John Hiemenga

Who was John Hiemenga?

John J. Hiemenga 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 emigrated with his family to Borculo, Michigan in 1889. Hiemenga graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1905 and served as the pastor of six Christian Reformed congregations in Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Indiana during his 42 years in the active ministry. Active in establishing Christian schools in Passaic, NJ and Grand Rapids, MI, he was appointed the first president of Calvin College.

In the fall of 1920, Grand Rapids Christian High School, which Hiemenga had helped organize, assumed responsibility for teaching the high school and began a full, four-year program. As a result, enrollment in the college preparatory department dropped from 340 to 11 during Hiemenga's tenure. To offset some of this decline, enrollment in the college curriculum increased from 94 to 273. At the same time, Hiemenga oversaw development of a teacher training program in compliance with newly enacted state law.