[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATIONS TO CALVIN COLLEGE ON THE DEDICATION OF THE PRINCE 
         CONFERENCE CENTER AND THE DeVOS COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. VERNON J. EHLERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 16, 2002

  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
congratulate Calvin College on the dedication of its two newest 
facilities, the Prince Conference Center and the DeVos Communications 
Center, the new home for the college's Communications Arts and Sciences 
and Political Science departments. These facilities will be formally 
dedicated in ceremonies to be held on Calvin's campus October 25 and 
26.
  I am thrilled to see the college's new growth and the new 
opportunities these facilities will afford Calvin's students, faculty, 
alumni and visitors. I especially want to thank Ren and Elsa 
Broekhuizen and the entire Prince family as well as Richard and Helen 
DeVos for their incredible gifts that made these facilities a reality.
  The services rendered through these facilities will serve not only 
those associated with Calvin, but the rest of the Grand Rapids and West 
Michigan community, which will be able to participate in public events 
staged in these facilities. Furthermore, the students who are taught in 
these facilities will disperse throughout the world with the knowledge 
and skills gained here. These facilities are truly gifts to the entire 
world.
  As a former student and faculty member, a past recipient of Calvin's 
Distinguished Alumni Award, and a neighbor of this campus, I am proud 
my congressional colleagues and I played a part in this expansion, as 
we provided some of the funding for the 380-foot pedestrian overpass 
known as Calvin's Crossing. This overpass of the East Beltilne provides 
a safe crossing for people traveling from Calvin's main Knollcrest 
campus to the new East Campus. In that vein, I would like to offer 
words of remembrance and condolence to the family of Kevin DeRose, a 
Calvin student who was killed in 1989 while attempting to cross the 
East Beltline. Part of these ceremonies involves the planting of a tree 
near Calvin's Crossing in Kevin's memory. My prayerful hope is that 
never again will we have to plant another tree on this campus for a 
similar reason.
  Calvin College has come a long way since my days as a student in the 
1950s and my years as a professor in the 1960s and 1970s. My student 
time was spent on the ``old'' Franklin Street campus. As a member of 
the faculty and as a neighbor, I have watched the college grow on the 
``new'' Knollcrest campus. And now, with the opening of the DeVos 
Communications Center and the Prince Conference Center, we are 
witnessing the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Calvin 
College.
  My congratulations to Calvin College President Gaylen Byker who 
helped make these facilities a reality. Congratulations to former 
president William Spoelhof, whose vision brought Calvin College to the 
Knollcrest campus and to former president Anthony Diekema, who ably 
guided the campus through twenty years of expansion. Finally, best 
wishes to the faculty and students who will be able to enjoy the fruits 
of these generous gifts.

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