2002
The Voice: Fall 2002
Faculty News
Dr. Kevin Eames, assistant professor of psychology, spoke at Sioux Valley Medical Center
in May on “Depression and Diabetes” to diabetic educators, nurses, and nutritionists. He
gave an overview of research on incidences of depressive disorder with diabetes, symptoms,
and available treatment options. He also gave a presentation at the Coalition of
Christian Teacher Educators Conference titled “Normative Principles for Online Education.” This presentation provided guidelines for online education based on Dooyeweerd’s modal aspects. In October and
November, Dr. Eames will give several talks in the community on coping, grieving,
and other stress-related factors of living with diabetes.
Dr. Arnold Sikkema, assistant professor of physics, presented “Aspects of a Christian Perspective
on Science” at a collaborative science curriculum writing session for principals and teachers
of Northwest Iowa Christian schools held at Dordt in May. He also attended
the first three weeks of “Realistic Theories of Correlated Electron Materials,” a five-month
research program at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in California starting in July.
Dr. Ken Bussema, director of off-campus programs, presented a paper at the IAPCHE
Conference last July in Budapest, Hungary. The paper was titled “Gilead Revisited: Understanding
the Role of Faith in Coping with Mental Illness.”
In August, Dr. Ken Petersen, professor of environmental studies, attended a weeklong workshop
in California called “Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Procedures.” He discussed means for estimating potential
habitat losses or gains that might occur as a result of development or
restoration projects. Dr. Petersen will use some of the ideas from the workshop
in his Wildlife Ecology class.
Dr. Benjamin Kornelis, associate professor of music and choir director, was recently named
to the executive board of the Iowa Choral Directors’ Association as the Repertoire
and Standards Chair for Colleges and Universities. Also, Dr. Kornelis will direct a
North Central Iowa 9th Grade Honor Choir in Forest City and the Iowa
9th Grade Opus Honor Choir in Ames this November.
Dr. Duane Bajema, professor of agriculture, recently attended the national meeting of the
National Association of College Teachers of Agriculture at Lincoln, Nebraska. He also had
an article published in the Journal of Agricultural Education titled “Aspirations of Rural
Youth.”
Bernard Weidenaar, instructor of business administration, gave a talk on the use of
ethanol in motor gasoline on November 14, at a dinner sponsored by the
Dordt Future Business Executives Club. Weidenaar spent thirty-four years with ARCO Chemical before
coming to Dordt, and has a unique perspective on the development of automotive
and fuel technology.
Tim Vos, instructor of communication, presented a paper titled “The Enactment of Journalists’
Role Conceptions” at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference
in Miami Beach, Florida, in August. The paper explored the disconnection between journalists’
views of their task and their actual news stories.
Dr. James Schaap, professor of English, recently helped publish a new book, More
Than Words. The book is a collection of essays by prominent Christian writers
in the United States about the writers who influenced them. The essays were
compiled by Philip Yancey, and edited by Schaap. Also, he spoke at the
Moody Bible Institute in September and led writing sectionals at Laity Lodge, Texas,
in August.
Dr. John Van Dyk, professor of education and philosophy, gave a presentation at
the International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education Conference (IAPCHE) in
Budapest, Hungary early this July. From August 19-21, he conducted a seminar on
biblical themes in the curriculum at Covenant Christian School in Leduc, Alberta. On
August 29, he led the opening in-service day for four Christian schools in
the Sheboygan, Wisconsin area, talking about establishing and maintaining a collaborative classroom. On
September 30, he spoke on the same subject at a professional development day
for Timothy Christian Schools in Elmhurst, Illinois. In October, Dr. Van Dyk conducted
three sectionals; one at the Heartland Convention on the reflective practitioner, and two
at the convention of the Christian Educators Association on teaching Christianly and meeting
students’ needs. He will also travel to the Philippines to participate in the
regional IAPCHE conference there.
Dr. John Kok, dean of humanities and professor of philosophy, presented a paper
at the International Conference on Biblical Holism and Agriculture at Dordt in May.
The paper was titled “Affinity, Dominion, and the Poverty of Our Day: Calling
and Task of Agriculture in a World that Belongs to God.” Early this
September, he delivered a prepared response to Dr. Richard Mouw’s presentation on common
grace. In October he presented a paper at a conference to celebrate the
legacy of Dr. H. Evan Runner at Redeemer University College titled “Runner and
the Echo of Vollenhoven Thinking.”
Over the summer, Dr. Leendert van Beek, assistant professor of foreign language, completed
a Dutch translation of a collection of sermons by the English revival preacher
Charles H. Spurgeon. The volume, titled Vreugde in Jezus (Joy in Jesus), is Van Beek’s fourth contribution to the series and will be published by Boekhout
Publishers.
This past July, Dr. John Zwart, professor of physics, Dr. Tony Jelsma, professor
of biology, and Dr. John Kok, dean of humanities and professor of philosophy,
attended a three-week seminar at Calvin College titled “Natural Science in the Calvinist
Tradition.”
Curtis Taylor, director of planning and special assistant to the president, attended a week-long fellows program at the National Center for Education Statistics in
Washington, D.C., in May.
Dr. Murat Tanyel, professor of engineering, presented “On the Aesthetics of Computer-Aided Tools
for Signal Processing” at the annual meeting of the North Midwest Section of
ASEE in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dr. Hubert Krygsman, professor of history, presented “Reviving the ‘Christianity and Culture’ Debate:
Beyond Niebuhrian ‘Irony’” at the Conference on Faith and History at Huntington College
in Indiana.
Jim Vanderwoerd, assistant professor of social work, led a workshop under the title
“Keeping the Faith in Faith-Based Organizations” at the annual convention of the North
American Association of Christians in Social Work in Rochester, New York. The convention will be held on November 7-10. Vanderwoerd will also
do a “chatroom” on October 28 for the North American Association of Social Workers based on an article he wrote for
their journal.
Susan Van Geest, assistant professor of art, has a show at the Le
Mars Art Center from October 1 to November 1.
Dr. Wayne Kobes, professor of theology, and professors of agriculture Dr. Robb De
Haan and Dr. Ron Vos all presented papers at the Biblical Holism and
Agriculture Conference at Dordt College in May. Kobes presented “Reclaiming a Biblical Vision
of Agriculture,” De Haan presented “Production Principles for ‘Good’ Agriculture,” and Vos presented
the concluding presentation for the conference, “Social Principles for ‘Good’ Agriculture.”
Education Department members Cella Bosma, Dr. Dennis Vander Plaats, and
Dr. Pam Adams gave presentations at the Heartland Teachers’ Convention held on Dordt’s
campus on October 3 and 4. Bosma’s title was “More than Curriculum,” Adams’s
title was “What’s New in Children’s Literature,” and Vander Plaats’s title was “Middle
School or ‘Junior High.’”
