Category: Faculty & Staff

Professor’s Project Promotes Pollinators, Begets Buzz

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pollinators
Alexa Dulmage ’21 (left) is among the students who help Kalamazoo College Biology Professor Ann Fraser (right) support pollinators and sample bee diversity at Lillian Anderson Arboretum.

Kalamazoo College Biology Professor Ann Fraser is hoping to create some buzz with her latest project at the Lillian Anderson Arboretum.

Part of her project aims to sustain more pollinators such as bees after a perceived decline in the state’s pollinator population since the 1990s. The Kalamazoo Community Foundation is providing support of $7,000 from the Love Where You Live Environment Fund toward Fraser’s project, which will help her and K students create:

  • a better food supply for pollinators by planting the wildflowers they desire;
  • an improved nesting habitat often consisting of clear ground; and
  • an information campaign that will encourage southwest Michigan residents to use fewer pesticides, especially in their yards and homes.
Pollinators
Erik Funke ’19 helps Biology Professor Ann Fraser support pollinators and sample bee diversity at Lillian Anderson Arboretum.

The rest of Fraser’s project, supported by Kalamazoo College, will develop protocols for bumble-bee monitoring that K students and local citizen scientists can use at nature preserves through collaborations with the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. Fraser said about 465 types of bees are native to Michigan including nearly 100 at the arboretum.

“This will help us develop some long-term monitoring so we can record populations year after year to spot declines as they’re beginning to happen,” Fraser said, noting that these studies involve wild bees, not bees maintained in hives. That means it’s important to maintain food supplies and nesting areas rather than hives.

“There have been European studies that have shown significant declines in insect populations,” she added. “But without our own measurements, we can only ask, ‘is it true?’ Empirical evidence will call us to act.”

pollinators
Aya Abe ’16 was among the students who helped Biology Professor Ann Fraser support pollinators and sample bee diversity at Lillian Anderson Arboretum.

That action would be important assuming a population decline because “bees are the most important pollinators of plants,” Fraser said. “Without bees, plants don’t reproduce. Fruit crops rely on pollinators and losing pollinators will affect our food supply.”

As a result, “this support from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation is a wonderful gift,” Fraser said. “It’s the catalyst we’ve needed to get it off the ground.”

Fraser has been a professor at K since 2003. She normally teaches introductory biology, entomology, animal behavior and chemical ecology courses, although she is taking a two-term sabbatical. With that time, she will study similar successful projects executed through schools such as the University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota and the University of Illinois.

Fraser said other projects have also grown locally, including one last year along Drake Road in Oshtemo Township. Part of Fraser’s research will examine whether the Lillian Anderson Arboretum project benefits pollinators by continuing to survey bee populations pre- and post-habitat enrichment. Her own teams will start preparing areas at the arboretum for planting this spring and summer before planting begins in fall.

Community members and students looking to contribute to educational, awareness and research efforts should stay tuned for more information on how to volunteer as plans develop.

K Professor Visits Sénégal, Université Cheikh Anta Diop

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Bangura and Thioub in Sénégal
Kalamazoo College Professor of History and Director of African Studies Joseph Bangura (left) and Center for International Programs Executive Director Margaret Wiedenhoeft (not pictured) recently visited Université Cheikh Anta Diop Chancellor/President Ibrahima Thioub (right) in Dakar, Sénégal.

Kalamazoo College Professor of History and Director of African Studies Joseph Bangura and Kalamazoo College Center for International Programs Executive Director Margaret Wiedenhoeft recently visited Université Cheikh Anta Diop Chancellor/President Ibrahima Thioub in Dakar, Sénégal, to strengthen the ties between their institutions.

Bangura also presented Thioub with a copy of his book titled “The Temne of Sierra Leone: African Agency in the Making of a British Colony,” which was released last year.

Thioub’s academic specialties are history, the modern and contemporary history of Africa, and the Atlantic slave trade. He is also a history professor and a former resident director for K study abroad programs.

Read more about Bangura and his 2017 book at our website.

K Expands Student Options for Externships

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Kalamazoo College students are about to have more options for externships, providing them with valuable experience applicable toward their chosen professions.

Externships
Rachel Wasserman ’20 (from left), Juan Avila ’19 and Yasamin Shaker ’20 participated in a Discovery Externship with host Becky Warner ’04 at Full Tilth Farm in Poulsbo, Washington.

An externship is a short-term job-shadowing experience that works like an apprenticeship, giving a training program through a brief yet practical experience. K’s traditional externships have paired more than 700 students with alumni who provide a homestay and a work opportunity.

Such options will remain available. And starting next summer, K also will offer local and do-it-yourself (DIY) externships. Local externships will encourage students to apply for experiences in their hometown. DIY externships will encourage students to use an online networking application through the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) to work directly with K alumni in creating an externship of their own design.

“Our goal is to provide more flexibility, so we can broaden alumni participation and student opportunities,” CCPD Assistant Director Richard Sylvester said. With these experiences, “we seek to better meet the needs of current K students as they prepare for a rapidly changing job market.”

Past opportunities traditionally have varied in character and geography. They have included:

  • helping at a community kitchen and farmer’s market in Chelsea, Michigan;
  • working with children on the autism spectrum at Daily Behavioral Health in Cleveland, Ohio; and
  • getting up close with octopi in the crystal waters of the Caribbean for the Northeastern University Marine Science Center.

In many cases, externships such as these have lasting effects on how students approach their careers. That’s because they serve as real-life applications of majors and give students a head-start on their networking despite shorter time commitments.

“By providing three tracks, we hope to offer a wider slate of externships and allow students to secure the externships that are best suited for them as they begin to explore the world of work,” Sylvester said.

The CCPD is currently seeking alumni professionals interested in hosting student externs in summer 2019. “By the time we launch to students in January, we hope to have dozens of new alumni lined up as workplace and homestay hosts,” says Sylvester, who encourages interested alumni to contact him directly at richard.sylvester@kzoo.edu.

For more information on externships and how to apply for them, visit the CCPD in Dewing Hall, go to its website or call 269.337.7183.

Cafsgiving Makes Finals Prep More Palatable

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Student lifting plates during Cafsgiving
Students enjoyed tables full of delectable Thanksgiving treats during Cafsgiving on Thursday. You can see more pictures from the event on our Facebook page.

Kalamazoo College students flocked Thursday to the Hicks Student Center to participate in an annual tradition that makes preparing for fall-term finals a little more palatable.

Cafsgiving, a Thanksgiving-style meal served by faculty and staff through Kalamazoo College Dining Services, presented students with delectable delights including ham and turkey, a multitude of breads, mashed potatoes and gravy, and an array of pies and desserts that could satisfy any student’s hunger.

Long lines formed early outside the cafeteria, as they always do for Cafsgiving. But professors and staffers, including Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez, served appetizers and hors d’oeuvres as students waited their turns.

The meal is served each year on the last Thursday of the fall term with students anticipating winter break. The mood was complete this year with a turkey-shaped ice sculpture at the punch table proclaiming “Happy Cafsgiving,” dimmed lights and snow gently falling outside.

K Names New Chief Academic Officer

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Kalamazoo College has named a new provost to provide vision and direction for the academic program. President Jorge G. Gonzalez tapped Danette Ifert Johnson, currently the vice provost at Ithaca College in New York, for the top academic position. She will begin her role on July 1, 2019.

New Provost Danette Ifert Johnson
Danette Ifert Johnson, currently the vice provost at Ithaca College in New York, will be Kalamazoo College’s new provost.

Johnson brings a wealth of experience to Kalamazoo College. A tenured professor at Ithaca College, Johnson has spent four years as vice provost. She also served as the inaugural director of Ithaca’s Integrative Core Curriculum, experience Gonzalez says will serve her well at K.

“In addition to her extensive administrative experience, Danette has a long record of teaching success, and her scholarly accomplishments are considerable,” said Gonzalez. “K is reimagining our signature K-Plan, the individualized academic and experiential path each student creates, to ensure it meets the needs of this generation. Danette will lead a talented and engaged academic community and partner with other leaders of the College to build upon and support an innovative vision to advance Kalamazoo College.”

Johnson says K’s reputation for excellence in residential liberal arts education, and integrating rigorous and meaningful classroom and experiential opportunities drew her to this role.

“My interactions throughout the search process confirmed that the community-wide commitment to prepare students for an ever more complex and diverse world is genuine,” said Johnson adding, “I am especially eager to collaborate with K’s outstanding faculty and staff as we look for ways to enhance the outstanding educational experiences already in place. I am excited to begin working with President Gonzalez and the entire K community.”

An alumna of West Virginia Wesleyan College, Johnson served her alma mater as president of the Alumni Council and a member of the Board of Trustees. She has been a faculty member at West Virginia Wesleyan and Texas Tech University in addition to Ithaca College. She served as the executive director and president of the Eastern Communication Association (ECA), which honored her as a distinguished teaching fellow and distinguished research fellow.

Johnson earned her bachelor’s degree in speech communication and history from West Virginia Wesleyan College, a master’s degree in educational psychology from West Virginia University, and her master’s degree and Ph.D. in communication studies from Northwestern University.

Kalamazoo College’s previous provost, Michael A. (Mickey) McDonald, left the College to become the president of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) of which Kalamazoo College is a member.

Johnson was selected after a national search conducted by an on-campus search committee and assisted by the firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, an executive search firm specializing in the education and non-profit sectors. The search committee was chaired by Rosemary K. Brown Professor in Mathematics and Computer Science Alyce Brady. Also serving on the committee were: Greg Diment ’84, Information Services; Dennis Frost, History and East Asian Studies; Binney Girdler, Biology and Environmental Studies; Shanna Salinas, English; Mary Beth Sarhatt, Trustee; Sarah Westfall, Student Development; and Jordan Wiley ’19. Wendy Fleckenstein provided administrative support.

“My thanks go to Alyce and the entire search committee for their hard work and success in evaluating a highly qualified pool of candidates. I am delighted with the outcome. Danette will be an excellent leader at the College,” said Gonzalez.

New Study Abroad Programs Will Connect Students, Interests

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Students will learn about social, racial and economic issues in five new study abroad programs coming to Kalamazoo College in the 2019-20 academic year.

Center for International Programs Executive Director Margaret Wiedenhoeft said the new programs will align with K’s values and offer experiences in:

  • Havana, Cuba. From early September through late November, students will live in a historic Afro-Cuban working-class neighborhood. The program will help students
    New Study Abroad Programs
    Kalamazoo College students will have five new study abroad programs to choose from in the 2019-20 academic year including one in Havana, Cuba. Creative Commons-licensed photo of Plaza Vieja by Brian Snelson (exfordy). Photo available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/32659528@N00/495266522/. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/.

    understand how the current government and economic systems affect the typical Havana resident.

  • Seoul, South Korea. Students will take courses in English from mid-August to mid-December across disciplines such as computer science, business, economics, East Asian studies and political science, and will have opportunities to learn Korean. The program is ideal for business and economics students who want to experience a large international city. It would also help East Asian studies students, who might have already traveled to China or Japan, develop an understanding of an additional country in Asia.
  • Sao Paulo, Brazil. K students, from early August through early December, will learn in this program about the African roots of Brazilian culture and study the local effects of issues such as poverty and inequality while working with the people affected through local organizations.
  • Cali, Colombia. Offered from July through early December, this program will focus on Afro-Colombian experiences as the city has the second-largest population of people with African descent in South America. Students will study race and ethnicity from an Afro-Columbian perspective.
  • Oaxaca, Mexico. The fall-term experience will be K’s second program in Oaxaca. Students in this program will enroll directly into a local university, live with local families selected by the university’s international student office and take classes with local Oaxacans.

“What students will do in these new programs and who they work with will connect well with who they are,” Wiedenhoeft said. “They will get more agency and choice, yet the programs are structured and tailored to fit into majors and interests at K.”

Most students will participate in the new study abroad programs as juniors. However, Wiedenhoeft added there will be some flexibility in the future to involve sophomores.

“These programs will provide a lens of personal experience very different from what students would receive by learning in a museum, for example,” Wiedenhoeft said, noting alumni will also recognize and appreciate how the programs are structured. “Students will work alongside local organizations and people while maintaining the traditions of study abroad at K.”

These five opportunities will join 45 others in 22 countries accessible to K students. For more information on the CIP or to schedule an appointment to discuss the new study abroad programs or others, call 269.337.7133 or visit the CIP at Dewing Hall.

Steelcase Welcomes K Students for Networking

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When Kalamazoo College students network, there’s no place like home. Seventeen Kalamazoo College students took advantage of a fall break day to network with professionals at Steelcase, a company local to southwest Michigan, in Grand Rapids.

K to Steelcase
K to Steelcase was the latest K-Trek offering from the Center for Career and Professional Development. K-Treks involve in-person, immersive discussions K students have with leaders in various industries. Many of the leaders are K alumni.

Steelcase provides architecture, furniture and technology products and services designed for office environments in the education, health care and retail industries. The trip was the latest K-Trek offering from the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD). K-Treks involve in-person, immersive discussions K students have with leaders in various industries. Many of the leaders are K alumni.

“When students think of their K network they often think of connections across the country and abroad, but they should also think about their network closer to campus,” said Richard Sylvester, the CCPD assistant director of experiential opportunities.

Some K-Treks are multi-day experiences in cities such as San Francisco, New York City and Chicago, and there are plans for K-Treks to Washington, D.C., and Detroit. This K-Trek, however, was about thinking locally through a one-day trip. And networking in southwest Michigan provides a distinct advantage to students looking for an internship now or local job openings when they graduate.

Other local K-Treks have included K to Stryker and K to Kellogg’s, and a K to Bell’s Brewery trip is scheduled. The Bell’s tour will be Feb. 8, 2019—a break day in the winter term—and will cover careers in business and science.

The event increased student awareness of a local employer, showed students how the company operates and opened students to the idea of interning at Steelcase in logistics, information technology, marketing, sales, project management, product development and engineering. Those internships can be 12-week summer opportunities or year-round posts. Some internships allow students to work remotely.

K to Steelcase included facility tours, a warm welcome and introduction to Steelcase from Director of Global Talent Management Isabelle Medellin, a panel discussion and lunch with the panelists. Sylvester said a participant survey is planned to help the CCPD measure the event’s success, although early anecdotal feedback indicates it was a day well spent.

“Students were engaged and insightful, and they showed they were interested in Steelcase and what it offers,” Sylvester said. “What more could you want when you otherwise have a break day?”

Learn more about K-Treks events such as K to Steelcase at our website.

African Studies to Host Documentary Screening, Lecture

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The African Studies program will host a screening of the documentary “The Language You Cry In” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, in Recital Hall at Light Fine Arts. The screening will precede a talk with anthropologist Joseph Opala, one of the documentary’s principal authors.

African Studies Documentary Screening
Anthropologist Joseph Opala will speak Thursday, Oct. 25, in Recital Hall at Light Fine Arts after a screening of his documentary, “The Language You Cry In.”

Opala spent more than 40 years studying Bunce Island, the largest British slave-trading base on the Rice Coast of West Africa, and its links to South Carolina and Georgia. He has produced documentary films, museum exhibits and popular publications about those links. “The Language You Cry In” chronicles his research and a Georgia family’s return to Sierra Leone, where they met a family from the Mende ethnic group in a small, remote village.

The two families had worked to preserve a historical song that islander Amelia Dawley had been taught by her mother, Octavia “Tawba” Shaw, who was born into slavery. Citizens in Sierra Leone eagerly followed the Georgia family’s homecoming through public celebrations and their local media.

The lecture that follows the documentary will be titled “Crossing the Sea on a Sacred Song: An African-American Family Finds its Roots in Sierra Leone.” For more information on the lecture or the documentary screening, contact Professor of History Joseph Bangura in African Studies at 269-337-5785 or joseph.bangura@kzoo.edu.

Grant Empowers Alzheimer’s Research at K

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Kalamazoo College Professor of Biology Blaine Moore and Upjohn Professor of Life Sciences Jim Langeland ’86 have secured a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant worth more than $440,000 over three years to help K students research the origin and evolution of key proteins involved in Alzheimer’s disease.

The research will examine the evolutionary origins of two interacting protein molecules, the beta-secretase enzyme (BACE1) and the amyloid beta (A-beta) sequence within the Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP). The findings will further the general understanding of key Alzheimer’s proteins, specifically how and when they evolved their pathogenic interaction.

Student Prepares for Alzheimer's Research
Nkatha Mwenda ’19, a biology major from Grand Rapids, Michigan, performs research in Professor of Biology Blaine Moore’s lab. Moore and Upjohn Professor of Life Sciences Jim Langeland have secured a National Science Foundation grant worth more than $440,000 that will empower students to perform Alzheimer’s research regarding the degenerative brain disease’s key proteins.

Langeland said such work will have no direct therapeutic application and won’t offer a specific cure for the degenerative brain disease. It could, however, lead to future research toward such outcomes. The immediate impact of the grant is the recruitment of underrepresented minorities and first-generation college students to work on the project.

Bright and motivated K students generally are recruited by word of mouth for such projects, which can inspire their senior individualized projects (SIPs). Such a setup provides students with hands-on experience and independent scholarship, which are two of the four key tenets to the K-Plan, Kalamazoo College’s distinctive approach to an education in the liberal arts and sciences.

The grant, worth a total of $444,941, also represents a rare opportunity for students to participate in research with, and benefit from, two professors with varied expertise. Langeland works with molecular genetics, developmental biology and evolution, and Moore is a neurobiologist who examines neurodegeneration and cell death in particular diseases.

Moore said, “This grant is unique in its interdisciplinary approach to a neurodegenerative disorder. Most scientists in the Alzheimer’s field are focused on molecular mechanisms, not evolutionary context. It’s only at a liberal arts college that you can you find professors with such disparate backgrounds working together with students on a project like this. It’s a perfect confluence of skillsets.”

Both professors said the grant represents the culmination of about 10 years of partnering to secure such funds and opportunities for students, providing a satisfaction unsurpassed in their careers. The fact that the two are friends as well as colleagues makes this research particularly satisfying. It also continues a notable year for K’s Biology Department, which has been involved with:

NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science and advance national health, prosperity and welfare, making such research and developing future scientists a priority. For more information on NSF, visit its website.

Arcus Center Invites Public to With/Out-¿Borders? Events

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The public is invited to join the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership for two events related to its With/Out-¿Borders? gathering, which is scheduled for Oct. 8-15.

The opening ceremony is slated for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, 205 Monroe St. A community breakfast is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, in the Hornet Suite at K’s Athletic Fields Complex, 1600 W. Michigan Ave. Register for either event through email at acsjl@kzoo.edu.

With/Out-¿Borders?
Sunni Patterson, Denenge Akpem and Shannon Haupt participate in a ritual performance of release and healing during the 2016 With/Out – ¿Borders? Afrofuturism breakout session “Breaking the Legacy, Conjuring Futures.”

The third With/Out-¿Borders? invitational gathering will bring together land activists who approach social movement work in small grassroots organizations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, South Africa, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and the Pacific Islands. They will discuss how land is essential to indigenous sovereignty movements, contested through forced dislocation, and an asset for strength and nurturance.

“The activists coming to Kalamazoo in October are engaged in some of the most effective and forward-thinking work around land sovereignty and protection in the world,” Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Executive Director Mia Henry said. “We are honored to have the opportunity to use our resources to uplift and strengthen the work of each of our guests, living into our mission of capacity building on a global level.”

The purpose of the With/Out-¿Borders? gathering is to:

  • unite global grassroots activists who envision a world free from oppression while actively working toward that vision;
  • create an environment where activists can learn from and support each other; and
  • develop deep and meaningful relationships between the Kalamazoo College community, these activists and their work.

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College develops and sustains leaders in human rights and social justice through education and capacity building. Kalamazoo College, founded in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the K-Plan, which emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, independent research and international and intercultural engagement.

For more information on the With/Out-¿Borders? gathering or either of its public events, contact Bailey Mead at 269-337-7398 or bailey.mead@kzoo.edu.