Category: Faculty & Staff

Library Week Spotlights Rare Book Room Holdings

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It’s National Library Week and Kalamazoo College is celebrating with a look at some of the treasures and oddities in the A.M. Todd Rare Book Room at Upjohn Library Commons.

During National Library Week, you can see:

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  • a postage stamp-sized New Testament (above left) presented to Augusta Todd, wife of Rare Book Room namesake Albert M. Todd, sometime in the early 20th century. Records indicate the book was one of five that was produced in Vienna by the famed Zaehnsdorf book bindery. Copies also were given to British Queens Alexandra and Mary;
  • the “Bird Book,” (above right) a quirky California production about which little is known;

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  • this 14th century illuminated psalter, or Book of Psalms, written on uterine vellum, the cured skin of an unborn calf;

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  • an original 20-volume edition of Charles Dickens’ novel “Little Dorrit,” printed in pamphlet form as it was sold on the streets of 1850s London. Replete with illustrations and ads, this serialization was sold on the streets of London at a price of 1 shilling for each monthly edition from 1855 to 1857. The Rare Book Room also has a similar edition of Dickens’ “Bleak House;”

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  • this incunabulum, or early printed book, of Livy’s history of Rome, dating from 1470, when the Gutenberg press was a relatively new innovation;

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  • a manuscript leaf of an undetermined age from a Quran that appears to be hundreds of years old;

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  • this reproduction of the Chinese New Year picture scroll, or nihua, “Welcome Spring,” was a gift to Kalamazoo College by the parents of Mengyang Chen ’11 upon her graduation;

Rare Book Room at Kalamazoo College

  • this leaf from a Latin Bible produced in France in 1240 that might be the oldest item in the collection; and

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  • this parchment Antiphony of the Common of the Saints was designed to allow an entire choir to see it simultaneously. Bearing the stamp of a library in Rome, its date is unknown. It is the largest book in the Rare Book Room collection.

Hours for the Rare Book Room, 326 ULC, are currently 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday, 8:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday and 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. To access the collection, or to get your own tour of its holdings, contact Rare Book Room manager Mallory Heslinger at 269-337-5762 or mallory.heslinger@kzoo.edu. And keep an eye out for an upcoming spring display at the library, curated by College Archivist Lisa Murphy ’99. Titled “Murderous Plots and Rivalries During the time of Mary Queen of Scots,” it promises to be a “Game of Thrones”-like exhibition of Gothic illustrations and artifacts, drawn from the Rare Book Room collection.

K Professor Featured in Mormon Gay Marriage Documentary

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A Kalamazoo College professor has a featured role in a documentary, premiering Sunday, about the improbable toppling of Utah’s gay marriage ban.

Taylor Petrey, associate professor of religion, says he gave an extensive interview to the makers of “Church and State” about the role of the Salt Lake City-based Church of Latter-day Saints in the fight against legalizing gay marriage.

Taylor Petrey Gay Marriage Documentary
Taylor Petrey, associate professor of religion, has a featured role in a documentary, premiering Sunday, about the improbable toppling of Utah’s gay marriage ban.

The movie, premiering at the American Documentary Film Festival in Palm Springs, California, documents how a gay-rights activist teamed with a small Salt Lake City law firm to win an unexpected 2013 court ruling that overturned the conservative state’s law against same-sex marriage. When the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the ban the next October, gay marriage became legal in Utah. With a Supreme Court ruling in 2015, it became the law nationwide.

Utah is more than 60 percent Mormon, and “the conflict between Mormons and gay-rights activists became the defining issue of modern Mormonism,” Petrey says in a clip from the movie trailer.

In the interview for the movie, Petrey, who was raised in Utah and is a member of the church, addressed how Mormons, as they sought mainstream acceptance, moved from sanctioning an alternative form of marriage — polygamy, which they abandoned in 1890 — to adopting conservative positions on social issues that mirrored those of evangelical Christians.Church and State

Though he specializes at K in the history of ancient Christianity, he also studied the history of Mormonism and sexuality, and wrote about the issue during a 2016-17 stint as a visiting professor at Harvard Divinity School.

He says he first met one of the Utah-based producers of “Church and State,” Kendall Wilcox, five or six years ago during a previous project on gay Mormons. “We’ve been in touch off and on,” he says.

Wilcox’s partner in the production, Holly Tuckett, says that in the film–edited, coincidentally, by Kalamazoo native Torben Bernhard–Petrey appears repeatedly, serving as the main authority on the history and positions of the church on homosexuality and gay marriage.

“He helps contextualize all of that for us.” she says.

Petrey says the choice to use him as an expert on the subject was understandable.

“It’s a small world of Mormons who are interested in this stuff,” he says.

He hasn’t seen the movie and got his first glimpse of it when he watched the trailer online, he says. Set to be released to theaters late this summer, it was named as one of the documentary festival’s “10 must-see” films by The Desert Sun of Palm Springs.

“I guess I’ll see it when the rest of the world sees it in August,” Petrey says.

Five Faculty Members Receive Tenure

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With specialties ranging from the psychology of adolescents to Victorian literature, five Kalamazoo College professors have achieved tenure.

The milestone recognizes the scholarship and teaching they have completed to the point of tenure, and it is also a sign of confidence in the contributions they will make during their entire careers. The College’s Board of Trustees, meeting in March, voted to grant tenure to:

Kyla Day Fletcher, Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Assistant Professor of Psychology

Ryan Fong tenure
Ryan Fong
Kyla Day Fletcher tenure
Kyla Day Fletcher

Fletcher holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Michigan. Her scholarly work focuses on the role of culture, socialization, and decision-making on sexual health and substance use outcomes among adolescents and young adults.

Ryan Fong, assistant professor of English

Fong holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Davis. He teaches a broad range of courses in 19th- and 20th-century British literature, as well as courses in women, gender and sexuality. His research focuses on Victorian literature and culture and, more specifically, how the Victorian novel has shaped and been shaped by contemporary fiction, film and popular culture.

Tenure Amy MacMillan
Amy MacMillan
Marin Heinritz tenure
Marin Heinritz

Marin Heinritz ’99, assistant professor of English

Heinritz holds a Ph.D. in English from Western Michigan University. She teaches courses in journalism, creative nonfiction writing, and literary theory. Her scholarly and creative work includes feature and arts reviews in journalism and memoir and flash essays in creative writing.

Amy MacMillan, L. Lee Stryker Assistant Professor of Business Management

MacMillan holds an MBA from Harvard University. She teaches courses in marketing and management. While she comes to academia from the corporate sector, she has developed research interests in marketing-related areas as well as in the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Noriko Sugimori

Noriko Sugimori, assistant professor of Japanese

Sugimori holds a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Boston University. She teaches intermediate and advanced Japanese language courses, as well as select courses on Japanese culture and society taught in English. Her interests span multiple disciplines including sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, language ideology, oral history, integrating technology into teaching Japanese, and bilingualism.

Thailand Institute Honors Late Associate Provost

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The International Sustainable Development Studies Institute (ISDSI) in Thailand, a study abroad site for Kalamazoo College students, has named its newly finished library after late K Associate Provost and Center for International Programs Director Joe Brockington.

 

Brockington’s wife, Cathy, donated funds to ISDSI in his name after he died Aug. 10, 2015. The institute at the time was building its new campus in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Those funds were applied to the library as a fitting way to remember him and his wife, who is a former librarian.

Joe Brockington Thailand Library
Joe Brockington speaks in fall 2008 at Stetson Chapel as Kalamazoo College celebrated its 50th anniversary of sending students abroad. The International Sustainable Development Studies Institute (ISDSI) in Thailand, a study abroad site for K students, has named its newly finished library after the late K associate provost and Center for International Programs director.

ISDSI developed in 1998 as a result of Brockington’s work. Today, it teaches American students about the key issues of sustainability through a close collaboration with its local communities. The program has welcomed more than 600 students from more than 50 colleges and universities in the U.S.

Brockington earned his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He began his career at Kalamazoo College in 1979 as an instructor in German language and literature. He was recognized internationally as a safety- and risk-management expert in study-abroad programming.

During his career, he served in various positions of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA), an association of international educators, including as a chair of the Section on U.S. Students Abroad and a member of the International Education Leadership Knowledge Committee. Brockington also served as a member of the founding board of the Forum on Education Abroad.

Brockington published and presented several papers on modern German literature as well as a variety of study-abroad topics, including orientation and re-entry, international programs administration, and campus internationalization. He led best-practices workshops in legal and risk-management issues and co-edited the third edition of NAFSA’s “Guide to Education Abroad for Advisers and Administrators.”

During Brockington’s tenure, K sent students to countries such as China, Japan and India in Asia; Kenya and Senegal in Africa; Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile and Mexico in South and Central America; and Greece, Hungary, Denmark, Italy, France, Spain and Germany in Europe.

As a result of Brockington’s professional efforts, most K students study a foreign language and live with host families while participating in an individualized cultural research project that requires them to explore a community, participate in a service project, and write a report about the experience. “The goal,” he once said, “is to help the student look at other cultures, other peoples, and say ‘we’ instead of ‘they.’ ”

K Professor, Author a Finalist for George Washington Prize

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Kalamazoo College History Professor James Lewis has been named a finalist for the George Washington Prize, a $50,000 annual award that recognizes the authors of the past year’s most influential books about the nation’s founding era.

George Washington Prize nominated book
“The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis,” written by K History Professor James Lewis, is a finalist for the George Washington Prize.

Lewis’s 2017 book, “The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis,” explores former Vice President Aaron Burr’s travels through the Trans-Appalachian West in 1805 and 1806, gathering support for a mysterious enterprise, leading to his arrest and trial on treason charges in 1807. Rumors at the time stated Burr had enticed some people with plans to liberate Spanish Mexico, others with promises of land in the Louisiana Purchase, and others with talk of building a new empire beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

The book, available through many bookstores and online sites, also examines the political and cultural forces that shaped how Americans made sense of Burr’s intentions and movements, and the crisis after his arrest including concerns about the nation’s fragile union and uncertain republic.

Lewis has taught courses in U.S. history, Native American history, American environmental history, Revolutionary America, the American frontier and Western history, the history of U.S. foreign relations, post-World War II America, American political culture, the trial in American history and a senior seminar in history at K. He is a professional member of the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians and the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic.

Lewis’s other books include:

  • “The Louisiana Purchase: Jefferson’s Noble Bargain?” (2003);
  • “John Quincy Adams: Policymaker for the Union” (2001); and
  • “The American Union and the Problem of Neighborhood: The United States and the Collapse of the Spanish Empire, 1783-1829” (1998).

The George Washington Prize was created in 2005 through the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Washington College. A news release from Washington College says the honor is one of the nation’s largest and most notable literary awards. In addition, “The finalists’ books combine depth of scholarship and broad expanse of inquiry with vivid prose that exposes the complexities of our founding narrative. Written to engage a wide public audience, the books provide a ‘go-to’ reading list for anyone interested in learning more about George Washington, his contemporaries, and the founding of the United States of America.”

George Washington Prize nominee James Lewis
Kalamazoo College History Professor James Lewis is the author of “The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis,” which is a finalist for the George Washington Prize.

The other six authors named as finalists for the 2018 award are:

  • Max Edelson for “The New Map of Empire: How Britain Imagined America before Independence;”
  • Kevin J. Hayes for “George Washington: A Life in Books;”
  • Eric Hinderaker for “Boston’s Massacre;”
  • Jon Kukla for “Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty;”
  • Jennifer Van Horn for “The Power of Objects in Eighteenth-Century America;” and
  • Douglas L. Winiarski, “Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.”

The winner of the 2018 George Washington Prize will be announced and all finalists will be recognized at a black-tie gala May 23 at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

 

HERS Institute Selects K Associate Provost for Cohort

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Kalamazoo College Associate Provost Laura Lowe Furge is one of 65 women leaders from across the country who has been selected to attend the 2018 Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Institute. Furge will be a part of the University of Denver cohort that meets from June 18-30.

Laura Lowe Furge HERS Institute
Furge, who is also a professor of chemistry, was one of just six HERS attendees awarded a Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Scholarship, which provides full tuition, accommodations, meals and travel to women in STEM higher education to attend the HERS Institute.

The HERS Institute will support and encourage women as they develop strategies for their leadership roles and establish communities including peer-and-mentor connections. Working together, they can thrive in and shape a new environment for equality and excellence in higher education.

Furge, who is also a professor of chemistry, was one of just six HERS attendees awarded a Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Scholarship, which provides full tuition, accommodations, meals and travel to women in STEM higher education to attend the Institute.

For more information on the HERS Institute, visit its website.

Grant Will Boost Student Research Experience

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Kalamazoo College’s efforts to get science majors experience in student research, one of the most important factors in providing them an exceptional start in their post-college careers, just got a big boost.

Student research
A $247,500 grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation will boost the availability of summer student research experiences for K biology, chemistry and physics majors.

The Sherman Fairchild Foundation will provide $247,500 to fund stipends of $4,000 apiece for students in biology, chemistry and physics to conduct research in summer. The three-year grant will also provide up to $1,500 apiece for students to attend scientific conferences to present their findings and to offset the cost of supplies, said Associate Professor of Physics Arthur Cole, who will serve as director of the project.

The student research beneficiaries, 15 each summer, will include both rising seniors working on their Senior Individualized Projects (SIPs) and younger students, allowing them to get early exposure to life in the lab before deciding whether to pursue science as a career, Cole said. He worked with Assistant Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dwight Williams and Anne Dueweke, director of grants, fellowships and research, to conceptualize and develop the grant proposal.

“It gives students an earlier chance to seek out research experiences,” Cole said. “A lot of times you think you want to go into the sciences and you don’t know what research is like until you get to try it.”

He said the grant also will make it possible for those who support themselves while attending the College to concentrate on student research, rather than having to seek summer jobs, and could open doors for members of groups who are underrepresented in the sciences.

Salinas said summer research as an undergraduate played a major role in his own decision to become a scientist and professor.

“It’s more than what’s in the textbook,” he said. “They start to see the bigger picture. And they get to try things. It’s how they learn. And it’s fun.”

For those who do decide to pursue scientific careers, Williams said, the opportunity to get early research experience can give them a “leg up” on getting further grants and research opportunities.

“It’s a great way for us to get more students involved in research, particularly with an emphasis on first- and second-year students, instead of waiting until they’re seniors working on their SIPs” he said.

Though most of the research that the grant funds will involve students working with professors on the College’s campus, it will also provide support for up to three K students a year to participate in research at other institutions, Cole said.

Trustee to be Tapped as Peace Corps Chief

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Kalamazoo College Trustee Josephine “Jody” K. Olsen will be nominated to head the Peace Corps, the agency has announced.

Peace Corps Chief Nominee Josephine Olsen
Photo provided by University of Maryland, Baltimore – Peace Corps chief nominee Josephine Olsen is a Kalamazoo College trustee.

A K trustee since 2010, Olsen previously has served as acting director of the Peace Corps and was the agency’s deputy director for seven years. She is currently a visiting professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Social Work. Her pending nomination by President Donald Trump is subject to confirmation by the Senate.

Kalamazoo College has a long relationship with the Peace Corps, ranking 13th among small schools on the agency’s 2017 list of Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities, and hundreds of the College’s alumni have served as volunteers since the Peace Corps was established in 1961.

As part of the confirmation process, Olsen will resign as a trustee. College President Jorge G. Gonzalez praised her service.

“Jody has been a great asset to our board and I am certain she will provide distinguished leadership for this crucial organization at a time when its work is more important than ever,” he said. “The Peace Corps has provided many Kalamazoo College graduates opportunities to make the world a better place while also helping them as they launch internationally focused careers.”

Olsen herself was a Peace Corps volunteer, serving in Tunisia from 1966 to 1968 after her graduation from the University of Utah, where she received a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She also holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.

In addition to serving as acting director and deputy director of the Peace Corps, Olsen has been the agency’s chief of staff and regional director for North Africa, the Near East, Asia and the Pacific. She has also directed scholarly and international education organizations and is currently head of the University of the University of Maryland, Baltimore center for Global Education Initiatives, which provides experiential learning opportunities with international health organizations.

 

K Professor’s Book Offers New Perspectives on Sierra Leone

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Book cover for The Temne of Sierra Leone
“The Temne of Sierra Leone: African Agency in the Making of a British Colony” promotes new perspectives on the formation and social history of Sierra Leone.
Associate Professor of History Joesph Bangura
Associate Professor Joseph Bangura is the chair of the History Department and the director of African Studies.
Title page of book on Sierra Leone

A new book written by Kalamazoo College Associate Professor of History Joseph Bangura promotes new perspectives on the formation and social history of Sierra Leone.

Research regarding Sierra Leone typically focuses on the roles of the Creoles and/or Krio, who were descendants of ex-slaves from Europe, North America, Jamaica and Africa living in the colony. Bangura, however, examines the roles of the indigenous Temne-speakers through the socio-economic formation, establishment and evolution of Freetown in “The Temne of Sierra Leone: African Agency in the Making of a British Colony.”

Bangura’s analysis includes market women, religious figures and community leaders, and the complex relationships they developed. He also considers key issues such as the politics of belonging, African agency and the creation of national identities.

At K, Bangura is the chair of the History Department and the director of African Studies. He has taught such courses as:

• The Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Introduction to African Studies
• Islam in Africa;
• Civilizations of Africa;
• Contemporary Africa;
• Gender Relations in Africa;
• Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade;
• African Christianity;
• Globalization and International Politics;
• Globalization and Africa;
• War and Peace in Africa; and
• The Cold War in Africa.

Bangura earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Dalhousie University, and his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Sierra Leone. He co-edited two other books with Marda Mustapha, “Democratization and Human Security in Sierra Leone,” which was released in 2015; and “Sierra Leone beyond the Lome Peace Accord,” which was released in 2010.

Bangura’s professional memberships include the African Studies Association, the Africa Network, the West African Research Association and the National Social Sciences Association.

Learn more about “The Temne of Sierra Leone: African Agency in the Making of a British Colony” through its publisher, Cambridge University Press.

GLCA Appoints K Provost as its New President

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The Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) has appointed Kalamazoo College Provost Mickey McDonald as its new president. McDonald will begin his position at the GLCA in July 2018.

New GLCA President Mickey McDonald
Kalamazoo College Provost Mickey McDonald will begin serving the Great Lakes Association of Colleges (GLCA) as its president in July 2018.

K President Jorge Gonzalez will consult with faculty leadership to plan for the appointment of an interim provost to serve during the 2018-19 academic year. K will also begin preparations for a national search for the provost position.

In a message to faculty and staff, President Gonzalez wrote that McDonald provided invaluable support and counsel during his presidency. “I will miss his sharp mind, insightful knowledge of the College and of higher education, unflappable personality, good humor, and friendship. Mickey’s selection for the GLCA presidency is a testament of his leadership abilities and of K’s reputation in the higher education community.”

During his nearly 10 years of service, McDonald significantly shaped Kalamazoo College’s faculty, curriculum and future. He hired approximately one-third of the tenure-track/tenured faculty currently at K, increasing faculty of color from approximately 15 percent to 25 percent, and women faculty from approximately 45 percent to 55 percent.

McDonald helped support implementation of many of the elements of the Plan for Kalamazoo College’s Future including faculty approval of new graduation requirements and other curricular innovations, and an increasing emphasis on making K more diverse and inclusive. His leadership will help shape the vision of K for the next five years as he currently serves as co-coordinator of K’s current strategic planning initiative.

With former President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran and others, McDonald helped envision, plan and establish the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. He also helped secure more than $3.25 million in major institutional grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (in support of the Shared Passages Program and also in support of major diversity and inclusion initiatives), the Sherman-Fairchild Foundation, Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, among others. He served as acting president of K from December 2013 through March 2014.

Higher education leadership and local community engagement are values K holds, and McDonald participated enthusiastically and frequently. Locally, he serves on the Board of Directors of Farmers Alley Theatre, and regionally, he served on the Southwest Michigan First Education Committee. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education and served as facilitator for a number of leadership development programs for the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC).