Inside a box waiting for her on a front porch, senior Autumn Balamucki was about to pick up history. She would eventually receive a newfound skill and appreciation, too. In the summer of 2020, unexpectedly back early from an off-campus study semester in Peru due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Balamucki signed on as an intern …
Author Archives: Eva Dean Folkert
Pandemic Research Includes Immigrant Churches’ Response
The COVID-19 pandemic has instigated a great number of questions, and resulted in numerous subsequent findings, for researchers across the country. Often that research is focused on something other than the novel coronavirus’ scientific impact. A recent study by Hope College Professor Dr. Rodrigo Serrão is one such example. Along with Dr. João Chaves of …
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How Home Attachment Helps Mental Health in a Pandemic
There’s no place like home, author Frank Baum’s Dorothy said, but then again, she wasn’t confined to hers during a multi-month global pandemic. Still, recent research by two Hope psychology scholars has confirmed that that famous line from The Wizard of Oz has bearing not only when you miss home, but also when that space …
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Pandemic Inspires Art
It has been observed that, throughout history, pandemics have inspired creative minds — to write plays, to postulate new scientific theories, to create works of art. That last undertaking — to create works of art — naturally emanated from Lisa Walcott, assistant professor of art, during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. Now, a sculptural installation …
Joanne Stewart Featured in STEM Video Showcase
Hope College’s Dr. Joanne Stewart, Elmer E. Hartgerink Professor of Chemistry, will be featured in the 2020 STEM for All Video Showcase funded by the National Science Foundation. The event will be held online May 5th -12th at https://stemforall2020.videohall.com. The presentation entitled “Come for the Content, Stay for the Community” looks at how the VIPEr …
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Research to Reduce Workplace Racism
As a social psychologist, Dr. Mary Inman, professor of psychology, prioritizes learning about people’s basic motivations, environmental influences on behaviors, and why and how people use stereotypes. As a Christ-follower, she seeks to understand and address social issues for the sake of justice. Her recent research on racial harassment and discrimination in the workplace addresses …
Resolve to Keep That New Year’s Resolution
About a month ago, your intentions were good, your motivation was high, and you were ready to go. A new year had started and your new resolutions were about to be put in place. So…how’s that going for you? If you answered, “It’s great; I’m still on track and going strong,” kudos to you. Keep …
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Finding the Christian Church in China
When Dr. Gloria Tseng arrived at Hope College in 2003 as a Europeanist with an emphasis on France, her first course in French history was attended by one student. “On one hand, it was a good student-faculty ratio,” she says now, with a lilting laugh. The following semester, history repeated itself: just one student, albeit …
The Good that Grows from Gratitude
Over 20 centuries ago, the great Roman statesman Cicero uttered a now-popular maxim: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.” It is a saying that is still relevant today. Dr. Charlotte VanOyen-Witvliet, professor of psychology, chair of the department, and a researcher of embodied virtue (e.g., forgiveness, gratitude, …
It All Started Over Lunch
The usual “who-are-you-and-what-do-you-do” chatter of an introductory lunch conversation, those words of nicety that more often than not just scratch surfaces, transformed into a vision of deeper collaboration for four new Hope arts faculty members this fall. Now, just a few weeks into their first semester at Hope, Dr. Jordan VanHemert of the music department, …