The President of Calvin University is the chief executive officer of the school. The office is not as old as

Calvin University Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a Private university, private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, Ch ...

, which had no need for such a position when it was founded in 1876. When the ''Theological School of the Christian Reformed Church'' opened in 1876, it had one

instructor Instructor may refer to: Education * Instructor, a teacher of a specialised subject that involves skill: ** Teaching assistant ** Tutor ** Lecturer ** Fellow ** Teaching fellow *** Teaching associate *** Graduate student instructor ** Professor S ...

. As other instructors joined the staff, the title

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

was applied to the person in charge of daily affairs, while the title of

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

was applied to all other

faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...

. When the literary curriculum was added in 1894, the head of the Literary section went by the title of Principal. The office of College President was created in 1918 to replace the office of Principal. The seminary head remained the Rector until 1931, when that title also was changed to Seminary President.

List of Presidents of Calvin University

*1876–1902 Geert Boer (Docent) *1900–1918 Albertus Rooks (Principal) *1919–1925

John Hiemenga John J. Hiemenga (January 22, 1877 - 1974) was a Dutch-American pastor and educator and first President of Calvin College from 1919-1925. Born Jan Hiemenga to Jan Hiemenga Sr. and Romkje Zoodsma in Arum, Friesland, the Netherlands, he emigrate ...

*1925–1930 Johannes Broene *1930–1933

Rienk Kuiper Rienk Bouke Kuiper (January 31, 1886 – April 22, 1966)
at Westminster Theological Seminary was a pastor and prof ...

*1933–1939

Ralph Stob Ralph Stob (1894 – 1965) was an educator, academic, and former president of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Stob was born in Chicago, Illinois, and attended Roseland Christian School. He felt called to Christian ministry. He enrolled ...

*1939–1951 Henry Schultze *1951–1976

William Spoelhof William Spoelhof (December 8, 1909 – December 3, 2008) was the President of Calvin College, and President Emeritus of the Grand Rapids, Michigan school. Biography Spoelhof was a native of Paterson, New Jersey, and graduated from Calvin College ...

*1976–1995 Anthony J. Diekema *1995–2012 Gaylen James Byker *2012–2022 Michael K. Le Roy *2022–Present

Wiebe Boer Wiebe may refer to: * Wiebe (given name), a masculine given name * Wiebe (surname), a surname {{disambig ...

External links

Calvin University President's Page
{{Calvin College presidents Calvin University