Carnegie Classification Recognizes Calvin

Excellent teaching or robust research and scholarship? 
 
“It’s not either/or at Calvin,” said David Wunder, dean for faculty development and research initiatives. “It’s both/and.” 
 
Wunder’s words are being backed up by some of the most respected third-party evaluators of higher education.

This week, the Carnegie Classification gave Calvin University the designation of Research College and University (RCU). To receive this designation, the university’s research expenditures must average more than $2.5 million per year over a three-year period. 
 
This designation comes on the heels of the university’s being listed by U.S. News & World Report as the best university for undergraduate teaching in its Regional Universities Midwest category. 
 
“Receiving these external validations is significant,” said Wunder. “While teaching is a top priority of our faculty, research and scholarship makes our faculty sharper and more current, and it absolutely enlivens our classrooms. Research informs teaching.”

“It seems like the more I dive into research and investigation, the richer my classroom teaching is, because I bring fresh insights and excitement into the classroom from the hard work of research,” said Jason VanHorn, director of the master of science in geographic information science program.

One of VanHorn’s research projects involves helping incarcerated persons returning to society to flourish.

“It is a thrilling thing to dive deep into the geographic literature or the pursuit of building a mapping application for restorative justice and have my students come alongside me in the classroom gaining that knowledge and skill,” said VanHorn. “The more that I am able to engage in research, the better instructor I am for my students.”

“The real-life stories of conducting research in the community inform my teaching and preparation of our students for future research as nurse scientists and their knowledge of reproductive health content addressed in my scholarship,” said Adejoke Ayoola, dean of the School of Health at Calvin University, whose research focuses on promoting the reproductive health of women of childbearing age and healthy birth outcomes.

While students reap the classroom benefits of their professors’ being active researchers and scholars, many students also have the opportunity to partner with their professors on research, which leads to some impressive outcomes.

“Through the regular financial support of the National Science Foundation, my research has led to six patents and over 40 publications with 36 undergraduate coauthors,” said Doug Vander Griend, professor of chemistry and director of the Clean Water Institute at Calvin.

One of Vander Griend’s former students, Nathanael Kazmierczak (’20), was named both a Beckman and Goldwater Scholar and became one of just 12 students in the nation to earn a prestigious Hertz Fellowship.

While students in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) have access to a plethora of research opportunities at Calvin, so do their peers across various disciplines.

“Most liberal arts colleges have research in the sciences. It’s less common to have research covering the humanities, arts, and social sciences, and during most summers we have a full range of research in those areas,” said Mark Bjelland, chair of the geology, geography, and environment department and coadministrator of the McGregor Research Program at Calvin. 

“Most of my student researchers have presented their work at a regional geography conference, and a few have won cash prizes,” he added.

“Some of the research papers I coauthored with students are papers I assign in my classes,” said David Warners, professor of biology, whose research centers on West Michigan’s most contaminated watershed and what needs to be done to help the creek that runs through it to become healthy again. “I think students pay closer attention when they know a study was done here locally and that it was done by people at Calvin. It also helps them realize scientific research is something they could do if they wanted.”

Regardless of whether faculty are engaging students directly with their research or using their discoveries to benefit their students and broader communities, the work they are doing is deeply rooted in the university’s mission.

“We are made in the image of God, and part of that image is the ability to understand the world that is God’s creation,” said Mark Muyskens, professor of chemistry, who researches the physical and chemical properties of substances produced by plants that glow in the dark. “Research and scholarship satisfy the curiosity about how things work and how to make sense of what we observe in the natural world. Often that understanding aids in taking care of people and the environment.”

“Part of Calvin’s vision is to promote the welfare of the city and the healing of the world,” said Ayoola. “Nursing research based on a community-based participatory research approach helps to address identified health problems in our community. So nursing interventions designed on the basis of resident-driven solutions promote the health of families in our city.”

“The Reformed tradition of Christianity emphasizes the importance of God’s creation and our responsibility to care for it,” added Warners. “To care for creation well, we need to understand how creation works. Research helps us better understand creation, which leads to deeper appreciation and affection for God’s world.”