Oh, Canada

And then there was one!

At one point during my 20 year career at Dordt, I had 11 colleagues on the faculty who were Canadians. Now, with Hubert Krygsman moving to the presidency of Redeemer College, there is one.

All of the departed Canadians were my friends and that includes not only those at Redeemer—John Van Rys, Jim Vander Woord, and Syd Hielema—but the others: John Vander Stelt, John Van Dyke, Fred Van Geest, Case Boot, John Struyk, and Simon DuToit.

But my loss is nothing compared to Dordt’s loss. I know, of course, that generalizations about ethnicity or nationality are dangerous, but I will hazard some generalizations nevertheless:
· The Canadians lived and breathed a Kuyperian worldview. It was in their blood and bones. When they were in the classroom, it was in the classroom.
· The Canadians spoke with refreshing, Old World Dutch directness. They had no tolerance for bullshit. In an academic world characterized by evasion and euphemism and half truth, these men said what they thought in plain language.
· The Canadians, almost all of them first and second generation North Americans, had the immigrant work ethic. This can be seen not only in the institutional work they did—writing documents, etc.—but in the publication output from people like Van Dyke, Van Geest, Hielema, and Van Rys.
· The Canadians were questioners, stirrers of the pot. I suppose most institutions prefer people who just shut up and do their jobs, but I think the really good ones embrace the questioners that challenge them and make them continually assess what they are doing.
· The Canadians brought down from the north some of our most lively students, students who questioned, got excited, drove you crazy, were naughty, but only rarely were bored and boring. Will they keep coming down to Dordt?

Why are we down to one? Well, four, have retired and four, for whatever reason, have gone to Redeemer. But where are the new Canadian hires? Do Canadians still apply for jobs at Dordt? Does Dordt seek out professors from Canada?

I know this, it is in Dordt’s best interest to have a contingent of Canadian professors on its faculty.

Comments

  1. Yankee WomanFebruary 27, 2010 at 5:29 PM

    nice to see you blogging again, Dave.
    Where and how long are you in Fl? Would love to connect with you and Jeri if you're not too far from Orlando.
    judy hagey

    ReplyDelete
  2. beimFebruary 27, 2010 at 10:05 PM

    Just make sure you watch the gold medal hockey game tomorrow and if you want to cheer for Canada, I understand completely.

    ReplyDelete

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