The oxen were onsite, which means work began on a new pavilion that will be part of Kalamazoo College’s Lillian Anderson Arboretum. Oxen? Yes, the animals were used to haul 30 logs of red pine harvested from the “Arb,” the lumber from which will be used as material for the pavilion. Both material and mode of transport are consistent with the sustainable character of the pavilion, which will use solar energy, self-composting toilets and a human-powered water pump. The facility will provide learning space for both science and humanities classes. An article on the Arb and its improvements this winter will appear in the Spring 2016 issue of LuxEsto. (Photos by Randy Schau). Watch a brief video (by Susan Andress).
Category: Faculty & Staff
NAACP Cites Work of College, President
On any given day you can find a Kalamazoo College student playing ping pong, shooting baskets or serving up a hot meal at the Douglass Community Association.
A center for social, recreational and community development activities in the city’s Northside neighborhood, the Douglass Community Association has served Kalamazoo residents for nearly 100 years.
“For decades, I’ve watched Kalamazoo College students come by the bus full to volunteer at the Douglass,” says Dr. Charles Warfield, president of the Metropolitan Kalamazoo branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). “As a more than 70-year resident of Kalamazoo, I have consistently seen Kalamazoo College support the efforts of the black community and be front runners in the area of social justice.”
Each week during the academic year, many of the more than 100 K students who work in the local community through service-learning courses or co-curricular programming coordinated by the College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement head to Kalamazoo’s Northside Neighborhood, home to many members of the city’s black community. K students work with teachers and elementary age students at Woodward School and with families who are part of Community Advocates for Parents and Students (CAPS), a grassroots organization that provides tutoring services to children residing in the Interfaith Neighborhood Housing community. Since its founding in 2001, K’s Center for Civic Engagement, through service-learning courses and student-led programs, has engaged more than 6,500 K students in long-term, reciprocal partnerships to foster academic learning, critical problem-solving, and a lifetime of civic engagement while strengthening the Kalamazoo community.
This long-standing community partnership, in addition to the work of Kalamazoo College President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran, Warfield says, contributed to the recognition of both the College and its president with the Vanguard Award at the NAACP’s 35th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet.
The Vanguard Award honors an organization or group of people whose forward thinking has significantly affected the lives of all people, and specifically people of color in Kalamazoo. Past recipients include the City of Kalamazoo, Sid Ellis and the Black Arts and Cultural Center, and the philanthropists of the Kalamazoo Promise.
“We have outstanding people in our midst who make it their business to make a difference in the lives of those in need,” Warfield says. “We need to honor organizations and people who invest so unselfishly in our community to make this a better place to live now and for the future.”
During President Wilson-Oyelaran’s 10 years at the College, she has worked tirelessly, Warfield asserts, in the name of social justice.
“Kalamazoo College has always been one of the bright lights of social justice,” he says. “Dr. Wilson-Oyelaran stepped in and didn’t miss a beat. I can’t think of anyone or anyplace more deserving of the Vanguard Award.”
During her tenure at the College, President Wilson-Oyelaran has helped the College make its campus and educational experience more diverse—increasing the number of first generation, low-income, international and domestic students of color who study here.
President Wilson-Oyelaran’s commitment to social justice and leadership development, however, may be most evident in the creation of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL), a formal program that integrates the academic experience with social justice activism geared toward helping students make communities and the world more equitable for all.
The ACSJL, opened in 2009, supports initiatives proposed by students, staff and faculty; provides forward-thinking programming; offers fellowships for emerging and veteran social justice leaders; and hosts annual signature events with global reach.
“I am incredibly humbled and honored to receive the Vanguard Award and accept it on behalf of Kalamazoo College,” says President Wilson-Oyelaran. “It is really gratifying to have the community recognize the many years of investment in the Kalamazoo community by our faculty, staff and students and to take note of the College’s efforts to become a more diverse and inclusive community.”
The NAACP’s 35th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet was held November 7, 2015 at Western Michigan University’s Bernhard Center.
Article by Erin (Miller) Dominianni ’95; photo by Keith Mumma
K Computer Science Students Make Their Professor Proud
Two teams of Kalamazoo College students traveled to the ACM ECNA International Collegiate Programming Contest regional competition at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Grand Rapids recently — and “both teams did great,” said Associate Professor of Computer Science Pam Cutter, Ph.D.
“It’s the first time we’ve placed in the top 5 at our site!”
The two K teams, made up of three students each, finished fourth and fifth among 26 teams participating at GVSU. Out of 130 teams competing at four separate eastern region sites, K teams finished 17th and 23rd.
“I’m feeling quite pleased that we beat three out of five teams from University of Michigan,” Cutter said.
With schools such as University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, Carnegie Mellon, University of Michigan, and Notre Dame, Cutter said “Ours is known as a tough region. Because of this, our region gets to send three teams to the world finals, whereas most other regions only get to send two.”
Cutter said the top five teams at each site receive prizes, so each K student earned a backpack. Each K team also won a special award: the Black Hornets won the Jolly Jumpers award for highest jump in rank and the Orange Hornets tied for the Solid Programmers award for most problems solved with least penalties.
The “Black Hornets” team that finished fourth included Abhay Goel ’18, Raoul Wadha ’17, and Jacob Naranjo ’18. The “Orange Hornets” team that finished fifth included Sarah Manski ’16, Kyle Sunden ’16, and Kamal Kamalaldin ’17.
Left to right in the photo, they are Kamal, Kyle, Sarah, Raoul, Abhay, Jacob, and Professor Cutter.
Full results from the regional competition are here: https://ecna15.kattis.com/standings?filter=375.
“Autism in Love” a First of Four
Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) will partner with Media Arts Academy of Kalamazoo to host free community sneak previews and discussions of films to be aired on the award-winning weekly PBS series Independent Lens, beginning with “Autism in Love” on Wednesday, November 11, at 5:30 p.m. at the Center (205 Monroe Street).
Formerly known as Community Cinema, the national screening series was recently re-launched as Indie Lens Pop-Up, a title that better underscores the relationship between the project and its sponsor, Independent Lens. “Indie Lens Pop-Up creates a warm, welcoming and enjoyable space for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together and develop a deeper understanding of issues that face our community,” said Mia Henry, executive director of ACSJL. “The powerful line up of films will focus on the history and context of issues in which struggle for social justice continues.” Kalamazoo is one of 75 U.S. cities where the program will occur. During the past decade, screenings of Independent Lens films have brought more than 331,000 participants together at more than 5,700 events to discuss issues that affect local communities. Kalamazoo screenings will include dinner and will be followed by a discussion led by youth participants from the Media Arts Academy and event co-sponsors. Events are free; please RSVP to acsjl@kzoo.edu.
“Autism in Love” (by Matt Fuller) follows four adults at different places on the autism spectrum who open up their personal lives as they navigate dating and romantic relationships. The first-person portrayals show that love finds a way in spite of the challenges faced by persons with autism.
Three other films are planned for the 2015-16 academic year. “In Football We Trust” (by Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn, Tuesday, January 26, 5:30 p.m. at the ACSJL, 205 Monroe Street) follows four Polynesian high school football players in Utah struggling to overcome gang violence, family pressures and poverty as they enter the high stakes world of college recruiting and the promise of pro sports.
“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” (by Stanley Nelson, Thursday, February 11, 2016, 5:30 p.m., venue to be determined) tells the story (and suggests the emerging current-day relevance) of a group of people that helped lead the new revolutionary culture that emerged in the turbulent 1960s.
“Peace Officer” (by Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber, Tuesday, April 26, 2016, 5:30 p.m., venue to be determined) explores the increasingly tense relationship between law enforcement and the public through the eyes of someone who’s been on both sides–a former sheriff who established Utah’s first SWAT team, a unit that 30 years later killed his son-in-law in a controversial standoff.
Distinguished K Professor and Administrator Dies
Former Kalamazoo College professor of economics and business Sherrill Cleland died of natural causes at the age of 91 on October 26, 2015, in Sarasota, Florida. He was an outstanding teacher and educator, a leader and innovator in higher education, and an accomplished economist.
Professor Cleland was born in 1924 in Galion, Ohio, to Fred and Doris Cleland. He was a decorated World War II veteran with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He earned his degrees in economics from Oberlin College (BA) and Princeton College (MA and Ph.D).
He joined the faculty at Kalamazoo College in 1956 as an assistant professor of economics and business and chair of that department. Within three years he had achieved the rank of full professor and served in that role until 1973. He also served as dean of academic affairs (1965-1967) and vice president (1966-67). Among other subjects, he was an expert in Middle East studies and on the integration of courses on consumerism into college curricula.
Professor Cleland was known for his optimism, encouragement, curious mind, and his interest in others and in the world. He was widely admired for his creativity, his commitment to mentoring others, and for promoting equal rights and opportunities for women.
He left Kalamazoo College in 1973 to serve as President of Marietta College (Marietta, Ohio), a position he held until 1989.
Professor Cleland’s acumen as an economist was recognized near and far. In 1962 former Governor John Swainson named Cleland to a five-person advisory committee on the Michigan economy. Internationally, through the Ford Foundation, Professor Cleland worked as an economic advisor to Jordan, and he helped create the country’s first infrastructure development plan in Amman (1963-64). Later he led the creation of the world’s first masters program in Development Economics at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon (1967-69). In 1965 the Great Lakes Colleges Association and the U.s. State Department appointed Professor Cleland to a team of educators who visited various colleges and universities in six African nations to study possibilities of faculty and student exchanges.
His civic engagement while a resident of Kalamazoo was exemplary. He served as chairman of the Kalamazoo Employment Advisory Council and president of the Kalamazoo County Chapter of the United Nations Association and the Kalamazoo Chapter of the American Association of University Professors. He also worked as the Democratic civil rights coordinator for Kalamazoo County.
Professor Cleland remained active in retirement, serving as Chairman of the Student Loan Funding Corporation and on the Board of Directors of KnowledgeWorks, Tuition Exchange, and AMIDEAST.
He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Diana Drake Cleland, and his children Ann Feldmeier, Doug Cleland, Sarah Allen, Scott Cleland, Cynthia Rush, Allison Abizaid, Linda Wiener, Carol Abizaid, Amanda Abizaid Plonsky, and Richard Abizaid. He is also survived by 19 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. Professor Cleland was widowed by his first wife of 39 years, Betty Chorpenning Cleland.
Sherill Cleland loved Kalamazoo College, and that love was a legacy he passed to his family. His daughter Ann and son Scott are graduates (1972 and 1982, respectively) as is his granddaughter Amy Houtrow (1996).
Finding Strengths
Kalamazoo College Assistant Professor of Psychology Kyla Fletcher has been awarded a grant by the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (part of the NIH) to study African-American partner relationships and share “what goes right” in terms of daily HIV risk reduction behavior.
The three-year grant ($438,000, making it the largest single-investigator award ever received at Kalamazoo College) is titled “Substance Use and Partner Characteristics in Daily HIV Risk in African Americans.” Fletcher hopes to enroll 200 participants in the community-based study. Participants will complete daily surveys for a month (a study approach called “daily diary” that provides more reliable data than do retrospective approaches). Participants also will do confidential in-person interviews in the lab Fletcher has set up in Olds-Upton.
The study will empirically consider the role of partners, specifically relative to managing (one’s own and one’s partner’s) substance use and condom use, and negotiating the knowledge of a partner’s HIV status through testing–all behaviors that can be associated with HIV prevention.
“There are relationships where partners talk about these behaviors and negotiate them successfully,” says Fletcher. “The study will help us learn how they accomplish that, which may suggest strategies to encourage such engagement and behaviors more widely among intimate partnerships in specific populations.”
In addition to setting up the interview lab and a website for the study, Fletcher is working with her newly hired Research Associate (hailing from the greater Kalamazoo area) and her team of six Kalamazoo College students to begin the recruitment phase of the study. “I had an enthusiastic pool of K students,” smiles Fletcher. “There is great interest in human sexuality and the influences of community on relationships and the influence of partners in relationships.
“The K students, which include members of every class, bring a diverse set of experiences and new ideas to the study team,” adds Fletcher. In return, the students will learn how to think analytically and how to initiate (and collect and analyze data from) a ’daily diary’ research protocol, knowledge that would be relevant for graduate study or employment in the field of psychology, according to Fletcher.
She is particularly excited that the work will be community-based. “The grant allows us to build a cohort that is diverse in multiple ways and more reflective of the reality of the community,” she explains. “It also obligates us to disseminate the results back to the community and to seek their input on how to communicate those results most effectively.”
Fletcher has already enlisted community representatives as advisers. And, she notes, the community-based character of the research is an opportunity for the K students to get off campus and interact with people from whom they differ in a variety of ways and with whom they also share fundamental similarities. The discovery and exploration of distinctions and commonalities can be a valuable learning experience.
This academic year is Fletcher’s fourth at Kalamazoo College. She teaches courses in general psychology, adolescent development, research methods, the psychology of the African-American experience, and the psychology of sexuality.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Howard University (Washington, D.C.) and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. In grad school she focused on developmental psychology with an emphasis on sexual socialization, and she did post-doctoral work at U of M’s Substance Abuse Research Center.
“It’s in the nature of human relationship development that partners tend to meld into one another, adopt each other’s interests and give greater consideration of a partner’s desires,” says Fletcher. “How partners influence behaviors related to substance use, sexual risk and HIV prevention is a key question of this study. What strengths in relationships work toward healthy outcomes, and can these strengths be applied more widely?”
“It’s exciting work,” concludes Fletcher, “and could be part of a cultural shift—a needed shift, in my opinion—from a deficit-based view to a strength-based view of sexuality and health.”
K Expert on Anti-Semitism and the EU Addresses Colloquium in England
Amy Elman, the Weber Professor in Social Science, traveled to Bristol, England, in September as an invited speaker at an international colloquium on contemporary anti-Semitism. Her talked was titled “The Enduring Significance of an Abandoned Definition: the EU’s Working Definition of Anti-Semitism and its Foreign Policy Ambition,” and it focused on the the past year’s developments in the European Union. The paper builds on Amy’s recently released book The European Union, Anti-Semitism and the Politics of Denial (University of Nebraska Press, 2014). Amy also wrote the chapter “The EU’s Responses to Contemporary Anti-Semitism: A Shell Game,” which appears in the book Deciphering the New Anti-Semitism, edited by Alvin Rosenfeld (Indiana University Press, 2015)
Does Good Need Memorable?
BuzzFeed’s Reggie Ugwu wrote an explication of a new vocal phenomenon he calls “Indie Pop Voice” (“Selena Gomez’s ’Good for You’ and the Rise of the ’Indie Pop Voice’”). The trend refers to many singers’ creative reshaping of vowel sounds. But why do that?
To arrive at a more comprehensive answer to that question, Reggie turned to Kalamazoo College’s Professor of Psychology Siu-Lan Tan, who also posts a blog (“What Shapes Film”) for Psychology Today online. Siu-Lan expands on Reggie’s question in her “Six Reasons Pop Singers Pronounce Some Lyrics in Odd Ways: ’Secret Asian Man’ and Other Mysteries of Song.” The reasons range from the more prosaic “making a song one’s own” to the wonderfully poetic “tightening or relaxing one’s lips or throat to change the tone color of your voice.” How cool is the fact that a voice has tone colors!
According to Siu-Lan it’s vowels that make the song, so those might be re-shaped in any number of ways for any number of reasons. Consonants, on the other hand, are flow-stoppers and are therefore emphasized…or omitted entirely…depending on the effect a singer desires. (That’s why Siu-Lan for some time thought Johnny Rivers was singing about a secret Asian man rather than a “Secret Agent Man”). Both Reggie and Siu-Lan cite the desire to be more interesting or catchy—“good” needs “memorable,” according to Reggie. Okay, agrees Siu-Lan, but be careful. Too much “capital-M Memorable” via pronunciation deviation carries some risk—such as a feeling of contrived affectation or garbled words. You especially don’t want the latter if the lyric’s magic.
Here’s another question Reggie or some other inquirer might one day ask: Why’s a top notch psychology professor weighing in on independent pop music? “Although as an academic I spend most of my time on scholarly works, I think bringing what we do to the public is also important,” says Siu-Lan. “Technical aspects of singing include articulators and resonators and formants. But when applied to Selena Gomez and Top 40 pop singers, we can make the basic ideas relevant to the general public—and perhaps make them aware of some more nuances involved in singing.”
Successful Campaign Closes and Exceeds Expectations!
Kalamazoo College made history today.
At a special celebratory gathering of students, faculty and staff, the College announced the completion of The Campaign for Kalamazoo College, which surpassed its $125 million goal by raising more than $129 million and, in so doing, became the most successful fundraising campaign in K’s history, generating more financial resources than the last two campaigns combined.
“We are grateful to the thousands of alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends who made contributions and volunteered time and talent to make this campaign a success,” said President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran.
“We also celebrate the deeper meaning of this campaign,” she added, “that a liberal arts education is the best education to enrich a life, in the fullest sense of that word, and the best education to provide lessons that go beyond just employment. There are centuries of evidence to support that notion and now a successful Kalamazoo College campaign to affirm it. And, by the way, a liberal arts education also happens to be the best education not for one job but for multiple jobs, which is likely to be the future for current students.”
Campaign participation was widespread. More than 17,000 donors have made gifts and pledges. Twelve donors committed to gifts of $1 million or more. Sixty-three percent of faculty and staff participated in the campaign.
The ultimate beneficiaries are K students, current and future, who do more in four years so they can do more in a lifetime. The campaign funded five capital projects and seven new endowed faculty positions. Capital projects include the renovations of the Weimar K. Hicks Center and the athletic fields complex and the construction of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership building. Ground has been broken on the new fitness and wellness center, and fundraising will continue for the planned renovation of the College’s natatorium.
The campaign created 30 new funds to support Senior Individualized Project research opportunities for students (the SIP is a graduation requirement at K) and created 35 new permanently funded student scholarships.
“This campaign is about much more than numbers,” said Wilson-Oyelaran. “This campaign is an affirmation of the liberal arts. This campaign is about alumni, parents, and friends who continue to give to Kalamazoo College so that others can benefit from the way that K practices the liberal arts.”
Photos courtesy of Jessie Fales ’18
The Importance of Diapers
A person may be more inclined to think of diapers as a nuisance, but in fact they are a need and, for many in Kalamazoo, an unmet need. Jax Gardner, departmental coordinator for history and social sciences at Kalamazoo College, is working to address that need through her other coordinator role: that of managing the St. Luke’s Community Diaper Drive.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, with support from the Arcus Center for Social Justice at Kalamazoo College, is holding a community diaper drive through October 14.
For low-income families, purchasing diapers can be a challenge. SNAP and WIC benefits do not provide diapers, and adequately providing diapers for a child can cost more than a $1,000 per year.
“More than one in three Kalamazoo families struggle to provide adequate diapers for their children,” Jax said. “It’s an unconscionable gap in how we care for the young children of our community because diaper need can affect maternal/child bonding, childcare accessibility, and infant health.”
The drive is collecting disposable diapers in all sizes, along with wipes and creams; all donated items will be distributed through local charitable organizations including Loaves and Fishes, Ministry with Community, the YWCA and St. Barnabas Diapers.
Financial donations can be made payable to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, with “Diaper Drive” in the memo line, which will be used to wholesale purchase diapers in needed sizes.
Donations can be made at the following locations:
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 247 W. Lovell St.
St. Luke’s Thrift Shop, 432 S. Burdick St.
Kalamazoo College (1200 Academy Street) at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, the Hicks Student Center and Dewing Hall.
“We hope that this drive will generate interest and conversation toward addressing diaper need in Kalamazoo with a long-term, sustainable plan,” Jax said.