Our Mission

The mission of Hope College is to educate students for lives of leadership and service in a global society through academic and co-curricular programs of recognized excellence in the liberal arts and in the context of the historic Christian faith.

The Vision that Motivates Hope
  • To pursue truth so as to renew the mind, enrich the disciplines and transform the culture
  • To inspire passion for knowledge that grows into understanding and bears fruit in wisdom
  • To be an exceptional undergraduate liberal arts college that provides excellent professional and pre-professional programs
  • To be a leading Christian college, ecumenical in character and rooted in the Reformed tradition
  • To enhance education through residential community and superior co-curricular programs
  • To embrace and nurture racial, ethnic, cultural and geographic diversity
  • To promote faithful leadership and grateful service as manifestations of Christian commitment
  • To engage in mutually beneficial relationships with area communities, academic organizations, the Reformed Church in America and other partners throughout the world
  • To provide human, physical and financial resources commensurate with outstanding programs
The Core Values that Shape Hope
  • To offer rigorous academic programs
  • To contribute to the body of knowledge in the academic disciplines
  • To nurture vibrant Christian faith
  • To be a caring community
  • To foster development of the whole person — intellectually, spiritually, socially, physically
  • To be wise stewards of resources
The Qualities that Distinguish Hope
  • Academic excellence and deep Christian faith joined together to strengthen each other in a supportive and welcoming community
  • Masterful teaching coupled with rigorous faculty scholarship
  • National leadership in collaborative faculty-student research and creative activity
  • Recognition in the arts and humanities
  • Unique Christian character and spiritual growth opportunities
  • Nationally recognized undergraduate library
  • Award-winning student activities and intercollegiate athletic programs
  • Attractive lakeshore location with a downtown campus and an unusually harmonious town-gown relationship with the Holland community.
The Virtues that Mark Conversation at Hope
  • Humility to listen
  • Hospitality to welcome
  • Patience to understand
  • Courage to challenge
  • Honesty to speak the truth in love

Read the full Virtues of Public Discourse.

Graduates Anchored in Hope

Hope graduates are educated to think about life’s most important issues with clarity, wisdom, and a deep understanding of the foundational commitments of the historic Christian faith. They are prepared to communicate effectively, bridging boundaries that divide human communities. They are agents of hope who live faithfully into their vocations. Hope graduates make a difference in the world.