Hope College honored faculty and staff members for service to the college and other professional activity during the annual faculty recognition event coordinated by the Provost’s Office, which took place on Tuesday, Jan. 11.
The college presented awards to members of the faculty or staff; honored professors for service anniversaries at Hope; and welcomed back faculty who had been on fall sabbaticals. The event was held virtually this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Named a Towsley Research Scholar was Katherine Finley (philosophy), with support also presented to semi-finalists Natalia Gonzalez-Pech (chemistry) and Michael Philben (geological and environmental sciences, and chemistry).
The Janet L. Andersen Excellence in Teaching Award was presented to Ryan McFall (computer science).
The Motoichiro Oghimi Global Courage Award was presented to Cindy Sabo (Health Center).
The Provost’s Award for Service to the Academic Program was presented to Jeanne Petit (history) and Todd Wiebe (Van Wylen Library).
The Ruth and John Reed Faculty Achievement Award was presented to Steve Bouma-Prediger (religion).
The Excellence in Advising Award was presented to Dawn DeWitt-Brinks (communication).
Several members of the faculty were honored for 25-year service anniversaries. Because the milestones were not celebrated last year, Hope recognized professors achieving the distinction during either 2020-21 or the current, 2021-22, academic year. Each will receive an engraved medallion.
The 2020-21 honorees (1996) are:
Brian Bodenbender (geological and environmental sciences)
Janis Gibbs (history)
Yooyeun Hwang (education)
The 2021-22 honorees (1997) are:
Maureen Dunn (kinesiology)
Curtis Gruenler (English)
Geoffrey Reynolds (Joint Archives of Holland)
Darin Stephenson (mathematics)
Joel Toppen (political science)
Charlotte vanOyen-Witvliet (psychology)
Brian Yost (Van Wylen Library)
The college honored two members of the faculty for special service milestones during 2021-22:
50 Years (1972): Stephen Hemenway (English)
55 Years (1967): David Myers (psychology)
The seven faculty welcomed back following sabbaticals were:
Steve Bouma-Prediger (religion)
Kirk Brumels (kinesiology)
Ernest Cole (English)
Stephanie Edwards (mathematics and statistics)
Tatevik Gyulamiryan (world languages and cultures)
Pamela Koch (sociology)
Stephen Scogin (biology and education)
The Faculty Development section of the Provost Office’s website includes additional information about the Towsley Research Scholar program and the service and excellence awards.