Vernon J. Ehlers Collection, 1955-2010 | Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

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Collection Overview

Title: Vernon J. Ehlers Collection, 1955-2010

ID: COLL/525

Primary Creator: Vernon James Ehlers (1934-2017)

Extent: 93.0 Boxes

Arrangement: Folder level description

Abstract

Professor of physics at Calvin College; and a politician (Kent County Board Commissioner, State Representative, State Senator, and Federal Congressman). The collection details Ehlers’ political career including committee service and bills sponsored/co-sponsored, plus his earlier academic career. The collection includes biographical data, resolutions, reports, news releases, memorandums, correspondence, notes, speeches, bills, proclamations, acts, concept papers, house statements, articles, remarks, political campaign material, testimonies, debates, awards, papers, interviews, handouts, studies, appointment books/cards/lists/schedules/sheets, news clippings, videos, cassettes, DVDs, posters, photographs, and artifacts.

Biographical Note

Vernon James Ehlers is the youngest of the four children of Rev. John William Christian and Alice Cornelia (née Doorn) Ehlers, born on 6 Feb 1934 in Pipestone, MN. He suffered from severe asthma as a child and as a consequence was unable to attend school. He was home- and self-schooled and received a diploma from Edgerton (MN) Christian School and did his high school work via correspondence. He attended Calvin College, 1952-1955; and the University of California, Berkeley, from which he received an AB in 1956 and a PhD in 1960; his doctoral dissertation was “The Nuclear Spins and Moments of Several Radioactive Gallium Isotopes.”

He taught and conducted scientific research at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, 1956-1966, and joined the Physics Department of Calvin College in 1966, ultimately serving as department chair. He was a member of the Faculty Organization Study Committee (FOSCO), 1968-1977, that developed a new faculty governance system for the college, whose enrollment had grown from 500 in 1945 to 3,200 when Ehlers joined the faculty. He left the college faculty in 1983 to serve in the Michigan Legislature.

Ehlers was elected to the Kent County Board of Commissioners, 1975-1983; the Michigan House of Representatives, 1983-1985; and the Michigan Senate, 1985-1993. In 1993 he won a special election in Michigan’s 5^th District (later 3^rd), after the death of former fellow faculty member Congress Member Paul B. Henry (Coll. 357) and won a full term in 1994, and subsequent elections, serving until 2011.

Ehlers married Johanna Meulink on 14 Jun 1958; they have four children: Heidi, Brian, Marla, and Todd. The Ehlers were founding members of Faith Fellowship Christian Reformed Church, Walnut Creek, CA, in 1961.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal, 1955-2010],
[Series 2: Student Years, 1955-1960],
[Series 3: Post Graduate Correspondence, 1960-1967],
[Series 4: Research, 1962-1968],
[Series 5: Class Lectures, 1967-1979],
[Series 6: Student Evaluations, 1979-1982, n.d.],
[Series 7: Calvin College Faculty, 1963-1983],
[Series 8: Kent County Board of Commissioners, 1878-1982],
[Series 9: Michigan House of Representatives and Senate, 1982-1993],
[Series 10: United States Congress, 1993-2012],
[Series 11: United States Congress, 1993-2012],
[Series 12: Election campaigns],
[Series 13: Legislation],
[Series 14: Reference material],
[Series 15: Invitations],
[Series 16: Awards and Honors],
[Series 17: Subject files],
[Series 18: Photographs],
[Series 19: Media Relations],
[Series 20: Ehlers' Campaigns],
[Series 21: Constituent Gifts],
[Series 22: Aeronautics and Aerospace],
[Series 23: Plaques and Awards],
[Series 24: Certificates],
[Series 25: Photographs],
[Series 26: Republican Party],
[Series 27: Buttons, Decals, Patches, Memorabilia],
[Series 28: Legislation],
[Series 29: Miscellaneous],
[All]

Series 18: Photographs

Box 72

Folder 1: #A3-#L3 --- 1995-1999
Folder 2: #M3-#Z3 --- 1995-1999
Folder 3: #A4-#Z4 --- 1995-2001
Folder 4: #A6-#Z6 --- 1995-2001
Folder 5: Vern Ehlers
Folder 6: Ehlers Family Photos
Folder 7: Vern and Jo Ehlers
Folder 8: With Gerald Ford
Folder 9: With Ronald Reagan
Folder 10: With President H. W. Bush
Folder 11: With President Bill Clinton
Folder 12: With President George W. Bush
Folder 13: With President Barack Obama
Folder 14: Reproduced Photographs of Presidents

Box 73

Folder 1: Lab Photographs at U.C. Berkeley --- late 1950s-early 1960s
Folder 2: Bill Signing with Governor Blanchard
Folder 3: With John Engler
Folder 4: With William Milliken
Folder 5: With Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands
Folder 6: With Milton Berl
Folder 7: With John McCain
Folder 8: With Jack Kemp
Folder 9: With Newt Gingrich
Folder 10: With Dennis Hastert
Folder 11: Dan Quayle
Folder 12: Bob and Elizabeth Dole
Folder 13: With Billy Graham
Folder 14: With Jack Nickalus
Folder 15: With Al Gore
Folder 16: With Dick Cheney
Folder 17: With Colin Powell
Folder 18: With Various Celebrities
Folder 19: With Arnold Schwarzenegger
Folder 20: With Patrick Leahy
Folder 21: Campaign Events
Folder 22: Calvin College
Folder 23: With Constituents
Folder 24: Michigan State Legislature
Folder 25: Photographs with Members of Congress
Folder 26: Michigan State Senate --- 1987-1990
Folder 27: Michigan House of Representatives --- 1983-1984
Folder 28: British American Parliamentary Group --- 2004
Folder 29: Space Shuttle STS-88 --- Dec 1998
Folder 30: Trips and Speeches
Folder 31: Congress
Folder 32: Michigan Appearances
Folder 33: Michigan Appearances
Folder 34: Awards Received
Folder 35: Miscellaneous