Be Light, indeed! After a 30-some-year absence, stadium lights once again light Angell Field, home to the Kalamazoo College Hornet football team. With help from Musco Sports Lighting and Hi-Tech Electric, K is now the first sports stadium in Michigan with LED lights designed to drastically reduce both light trespass and glare outside the College’s property lines. Musco engineers, a City of Kalamazoo inspector, K officials and several neighbors witnessed a test of the lighting system at its highest intensity Wednesday night. All pronounced the finished product a success. K and its lighting consultants will continue to tweak the lights in order to achieve maximum benefit on the field and off. Per an agreement with neighbors and the City, K will use the lights for up to 20 nights annually, almost exclusively for practices that will accommodate Hornet varsity football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s club ultimate Frisbee and intramural teams. (Wednesday’s test counted as one of those 20 nights.) Thank you, everyone, who worked hard to bring lights back to Angell Field. Lux esto! (text by Jeff Palmer; photo by Susan Andress)
Category: Institutional Announcements
Kalamazoo College Included in Fiske Guide to Colleges 2017
Kalamazoo College once again is included in the annual “Fiske Guide to Colleges,” a popular and useful resource for high school students and their families researching prospective colleges, compiled by former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske, a top independent voice in college admissions.
Fiske is a selective, subjective and systematic look at 300-plus colleges and universities in the United States, Canada and the UK. It’s available as a paperback book, as an iPad app on iTunes and a web program on CollegeCountdown.com.
Readers will discover the real personality of a college based on a broad range of subjects, including student body, academics, social life, financial aid, campus setting, housing, food, and extracurricular activities.
According to Fiske, “Kalamazoo is a small liberal arts school that opens up the world to its students—literally. An impressive 80 percent of Kalamazoo Hornets study abroad thanks to the
ingenious K-Plan, a quarter system that allows students to study abroad one, two, or three academic terms. And if you need an extra boost to round out that résumé, there is an extensive internship program.”
Other quotes from the review of Kalamazoo College in Fiske Guide to Colleges 2017:
“Kalamazoo aims to prepare students for real life by helping them synthesize the liberal arts education they receive on campus with their experiences abroad. ’The rigor of classes makes the academic climate seem competitive at times but it is pretty collaborative,’ says a sophomore.”
“’Being a liberal arts school, people are doing very cool and exciting things in all of the departments,’ one student says.”
“K students are very passionate and determined to make a difference…”
“[Students] take a liberal arts curriculum that includes language proficiency, a first-year writing seminar, sophomore and senior seminars, as well as a senior individualized project—an internship, directed research, or a traditional thesis—basically anything that caps off each student’s education in some meaningful way.”
“Professors give students lots of individual attention and are rewarded with some of Michigan’s highest faculty salaries. “Every professor I’ve had has been passionate about what they teach and accessible outside of class,” says a senior.”
“There are always tons of things to do on campus, like movies, concerts, speakers, and events,” an economics major reports. Students look forward to a casino night called Monte Carlo, homecoming, Spring Fling, and the Day of Gracious Living, a spring day where, without prior warning, classes are canceled and students relax by taking day trips or helping beautify the campus. (One popular T-shirt: ’The end of learning is gracious living.’)”
Fiske uses data supplied by colleges and gathered by Fiske researchers. These data can sometimes be out of date by the time the book is published. For example, K’s 2016 deadline for Early Decision I and Early Action admission applications is Nov. 1, not Nov. 15, as reported by Fiske. Also, K’s six-year graduation rate is more than 80 percent, not 77 percent, as reported by Fiske. Additionally, K’s newest major, Critical Ethnic Studies is not “coming in 2016,” as reported in the book. It arrived in fall 2015.
Edward B. Fiske served for seventeen years as education editor of the New York Times, where he realized that college-bound students and their families needed better information on which to base their educational choices. He is also the coauthor of the “Fiske Guide to Getting into the Right College” and “Fiske Real College Essays That Work.”
Kalamazoo College is a Goodwill Partner
Kalamazoo College has received the Community Partner of the Year Award for 2016 from Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan.
In announcing the award, Goodwill officials noted that “Kalamazoo College has been an invaluable partner to Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan and its Adult Education programming for more than a decade.”
K students, working through the College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement provide tutoring support in Goodwill classrooms for adults studying to pass a General Educational Development (GED) test, a credential that’s commonly considered equivalent to a high school diploma.
“K students also offer encouragement to our students and demonstrate that K cares about the well-being of the community at large,” said Scott Goodwin, coordinator of education services for Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan. “Over the years, the faces of the K students have changed, but the results remain constant. K students are committed to the students at Goodwill.”
According to Goodwin, one Goodwill student who recently passed her GED exam commented that the biggest reason she was successful was because of her K tutor’s commitment to help her and encouragement that she could finish.
“And she did,” Goodwin said.
“Kalamazoo College’s service-learning programming puts an emphasis on helping educational programming throughout Kalamazoo and the results have been wonderful. We are pleased to honor Kalamazoo College with our Community Partner of the Year Award.”
Woodworth Field Baseball Diamond Sparkles for Donor’s Children
In 1955, Kalamazoo businessman and sports fan Thomas Woodworth purchased uniforms for the Kalamazoo College baseball team. That spring, the Hornets responded by finishing second in the MIAA conference. Woodworth then gave funds for a new baseball field at K, located near the College’s Angell Field football field. The City of Kalamazoo helped build the diamond, which was ready for the 1956 season.
Sixty years later, Woodworth’s four children returned to see their father’s newly polished ball diamond in a brand new, if familiar, setting.
In 2012, K completely renovated its aging outdoor athletics facility, replacing the old cement-block Calder Field House and rusty Angell Field press box with terrific new structures. Mackenzie Field (soccer), Woodworth Field, and the Hornet softball field were completely rebuilt on new locations within the site in order to maximize overall space and make way for a new parking lot and intramural field. Only Angell Field retained its original footprint (though it gained an artificial turf surface, new bleachers and the new Stadium Services Building compete with press box, concessions and restrooms).
The Woodworth Field reconstruction – with new dugouts, bleachers, fencing, scoreboard and other amenities – was accomplished, in part, through the renewed philanthropy of the Woodworth family.
Recently, Thomas Woodworth, Jr., and his three sisters – Nancy Tyler, Marilyn Moise, and MaryLou Milner (l-r in the photo) – returned to K and to the ball field that bears their family name for the first time in decades. They now all live out of state.
“They were absolutely delighted to see the new Woodworth Field and to reconnect with part of their family legacy,” said Al DeSimone, K’s vice president for advancement. “I had no trouble imagining them as kids running the base-paths and sliding into home plate.”
During their visit, the Woodworth “kids” helped to dedicate a new plaque at the diamond. It reads:
“Thomas B. Woodworth Sr. and his family have demonstrated remarkable support for baseball at Kalamazoo College and in the greater Kalamazoo area. In 2012 and 2013, the family reaffirmed its commitment to the athletes who play this sport. This field, originally dedicated in 1956, bears the Woodworth name and continues to symbolize the family’s generosity and the College’s gratitude.”
When the Money Runs Out, There’s Love
The root meaning of philanthropy is love of humankind, and it is philanthropy that will power the entire operation of Kalamazoo College from this April 6 to the end of the term. That day, Tuition Freedom Day, marks an important divide in the funding of the Kalamazoo College learning experience. In any given academic year, the costs of all that has transpired before Tuition Freedom Day were covered by tuition; what comes after is covered by gifts to Kalamazoo College.
Tuition covers about 76 percent of the costs of a K education, according to Laurel Palmer, director of the Kalamazoo College Fund. “Tuition Freedom Day is a symbolic day marking the point in the academic year when
tuition stops paying for a student’s education and support from donors takes over.” Even more important, the day “is an annual gratitude event to celebrate K’s generous donors,” added Laurel. “Their gifts make a K education possible.” During Kalamazoo College’s last fiscal year, alumni, parents and friends of the College gave more than $2 million to the Kalamazoo College Fund.
On April 6, the College’s fifth annual Tuition Freedom Day, “our goal is to have students write 750 thank-you notes,” says Laurel, “which will be mailed to alumni, parents and friends who gave to the Kalamazoo College Fund in support of scholarships, faculty excellence and the College’s greatest needs.”
K Awarded Top Civic Engagement Honor
Kalamazoo College is Michigan’s 2016 Engaged Campus of the Year! Michigan Campus Compact (MiCC) recently announced K’s selection for the honor by a team of national reviewers at MiCC’s Awards Gala, held at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
The Engaged Campus of the Year Award recognizes an institution of higher education for exemplary commitment to the education of students for civic and social responsibility; genuine and sustained investment in community relationships; and a commitment to service learning and civic engagement opportunities for students across all disciplines.
In particular, the award is a tribute to the work of the College’s Center for Civic Engagement. Through service-learning courses and student-led programs, the CCE has engaged more than 5,500 K students in long-term, reciprocal partnerships to foster academic learning, critical problem-solving, and a lifetime of civic engagement while strengthening the community. “The students have worked with thousands of community residents, some 50 different organizations, and in more than 30 different community-based courses,” says CCE director Alison Geist.
Kalamazoo College also earned an MiCC Innovations in Community Impact award for its program Swim for Success (SFS). The Innovations Award recognizes creative and measurably effective approaches to community problem solving. SFS is a swimming program for local children that takes place on K’s campus three evenings a week. It is a partnership between K and the City of Kalamazoo led by Civic Engagement Scholars Kevin Ewing and Mallory McClure. More than 20 K students are involved as tutors or swim coaches in the program. Kevin and Mallory are both members of the college swim team and are also coaches in the SFS program. K students also provide tutoring onsite one hour before swimming lessons begin.
In addition, Susmitha Daggubati ’16 received MiCC’s 2016 Commitment to Service Award for students. The Commitment to Service Award recognizes outstanding students for their commitment to service. Students are chosen specifically for either the breadth or depth of their community involvement or their service experience(s) and the demonstration of meaningful reflection of those experiences.
Michigan Campus Compact is a coalition of college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the public purpose of higher education. The organization promotes the education and commitment of Michigan college students to be engaged citizens.
Happy 104th!
In response to a prompt (called “Truths”) in an old class reunion questionnaire Vivian Mitchell Prindl ’35 wrote: “One is lucky if she learns to accept what comes. Life is much more pleasant if one has a contented frame of mind.”
More pleasant, indeed, and perhaps much longer. Vivian celebrated her 104th birthday this year and is quite likely K’s oldest living alumna. She matriculated to K from Detroit in 1931, two years into the Great Depression. She ended up earning her bachelor’s degree from New York State University College at Plattsburg, but she always considered herself a member of K’s class of 1935. “I enjoyed Kalamazoo College very much,” she said in a recent interview with archivist Lisa Murphy ’98. “Lemuel F. Smith taught chemistry. He was a very genial person. If anybody was late they had to bring him a candy bar, so once a semester the entire class would come late and bring him a candy bar.”
She shared many other memories, some somber. In the questionnaire Vivian wrote, “Allan Hoben was president when I first attended K. I remember the sadness we all felt when we learned of his terminal illness. The last time he spoke at Chapel, every student attended.”
There were lighter moments. Dancing to records in the sun room of Trowbridge Hall was one she confided to Lisa. Vivian also shared fondness Professors Mulder (English), Harper (sociology) and Dunbar (history). “Professor Praeger [biology] was from County Down in Ireland,” said Vivian. “He felt like he knew me because my father was from County Antrim.”
Vivian had been to business college for a year before she came to K, and that paid off, literally, because she knew how to type. Campus jobs in the dining room (a wellspring for many students) paid 25 cents an hour. But because Vivian could type she was hired by the business office at 30 cents an hour. Everyone who lived on campus, even students who had scholarships, had to work, according to Vivian. It was the Depression. “We didn’t think about not having money because no one had money.” She remembers companies shut down, men out of work, and soup kitchens.
Weekend fun usually meant hikes or walks–things you could do that didn’t cost money. Like those extemporaneous dances in the Trowbridge sun room. “I danced with a boy I dated a couple of years,” said Vivian. And there was the “beau parlor” in Trowbridge. “If you were entertaining you could go to a small room as long as you kept the door open,” Vivian added. “These were the years before blue jeans, so we dressed up. If we were leaving campus to go downtown we were told to wear hat and gloves.”
Vivian also had a key part in the annual Christmas Carol Service. That event called for someone to play the Spirit of Christmas, and the red dress for the part was pretty tiny. “I was small enough to fit into it so I was chosen as the Spirit.”
Vivian married Frank Prindl, and they had two children. Vivian also enjoyed a long teaching career in schools in Kentucky, Michigan, Florida and in Bonn, Germany. After retirement she continued to teach on a volunteer basis. And she traveled widely, especially to England and Mexico, but she also has visited South America, Indonesia, the Philippines and Africa.
K in the early 1930s sounds like a very different place, and yet, Vivian’s life (still going strong) suggests that K cultivated curiosity, independence and a yen for travel and adventure then as much as now.
Happy Birthday, Center for Civic Engagement
The Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) turns 15 this year, and its hard to imagine better origins. It began as a joint brainstorming effort between students, faculty and several community partners with the intent on redefining what a liberal arts education was all about. Students were not just de facto city residents while they studied at K; they were community assets as well. Annually, about 600 K students participate in service-learning in some way with the CCE.
From work on sustainability issues to girl’s and women’s empowerment to health and economic equality to food justice, CCE programming engages students in work that promotes social justice, further pushing the College’s mission to create lifelong learners.
“For some of our students, it’s the first time they’ve witnessed first-hand a variety of ‘isms,’” says Alison Geist, CCE’s director. “We put students on the front lines of many societal issues in a way that sitting in a lecture or classroom just can’t.”
Susmitha Daggubati ’16 mentors a second-grader at Woodward Elementary School in Kalamazoo’s Stuart Neighborhood, adjacent to K’s campus. Daggubati, a senior majoring in chemistry and earning a concentration in biochemistry and molecular biology, is in her second year at Woodward and serves as a Civic Engagement Scholar, a kind of on-site leader who mentors other K students working at sites across the community, scheduling their shifts and organizing meetings to brainstorm programming ideas.
Daggubati moved with her family to the Kalamazoo area from their native India ten years ago. Still very much tied to her Indian roots, her time in service-learning has also given her a greater understanding of the complex social issues at play in American society “In many classes, we learn the theories about the roots of so many social problems,” she says. “But I am able to make those connections to the real world when I’m involved. It keeps me rooted in the realities of the world, and it has given me a greater understanding of American culture.”
Tom Thornburg is the managing attorney at Farmworker Legal Services, a non-profit agency based in Bangor, Mich., a small community about 25 miles west of Kalamazoo, in an agricultural area where hundreds of migrant workers flock each year to work in fields and orchards. His agency assists these workers – overwhelmingly Hispanic – with everything from language services to information on their legal rights to informing them of resources available to them. He’s been working with the CCE for almost a decade, and the K students who’ve come through his doors have become an invaluable resource.
“The students from K are some of the brightest, best-equipped and most professional volunteers we get,” Thornburg says. “They come here with a sense of enthusiasm to help, a sense of what to do, an autonomy. They’re excellent, right up there in many ways with the law students we have working here.”
Over the years, hundreds of the nearly 2,000 students Associate Professor of Psychology Karyn Boatwright has taught have participated in service-learning programs, in a diverse group of local agencies, from the Kalamazoo Public Schools to Planned Parenthood to Goodwill Industries.
Through more than 30 different courses at the College designed with community partners, faculty at K have engaged thousands of students, community residents and leaders to create opportunities for experiential learning and impact derived organically and intentionally from service-learning work.
Says Boatwright, “The CCE and their students consistently impress upon us the need for reflection to ensure that we are not only connecting the proverbial dots, but understanding the political and social connections between success and social factors. Civic engagement experiences improve the quality of learning for our students and strengthen our community.”
The College’s solid commitment to developing the next generation of leaders who are observant, lifelong learners intent on crafting solutions to problems plaguing a suffering world is stronger now than ever. Concludes Geist: “The founders of K were always interested in social justice, and our programming is a manifestation of that. It’s the idea that we should be creating a fellowship of learning, not just working in ivory towers tucked away from society.”
(Text by Chris Killian; photo by Keith Mumma)
18th President Official News Release
Kalamazoo, Mich. (January 12, 2016) – The Board of Trustees of Kalamazoo College has chosen Jorge G. Gonzalez, Ph.D., to become the institution’s 18th president. Gonzalez is currently vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Occidental College (Los Angeles, Calif.). He succeeds President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran, Ph.D., who announced her retirement in April 2015. Her last day at K will be June 30. Gonzalez will begin his new duties as K’s president on July 1.
“I feel my life has been a preparation for this incredible opportunity to advance the liberal arts and the K-Plan,” he said. “Kalamazoo College’s mission is a perfect match with my deeply held belief in the learning values and the life values of experiential education and international education.”
Gonzalez said immersion in the liberal arts is the most powerful and life-enriching form of undergraduate education when students have opportunities to apply their academic work in a variety of extra-curricular experiences. As a professor and as an administrator—both at Trinity University, where he worked from 1989 to 2010, and at Occidental College—he has created innovative programs combining liberal arts academics and experiential applications that cross borders and cultures.
“The board’s vote was unanimous, and our excitement boundless,” said Board of Trustees Chair Charlotte Hall ’66, who led the presidential search committee. “Dr. Gonzalez is a passionate champion of the liberal arts and has an abiding commitment to the values embodied in the K-Plan: academic excellence, experiential learning, intercultural understanding and community engagement. Through all of his work, he has sought to make that powerful combination better and more accessible to diverse groups of students.”
Gonzalez won Trinity University’s most prestigious teaching award. He is widely published and a frequent contributor at professional and academic conferences. His research interests include international economics, political economy and development. He served as the president of the International Trade and Finance Association (2014), and he was selected by the American Council on Education for its prestigious ACE Fellowship (2007-2008). He spent that academic year at Pomona College and visited and spent time with the leaders of about 30 other colleges and universities across the country.
Gonzalez grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree (major in economics) from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM). During his junior year he studied abroad at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, an experience, he said, “that changed my life!” He earned his M.A. (economics, 1986) and Ph.D. (economics, 1989) from Michigan State University.
Gonzalez is married to Suzie (Martin) Gonzalez, a Kalamazoo College graduate of the class of 1983. They have two children, a daughter (Kristina) who recently graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in international relations and is now working in commercial real estate in Los Angeles, and a son (Carlos) who is a sophomore at Rice University majoring in computer science.
The appointment of Gonzalez is the culmination of a seven-month-long national search process. Along with Hall, the search committee included trustees Jim Clayton ’78, Gwen (Van Domelen) Fountain ’68, Si Johnson ’78, Alexander Lipsey ’72, Jody Olsen, and Jon Stryker ’82; Alexandra Altman ’97, president of the Alumni Association Executive Board (and a member of the board of trustees); faculty members Arthur Cole, associate professor of physics, Kyla Day Fletcher, assistant professor of psychology, and Jan Tobochnik, the Dow Distinguished Professor of Natural Sciences; Victor Garcia ’97, grounds coordinator for facilities management; Tanush Jagdish, member of the sophomore class; Stacy Nowicki, library director; and Sally Arent, assistant to the vice president and dean of students and secretary to the search committee. The search committee was assisted by the well-known higher education search firm, Storbeck/Pimentel.
Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu) was founded in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1833 and is one of the oldest colleges in the United States. Located midway between Chicago and Detroit, K is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the K-Plan that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, leadership development, and international and intercultural engagement. Kalamazoo College does more in four years so students can do more in a lifetime.
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K Announces 18th President
The board of trustees of Kalamazoo College has chosen Jorge G. Gonzalez, Ph.D., to become the institution’s 18th president. Gonzalez is currently vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Occidental College (Los Angeles, Calif.). He succeeds President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran, who announced her retirement in April 2015. Her last day at K will be June 30, 2016. Dr. Gonzalez will begin his new duties as K’s president on July 1.
“I feel my life has been a preparation for this incredible opportunity to advance the liberal arts and the K-Plan,” he said. “Kalamazoo College’s mission is a perfect match with my deeply held belief in the learning values and the life values of experiential education and international education.”
Gonzalez said immersion in the liberal arts is the most powerful and life-enriching form of undergraduate education when students have opportunities to apply their academic work in a variety of extra-curricular experiences. As a professor and an administrator Gonzalez has created innovative combinations of liberal arts academics and experiential applications, programs that cross borders and cultures. At Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas, 1989-2010), where he worked as a professor of economics and special assistant to the president, he organized and helped develop: summer travel-study programs related to economics coursework in Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg; summer student internships in Madrid, Spain; a travel-study program in Vietnam; a partnership between the Tec de Monterrey (Mexico) and Trinity University; and a “Languages Across the Curriculum” program in which courses are taught in the language most germane to the course content.
At Occidental College (2010-2016) he has continued to help create and support experiential learning programs that allow students to engage in the world in ways that draw upon their liberal arts education. Several of these programs involve students in the issues and environs of greater Los Angeles and in discussions and applications of social justice.
A gifted professor, Gonzalez won Trinity University’s most prestigious teaching award (2003), the Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship. He is widely published and a frequent contributor at professional and academic conferences. His research interests include international economics, political economy and development. He served as the president of the International Trade and Finance Association (2014), and he was selected by the American Council on Education for its prestigious ACE Fellowship (2007-2008). He spent that academic year at Pomona College and visited and spent time with the leaders of about 30 other colleges and universities across the country.
Gonzalez grew up in Monterrey, Mexico and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree (major in economics, 1984) from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM). During his junior year he studied abroad at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, an experience, he said, “that changed my life!” He made the Dean’s List at Wisconsin, and he graduated first in ITESM’s economics class. Gonzalez earned his M.A. (economics, 1986) and Ph.D. (economics, 1989) from Michigan State University, where he achieved the institution’s “Highest Scholarship Award,” given to the graduating M.A. student in economics with the highest grade point average. His Ph.D. dissertation is titled “Essays in the Theory of International Factor Mobility.”
“The board’s vote was unanimous and our excitement boundless,” said Board Chair Charlotte Hall ’66, who led the presidential search committee. “Dr. Gonzalez is a passionate champion of the liberal arts and has an abiding commitment to the values embodied in the K-Plan: academic excellence, experiential learning, intercultural understanding and community engagement. Through all of his work, he has sought to make that powerful combination better and more accessible to diverse groups of students.
“Thank you to the members of the presidential search committee for their diligence and wisdom during this important task,” Hall added. “They have served Kalamazoo College well, and K will reap the benefits of their hard work.”
Along with Hall, the search committee included trustees Jim Clayton ’78, Gwen (Van Domelen) Fountain ’68, Si Johnson ’78, Alexander Lipsey ’72, Jody Olsen and Jon Stryker ’82; Alexandra Altman ’97, president of the Alumni Association Executive Board (and a member of the board of trustees); faculty members Arthur Cole, associate professor of physics, Kyla Day Fletcher, assistant professor of psychology, and Jan Tobochnik, the Dow Distinguished Professor of Natural Sciences; Victor Garcia ’97, grounds coordinator for facilities management; Tanush Jagdish ’18, member of the sophomore class; Stacy Nowicki, library director; and Sally Arent, assistant to the vice president and dean of students and secretary to the search committee. The search committee was assisted by the well-known higher education search firm, Storbeck/Pimentel.
Gonzalez is married to Suzie (Martin) Gonzalez, a Kalamazoo College graduate of the class of 1983. They have two children, a daughter (Kristina) and a son (Carlos). Kristina recently graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in international relations and is currently working in commercial real estate in Los Angeles. Carlos is a sophomore at Rice University majoring in computer science. Articles on Dr. Gonzalez and his family will appear in upcoming issues of BeLight Magazine (February) and LuxEsto (April).