President of Principia College

Dr. Jolanda Westerhof (US’77, C’82) joined Principia as College President in March 2018, bringing a wide range of academic and professional experience in higher education.

Dr. Westerhof holds a BA in history and education from Principia, a master’s degree in international affairs from Washington University in St. Louis, and a PhD in curriculum and instruction from Indiana University. She taught at Principia College for five years and then at Grand Valley State University in Michigan for more than a decade, earning tenure in 2004. In 2005, she received a Fulbright lecture/research scholarship at the Centre for Research and Training in Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.

Before coming to Principia, Dr. Westerhof served as Associate Vice President and Director of Teacher Education for the Academic Leadership and Change Division at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington, DC. Just before assuming her post as College President, she received the 2018 David G. Imig Award for Distinguished Achievement in Teacher Education from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Named after AACTE's President and CEO Emeritus, the award recognizes individuals' career achievement in the formulation, implementation, research, or analysis of educator preparation policy.