James Herrick Holds Vander Jagt
Chair in Communication

Dr. James Herrick of the Hope College communication faculty is the college's Guy Vander Jagt Professor of Communication.

Herrick is a professor of communication and chair of the department at Hope. He was appointed to the Vander Jagt Chair by the college's Board of Trustees.

The professorship is named in honor of Guy A. Vander Jagt, and was established in appreciation of his leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives. A 1953 Hope graduate, he served in the House from 1966 to 1992, representing the Ninth District of Michigan. He now practices law in the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm of Baker & Hostetler.

The chair was established in 1984. Its first recipient, Dr. Theodore Nielsen, retired at the end of the 1999-2000 academic year.

Herrick has been a member of the Hope faculty since 1984. He specializes in courses in argumentation and rhetoric.

His publications include the books "The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction," "The Radical Rhetoric of the English Deists: The Discourse of Skepticism, 1680-1750," "Argumentation: Understanding and Shaping Arguments" and "Critical Thinking: The Analysis of Arguments." His newest book, "The New Religious Synthesis," is being scheduled for publication later this year by InterVarsity Press.

He has written three entries for the "New Dictionary of National Biography" and one for "The International Encyclopedia of Censorship." He has also had numerous articles appear in scholarly and popular publications in addition to presenting several papers at professional conventions.

He serves on the editorial boards of "Argumentation and Advocacy" and "The Journal of the Association for Communication Administration." In addition, he was invited by Thomas Benson of Penn State to be a member of the first and founding editorial board of the new electronic journal "The Review of Communication."

Herrick is an active member of the National Communication Association. He is a past recipient of research awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and was recognized for excellence in teaching by the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin.

He delivered the address during the opening convocation at Hope in 1994.

Herrick holds his bachelor's degree from California State University. He received his M.A. from the University of California, and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Endowed chairs are established by donors who wish to assist the college on a permanent basis through the support of a faculty member. The gift is placed in the college's endowment fund with investment income used to support the work of the honored professor. In addition to recognizing faculty members for excellence, endowed chairs provide funding for summer research projects as well as some salary support.

Learn more about establishing an endowed professorship