Donald VanDoeselaar

Donald Van Doeselaar, EdS

2024 Lifetime Legacy Award Recipient

Donald Van Doeselaar is a graduate of Unity Christian High School. He attended Davenport Institute (University) at night for three years to study accounting while he worked in a furniture factory in Zeeland, MI.

Mr. Van Doeselaar was drafted into the U.S. military and served in a military police unit in West Germany from 1962 to 1964 during the Berlin Crisis. Upon discharge, he returned home to marry Joyce Miedema, a graduate of South Christian School.  

Mr. Van Doeselaar studied at Grand Rapids Community College, then transferred to Western Michigan University where he obtained a BA and Master in Political Science. He took his first teaching position at Buena Vista High School near Saginaw, Michigan, where he taught for eight years in the Social Studies and Business Departments during the day while teaching U.S. government classes at Delta College near Midland, Michigan in the evening.

In 1977, Mr. Van Doeselaar was hired as the Business Manager for Hudsonville Public Schools (HPS). In 1985, he took the job as Assistant Superintendent for Finance at Holland Public Schools. In 1992, he returned to HPS as Superintendent. At this time, he attended Michigan State University earning a post-graduate Education Specialist degree.

During his tenure as superintendent, a plan was needed to expand the area schools to account for population growth, and land was purchased in the Jamestown and Georgetown areas. Today, Baldwin Street Middle School, Georgetown Elementary School and Riley Street Middle School stand on these locations. He also successfully led the passing of a bond proposal to create equity across all the buildings in the district ie: principal offices, and libraries. 

Following his retirement from HPS in 2001, Mr. Van Doeselaar returned in a volunteer capacity at the request of Roxanne DeWeerd, then HPS Superintendent, to lead the formation of a foundation to promote and maintain quality public education in Hudsonville. After much work and community support, the committee’s efforts were successful and in 2004, the Hudsonville Public Schools Educational Foundation, now the Hudsonville Education Foundation, was created. 

In his retirement, Mr. Van Doeselaar has been actively involved in the Hudsonville community. He served as Hudsonville’s mayor from 2004 - 2016. While mayor, Hudsonville received a $100,000 grant from Ottawa County to fund a comprehensive planning study. The Village Square and the current construction along Chicago Drive are outcomes of the study. Properties were purchased for future use as well.

Another notable accomplishment while he served as mayor was the collaboration and contract between the City of Hudsonville Police and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department to improve area-wide policing services while decreasing costs for the city. 

Mr. Van Doeselaar was a member of the Hudsonville Lions Club for 25 years and is currently the Chairman of the Gary Byker Memorial Library Advisory Board. He and Joyce enjoy staying at their place at Sandy Pines in Hopkins, MI and gardening. They have two daughters and four grandsons.