Hope College
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Hope College is a small, private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1862 (received state charter in 1866) by Dutch immigrants only 15 years after the community was first settled. It has been historically associated with the Reformed Church in America and it retains a conservative Calvinist Christian atmosphere. The school's campus - now 77 acres (312,000 m²), adjacent to the downtown commercial district - has been shared with Western Theological Seminary since 1884.
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Academics
The college offers 80 majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. It has a student population of about 3,100 and a student-to-faculty ratio of 13:1.
In 2003 U.S. News & World Report's college rankings listed it 4th in undergraduate research after the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and MIT. Graduates applying to medical and dental schools have 90% and 94% acceptance rates, respectively. As of 2005, it is the only liberal arts college in the country to receive national accredidation in all four areas of the fine arts: art, music, dance, and theater. It is in the top 5% of liberal arts schools whose graduates go on to earn a PhD.
The college offers off-campus study programs in several US cities, including Philadelphia and Chicago, and overseas programs for the summer, semester, or an entire academic year. Among its international programs, a long-standing summer semester in Vienna is fairly popular among students.
Hope College is a member of the Great Lakes Colleges Association.
Campus life
Housing is provided by 11 residence halls, 15 apartment buildings, and 72 houses (called "cottages") that the college owns near the campus. A small percentage of students - mostly juniors and seniors, and Holland residents - live off-campus. The majority of its students come from the Great Lakes region, primarily from middle-class Protestant backgrounds. It also attracts a modest number of international students.
Hope College participates in the MIAA conference, and is a Division III member of the NCAA. It fields 18 men's and women's varsity teams. In 2005, Hope began use of a new 3,400-seat field house, and it shares a 5,000-seat football stadium with the city of Holland. The school's athletic teams are called the Flying Dutchmen (men) and the Flying Dutch (women). The school colors are blue and orange (possibly chosen because the Dutch royal family is the House of Orange-Nassau). It has a traditional rivalry with Calvin College in nearby Grand Rapids, Michigan which is associated with the similar Christian Reformed Church. The college has 27 competitive intramural sports teams.
Traditions at Hope include "The Pull", in which freshman and sophomore men engage in an elaborately-prepared tug-of-war across the nearby Black River, typically lasting several hours. This event was started in 1897. The Nykerk Cup is a competition between freshman and sophomore women, in music, drama, and oration, held annually since 1936. Both have been accused of being sexist institutions, but have strong support among the college community. A dance marathon has been held in recent years to raise funds for a hospital program for children.
Student activities include an FM radio station (WTHS), newspaper (The Anchor), literary magazine (Opus), and yearbook (Milestone), plus a variety of clubs, musical & choral groups, spiritual, literary, social and athletic groups. About 10-12% of students belong to social fraternities and sororities, which are local to Hope rather than chapters of larger organizations. The college holds Sunday worship services and weekday chapel services on campus, but attendance is no longer mandatory.
History
Hope's motto is taken from Psalms 42:5: "Spera in Deo" ("Hope in God"). The college's emblem is an anchor. This is drawn from a speech made by Albertus C. Van Raalte, the leader of the community, on the occasion of the founding of the Pioneer School in 1851: "This is my anchor of hope for this people in the future," (an allusion to Hebrews 6:19). The primary-level Pioneer School was later expanded to secondary and soon after, college level education as Hope College. Van Vleck Hall, which originally housed the Pioneer School, is the oldest building on campus (1858) and now serves as a dormitory. It is the second oldest building in the city. The college admitted its first female students in 1878.
Notable alumni
- Pete Hoekstra
- Terri Lynn Land
- Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda
- A. J. Muste
- Sufjan Stevens
- Robert Schuller
- Richard Smalley*
- Guy Vander Jagt
* indicates attended but did not graduate from Hope
External links
- Hope College web site (http://www.hope.edu/)
- Holland, Michigan municipal web site (http://www.cityofholland.com/)