Category: Faculty & Staff

Six Faculty Earn Endowed Chair Honors

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Kalamazoo College has appointed six faculty members as endowed chairs, recognizing their achievements as professors. Endowed chairs are positions funded through the annual earnings from an endowed gift or gifts to the College. The honor reflects the value donors attribute to the excellent teaching and mentorship that occurs at K and how much donors want to see that excellence continue.

The honorees are:

  • Espelencia Baptiste, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Senior Faculty Chair
  • Anne Marie Butler, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Junior Faculty Chair
  • E. Binney Girdler, the Dow Distinguished Professor in Natural Sciences
  • Sohini Pillai, the Marlene Crandell Francis Endowed Chair in the Humanities
  • Dwight Williams, the Kurt D. Kaufman Endowed Chair
  • Daniela Arias-Rotondo, the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science

Espelencia Baptiste, Anthropology-Sociology

Baptiste is currently on sabbatical in Benin where she is working on a book project focused on different ways Africans and Haitians claim each other across time and space. Her research focus centers on the relationship between Africa and its diasporas. She has been active and engaged within the College since her arrival; most recently, she received the College’s Outstanding Advisor Award in 2023 and served as Posse mentor from 2019-2022.

Her courses include Lest We Forget: Memory and Identity in the African Diaspora, You Are What You Eat: Food and Identity In a Global Perspective, Communities and Schools, and Missionaries to Pilgrims: Diasporic Returns to Africa. Within her teaching, she is invested in challenging students to imagine the production of power, particularly as it relates to belonging, as a continuous phenomenon.

Baptiste has a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

Endowed Chair Espelencia Baptiste receives a plaque from Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez
Espelencia Baptiste, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership senior chair, received the College’s Outstanding Advisor Award in 2023 as presented by President Jorge G. Gonzalez

Anne Marie Butler, Art and Art History; Women, Gender and Sexuality (WGS)

Butler has a joint appointment in Art History and Women, Gender, and Sexuality. Her research focuses on contemporary Tunisian art within frameworks of global contemporary art, contemporary global surrealism studies, Southwest Asia North Africa studies, gender and sexuality studies, and queer theory. At K, she teaches at the intersection of visual culture and gender studies, instructing courses such as Art, Power and Society; Queer Aesthetics; Performance Art; and core WGS classes, and this is her fourth season as volunteer assistant coach for the swimming and diving team at K.

Butler is co-editor for the volume Queer Contemporary Art of Southwest Asia and North Africa, which will be available in October (Intellect Press). She has been published in ASAP/Journal, Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, and The London Review of Education. She is also an editor for the volume Surrealism and Ecology, expected in 2026.

Butler has a bachelor’s degree from Scripps College, a master’s degree from New York University and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Portrait of Endowed Chair Anne Marie Butler
Anne Marie Butler is the the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership junior chair.

E. Binney Girdler, Biology

Girdler is the director of K’s environmental studies program and a biology department faculty member. She focuses on plant ecology and conservation biology with her research involving studies of the structure and dynamics of terrestrial plant communities.

Girdler previously had an endowed chair as the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science. She develops relationships with area natural-resource agencies and non-profit conservation groups to match her expertise with their research needs and the access needs of students. In 2022, she and K Associate Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas contributed to a global research project that proves humans are affecting evolution through urbanization and climate change. The study served as a cover story for the journal Science.

Girdler commonly teaches courses titled Environmental Science, Ecology and Conservation, and Population and Community Ecology along with an environmental studies senior seminar. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Dow Distinguished Professor in Natural Sciences E. Binney Girdler
Dow Distinguished Professor in Natural Sciences E. Binney Girdler at Batts Pavilion.

Sohini Pillai, Religion

Pillai is the director of film and media studies at K and a faculty member in the religion department. She is a comparatist of South Asian religious literature, and her area of specialization is the Mahabharata and Ramayana epic traditions.

Pillai is the author of Krishna’s Mahabharatas: Devotional Retellings of an Epic Narrative (Oxford University Press, 2024), a comprehensive study of premodern retellings of the Mahabharata epic in regional South Asian languages. She is also the co-editor of Many Mahabharatas (State University of New York Press, 2021) with Nell Shapiro Hawley and the co-author of Women in Hindu Traditions (New York University Press, under contract) with Emilia Bachrach and Jennifer Ortegren. Her courses have included Religion in South Asia; Hindu Traditions; Islam in South Asia; Dance, Drama, and Devotion in South Asia; Religion, Bollywood, and Beyond; Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians: Religion and Star Wars; and Princesses, Demonesses, and Warriors: The Women of the South Asian Epics.

Pillai has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley; a master’s degree from Columbia University; and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.

Sohini Pillai standing in her office with some Star Wars memorabilia
Marlene Crandell Francis Endowed Chair in the Humanities Sohini Pillai displays some of her personal Star Wars memorabilia including a painting of Grogu gifted to her by a student.

Dwight Williams, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Williams previously was an endowed chair at K, having served as the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry from 2018–2020. He teaches courses including Organic Chemistry I and II, Advanced Organic Chemistry and Introductory Chemistry. His research interests include synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology.

Williams spent a year as a lecturer at Longwood University before becoming an assistant professor at Lynchburg College. At Lynchburg, he found a passion for the synthesis and structural characterization of natural products as potential neuroprotectants.

Williams learned more about those subjects after accepting a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral research fellowship at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. During that fellowship, he worked in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology, where his work was published in six peer-reviewed journals.

In 2019, Williams was awarded a Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching grant from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and Course Hero. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Coastal Carolina University and a Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth.

Endowed Chair Dwight Williams
Kurt D. Kaufman Endowed Chair Dwight Williams holding a molecular model in his office.

Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Arias-Rotondo earned a grant valued at $250,000 last year from the National Science Foundation through its Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS). The LEAPS-MPS grant emphasizes helping pre-tenure faculty at institutions that do not traditionally receive significant amounts of NSF-MPS funding, including predominantly undergraduate institutions, as well as achieving excellence through diversity. She uses the funding primarily to pay her student researchers, typically eight to 10 per term, and bring more research experiences into the classroom.   

This year, Arias-Rotondo earned an American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund grant, which will provide $50,000 to her work while backing her lab’s upcoming research regarding petroleum byproducts. Her lab traditionally develops molecules that absorb energy from light while transforming that energy into electricity. The grant will allow her and her students to take molecules they have designed to act as catalysts and unlock chemical transformations through a process called photoredox catalysis. In this case, those transformations involve petroleum byproducts and how they might be used. 

Arias-Rotondo teaches Introductory Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Molecular Structure and Reactivity, and commonly takes students to ACS conferences. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. 

Portrait of Endowed Chair Daniela Arias-Rotondo
Daniela Arias-Rotondo has been named the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science.

‘Feedback’ Book Analyzes Growth Versus Existential Risk

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Kalamazoo College Henry Luce Professor of Complex Systems Péter Érdi will release a new book, Feedback: How to Destroy or Save the World, on October 15. The publication will share a non-technical and intellectual journey that analyzes how feedback control can lead down a narrow path that separates reasonable growth from existential risk.

Érdi said a forward in the book by Michael Arbib, a computational neuroscientist and pioneer of brain theory, shows how such reactions to feedback work by considering a couple who share a double bed and an electric blanket that has separate heating elements.

“Imagine if, by some happenstance, the controls get mixed,” the forward says. “Here, when each person thinks they are controlling their half of the blanket they are instead controlling the other. When one person is feeling cold, they use the control on their side of the bed to turn up the heat. But, unfortunately, it is the heat on the other side. Their companion gets too hot and reaches for their control only to making the bed even colder for the first person, who responds by turning up the heat on the other’s side even more.”

Arbib said even though such a case reflects positive feedback, it has a negative effect because it increases a problem at hand. Such an example can be extended to more interpersonal relationships as some might respond to criticism with soothing words while others get angry to destroy or save a relationship.

According to reviews, the book has applications for a variety of people across generations including young people growing up in a world where everything seems to be falling apart; people in their 30s and 40s who are thinking about how to live a fulfilling life; readers in their 50s and 60s, who are thinking back on life; and Baby Boomers reflecting on their past successes and failures.

Érdi was hired at K in 2002 when the College received a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. Since, he has received the Florence J. Lucasse Fellowship for Excellence in Scholarship, the highest award bestowed by K’s faculty, which honors the recipient’s contributions in creative work, research and publication.

Érdi has written dozens of publications, including two other books since 2019, Ranking: The Hidden Rules of the Social Game We All Play and Repair: When and How to Improve Broken Objects, Ourselves and Our Society, which have received international acclaim. He also was honored by five alumni from the Class of 2009 this year when they initiated the Interdisciplinary Fund for Complex Systems Studies in his name.

Feedback: How to Destroy or Save the World is available for preorder through Amazon.

Cover of "Feedback: How to Destroy or Save the World"
Henry Luce Professor of Complex Systems Péter Érdi will release a new book, “Feedback: How to Destroy or Save the World,” on October 15.
'Feedback' Author Peter Érdi Receives the 2018 Lucasse Award from K President Jorge G. Gonzalez
Henry Luce Professor of Complex Systems Studies Péter Érdi is the author of a new book, “Feedback: How to Destroy or Save the World.”

K Thanks Retiring Faculty, Staff

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Kalamazoo College bids farewell to the following faculty and staff members who have dedicated decades of service to the institution as they are retiring. As they embark on their well-deserved retirements, the College thanks them for their significant contributions, the legacies they leave behind, and the indelible marks they have made on students and colleagues alike.

Kim Aldrich ’80, Alumni Engagement

Aldrich joined Kalamazoo College in 1980, two days after her graduation from K. An economics major, Aldrich’s first role was as a gift and data systems processor in the Advancement division before becoming the assistant director of Management Information Systems (a previous iteration of Information Services). She then served for several years as the Director of Operations and Records in Advancement before taking on the role for which she is best known—the Director of Alumni Engagement—in 2006.

Since then, Aldrich has served as a bridge between the institution and its alumni, helping to build lasting relationships, create meaningful experiences, and ensure that alumni always feel like an integral part of the K community. Aldrich was named the College’s Lux Esto Award of Excellence recipient in 2020 and was presented with the Honorary Hornet Award by the Kalamazoo College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2024. At 44 years of service, she is the longest tenured employee among those currently working at K today.

Portrait of Kim Aldrich
Director of Alumni Engagement Kim Aldrich ’80

Leslie Burke, Collection Services Librarian

Burke joined the Kalamazoo College Library in 2012, having previously worked for EBSCO Information Services and various libraries in Grand Rapids. 

She started a master’s degree in library science at Western Michigan University, and when Western dropped the program, she finished the degree at the University of Michigan.

Working as collection services librarian has enabled Burke to serve the K community in various ways, all in pursuit of ensuring that K has the best and most accessible collection of materials possible. She has enjoyed advising students and serving on various committees at K. Some of her favorite memories are the epic Information Services summer and holiday parties. Her personal interests include genealogy, reading, traveling and her Bernese mountain dog, Woodford, shared with her husband, Clyde. She plans to combine genealogy, traveling and reading to research her ancestors.

Portrait of Leslie Burke
Collection Services Librarian Leslie Burke

Teresa Denton, Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement

Denton is the founding associate director of the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (CCE). She served in her role for 23 years, committing herself to ensuring that the CCE’s community partnerships are authentic, reciprocal and sustainable. Her primary responsibility has been to connect K students, faculty and staff with the greater Kalamazoo community so they may learn from and work alongside community members to address systemic and historical issues of injustice.

Denton holds a Master of Social Work and was especially involved with Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS). As the mother of three Woodward students, she immersed herself in the school community in many ways, but primarily as the liaison between Woodward and K. She had been doing such work for three years before her role was formalized in 2001 when K hired her to develop and sustain community partnerships through the Institute for Service-Learning, now known as the CCE. 

Portrait of Teresa Denton
Teresa Denton, founding associate director of the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement.

Thomas G. Evans, Director of Bands and Professor of Music

Evans joined the faculty of Kalamazoo College in 1995. He has conducted and overseen all aspects of the band program—symphonic band, jazz band and pep band—and taught courses in music history, music education, jazz, trombone and euphonium.

He has been the principal conductor of the Kalamazoo Concert Band since 2002. His jazz bands have toured internationally to Russia, Estonia, Finland and Tunisia, and nationally to Chicago, Washington, D.C., Cincinnati and Detroit. In 2004 and 2013, he took a seven-piece jazz combo from Kalamazoo College to Numazu, Japan. 

Evans holds a Doctorate of Music Arts in trombone performance from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in music education and trombone performance from Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree in music education from the State University of New York at Fredonia.

In 2020, Evans received the Community Medal of Arts award sponsored by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, recognizing an individual for their significant creative contributions and leadership in the arts. This lifetime achievement award also highlights an artist who has received acclaim on a local or national level and who has made a tremendous impact on our community through art.

Thomas Evans holding a trombone and talking with a student
Director of Bands and Professor of Music Thomas Evans

Ann M. Fraser, Professor of Biology

Fraser came to K as an assistant professor of biology in 2003. She served as the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Assistant Professor of Biology from 2007–2010, and has been a professor of biology since 2018. 

She received her Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University and her Bachelor of Science with honors in biology from Acadia University in Canada. Before her studies in biology, she earned a diploma in land surveying from the Nova Scotia Land Survey Institute and spent several years working as a hydrographic surveyor for the Canadian government.

Fraser’s research has centered around biodiversity and behavior of insects. She has used behavioral, physiological and ecological approaches to probe how interactions between certain insect species arise and are maintained, and the consequences of these interactions for generating biodiversity. In 2008, her lab turned its attention to pollinators and their conservation. She has worked with students to document native bee diversity in Southwest Michigan, examine interactions between bees and native plants, launch the citizen science project Southwest Michigan Bee Watch and collaborate on a project examining pollinator health and apple grower livelihoods in the Western Himalayas.

Portrait of retiring Professor Ann Fraser
Professor of Biology Ann Fraser

Alison Geist, Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement

Alison Geist, who joined K in 1997, is a founding director of the CCE and has served as co-director of the Community and Global Health (CGHL) concentration. Geist taught service-learning public health courses alongside community organizations beginning in 1999 and established the CGHL concentration with Diane Kiino in 2010–11. In 2013, Geist received the Linda Vail Spirit of Health Equity Award from Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services for her work with the CCE. During her tenure, the CCE has has grown into a key element of experiential learning and the K Plan, fostering partnerships and engaging the community with students and faculty through community-based courses, student-led programming and community-based internships.

Geist holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan and is interested in the intersections between sustainability, public health, gender and social justice, with a particular interest in food systems. She lived in Morocco from 1983–89, where she conducted village-based research in the High Atlas Mountains and pre-Sahara on maternal issues and health, range fuels, cookstoves, and women’s and girls’ roles in livestock production. She was also the first director of the Near East Foundation (NEF). 

Previously, Geist coordinated several National Institute of Mental Health-funded projects at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research in the Center for Research on the Utilization of Scientific Knowledge. Geist also worked at the Health Institute at Tufts–New England Medical Center as coordinator of a multidisciplinary, five-university qualitative study of ethnicity and well-being. 

Portrait of Alison Geist
Alison Geist, founding director of the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement

Thomas Massura, Physics

Massura, an instrument technician in both the physics department and chemistry and biochemistry department at K, was the 2022 recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence. The honor recognizes an employee who has served the institution for at least 26 years and has a record of stewardship and innovation while exemplifying the College’s spirit through leadership, selfless dedication and goodwill.

Massura started at the College in 1987. More recently he has maintained more than 50 machines used exclusively in K’s science division while managing general science instrumentation and setting up physics labs.

Retiring Instrument Technician Tom Massura receives the 2022 Lux Esto Award of Excellence from President Jorge G. Gonzalez
Instrument Technician Tom Massura receives the Lux Esto Award of Excellence from President Jorge G. Gonzalez in 2022.

Bruce Mills, Professor of English

Mills, a K faculty member since 1992, was the 2024 recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence, honoring a College employee who has served the institution for at least 26 years with a record of stewardship, innovation, leadership, selfless dedication and goodwill.

He has taught first-year, service-learning seminars on autism and disability as well as classes on short fiction, autobiography, African-American literature, American literature from 1500–1790 and 1790–1865, and the life and legacy of James Baldwin. He also has led the digital humanities portion of the Humanities Integrated Locational Learning (HILL) project, a Mellon Foundation-funded effort combining classroom and in-person experiences in cities such as New Orleans, San Diego and St. Louis that seeks solutions to societal problems while promoting the critical role of the humanities in social justice work. Along with K alumna Donna Odom ’67, and through the support of a GLCA grant, he also oversaw the Engaging the Wisdom Oral History Project, a local racial healing initiative and digital humanities project featuring Kalamazoo residents involved in and/or influenced by the civil rights movement.

Mills has published three books in his area of 19th-century American literature: Cultural Reformations: Lydia Maria Child and the Literature of Reform; Poe, Fuller, and the Mesmeric Arts: Transition States in the American Renaissance; and an edition of Child’s Letters from New-York, originally published in 1843. In addition, he has written and edited books of creative non-fiction, including An Archaeology of Yearning: A Memoir and Siblings and Autism: Stories Spanning Generations and Cultures, co-edited with Debra Cumberland.

Portrait of retiring professor Bruce Mills
Professor of English Bruce Mills

Timothy E. Moffit, Associate Professor of Economics and Business

Moffit joined the faculty at Kalamazoo College in 1989. He received his undergraduate degree in economics from Kalamazoo College, his Master of Business Administration from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College and his Doctor of Business Administration in finance from Nova Southeastern University. 

Moffit’s research interests include valuation theory, mergers and acquisitions, and the intersection of faith and finance. He has published journal articles, case studies and books in valuation theory and practice.

Over the past 20 years, he has owned 10 different small businesses. He currently owns three local businesses with his son—Kalamazoo Kettle Corn, Heilman’s Nuts & Confections, and a medical-supply company. Moffit is a board member of Delta Dental Corporation and Renaissance Health Services Corporation.

Retiring Professor Timothy Moffitt teaches a class from a blackboard
Associate Professor of Economics and Business Tim Moffit

Deia Sportel, English

Sportel began her career at K in September 2008 with Facilities Management. In 2010, she moved to a newly created position as office coordinator with Campus Safety and Religious Life. During her time with Campus Safety, Sportel initiated the formation of the Campus Safety Committee. In September 2011, she began working as the office Coordinator at Humphrey House, where she has remained. Sportel supports the English, classics, religion, philosophy and critical ethnic studies (CES) departments, and the women, gender and sexuality (WGS) program.

In 2018, Sportel became a certified trainer for Green Dot, a national prevention program that significantly reduces the likelihood of dating and domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault. During her time at K, she has also served on the Benefits Review Group, Community Council, and served as the administrator for the Religion Journal Review from 2017–2020. She has a Bachelor of Science in business management from Cornerstone University.

Portrait of Deia Sportel
English and Humanities Office Coordinator Deia Sportel

Jan Tobochnik, Dow Distinguished Professor in the Natural Sciences in the Department of Physics

Tobochnik has taught physics and computer science at K since 1985. He has served as Dow Distinguished Professor of Natural Sciences since 2004, as physics chair from 2022–2023 and 1996–2007, as Posse mentor from 2015–2019, as acting provost in winter 2014 and as interim provost from 2007–2008.

Tobochnik earned a Bachelor of Arts in physics from Amherst College in 1975 and a Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University in 1980. His research has involved using computer simulations to understand systems as wide ranging as lattice models of earthquakes, structural glass transitions, granular matter, transport through random media, percolation, patent citation networks, melting in three dimensions, neural system simulations and econophysics.

Tobochnik was editor of the American Journal of Physics from 2001–2011, and he continues to co-edit a column in that journal. He has been especially interested in teaching students how to write and use computer simulations to do physics and co-authored several textbooks. He also taught introductory physics at the top engineering university in Taiwan in fall 2018.

Tobochnik said he enjoyed working with many wonderful faculty, staff and students during his 39 years at the College. He will be moving to Rhode Island to be near his older son’s family, and he will have a visiting scientist appointment at Brown University.

Retiring professor Jan Tobochnik
Jan Tobochnik, Dow Distinguished Professor in the Natural Sciences in the Department of Physics

And Finally…

The College congratulates David Saxman, architectural trades coordinator in Facilities Management, and Stephen TenBrink, officer in Campus Safety, who retired earlier this year after more than nine and 11 years with K, respectively.

Japanese Program Celebrates Student Success

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Spring 2024 advanced intermediate Japanese class
All of the students from the spring 2024 advanced intermediate Japanese language class at Kalamazoo College received certificates noting their functional abilities in Japanese from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Pictured are Zoe Klowden ’25 (front row, from left) Olivia Wolfe ’24, Joshua Kim ’25 and Shannon Abbott ’24. In the back row (from left) are Associate Professor Noriko Sugimori, Assistant Professor Brian White, Noah Chukwuma ’25, Victor Guerra Lopez ’24, Tristan Uphoff ’25 and Richard Sakurai-Kearns ’24.
Three students and two professors attend the Japanese Speech Contest in Ann Arbor
Christopher Van Alstine ’24 participated in the Michigan Japanese Speech Contest in Ann Arbor in February. Pictured from left are Shannon Abbott ’24, Assistant Professor of Japanese Brian White, Van Alstine, Associate Professor of Japanese Noriko Sugimori and Zoe Klowden ’25.

The Department of East Asian Studies is celebrating two significant achievements by its students in the 2023–24 academic year. 

First, the entire advanced intermediate Japanese language class, led by Kalamazoo College Associate Professor of Japanese Noriko Sugimori, was certified at the Functional Level—with the Global Seal of Biliteracy in English and Japanese—by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. 

The certification for Tyler Houle ’25, Zoe Klowden ’25, Olivia Wolfe ’24, Joshua Kim ’25, Shannon Abbott ’24, Noah Chukwuma ’25, Victor Guerra Lopez ’24, Tristan Uphoff ’25 and Richard Sakurai-Kearns ’24 provides a confirmation of their ability to speak, write, read and listen in real-world situations in a spontaneous and non-rehearsed context. 

Houle, who plays football at K, achieved his certification before becoming the first student from K to participate in the Nagasaki, Japan, study abroad program this spring. Houle is eager to share his pioneering experiences as the Japanese department student advisor this fall. 

Also, Christopher Van Alstine ’24 participated in the Michigan Japanese Speech Contest in Ann Arbor in February, where he presented an essay detailing the heartwarming friendship he developed with the owner of a ramen restaurant where he worked as a part-timer during his study abroad in Kyoto. 

The prestigious contest, organized by Detroit’s Consulate General of Japan, features higher-education students from around the state who present their own work in front of three judges and an audience. 

“I am happy that our students were able to enjoy the fruits of their labor and can now display their Japanese qualifications to future employers,” Sugimori said. 

Congratulations to all the students for their impressive achievements. 

Football player Tyler Houle ’25 in a Kalamazoo College uniform
Tyler Houle ’25 was among the advanced intermediate students who received certification for his abilities with the Japanese language. Later, he became the first student from K to participate in the Nagasaki, Japan, study abroad program.

Kalamazoo College Names Jamie Zorbo ’00 Athletic Director

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Jamie Zorbo ’00 has been named the next director of athletics at Kalamazoo College, effective June 15, following a national search. Zorbo is currently serving as co-interim athletic director and has been the head football coach at K since 2007.

“As a long-time member of the coaching staff and athletic administration, Jamie has demonstrated his capable leadership, consistently going above and beyond both on and off the field,” said Provost Danette Ifert Johnson. “He prioritizes the holistic development of each student-athlete, fostering an environment where academic excellence, personal growth, and athletic achievement are equally celebrated. I am confident Jamie is ready to assume this role and build upon the strong tradition of K athletics.” 

As athletic director, Zorbo will oversee all aspects of the College’s athletic program and its 18 varsity teams; about 35% of K students participate in intercollegiate athletics. Additionally, Zorbo will oversee the physical education program, athletic training and the college’s fitness and wellness programs. He will also continue his duties as head football coach.

Graphic of new athletic director includes portrait and K logo, and says "Jamie Zorbo, Director of Athletics
While serving as the athletic director, Jamie Zorbo ’00 will oversee all aspects of the College’s athletic program and its 18 varsity teams.

Zorbo earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Kalamazoo College and was a four-year letter winner for the Hornets as a defensive end, earning All-MIAA (Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association) second team honors in 1999.

Following graduation, Zorbo remained at Kalamazoo College as an assistant coach for six seasons while working on a master’s in business administration degree at Western Michigan University, which he completed in 2004. Zorbo coached the defensive line from 2000-03 and was promoted to defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach in 2004 and 2005.

Zorbo became an assistant coach at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, in 2006. He coached the linebackers for two seasons, and served as the assistant defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, and the strength and conditioning coach.

Since returning to K in 2007 as head football coach, Zorbo has grown the football program from a roster of 35 to more than 100 student-athletes in 2024, the largest roster in program history. He has coached and mentored 67 All-MIAA selections, four All-Region selections and 18 post-season senior bowl game participants. With a strong emphasis on academics, Zorbo’s teams have averaged over a 3.1 team GPA for the past 16 seasons and the 2021 team became the first football team in MIAA history to receive a Team GPA Award with a 3.45 team GPA.

In addition to serving as head football coach, Zorbo served as K’s interim athletic director during the 2017-18 academic year and as co-interim director in 2023-24.  He has served as an Assistant Athletic Director since 2012, overseeing external operations and working closely with the division of advancement to support athletic fundraising efforts.

“As a proud alumnus of Kalamazoo College, I am deeply honored to expand my role within this special community by serving as both the athletic director and head football coach,” said Zorbo. “This institution has a rich tradition of excellence academically and athletically, and it is a privilege to be a part of its ongoing legacy. I look forward to working with our exceptional coaches, dedicated student athletes, and supportive community to foster an environment of growth, achievement, and fellowship. Together, we will strive to elevate our athletic programs to new heights while ensuring our student athletes excel in the classroom, in competition, and in life.”

Writing Center Provides the Right Stuff for Writing Stuff

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Isabela Agosa ’17 knows where Kalamazoo College students can find the right stuff when they need to write stuff.

Agosa, once a student employee at K’s Writing Center, now is its director, supervising the current student employees, with poets, Fulbright scholars, editors and more among them. She admits that she struggled in her early years as a K student, but that makes her better at her job now as she once needed to find her academic footing.

“I’m really appreciative of the struggles I had here because they have allowed me to have a different mindset that I can provide to my students,” Agosa said. “I’m sort of like the gardener who helps the students run the center. My students are gentle, welcoming people who can open up a writing bud and allow it to blossom.”

Her own a-ha moment as a student came when she found poetry at K. In fact, she teaches a Poetic of Love senior seminar each winter term, and Poetry Magazine—the oldest monthly publication to verse in the English-speaking world—will print two of Agosa’s poems in its June 1 edition.

Four students and a faculty member huddle for a photo at Stetson Chapel
Isabela Agosa ’17 (middle), the director of K’s Writing Center, joined her students May 10 for a Community Reflection titled “Destigmatizing Help: Collaboration in the Writing Center.”
Two students at the Writing Center
Writing Consultants Anum Khan ’24 and Sofia Rowland ’24 discuss their work at the Writing Center.
Three student consultants sitting at a round table
Writing Consultants Unayza Anika ’26 (from left), Noah Chun ’26 and Daniel Flores ’24 discuss their work at Kalamazoo College’s Writing Center. Schedule an appointment online.
Two students smiling on a couch at the Writing Center
Ellie Pollard ’25 and Sophia Louise ’26 are two of the writing consultants students will meet at the Writing Center.

“When I came to K, I wanted to read fiction or maybe write for TV shows,” Agosa said. “And of course, I still have so much passion for that in my heart, but this is where I fell in love with poetry. I truly had never imagined in a million years that I would be a poet.”

Now, she would like to debunk some of the myths she hears about the Writing Center and empower more students to visit and improve their own writing.

Myth No. 1: Writing collaboration is a form of cheating

“We tend to have a deficiency mindset and think that support is only for people who are doing poorly, or we can be individualistic and think collaboration on writing is plagiarism or cheating,” Agosa said. “I think the Writing Center shows collaboration is an intellectual goal on campus. Why else would we all be together if we weren’t a community of scholars? Yes, we can write by ourselves, but we can do it so much faster when we have someone who can talk us through it.”

Myth No. 2: The Writing Center only helps students with classwork

“In the spring, this is our ‘job time’ when people are coming in with cover letters for jobs, grad school or internships,” Agosa said. “One of my pitches to students would be to remember that the Writing Center isn’t just for classwork. We get to explore all types of writing, so you can expect to have someone who’s invested in hearing about you and your work.”

Myth No. 3: I can get better information during my professor’s office hours

“Office hours are a useful dynamic, but they provide something different from the Writing Center,” Agosa said. “Professors can guide you on a certain path or help you understand the class material better, whereas our writing consultants help you understand yourself better as a writer.”

Myth No. 4: Writing Center employees will judge me and my writing

“Many people have baggage with writing because we feel that writing is a reflection of our soul,” Agosa said. “When they come to us with a fragment of their soul, they can feel guarded and nervous. But students can expect that they will be greeted by someone who cares because my staff loves their work. It’s a job and I hope that I model good ways to practice that job. They’re the types who like people and want to talk about writing. You can expect a lot of passion, a lot of enthusiasm and a judgment-free zone.”

Myth No. 5: I should wait to go to the Writing Center until I need help

“I think students feel that they’re not allowed to need help unless the house is on fire,” Agosa said. “Some people view it as a punishment or think it’s remedial. But you can come to the Writing Center just to talk to someone about your work. It’s good at breaking down tasks, especially for anyone who struggles with activation. I think the joy of talking with someone about your writing is universal and useful at any stage.

“I’m always telling prospective students that this is a place run by your peers who have gone through all the things you have. I would really love for them to see the Writing Center not just in a project- or product-driven environment. I want them to get involved in a supporting, nourishing community of scholarship.”

Find the writing help you need

If this isn’t enough to convince you of what the Writing Center accomplishes, you can also hear from Agosa and her team in this recent community reflection titled “Destigmatizing Help: Collaboration in the Writing Center.” Then, schedule an appointment online.

“The Writing Center is the place where I came to maturity and adulthood because our work is so much about learning, reflection and how to ask questions,” Agosa said. “I honestly learned more about syntax and grammar structure through poetry writing, but Writing Center work is about self-understanding and understanding the right questions to ask while communicating your needs. When students struggle with writer’s block, they might not even know what to name it. We look at roadblocks and ask, ‘what is it and how can we approach it?’ You will always feel connected to this place because we form such a strong community, where we learn how to dialogue with people. We make authentic person-to-person connections here because we can’t work on someone’s writing without them.”

Suzanne Lepley Named Next Director of Alumni Engagement

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Kalamazoo College is pleased to announce that Suzanne Lepley has been named the next director of alumni engagement, effective July 1. She succeeds Kim Aldrich ’80, who will be retiring in June after more than 40 years at the College, 17 of those in the Office of Alumni Engagement.

Lepley will be an integral member of the senior Advancement team responsible for planning and implementing a comprehensive engagement strategy that deepens alumni involvement, nurturing and strengthening their connection to the College. In this role, she will also lead the Office of Alumni Engagement and provide guidance, counsel and support to the College’s Alumni Association Engagement Board (AAEB) and other volunteer alumni groups.

Lepley currently serves as the dean of admission at K, where she has played a key collaborative role in shaping strategies and long-term goals for the College’s enrollment. As a member of the Admission team for 26 years, Lepley has recruited thousands of students to K, making personal connections and demonstrating a passion for student success and engagement.

“Suzanne’s deep institutional knowledge, as well as the many relationships she has built across the K community, will enable her to provide excellent support to our alumni base. Most of the students she has recruited during her time at K are now alumni, and I’m excited she’ll be able to continue cultivating relationships with them that will build lifelong connections to the College,” said Vice President for Advancement Karen Isble.

“I am incredibly excited to be able to continue to serve the K community in a meaningful and impactful position that will allow me to reconnect with so many alumni,” Lepley said. “I look forward to hearing their stories and helping them find opportunities to engage with the College and with our amazing students.”

Lepley holds a B.A. in political science from Western Michigan University and has served on numerous professional and community boards and committees, including Colleges that Change Lives, the Michigan College Access Network, Ministry with Community, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center selection committee and the Bread and Roses Alternative Childcare Center.

A profile on Kim Aldrich celebrating her retirement will appear in the Fall issue of LuxEsto.

New Director of Alumni Engagement Suzanne Lepley
As the director of Alumni Engagement, Suzanne Lepley will plan and implement a comprehensive engagement strategy that deepens alumni involvement, nurturing and strengthening their connection to the College.

K Honors Employees, Student Ambassadors at Founders Day Event

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Bruce Mills receives the Lux Esto Award of Excellence from Jorge Gonzalez
Professor of English Bruce Mills receives the Lux Esto Award of Excellence from Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez at the Founders Day community reflection.
Jessica Fowle receives Outstanding Advisor Award from Jorge Gonzalez at Founders Day
Director of Grants, Fellowship and Research Jessica Fowle ’00 receives Outstanding Advisor Award from Gonzalez at the Founders Day community reflection.
Alayna Lewis receives the First-Year Advocate Award from Jorge Gonzalez
Associate Director of the Center for International Programs Alayna Lewis receives the First-Year Advocate Award from Gonzalez at the Founders Day community reflection.

Professor of English Bruce Mills is this year’s recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence as announced today during the College’s Founders Day celebration, marking K’s 191st year.

The award recognizes an employee who has served the institution for at least 26 years and has a record of stewardship and innovation. The recipient—chosen by a committee with student, faculty and staff representatives—is an employee who exemplifies the spirit of K through excellent leadership, selfless dedication and goodwill.

At K, Mills has taught classes on short fiction, identities, African-American literature, American literature from 1500–1790 and 1790–1865, and the life and legacy of James Baldwin. He also leads the digital humanities portion of the Humanities Integrated Locational Learning (HILL) project, a Mellon Foundation-funded effort combining classroom and in-person experiences in cities such as New Orleans, San Diego and St. Louis that seeks solutions to societal problems while promoting the critical role of the humanities in social justice work.

Mills has published creative nonfiction in The Georgia Review; New England Review; September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond; and Gravity Pulls You In: Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum. He also co-edited the book Siblings and Autism: Stories Spanning Generations and Cultures. Further, his advocacy in relation to autism has led to presentations at numerous conferences. 

Four of the College Singers perform
Alexa Wonacott, Amelie Sack, Maxwell Goldner and Zachary Ufkes of the Lux Esto Singers perform “Stand in That River” by Moira Smiley.
Student reading from a lectern at Founders Day
President’s Student Ambassadors Gabriel Coleman (pictured) and Grey Gardner read the Kalamazoo College land acknowledgement.
Founders Day anniversary honors recipient
Kalamazoo College employees, such as Center for International Programs Executive Director Margaret Wiedenhoeft, who are celebrating milestone anniversaries were recognized at Founders Day.

Mills “has been dedicated to the campus community, with one nominator saying he has done wonders at making his classroom environment open, comprehensive and accessible to anyone, even in higher level classes,” Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said in presenting the award. “He meets students where they are, making sure that course content is easy to understand and that concepts can be applied to people’s own lives and their own academic understandings. At the same time, he pushes students to think bigger and think differently while making classes engaging, appropriately challenging and fun.”

In accordance with Founders Day traditions, two other employees received additional community awards. Director of Grants, Fellowship and Research Jessica Fowle ’00 was given the Outstanding Advisor Award and Associate Director of the Center for International Programs (CIP) Alayna Lewis received the First-Year Advocate Award.

Fowle is a key individual when it comes to referring K students and faculty to Fulbright’s U.S. Student Program and Scholar Program immersion opportunities. She recently was selected to be part of the inaugural Fulbright Program Adviser (FPA) Mentors Cohort. As an FPA mentor, Fowle is one of 20 experts from around the country providing virtual training and information sessions, presentations at the Forum for Education Abroad, and personal advice to new Fulbright program advisers who are looking to structure applicant support and recruitment at their own institutions. She has been a part of K’s staff in various roles for more than 20 years including nearly five as director of grants, fellowships and research.  

“Advisors are academic mentors who work closely with our students, pay attention to their academic progress, and help them identify and fulfill their goals while working towards completing their degrees,” Gonzalez said. “As evidenced in the nominations received, she accomplishes all of this and more.”

Through the CIP, Lewis organizes international student orientation and its activities. She also helps students with F-1 and J-1 Visa regulations, and study abroad programs in Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Spain. Her passion for study abroad came from a trip to Spain while she was in high school and her own undergraduate experience studying abroad in Mexico.

Gonzalez noted that nominators said Lewis makes herself available to meet individually with students and listens well to help solve a variety of challenges with compassion. Beyond academics, she helps students by assisting in critical matters such as taxes and legal documentation. Plus, during winter break, many international students stay on campus with Lewis organizing grocery trips, meals and events, making being away from home much easier.

Members of the President's Student Ambassadors stand to be recognized at Founders Day
Members of the 2023–24 President’s Student Ambassadors stand to be recognized at Founders Day
Members of the 2024-25 President's Student Ambassadors stand to be recognized at Founders Day
Members of the 2024-25 President’s Student Ambassadors stand to be recognized at Founders Day.
Crowd applauds at Founders Day event
Founders Day attendees applaud Lux Esto Award recipient Bruce Mills.

Gonzalez also recognized the students who served as President’s Student Ambassadors in the 2023–24 academic year and introduced those who will serve the College beginning this fall in 2024–25. As student leaders, President’s Student Ambassadors serve as an extension of the president’s hospitality at events and gatherings, welcoming alumni and guests of the College with a spirit of inclusion. About 15 students serve as ambassadors each academic year. The students selected show strong communication skills; demonstrate leadership through academic life, student life or community service; and maintain a minimum grade-point average.

The 2023-24 ambassadors have been:

  • Madison Barch ’24
  • Gabriel Coleman ’24
  • Blake Filkins ’26
  • Grey Gardner ’26
  • Emily Haigh ’24
  • James Hauke ’26
  • Madeline Hollander ’25
  • Gavin Houtkooper ‘25
  • Renai Huang ’24
  • Lukas Hultberg ’24
  • Jessica Kaplan ’26
  • Alex Nam ’25
  • Blagoja Naskovski ’24
  • Isabella Pellegrom ‘25
  • Tyrus Parnell, Jr. ’25
  • Maxwell Rhames ‘25
  • Emmeline Wendel ’24
  • Ava Williams ‘25

The 2024-25 ambassadors succeeding this year’s seniors will be:

  • Jaylen Bowles-Swain ’26
  • Christopher Cayton ’25
  • Kyle Cooper ’25
  • Maya Hester ’25
  • Katie Kraemer ’25
  • Joaquin Martinez ’25
  • Isabelle Mason ’27
  • Addison Peter ’25
  • Emiliano Alvarado Rescala ’27
  • Amelie Sack ’27
  • Dean Turpin ’25

Counseling Center Director Elected Group’s Treasurer

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The members of the world’s largest organization of campus mental health leaders have chosen Kalamazoo College Counseling Center Director Erica Pearson to serve a three-year term as their treasurer. 

The president of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) traditionally appointed the treasurer on the organization’s behalf until October 2023, making Pearson the group’s first-ever elected treasurer. 

The AUCCCD promotes college student mental health awareness through research, broad discussions of key campus mental health issues and trends, and related training and education, with special attention to issues of social justice. 

“It is very exciting to be among accomplished leaders whose expertise and experience positively shape collegiate mental health,” Pearson said. “As someone who is younger in my career, it is encouraging and uplifting to be welcomed as a valued voice and to know that my strengths and unique perspective can be utilized to effect change.” 

Pearson earned her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision from Western Michigan University and her Master of Arts in counseling from Oakland University.

She is a licensed and board-certified professional counselor with specializations in trauma counseling and creative therapeutic approaches. She has worked with college students since 2015. 

Portrait of Kalamazoo College Counseling Center Director, AUCCCD treasurer Erica Pearson
Kalamazoo College Counseling Center Director Erica Pearson has been elected treasurer of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors.

As the treasurer of AUCCCD, Pearson will collaborate with others from the organization to prepare budgets for each fiscal year, approve expenditures, prepare financial reports for the full board at quarterly board meetings, and present financial status updates to the membership at each annual conference. The rest of the executive board consists of an executive director, president, president-elect and secretary. They meet monthly to assist in leading the organization and making decisions that represent and advance the interests and needs of members. 

“AUCCCD is an international organization comprised of more than 900 universities and colleges,” Pearson said. “It feels wonderfully fulfilling to embody my role as an advocate for college student mental health on such a large scale.” 

Denison to Lecture at Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

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Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History James Denison will conduct a public lecture from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts titled “Hogan-Minded: Race and Place in Georgia O’Keeffe’s Southwest.” 

Denison will discuss his recently completed dissertation, which argues that past interpretations of O’Keeffe’s New Mexican paintings have obscured her engagement with Southwestern indigenous cultures. He will highlight the influence of tourist contexts and period racial thinking on her work, describing how it relied upon and perpetuated romantic stereotypes about those cultures circulating within interwar New Mexico and the Manhattan avant-garde. Ultimately, her paintings and writings show that she saw the region much as countless others had before: as both deeply informed by the presence and history of its native peoples and as open, empty and ripe for claiming. 

Denison, a native of the Washington, D.C., area and a graduate of Bowdoin College, completed his Ph.D. in art history at the University of Michigan. He joined the KIA and Kalamazoo College last summer as the postdoctoral curatorial fellow. The event is presented jointly by KIA and Kalamazoo College. 

The lecture is free to attend, but registration is encouraged through the KIA website. 

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts postdoctoral curatorial fellow James Denison
James Denison is a postdoctoral curatorial fellow at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and a visiting assistant professor of art history at Kalamazoo College.