Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Burgsma: So you’re retiring as president. Congratulations. How does that feel?
Cooper: In one way it feels hard to believe that this wonderful thing that I’ve enjoyed so long will come to an end in three months. On the other hand, I can see God’s hand through so much in leading me to and through the time that I’ve had and then on to the next things that I’ll be doing. For me, there’s great joy looking back, celebrating, but there’s also a tinge of sadness that a chapter is going to come to a close.
Dr. Justin Cooper has been the president of Redeemer University College since 1994. Photo by Michelle Drew
Burgsma: Last time I spoke with you, you expressed your distaste with the word “retire”. Can you talk about how you are going to continue your work, and where we might expect your name to crop up in the next few years?
Cooper: Yes, retiring and this retiring from Redeemer are two different things. I’ll be moving on to two main areas of employment, both of which are in Christian higher education. One is the National Director of Christian Higher Education Canada which serves a group of thirty four Christian institutions across Canada, a couple of graduate schools, eight seminaries, bible colleges, and then eleven Christian universities. Redeemer is a member and I will continue to work with the colleagues that I have in the past, just trying to lead the institutions together, raise the profile of Christian higher education, and make institutions more effective in their missions. So, that’s the main thing that I’m going to do, out of my home so I can stay in the community, in my church community, and I’m really pleased about that. I’m also going to become executive director of the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education, which is a group of ten Christian institutions, three in Canada and seven in the U.S. So, there’s kind of a North American focus there. I have been on a task force for the International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education, and that’s an international dimension that I really am interested in, in trying to network Christian institutions around the world, and I’m also going to be on a local community foundation board. So, it’s supposed to add up to about two-thirds time. Definitely not retiring; I mean, you don’t retire from the Kingdom, do you?
Burgsma: Let’s talk about this presidential search. Were you involved at all? Did you have anything to do with the criteria they were looking for, and was there an occasion to consult you along the way?
Cooper: The Presidential search process was a really interesting one. I was involved in a minimal way, but that really respected my input at certain points. I certainly was asked at certain points by the committee about my experience and what I thought were important issues going forward. I also got to make some nominations like everyone else did to that initial group of fifty or sixty, and then at one point in the search, when they had some general concerns, they came back to me again for input. So, I really felt respected and consulted, but on the other hand I had nothing to do with it – which is appropriate. I think everyone was very, very supportive of the search process in prayer; appreciative of the committee process; and very happy with the results. Some people thought, “oh, they’re taking too long, how could they ever get this done?” I think the momentum picked up in December and in February and I did have the privilege of finding out before others as a courtesy, and I appreciated that.
Burgsma: What do you think about Dr. Krygsman?
Cooper: I think that he is an excellent choice, I’m really pleased that Redeemer selected somebody who has an academic background, academic administrative experience, somebody who knows the Reformed tradition well and who loves it, and a Canadian! Someone who understands our supporting community. I can see lots of positives. I really think it’s a good choice.
Burgsma: Is there any significance to the fact that Dr. Krygsman comes to us from Dordt?
Cooper: I would say yes and no. Yes, in the sense that Dordt is very much a sister institution, and that could be a very natural transition. On the other hand, I could well understand that somebody coming in could come from any other Christian university, or maybe not a Christian university at all, if they had the proper qualifications.
Cooper: When you were selected back in 1994 as president, it came down to you and Dr. Elaine Botha, a professor who (at the time) was coming from the outside. Based on what I’ve read in The Crown’s archives, some critically perceived you as the “status-quo”, saying that you were tied to the “old”, and Dr. Botha was tied to the “new”. Do you feel as though there was some merit to this generalization? Do you feel as though you brought some of the “new” to Redeemer during your time?
Cooper: We’ll never know what the other choice might have led to, but I think that I might have pleasantly surprised those that were worried I might be representing continuity too much. Or, to put it another way, I think that with the Lord’s blessing, Redeemer has grown in amazing ways, even though I was appointed from the inside. One of the blessings might have been my familiarity with the political context, and I believe God honoured that and blessed the breakthrough in 1998. Certainly in hindsight I can see how God used my gifts to bring Redeemer to the next level. Never alone, of course, always with the blessing of a team, working together, and the Lord opening the doors.
Burgsma: You have been here through some of the growing pains of Redeemer as an institution. I think one of the classic examples of a largely denominational, confessional university under pressure is McMaster, which (to make a long story short) let go of its identity as a Baptist institution to access desperately needed public support and eventually become the secular school that it is now. Recognizing that the size and purpose of our two institutions are quite different, could Redeemer possibly be in danger of getting ahead of itself in the same way? Have things been done differently here?
Cooper: Redeemer is not in danger of getting ahead of itself, and I think that dynamic comes from both within and outside the institution. It’s interesting to look at McMaster; as I’m told the story, it was 800 to 1000 students at the time of its coming out of World War Two and into the early fifties when the drift was beginning. Some of that had to do with going into the sciences, and some of it had to do with a supporting constituency which simply did not have the vision for that kind of growth or breadth in the curriculum. One of the things I give thanks for is the tremendous vision of our supporting community. They get what we are trying to do as a Christian university in a variety of disciplines, and continue to go with us, support us, and grow with us – so that’s one big difference I see. On the inside – I don’t know McMaster back then, but one would suspect that there was a more dualistic kind of situation, where the religion was in the religion department, and the chapels and what not. I think from day one, and continuing to this day, the faith commitment of Redeemer, the vision and the worldview, is really woven between the disciplines, and therefore throughout the faculty. We have a very strong board that really understands who we are and what we do and is really committed to keeping us centered. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, because you always ask, “on your watch, has the institution stayed centered, has it drifted or slipped in any ways?” and I’ve been very mindful of that and have tried to work in faithful ways to ensure that doesn’t happen.
We are also very intentional in our hiring and faculty mentoring processes, which focus on selecting faculty who are committed Christians, well-qualified academically and interested and able to integrate their faith and their academic work in a manner that is consistent with Redeemer's mission and vision. We also have a three-year mentoring process for new faculty that helps them deepen their understanding of a Biblical worldview and its relation to their discipline.
Burgsma: When we interviewed you in 1994, you touched on what you thought would be some themes for your presidency. You named four themes, which loosely related to spiritual vitality (acting in a Christian way, instead of just talking the talk); our identity coming from a reformed tradition, and how the language changes to communicate that to new generations; interacting with the broader reformed and evangelical communities; and opening our eyes to service opportunities, locally, as well as internationally and globally. Do you feel as though this was an accurate look forward on your time in this office? How have these themes been evident over the past sixteen years?
Cooper: I can look back with some satisfaction on three of the four, more than the international one. That one, I think, remains for us a goal, and it is in our strategic plan right now. But to come back to the other three, spiritual vitality has always been very important to me, it has been a part of Redeemer since its founding and I’m just overjoyed to see how that has continued and renewed in different way. This has really come about because we have been able to reach out to the broader Christian community. I think when I came into my presidency we may have been at the level of 32 denominations and now we are at 52. The beauty is that there has been a real impetus to continue and deepen that spiritual vitality on campus in a variety of ways not only for the students, but for the staff and faculty as well. I am so thankful that we have chapel because I view that as a foundation out of which the intellectual life has to come.
As far as the second goal of translation, we actually came out with a statement, “The Cross and our Calling” in order to try to explain a Reformed vision in more widely accessible language and particularly language rooted in scripture, so that we aren’t just talking worldview in technical philosophical terms. The Lord really has blessed us and I think what it has led to – which initially wasn’t one of my goals but which the Lord had in store for us – was that Redeemer gained a larger reputation academically, in the local community as a bona-fide university, and also nationally, as a university which is satisfying its students as seen through the survey responses. So the international one certainly is underway, and it will be something we will be trusting Dr. Krygsman to pick up and run with.
Burgsma: You came from the faculty end of things and moved over here to administration. What do you feel about the relationship between faculty and the administration? Do feel that it is very close at Redeemer?
Cooper: I think there are certain built in creative tensions between faculty and administration, simply because the administration is more long-term and deals with underlying kinds of things, while the faculty focuses on the main academic mission. So, there are built-in differing perspectives, and hopefully they can interact in creative ways.
When I began, there was a certain amount of tension and distrust between faculty and administration. That was a result of the Brookview Trust, and the things that had happened in the early 90’s. I came to administration in ’86, and though I had come from the faculty, I was already seen as an administrator. I think that the situation has changed markedly. In many ways there is good interchange back and forth between administration and faculty.
There are also those areas of creative tension that are endemic to the enterprise, but I have definitely seen growth. Hopefully for Dr. Krygsman, that is something he can continue to grow and build on. And maybe he will intersect with the faculty in new and creative ways that I have never thought of. That’s always the beauty of someone new coming in from a different institution; they can bring a fresh perspective, take things to a different place and a different level.
Burgsma: You mentioned the Trust Fund and forgiveness…
Cooper: It was a real test for the institution at the time because trust was lost in some fundamental ways. So in anything like that, where there is brokenness, when there is a turning of forgiveness, you can learn from it, grow from it, and I think that is what Redeemer did. I think there was a purpose to better us (in terms of financial transparency and communication). I believe that trust has been reestablished with the faculty and staff and students; certainly with our supporters and their confidence in being willing to donate and support us—it’s tremendous. I can’t say enough about that. One area where we still bump into tensions is alumni from that era, who still carry that, and haven’t had the opportunity to experience a different kind of Redeemer. So that’s the one place where there is more work to be done. I think that’s understandable, though.
Burgsma: In hindsight, does anything stick out as a possible theme that you didn’t expect?
Cooper: One is the opportunities that opened up for Redeemer to have greater public recognition. We always had sought the Charter Change (as we referred to it) because we knew the degree designations were not really accurate and reflective of what we were doing here academically. So that was the quest from 1986 on…I think what surprised all of us is that we were able to go on and make additional gains, to have our name changed. Having “university” in our name is very, very significant…[that was an] important step, a crucial step in reflecting to the public who we are: we are a university.
Another thing we didn’t dare believe for was the bachelor of education….God opened the door in amazing ways and we were not resisted [in the Ontario establishment]. For that to fall in place, and then a number of smaller things since then, we have had a sense that we have…an impact on the structure of things in higher education in Ontario. That’s been tremendous.
Burgsma: You talked about the bachelor of education. I know that the reputation of our students is good. Do you think that led to the recommendation for accreditation?
Cooper: I think the performance of our students, of our alumni, is a critical element of Redeemer’s being recognized, and not just the bachelor of education. One story I can relate is that a critical turning point was when the Council of Ontario Universities was asked its opinion about recognizing Redeemer as an undergraduate university…What was related to me in the afternoon when I talked to…the president of the COU, and she told me about a meeting [of all the] presidents of the Ontario universities and how everyone had had Redeemer graduates in their graduate schools and every one of the graduates had done well. That was one of the key elements that helped turn the tide—that awareness of our students and the quality of the training they received and how they acquitted themselves in grad school and in employment. That helped build the reputation, and I think similarly for the bachelor of education, that just helped uplift that application as well.
Burgsma: Do you feel the way students conduct themselves has made your job easier?
Cooper: Oh definitely. The more alumni that have been out there, the more I have experienced: “Oh yeah. I know one of your graduates.” Those connections have definitely made it easier to convince people of the quality of Redeemer. Most of the convincing is already done—the proof is in the pudding and the eating.
Burgsma: If you were to name one blessing as the most formative for this institution over your time as president, what would it be?
Cooper: It would be the university recognition. The 1998 breakthrough. That really was the moment in Redeemer’s development when it felt like the heavens opened and God smiled on us. If you know the inner workings of how that came to be, then you know how God’s fingerprints were all over that. It was really holy ground, and for me to be involved in something like that it was so special. So special. I think for the institution too, that was the moment where what we are was recognized in law. So those two things came into alignment and with that alignment, Redeemer has really been propelled forward since that time—it’s double in size.
Burgsma: Are there any other things you’d like to reflect upon?
Cooper: A great thrill is sitting in chapel and listening to a student speak from the heart, or to sit in a theatre performance or in a choir performance, and tears just stream down my face because I think “Wow! It’s happened. This is real. Redeemer’s forming students and they’re going places.”…Or you talk to students who have come back from mission trips. Those are very exhilarating moments when you come face to face with what Redeemer is all about.
And then, to put the other side of that into perspective, there is always a thrill in meeting a parent who will talk to you and say that “My son or daughter came to Redeemer and there were some concerns, but I see how the Lord is blessing them.” Or to sit in the living room of a donor—and there have been some very sacred, special moments when you hear the vision of the donor and to visit together in prayer—and you realize that there is such a solidarity there of faith. You can’t manufacture that…It’s a gift.
Burgsma: So, you’re walking by the excavation, and you see an old oil lamp. You give it a rub, and a genie appears. You can make three wishes for Redeemer going forward. What would they be?
Cooper: The first one would be that Redeemer will continue to find ways to refresh its Reformed, Christian identity with biblical integrity. That it would stay rooted and not become insular or traditional or rigid, but to continually refresh that. That the Spirit will continue to lead. To stay focused, but to do it in fresh ways so that it doesn’t become stale. The vision, that’s what it’s all about.
The second one would be that Redeemer will continue to be a true, Christian academic community. The community that Redeemer is really gives hands and feet to the vision: the living situation, the prayer that goes on, etc. It is such a wonderful thing that sense of community.
The third thing would be that the Lord would continue to bless Redeemer with the resources it needs. And probably that He would do so in the surprising ways He has, so that the community would continue to be on its knees. I hope it never gets a 100 million dollar endowment so that it can sit back and get flabby and lose touch with the supporting community. But, we’re still at the point where our long-term debt is still a bit larger, and squeezes on the budget. So I also hope that things would reach a little bit more of a stable, comfortable level so that some of the sacrificial kinds of work and doing without things can end so that we can be a little bit more enriched here.
Burgsma: So, you wouldn’t free the Genie?
Cooper: (Laughter).
Burgsma: Is there anything you would say to students, as a lasting statement that would apply to students now and decades from now?
Cooper: I would say that I really hope that Redeemer is giving students a big and vital sense of Jesus Christ and His coming kingdom. My hope for students would be to stay true to that and to stay grounded in that. Don’t give up on that, no matter how difficult things may become in our society. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
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