Hope College Vienna Summer School, founded in 1956 by Dr. Paul Fried, is in the midst of a week-long celebration of its 45th anniversary. Several Hope College and /or Vienna Summer School alumni(ae) from 1951 to 1999 have joined in the festivities with the record number of 87 student participants in the 2001 program.
Hope is sharing in some of the festivities with the Austro-American Institute of Education (celebrating its 75th anniversary), where we hold our classes in Vienna.
An opening concert on Friday evening featured Ken Shifrin's Posaune Voce Trio. At the concert, Hope College was presented a special award by the Auströ-American Institute of Education for having the longest-running American program in Vienna.
On Saturday morning, several Hope students participated in a service project for Project
Centipede, a program which supplies shoes and clothing to orphanages in Romania. At
midday,
Dr. Jacob Nyenhuis (representing the Hope College administration at the festivities)
was honored at a special Provost's Luncheon. From 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., all students and
alumni(ae) and special guests attended a formal summer ball commemorating the anniversary.
On Sunday, the first major event was an ecumenical service conducted by Dr. Ines Knoll, an Austrian Lutheran pastor, and Rev. Johannes Herz, S.J., a Catholic pastor. Music, under the guidance of Hope's Viennese music professor, Felix Molzer, was provided by Hope students.
Three Hope students from Christian, Jewish, and Hindu backgrounds offered special prayers. The ecumenical service was followed by a spectacular 45th anniversary dinner in the Vienna Woods.
Today (Monday), the Hope College Vienna Summer School and its students and teachers will be honored in the Austrian Parliament. Dr. Heinz Fischer (President of the Austrian Parliament), Kathryn Hall (American Ambassador to Austria), and Dr. Stephen Hemenway (Director of the Vienna Summer School for the past 26 years) will speak in Parliament.
On Wednesday, a huge reception in the Vienna Rathaus (City Hall) for students, Hope graduates and friends in Austria, and host families will conclude the anniversary festivities. Several Hope students, under the direction of Felix Molzer, will present an hour-long musical program.