| William Spoelhof | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 8, 1909 Paterson, New Jersey United States |
| Died | December 3, 2008 (aged 98) Grand Rapids, Michigan United States |
| Occupation | Calvin College |
| Title | President |
| Term | 1951-1976 |
| Predecessor | Henry Schultze |
| Successor | Anthony Diekema |
| Spouse | Angeline Nydam |
| Children | Robert Spoelhof, Elsa Scherphorn, and Peter Spoelhof. |
William Spoelhof (December 8, 1909 – December 3, 2008) was the President of Calvin College, and President Emeritus of the Grand Rapids, Michigan school.
Spoelhof was a native of Paterson, New Jersey and graduated from Calvin College in 1931. He received a master's degree from the University of Michigan in 1937. After completing his doctoral studies, he returned to Calvin to teach history and political science in 1946.
In 1956, after becoming president of the college, Spoelhof was responsible for the initiation of the school's move to its current Knollcrest campus. The move was not completed until 1973. Toward the end of the 1960s Spoelhof also had to deal with the impact of nation-wide student protest movements on the Calvin campus.
In 1935 Spoelhof married Angeline Nydam, and they had three children. The asteroid 129099 Spoelhof is named in his honour.
Spoelhof died on December 3, 2008 just five days shy of his 99th birthday.[1]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Schultze |
President of Calvin College 1951-1976 |
Succeeded by Anthony J. Diekema |
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