The Endurance of Hope

Two decades ago, the question was raised: Can Hope Endure? In their interrogation of this question, authors James C. Kennedy and Caroline J. Simon offered a “historical case study” focusing on the way Hope College, located in Holland, Michigan, had responded through the decades to the challenge of defining its position in the world of Christian higher education. Their work was detailed, even-handed and fearless, naming challenges and crises that had shifted through the decades. Their study, published in 2005, closed at the turn of the century.

In the two decades since the publication of Can Hope Endure?, much has changed in the overall landscape of higher education. Suspicions about the value of the liberal arts plague the twenty-first-century landscape. Yet Hope College has clearly endured from the time of their book. This book shows how it has done so.

Through the voices of 18 authors, The Endurance of Hope shows that while higher education in the United States is experiencing a series of crises, the response to these crises requires a particular sort of educational vision, a vision that Hope College, at its best, embodies. This thesis is based on the examination of the recent challenges the college has experienced and the decisions it continues to face in shaping its future.

The Endurance of Hope includes both a focus on the history of the college’s Christian identity and an examination of its approaches to inclusion in multiple other dimensions, including racial/ethnic, LGBTQ+, disability issues and financial — showing that Hope College is uniquely positioned to offer a compelling voice of reason and ecumenical Christian witness.