Membership Renewal

HASP memberships may be renewed online each June–July. The office will send out the link to renew/cancel in an email. After you have completed entering your personal information, we ask you to consider getting more involved in HASP by volunteering for committee membership or course assistance. It is imperative that each member individually fills out their own information. If you still need to renew for this year, please contact the HASP office. 

HASP dues are $150 per fiscal year, July 1–June 30.

Courses and Registration

HASP offers courses in fine arts, social studies, humanities and science/medicine/technology. View full course descriptions, presenter information, course proposals, meeting dates and times, and fees.

Quarterly Newsletter

The HASP quarterly newsletter is a regular form of communication for member events, course offerings, committee updates, opportunities to serve and get involved, and special announcements about all aspects of the HASP program.

• Spring 2024
• Winter 2024
• Fall 2023
• Summer 2023

Monthly Program

Monthly programs are held the first Tuesday of each month at the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts on the Hope campus. Please refer to the Events and Calendar page for details. Doors open and refreshments are served at 9 a.m. and the program runs from 9:30–10:30 a.m. Potential new members are welcome at these Monthly Programs, except in June as it is our Annual Business Meeting. Please stop at the check-in table in the main lobby where you can obtain a guest name tag and additional information about HASP programs and our membership process.

Special Events

HASP offers special social, cultural, educational and recreational events each month to provide opportunities for meeting new people and to provide fellowship for members. Trips vary from day trips to overnights and the committee is always open to trip ideas submitted by members for consideration. 

Upcoming Events

• Opera and Broadway in the Park (August 25, 2024): Day trip to Michigan City, Indiana
• Potsticker Making and Tasting (September 12, 2024): Hands-on course to learn how to make potstickers taught by HASP Member Wally Fu
• Barns of Nappanee (October 10, 2024): Day trip to Nappanee, Indiana

Members, please check your HASP Happenings for details and links to sign up.

Recent Events

• To Kill a Mockingbird (April 28, 2024): 50 participants attended Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s masterwork at the DeVos Performance Center in Grand Rapids.
• Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra – Coffee Masterworks (April 26, 2024): This performance at St Cecilia Music Center was the first in a proposed series of Beyond the Classroom collaborations between our Special Events and Curriculum committees.
• Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys (December 19, 2023): Participants enjoyed the annual holiday performance at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Grand Rapids.
• Christmas in Killarney (December 8, 2023): 45 attendees enjoyed dinner at the Spectator Grill in Saugatuck, followed by a holiday-themed performance of world-class Irish dancing at the Mendel Center in Benton Harbor.
• Judgment at Nuremberg (October 22, 2023): A matinee performance of Abby Mann's riveting courtroom drama presented by the Jewish Theatre of Grand Rapids welcomed 19 theatergoers.
• Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (October 9–10, 2023): During this overnight trip, 43 participants toured the Johnson Wax Headquarters (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright), took a fall color boat ride of Lake Geneva, and visited other local historic sites.
• Shaw Festival 2023 (September 27–29, 2023): On this three-day/two-night trip – HASP’s first international event since the COVID era – 36 participants viewed three live plays: Blithe Spirit, Gypsy, and The Amen Corner on the lovely shores of Lake Ontario.

Special Interest Groups

Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are member-initiated and group-directed. In a large organization such as HASP, they provide opportunities for our members to meet each other to learn, explore and experience activities of a common interest.

SIGs are free to members and frequency, times, places and number of members are determined by the group. Most groups meet once a month during the HASP terms and after regular class times (late afternoons, evenings or weekends). A group can meet in homes, clubhouses available to one of the group members, public venues such as Herrick Library, or other appropriate places that might be conducive to the common interest. If a group chooses to meet in a HASP space, they may do so after regular class times by scheduling with the director of HASP. However, HASP space does not come with staff support, use of technical equipment or refreshments.

How to Begin

An idea for a SIG should be discussed with or presented in writing to the curriculum chairperson and the director, who will determine its appropriateness for HASP. A short description describing the main interest of the group and possible types of activities should be included. If an idea is supported, the convener should write and submit a short description of the proposed SIG, which will be printed in the HASP Happenings. The article should include contact information for those members interested in joining the group. The next step should be a planning meeting for all those interested when they will decide time, places, frequency of meetings and activities. One person from the group should be designated to contact members with information as to the plans.

There is no registration fee to belong to a group; however, the group may set a fee for an activity or supplies as necessary. The number of people in a group is determined by the group and may be limited, keeping in mind that one of the purposes of small groups is to help HASP members meet each other.

The content or specific interest of a group should not conflict with HASP curriculum courses or take away from the offerings and activities planned or sponsored by any of the other established committees of HASP.

For current information on SIGs open to new members please contact the HASP office at 616.395.7919 or consult the HASP Happenings.

Service Opportunities and Grants

Members are encouraged to submit HASP Service Grants Requests for project(s) in which they are involved as a volunteer. Service grants are not to exceed $200 per request, per year, and the total number of grants may not exceed the $1000 budget limit per fiscal year. The grants are available to members who have been members for one year or more. Members may submit more than one grant request per year, but not for the same project. The Service Committee and the HASP Board reserve to the right to deny any request.

The purpose of the grants is to encourage members to use their talents in service to the community, and to allow HASP to be a supporting partner in these service projects for which members are volunteers. The grants should be used to support projects and needs as opposed to overall budgets. The project intent shall not be restricted except that a clear purpose and definition of the intended use is required.

HASP members may request a grant to pay for out-of-pocket expenses for a service project in which they are involved or which they would like to initiate as a volunteer. Service grant applications are available by clicking HERE or by calling the HASP office. These requests should include a brief statement describing the project, the amount of funding requested and how it will be used. These requests may be submitted at any time, and the Service Committee has the financial authority to approve or deny any requests.

If the grant is approved, the Service Committee chair will inform the HASP director of the amount approved and the payee’s name in order to send a check. The Service Committee chair will apprise the HASP board of all approvals at the next scheduled meeting.

The HASP member receiving the grant is encouraged to submit a brief report on the project and how the grant money was spent. This report should be submitted to the HASP Director for possible inclusion in the HASP Happenings. The grantee will also acknowledge the support of HASP in any opportunity to talk or write about the project.

HASP Review

The HASP Review is an annual anthology of writings and art submitted by HASP members that have not been published before. The intent is to keep minds active, fresh and creative. Members are encouraged to participate by submitting work to the HASP office, preferably in a Microsoft Word document, edited, along with a headshot photo and name. Prose, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoirs or humor are encouraged. For illustrators or artists, art can also be submitted to the HASP office — originals (which we can photograph and return to you) or high-resolution photos.

Please see additional infomation below for submission criteria.

2023 HASP Review

HASP Review Submission Criteria

General criteria:

1. Limit of three submissions per HASP member in any combination of stories, poems, artwork or photos.
2. Only items that have not been previously published elsewhere.
3. Include your name on all documents and in the file name.
4. Include a headshot of yourself with the submission.
5. Contact the HASP office, or any HASP Communication Committee member, for assistance.
6. Submission deadline is March 31.

Criteria for written pieces:

1. Preferred length not more than three pages, 12 pt. Baskerville BT font, if possible.
2. Edited for accuracy in spelling and grammar. (Submissions are expected to be in ready-to-print condition. Cursory staff proofreading will try to catch glaring typographical and grammatical errors, but the quality of the submission is ultimately the responsibility of the author.)
3. Submit electronically to the HASP Review team chairperson. MS word is preferred.
4. If submitting an article with artwork, please bring the original artwork into the HASP office with your name, contact info and article it is meant to be placed with.

Criteria for artwork:

1. Bring the original unframed artwork to the HASP office for photographing.
2. Provide label information as the example below:
   
   Jane Smith
   Autumn Wind
   2023
   Oil on canvas
   18 X 24 inches

Criteria for photographs:

1. File size should be at least 5 mb for best print quality.
2. Include title and photographer’s name.

Global Travel Program

Hope College began hosting educational tours for alumni and friends in the 1960s. The integration of education with Hope faculty and the opportunity to connect with friends from the Hope community sets our programs apart.

If you are a Hope graduate, parent, HASP member or friend of the college and have a desire to travel, learn, expand your worldview and connect with the Hope community — then our Global Travel Program is for you.

Hope College and Community Benefits

• VanWylen Library privileges are extended to HASP members. Show your HASP name badge at the charge desk to receive a library card. There is no charge.
• Members are invited to attend special lectures, concerts and programs open to the college family as well as those open to the public. The HASP Happenings will alert members of such events.
• First access to all course offerings and special events via enrollment/registration process.
• Monthly programs, annual business meeting invitations.
• Parking pass for all faculty/staff lots.
• A 20% discount at the Hope Geneva bookstore with your HASP badge.
• A 15% discount at Reader's World bookstore in Holland, MI with your HASP badge.
• Discounted dining at the Phelps dining hall on Hope's campus (Breakfast- $6.50; Lunch- $8; Dinner- $9.50).  Show your HASP name badge to the cashier to receive the discount.

HASP Membership Directory

The HASP Membership Directory is a list of contact information for the Board of Directors, HASP staff, and members. This document is password protected.  Please call the HASP office at 616.395.7919 if you need the password.

Download the PDF

As part of the Hope College community, HASP is committed to the mission of Hope College, the virtues of public discourse and the equal opportunity and compliance policies of the college.