Northwestern College | Classic - Winter 2003-04

A l u m n p iro f i l eN o r t h w e s t e r n C l a s s i cA Savory LegacyP rof impacts students in classroom and kitchenby Tamara Fynaard tDuring his almost fourdecades as a professor atN o rt h w e s t e rn College, Vi rg i lM u i l e n b u rg taught countlessbiology classes and labs, andm e n t o red numerous studentson their way to biology classrooms,re s e a rch laboratories,n a t u re conservancies, gradschools and medical schools.He watched Nort h w e s t e rn ’sbiology department gro wf rom two professors and 20majors to a faculty of fivewith over 120 majors.He also has served over6,000 pizzas to more than700 students during meals athis home.M u i l e n b u rg, a lifelongresident of Orange City,received the 2003Distinguished Service toN o rt h w e s t e rn College Aw a rdduring the college’s OctoberHomecoming celebration.M u i l e n b u rg graduatedvaledictorian fro mN o rt h w e s t e rn ClassicalAcademy (1958), salutatorianf rom the junior college(1960), and was a MagnaCum Laude graduate of then e w, four-year Nort h w e s t e rnCollege in 1962. He also wasa Faculty Honors re c i p i e n t .After earning a master’sd e g ree in natural sciencef rom the University of SouthDakota, Muilenburg wasasked by President Pre s t o nStegenga to re t u rn toN o rt h w e s t e rn as a sabbaticalreplacement for biology professorTom Ten Hoeve in1963. Ten Hoeve extendedhis sabbatical; Muilenburgstayed.When Ten Hoevere t u rned and was namedN o rt h w e s t e rn s ’ academicdean, Muilenburg stayed at h i rd and fourth year. “Iended up filling in for 37years,” he says with a laugh.During his years atN o rt h w e s t e rn, Muilenburgmoved offices several times,s t a rting with a space behindthe lab storage room andending in a renovated off i c ewith a view of campus andAlbany Av e n u e .Among his studentsw e re some who eventuallybecame colleagues, includingD r. Sara (Sybesma ’84)Tolsma, who earned a doctoratefrom Nort h w e s t e rnUniversity and joined thebiology department in 1995.M u i l e n b u rg also taughthis nephews Jay Wi e l e n g a’82, director of development,and Ron De Jong ’71, dean ofe n rollment services. “Ronwas a biology major,” heremembers. “I used him asan example with students. I’ds a y, ‘If you really study hard ,really buckle down, youmight become a doctor or abrain surgeon. Or you cans c rew off and becomeN o rt h w e s t e rn s ’ director ofa d m i s s i o n s .’”When Muilenburgre t i red in 2000, Dr. RobinP a l s - Rylaarsdam ’92, whoalso received a doctoratef rom Nort h w e s t e rnUniversity and now teachesat Trinity Christian Collegenear Chicago, wrote, “Thankyou for loving students andN o rt h w e s t e rn so much. IfI’m re m e m b e red only a tenthas fondly as you are, I’ll considerit a real compliment.”D r. Bryan Den Hart o g ,an ’81 alum who now is anR e t i red biology professor Vi rg Muilenburg is now serving pizza to a second generation of Nort h w e s t e rn students, one of manyreasons he was honored this fall for his decades of service to the college.1 2 ▲ W i n t e r 2 0 0 3 - 0 4