Administration Profile: Janet Pinkham,
Director of the Academic Support Center

Her positive experiences as a student made Janet Pinkham glad to come back to Hope when she had the opportunity to return as a member of the staff. Her own undergraduate days along with the perspective that has come from serving at Hope during the past 18 years make her a firm believer in what the college has to offer.

“When students are looking at colleges and graduate schools, it’s important to go to a school where you can not only get the education you deserve, but also where the fit is right for you. Hope College tries really hard to address all aspects of a person,” Pinkham says, “not just their textbook education, but also who they are as a person—where they want to be and where faith is in all of that. There aren’t many places that do that. Hope really cares about the whole individual. We have some pretty special graduates.”

“Hope is a very unique place,” she says. “In larger schools, many classes would be entirely taught by a teaching assistant until the junior or senior years. At Hope, one thing I hear over and over again is how much students appreciate the personal contact they have with their professors. And the professors here, too, really extend themselves—they really care about their students. But it’s easy to care about the students here.”

The college’s Academic Support Center (ACS) is one way that Hope shows that caring. The ASC works with students who desire assistance in their transition to college and helps them improve their study habits, learning skills, and class performance. It offers writing tutoring as well as course content tutoring in most core classes at the 100 and 200 levels, and has proved to be an invaluable source for students who need help or are simply looking to sharpen their approach to their studies.

“We have really great students who do tutoring. We also provide as professional staff academic advising to students who need it. Students have lots of opportunities for additional help outside of class,” Pinkham says.

Pinkham works with a wide variety of Hope students—from biology students to mathematics students to philosophy and English students. She has found that they, like the college itself, are exceptional.

“They’re all such unique individuals. They all come from different backgrounds. They’re respectful of one another, they’re willing to confront problems in their studies, and they take ownership of their educations. When things aren’t going well, they’re not afraid to ask the questions that need to be asked,” she says.

This profile was written by Megan E. Dougherty, a 2007 Hope College graduate from Normal, Ill., for the 2007-08 Hope College Catalog.

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