Bill Huizenga

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, gave Calvin University a shoutout before the U.S. House this week, honoring the higher education institution’s 150th birthday.

Huizenga, who represents Michigan’s 4th Congressional District, is a graduate of then-Calvin College, where he got his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1991.

He spoke about how Calvin was founded in 1876 as a “small theological school for seven students.”

“It grew into a Christian liberal arts institution,” Huizenga said, “becoming a four-year college in 1920 as its academic programs expanded beyond ministry and training there.”

Calvin University President Greg Elzinga said the school now accepts students from 48 U.S. states and over 60 countries.

The Grand Rapids-based university enrolled 3,681 students as of the 2024-25 school year.

Huizenga said his father Gerald attended Calvin in 1939 and graduated in 1950, after his education was interrupted by World War II and an injury he sustained in a B-24 crash.

“Now, Calvin is not just my alma mater,” Huizenga said. “It’s my family’s alma mater.”

His wife, Natalie, also attended Calvin, and his son is currently enrolled.

While Huizenga was a Calvin student, he was the president of the school’s College Republican Club, according to a biography in Gongwer News Service.

“It is the place that has shaped our minds,” Huizenga said. “It has deepened our faith, and it has instilled the lifelong commitment to serving God and our community.”