On July 1, current professor of kinesiology and men’s golf coach Brian Bolt will begin his position as Calvin’s dean of education.

Bolt, a Calvin graduate, has worked in the kinesiology department since 2004, and, for eight years after 2009, served as chairman of the kinesiology department.

Bolt said that although he was not actively searching for this position, but when he considered his own skill set in making connections in the education world pursuing the position made sense.

“I was not looking for this job, but when [the position of dean of education] was proposed to me… [it] really appealed to me,” said Bolt.

Bolt noted that the Education program involves many different departments, and that one of his goals is to connect students and faculty across departmental divides.

“People think about the education department, but ultimately there are teacher education folks scattered across campus,” Bolt said. “My goal is to provide connection and vision to that unit… I want education students to feel affiliated.”

Bolt expressed interest in going out to visit schools to get students excited about Calvin’s education program. Bolt added that he will try to focus on reaching out with current and former Calvin students, teachers and families to get feedback on seeing new ways to improve the education program at Calvin.

“Sometimes structures are in place and the answer to ‘why do we do it like that’ is ‘we’ve always done it like that.’ So my job is to put some fresh eyes to something,” he said.

Although Bolt has accepted the position as dean of education, he intends to continue coaching for the men’s golf team.

Professor Bolt also has a podcast called “Dig Deep: Sport, Faith, Life” in which he and Chad Carlson, a professor of kinesiology from Hope College, discuss topics and interview experts on the intersections of Christianity and sport. You can find their podcast at https://brianrbolt.com/podcasts.