Dr. Jenna Veenstra, a recent Ph.D. graduate in biological chemistry and former Dordt University student, is excited to return as a post-doctoral teaching fellow in chemistry, drawn by her positive past experiences and the unique faith-integrated academic environment at Dordt.
Having recently completed her doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan, Dr. Jenna Veenstra is eager to serve as a post-doctoral teaching fellow in chemistry at Dordt University.
Veenstra earned a Ph.D. in biological chemistry as well as a master’s degree in bioinformatics. She recently served as an adjunct professor for Dordt in the chemistry department.
Veenstra, who received her undergraduate degree from Dordt in 2018, looks back on her time as a Dordt student fondly. “Even as I was applying to graduate schools, I remember thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I could come back to Dordt and teach right after grad school?’ That was clearly God’s plan since I defended my doctoral dissertation less than a month ago,” she says.
While in graduate school, Veenstra found herself missing the Dordt community. “It is a truly unique place where someone as shy as I was could still be embraced and find lifelong friends,” she says. “The overall support provided by the Dordt community—my former professors especially—brought me back here in more ways than one.”
“Jenna was a gifted student during her time at Dordt, and I am excited to have her back,” says Dr. Jeff Ploegstra, dean of foundational and health sciences. “She knows the program and faculty already and is committed to the mission in a nuanced way that normally can take faculty years to develop.”
At Dordt University, students are “pushed to integrate our faith in all that we do.” This is not the case at other institutions, notes Veenstra.
“I felt the absence of the Reformed worldview during graduate school. The assumption is that the academic world is completely separate from anyone’s faith, especially in the sciences. But at Dordt, the opposite is true.”
As a professor, Veenstra looks forward to providing a faith-integrated “framework for the next generation of students as well as to share my love of God’s creation as understood through biochemistry.”
About Dordt University
As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by the Wall Street Journal, Times Higher Education, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.
Registration is now open for Defender Days 2024, an annual weekend celebration at Dordt University that brings together students, alumni, parents, and friends for a series of engaging events, including home sporting events, concerts, and popular ticketed gatherings that highlight the institution's past, present, and future accomplishments.
Dordt University alumnus Noah Deist has been selected as a semifinalist in the "CBS Mornings" Mixtape Music Competition for his unique cover of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now," showcasing his live looping skills and demonstrating his mission to bring joy and encouragement through his music.
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