Equipping beyond Campus

Dordt faculty share their expertise beyond campus walls. They host prairie ecology events for local residents, lead math workshops across the Midwest, keynote education conferences as far away as Indonesia, and help point the James Webb Space Telescope toward new astrophysical discoveries.

In each setting, Dordt faculty model what it means to live out the university’s mission: “to equip students, alumni, and the broader community for Christ-centered renewal in all areas of contemporary life.”

“When our faculty are equipping and serving the broader community, they are modeling Kingdom work for our students,” says Dr. Leah Zuidema, vice president for academic affairs. “But in doing so, our faculty also have the benefit of learning from and relating to the broader community, and in turn that helps them to be more relevant in their teaching. It’s a virtuous circle: there are benefits to the community, to the faculty members, and to our students when our faculty members are equipping and serving the broader community.”

Read on to meet some of the professors living this out—sharing their expertise in ways that inspire and invite others to join them in Christ-centered renewal.

Dordt social work faculty Dr. Leah Mouw ('91) and Julie Van Otterloo ('93) recently hosted a national webinar, “Unpacking Stress and Anxiety in Today’s Gen Z,” drawing educators and parents who are seeing mounting mental-health challenges in their students and children. The aim was practical: connect the latest research with clear next steps adults can use right away.

“There’s been a noticeable rise in stress, anxiety, and depression among Gen Z, many of whom feel overwhelmed, lonely, and under immense pressure to succeed,” says Mouw, whose doctoral research and recent project "Under Pressure: Stress and Anxiety in Undergraduate Students" identified academic pressure, social media, and uncertainty about the future as key stressors for Dordt students. “Coupled with the insights from Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, it’s clear that our young people are navigating a world that is increasingly complex and demanding. These conversations are not just timely—they’re essential.”

Van Otterloo, a licensed social worker with deep crisis-intervention experience, highlighted how the pace of technology intensifies fatigue and fear. “Some students live with fear and worry because of the violence they’ve witnessed—whether through news coverage of war or school shootings—and many are anxious about finances, housing costs, the future—all while being exhausted from constant digital interruptions,” she says.

Even so, both presenters see reasons for hope. “Gen Z desires change—they are engaged in their communities, politically involved, motivated to solve real problems, and want to serve others,” Van Otterloo says. “They advocate for a destigmatization of mental health with an openness to discuss concerns and seek help.”

The session moved quickly to practice: establish phone-free zones and times; encourage unstructured play and independence that build confidence; and prioritize device-free, face-to-face relationships in families, teams, and small groups. Mouw framed these steps pastorally: “Our students need to be seen, heard, and supported with empathy and grace. We can create safe spaces for them to express themselves and seek help, while equipping them with resilience and spiritual grounding.”

Participant feedback underscored the value of pairing research with a faith-based lens. As Van Otterloo summarized, “Working in higher education gives us a unique opportunity to equip the broader community. That’s one way Christ-centered renewal takes root.”

Dordt’s prairie is a living classroom, says Dr. Jeff Ploegstra ('99). “People learn to pay attention differently to the world around them when they can name and identify things in their landscape. Instead of the prairie being a green blur punctuated by yellow, white, purple, and orange, it becomes a complex, unique, and ever-changing garden. The unambiguous message of Genesis 1 is that God considers what He made to be good—all of it together. Studying it helps us understand what goodness looks like.”

Ploegstra, professor of biology and dean for foundational and health sciences, invites students and neighbors to slow down and see creation with fresh eyes through the highly collaborative annual Arts in the Prairie event, ecology workshops, and community partnerships. “Learning about the creation helps motivate and equip us to love God and love our neighbor,” he says. “It’s hard to care for something you don’t know.”

His posture toward service now stretches statewide. Ploegstra recently joined the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, collaborating with educators, business leaders, and civic organizations to strengthen STEM education across Iowa. “I hope to help promote the importance of guiding our students and communities toward curiosity,” he says. “I think we are leaning a bit too hard into the applications of science. Rather than just trying to solve the problems we see now, curiosity equips us to respond to the challenges and opportunities that haven’t even emerged yet.”

Whether in the prairie or on a regional council, Ploegstra’s aim remains the same: to help people make sense of the complexity of the world God has declared good—and to act with skill and care within it so that communities can flourish.

When Professor of Education Dr. Dave Mulder ('98) looks at his calendar for the year, it reads like a travelogue: Birmingham, Seattle, Rapid City, Dallas, Alberta, Jakarta. He’s keynoting conferences, leading professional development workshops, and hosting webinars on everything from teaching Christianly to playful pedagogy to the role of AI in the classroom.

For Mulder, these engagements are a chance to help Christian educators rediscover the heart of their calling. “I’ve been teaching for nearly 30 years now,” he says. “I’ve learned plenty through classes, seminars, and the school of hard knocks, and I feel a drive to share those lessons with others. I want participants to leave with plenty to think about but also a response of joy and delight—a ‘we get to do this!’ kind of feeling.”

Wherever he goes, he wants to encourage, challenge, and equip teachers to respond to today’s challenges with wisdom and grace. When he addresses AI, for instance, he starts by demystifying how AI works, then helps educators think Christianly about when it can support learning—and when it shouldn’t. In other sessions, he centers delight, curiosity, and faith-filled pedagogy that renews classroom culture.

He sees this public scholarship as a natural extension of Dordt’s mission. “Our students are our primary audience,” Mulder says. “But through alumni connections and events like these, we get to serve the wider Church and world. The impact begins here but ripples far beyond campus.”

Before joining Dordt’s engineering faculty, Dr. Joe Driewer served as chief physicist and director of a radiation oncology practice at Nebraska Methodist Hospital, guiding patients through some of the hardest days of their lives. That experience, he says, reshaped his career and calling.

“Working daily with patients who were walking in the shadow of death changed the way I approached my work,” Driewer reflects. “It shifted my vision from ‘change the world’ to faithfully impacting the day—or even the hour—of every person entrusted to my care.”

Today, Driewer carries that same posture of service into Dordt’s classrooms and labs. “Most of my clinical teaching was hands-on, side-by-side mentoring—learning by doing and troubleshooting in the moment,” he explains. “Because of that, I’m very comfortable in the lab setting, especially when things get messy or stressful. I hope I’m modeling an approach that Dordt students can carry into their own careers.”

His desire to mentor future engineers and scientists is deeply connected to his faith. “Deep down, what I really hope to do, every day and moment by moment, is testify to the grace of God in Christ by faithfully rendering some small diakonia—service—to students as the Lord writes His story in them,” he says.

Driewer helps students think about the intersection of faith, science, and technology through what he calls “landscape, labor, and longing.” “The labor of medical physics—applying principles of radiation physics to medical diagnosis and treatment—is interesting and valuable.”

Christians, he says, are called to reflect on the context and development of work. “When we do that, we become aware of both the beauty and the brokenness of our labor, which awakens a longing for something more—for equipment that doesn’t harm, for more grace-filled encounters, and ultimately for a world where cancer treatment is no longer needed.”

“I can’t believe I actually get to do this,” he adds with a smile. “When Dordt students flourish, others will see God’s faithfulness.”

For Dr. Channon Visscher ('00), professor of chemistry and planetary sciences, astronomy is an invitation to share in the wonder of creation. “The work being done in the sciences doesn’t stop at the edges of campus,” he says. “Space telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) literally belong to everyone. Opportunities like these create spaces where all are invited to share in the joy of new discoveries.”

That vision became a reality when the Sioux Center Public Library was one of 10 libraries nationally chosen to host “Discover Exoplanets: The Search for Alien Worlds,” a traveling, NASA-funded exhibit made possible in part through Visscher’s collaboration with NASA and JWST. His hope was that people would leave not just with new facts, but with bigger imaginations. “An exhibit like this can make the universe seem bigger and richer,” he says. “I hope it encourages a renewed sense of wonder and curiosity.”

Visscher’s own research deepens that sense of awe. Recently, he was part of a research team studying a distant object known as W1534—nicknamed “The Accident.” Using JWST data, they became the first to detect the molecule silane in a brown dwarf’s atmosphere, offering a rare glimpse into processes that may also be happening in Jupiter’s clouds. “Exploring these worlds not only deepens our understanding of our own Solar System,” he explains, “but also gives us a sense of wonder at God’s vast and abundant cosmos.”

For Dr. Jason Ho, associate professor of physics, modern physics is inseparable from the moral questions it raises. “Modern physics developed right around World War I and World War II, and it was instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb,” he explains. “Physicists have not only been on the front lines of creating these technologies but also advocating for nuclear arms reduction.”

Ho volunteers with the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction, a nationwide network of physicists working together on nuclear security and arms reduction. Through the coalition, he regularly joins colleagues in conversations that connect scientific expertise with public discussions on nuclear security—helping to revive dialogue that has largely gone silent since the end of the Cold War. “In the 1980s, there were robust theological and diplomatic discussions around nuclear weapons,” he says. “Thousands of weapons were dismantled through arms control treaties. But after the Cold War ended, those conversations faded. Stockpiles have since grown, new nuclear powers have appeared, and the last arms treaty—New START—is set to expire in February 2026.”

At Dordt, faculty like Ho encourage students to think deeply about complex issues at the intersection of faith, science, and ethics. “The development, testing, and threat of nuclear weapons have harmed combatants, civilians, Christian communities, and ecosystems around the world,” he says. “As Christians, we’re called not only to be peacemakers but caretakers of creation. Bearing witness to the history and current state of nuclear technology helps students faithfully wrestle with questions of war, violence, and stewardship.”

Professor of Mathematics Dr. Val Zonnefeld ('97) and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Ryan Zonnefeld ('97) have been leading mathematics education workshops together for over a decade. Their goal is simple but transformative: help teachers experience math in a way that is rigorous, joyful, and deeply rooted in faith.

“Many elementary teachers enter the field with negative feelings toward mathematics,” says Val. “Research shows those attitudes can transfer to their students. I want teachers to feel more confident and motivated so they can teach math well to the next generation.”

Val and Ryan lead workshops on topics such as active learning through the Building Thinking Classrooms model, mathematical fluency, and teaching mathematics Christianly. “We design workshops in a way that engages teachers as learners themselves,” Ryan explains. “When they actively experience these new methods, they begin to see how they can impact their own students.”

The Zonnefelds’ work also extends through Dordt’s Noyce Scholars Program, which provides financial incentives and professional development to STEM education majors. “There is a shortage of qualified STEM teachers in K–12 schools, and Noyce has been a huge blessing,” says Val. “It not only draws students into teaching but helps retain them in high-need schools.”

This service to K–12 schools is core to Dordt’s mission. “Teachers don’t always have time to research emerging best practices,” Ryan says. “Sharing what we’re learning with them is part of our calling. When teachers flourish, their students flourish—and that’s Kingdom work.”