Calvin University Cuts Public Health Program

COVIDian backlash?

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2025/12/heres-what-to-know-about-calvin-universitys-125-faculty-reduction-program-cuts.html

Here’s what to know about Calvin University’s 12.5% faculty reduction, program cuts
By Danielle James | December 01, 2025

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Over the next two years, Calvin University will reduce 12.5% of its faculty positions.

The private Christian liberal arts university will also eliminate or consolidate multiple academic programs, including several language majors and minors, the journalism minor and the public health major and minor.

Calvin University, at 3201 Burton St. SE in Grand Rapids, was founded in 1876 and enrolled 3,681 students as of the 2024-25 school year.

The cuts, first detailed in a Nov. 13 letter shared with the campus community by President Greg Elzinga, were described as honoring Calvin’s “distinctive mission” and ensuring long-term sustainability.

Below are three takeaways from MLive’s reporting of the issue.

1. 3% of faculty departures are involuntary

Calvin University plans to cut 12.5% of its faculty positions over the next two years.

According to the school, most of the departures are voluntary and many were identified during budget planning that occurred last year.

Involuntary departures will amount to around 3% of the current full-time faculty workforce. Those impacted have been notified.

The cuts were determined as part of a combination of recommendations by multiple university task forces at work since the 2024-25 school year, according to Calvin.

2. French, public health and sociology among majors to be cut

Several language programs, including the French major and minor and the German minor, are being discontinued. So is Calvin’s public health major and minor, sociology major, therapeutic recreation major and journalism minor.

Majors and concentrations in the university’s Department of Geology, Geography and Environment will be consolidated from nine separate degrees into two majors with two concentrations apiece.

Other departments are revising offerings and workloads, or relocating, like the science education studies program moving into the School of Education.

Four graduate programs are also slated to be discontinued after a decision made during the 2024-25 school year: the data science, nursing, public administration and public health programs.

John Zimmerman, associate director of public relations for Calvin, said the phase out will happen over time, with initial impacts beginning during the 2026-27 academic year.

Any program changes affecting current students will include a formal teach-out plan so they can complete their degrees, and department leaders have communicated with impacted students.

Elzinga said the changes will affect a “small number” of students, but did not specify how many.

3. Shifting higher education landscape contributed to cuts

Zimmerman said that despite a 25% increase in enrollment since 2020 - highlighted by the school in August - Calvin has also seen the higher education landscape shift rapidly.

Decreasing populations, changing public perceptions about the value of college and fluctuations in international enrollment have all contributed to fewer college-bound students and greater enrollment volatility, he said.

Zimmerman said the academic programming and faculty changes are focused on ensuring Calvin continues to serve students well.

“Pursuing this transformation now, and implementing it gradually over the next several years, allows us to move forward thoughtfully, strategically and with care for the people who make Calvin who we are,” he said.

He said Calvin’s finances remain strong, with an A- rating from credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s, and added that the university is on track to execute a balanced budget for the 2025-26 academic year.

This isn’t the first time Calvin has cut programs. In 2013, the university proposed staff and program cuts to help pay off $115 million in long-term debt.

Calvin has also cut faculty and eliminated programs in 2015, 2018 and 2020.