Professor Emeritus Publishes in Revue Bénédictine

John Wickstrom, professor emeritus of history, will have an article published by Revue Bénédictine in 2013. It is titled “Claiming St. Maurus of Glanfeuil: an 11th-Century Sermon from Fossés.”

John is also the 2012 Moritz Lecturer at Kalamazoo College. His talk, “Picturing the Saints: What Medieval Illuminations Can Tell us About History,” will be delivered on Wednesday, April 4, at 7 P.M. in Dewing Hall Room 103. The event is free and open to the public.

Professor Barclay Lectures on West Berlin in the Context of Postwar History

David Barclay, the Margaret and Roger Scholten Professor of International Studies, delivered a lecture titled “Island City, Cold War City: West Berlin in the Context of Postwar History, 1948-1994” at his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Florida.

The presentation was based on his current book project: a general history of West Berlin from the time of the city’s division (1948) to the withdrawal of Russian and Allied troops (1994).

The history of West Berlin—a unique creation of the Cold War, like the two German states themselves—has largely been overlooked.

Barclay’s lecture drew on extensive interviews and years of archival research and argued that, in the wake of the well-known “spatial turn” of the 1990s and thereafter, West Berlin’s role in the history of the Cold War can be understood in terms of that truncated city’s function as political space, symbolic space, and cultural space. Moreover, its history can be divided into two parts: an “heroic” phase from 1948 to 1971-72 and a phase of “abnormal normality” from 1972 to 1989.

Professor Baker Named to Athletic Hall of Fame

Ed Baker, former Kalamazoo College football coach and physical education professor, has been named to the Athletic Hall of Fame at Haverford High School in Havertown, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia.

He was athletic director at Haverford from 1959 to 1967 and head football coach from 1958 to 1966. He won three league titles as football coach, leading the 1961 and 1965 teams to undefeated Inter-Ac Championship seasons and an 18-game win streak from 1964 to 1966.

Ed was named Philadelphia Coach of the Year in 1961. During his coaching tenure, 21 players made First Team All Inter-Ac; four achieved All-City status. He is credited with starting the lacrosse program at Haverford School, and coached the team to an overall record of 39-21-1. During his tenure as athletic director, the “Fords” had 28 Inter-Ac championship teams.

Coach Baker was appointed head football coach and head track coach at Kalamazoo College in 1967. In his final football game in 1989, he led the Hornets to its first victory over Hope College in 20 years!

Coach Acker Named to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame

George Acker, longtime Kalamazoo College coach and physical education professor who died in July 2011, has been named to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Acker served at K for 35 years (1958-93), coaching men’s tennis teams to seven NCAA Division III championships while winning 35 consecutive MIAA championships. His tennis teams were 537-231 overall and an incredible 209-1 in the MIAA conference. He was inducted into the Kalamazoo College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

Kiran Cunningham Appointed Teagle Pedagogy Fellow

Kiran Cunningham ’83, Anthropology, has been appointed a Teagle Pedagogy Fellow by the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA). She is one of 20 Teagle Fellows chosen from GCLA member colleges for their knowledge of research on human learning and pedagogical technique, as well as for their strong interest in enhancing liberal arts teaching and learning.

Teagle Fellows will engage with faculty on their own and other GLCA campuses to explore different modes of pedagogy aimed at enhancing student learning and achievement. The fellowship program is funded by the Teagle Foundation, an influential national voice and catalyst for change in higher education dedicated to improving undergraduate student learning in the arts and sciences. The GLCA is a consortium of 12 private liberal arts colleges that includes Kalamazoo.

Professor Jeanne Hess on her Book, “Sportuality: Finding Joy in the Games”

Jeanne Hess, professor of physical education and head coach of volleyball, has written Sportuality: Finding Joy in the Games, a book that examines how people can attain peace, understanding, and joy through sports.

Hess has coached volleyball and taught at “K” for 28 years. She said Sportuality can help readers redefine words traditionally associated with sports—competition, victory, sacrifice, education community, spirit, humor, holiness, and more.

“I have a deep belief in the power of athletics to shape and sustain us toward a more positive and peaceful ideal,” she said, “Whether you are an athlete, coach, parent, official, or fan, I believe seeking the larger purpose of play is critical to transforming sport within our culture.”

Using a journal and questions for self-reflection—called a “box score” and “time-out”—readers can reflect upon and create their own spiritual sports, or “sportual,” stories. These stories, according to Hess, ultimately can lead readers to joy, increased awareness, and a renewed commitment to engage in positive competition.

Hess said part of her inspiration for writing the book came out of a self-study curriculum called “A Course in Miracles” that aims to assist its readers in achieving spiritual transformation, and by the words of author, lecturer, and spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson.

“But I’ve also been inspired by more than 30 years worth of teams, colleagues in teaching and coaching, my students, and my family,” which includes two sons who have both played for Division I university baseball programs and in the Detroit Tigers minor league organization.

Jeanne Hess ranks in the top 30 NCAA Division III coaches with the most wins. She earned her 500th career volleyball victory at Kalamazoo in 2011. Published by Balboa Press, a division of Hay House, Sportuality is available from the Kalamazoo College Bookstore, Balboa Press (www.balboapress.com), Barnes and Noble (www.barnesandnoble.com) and on Amazon (www.amazon.com).

Jeanne Hess with her book
Professor Jeanne Hess, pictured with her book “Sportuality: Finding Joy in the Games”

President Wilson-Oyelaran Elected Vice Chair of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran at NAICU
President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran at NAICU

Kalamazoo College President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran was elected vice chair of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) board of directors at the Association’s recent annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

As a member of the NAICU board’s executive committee, she will help lead the association’s agenda on federal higher education policy; actively encourage support of NAICU priorities and initiatives; and oversee the association’s financial administration. After her one-year term as vice-chair, she will assume the position of board chair for a year. Following her one-year term as chair, she will serve as past-chair for another year, before rotating off of the board.

NAICU is the largest national organization representing the presidents of private, nonprofit colleges and universities. NAICU represents American independent higher education on policy issues with the federal government, such as those affecting student aid, taxation, and government regulation. NAICU’s more than 1,000 member colleges and universities enroll nine out of every 10 students attending private, nonprofit institutions in the United States.

Wilson-Oyelaran has been president of Kalamazoo College since July 2005.

Students, Staff, and Partners Present: “Students as Colleagues: A Fellowship in Learning”

Panel participants
L-R: Alison Geist (MJUSISL Director), Artrella Cohn, Breigh Montgomery ’06 (MJUSISL Assistant Director), Raven Fisher ’14, Teresa Denton (MJUSISL Associate Director), Roxann Lawrence ’14.

The Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute for Service-Learning (MJUSISL) at Kalamazoo College gathered a team of students, staff, and a community partner to give a panel presentation, “Students as Colleagues: A Fellowship in Learning,” at the Michigan Campus Compact Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Institute 2012 on January 30 in East Lansing.

Sophomore Civic Engagement Scholars Raven Fisher (Detroit) and Roxann Lawrence (Jamaica), with Kalamazoo Communities in Schools Program Director Artrella Cohn, discussed the powerful learning and community impact of the award-winning program they lead, Community Advocates for Parents and Students (CAPS), at Interfaith Homes in Kalamazoo.

CAPS is a grassroots, all-volunteer organization that provides tutoring opportunities to KPS students from kindergarten to adult.

“K” Art Professor Exhibits Sculptures in Bellevue Art Museum

Sarah Lindley, Associate Professor of Art, will participate in three upcoming art shows.

Lindley and her husband, sculptor Norwood Viviano, are among 35 artists invited to exhibit in “Push Play: The 2012 NCECA Invitational” to be held Jan. 19 through June 17 at the Bellevue Art Museum in Seattle, Wash., in conjunction with the 46th Annual Conference of The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, taking place March 26 through 31 in Seattle.

Their work is also included in the show “Tracing Lines,” a multi-faceted exhibition involving photographic works, paintings, and sculptures held Jan. 10 through March 24 at the Ohio State University Urban Arts Space in Columbus.

Lindley will exhibit her own sculptures as one of seven artists working in a variety of media participating in “Acts of Recognition” held Feb. 20 through March 17 at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University in Grand Rapids.