Calvin Announces New $4,000 award for 'Legacy' Students

When Calvin College was founded 139 years ago, 100 percent of its student body was Christian Reformed.

With an incoming class of seven students, all of whom were destined to become CRC pastors, that is not a surprising statistic.

In fact, Calvin's roots are so deeply entwined with the Christian Reformed Church that the school was once popularly known as Onze School (Our School) throughout the newly established denomination.

But as areas of study expanded, the school's student body increased and its demographics broadened. By 1935, Calvin welcomed hundreds of students, 75 percent of whom were CRC.

Students from CRC backgrounds continued to compose the majority at Calvin until the early 2000s when students from other Christian traditions became equally interested in Calvin’s Reformed worldview.

The result has been lively discussion in the classroom and a vibrant, multi-denominational community of faith.

"Teaching a course in Christian worship at Calvin College is a deeply invigorating experience," said John Witvliet, professor and director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

"We have students who bring insights and experiences from multiple cultures and denominations, which serve to strengthen how we understand and apply scripture together. I find the combination of curiosity and passion in our students to be as inspiring as ever."

And that passion expands beyond the classroom.

"Worship at Calvin highlights the different languages and cultures that are here," said Calvin chaplain Mary Hulst.

"We worship through drum circles, we offer chorus prayer with our Korean students and faculty, we enjoy the order of Common Prayer from liturgical traditions, we raise our hands in worship with our Pentecostal brothers and sisters and we have services each month in Spanish, French, German and Dutch."

For instance, this year's campus-wide Bible year is offered in English, Korean and Spanish.

"We see [at Calvin] an opportunity to highlight the gifts of Reformed Christianity while enabling a wonderful diversity of expression on how to engage with and respond to that tradition in the classroom, on the athletic field and in worship," says Hulst.

"This allows all of us to become more faithful and resourceful disciples of Jesus."

While Calvin does attract a dedicated community of Christian students, the campus CRC population remains on a steady decline. This fall's incoming student cohort included only 288 CRC members among the 1,028 new students, a decrease of 17 percent from last year.

Though this development is not entirely unexpected given the decreasing population of 18-year-olds within the CRC, it is a trend the college hopes to stabilize or reverse.

"One of our greatest distinctives is our 100 percent Reformed faculty, who all ascribe to and teach in the context of the denomination’s doctrinal standards," said Russ Bloem, vice president for enrollment management. "We would like to ensure a stable cohort of students who are members of the CRC for whom this environment is an obvious fit."

Throughout its history, Calvin College has been supported financially by the church through denominational ministry shares which have funded the denominational grant-in-aid program.

"We are grateful for the ministry shares faithfully provided to us by the denomination each year and the support they provide for our students," said Bloem. "Our hope is that by complementing and expanding this support, we will make Calvin a more viable option for more students within the denomination."

To this end, Calvin has introduced a $4,000 Legacy Award that will be provided automatically to all fall 2016 incoming students who are members of a CRC or who are children of alumni.

The Legacy Award will continue for up to five undergraduate years and combines the denominational grant-in-aid and the Alumni Legacy Scholarship awards into one program for new students.

"We greatly value our association with the CRCNA," says Bloem. "There are important benefits for all in this relationship and great mutual respect.

"The denomination's well-established and clearly articulated theology provides a strong platform for us to communicate our faith to folks that do not know us well and serves as an anchor in turbulent theological times. And, Calvin continues to be an important resource for the CRC as Calvin graduates are active in CRC congregations and institutions around the globe."

Added Witvliet: "This is an ideal time for CRC students to come to Calvin, where they will discover both a common theological foundation and a diverse student body."