With deep appreciation, we announce today that Rev. Dr. Rolf Bouma is concluding his coordination of the Au Sable Graduate Fellows program. This past year marked the 18th year that Rolf had been involved in coordinating the Au Sable Graduate Fellows Program. He began in 2002 as the campus liaison for the University of Michigan chapter and then took over the overall Grad Fellows coordination in 2007. What began as 3 chapters with 14 Fellows in 2002 grew at its peak to involve as many as 35 graduate students at over 10 universities. In 2019-20 there were 22 Fellows at 11 different universities.

The Au Sable Graduate Fellows program is a way for graduate students interested in Christian environmental stewardship to connect with peers within their home university and across other major research universities. Members of the Graduate Fellows program attend major research universities and are recognized by Au Sable as having exceptional abilities, interests, and leadership potential in the area of environmental stewardship. Fellows gather for a conference on the Au Sable campus each January and receive a stipend each year to build a personal library of Christian environmental stewardship literature.

While Rolf made the decision earlier this year as part of his plan to move toward retirement (he already stepped away from parish ministry in late 2019), he expects to continue teaching environmental ethics, religion, and public policy at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Please join us in recognizing and thanking Rolf for his years of ministry and service and for the continuing influence the Graduate Fellows Program will have on the Au Sable community, Christian higher education, and the wider work of environmental stewardship.