Honorary Doctorate
An honorary doctorate is awarded for special merits to theology, church or society.
Drs. Henk de Jong and Prof. Dr. Richard Mouw
On the occasion of its lustrum (165 years) in December 2019, the Theological University conferred two honorary doctorates. We awarded an honorary doctorate to Drs. Henk de Jong, pastor emeritus of the Dutch Reformed Churches. De Jong studied in Kampen and published nearly 20 books in which he made important distinguished contributions to the development of biblical theology, as he showed in From Old to New. The Developmental Progression from Old to New Testament (2002). There is much recognition of De Jong’s influence and merits for biblical scholarship, as well as his original contributions to public debate. Kampen has housed the Henk de Jong Chair since 2018, which came along when the Dutch Reformed Preachers’ College moved to Kampen. With this honorary doctorate, TU honors the namesake of this chair and thus its own alumnus.
We awarded the other honorary doctorate to Prof. Dr. Richard Mouw, former president of Fuller Theological Seminary. Richard Mouw spent many years at Calvin College in Michigan and was appointed professor of Christian Philosophy and Ethics at Fuller in 1985. Mouw is an influential professor, thinker, lecturer and author of many books. Coming himself from a Dutch emigrant background, he made a major contribution to the spread of the Neo-Calvinist tradition of thought and worldview in North America and Europe. Therein lies a strong connection to the Theological University in Kampen, where he delivered the Herman Bavinck Lecture in 2017. Richard Mouw has meant much for worldwide dissemination of the neo-Calvinist theological and philosophical tradition.
During the dies natalis on December 6, 2019 in Kampen, we awarded honorary doctorates.
Masaaki Suzuki
On the occasion of the university’s 160th anniversary on December 6, 2014, the senate of the Theological University of the Reformed Churches (liberated) in Kampen awarded an honorary doctorate to Japanese organist, harpsichordist and conductor Masaaki Suzuki. He received the honorary doctorate in theology because of his special merit in the field of interpreting the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach and the explicit connection he made between Bach’s music and the content of Christian faith. This was the first time the Theological University awarded an honorary doctorate. A video of the event can be viewed here.
