storage.

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Biology/agriculturE/BiotEchnology

A new molecular biology laboratory equipped with a DNA sequencer and a digital camera that includes an image analysis system for digital microscopy has given Dr. Tony Jelsma’s molecular biology courses a home base and provided a place for upper class students to work on advanced research projects. Increased convenience and advanced technology are making it possible for students to do more complex research.

The laboratory is also equipped with incubators, thermal cyclers, electrophoresis equipment, and a high speed refrigerated centrifuge. A separate room houses cell culture incubators and a laminar flow hood for mammalian cell culture. Current projects being carried out in the new lab range from a study of genetic diversity in prairie plants to the detection of viruses in pig saliva.

The lab also has made it possible for the department to begin research apprenticeships. Each senior research student has a younger student helping and learning from them.

doug Burg

doug Burg

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ScIENcESthE nEXt stEps

Much of Dordt’s enrollment growth in the past several years has been in the sciences. The agriculture department is growing, the engineering department is growing, the nursing program is growing, and we’ve increased our numbers of pre-med and pre-vet students. Projections indicate that such trends will continue. Finding classroom and laboratory space to accommodate these students is becoming more difficult. And current teaching methods and content are requiring different kinds of learning spaces.

Some of the funds raised in the Vision 2020 Campaign will go toward the first phase addition that links the existing science building with the Ribbens Academic Complex and will include several new classrooms and science faculty offices.

Funds raised in the Vision 2020 Campaign bring us near the level needed to begin construction on this exciting phase. Completing funding for Phase I and the new and renovated labs in Phase II will be one of the college’s top fundraising priorities now that the Vision 2020 campaign is completed.

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Enrollment in Dordt’s civil and environmental emphasis in engineering is growing. That’s good, according to Professor Justin Vander Werff, because we’ll need many good civil and environmental engineers in the years ahead.

“So much of the infrastructure that western society relies upon has been developed by civil engineers,” he says. Those systems, designed between the 1940s and 1960s, are nearing the end of their 50- to 75-year lifespans.

The collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, while not entirely age-related, is an unfortunate example that has exposed today’s infrastructure needs. But more than new bridges are needed.

“We need thoughtful development that obeys God’s call to care for his world and to serve people living in countries around the world,” says Vander Werff. The Dordt College engineering program and its graduates are helping develop that infrastructure and shaping the way our society lives in the future.

“Many decisions about infrastructure and energy will need to be made in the next 10 to 20 years,” says Vander Werff. And they’ll need to be made by people whose expertise spans many fields of engineering. The infrastructure we’ll rely on in the future for energy, transportation, water supply, and other societal needs will combine technologies from electrical, mechanical, and civil disciplines as well as an understanding of the environment, software, controls—and communication and human relations.

“Areas of specialization in large university engineering programs tend to function like silos, standing alone, with little interaction,”

Vander Werff notes. Dordt’s program is just the opposite; it tries to make as many connections as it can to better use faculty resources and to give its majors a broad background in their field. These connections happen among the different emphases within engineering as well as between engineering and other areas of study.

Giving students a broad background includes helping them understand how to develop creation and its resources responsibly.

“Genesis 2:15 says, ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it',” says Vander Werff. “Other translations will use words like cultivate and maintain or till and care for, but the instruction is the same, using it and keeping it go hand in hand.”

That foundation gives Dordt’s program a unique perspective.

“In our culture, many people either exploit or worship the world and its resources. We’re stewards who worship the creator, not the created,” says Vander Werff. He and his colleagues believe that people are created to develop creation, but they must do so in a way that does not exploit or destroy resources also needed by future generations.

Vander Werff is developing some of these resources in his Ph.D. research on structures that can withstand earthquakes.

“Seismic behavior of structures is one area where we have a lot of work to do,” Vander Werff says. He cites the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile as examples. Chile’s more powerful earthquake killed a fraction of the number of people killed in Haiti. In Chile structures were built to withstand earthquakes and preserve life; in Haiti they were not. He hopes to help develop

proFEssor justin VandEr wErFF, EnginEEring

“A Dordt engineering degree is not a second-best option. Among those institutions that know us and our graduates, our undergraduates are often preferred over research assistants from their own institutions.”

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construction methods that can be implemented efficiently and economically, not just in rich countries but also in poorer areas and countries.

“As a student, I came into Dordt’s engineering program liking math and science, but as I studied here I came to appreciate more and more the real place of engineering—to use the gifts of creation to glorify God and serve our neighbors,” Vander Werff says. He credits his professors, especially former professor Dr. Charles Adams, with inspiring and instilling in him that understanding and commitment.

Vander Werff is currently analyzing test data to find out how new and retrofit connections on bridges behave under stress from earthquakes. His research focuses on concrete, since many bridges today are constructed with precast, pre-stressed concrete rather than steel girders. Concrete girders have many advantages for construction and seismic behavior if their connections are designed appropriately. Faculty development funds helped Vander Werff present some of his analysis and recommendations in a paper titled “Seismic Performance of an Inverted-Tee Bridge Model with Precast Girders” at the 2011 PCI (Precast Concrete Institute) Annual Convention and National Bridge Conference in Salt Lake City.

“The interaction at the conference provided additional ideas for application of my work and additional needs related to the development of safe and economic structures for seismic regions,” he says. He’s already incorporating these ideas into his work, work which has earned him Iowa State University’s Brown Graduate Fellowship to strategically advance ISU research. The award will support his tuition and research.

“We can’t design and construct bridges that will withstand any earthquake without damage,” says Vander Werff. “Cost would be prohibitive.” So,

current research focuses on designing bridges that will withstand smaller quakes without damage and allow for controlled damage during large earthquakes. The more energy that can be dissipated throughout the structure in a controlled fashion, the less likelihood there is that it will break at one point and collapse. This means that a bridge may need to be replaced following an earthquake, but it won’t collapse, taking people with it. Vander Werff’s design solutions show love and respect for his neighbor’s wellbeing and manage economic and material resources responsibly.

Vander Werff says that Dordt’s program is continually improving. Students now do more hands-on learning, thanks in part to generous donations of equipment that allow students to actually test things like concrete strength rather than primarily learning about it from a textbook.

Dordt’s engineering department is also benefitting from the National Science Foundation’s push for large universities to partner with smaller undergraduate institutions on collaborative research projects. Junior Danielle De Boer had such an opportunity this summer at Iowa State University, and Vander Werff says his advisor at Iowa State would like to have more Dordt students assist with research because of the quality of the Dordt students who have gone through Iowa State’s nationally ranked civil engineering program.

“A Dordt engineering degree is not a second-best option,” Vander Werff says. “Among those institutions that know us and our graduates, our undergraduates are often preferred over research assistants from their own institutions.”

Vander Werff and his colleagues believe that it is the breadth of the Dordt College engineering program and its focus on holistic obedient service that leads to such results.

doug Burg

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campaIgN ImpacT: ScholaRShIpS u

The Vision 2020 Campaign raised a total of $11,773,800.54 for scholarships to help needy and deserving students afford a Dordt College education.

Of this total $9,160,975.52 was designated for endowed scholarships and $2,612,825.02 for annually funded scholarships.

As a result of the campaign, we were able to nearly double the number of scholarships we can offer. Eighty new scholarships (or additions to existing scholarships) will allow us to award an additional $328,082.33, benefitting significantly more students.

hannah ponstEin, long island, Missouri

Hannah Ponstein is a senior studying theology and Spanish. She received the Daniel’s Challenge Scholarship, the Foreign Candy Company Study Abroad Scholarship, and the Martin Seven Classics Scholarship. She offered these remarks at the annual scholarship donor banquet in September.

Receiving these scholarships makes me realize that I am not attending this college on my own strength or hard work—not because I’m smart or have enough money. Instead, I am learning that it is a wonderful thing to be part of a body of believers who serve each other by providing for each other’s needs. I think donor-funded scholarships exemplify a vital understanding of the Christian life: we need to depend on each other. Each one of us here has had the remarkable opportunity to experience that truth because donors like you have given to us students. It shows us that the opportunity we’ve had over the last four years at Dordt—to live in a Christian community—can continue after we’ve graduated. The network of Dordt alumni and others who support Dordt’s mission forms a community that exists across the country and even the world.

After I graduate in May, I will be getting married. My fiancé and I, who have both been nurtured by the Dordt community, hope to extend that same feeling of community wherever we end up, which right now is looking like it will be

ministry in the mission field. We’re grateful for scholarships that help get us there somewhat sooner.

Thank you once again, all of you who donate to scholarships for Dordt College students, for the way you not only give money but also exemplify what it means to invest in the kingdom and build the body of Christ. Your service reminds me of Paul’s words in Philippians 2: “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but

in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to

the interests of others.”

Thank you for taking these words to heart and serving the interests of Dordt College students!

ScholaRShIpS

darrin BEEkMan, coon rapids, MinnEsota

Darrin Beekman, a senior engineering major, received the 2011 Jonathan Ross Kooima Scholarship. This scholarship and others are helping him pay his tuition and manage his debt as he heads to graduate school.

“It reminds me that God calls us to support one another,” he says. “That may include [my] helping someone get an education in the future.” He especially appreciated meeting the donors of his scholarship and seeing their support for the Dordt education he’s come to value highly.

Beekman was no stranger to Dordt College; both of his parents are alumni and many of his family members attended. But he says attending Dordt College is not a decision he simply fell into.

“I was originally thinking I might be pre-med,” he says. A campus visit nudged him to

engineering. He was looking for a Christian college that would give him direction and provide an environment in which to develop his understanding about how to apply his faith in his daily life and his profession.

The engineering department addressed that desire during his campus visit and has continued to do so throughout his years in the program.

“I’ve been pushed to think about actively unfolding and developing creation in a way that has very specific implications for designing technology,” Beekman says. He says he’s learned a philosophy of engineering and wrestled with issues in a way that he expects to shape his life and work in biomedical engineering.

“I hate to use the word ‘worldview’ because it so easily becomes a cliché,” he says, but he believes a worldview is what he’s found. “As Christians we’re called to live out our faith in our passions and in our careers,” he says. “Being obedient means being conscious of what you’re promoting.” For an engineer design intent is a subtle but important element of daily work.

Beekman is as thankful for his education as he is of the scholarships that made it possible.

“I believe the ideas and issues I’ve wrestled with at Dordt will be with me for the rest of my life,” he says.

doug Burg

aanna stadEM ('13)21

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campaIgN ImpacT: ScholaRShIpS u

siErra tiEgs, caldwEll, idahoSierra Tiegs has known since she was a freshman at Nampa Christian High School in Idaho that she wanted to teach music. She began taking voice lessons that year and decided to give up being on a sports team for the teamwork of a good musical ensemble.

“Creating good sound means working together,” she says. “You need to care every time you sing together or you let your fellow choir members down.”

Tiegs first learned about Dordt College when her music teacher played recordings by the Dordt College Concert Choir.

“I was impressed with how good they were,” she says. When some of her classmates decided to

make a campus visit to Dordt, she joined them and sat in on a choir practice.

She’s happy with her decision.

“I think I’ve had more opportunities here than I would have had almost anywhere else,” she says. She’s attended opera, competed in contests, and gone on choir tours around the country.

One of the highlights of Tiegs’ college career was the choir’s performance at the National Choral Director Association Conference in Minneapolis in 2010. “It was a great honor to be invited to perform.”

Tiegs says Dordt’s music program is competitive: Students are talented and faculty are gifted, and

she’s been challenged and stretched to excel. But it is not competitive in a negative way.

“We care about each other and encourage and respect each other,” she says. “No one tries to show up anyone else; we’re honest and supportive of one another.”

She’s also felt immensely supported through the Mildred M. Dupon Memorial Music Education Scholarship that she received.

“It’s like someone is saying, ‘Thank you for your work. You’re in the right major,’” she says.

Tiegs will do her student teaching next fall as a fifth-year student and might substitute teach until she can get into her own classroom.

paul hanaoka (‘10)

donors: jiM and rEisa halpErt, southlakE, tEXas

Jim Halpert says he had to convince his son Morgan (’11) he couldn’t make a decision about where to attend college before he visited campus. But Morgan was ready to sign on after his first visit with former Football Coach John Heavner. He did eventually squeeze in a weekend visit to Dordt, and that visit sealed his decision.

“Morgan was hosted by two great kids who showed him around and became his friends,” says Halpert. “After that there was no question about where he was going.” As his parents, Jim and Reisa Halpert did have some concerns. While they shared the feeling that a small Christian college would provide a good foundation and environment and offer many opportunities, they knew that Morgan had never experienced winter weather or small town life and wondered how it would affect his experience.

They needn’t have worried. Morgan’s enthusiasm for Dordt College never ebbed. It included not only playing football, but also business classes and professors, the friendships he made, the Christian environment, and playing baseball—his real love. His enthusiasm has spread to his parents, Jim and Reisa, from Southlake, Texas, and as a result they have set up the Halpert Baseball Scholarship.

“Our son thrived at Dordt College, so we wanted to give someone else, who otherwise might not

be able to afford it, the opportunity to have a similar experience,” says Halpert, who has a dental practice in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Jim and Reisa Halpert came to Sioux Center two or three times a semester during Morgan’s four years at Dordt.

“We came to love the college and the town,” they say. “It’s friendly, safe, and the pace is so much more relaxed than in busy Dallas/Fort Worth.” They also appreciated what it offered their son.

“He still calls his professors occasionally to talk business, and he’s made many life-long friends,” says Halpert.

“Three out of four Sundays he’d be invited to

Sunday dinner

with professors, student families, and even townspeople—or is that supper?” asks Halpert, who still isn’t quite sure of the distinction between what locals call dinner and supper.

Today the Halperts appreciate the preparation their son received for working as a Christian in the business world. They like the fact that faculty members have had experience in business themselves and that he was not sheltered, but he was encouraged to actively find ways to practice what he learned and what he believes. Today as a result of an internship experience, Morgan is the assistant general manager of a minor league baseball team in Helena, Montana—his dream come true, says his father, who says that Morgan learned to read on the back of baseball cards.

“We look at the scholarship we set up as a legacy of Morgan’s education,” says Halpert. “Our family has been blessed by Dordt College. We want that opportunity for others.”

As Christians, the Halperts take seriously the Bible’s injunction “to whom much has been given, much is expected.” They also see their scholarship as a living investment.

“Investing in people brings a greater return than anything else—especially today,” he says, adding, “Don’t ever underestimate what you have at Dordt College.”

jaMin VEr VEldE (‘99)

photo suBMittEd

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campaIgN ImpacT: acaDEmIc SuppoRT u

The Andreas Center for Reformed Scholarship and Service was established through a generous gift from the estate of Mr. Lowell Andreas. The Center supports opportunities, both on and off campus, for students, faculty, and staff to engage culture globally through their scholarship and service.

SomE cuRRENT pRoJEcTS

The Slum Documentary ProjectProfessor Mark Volkers and Dordt’s Prairie Grass Productions produced a documentary on slums of the world. Volkers took students to the Philippines over Christmas break in 2008 and to Kenya in 2009. Digital media students got on-the-job training and a better understanding of what daily reality is for the many people living in the slums. www.slumdoc.com.

Center for Educational ServicesCES is working to improve Christian education around the world through programs, workshops, and conferences. CES has hosted the Heartland Teachers Conference and the B.J. Haan Education Conference and is helping with the Iowa Core Curriculum Project.

Center for Psychological RestorationDordt’s psychology department is researching community psychological health needs to consider creating a center for psychological restoration that would provide a variety of psychological services to underserved members of the community.

Master Class in NYCPhotography students received partial support to participate in a master class on the streets of New York, mentored by Art Professor Douglas Burg and photographer René Clement. They created images of day laborers for Project Hospitality on Staten Island and displayed their work at Dordt.Junior Jordan Eden’s photo later won honors in a national photography magazine.

Professional Development School (PDS)In a three-year pilot program with Rock Valley Christian School, Dordt students work with current teachers in a collaborative partnership between RVCS and the education department. Students work with practicing teachers much like medical interns work with doctors.

Center for Public Justice/IAPCHE ArchivesThe Andreas Center supports the archival collections of the Center for Public Justice (CPJ) and the International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education (IAPCHE) at Dordt College. We hope to expand this collection to include archives from other organizations with roots in Northwest Iowa and that are part of Dordt’s reformational heritage.

Historical Math TextbookDr. Calvin Jongsma is writing a middle school mathematics text that incorporates historical perspectives to serve as a resource for middle school mathematics teachers and students who plan to teach middle school math.

Northrise UniversityProfessors Ron Vos (agriculture) and Tom Wolthuis (theology) have taught courses at Northrise, located in Ndola, Zambia. This Christian university prepares students for leadership in the church and business community. One Dordt student has studied there, one Northrise student has studied here, and more exchange possibilities are being explored.

Christian Education in Latin AmericaDr. Socorro Woodbury is an advisor and steering committee member for CRC World Missions and CSI (Christian Schools International) consultation meetings in Miami and Managua on Christian education in Latin America. Woodbury has also led workshops on Christian education in Haiti and Guatemala.

aNDREaS cENTER

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dr. darrEn stouB and paigE Fynaardt

Junior Paige Fynaardt and Chemistry Professor Dr. Darren Stoub spent the past summer on research they expect will lead to better drugs for combatting inflammation following kidney transplants and reoccurrence of breast cancer following radiation. Fynaardt was part of Stoub’s ongoing collaboration with a team of scientists at the University of Miami Medical School.

“This summer research project allowed me to get hands-on experience in what I believe I want to do in the future,” says Fynaardt.

“The current drugs used for these situations are good but not great,” says Stoub, who likes to focus on medicine-related projects in his research. His team also helped discover the drugs currently used for these situations.

“To make them better, we need to understand how they do what they do,” he says. That means identifying where the drug interacts with a protein—“defining the putative binding site.” Each protein has several points at which the drug can interact. Fynaardt helped painstakingly test each possibility.

Besides advancing medicine, such research is imperative for student learning, Stoub believes.

“Current pedagogical research shows that the best way for students to learn is to be involved in a process where they don’t have the answers,” he adds. Stoub believes that students don’t learn by saying what others know, but by exploring, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating what they are studying. Problem-based inquiry, in which researchers solve real world problems, is just as valuable for students as it is for their professors.

“Science changes so quickly. Texts can be five or more years behind latest developments,” says Stoub. “The best way to stay current is to constantly be in the literature and the best way to do that is to focus on research.”

Doing research for a chemistry major is like participating in an internship for a business major. It can help students find a good job and can affect whether they get accepted into graduate or professional schools.

“Ninety percent of those who get into medical school have had research experience,” Stoub says. Currently, three out of four Dordt students are accepted into medical school, compared to one in three nationally.

“I loved working on the project even though I did become frustrated that my results were not always what I wanted them to be,” says Fynaardt. “In class labs, you often work towards a specific result and if you don’t get it, you know you must have messed up somewhere. But in this project, just because you did not get a result that you expected did not mean that you made a mistake. That was a huge point that I had to learn.”

“Science is not about right or wrong answers, but about a process of gathering data and explaining it,” Stoub says. He will keep drawing more students into his research. When he announced to his classes this fall that he was forming a research group, six students, including four first-year students, asked to be a part of it.

“It’s non-credit, but it’s definitely part of their education,” says Stoub.

aNDREaS cENTER

jordan EdEns ('13)

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Thanks to funding from the Andreas Center and Dordt’s Center for Educational Services, Dr. Kathleen VanTol is helping change the lives of special needs children in Nicaragua by giving them tools to become self-sufficient. Her Dordt College students are helping develop programs and policies that can change the way these students learn in Central America.

“Nicaraguan children who can’t do the work required of them in school are often excluded,” says VanTol. Some of these children attend Tesoros de Dios, an organization set up and run by Dordt alumna Michelle Adams (’04). Tesoros de Dios, translated as “God’s Treasures,” is a ministry in Managua, Nicaragua, that serves more than 80 children with developmental disabilities. But many more children need the kind of assistance they offer.

Christian schools in Nicaragua will frequently accept children with special needs who have no other place to go, but their teachers lack the training to adequately help them because special education programs are almost nonexistent in teacher training schools there. As a result, teachers are desperately looking for help.

In October, VanTol, along with students Wendy Gomez Matamoros (pg. 9) and Alex Pasker, traveled to Nicaragua to share resources they hope will help students succeed in a regular classroom. Serving more students in regular classrooms means Tesoros will be able to help more of those who need a special school.

The teachers who attended VanTol’s workshops were appreciative.

“God bless you! Your workshop was very valuable,” one wrote in her evaluation. “Thank

you for sharing your knowledge with us. For me, it was very important to learn how to work with children in their behavior and learn better strategies for kids with different disabilities. I promise to God and to you that I will share the same knowledge with other teachers. With God all is possible.”

VanTol’s October trip followed a visit she made to Nicaragua last year to visit the Nehemiah Center, a community of service and learning with which Dordt College has a relationship through its Study Program in Niacargua. The Nehemiah Center, according to its website, “trains lay and pastoral leaders in an integral, biblical worldview and encourages local, national and international collaboration for a Christ-centered, transformational development of communities and nations.” VanTol also spent time at Nicaraguan Christian Academy where Dordt student teachers are often placed.

In addition to visiting students and teachers, VanTol also led workshops on special education

at Nicaraguan Christian Academy and consulted with Adams at Tesoros. Her workshops could not accommodate all who wanted to come. Participants included Christian and public school teachers, workers at Tesoros, and even university professors who traveled by bus through a tropical storm to learn more about how to serve children with special needs.

Several things are happening in Nicaragua to make this an exciting time for teachers and for those with special needs. The government has told schools they need to develop programs for children with special needs. Through its alumni and contacts there, Dordt College faculty members can influence this process.

VanTol also spent time in some individual classrooms last fall and left behind a resource book that gives teachers specific ideas and actions for integrating special needs children into regular classrooms. It begins with a biblical basis for including children with special needs into the daily life of a community and provides ideas for teaching, managing behavior, and including special needs children into the classroom.

“We’re very upfront about our biblical perspective—why it is important and why it is valuable,” says VanTol. Those she has been working with have seen what she has to offer and want more. They’ve asked her to return to help them move forward.

On her last day in Nicaragua last fall, VanTol consulted with a teacher who had a boy in her first-grade classroom for the fourth time. Such compelling needs keep her energized to help find ways for all children to develop the skills they’ll need to move ahead and find their place in their community.

campaIgN ImpacT: acaDEmIc SupppoRT u

dr. kathlEEn Vantol, Education

doug Burg

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donors: MatthEw and MElissa (dE yagEr) dE haan, happy VallEy, orEgon

Giving is a given for Matthew and Melissa (De Yager) De Haan, both 2004 graduates of Dordt College. It’s a commitment instilled in them by their parents and grandparents. “We had a lot of role models,” they say.

“When we were first married, right after college, and moved to a new community, Dordt College was one priority we had in common,” says Matthew. “We wanted to give back to the Lord for his blessings, and Dordt College has been a blessing in both of our lives.”

“We both came from Christian homes and schools, yet at Dordt many people helped us grow in our faith and take our worldview to the next level,” says Matthew. After graduating, Matthew, who grew up in Iowa, and Melissa, who grew up in Washington, moved to San Diego. Matthew began law school and Melissa worked with autistic children. But Matthew soon realized he did not feel called to law. Today Melissa stays home with their two young sons, Cayden and Nolan, and Matthew is in a clinical psychology residency, having recently completed a doctorate in clinical psychology. They live in Oregon.

Matthew says that Dordt College continued his Christian education and broadened his understanding. He came to understand why he believes as he does and also to see that people act out of what they believe. This realization, he believes, has made him better able to help others as he counsels them about mental and relationship difficulties.

“I need to understand what they believe in order to lay out some things for them to think about as they decide how they will act,” he says.

Matthew feels he’s found his calling in psychology, and, for now, Melissa has found hers

at home with their sons. Today they support other organizations and ministries in addition to Dordt College, but they remain faithful supporters of Dordt because they appreciate the education they received and want others to be able to do the same.

knapp photography

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campaIgN ImpacT: acaDEmIc SuppoRT u

Faculty dEVElopMEnt Funds

Encouraging faculty excellence is crucial to offering a dynamic and excellent education. The Vision 2020 Campaign helped fund conference and professional memberships academic paper grants—10 percent of which were at conferences outside North America

• institutional study grants

• faculty appointments to the Studies Institute

• project grants

• graduate program grants

• post-graduate leaves of absenceApplied Science and TechnologyBiotechnologyDigital MediaNursing

Art: PrearchitecturalBusiness Administration: Construction

Management, International Business, Marketing

Health and Human Performance: Sports Management

History: Museum StudiesMusic: Music ManagementTheology: Biblical Studies, Historic/Systematic,

Missions & Evangelism

nEw prograMs put in placE during thE Vision 2020 caMpaign

jordan EdEns ('13)jordan EdEns ('13)

doug Burg

Digital MediaNursing

Management, International Business, Marketing

Health and Human Performance: Sports Management

History: Museum StudiesMusic: Music ManagementTheology: Biblical Studies, Historic/Systematic,

Missions & Evangelism

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Calling it “a day decades of Dordt College supporters have dreamed of,” Dr. Carl Zylstra recognized the first four nurses to complete Dordt’s nationally accredited B.S.N. (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) degree program at a reception on May 8, 2007. Today 48 nurses have graduated and the department enrolls more than 100 students.

When the 2007 graduating class of nurses enrolled as freshmen, Dordt had a dual-degree program, in which nurses earned a Bachelor of Health Science (B.H.S.) degree from Dordt College, while earning an Associate of Science from St. Luke’s College of Nursing in Sioux City. Since Dordt began offering its own B.S.N., the number of nursing students has steadily grown. And so has their reputation.

A look at recent pass rates for students enrolled in the collaborative Dordt and St. Luke’s College

nursing programs show an exceptionally high performance rate for students taking the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination), a test students must pass to become licensed as a Registered Nurse. In four of the past five years, 100 percent of the Dordt/St. Luke’s partnership nursing students taking the NCLEX-RN test passed it on their first try.

The average NCLEX pass rate in Iowa for 2009 is 85 percent, while the national average is 88 percent. Dordt’s Director of Nursing, Dr. Pam Hulstein, says near perfect pass rates over the past several years speak both to the quality of the collaborative nursing program and the students who have chosen to enroll in them.

“What’s been so exciting about this program is that we’ve had the opportunity to build the program based on Dordt’s educational vision. We’re helping students ask what it is to be a

Christian professional in nursing,” says Dr. Pam Hulstein, chair of the department.

Dordt has expanded the number of students it can admit into its nursing program over the last few years. And even though the job market has tightened slightly with the recent economic downturn, all Dordt graduates are finding jobs, says Hulstein.

“It’s been so exciting to see new nurses mature in their vision and understanding of what it means to be a Christian nurse,” says Hulstein. “Because they’re already licensed after their third year, they’re in a different place as seniors. They don’t have to be concerned anymore with how to put an IV in; they know how to do that. Now they can focus on things like the meaning of suffering and the place of prayer as they complete their B.S.N.”

dordt collEgE archiVEs

nursing prograM BEgins

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campaIgN ImpacT: acaDEmIc SuppoRT u

dr. nathan tintlE, MathEMatics and statistics

How would scientific research improve if geneticists from across the globe were able to easily share and view findings and data from the others in their field? This is the driving question behind the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Systems Biology Knowledgebase. Dordt College statistics professor Dr. Nathan Tintle has been awarded two grants that will support his ongoing work on this project. The system would mine the mountain of growing data and organize it so that researchers can learn from each other’s data.

Tintle was awarded a five-year grant of $169,000 from the Department of Energy (DOE) and a one-year $26,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct work at Dordt College in collaboration with Drs. Matt DeJongh and Aaron Best at Hope College.

Tintle will help build an infrastructure to measure and integrate data. The DOE believes the Knowledgebase will accelerate discovery

by finding and connecting the dots between researchers’ data.

“The idea is that when we integrate all this data, we can look at it from a system’s perspective,” said Tintle. “So my role is to create systems that allow us to take a step back from the details and draw broad conclusions.”

Tintle will also recommend cost-effective approaches for gathering and analyzing the information and develop free web-based tools for those who conduct and analyze such studies.

This is Tintle’s first year as a member of Dordt College’s department of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. His appointment is to teach half time and conduct grant-supported research half-time. In collaboration with a team of researchers, Tintle also recently published a paper titled “Inference of transcriptional regulatory network in Staphylococcus aureus by integration of experimental and genomics-based evidence” in the Journal of Bacteriology. The paper gives a first look at the gene regulatory network in Staphylococcus aureus and demonstrates how researchers can use a tool like Knowledgebase.

Tintle’s appointment and expertise in statistics is also giving new impetus to starting an actuarial science program. Proposals have been put forward and some of the courses required of actuaries have already been certified. The program will help prepare students for taking their actuarial exams and give them new tools for research.doug Burg

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Dave Tebben (’90) has been cutting concrete for nearly 20 years. Even through Michigan’s difficult economy, it’s what he enjoys and what he expects to keep doing for a long time.

“It helps when a good percentage of your business is focused on upkeep of a city rather than on new construction,” he says. Tebben and his employees at K & H Concrete Cutting in Lansing, Michigan, cut roads so sewers can be repaired or broken water mains can be fixed; they cut through walls so additions can be adjoined to old buildings; they cut through floors to connect new pipes to old; and they do a wide variety of custom cutting as needed by their customers.

Like his father who was one of Dordt’s first four-year graduates, Tebben left Dordt as an English major and spent a few years teaching high school English before getting into business. “My dad and grandfather started as teachers and then went into business. I expected to do the same—teach for a few years and then see.” In 1992, he began working with his uncle in Lansing, a job he’d done summers during college.

“I’ve wavered on many decisions over the years, but never on getting into this business,” he says. “I felt called to teach, and I feel called to this business.”

“Concrete cutting is a service,” Tebben says. “We provide help so other trades are able to do what they need to do.” He’s grateful for the sense of service that his 14 employees demonstrate as they work with customers.

“Service starts with how you deal with your

employees and pretty soon it becomes the culture of the business,” he says. The company website puts that commitment up front. “Our goal at K & H is to help our customers achieve success by providing the highest level of service at a competitive price.”

“I’m very, very fortunate to have three branch managers who are and remain wonderful servant leaders,” says Tebben, observing that a sense of service is sometimes harder to find during tough economic times.

“My wife says that God didn’t give us the Ten Commandments to make us killjoys, but to help us live well,” says Tebben. He agrees. He believes that looking out only for one’s own interests usually doesn’t serve anyone’s best interests.

Tebben is grateful for wonderful parents and for the Christian education they enabled him to receive.

“Dordt built upon what my parents taught me about living my faith in my daily life. I learned a lot about English in college, but I also learned that no matter what I chose to do in my life, my vocation was a reflection of what was inside.”

“I’m so appreciative of what Dordt College has done for my parents, for me, for my siblings, and for their spouses,” he says. That’s why Tebben and his wife, Marlene, continue to give to their alma maters, even though many of their gifts go to local organizations to which they also give their time.

“College played such a big part in preparing us for later life,” Tebben says. “I benefitted from those who went before me; now it’s my turn to help today’s students receive those same benefits.”

donor: daVE tEBBEn, lansing Michigan

doug Burg

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campaIgN ImpacT: opERaTIoNS aND ENDowmENT u

Dordt College Fund dollars undergird the student experience at Dordt, providing everyday support to academic, co-curricular, experiential, and service programs.To students, contributions to this fund mean support in all areas of college life: financial aid, teaching and learning, research, student life, experiential, co-curricular programs—every part of the rich Dordt experience. And, these contributions are also tangible encouragement from a faithful community.

Estate plans that include gifts designated for Dordt’s endowment help secure the college’s financial future. In the Vision 2020 campaign, over $16 million in new expectancies were committed, including nearly $5 million designated for scholarships and $11 million for the general endowment fund.

donor: toM plooy, anchoragE, alaska

Why would someone from Alaska, who didn’t attend Dordt and didn’t even set foot on its campus until two years ago make an estate gift to the recent Vision 2020 campaign?

“This is a place that God has shown us he is at work,” Plooy says.

Tom Plooy’s relationship with Dordt College started about 25 years ago when a Dordt student called him and asked for a contribution to the debt reduction campaign.

“I told her I would send her a check for $2,000 and hung up. She called back about five minutes later and asked me if I was sure I wanted to give that much. I said, ‘Yes.’ I still have to laugh about her calling me back,” says Plooy. He has continued to support Dordt since then, even though he first set foot on campus two years ago after a Dordt Rooster Booster Scholarship pheasant hunt.

Plooy, the son of Dutch immigrants, grew up on a dairy farm in Ripon, California. He and his wife, Sandy Brink, attended Ripon Christian School in the 1950s. While Sandy earned an RN degree from Samuel Merritt Hospital School of Nursing in the Bay Area, Tom went to San Francisco State University, graduating with a master’s degree in economics. Today he is an insurance broker in Anchorage, Alaska. He has become convinced that Dordt offers students a great place to get a college degree in a Christian environment.

“The values and work ethic students learn at Dordt will serve them well in the radically

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changing economic environment we are entering,” he believes.

“Everyone should have a life verse and mine is Micah 6:8: He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” says Plooy.

“We are only stewards of God’s resources and must use them for His kingdom,” believes Plooy, and that is what motivates him and his wife to support their local church, an orphanage they founded in Swaziland, and several Christian schools, including Dordt.

“These are all places that God has shown us he is at work,” Plooy says.

Plooy’s current focus at Dordt College is the Rooster Booster Scholarship Fund. He enjoys giving and enjoys having a great time with friends, new and old, on the annual Dordt College South Dakota pheasant hunts organized by staff in the advancement office.

“We started this about four years ago and now have been able to give four scholarships. My goal is to keep having fun and build the fund to $1,000,000 with the ability to offer more scholarships to students who need help with tuition,” he says.

Two other institutions are close to Plooy’s heart. One is the Sandra Lee Center in Mbabane, the capital city of the small African kingdom of Swaziland.

“My wife Sandy is not easy to buy gifts for since she doesn’t want anything other than a leisurely dinner at our favorite restaurant,” he says. In

2005 he found the perfect gift. For Sandy’s birthday that year he unveiled a picture of the orphanage with a sign naming it the Sandra Lee Center.

“She enjoys that gift each time she looks at the pictures of the 28 children now living in the seven houses we helped purchase. And she especially enjoys it when we visit,” says Plooy.

A school in Guatemala is also benefitting from Plooy’s gifts. He is part of a group of Anchorage businessmen that started going down to San Pedro La Laguna shortly after the revolution in Guatemala. They physically and financially helped build a Christian school that now enrolls 250 children. The Plooys also sponsor several children to enable them to go to the school.

“It is great having a personal relationship with the kids and their families,” he says. “I try to go each year as a board member, and I reconnect with the children.” Over the years, several students have left the village to go to high school and even college. Plooy and his fellow businessmen have also set up Proyecto Fe, an organization that helps support some students after they leave the school.

“We now have Pricilla going to med school and Juan studying to be an architect. They are making a major leap out of poverty and will make a difference in their country,” he says.

“Sandy and I have been blessed in so many ways,” says Plooy.

They are also a blessing to Dordt College and to many people in the schools they support. And with their recent estate gift, they will continue to be a blessing to Dordt College for years to come.

photo suBMittEd

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On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to each of you who contributed to the Beyond Jubilee: Vision 2020 fund-raising campaign.Your generosity, along with the generosity of more than 14,000 other participants from all over the United States and Canada, helped the campaign exceed its ambitious $50 million goal set in 2004-05, the 50th anniversary of Dordt College. As a board, we are amazed by the sacrificial support of a vast community of God’s people committed to ensure that the mission of Dordt College is extended to our children and grandchildren. The success of this campaign will enable Dordt College to continue to provide a formative and life-changing education that equips each student to faithfully pursue God’s call to make a redemptive difference in this world.

Lloyd VanderKwaak, Ed.D. (’78)2002 Distinguished AlumnusChair of the Dordt College Board of Trustees

EMployEEs say:

Our founders could hardly have imagined the college as it is today—a solid Christian institution of higher learning. I was particularly gratified to see the employee response to this campaign. Such participation shows that those who work here are deeply committed to the work of God in this place. The 100 percent participation by employees augurs well for the future. I believe God will bless this devotion of our employees. Charles Veenstra, communication, faculty-staff co-chair

As a faculty member, I welcomed this campaign as an opportunity to prepare Dordt College for the next generation, even as past generations have enabled Dordt to be what it is today. We faculty are able to provide a fine education to today’s students because of the generosity of past donors. With this campaign, we help extend that reach, so that excellent education will be available to future students. Karen DeMol, music, faculty-staff co-chair

It was a privilege and an honor to serve as part of the Vision 2020 Campaign for the college. The tremendous response to this important campaign is remarkable—especially in the current economic situation, giving evidence of the high level of commitment by both the staff and our constituency. Future Dordt College students will benefit much from the gifts of the Vision 2020 campaign. Steve Mouw, admissions, faculty-staff co-chair

campaIgN SummaRY: goD’S blESSINgS u

jaMin VEr VEldE ('99)

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donor: joE Van tol

Perhaps it’s my inherently cautious and conservative nature, but I’ll admit to arching an eyebrow or two when I first heard that Dordt College was seeking $50 million for the Beyond Jubilee: Vision 2020 capital campaign. It struck me as aggressive, if not downright audacious.

My opinion, which I shared with the people who were putting together the rationale and the case for the campaign, was that I thought it was a stretch to set the goal at $50 million. I had no doubt that $35 million would be a rousing success, and even that $40 million could be raised. But $50 million? Really?

That “really?” has turned into a vibrant reality—and then some! And this “Joe of too-little faith”

has been transformed into a devout believer inthe abundant blessings that our Lord—through his people—showered upon Dordt College.

It has been a faith-building joy to be part of Vision 2020, and to hear story after story after story of generosity, even in the midst of a global economic recession. In so many ways, and in so many words, the participants in this campaign have testified that they have been blessed richly by Dordt.

It is said that God pours out his blessing upon us so that we may in turn be a blessing to others—and this campaign has been a powerful reminder of that truth.

So much for my initial skepticism. I’ve seen what happens to the mustard seed. And I’m ready for the next campaign.

Joe Van TolCo-chair of the Vision 2020 Campaign CEO of Peoples Bank, Rock Valley, Iowa

ElliE dykstra ('12)

You can see the videos that were displayed at Vision 2020 campaign events at www.dordt.edu/vision2020.

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campaIgN SummaRY: NumbERS u

$400,000

$300,000

$200,000

$100,000

$0

200

150

100

50

0

200

175

150

125

1002004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

$200,000

$175,000

$150,000

$125,000

$100,000

annually FundEd scholarships $ aMount nuMBEr oF studEnts

EndowEd scholarships $ aMount nuMBEr oF studEnts

$57,334,277.76

caMpaign giFts and plEdgEs By yEar$10,000,000

$7,500,000

$5,000,000

$2,500,0002004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

acadEMic support

$4,823,849.12

scholarships$11,775,900.54

capital$11,835,634.81

opErationaland EndowMEnt

$28,898,893.29

caMpaign allocations

14,036 ToTal DoNoRSINcluDINg 3,336 NEw DoNoRS

$10,000,000 $20,000,000 $30,000,000 $40,000,000 $50,000,000

caMpaign goal u BEyond u

$4.46 M

$5.52 M

$7.79 M

$6.32 M

$5.39 M

$9.25 M$9.61 M

$8.99 M