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Convocation on Sunday, Aug. 25,
Will Mark New School Year

Posted August 19, 2002

HOLLAND -- Hope College will formally mark the beginning of its 141st academic year with an opening convocation on Sunday, Aug. 25, at 2 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

The public is invited, and admission is free. MacTV will carry the convocation live on local cable.

Residence halls for Hope's new students will open on Friday, Aug. 23, at 10 a.m. Orientation events will begin that evening and will continue through Monday, Aug. 26. Classes will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at 8 a.m.

The convocation address on Sunday, Aug. 25, will be delivered by author and attorney Dean L. Overman, a 1965 Hope graduate now living in Washington, D.C., who will present "Spera in Deo" (the college's motto, "Hope in God").

Overman is a senior partner at Winston & Strawn, an 840-attorney national law firm that represents banks and multi-national corporations. He was partner-in-charge of the firm's Washington, D.C., office from 1978 to 1986, and worked with his partner in the firm, former Vice President Walter Mondale, on a variety of domestic and international matters.

Prior to joining Winston & Strawn, he served in the Ford White House, first as a White House Fellow for Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, and then as associate director for policy review. The White House Fellows program provides a year-long opportunity to participate in government at the highest levels; 11-19 men and women each year work full-time as a special assistant to a cabinet member or senior presidential advisor. He was previously a partner in the law firm of D'Ancona, Pflaum, Wyatt & Riskind.

Overman's publications reflect his range of interests, and include "A Case Against Accident and Self- Organization," an interdisciplinary book on logic, molecular biology and particle astrophysics which argues that scientific reasoning supports belief that intelligence lies behind creation of the universe. He is author of a book on effective writing style for business and the profession, and co-author of a book on financial valuation of an acquisition candidate.

He is author of a theological/physics article on Stephen Hawking's no boundary proposal, published by "Princeton Theological Review." He is also author or co- author of chapters in five law books and six law review articles on banking, commercial, corporate, tax and securities law, one selected by "Corporate Counsel's Annual" and "Corporate Practice Commentator" as one of the 10 best corporate law reviews.

Overman's additional professional activities include speaking on authentic religious pluralism at the conference "The World After September 11: The Political, Economic, Military and Spiritual Challenge," held at Windsor Castle in England earlier this year. During 1999-2000, he was a Templeton Scholar at Oxford University. He has also been a visiting scholar and officer of Harvard University, an adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia Law School. He co-authored the plan that led to creation of the nationwide "Communities in Schools Inc.," which now serves more than 2,500,000 students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

He graduated from Hope with a psychology major, with additional emphasis in literature and philosophy. He was class president, co-founded Young Life Leadership at the college, co-captained the men's varsity basketball team and was a member of the golf team. He completed his law degree at the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, and also attended Princeton Theological Seminary and the University of California and University of Chicago Graduate Schools of Business.

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