Category: Institutional Announcements

Graduating Senior Earns First Sherbin Fellowship, 10 Months Abroad

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A new fellowship established by alumnus Robert Sherbin ’79 and named after his father, Jerry, is giving its first Kalamazoo College graduating senior a chance to go overseas for 10 months while exploring a subject of deep personal interest.

To fulfill her fellowship, Elle Waldron ’23—a women, gender and sexuality (WGS) major—will visit a variety of feminist and gender-equity organizations to witness the tools and strategies they use to execute their work and complete their goals.

“Having this opportunity to travel and continue my education is a special way to be able to see other perspectives,” Waldron said. “It affirms that it’s possible for me to continue to follow my passions of WGS and gender equity work because people are working in those fields in their careers.”

Assuming her plans develop as proposed, she will travel to Australia, South Africa, Costa Rica and Spain beginning in late August or early September. Through that she will regularly update Sherbin, the College and the Center for International Programs (CIP) on her progress. In fall 2024, she will return to K to present her experiences to prospective fellowship applicants.

Waldron said she felt overwhelmed when she first was notified that she was selected for the fellowship.

“It felt unreal and now I’m super excited,” she said. “I think part of the excitement is being able to challenge myself and push my comfort zone. I feel like this will change the trajectory of my post-grad experience.”

Waldron was one of seven applicants and three finalists in the fellowship’s first year. The other finalists were Zoe Reyes ’23, who planned to study eco-poetry on medicinal plants in biodiversity hotspots; and Shannon Brown ’23, who proposed investigating the social status of French-based creoles in the Caribbean.

Waldron “had a lot of attention to detail with her application and showed she’s aware of how she would be perceived in places as an outsider while being amenable to how she could navigate those kinds of situations,” said Lizbeth Mendoza Pineda ’16, the Sherbin Fellowship CIP liaison and a co-chair of the fellowship’s selection committee. “She also recognizes that she’s only going to be abroad for a short amount of time, yet she’s trying to make as much of an impact and learn as much as possible, while making sure that whatever work she accomplishes is sustainable. I think that’s something that impressed the committee.”

Sherbin Fellow Elle Waldron
Elle Waldron ’23 will spend 10 months abroad as the first recipient of the Jerry Sherbin Fellowship, funded by Bob Sherbin ’79.

Sherbin participated in study abroad at K by traveling to the University of Nairobi, where he was one of just six undergrads from the U.S. and the only K student.

Later, as a senior, he received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, an external grant through the Watson Foundation, that allowed him to create and follow through with a one-year project overseas. With that he spent a year in Central and West Africa as a Watson Fellow, conducting a sociological study of long-distance truck drivers. Sherbin said the experience was transformative and guided him toward graduate school at Northwestern University, years spent as an international journalist, and eventually, working as the vice president of corporate communications at NVIDIA, a Silicon Valley-based technology company.

Waldron had her own study abroad experience in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for six months last year.

“I was lucky to have a study abroad experience that allowed me to be comfortable in a space that I wasn’t familiar with because I was supported and had friends in the program,” Waldron said. “Because of that, I recognized my own skills and ability to adapt. With K providing that foundation, I feel I have a fantastic ability to investigate things abroad.”

Now, she hopes those investigations will yield long-term relationships with people from around the world and allow her to consult those people regularly in the future. She would also like it to help her become a better critical thinker and define feminism from a global perspective as it’s influenced by a variety of historical and cultural contexts.

“I think as a WGS major and as an individual, I’m interested in how gender and sexuality structures the world around me,” Waldron said. “But for me, getting out of academia is a bit of a leap, because I’m not sure how to apply all these things that I have learned. I want to work on projects that pursue gender equity and find out how to be the most effective. That’s why I’m interested in this project. I want to see what other new worlds women and people are creating, because I want to see them in my own career.”

K’s Banner Year Elates Faculty, NSF Fellows

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Kalamazoo College STEM-related academic departments are celebrating a banner year as the overall number of current students and alumni receiving National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate research fellowships reaches four, the most since 2016.

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding students who pursue research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. A five-year fellowship covers three years of financial support, including an annual stipend and a cost-of-education allowance to attend an institution along with access to professional-development opportunities.

About 2,000 applicants are offered a fellowship per NSF competition in fields such as chemistry, biology, psychology, physics and math. This is the first year since 2013 that two current K students, Claire Kvande ’23 and Mallory Dolorfino ’23, have earned awards. Two alumni also have earned fellowships, Cavan Bonner ’21 and Angel Banuelos ’21.

“The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is a highly competitive program that is only awarded to about 16% of the applicants, who represented more than 15,000 undergraduates and graduate students across all STEM fields,” Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry Blakely Tresca said. “Approximately 2,500 awards were offered this year across all STEM fields and the vast majority of them go to students at large research universities and Ivy League schools. It is rare to see more than one or two awards at an undergraduate-focused college, particularly at a small liberal arts school like K. It is exceptional for schools in the GLCA (Great Lakes Colleges Association) to have one award in a year, and four awards is a truly outstanding accomplishment for these students.”

Claire Kvande ’23

Kvande has been a double major in physics and chemistry with minors in math and French at K. She credits faculty members such as Dow Distinguished Professor of Natural Science Jan Tobochnik and Associate Professor of Physics David Wilson, along with a wide range of courses, for preparing her to receive an NSF fellowship.

“I like the nitty gritty of sitting down and figuring out how to approach a problem within physics even though it’s often hard,” she said. “I really like work that is grounded in real-world problems and it’s part of why I’m interested in the subfield of condensed matter. There’s a lot that stands to be applied to technologies that I think could improve our world and help a lot of people.”

Kvande will attend the University of Washington this fall, where she plans to extend her Senior Integrated Project (SIP) work, which examined how charge-density waves relate to superconductivity within condensed matter.

“Superconductivity is a tantalizing physics concept,” she said. “If we could realize superconductivity at room temperature, it would allow us to do a lot with energy saving and revolutionize how we use electricity. There are schools of thought that say charge-density waves would be helpful in achieving that and others that say it would be hurtful. Since we really don’t know how superconductivity works, this is worth investigating so we can hopefully better understand this powerful phenomenon.”

NSF fellow Claire Kvande presenting her SIP
Claire Kvande ’23 will attend graduate school at the University of Washington as a National Science Foundation fellow.

Mallory Dolorfino ’23

Dolorfino, a computer science and math double major, also will attend the University of Washington, where they will pursue a doctorate in math.

“I didn’t really like math until I came to K,” Dolorfino said. “I took calculus in high school and I was just not going to take any more in college until one of my senior friends told me when I was a first-year student to take linear algebra. I took that and Calculus 3 online during the first COVID term and I just kept doing math, so I switched my major. It’s not like other subjects because you can work for hours and not get anything done. That’s frustrating at times, but it’s fun to understand it enough to prove things logically.”

Dolorfino credits several faculty members for their growth and success at K, leading to their NSF opportunity. They include Tresca, who helped students keep track of their NSF application timelines and materials; Associate Professor of Mathematics Michele Intermont, who provided letters of recommendation and application assistance for research opportunities and graduate school; and Assistant Professor of Mathematics Stephen Oloo, who provided invaluable feedback regarding their research proposal and many conversations about math.

Dolorfino remains in contact with a professor they worked with in a math-focused study abroad program in Budapest. The two of them conducted a monthlong research project in algebraic number theory, which is a foundation in applications such as encryption and bar codes. Their NSF application proposes group theory work, which is what she based some research on last summer at Texas State University. They hope their NSF work will help them become a college professor one day. “There are a lot of math institutions on the West Coast and specifically in the Northwest, so I will have really good connections there,” said Dolorfino, who agreed the award is an honor. “I was grateful for the people at K who helped me apply.”

NSF fellow Mallory Dolorfino
Mallory Dolorfino ’23 will attend graduate school at the University of Washington as an NSF fellow.

Cavan Bonner ’21

Bonner has spent the past two years working as a research staff member in industrial and organizational psychology at Purdue University. His NSF fellowship will take him to another Big Ten school.

“My area of research involves personality development and how personality changes over the lifespan,” he said. “It’s a pretty small sub field and there are only a few doctoral programs where you can study the topic with an expert. The University of Illinois is one of them.”

Bonner further hopes the fellowship will propel his career toward a tenure-track job at a research university. He said K helped prepare him well for that trajectory through a broad range of subjects, not only in psychology, but in adjacent fields such as sociology and statistics. Bonner also credits his experience working as a research assistant for Ann V. and Donald R. Parfet Distinguished Professor of Psychology Gary Gregg, and Associate Professor of Psychology Brittany Liu for training him in skills that he frequently uses in his research work after graduation. 

“I was drawn to personality psychology because it provides an integrative framework to study many of the research questions I have about human development, aging and change over time,” Bonner said. “My SIP and research assistant experiences at K helped me realize that I could address these questions from a personality perspective, but my professors also exposed me to so many other fields and perspectives that inform my research. I primarily identify as a personality and developmental psychologist, but ultimately I hope that this fellowship helps me contribute to the broader science of aging and development.”

Portrait of Cavan Bonner
Cavan Bonner ’21 will attend the University of Illinois as an NSF fellow.

Angel Banuelos ’21

Banuelos, a biology major and anthropology/sociology minor at K, is in his second year at the University of Wisconsin, where he said he studies genetics—specifically the construction of the vertebrate brain and face—under an amazing mentor, Professor Yevgenya Grinblat.

“Live beings are built by cells that are informed by DNA,” Banuelos said. “At the beginning of embryonic development, the cells split into groups. One of those groups is called the neural crest cells. Those cells go on to contribute to a whole bunch of things such as pigment cells in the skin, and cartilage and bones in the face. My project is trying to understand how neural crest cells contribute to stabilizing the very first blood vessels of the developing eye.”

Ultimately, when his graduate work is finished, he would like to steer his career towards education.

NSF fellow Angel Banuelos in the lab
Angel Banuelos ’21, a newly-named NSF fellow, is in his second year of graduate school at the University of Wisconsin.

“I would like to bring research opportunities to people who don’t have higher education experience,” Banuelos said. “I would imagine starting with programs for middle schoolers, then high schoolers and adult learners. I want to be part of research addressing community problems and conducted by the people who live there.”

Banuelos credits inspiration for his career goals to the many mentors he had at K. Natalia Carvalho-Pinto, former director of the intercultural center, and Amy Newday, who provided guidance in food and farming justice, served as role models for applying theory to meet material needs.

“In my NSF application, I described meeting community needs as a central component of my scholarship,” he said. “Natalia and Amy are people who literally fed me while I was at K. They saw the student and the human. They handed me books, handed me plates, even welcomed my family. During a very difficult transition to grad school, they were there for me. When I’m a professor, I want to be like them. I’m grateful for the growth opportunities I had at K through the Intercultural Center and food and farming.”

‘It doesn’t happen every year’

Faculty members as a whole across STEM departments are taking great pride in these K representatives earning fellowships as it speaks to the quality of students at the College and their studies, especially as the number of recipients stands out.

“At K, it is exciting when even a single student wins a fellowship, and it certainly doesn’t happen every year,” Professor of Physics Tom Askew said. “It’s special to have four in one year.”

Class Inspires Day of Fewer Cars with A Better Way to K

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Kalamazoo College students, faculty and staff will take a step toward carbon neutrality while promoting healthier lifestyles and showing that sustainability matters to the campus community on Tuesday, May 16. The first A Better Way to K Day, planned through the Climate Action Plan Committee (CAP) and the Larry J. Bell ’80 Center for Environmental Stewardship, will invite anyone with business on campus to do anything other than drive on their own to K.

The idea for this event was initially brainstormed in the winter term as a “car-free day” in Professor of English Amelia Katanski’s Wheels of Change first-year seminar with input from City Planner and K alumna Christina Anderson ’98. The course explored how communities can build cycling infrastructure to better support residents.  

Carpooling, taking public transportation, walking, biking or running to get to the College all are encouraged for May 16, and participants who share social media posts with the hashtag #ABetterWaytoK will help spread awareness. Those with obstacles to these modes may still participate by spreading awareness of the day, reducing the number of car trips in a day or thinking critically about systems and what might need to change in our own lives, within K or within the community to make traveling without a car more accessible to everyone.  

“At the heart of the Kalamazoo College community is a commitment to sustainability, and our climate action plan is a commitment to achieving carbon neutrality,” Associate Vice President of Facilities Management and Chief Sustainability Officer Susan Lindemann said. “Finding alternative transportation to campus for A Better Way to K will impact both, while showing that a sustainable lifestyle is not only possible but valued and encouraged in our community.”  

climate
Professor of English Amelia Katanski’s Wheels of Change first-year seminar traveled for a week to Copenhagen, Denmark, to see how the city, one of the world’s best for cycling infrastructure, can provide examples from which Kalamazoo can learn. That class, along with City Planner Christina Anderson ’98, initiated the idea for a climate-targeted “car-free day” on campus. That idea became A Better Way to K Day, scheduled for Tuesday, May 16.

Commuters who want to learn how to use public transportation may contact Associate Bookstore Director Richard Amundson at Richard.Amundson@kzoo.edu for information on routes and tokens. Anyone looking to organize group walks or runs to campus may contact Director of News and Social Media Andy Brown at Andrew.Brown@kzoo.edu. Plus, students who live on campus may participate in A Better Way to K by spreading awareness and finding alternate ways to their off-campus jobs and sites around town. 

Sophomore Emerson Wesselhoff is spearheading student participation through CAP. 

“Initially, I was excited, but a bit confused by the idea of A Better Way to K,” Wesselhoff said. “I already live on campus and I don’t have a car. But I am going to participate by spreading awareness about the day and the reasons why it is so important. I will continue to walk to classes and make efforts to walk or bike to my off-campus job, the climbing gym and my other favorite Kalamazoo spots.” 

Based on recent car-count data from K’s Center for Environmental Stewardship, more than 500 cars are on campus every day. By decreasing that number even slightly, the K community can drastically decrease the carbon emitted from its passenger vehicles each year.  

One day, however, will only be the start of such community efforts that aid sustainability at K. CAP is asking those who participate in A Better Way to K Day—and those who don’t—to submit their reflections of the event along with what might have helped them or prevented them from participating to enable more efforts in the future. The short survey is available at the Sustainability at K website under Share Your Experience.  

“K can help students and our community make a difference in many global issues from across the street or around the world,” Lindemann said. “A Better Way to K will be a way to show we’re taking steps toward improving our climate and environment for everyone—now and for the future.” 

Bell’s Founder, Author to Earn Honorary Degrees at Commencement

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Alumnus Larry J. Bell ’80, founder of Bell’s Brewery, Inc., will be welcomed as Kalamazoo College’s 2023 Commencement speaker on Sunday, June 11.

Bell majored in political science at K before going on to found Bell’s Brewery Inc. in 1985—one of the earliest craft breweries in the Midwest. With popular and award-winning beers like Two Hearted Ale, Oberon and Hopslam, Bell’s Brewery grew into one of the largest craft breweries in the U.S., distributing to 43 states. In 2010, Bell was honored with The Brewers Association Recognition Award for his innovative brewing and dedication to the industry. He was also recognized in 2010 by Kalamazoo College with its Distinguished Achievement Award, which honors those alumni who have achieved distinction in their professional fields. Upper Hand Brewery, a sister company based in Escanaba on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, opened in 2014.

In November 2021, Bell reached an agreement with Lion, an Australian-based brewer, for the sale of Bell’s, and Bell officially retired from the helm of the company at the end of 2021. That year he was also named environmentalist of the year by the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter for his years of advocacy work, which included helping found the Great Lakes Business Network, a non-partisan business group that advocates for thriving ecosystems, economies, and communities in the Great Lakes Region. Since retirement, Bell has remained active philanthropically, making more than $14 million in donations to local organizations, including Kalamazoo College. A longtime supporter of the College, Bell has helped to fund food justice and sustainability programming, including support for The Larry J. Bell ’80 Environmental Stewardship Center in 2022. He also established a distinguished chair in American history, and in 2016, he endowed a scholarship fund for students needing financial assistance. Bell has also been a strong supporter of the arts in Kalamazoo, serving as Past Board President for the Irving S. Gilmore International Piano Festival; in 2022 he made a gift to The Gilmore to establish two awards for exceptional jazz pianists. He has also established the Larry J. Bell Library Foundation, which is developing a research library in downtown Kalamazoo to host Bell’s extensive collection of historical books and art collections. In addition to serving as the Commencement keynote speaker, Bell will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the College.

Along with Bell, author Jaroslav Kalfař will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from K. His debut novel, Spaceman of Bohemia, was the Summer Common Reading book for the incoming class of 2018, and Kalfař visited campus in September of that year to discuss his book as part of new student orientation. Per K tradition, he returns to address this same class of students at their commencement.

Kalfař was born in the Czech Republic, moving to the U.S. at age 15. He earned an M.F.A. from New York University, where he was a Goldwater Fellow and a nominee for the first E.L. Doctorow Prize. In 2018, he was a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship. Spaceman of Bohemia was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, The Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and a nominee for the Dublin Literary Award. The book has been published in fifteen languages. A film adaptation directed by Johan Renck, starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, and Paul Dano, is coming to Netflix in 2023. Kalfar recently released his newest novel, A Brief History of Living Forever.

Past Kalamazoo College honorary degree recipients

Commencement speaker Larry Bell with his wife, Shannon Bell, and President Jorge G. Gonzalez
Larry Bell ’80, founder of Bell’s Brewery, Inc., will be welcomed as Kalamazoo College’s 2023 Commencement speaker on Sunday, June 12.
Commencement Author Jaroslav Kalfař
Author Jaroslav Kalfař will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Kalamazoo College during Commencement on Sunday, June 12.

K’s Day of Gracious Giving is May 17

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Kalamazoo College is hosting its Day of Gracious Giving on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. The annual giving day is the biggest fundraising day of the year for the College, and the entire K community is invited to come together to provide vital support for the student experience.    

Last year’s Day of Gracious Giving raised $448,353 from 1,433 donors, not including challenge matches. Contributions of all sizes supported scholarships and financial aid, faculty resources and K’s highest priorities.  

Over the last several years, the Day of Gracious Giving has been held on the same day as K’s Day of Gracious Living, a nearly 50-year Kalamazoo College tradition where student representatives select a day off, canceling classes.    

The actual date for the Day of Gracious Living—or DOGL (pronounced like doggle), as it is often referred to across campus—has always been a closely guarded surprise for students and employees, including K’s Advancement staff, who have previously planned the giving day with only a general idea of when the date might finally fall. This year, the College has decided to designate a specific date for the giving day, keeping the spirit of DOGL while adding the predictability of a more traditional giving day.  

Day of Gracious Giving benefits students in classrooms, labs and more
Contributions of all sizes toward the Day of Gracious Giving support scholarships and financial aid, faculty resources and K’s highest priorities to benefit students in classrooms, labs and more.

As for the Day of Gracious Living, it will continue to be chosen by student representatives, its date only revealed when the campus-wide email goes out and the chapel bells begin to ring, signaling to all students: set aside your books, gather up your friends and get your sunscreen and beach blankets ready.  

 “We believe that the Day of Gracious Giving encompasses the traditional spirit of DOGL—one of joy, appreciation and gratitude—whether or not it is held on the exact same day,” said Laurel Palmer, director of the Kalamazoo College Fund.  “Choosing a date ahead of time gives the College a consistent timeframe for planning and communicating about the event. We hope that this change will allow us to reach the broadest audience possible.”  

Palmer also encourages everyone in the K community to be a part of the Day of Gracious Giving, whether it’s by creating a buzz on social media to encourage participation, offering a challenge or making a donation. 

“Making a gift—of any size—on the Day of Gracious Giving helps to ensure that students are able to participate in the experiences that make the K education distinctive.” 

If you would like to give to K, please visit www.kzoo.edu/giving and place Day of Gracious Giving in the special instructions area to have your gift included as part of the day. Your contribution makes it possible for Kalamazoo College to provide brighter opportunities for K students—preparing them to shine a brighter light into the world as alumni.  

Honors, Philanthropy Prompt College’s Top 10 Stories

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In 2022, national publications continued to recognize Kalamazoo College as an outstanding institution of higher education. That reputation was furthered through the achievements of faculty, staff and academic departments, and donors funding K’s strategic plan, Advancing Kalamazoo College: A Strategic Vision for 2023. Here are the institution’s top 10 stories this year as determined by your clicks. Find the top stories from our students, faculty and staff, and alumni.

10. K Confers Lucasse, Ambrose Honors

K awarded one faculty member and one staff member with two of the highest awards it bestows on its employees with Professor of Psychology Bob Batsell earning the Lucasse Fellowship for Excellence in Scholarship, and Student Health and Counseling Centers Office Coordinator Jen Combes granted the W. Haydn Ambrose Prize.

Lucasse Recipient Robert Batsell in class_fb
Professor of Psychology Bob Batsell
Ambrose Award Recipient Jen Combes
Student Health and Counseling Centers Office Coordinator Jen Combes receives the Ambrose Prize from Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez.

9. Gift Benefits History Projects, Honors Emeriti Professors

Thanks to a lead anonymous gift, and the philanthropy of other donors, a new endowed fund is supporting exemplary seniors and their Senior Integrated Projects in the Department of History while honoring two of the department’s emeriti professors, David Strauss and John Wickstrom.

Emeriti Professors Barclay, Strauss and WickstromEmeriti History Professors John Wickstrom, David Barclay and David Strauss
Emeriti History Professors John Wickstrom, David Barclay and David Strauss

8. Money Magazine Credits K for Quality, Affordability, Outcomes

K is gaining global repute among some of the top institutions in higher education with Money magazine ranking K 19th among the country’s liberal arts and sciences colleges and 50th in the Midwest regardless of public or private status.

Money Magazine_fb

7. German Studies Program Receives National Honor

K’s Department of German Studies was one of just three programs in the country this year honored by the American Association of Teachers of German with a German Center of Excellence award. The designation is presented to well-established and growing programs with demonstrated excellence in instruction, and strong support from administration, professional colleagues, alumni and students.

The faculty members in K’s German department include Co-Chair and Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Assistant Professor of German Kathryn Sederberg, Co-Chair and Professor of Classics Elizabeth Manwell, Instructor of German Stefania Malacrida and Assistant Professor of German Petra Watzke.

Kathryn Sederberg teaching a course in German
Kathryn Sederberg is the Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Assistant Professor of German and co-chair of the Department of German Studies.
Petra Watzke
Assistant Professor of German Petra Watzke

6. K Announces $250,000 Gift to Support Faculty-Led Student Research, Creative Works

Students participating in faculty-advised research or creative projects now have access to dedicated funding thanks to a $250,000 gift from a couple who previously served as members of the K’s faculty and administration.

The Richard J. Cook and Teresa M. Lahti Endowment for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity was established to facilitate faculty-student collaborative work. The fund provides stipends, materials and essential project-related travel assistance to students engaged in such research or creative activity.

Faculty-Student Research and Creative Works Endowment
Richard J. Cook and Teresa M. Lahti

5. Princeton Review: K Offers Value, a Chance to Make an Impact

An independent study from the Princeton Review shows that K provides one of the most outstanding returns on investment in higher education. The education-services company profiles and recommends K in the 2022 edition of The Best Value Colleges, an annual guide to undergraduate schools, and again in The Best 388 Colleges.

The Princeton Review doesn’t rank the Best Value Colleges. However, K received a separate honor in The Best Value Colleges guide as the College was ranked No. 18 on a list of the Top 20 Private Colleges Where Students Are Making an Impact. This means K students said through surveys that their student-government opportunities, the College’s sustainability efforts and K’s on-campus student engagement are providing students with opportunities to make a difference in their community.

Stetson Chapel in Fall for Best Value Colleges
The Princeton Review examined more than 650 institutions for this year’s list.

4. Fulbright Again Honors K as a Top Producer of Scholarship Recipients

K had six representatives from the class of 2021 in Fulbright’s U.S. Student Program, leading to the College receiving top producer status for the fourth time in five years.

K’s representatives in 2021-22 and their host countries were Helen Pelak ’21, Australia; Katherine Miller-Purrenhage ’21, Germany; Sophia Goebel ’21, Spain; Molly Roberts ’21, France; Margaret Totten ’21, Thailand; Nina Szalkiewicz ’21, Austria; and Evelyn Rosero ’13, South Korea.

Katherine Miller-Purrenhage in Germany
Katherine Miller-Purrenhage ’21

3. Forbes Praises K for Successful Student Outcomes

If you’re a student who wants an excellent education at a great price, K will provide it, according to Forbes magazine. Forbes also says choosing K means you’ll follow in the footsteps of successful entrepreneurs and countless influential leaders in their fields.

The magazine chose K as the top private college in Michigan, ranking it third in the state overall and No. 183 in the country among its picks of the top 500 schools in the U.S.

Students Sitting in a Circle on the Lower Quad for Forbes Rankings

2. K Parents Geoffrey and Kathleen Fieger Create Endowed Scholarship

A generous $1 million gift from Geoffrey N. Fieger and Kathleen J. Fieger will support current and future students by funding the Keenie and Julian Fieger Endowed Scholarship, named for Kathleen and the couple’s son Julian.

Geoffrey and Kathleen Fieger_fb
Geoffrey N. Fieger and Kathleen J. Fieger

1. City Approves 2022 Campus Master Plan

K received approval from the city’s commissioners in October to move forward with a master plan that focuses on enhancing and expanding the on-campus living experience while strengthening the connection between K’s campus and the surrounding community.

Kalamazoo College Campus Master Plan
City commissioners have approved Kalamazoo College’s 2022 Campus Master Plan.

Honors Day Hails Students’ Achievements

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Student receives recognition from professor on Honors Day
Kalamazoo College recognized outstanding achievements by its students Friday with the annual
Honors Day Convocation.

More than 300 students were recognized Friday during the annual Honors Day Convocation for excellence in academics and leadership. Students were recognized in six divisions: Fine Arts, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized, as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College awards. Student athletes and teams who won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards also were honored. The students receiving Honors Day awards or recognition are listed below.

Fine Arts Division

Brian Gougeon Prize in Art
Mabel Bowdle
Josetta Chekett
Aiden Morgan
Ping Smith

The Margaret Upton Prize in Music
Isabella Pellegrom

Cooper Award
Milan Levy

Sherwood Prize
Marilu Bueno

Theatre Arts First-Year Student Award
Megan Herbst
Raven Montagna
Nguyen Nguyen
Jadon Weber

Division of Modern and Classical Languages

LeGrand Copley Prize in French
McKenna Wasmer

Hardy Fuchs Award
Alex Nam
Joaquin Ramirez

Margo Light Award
Aliza Garcia

Department of Spanish Language and Literatures Prize
Paige Anderson
Evan Pollens-Voigt
Maxwell Spitler

Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin
Beatrice Hawkins

Provost’s Prize in Classics
Elle Ragan

Humanities Division

O. M. Allen Prize in English
May Tun

John B. Wickstrom Prize in History
Daniel Koselka
Ryan Muschler

L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy
Madeleine Lawson

Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division

Winifred Peake Jones Prize in Biology

Isabella Pellegrom
Lucas Priemer
Noah Pyle
Vivian Schmidt
Hannah VanderLugt

Department of Chemistry Prize
Lillian Kehoe
Maxwell Rhames
Hannah VanderLugt

First-Year Chemistry Award

Lillian Grelak
Angela Jacobo
Nguyen Nguyen

Lemuel F. Smith Award
Marissa Dolorfino

Computer Science Prize
Addison Atwater
Sophie Decker
Cole Koryto
Chau Ta

First-Year Mathematics Award
Laura DeVilbiss
Joseph Horsfield
Judah Karesh
Alexander Kish

Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics
Matthew Nelson
Xavier Silva

Cooper Prize in Physics
Alexander Kish
Mackenzie Moore
Tristan Uphoff

NSF S-STEM PRIME Scholars Program
Jessica Antonio-Ulloa
Zoie Banger
Caleb Ewald
Corey Garrison II
Sarah Jaimes Santos
Caleb Jenkins
Rachel Meston
Zoee Perez
Yuliana Reyes
Lauren Stallman   

Social Sciences Division

Departmental Prize in Anthropology and Sociology

Alexandra Armin
Clarke Austin
Tali Deaner
Vivian Kim
Malin Nordmoe
Addison Peter
Sara Reathaford

C. Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business
Holly Bowling
Andreas Fathalla
Farah Ghazal
Christian Kraft

C. Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics
Nikhil Gandikota
Emma Hahn
Lukas Hultberg
Blagoja Naskovski

Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize
Colton Jacobs
Meganne Skoug

William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Political Science
Joseph Shumunov

Department of Psychology First-Year Student Prize
Madalyn Farrey
Vivian Kim
Malin Nordmoe
Grace Snyder

Physical Education Division

Division of Physical Education Prize
Adnan Alousi
Vivian Schmidt

Maggie Wardle Prize
Jaelyn Horn

COLLEGE AWARDS

Gordon Beaumont Memorial Award
Litzy Bahena

Henry and Inez Brown Prize
Violet Crampton

Davis United World College Scholar
Unayza Anika
Shiqi (Shaina) Bai
Kinga Fraczkiewicz

Virginia Hinkelman Memorial Award
Ryley White

Heyl Scholars

Class of 2026

Zahra Amini
Michael Ankley
Annaliese Bol
Olivia Cannizzaro
Lilli Daniels
Devi DeYoung
Brigid Roth
Anoushka Soares

Posse Scholars

Class of 2026

Christopher Adeniji
Jimmy Arana
Shyane Barnes-Taylor
Erendira Cabrera
Luis Castro-Limon
Litzy Hernandez
Alyson Ramillano
Arely Roman

National Merit Scholars

Class of 2026
Eleanor Parks-Church

Voynovich Scholars

Elisabeth Kuras
Jack Soderberg

Alpha Lambda Delta

Class of 2025

Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year. The Kalamazoo College chapter was installed on March 5, 1942.

Paige Anderson
Ava Apolo
Carolyn Bennett
Daphne Bos
Mairin Boshoven
Anna Buck
Isabella Caza
Alexndra Chafetz
Josetta Checkett
Kyle Cooper
Sophie Decker
Ethan DeNeen
Laura DeVilbiss
Adaora Emenyonu
Justin Essing
Madalyn Farrey
Emma Frederiksen
Lillian Grelak
Elizabeth Grooten
Beatrice Hawkins
Megan Herbst
Maya Hester
Ella Heystek
Sierra Hieshetter
Gavin Houtkooper
Amalia Kaerezi
Kiana Kanegawa
Judah Karesh
Roze Kerr
Vivian Kim
Si Yun Kimball
Alexander Kish
Cole Koryto
Madeleine Lawson
Margaret Lekan
Luis Lizardo-Rodriguez
Ava Loncharte
Madeline Lovins
Jacob Lynett
Andrew Mallon
Arjun Manyam
Sophia Merchant
Mackenzie Moore
Alex Nam
Nguyen Nguyen
Malin Nordmoe
Emma Olson
Isabella Pellegrom
Kaitlin Peot
Benjamin Pickrel
Lucas Priemer
Elena Pulliam
Noah Pyle
Julie Rambo
Sara Reathaford
Laura Reinaux Silva Oliveira
Keegan Reynolds
Maxwell Rhames
Sheldon Riley
Luke Rop
Charlotte Ruiter
Leslie Santos
Vivian Schmidt
Eden Schnurstein
Ping Smith
Grace Snyder
Maxwell Spitler
Eleanor Stevenson
Meredith Steward
Hannah Summerfled
Chau Ta
Claire Taylor
Levi Thomas
Sophia Timm-Blow
Tristan Uphoff
Hannah VanderLugt
McKenna Wasmer
Emerson Wesselhoff
Carson Williams
Laurel Wolfe

Enlightened Leadership Awards

Performing Arts: Music

Shiqi Bai
Avery Brockington
Trustin Christopher
Noah Chun
Sally Eggleston
Luke Hanson
Madeline Hanulcik
Emilia Kelly
Caden Lowis
Kira McManus
Emma Morrison
Lorelei Moxon
Chelsea Paddock
Bea Putman
Molly Stevison
Jeremy Tarn
Hannah Ulanoski

MIAA Awards

These teams earned the 2021-2022 MIAA Team GPA Award for achieving a 3.300 or better grade point average for the entire academic year:

Baseball
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Lacrosse
Women’s Golf
Men’s Soccer
Women’s Softball
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Soccer
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Men’s Tennis
Women’s Tennis
Volleyball

MIAA Academic Honor Roll

Student Athletes 2021-22
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association each year honors students at MIAA member colleges who achieve in the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average for the entire school year.

Adnan Alousi
Olivia Anderson
Paige Anderson
Alexandra Armin
Addison Atwater
Annalise Bailey
Spencer Baldwin
Madison Barch
Travis Barclay
Elena Basso
Ella Black
Rose Bogard
Mairin Boshoven
Chelsea Bossert
Alex Bowden
Leslie Bowen
Holly Bowling
Austin Bresnahan
Lukas Broadsword
Jonathan Brunette
Anna Buck
Pierce Burke
Isabella Caza
Ben Chosid
Walker Chung
Madeleine Coffman
Nicholas Cohee
Lucy Cripe
Emma Curcuru
Nick Dailey
Jessica Dant
Zachary Dean
Emmelyn DeConinck
Ethan DeNeen
Sarah Densham
Olivia DePauli
Chris DeVito
Eva DeYoung
Adam Dorstewitz
Rorie Dougherty
Ryan Drew
Hannah Durant
Gina Dvorin
Rebecca Elias
Kelsi Elliott
Sara English
Jake Fales
Colton Farley
Peter Fitzgerald
Payton Fleming
Parker Foster
Andre Fouque
Emma Frederiksen
Aliza Garcia
Brynna Garden
Farah Ghazal
Katie Gierlach
Nicole Gorder
Lillian Grelak
Natalie Gross
Matthew Gu
Sydney Hagaman
Emily Haigh
Ryan Hanifan
Alison Hankins
Lucy Hart
Tanner Hawkins
Noah Hecht
Maya Hester
Sam Hoag
Jacob Hoffman
Garrick Hohm
Jaelyn Horn
Joseph Horsfield
Molly Horton
Tyler Houle
Gavin Houtkooper
Sam Hughes
Lukas Hultberg
Madelaine Hurley
Casey Johnson
Thomas Kartes
Lucas Kastran
Kai Ketola
Hunter Kiesling
Meghan Killmaster
Rylie Kipfmueller
Lena Klemm
Allison Klinger
Ella Knight
Daniel Koselka
Marissa Kovac
Brandon Kramer
Kathryn Larick
Annmarie Lawrence
Ava Loncharte
Jack Loveland
Jacob Lynett
MacKenzy Maddock
Natalie Maki
Grace McGlynn
Dylan McGorisk
Amy McNutt
Luke Middlebrook
Camille Misra
Jana Molby
Mackenzie Moore
Ryan Morgan
Samantha Moss
Anna Murphy
Nicholas Nerhood
Alexis Nesbitt
Caroline Norton
Alina Offerman
Larkin O’Gorman
Jeremiah Ohren-Hoeft
Olivia Oswald
Ella Palacios
Scott Peters
Eve Petrie
Alexis Petty
Sydney Pickell
Benjamin Pickrel
Noah Piercy
Harrison Poeszat
Evan Pollens-Voigt
Grayson Pratt
Doug Propson
Elizabeth Rachiele
Savera Rajendra-Nicolucci
Julia Rambo
Sara Reathaford
Keegan Reynolds
Mya Richter
Sheldon Riley
Michael Robertson
Lily Rogowski
Luke Rop
Alec Rosenbaum
Elizabeth Rottenberk
Jacob Roubein
Charlotte Ruiter
Tyler Sakalys-Moore
Marco Savone
Vivian Schmidt
Eden Schnurstein
Hannah Schurman
Michael Schwartz
Darby Scott
Steven Shelton
Elizabeth Silber
Colby Skinner
Erin Somsel
Armaan Sood-Mankar
Jonah Spates
Adam Stapleton
David Stechow
Alex Stolberg
Hayden Strobel
Ella Szczublewski
Emily Tenniswood
Levi Thomas
Cade Thune
Kaytlyn Tidey
Sophia Timm-Blow
Frances Trimble
Mary Trimble
Oliver Tye
Samantha VandePol
Hannah VanderLugt
Cameron VanGalder
Anna Varitek
Caleb Waldmiller
Riley Weber
Margaret Wedge
Tanner White
Dylan Wickey
Ava Williams
Laurel Wolfe
Tony Yazbeck
Ian Yi
Sophie Zhuang
Margaret Zorn

City Approves 2022 Campus Master Plan

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Kalamazoo College Campus Master Plan
City commissioners have approved Kalamazoo College’s 2022 Campus Master Plan.

Kalamazoo College received approval from the city’s commissioners Monday to move forward with a master plan that focuses on enhancing and expanding the on-campus living experience while strengthening the connection between K’s campus and the surrounding community.

The 2022 Campus Master Plan was developed over 10 months by encouraging feedback and input from the West Main Hill Neighborhood Association, the Historic Stuart Neighborhood Association, city officials and members of the K community. The plan updates the 2012 Campus Master Plan and presents a roadmap of how the College envisions the physical campus may evolve over time. The team determined the plan’s goals would include:

  • Enhancing the campus identity and its image along its public edges.
  • Identifying sites for future student housing.
  • Replacing Trowbridge Hall residence hall.
  • Raising the number of students living on campus.
  • Improving pedestrian safety and connectivity to and from campus.
  • Finding holistic parking solutions.
  • Increasing outdoor gathering spaces on campus.

Since September 2021, the master plan process has been guided by a K committee consisting of Associate Vice President for Facilities and Chief Sustainability Officer Susan Lindemann, Vice President for Student Development Malcolm Smith, Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid Mj Huebner and Professor of Physics Tom Askew and informed by campus and community participation. It also included input from the City of Kalamazoo through City Planner Christina Anderson, who helped ensure that the plan connected to the strategic goals of Imagine Kalamazoo 2025, the vision and guide for Kalamazoo’s future, as imagined by community members and stakeholders throughout the city.

“The campus master plan presents a collective vision created through participants who were eager to collaborate on a plan that benefits everyone,” Lindemann said. “We are grateful to the West Main Neighborhood Association, the Historic Stuart Neighborhood Association, the City of Kalamazoo, and our campus partners for their support and confidence.”

As part of its next steps, the College is expected to begin fundraising for a new residence hall while drafting more detailed planning and design for that hall. The campus master plan is available for public view at the College’s website.

“Our master plan creates opportunities to foster an inclusive and supportive campus with updated facilities, safer and more accessible pathways and improved gathering spaces, while continuing to foster partnerships with the city and community at large,” Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said. “This plan helps ensure that our future footprint will serve the needs of all our community members.”

About Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo College, founded in 1833, is a nationally recognized residential liberal arts and sciences college located in Kalamazoo, Mich. The creator of the K-Plan, Kalamazoo College provides an individualized education that integrates rigorous academics with life-changing experiential learning opportunities. For more information, visit www.kzoo.edu.