Harrison Visscher

Harrison Visscher, Ph.D. - Class of 1947 

2017 Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee

Posthumous 
Career Achievements

Dr. Harrison Visscher graduated from Hudsonville High School, Hope College, and the University of Michigan Medical School. He interned at Saint Mary’s Hospital and became an officer in the US Army Medical Corps in Germany for three years. Dr. Visscher did his obstetrics and gynecology residency at Northwestern University and then he and his brother Robert founded Grand Valley Gynecology at Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids in 1961. 

After 20 years in private practice, Dr. Visscher served for 15 years as the Director of Education of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Washington DC until his retirement in 1995. Dr. Visscher was active in the areas of women’s health, sports, Hope College, and the church. He received distinguished alumni awards from Hope College and Northwestern University, and many other awards for his outstanding leadership in medical education. Dr. Visscher and his wife, Bette, (Harry’s first wife passed away in 2000) were the first co-chairpersons of the Hope College Dimnent Heritage Society. He generously funded the Harrison and Mary Visscher Endowed Professorship in Genetics at Hope College.

Dr. Visscher passed away in December 2013 at age 84.