| Hope College |
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| universities and colleges in michigan | |
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| liberal arts colleges | |
| educational institutions established in 1862 | |
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Hope College is a medium-sized (3,100 undergraduates), private, residential Liberal Arts College located in downtown Holland, Michigan , a few miles from Lake Michigan . It was opened in 1862 (received state charter in 1866 ) by Dutch immigrants only 15 years after the community was first settled. It has been historically associated with the Reformed Church In America and it retains a conservative Calvinist Christian atmosphere. The school's campus - now 91 acres (368,000 m²), adjacent to the downtown commercial district - has been shared with Western Theological Seminary since 1884. ACADEMICS The college offers 83 majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. It has a student population of about 3,100 and a student-to-faculty ratio of 13:1. In 2003 ''. The college offers off-campus study programs in several US cities, including Philadelphia , Washington, D.C. , and Chicago , and overseas programs for the summer, semester, or an entire academic year. Among its international programs, a long-standing summer semester in Vienna is fairly popular among students. Hope College is a member of the Great Lakes Colleges Association . CAMPUS LIFE Housing is provided by 11 residence halls, 15 apartment buildings, and 72 houses (called "cottages") that the college owns near the campus. A small percentage of students - mostly juniors and seniors, and Holland residents - live off-campus. The majority of its students come from the Great Lakes region, primarily from Middle-class Protestant backgrounds. It also attracts a modest number of international students. The college has just completed an ambitious $70 million facilities construction program that included a new science center, the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication and the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse. Construction is currently underway on an addition to Cook residence hall and restoration plans are on the drawing board for two historical buildings. Hope College competes in the MIAA conference, and is a Division III member of the NCAA . It fields 18 men's and women's varsity teams. In 2005, Hope began use of a new 3,400-seat field house, and it shares a 5,000-seat football stadium with the city of Holland. In 2006, the women's basketball team won the National Championship in its division, the second in school history. The school's athletic teams are called the ''Flying Dutchmen'' (men) and the ''Flying Dutch'' (women). The school colors are blue and orange (possibly chosen because the Dutch royal family is the House Of Orange-Nassau ). It has a traditional rivalry with Calvin College in nearby Grand Rapids, Michigan which is associated with the similar Christian Reformed Church . For men's basketball in particular, a 2005 ESPN poll ranked the Hope/Calvin rivalry as the fiercest in NCAA Division III , and the fourth fiercest rivalry in any NCAA division. The college has 27 competitive intramural sports teams. Traditions at Hope include "The Pull", in which freshman and sophomore men (and occasionally, women) engage in an elaborately prepared three-hour tug-of-war across the nearby Black River. This event was started in 1897. The Nykerk Cup is a competition between freshman and sophomore women, in music, drama, and oration, held annually since 1936. Both have been accused of being sexist institutions, but have strong support among the college community. A dance marathon has been held in recent years to raise funds for a hospital program for children. Student activities include an FM radio station (WTHS), newspaper (''The Anchor''), literary magazine (''Opus''), and yearbook (''Milestone''), plus a variety of clubs, musical & choral groups, spiritual, literary, social and athletic groups. About 10-12% of students belong to social fraternities and sororities, which are local to Hope rather than chapters of larger organizations. The college holds Sunday evening worship services ("The Gathering") and weekday chapel services on campus, but attendance has been voluntary since 1970. HISTORY Hope's motto is taken from 6:19). The primary-level Pioneer School was later expanded to secondary and soon after, college level education as Hope College. Van Vleck Hall, which originally housed the Pioneer School, is the oldest building on campus (1858) and now serves as a student residence hall. It is the second oldest building in the city. The college admitted its first female students in 1878. NOTABLE ALUMNI
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