Rev. B.J. Haan was the first president of Dordt. His presidency began in 1957 when he was appointed acting president of the one-year-old institution. In reality, his leadership and association with the college began earlier. In 1947 he was already working with a group of people to explore the idea of starting a Christian college in Northwest Iowa. In 1951 he became part of a steering committee to help make that happen.
Dr. John B. Hulst was president of Dordt from 1982 to 1996. Like Haan, his association with and commitment to Dordt began long before his presidency and was the focus of most of his professional career. As a Christian Reformed pastor in Northwest Iowa, he supported efforts to begin the college and can be seen in photographs taken at the ground breaking.
Dr. Carl E. Zylstra was Dordt's third president. Like his predecessors, Zylstra was a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church. But he was its first non-founder president, a fact that shaped how he approached his presidency. In his inaugural address, he thanked his predecessors for setting the vision and renewing the vision, and he went on to challenge the campus community to live the vision.
Rev. B.J. Haan was the first president of Dordt. His 26-year presidency began in 1957 when he was appointed acting president of the one-year-old institution. In reality, his leadership and association with the college began earlier. In 1947 he was already working with a group of people to explore the idea of starting a Christian college in Northwest Iowa, and in 1951 he became part of a steering committee to help make that happen.
From 1957 to 1963 Haan served as both pastor of First Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center and as acting president of Dordt. Finally, with responsibilities growing in both church and college, he was elected full-time president in 1963. During those early years, he also served as recruiter, promoter, fundraiser, editor of the Voice, chapel speaker, and much more. He was a visionary and seemingly tireless promoter of the young college. During his presidency enrollment grew from fewer than 100 to 1,200.
One of Haan's lasting contributions to Dordt was his work on an educational statement "Scripturally Oriented Higher Education." The document laid a foundation for the Dordt curriculum that remains today. It was based on the belief that God is sovereign over all of life; he is Savior and he is also Lord of all. Because of that conviction that every part of life falls under God's directing hand, Dordt moved early on to offer a strong core curriculum and also introduce programs in areas such as business, agriculture, engineering, and later computer science. Haan believed that Dordt needed to be at the forefront of where the action was-that it needed to offer programs to help young Christians prepare for lives of service in a wide range of professions and jobs.
Haan retired in 1982, having devoted much of his professional life to Dordt. He had helped move the young institution from a small two-year teacher's college toward a comprehensive institution that could give Christian educational leadership far beyond its campus in Iowa.
To learn more about the history of Dordt under the tenure of the Rev. B.J Haan, see The History of Dordt College and A Zeal for Christian Education: The Memoirs of B.J. Haan.
Dr. John B. Hulst was president of Dordt from 1982 to 1996. Like Haan, his association with and commitment to Dordt began long before his presidency and was the focus of most of his professional career. As a Christian Reformed pastor in Northwest Iowa, he supported efforts to begin the college and can be seen in photographs taken at the ground breaking. In 1968, he became Dordt's dean of students and later vice president for student services. He held that position until his appointment as president in 1982.
Hulst did not consider himself a "professional" college president. He was only interested in being president of Dordt because he was so convinced of its mission-to give young people the educational foundation to live lives of Christian service in whatever vocation they chose. Hulst's presidency was marked by its emphasis on further developing an integrated Christian perspective that spanned the whole curriculum and all areas of life. He talked often about the "inner reformation of the sciences" by which he meant Christian scholars coming to a biblical understanding of their disciplines.
Hulst's presidency built on that of Rev. B.J. Haan. He frequently noted that to be Reformed is to be always reforming, and he worked tirelessly to broaden the college's commitment to developing in its students a reformational Christian understanding of their task in life.
Dordt's first strategic plan, titled Renewing the Vision, was formulated during Hulst's presidency, capturing the vision laid out at its founding and deepened and made more concrete throughout its first four decades. A new statement of purpose, The Educational Task of Dordt, was formulated and adopted by the end of Hulst's tenure. The document now serves as the biblically based, confessional foundation for the entire academic enterprise at Dordt.
The master's program in education began, as did the Center for Educational Services, an effort to work together with Christian elementary and high schools to promote holistic Christian education. Dordt received its first $1 million gift during those years, enrollment stayed steady, the number of Ph.D.s on the faculty increased, six new buildings were added, and technology became an everyday part of campus life.
Hulst also devoted significant time to promoting Christian higher education outside of Dordt's campus through organizations like the International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education (IAPCHE), the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), and many more. When he retired in 1996, he served as executive secretary for IAPCHE for several years.
To learn more about J.B. Hulst, see A Doorkeeper in God's Household: The Memoirs of John B. Hulst.
Dr. Carl E. Zylstra was Dordt's third president. Like his predecessors, Zylstra was a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church. But he was its first non-founder president, a fact that shaped how he approached his presidency. In his inaugural address, he thanked his predecessors for setting the vision and renewing the vision, and he went on to challenge the campus community to live the vision.
Zylstra, like Haan and Hulst, was drawn into the college community while a local pastor. As a pastor in Orange City, Iowa, just 12 miles from Dordt, he had faculty, staff, and students as parishioners, and he served on Dordt's board of trustees. When Dr. John B. Hulst decided to retire, Zylstra was asked to apply and gladly agreed. He was appointed president in 1996.
Zylstra's goal was to keep Dordt's vision for education sustainable, putting in place the structures that would allow it to thrive and deepen. During Zylstra's tenure as president, Dordt College matured-in facilities, faculty, administrative structure, and student body. The curricular program grew, both in its Core Program and its options. Programs in areas such as nursing, criminal justice, youth ministry, graphic design, construction management, and actuarial science were introduced. Football was added, as was the honors program, the Kuyper Honors Program (formerly known as the Kuyper Scholars Program). The Campus Center and new residence halls were built. Many new faculty members were hired as early faculty reached retirement age.
Zylstra continued to emphasize that a Dordt education was a comprehensive one, preparing students for holistic service and involving every aspect of their lives, both in class and out. Zylstra liked to describe this focus as 24/7 education.
During his presidency, Zylstra assumed leadership roles in a variety of educational and political organizations that advocate for and work to expand opportunities for Christian higher education, in the process extending Dordt's influence and reputation. Following retirement, he serves as the executive director of the Association of Reformed Colleges and Universities (ARCU).
