The top question people ask Jacqui Elzinga these days is: “When are you planning on moving into the manor house?” she told Chimes. The answer: “We don’t know yet.”
Jacqui’s husband Greg Elzinga left his role as vice president of advancement to become interim president in Feb. 2024 after the sudden resignation of former president Wiebe Boer. Since then, Calvin’s Board of Trustees voted to confirm Mr. Elzinga as president, and he was officially inaugurated on Jan 24 of this year.
One major change that happened as a result of President Elzinga’s new job has been a shift in his family life. With all the travel that’s involved in the presidential role, he’s rarely home.
While it’s an important role, the vice president for advancement doesn’t have as much of a public-facing job as the university president, and that new visibility extends to the president’s spouse. When the Elzingas are out together in public or when friends reach out to connect, things are a little different now. “They’ll tease her, you know, asking ‘what’s it like to be the first lady?’ and she doesn’t see herself that way,” President Elzinga told Chimes.
Chimes wanted to give Jacqui Elzinga a chance to introduce herself to the Calvin community, so
on Feb. 25, Chimes editor-in-chief Ethan Meyers sat down for a get-to-know-you interview with Jacqui and Greg.
The responses below have been edited for length and clarity.
Chimes: Could you be convinced to join President Elzinga at the Cold Knight Plunge in future years?
Jacqui: “Well, coming from Florida, I barely get in Lake Michigan. Even though it’s cold, it’s gotta be 80 for me to get in.”
Chimes: What would you do with a day all to yourself?
Jacqui: “I would definitely go for a walk. I would definitely read my book. My mom’s at Raybrook, so I’m going to take her out for lunch.”
Chimes: What are you reading these days?
Jacqui: “I just finished The Women by Kristen Hannah. It was very good, she’s great. So I need to go to Schuler’s.”
Chimes: What’s something you’d like the whole student body to know about you?
Jacqui: Greg and I are both very outgoing. We love to be involved in things. I love to read.
I like to play pickleball. I like to exercise. I like my job. I’ve had to tone down my board game competitiveness over the years — Greg is not competitive like that. My family were big game players. I love all games: card games, board games, and sports.
Chimes: Did you go to Calvin? What was that experience like?
Jacqui: I did. I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, and I wanted to go see snow. My mom actually did come to Calvin, but she didn’t graduate from Calvin. I went to a Christian Reformed church down there, and I came to Calvin in 1986. I went potluck, and my roommate was from Ohio. I made her go outside and look at flurries with me when I first came. She was like, ‘I’ve seen these.’ I said, ‘but I’ve never seen snow!’ I had never seen snow until I came here.
During that year, 1986, it rained for about 35 days straight when we arrived, and the sun never came out. So when I talked to my parents on Sunday nights, I said, “I don’t know if I made a mistake. The sun never shines!” So that was a big adjustment. And then Greg and I met in 1988, during junior year.
Chimes: How was working in physical education?
Jacqui: I loved it. Believe it or not, when we graduated in 1990, neither one of us could find jobs here. I couldn’t find a teaching job, which is hard to even imagine now. We moved back to Florida, and I taught at the school that I went to. It was a K-12 Christian school, so it was very bizarre being in a teacher’s lounge with teachers that I had. I was quite young compared to them, but yeah, I coached a lot. Greg was in sales, and my parents were down there. I had a lot of high school friends, so it was great.
Chimes: What brought you back from Florida to Michigan?
Jacqui: We moved around quite a bit when Greg was in sales, and then I stayed home for eight years. I taught eight, stayed home for eight, and then Greg was looking for a different job, and we thought we’d move by family. So we moved by Greg’s brother and his mom.
We loved the move. Just in terms of the community here, we lived right across the street from Calvin. Growing up in Fort Lauderdale, our neighbors weren’t super friendly, so it was great.
Chimes: Do you currently have a different job?
Jacqui: I do. When Greg went to Partners Worldwide, I went back to work to Grand Rapids Christian Middle School, and I’ve been there ever since. I work in educational support, so I work part-time, but I help kids that need a little extra help. So I go in the classroom and help kids, and then I’ll pull kids out for testing, if they need a reteach.
Chimes: What is something else you’ve learned in this new role?
Jacqui: I didn’t know a lot of details about Calvin. I’m learning more about how Calvin’s reputation is growing internationally and nationally, and just how great a place this is. I guess you don’t really know, unless you’re here more often, immersed in it, learning more about different facets of it.
Chimes: Is there anything you would particularly like to get involved in here, or something new you’d like to start on campus?
Jacqui: I don’t know if I would start anything new…officially, it’s just starting. So I don’t really know what I’ll be doing. But I’m excited to volunteer. I’d love to find a way to plug in here, but I don’t know what that looks like, it’s still so new. But yeah, I love Calvin. We’ll figure it out as we go, I guess.
