Two business professors hired at Dordt University

Two business professors have been hired at Dordt University. Brenda Zylstra, J.D. will serve as Assistant Professor of Business, and Dr. Brian Hoekstra will return to Dordt as Professor of Business.

Zylstra has practiced law in the Siouxland area for more than 25 years. She also served as the corporate and trust counsel at Frontier Bank’s headquarters in Rock Rapids, Iowa; in addition to her role at Dordt, she will serve on Frontier Bank’s board of directors.

Zylstra earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree from Bethel University in Arden Hills, Minnesota. She and her family live on a farm near Larchwood, Iowa, where they raise crops and cattle.

Zylstra initially began work at Dordt as an adjunct instructor. That adjunct position has turned into a full-time opportunity for Zylstra, and she is eager to get started. “I was drawn to Dordt because of the subject matter of business law, but I continued because meeting and teaching students was so much fun,” she says.”

She also appreciates Dordt’s Reformed perspective. “It is beautiful, full of what it means to be obedient, full of how God delights in His relationship with us, and full of great eternal assurances,” she says. “I look forward to experiencing and expressing this with my students and colleges. And I get compensation to do this; what a privilege!”

Dr. Abby Foreman, dean for social sciences, says that Zylstra brings a wealth of experience from the business world and that her students will benefit from her expertise as a lawyer.

“Brenda’s faith is a central part of who she is, and students will glean much from her wisdom and example in the classroom and on campus,” says Foreman.

Dr. Brian Hoekstra will work remotely as a business professor, after having taught face-to-face in the department for 14 years. He and his wife, Deanne, live in Ames, Iowa. He taught a few Dordt business courses remotely for a couple years, which helped him to feel like he never really left campus.

“It has been wonderful to see from a distance that Dordt has been growing. The Business Department has been growing, too, and when the department had a couple of position openings, I asked about the possibility of rejoining Dordt in a different way. I am thankful to God and Dordt for this new opportunity.”

He deeply appreciates Dordt’s mission and vision and is looking forward to mentoring and discipling students.

“Hopefully I can be encouraging to the students in my classes as they go through their life journey and do the work that God has prepared them to do,” he adds.

“We are thrilled to have Brian join us once again,” says Foreman. “He is a supportive, caring, and experienced professor. I hear stories from students about how Brian has been instrumental in deepening their faith commitments.”

Foreman says that it is important for Dordt faculty to be faith-focused and also experts in their field.

“For our faculty, their work and professional practice is deeply grounded in their faith,” she says. “Their work in business, in law, or at the university is an expression of God’s call on one aspect of their lives. It is important for Dordt faculty to model this well for students, and Brian and Brenda both do this well.”

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.