Category: News Releases

News Releases

Choral Group Tours with Social Justice-Themed Concert

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The College Singers, a 24-voice choral ensemble that performed a sold-out show at Kalamazoo College in the fall, will perform in Farmington Hills, Mich., and Chagrin Falls, Ohio, bringing a social justice-themed concert to other communities.

College Singers Rehearse Social Justice-Themed Concert
The College Singers’ social justice-themed concert  will feature music of the great spirituals in addition to a capella songs, spoken-word performances and popular pieces from such artists as The Beatles and Queen.

The program features music of the great spirituals in addition to a capella songs, spoken word performances and popular pieces from such artists as The Beatles and Queen among others that will appeal to everyone regardless of age or political viewpoint. The program’s sections present ways hope and community were found in ancient cultures despite holocausts, oppression, poverty and despair. The concert also features a call to action for audience members to get involved in their communities.

Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, at Nardin Park United Methodist Church in Farmington Hills and 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at The Federated Church in Chagrin Falls outside Cleveland. Both concerts are supported by a free-will offering to defray the expense of touring.

“The goal is to entertain, educate and inspire an audience,” said Kalamazoo College Assistant Professor of Music Christopher Ludwa, who directs the College Singers. “If we do our job well, there will be moments punctuated by tears, laughter and a sense of deep and shared purpose.”

The College Singers includes music majors and non-music majors, offering a different approach to choral singing. Ludwa calls it “singing with a higher purpose,” a hallmark for which he is well-known in the Midwest.

Kalamazoo College, founded in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the K-Plan, which emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, leadership development, and international and intercultural engagement.

For more information on the concerts, contact Ludwa at cludwa@kzoo.edu or 231-225-8877.

 

K Professor’s Book Offers New Perspectives on Sierra Leone

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Book cover for The Temne of Sierra Leone
“The Temne of Sierra Leone: African Agency in the Making of a British Colony” promotes new perspectives on the formation and social history of Sierra Leone.
Associate Professor of History Joesph Bangura
Associate Professor Joseph Bangura is the chair of the History Department and the director of African Studies.
Title page of book on Sierra Leone

A new book written by Kalamazoo College Associate Professor of History Joseph Bangura promotes new perspectives on the formation and social history of Sierra Leone.

Research regarding Sierra Leone typically focuses on the roles of the Creoles and/or Krio, who were descendants of ex-slaves from Europe, North America, Jamaica and Africa living in the colony. Bangura, however, examines the roles of the indigenous Temne-speakers through the socio-economic formation, establishment and evolution of Freetown in “The Temne of Sierra Leone: African Agency in the Making of a British Colony.”

Bangura’s analysis includes market women, religious figures and community leaders, and the complex relationships they developed. He also considers key issues such as the politics of belonging, African agency and the creation of national identities.

At K, Bangura is the chair of the History Department and the director of African Studies. He has taught such courses as:

• The Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Introduction to African Studies
• Islam in Africa;
• Civilizations of Africa;
• Contemporary Africa;
• Gender Relations in Africa;
• Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade;
• African Christianity;
• Globalization and International Politics;
• Globalization and Africa;
• War and Peace in Africa; and
• The Cold War in Africa.

Bangura earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Dalhousie University, and his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Sierra Leone. He co-edited two other books with Marda Mustapha, “Democratization and Human Security in Sierra Leone,” which was released in 2015; and “Sierra Leone beyond the Lome Peace Accord,” which was released in 2010.

Bangura’s professional memberships include the African Studies Association, the Africa Network, the West African Research Association and the National Social Sciences Association.

Learn more about “The Temne of Sierra Leone: African Agency in the Making of a British Colony” through its publisher, Cambridge University Press.

GLCA Appoints K Provost as its New President

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The Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) has appointed Kalamazoo College Provost Mickey McDonald as its new president. McDonald will begin his position at the GLCA in July 2018.

New GLCA President Mickey McDonald
Kalamazoo College Provost Mickey McDonald will begin serving the Great Lakes Association of Colleges (GLCA) as its president in July 2018.

K President Jorge Gonzalez will consult with faculty leadership to plan for the appointment of an interim provost to serve during the 2018-19 academic year. K will also begin preparations for a national search for the provost position.

In a message to faculty and staff, President Gonzalez wrote that McDonald provided invaluable support and counsel during his presidency. “I will miss his sharp mind, insightful knowledge of the College and of higher education, unflappable personality, good humor, and friendship. Mickey’s selection for the GLCA presidency is a testament of his leadership abilities and of K’s reputation in the higher education community.”

During his nearly 10 years of service, McDonald significantly shaped Kalamazoo College’s faculty, curriculum and future. He hired approximately one-third of the tenure-track/tenured faculty currently at K, increasing faculty of color from approximately 15 percent to 25 percent, and women faculty from approximately 45 percent to 55 percent.

McDonald helped support implementation of many of the elements of the Plan for Kalamazoo College’s Future including faculty approval of new graduation requirements and other curricular innovations, and an increasing emphasis on making K more diverse and inclusive. His leadership will help shape the vision of K for the next five years as he currently serves as co-coordinator of K’s current strategic planning initiative.

With former President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran and others, McDonald helped envision, plan and establish the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. He also helped secure more than $3.25 million in major institutional grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (in support of the Shared Passages Program and also in support of major diversity and inclusion initiatives), the Sherman-Fairchild Foundation, Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, among others. He served as acting president of K from December 2013 through March 2014.

Higher education leadership and local community engagement are values K holds, and McDonald participated enthusiastically and frequently. Locally, he serves on the Board of Directors of Farmers Alley Theatre, and regionally, he served on the Southwest Michigan First Education Committee. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education and served as facilitator for a number of leadership development programs for the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC).

K History Professor Unveils ‘Burr Conspiracy’ Book

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Kalamazoo College History Professor James Lewis has released a new book through Princeton University Press about former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr.

"The Burr Conspiracy" author James Lewis
History Professor James Lewis is the author of “The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis.”

'The Burr Conspiracy' book cover
“The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis” is available through many bookstores and websites.

“The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis” explores Burr’s travels through the Trans-Appalachian West in 1805 and 1806, gathering support for a mysterious enterprise, leading to his arrest and trial on treason charges in 1807. Rumors at the time stated Burr had enticed some people with plans to liberate Spanish Mexico, others with promises of land in the Louisiana Purchase, and others with talk of building a new empire beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

The book, available through many bookstores and online sites, also examines the political and cultural forces that shaped how Americans made sense of Burr’s intentions and movements, and the crisis after his arrest including concerns about the nation’s fragile union and uncertain republic.

Lewis has taught courses in U.S. history, Native American history, American environmental history, Revolutionary America, the American frontier and Western history, the history of U.S. foreign relations, post-World War II America, American political culture, the trial in American history and a senior seminar in history at K. He is a professional member of the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians and the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic.

Lewis’s other books include:

  • “The Louisiana Purchase: Jefferson’s Noble Bargain?” (2003);
  • “John Quincy Adams: Policymaker for the Union” (2001); and
  • “The American Union and the Problem of Neighborhood: The United States and the Collapse of the Spanish Empire, 1783-1829” (1998).

Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree in government and foreign affairs from the College of William and Mary, a master’s degree in history from the American University, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia. He has been teaching at K since 2003.

 

‘Fun Home’ Invited to Kennedy Center Festival

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The Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College production of the Tony award-winning musical “Fun Home” will be presented at the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in Indianapolis in January, preceded by an encore performance at the College’s Dalton Theatre.

Fun Home at Kennedy Center Festival cMUMMA 2017 2
The Festival Playhouse cast of “Fun Home” will have a special fundraising performance of the play Jan. 8 at Dalton Theatre to support its trip to the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in Indianapolis.

In November, K staged the college premiere of the musical, based on a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel and co-written for the stage by Jennifer Tesori and Lisa Kron ’83. The Broadway production won the Tony Award for Best Musical of 2015; Kron and Tesori shared a Tony for Best Original Score; and Kron won for Best Book of a Musical.

A panel of college and university theater professors from around the Midwest chose the Kalamazoo College production of  “Fun Home” as one of seven from a list of 21 in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin that it considered for invitations to the festival. Ed Menta, the Kalamazoo College James A. B. Stone professor of theatre arts, called it a great – and rare – honor.

“This is only the fourth time in my 32 years at K that we’ve been invited to perform at this festival,” said Menta, adding that three of those plays were written by two alums: Kron and Joe Tracz ’04, whose “Allison Shields” was invited in 2011 and “Phenomenon of Decline” in 2006. Kron herself acted in a prior invitee, “El Grande de Coca Cola,” in 1984.

“We’re honored, thrilled and proud, especially on behalf of our students,” said Menta.

Adding to the honor, he said, KCACTF chose “Fun Home” to be the closing presentation of the festival, with performances at 1:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, at the University of Indianapolis’ Ransburg Auditorium.

Though the play – a compelling portrait of a lesbian woman’s relationship with her gay, closeted father – was challenging to stage, “All of our students rose to the occasion,” said Menta, adding that he hopes the exposure the musical receives at the festival will encourage other colleges to produce it.

College troupes that perform at the festival must cover their travel expenses, and to defray the cost, the 45-member cast and crew of “Fun Home” will present a fundraising performance at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8, at Dalton Theatre, with tickets available to the public at a suggested donation of $15 each.

For reservations, please visit https://festivalplayhouse.ludus.com/index.php.

 

 

Happy Holidays from Kalamazoo College

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Happy Holidays from Kalamazoo College

Dear Friends:

Kalamazoo College Holiday Card Holidays Preview
Happy holidays from Kalamazoo College! Click on this image for our holiday video.

We have called many places home: Michigan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Texas and California. During the holiday season, when thoughts naturally turn to home and family, ours come back to the place where destiny and good fortune have brought us: Kalamazoo College. The snowy Michigan winters cannot diminish the warmth with which we have been embraced here, nor dim the glow of this institution.

That light is embodied in the symbols of Kalamazoo College, from the beacon atop Stetson Chapel to our motto, Lux Esto: Be Light. And it shows in the way our students and alumni approach life – graciously, with the enlightenment that comes from being at home in the world.

It also illuminates our hearts. While we may live apart and represent the rich variety of humanity, we – the students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of Kalamazoo College – have a common focal point in our lives: our shared experience as part of this extraordinary community.

No matter who we are, where we live or what our cultural backgrounds may be, that special spirit binds us as a family – one that shares, in K, a common home. And home is where the heart is – never more so than at this time of year when we celebrate enduring bonds.

In the kinship of the Kalamazoo College community, we wish you a season when, in the words of our Alma Mater, “hope and joy renew.” And if, in the coming year, your travels should bring you this way, we will welcome you home.

Sincerely,

President Jorge G. Gonzalez and Suzie (Martin) Gonzalez ’83

 

Estate Gift Burnishes Legacy of Women’s Athletics Pioneer

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Ada “Tish” Loveless has added to her enduring legacy as the founder of women’s athletics at Kalamazoo College.

A year after her death, a gift Loveless made to Kalamazoo College through her estate plan will fund a new endowed scholarship in the name of Marilyn Hinkle ’44, her lifelong friend who died in 2007. The scholarship will go to women studying visual arts or music – passions of Hinkle, who in addition to being an alumna was a member of K’s staff for more than 30 years.

Legacy Tish Loveless at a tennis court
A year after her death, a gift Tish Loveless made to K through her estate plan will fund a new endowed scholarship in Marilyn Hinkle’s name.

The planned gift also more than doubles the size of the existing Tish Loveless Women’s Athletic Endowment, which began with a 2007 gift from one of Loveless’ former students, Elaine Hutchcroft ’63. It supports the day-to-day operations of the College’s nine women’s athletics teams.

Loveless, who died in November 2016, served as director of women’s athletics from 1953 until she retired in 1986. Before her arrival, there were no women’s intercollegiate athletic teams at Kalamazoo College. During her tenure, she established women’s varsity teams in tennis, field hockey, archery, swimming, basketball, volleyball, soccer and cross country, as well as a number of intramurals, sometimes mastering the details of unfamiliar sports in order to provide her students with the opportunities they requested.

She was the most successful coach of women’s teams in the history of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the oldest athletic conference in the country. Her teams won 28 league championships: 23 in tennis, four in archery and one in field hockey. Her 1986 women’s tennis squad finished third in the nation.

In 1992, Kalamazoo College inducted her into its Athletic Hall of Fame and, in 2015, dedicated the Tish Loveless Court at the Anderson Athletic Center to honor her legacy.

President Jorge G. Gonzalez said Loveless’ gift emphasizes her already hallowed place in the history of the College, and demonstrates how a planned memorial can extend that recognition to the people and things the donor most cherishes.

“Tish led the way for women at Kalamazoo College to become full participants in the athletic program, and her name will be forever remembered through the endowment that supports those teams,” he said. “Now, through her planned gift, she has also ensured that her dear friend will be remembered, as well. Generations from now, K will know, and appreciate, the legacy of Marilyn Hinkle as well as of Tish.”

For more information about how to make a gift to Kalamazoo College in your estate, please contact Senior Associate Director of Planned Giving Matthew J. Brosco at Matthew.Brosco@kzoo.edu or 269-337-7288.

 

Arcus Center Announces 2017 Regional Fellowships

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A Kalamazoo woman who participated in last year’s Kalamazoo County initiative to provide under-documented residents with government-issued IDs has earned one of three Regional Fellowships from the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College.

Regional Fellowships Nelly Fuentes
Nelly Fuentes received one of three Regional Fellowships.

Nelly Fuentes, of Movimiento Cosecha Kalamazoo, hopes to expand the organization with the project funds she receives through the Fellowship, which runs until June 2018. Movimiento Cosecha seeks permanent protection, dignity and respect for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Fuentes, who migrated to Michigan around 2000 and arrived in Kalamazoo in 2006, hopes to expand the organization to about 25 members. She wants to culminate her efforts with a May Day celebration for farmworkers in coordination with other local Movimiento Cosecha chapters, including one in Grand Rapids.

Each Regional Fellow receives a $5,000 stipend and funds for travel and project-related expenses, in addition to professional development and coaching for their social justice-related goals.

“The Regional Fellowships are our way of providing concrete support to local leaders who are working for justice and equity in Southwest Michigan,” said Mia Henry, executive director of the Arcus Center. “We believe that our partnership with these visionary organizers will help them strengthen the impact and increase the reach of their projects, which will benefit our community well after the fellowship period ends.”

Also receiving fellowships are:

  • Linda Cypret-Kilbourne and Julie Dye, who are creating a campaign that will inform and educate K-12 teachers about institutional racism related to Native American-themed mascots in interscholastic sports.

Regional Fellowships Julie Dye
Julie Dye

Regional Fellowships Linda Cypret-Kilbourne
Linda Cypret-Kilbourne

Cypret-Kilbourne is a co-founder of the Michigan Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media, a member of the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media and a chairperson of Native American Student Community Organization Movement. Dye is a Pokagon Band and Walpole Island First Nation Potawatomi Native American. As an anti-racism and environmental activist, she works to improve the lives of Michigan’s indigenous people through education.

Bravata was born and raised in Kalamazoo and is a student at the Stryker School of Medicine.  Before attending medical school, she was a chemistry teacher in Newark, N.J. She is interested in using her background in education and health to promote health equity by increasing discussions regarding the integral link between social justice and medicine.

D’Mello was born in Kalamazoo and has lived, worked, researched and volunteered there. After graduating from Kalamazoo College, he worked with a team of local health professionals on The Kalamazoo Heart Project, evaluating undetected heart disease in the community.

About the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership

The mission of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College is to develop and sustain leaders in human rights and social justice through education and capacity-building.

K President: Congressional Plan a ‘Tax on Knowledge’

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Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez is among the higher-education officials raising concern for a tax plan under consideration in Congress.

Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez on tax plan
Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez was interviewed Monday, Nov. 20, on Michigan Radio’s “Stateside” program.

In an interview Monday on Michigan Radio’s “Stateside” program, Gonzalez said the provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act currently under consideration are alarming because they could make college more expensive and less accessible for students and their families.

“It’s baffling to me that in a time when we are in the era of the knowledge economy, Congress is trying to impose a tax on knowledge,” he said.

Hear a podcast of the entire “Stateside” interview or learn more about the plan from the American Council on Education website.

K Professor Releases Second Edition of ‘Psychology of Music’

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Kalamazoo College Psychology Professor Siu-Lan Tan, with co-authors Peter Pfordresher and Rom Harré, has released a second edition of her 2010 book titled “Psychology of Music: From Sound to Significance.”

Psychology of Music Book Cover
The second edition of “Psychology of Music: From Sound to Significance” was released on Monday, Nov. 6.

Psychology of Music Professor Siu-Lan Tan
Psychology of Music Professor Siu-Lan Tan signs copies of her book “The Psychology of Music: From Sound to Significance.” The book’s second edition was released Nov. 6.

The new version, released Nov. 6 through Routledge Publishing, considers music from its beginning as an acoustical signal to its manifestations across cultures. As a second edition, it puts greater emphasis on linking academic learning to real-world contexts, and on compelling topics that appeal to students and their curiosity.

Chapters have been updated with about 500 new citations to reflect advances in the field. A new “Chapters in Action” section includes exercises and application assignments designed to engage students in active learning.

Tan has enjoyed teaching since 1998. Her research focuses on listeners’ perception of musical structure, graphic representations of music, and the role of music in film and other multimedia. Her other contributions to the field of psychology in music have included a book titled “The Psychology of Music in Multimedia,” published by Oxford University Press in 2013; and a film documentary released last year, “SCORE: A Film Music Documentary.”