In a handy parallel, the members of the incoming Class of ’23 will arrive on the 23rd as Hope College’s new academic year approaches.

Residence halls for new students will open on Friday, Aug. 23, at 10 a.m., with New Student Orientation beginning later that day and continuing through Monday, Aug. 26.  Residence halls for returning students will open on Sunday, Aug. 25, at 10 a.m.  Fall semester classes will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at 8 a.m.

Matthew A. ScoginThe college’s 158th academic year will begin formally with the college’s Opening Convocation on Sunday, Aug. 25, at 2 p.m. in the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse.  The featured speaker will be Hope’s new president, Matthew A. Scogin, who as a 2002 Hope graduate was once a new student at the college himself.

The major work on campus this summer has been the completion of the new Campus Ministries house, which the staff moved into earlier this month.  Other projects this summer have ranged from replacing the ramp at the front entrance of Lubbers Hall, to renovating the lobby and reception area of the Admissions house, to new LED lights at the DeWitt Tennis Center, to maintenance of multiple cottages and residence halls.

Scogin took office as the college’s 14th president on July 1.  He previously served as chief administrative officer at the global financial advisory firm of Perella Weinberg Partners in New York City.  He oversaw operations, strategy, corporate services, human resources, IT and communications at the firm, which has 11 offices around the world.

Prior to that position, he was at NYSE Euronext, where from 2009 to 2014 he was the senior vice president and chief of staff at the 3,000-person company that ran the New York Stock Exchange and five exchanges in Europe. He served as a key member of the executive team and played a leading role in the overall strategic direction of the company during a time of tremendous change, while also overseeing the offices of Global Affairs and Government Relations and of Corporate Responsibility, and the Office of the CEO. During 2008 and 2009, he was chief of staff and senior adviser to the CEO of Wachovia Bank, at the time the nation’s fourth-largest commercial bank.

Before joining the corporate sector, Scogin occupied several senior roles in government. From 2006 to 2008, he was the senior advisor for domestic finance at the U.S. Department of Treasury, where he provided the secretary of the treasury and undersecretary of the treasury with counsel on a broad range of economic and financial policy matters. In 2006, he served as a fiscal policy adviser to the governor of Massachusetts; from 2002 to 2003, he was the legislative director for a Michigan state representative; and during 2001, while participating in Hope’s Washington Honors Semester, he held an internship at the White House.

He majored in political science and economics at Hope, and has a master’s degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. After finishing graduate school, he spent a year in Germany as a fellow with the Robert Bosch Foundation studying unemployment and labor market policy. He has published several articles on issues related to public policy and finance.

He received the U.S. Treasury Department Exceptional Service Award in 2008, and was one of 19 leaders of New York City to be named a David Rockefeller Fellow by the Partnership for New York City in 2013. Hope recognized him with a Young Alumni Award in 2014.

He serves on the Board of Directors of the SIFMA Foundation for Financial Education, and the Board of Directors for Restore NYC, a Christian non-profit dedicated to ending sex trafficking in New York City. He also previously volunteered as the CFO and as a lay pastor at Lower Manhattan Community Church in New York City.

He has also been extensively engaged in the life of the college since graduation, including serving as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2016 to 2018. Among other involvement through the years, he spoke during a Hope Chapel service in September 2017, was the featured speaker in the Student Congress Speaker Series in March 2010 and was highlighted in an alumni profile in the 2008-09 Hope College Catalog. While on campus to receive his Young Alumni Award, he also presented a workshop on leadership development hosted by the Hope College Alumni Association.

His wife, Sarah, is also a 2002 graduate of Hope, where she majored in music and computer science. They have three children: Sophie, Lucy and Oliver.

The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets.