Ward and Myrna Stienstra

Ward and Myrna Stienstra are committed to Christian education and established this scholarship with thanks to God for the influence Calvin College has had and continues to have on their lives. Ward and Myrna are both alumni of Calvin and parents of two children with Calvin degrees, their son Curt is an electrical engineer and their daughter Julie earned a degree in social work, and they now want to assist in making a Calvin education available to others. Professor Stienstra’s life’s work was to educate farmers, growers and the food production industry about plant diseases and management methods to supply safe, healthy plant products. Plants are estimated to use approximately 50% of the energy they produce to protect themselves from pathogens. Plant diseases like the Irish Potato Famine during 1845-1852 devastated Ireland’s population, killing over 1,000,000 men, women and children. Successful, safe crop production is a basic requirement for stable communities in all the world. It has been said plant diseases never sleep! That is the challenging world of science and plant/crop production. This scholarship will support Calvin students who are pursuing a biology major with an emphasis on plant biology and preference will be given to those who plan to seek a position in Agriculture/Crop/Food Production.