This spring, in conjunction with the mainstage production The Importance of Being Earnest, the Dordt Theatre Department is facilitating an acting apprenticeship program. “The idea for this program formed out of the need to be prepared for Covid-19 to impact our ability to keep a show going,” says Associate Professor of Acting and Directing Laurel Koerner. “We had a few …
Lambs Provide Hands-On Experience in Ag Course
Students in Dr. John Olthoff’s Beef and Sheep Science course don’t have to buy a textbook, but they do need to invest in feeder lambs. Each student pays $50 toward the purchase of weaned lambs, and that investment is supplemented by a bank loan. Throughout the semester, students apply what they learn about beef and sheep breeding, genetics, nutrition, and …
New Faculty Seminar
For decades, new full-time Dordt University faculty have gathered at the beginning of August to prepare for their academic service at Dordt, meeting weekly or bi-monthly during the school year week to discuss teaching and the Reformed worldview, share questions and experiences, and develop relationships across disciplines and levels of teaching experience. Today’s New Faculty Seminar is led by Education …
Dordt Graduates Serving in Wisconsin Politics
Terry Katsma (’80) was born in Oostburg, Wisconsin, graduated from Sheboygan County Christian High School, and studied Business Administration at Dordt. Fifteen years later, Devin LeMahieu (’95) followed in Katsma’s footsteps, though LeMahieu studied political science at Dordt. In 2014, both men entered the Wisconsin State Legislature for the first time. “In March of 2014, my State Representative called me …
Recording Studio Helps Equip Worship Arts Majors
Worship Arts Director Dr. Jeremy Perigo used Dordt’s recording studio as a classroom for his Elements of Worship Praxis course during the spring semester. The class included a unit on recording, in which students learn good microphone techniques and how to use recording software. They then demonstrated what they had learned by recording a song. “Churches are always in need …
Ladies’ Lunch Connects Those Involved in STEM
Once a month, Associate Mathematics Professor Dr. Valorie Zonnefeld shares lunch with the female Dordt math, statistics, data science, and actuarial science students. This year, their usual meeting place in the Defender Grille was unavailable due to Dordt’s Covid-19 precautions, so they enjoyed pizza, drinks, and cookies in an open classroom and discussed their math classes and coursework. “The research …
Janssen Contributes to Open Source Book
Rings with Inquiry, written by Dordt University Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Mike Janssen and Dr. Melissa Lindsey, is an open source textbook that teaches students concepts through inquiry-based learning. As an open source textbook, Rings with Inquiry is free in both an HTML and PDF version and the source code used to create these two versions is also freely …
Gaming an Education
Professor of Computer Science Dr. Kari Sandouka is challenging her Information System Design students to view the computer game Minecraft in a new way: as an educational tool that can allow them to practice building information systems, or systems that collect, process, store, and distribute information. “Over the past few years, I have noticed a strong interest in Minecraft; it …
Du Mez Brings Energy to Engineering
“I have always been interested in how things worked,” says Kate Du Mez (’10). As a child, Du Mez spent her free time building or fixing things; in school she particularly enjoyed her math and physics classes. “When I was preparing for college, engineering seemed like it could be a good fit with how my brain works.” Deciding on a …
More Locally-Grown Food on Menu
Fields and farmland surround Dordt University, and Dordt’s food service provider is committed to taking full advantage of that privilege. In the past four years, Dordt Dining Services, led by Head Chef Nick Lawrence, has purchased locally grown food as often as possible. “When we buy from local farmers, we know where our food is coming from,” says Lawrence, who …