Dordt University is adding four faculty members this fall as continued enrollment growth increases demand for courses that serve students throughout the university.
Joining Dordt’s faculty are Dr. Isuwa Atsen, associate professor of theology; Dr. Justin Vos, assistant professor of history; Dr. Kitrick Fynaardt, instructor of mathematics; and Taylor Droog, biology teaching fellow.
Growth Creates More Core Sections
Every Dordt undergraduate completes the university’s Core program, regardless of major. As enrollment grows, Dordt says more students need foundational courses in theology, history, mathematics, biology and other disciplines.
Dr. Leah Zuidema, vice president for academic affairs, says the additional faculty will allow Dordt to offer more course sections while preserving small class sizes and opportunities for faculty mentorship.
“Like any university, we have foundational academic competencies that every student needs to fulfill,” Zuidema says. “As enrollment grows, more students are taking courses in theology, history, biology, mathematics, and other Core disciplines. That means we need additional sections and additional faculty to continue providing the kind of education Dordt is known for.”
Dordt says the four faculty members also share the university’s commitment to approaching academic disciplines through a biblical worldview. Zuidema says faculty members help students connect their chosen fields with the broader Christian themes of creation, fall, redemption and renewal.
New Faculty Bring Varied Backgrounds
Atsen comes to Dordt after teaching at Trinity Christian College in Illinois and Gindiri Theological Seminary in Nigeria. He also has served as a pastor in Nigeria and the United States and earned a doctorate in theological studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Vos is returning to his alma mater after serving as an assistant teaching professor of history at Florida State University. He graduated from Dordt in 2016 with degrees in history and political science and earned his doctorate in history from Florida State in 2022.
Fynaardt returns to Northwest Iowa after completing his doctorate in mathematics at the University of Iowa. During his doctoral studies, he taught several undergraduate courses, including one examining the mathematics behind Pokémon GO. The course was later featured by Newsweek.
Droog, a 2023 Dordt graduate, will divide her responsibilities between her new biology teaching position and her existing work as Dordt’s grants manager and online enrollment counselor. She is completing a Master of Public Health in epidemiology this summer and plans to begin doctoral studies in epidemiology later this year.
“Our faculty understand that they’re not simply teaching content,” Zuidema says. “They’re equipping students to understand God’s world, to think deeply about their disciplines, and to faithfully live out their calling wherever God leads them.”
