Howard Evan Runner Collection, 1928-2004 | Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

By Paul Bremer, March 2011

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Collection Overview

Title: Howard Evan Runner Collection, 1928-2004

ID: COLL/509

Primary Creator: Runner, Howard Evan (1916-2002)

Extent: 35.0 Boxes. More info below.

Arrangement: Folder level description

Date Acquired: 00/00/2008

Abstract

Professor of philosophy at Calvin College. The collection includes biographical and autobiographical information; course notes; correspondence; speeches, lectures, and sermons; materials regarding the Groen van Prinsterer Club; articles and book reviews; positions papers; D. H. Vollenhoven and H. Dooyeweerd material; creation/evolution debate material; an unpublished book, Perspectives in Philosophy, material; subject files with comments and reflections; Association for the Advancement of Christian Scholarship (AACS), Association of Reformed Scientific Studies (ARSS), Christian Labor Association (CLA), Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC ), National Association for Christian Political Action (NACPA), and Institute for Christian Studies (ICS) materials; and select papers written by other authors. [See also the Campus Titles Database.]

Biographical Note

Howard Evan Runner, known as H. Evan Runner or simply Evan Runner, was born in 1916 in Oxford, Pennsylvania, to Howard Clinton Runner and Sara Mabel Watterson. In his early years Runner had a love of philosophy and language-and a desire to be a missionary. He graduated from West Philadelphia High School in 1932; from Wheaton College in 1936. Although he received a scholarship to study at the University of Illinois, he went to Westminster Seminary for advanced studies. Cornelius Van Til of Westminster convinced him to learn the Dutch language so he would be able to pursue some significant thinkers of the Netherlands. Runner went to the Netherlands in 1939 and studied with Klaas Schilder and Seakle Greijdanus at the Theological School in Kampen. He returned to the US in early 1940 and went to Harvard, studing with Werner Jaeger and was a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University from 1941-1943.

After leaving Harvard he taught English and Latin at Eastern Academy in Paterson, New Jersey. He returned to the Netherlands in 1946 to study at the Free University and began to appreciate the work of reformational philosophers Herman Dooyeweerd and Dirk Hendrik Theodoor Vollenhoven. He received his doctorate in1951 cum laude.

In 1950 he joined the Philosophy Department at Calvin College. He taught with zeal and gathered students from various disciplines into the Groen van Prinsterer Society. These students became his friends and collegues. His dedication and teaching a new vision of Christian Philosphy earned Runner the Faith and Teaching Award from the Calvin Alumni Association.

He developed a program of study which included "who the Puritans were, the meaning of the Enlightenment, its influence in America, the basic ideas of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the nature of Scholasticism, particularly as manifested in Reformed theology, the concept of natural law, the religious ground-motives that have successively given order to the experience of Western man, the origins of capitalsm, the rise of the labor movement, etc."

Runner was instrumental in formation and leadership of the Association for the Advancement of Christian Scholarship. Many of his students established their own careers, often at Christian colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

Runner was married to Elisabeth Hendrika Wichers. They had three children, Evan, Cathy, and Jocelyn. He died in 2002.

Administrative Information

Repository: Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

Alternate Extent Statement: Boxes

Acquisition Source: Evan W. Runner, June 2008

Related Materials: Audio recordings of some of Evan Runner's classroom lectures were recorded on cassette tape and can be found in the Campus Titles database. For more information please see https://calvin.edu/offices-services/information-technology/contact/audio-visual/titles/.

Other Note: Acc. No. 08.31

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Runner Biographical and Autobiographical, 1928-2004],
[Series 2: Seminary Course Notes, undated],
[Series 3: Correspondence, 1930-1999],
[Series 4: Groen van Prinsterer Society, 1951-1976],
[Series 5: D. H. Vollenhoven Material, 1942-1981],
[Series 6: H. Dooyeweerd Material, 1933-1994],
[Series 7: Creation/Evolution Debate Material, 1953-1994],
[Series 8: Lecture Notes, 1952-1984, undated],
[Series 9: Speeches, Lectures, and Sermons, 1953-1990],
[Series 10: Papers Written, 1951-1981],
[Series 11: Perspectives Material, undated],
[Series 12: Subject Files and Comments/Reflections, 1954-1987],
[Series 13: Material re: National Association for Christian Political Action (NACPA), Association for Reformed Scientific Studies (ARSS), Institute for Christian Studies (ICS), and Christian Labor Association (CLA), 1961-1997],
[Series 14: Papers by Authors Other than H. Evan Runner, 1938-1992],
[Series 15: Varia, 1939-1981],
[Series 16: Photographs],
[All]

Series 1: Runner Biographical and Autobiographical --- 1928-2004

Box 1

Folder 1: School report: "Chart of Life of Christ" --- 1933

Folder 2: Notes for high school history courses --- 1928-1932

Folder 3: Material for English literature course at University of Pennsylvania

Item 1: "An Introduction to English Literature up to the Nineteenth Century" --- 1934-1935

Folder 4: Summary of the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament) --- 1934-1935

Folder 5: Junior high Greek History notebooks --- undated

Folder 6: High school and college graduation programs

Item 1: "Commencement" West Philadelphia High School --- 1932
Item 2: Commencement invitation from Wheaton --- 1936
Item 3: "Baccalaureate Exercises" and "Commencement Exercises" from Wheaton --- 1936

Folder 7: Transcript, Free University of Amsterdam --- 1946-1950

Folder 8: Notebook, "Bks. To Read" --- 1950

Folder 9: Dissertation, The Development of Aristotle Illustrated From the Earliest Books of the Physics --- 1951

Folder 10: Personal notebook --- undated

Folder 11: "Interview with Dr. H. Evan Runner," by Harry Van Dyke and Albert M. Wolters --- 1976

Folder 12: "Transcript of Taped Interview with Professor Runner" --- 1976

Folder 13: Material re: application for sabbatical --- 1977

Folder 14: Material re: H.E. Runner retirement --- 1981

Folder 15: Honors and appointments

Item 1: "Faith and Learning Award" --- 1993
Item 2: Spark article, "A Tribute to H. Evan Runner" --- 1981
Item 3: Chimes article: "The Tulmultous Years of Dr H Evan Runner, " 1981 Material re: Hearing and Doing: Philosophical Essays Dedicated to H. Evan Runner" --- 1978

Folder 16: Material for autobiography --- undated

Folder 17: Discussion between H. Evan Runner and Papini --- undated

Folder 18: Personal photos --- 1957, and undated

Folder 19: Newsclippings

Item 1: "Misdirected Efforts," Chimes --- 1974
Item 2: "Christian Thought Conference Continues," The Bagpipe (Covanant College, Tennessee) --- 1969
Item 3: Review of Chuck Colson's Life Sentence, by H. Evan Runner --- 1981

Folder 20: Christian Renewal, Special Supplement: Runner Remembered, 1916-2002 --- March 10, 2003

Item 1: Tributes by J. Hultink, A. Wolters, T. Plantinga, K. Hollingsworth, H. Antonides, C. Seerveld, H. Vander Goot, Cathy Collins, H. Van Dyke
Item 2: Other articles regarding H. E. Runner

Folder 21: Pro Rege, v. 32, no. 1: "Runner's Impact on the Academy and Beyond: Personal Reflections," by Al Wolters --- September 2003

Item 1: "Give Thanks for H. Evan Runner," by Keth C. Sewell

Folder 22: Myodicy, Issue 17 --- December 2002

Item 1: "H. Evan Runner: Man of Passion, Man of Conviction," by Theodore Plantinga
Item 2: Cardus: "Importance of H. Evan Runner," by Al Wolters --- January 1, 2003
Item 3: Cardus: "H. Evan Runner and the Groen Club," by Harry Van Dyke --- January 1, 2004