Dr. Doug Koopman

Doug Koopman is professor emeritus of political science at Calvin University and senior fellow at its Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics. His current project is a book-length framework of the American political system that encourage faithful professional presence in its structures and processes. He is also the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of articles and books on the framework and practice of American politics, particularly its practical and religious aspects. His practical experience in civil society organizations and many parts of the American political and government systems generate noteworthy insights into how politics works and how it might work better.

Douglas L. Koopman, Ph.D. is professor emeritus of political science at Calvin University and senior fellow at the Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics. His specialties are American national political institutions, practical politics, and religion in American politics. Doug preceded his university work with a career on Capitol Hill and has made a continual practice of interrupting and enriching his teaching and writing for direct work in politics and government.

Graduating from Hope College with an undergraduate degree in mathematics, after a year of seminary study in New Jersey Koopman moved to Washington, D.C. From 1980 to 1995 he was a staff person in personal, committee, and leadership offices in the U.S. Congress. Concurrently, Koopman earned a Master of Theological Studies from Wesley Seminary and a Ph.D. in American Government from The Catholic University of America.

Koopman moved to Michigan to teach at Calvin, helping it start a semester in Washington, D.C. and the Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics. Startups and reforms became a regular part of his work. At Calvin, he restructured the Center for Social Research, helped begin a summer faculty-student research program in the social sciences and humanities, and served a new college president as executive associate involved in strategic planning and other special projects. At Hope College in the mid-2000s, Koopman founded a leadership institute that continues to provide meaningful coursework, practical experiences, and mentoring for Hope students discerning gifts and calling.

The interruptions to academic work included a return to Washington, D.C. for volunteer work in a House Republican leadership office and the White House faith-based office, and employment in advocacy and communication, and in teaching, for the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). Through ups, downs, and other contortions he remains active in the American political party system and in the news media as an expert source in areas of knowledge and expertise.