Shirley Hoogstra: Christian Higher Education in a Contemporary World

In this long-form conversation Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, takes a deep dive into the generational and contemporary benefits of faith-based higher education. She reflects on her own unlikely full-circle journey from Calvin College through law school and private law practice, and finally back to Christian university leadership. 

She discusses her advocacy work in Washington D.C. building alliances with her Catholic, Jesuit, and LDS colleagues to protect religious liberty alongside LGBTQ rights. And hear her adamant commitment to following the counter-cultural example of Jesus Christ, who defied the norms and asked the hard questions, just as she believes Christian universities should do. 

 Finally, Hoogstra shares her predictions for the future of Christian universities, which she views as places of societal hope, and whose voices she believes will be critical as society faces the broad questions of artificial intelligence, medical ethics, and more. 

 As president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities since 2014, Shirley Hoogstra has focused on expanding diversity and inclusion on CCCU campuses and making education available, accessible, and affordable to all students, including the incarcerated and the undocumented. Hoogstra also serves on the steering committee for the Washington Higher Ed Secretariat, is a leader for the Evangelical Immigration Table, and serves on the boards of the American Council on Education, the National Association of Evangelicals, and Trinity Forum.