Biography

Communicating a vision for Christian service has motivated President Zylstra since his undergraduate days at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A 1970 graduate of that institution, Carl E. Zylstra earned his master of divinity degree from Calvin Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in theology and communication from Princeton Theological Seminary.

He has served as a pastor and an educator, providing leadership to numerous educational institutions and church agencies. He is the past chair of the Iowa Association of College Presidents. President Zylstra has served as chair of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and is currently a member of its Executive Committee. He also has served as Secretary of the Iowa College Foundation on whose board he continues to serve. He recently concluded a term of service as chair of the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education and has served as a board member for the Barnabas Foundation.

Currently he holds the position of Vice Chair of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Independent Colleges and Universities, serving also on its Tax Policy Advisory Committee.

President Zylstra has been a trustee of three institutions of higher education -- Calvin College, Calvin Theological Seminary, and Dordt College. His published works include contributions to books published in Korea and Australia as well as in North America and he has spoken on issues of education and service on every inhabited continent.

As president of Dordt College since 1996 he has overseen significant expansions in facilities, endowment, and academic programs, including innovative collaborative ventures both internationally and with regional and national leaders in health care, engineering, and biotechnology education.

Married to a registered nurse, Gloria, father to three married sons, and grandfather to seven, Dr. Zylstra is well known regionally for his weekly radio talk show, Conversations, heard every Friday at 8:02 AM on KDCR, 88.5 FM.