The future of Christian colleges looks grim

[Corinthian]

Christian colleges aren’t necessarily frozen in time and can adapt. I have a sophomore at Hope College in Holland, MI, and have had several generations of family members attend. Hope has historically been affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, but these days it also has a significant Catholic contingent and a full time Catholic priest. My parents might have a hard time recognizing the place if they were still alive.

Although Hope has been affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA) for the entirety of the college’s history, the religious heritage of the campus community has become increasingly diverse through the years, particularly as Hope has extended its reach nationally and globally. RCA students now comprise nine percent of the student body, with 10 other denominations consistently represented and another 26 percent of the college’s students identifying as Christian but non-denominational. Roman Catholic is the largest single representation at 18 percent.

https://hope.edu/news/2017/campus-life/saint-benedict-institute-hires-priest-chaplain-to-serve-hope-college-catholics.html . Tuition is $34K. Hope also has a young new president with a background in finance instead of academia. He has ambitious plans to grow the endowment with the long term goal of fully funding tuition for all students. (I’m sure he wasn’t factoring a global pandemic and financial collapse into his plans.) And they just made a bunch of new appointments to the Board of Trustees that greatly increases the Board’s diversity.