, but this code // executes before the first paint, when

麻豆区

is not yet present. The // classes are added to so styling immediately reflects the current // toolbar state. The classes are removed after the toolbar completes // initialization. const classesToAdd = ['toolbar-loading', 'toolbar-anti-flicker']; if (toolbarState) { const { orientation, hasActiveTab, isFixed, activeTray, activeTabId, isOriented, userButtonMinWidth } = toolbarState; classesToAdd.push( orientation ? `toolbar-` + orientation + `` : 'toolbar-horizontal', ); if (hasActiveTab !== false) { classesToAdd.push('toolbar-tray-open'); } if (isFixed) { classesToAdd.push('toolbar-fixed'); } if (isOriented) { classesToAdd.push('toolbar-oriented'); } if (activeTray) { // These styles are added so the active tab/tray styles are present // immediately instead of "flickering" on as the toolbar initializes. In // instances where a tray is lazy loaded, these styles facilitate the // lazy loaded tray appearing gracefully and without reflow. const styleContent = ` .toolbar-loading #` + activeTabId + ` { background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25) 20%, transparent 200%); } .toolbar-loading #` + activeTabId + `-tray { display: block; box-shadow: -1px 0 5px 2px rgb(0 0 0 / 33%); border-right: 1px solid #aaa; background-color: #f5f5f5; z-index: 0; } .toolbar-loading.toolbar-vertical.toolbar-tray-open #` + activeTabId + `-tray { width: 15rem; height: 100vh; } .toolbar-loading.toolbar-horizontal :not(#` + activeTray + `) > .toolbar-lining {opacity: 0}`; const style = document.createElement('style'); style.textContent = styleContent; style.setAttribute('data-toolbar-anti-flicker-loading', true); document.querySelector('head').appendChild(style); if (userButtonMinWidth) { const userButtonStyle = document.createElement('style'); userButtonStyle.textContent = `#toolbar-item-user {min-width: ` + userButtonMinWidth +`px;}` document.querySelector('head').appendChild(userButtonStyle); } } } document.querySelector('html').classList.add(...classesToAdd); })(); Beyond Numbers - News & Stories | 麻豆区

麻豆区

Skip to main content

Spark

Beyond Numbers

Wed, Nov 13, 2024

Just after graduating from Calvin, Charles 鈥淒oug鈥 Gardner 鈥52 enlisted in the military鈥攊t was the middle of the Korean War.

Gardner鈥檚 son Brian loves the story of how his dad received his first assignment. 鈥淢y dad had finished basic training, and he was waiting in line to find out where he would be stationed. When it was his turn, the assigning officer noticed his Calvin class ring and asked him where he鈥檇 like to go.鈥 Gardner, who never expected to have the choice, attended clerk school in Germany and completed his military service in Europe. He always felt grateful for that Calvin connection.

After the war, Gardner earned a master鈥檚 degree in educational psychology and became a math teacher, a role he enjoyed for ten years. As many teachers do, Gardner spent his summers earning extra income for his family. His part- time work as a builder led to a career change in 1966.

Grand Valley State University needed off-campus housing for its growing student body, and Gardner was up to the task. That relationship led to the establishment of a successful business, BBG Corporation, now Campus View Housing, currently operated by Brian.

To get the business up and running, Gardner worked for free for almost two years, paying himself in company stock, while his wife, Joan Baker Gardner RN鈥54, supported the family as a nurse. 鈥淕rowing up, my mom always worked,鈥 Brian says. He also recalls the many summer hours he and his siblings clocked cleaning and painting. 鈥淚t was truly a family business.鈥

The Gardners kept close ties to Calvin over the years. They were longtime members of Shawnee Park Christian Reformed Church, many of their friends taught or worked at Calvin, and all three of their children attended Grand Rapids Christian Schools and two attended Calvin. Brian jokes he was 鈥渢he black sheep of the family,鈥 attending Hope to play football, though he worked at Calvin one summer and attended summer camps. 鈥淐alvin was a part of the fabric of our family鈥檚 life,鈥 Brian says.

Though it felt natural for his dad to establish a legacy gift, the circumstances surrounding that decision are still comical to Brian. 鈥淒ad didn鈥檛 want to be outdone by an acquaintance of his who set up a similar gift,鈥 Brian chuckles. 鈥淲hen he heard a guy he didn鈥檛 especially like had given a million dollars to Calvin, he said, 鈥業 can do that!鈥欌

In partnership with Calvin鈥檚 office of gift planning, Brian helped his dad designate an estate gift for the academic programs he loved most. 鈥淒ad wanted at least some of the gift to go to the psychology and math departments,鈥 Brian says. The rest Gardner designated for Calvin to use as needed.

How far can one million dollars stretch?

As it turns out, quite far. When Gardner died in 2022, his legacy gift funded three important projects, including the renovation of a high-tech math classroom and the establishment of a psychology scholarship now given annually. As for the remainder, Brian says his dad would have been thrilled to support the new football program. 鈥淒ad was a big football fan鈥攊t鈥檚 why he let me go to Hope. He would have loved that his gift is supporting Calvin football.鈥