Category: News Releases

News Releases

Kalamazoo College Names New Vice President for Business and Finance

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Chief Financial Officer: Photo says Lisa VanDeWeert Vice President for Business and Finance
Kalamazoo College has named Lisa VanDeWeert as the institution’s next
vice president for business and finance and chief financial officer (CFO).

Kalamazoo College has named Lisa VanDeWeert as the institution’s next vice president for business and finance and chief financial officer (CFO). VanDeWeert, vice president and CFO at Aquinas College, will begin her new role on February 16, 2022.

“Lisa brings significant expertise in higher education finance and business operations to K,” said Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez. “Her work with a wide range of colleges and non-profit institutions, her leadership experience within a small liberal arts college, and her commitment to cultivating collaborative partnerships with various stakeholders will make her a great fit at our institution.”

As Aquinas’ chief financial officer and a member of the president’s leadership cabinet, VanDeWeert is responsible for leading accounting, finance, information technology services, human resources, campus safety, physical plant, and operations such as conferencing and events and the campus bookstore. Prior to Aquinas, VanDeWeert served as a certified public accountant at Rehmann, supervising and reviewing audits in a variety of industries, including higher education and nonprofit organizations. Prior to Rehmann, VanDeWeert spent 15 years providing audit services and leading teams at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Grand Rapids.

VanDeWeert is a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers and serves as CFO group chair for Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities (MICU). She also serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids. VanDeWeert holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from State University of New York College at Oswego.

“I am excited to be joining Kalamazoo College and I’m looking forward to blending my skills and talents with those of the capable leaders and team members at K,” said VanDeWeert.

VanDeWeert was selected after a nationwide search conducted by an on-campus committee with the assistance of Storbeck Search, an executive search firm specializing in the education and non-profit sectors. Comprised of faculty, staff and trustees, the committee was chaired by Vice President for Advancement Karen Isble.

Language Programs Receive $500,000 Grant

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French Among the Language Programs Taught at Kalamazoo College
Assistant Professor of French Aurelie Chatton is shown teaching a class. Language programs
at K will receive a $500,000 boost from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is awarding Kalamazoo College a $500,000 grant through the American Rescue Plan to help offset financial losses incurred as a result of the pandemic.

In total, the NEH is giving $87.8 million to 300 cultural and educational institutions, 90 of which are colleges and universities.

“The American Rescue Plan recognizes that the cultural and educational sectors are essential components of the United States economy and civic life, vital to the health and resilience of American communities,” NEH Acting Chairman Adam Wolfson said. “These new grants will provide a lifeline to the country’s colleges and universities, museums, libraries, archives, historical sites and societies, save thousands of jobs in the humanities placed at risk by the pandemic, and help bring economic recovery to cultural and educational institutions and those they serve.”

At K specifically, the grant will help fortify the College’s language programs. Enrollment in language courses has waned over the past year, in part because the pandemic affected study abroad opportunities. The money will support the hiring and retention of foreign language faculty and staff; sustain student interest in language programs; revitalize programs in Arabic, Hebrew and ancient Greek; provide faculty better opportunities for research; and bolster study abroad to ensure it remains affordable as it restarts this term.

Associate Provost Katie MacLean, who is an associate professor of Spanish, said the honor of receiving the grant underscores K’s reputation for the humanities and study abroad programs.

“Study abroad is among the most popular answers students provide when they’re asked, ‘Why did you choose K?’” MacLean said. She and Jessica Fowle—K’s director of grants, fellowships and research—submitted the grant proposal on the institution’s behalf while providing proof the emergency short-term funds would combat pandemic-related issues and add value rather than apply a temporary fix.

“As a liberal arts college, the vitality of the humanities is important to our institutional identity and languages have a symbiotic relationship with study abroad,” MacLean said. “To me, this is a lot of money for humanities programs, which shows how much of an honor this is. That’s exciting for us.”

Kalamazoo College Launches Brighter Light Campaign

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$150 million campaign will provide endowed and annual support for students, faculty and staff, curricular and co-curricular activities, athletics and campus facilities.

Image says The Brighter Light Campaign Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo College has launched the public phase of its comprehensive Brighter Light Campaign with the goal of raising $150 million to support its strategic plan, Advancing Kalamazoo College: A Strategic Vision for 2023. One of the four pillars of the strategic plan calls for providing a sustainable source of revenue to support the College’s objectives for years to come. As of today, $108 million has been raised from over 6,100 donors since the quiet phase of the campaign began on July 1, 2018, including 100 percent participation from the College’s Board of Trustees.

The College celebrated the public launch with a special program during homecoming weekend on October 16. At the event, President Jorge G. Gonzalez noted, “Kalamazoo College is launching this comprehensive effort to create access and opportunity for our students, transform our campus to support 21st century scholarship and leadership, and build the endowment for the future. I’m proud to support this campaign, and invite others to join me in helping K continue to develop and inspire future leaders and citizens of the world.”

The Brighter Light Campaign will focus on three priority areas:

  • Brighter Opportunities: Endowed scholarships and gifts to the Kalamazoo College Fund give exceptional students the opportunity to attend the College regardless of their financial means, and enable students to start life after graduation with lower student debt. Financial support also provides access for students to fully participate in the K-Plan, the College’s personalized and integrated approach to education, which includes experiences such as study abroad, internships and meaningful research.
  • Brighter Minds: Kalamazoo College faculty and staff are dedicated to developing the strengths of every student, preparing them for lifelong learning, intercultural understanding, social responsibility, career readiness and leadership. Investment in faculty and staff enhances the College’s ability to recruit and retain top talent, enrich academic scholarship, and increase personalized support and guidance for students.
  • Brighter Experiences: At the heart of a K education is the richness of students’ on-campus experiences—both in and out of the classroom. Many students choose Kalamazoo College knowing they can play the sports they love in college—in fact, nearly 25% of Kalamazoo College students are athletes. Endowed and annual funding for athletics will help support program budgets, ensure equity across all sports, and fund improvements to fields and facilities. Additionally, the College aims to ensure all areas of its beautiful and historic campus can provide welcoming and modernized spaces for students to live, learn and play—today and for years to come.

The campaign is co-chaired by Kalamazoo College Board of Trustee members Amy Upjohn and Jim Heath ’78. “The campaign’s focus on endowment will have tremendous impact on the College as a whole, as well as individually to our faculty, staff and students,” says Upjohn. “The College community and the larger Kalamazoo community benefit one another in so many ways, I truly believe that supporting the College creates a brighter future for our whole community.” Heath adds, “A Kalamazoo College education is a transformative experience. Creating access to the K-Plan and all its components to future generations is a critical pillar of our strategic plan. This campaign is a way for us to build up the endowment and other areas that are necessary to continue K’s great legacy of learning.”

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.

The Brighter Light Campaign is raising $150 million to provide endowed and annual support for students, faculty and staff, curricular and co-curricular activities, athletics and campus facilities. For more information, visit the Brighter Light Campaign page: www.kzoo.edu/brighterlight

K Welcomes New Vice President for Student Development

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Vice President of Student Development and Dean of Students J. Malcolm Smith
J. Malcolm Smith will join Kalamazoo College as its vice president for student development and dean of students on August 1.

President Jorge G. Gonzalez announced today that J. Malcolm Smith will join Kalamazoo College as the institution’s new vice president for student development and dean of students. Smith, who is the vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, will begin his new role on August 1, 2021.

“Malcolm has considerable experience in student development at institutions like K,” Gonzalez said. “He brings a collaborative leadership style, dedication to the development of college students, passion for equity and inclusion work, and a commitment to student success. I am confident that he will be an excellent addition to our campus community and that he will build strong bonds with students, staff and faculty.”

Smith joined Salve Regina in 2013 as dean of students and also served as associate vice president before being named vice president in 2019. During his tenure at Salve Regina, Smith led the revision of the university’s Sexual Misconduct Policy, established the Student Conduct Hearing Board to give students a stronger voice in the university judicial process, developed services and programs for the LGBTQ+ student community, and developed a Review and Standards committee to give students, faculty and staff input on proposed revisions to conduct policies.

Before Salve Regina, Smith worked at a variety of institutions including John Carroll University, Ohio University and University of Illinois at Chicago. He brings extensive experience in areas such as student conduct and advocacy; retention efforts; diversity, equity and inclusion; Title IX administration; housing management; budget oversight; and crisis management.

He has presented on the national and regional level for the National Association for Student Personnel Administration, the Association of Title IX Administrators, and the Association for Student Conduct Administration. In 2006, Smith received the Annuit Coeptis Award for Emerging Professionals from the American College Personnel Association. He holds a B.A. in elementary education and a M.Ed. in college student personnel, both from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

“My family and I are excited to join the K community,” Smith said. “I am looking forward to working with such amazing students, a great team in student development, and partnering with colleagues across the campus. I’m honored and humbled by this opportunity to join K! Go Hornets!”

Smith succeeds Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students Sarah Westfall, who will retire on July 1 after 14½ years at the College. Smith was selected after a competitive nationwide search conducted by an on-campus committee with the assistance of Storbeck Search & Associates, an executive search firm specializing in the education and non-profit sectors. Comprised of faculty, staff and students, the committee was chaired by Provost Danette Ifert Johnson.

Renowned Painter, Pioneering Journalist to Speak at Commencement Events

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Kalamazoo College is pleased and honored to welcome both a world-renowned painter and a pioneering journalist—both alumnae of the College—as its keynote speakers when it celebrates the commencements of the Class of 2021 and the Class of 2020 at Angell Field.

Julie Mehretu ’92

Julie Mehretu ’92, one of the country’s most celebrated contemporary artists, will deliver the 2021 Commencement address at 10 a.m. on June 13.

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Mehretu lives and works in New York City and Berlin. Mehretu creates large-scale abstract paintings, drawings, and prints that draw from the histories of art and human civilization, exploring themes such as capitalism, globalism, migration and climate change. Her work has been exhibited extensively in museums and biennials including the Carnegie International (2004–05); Sydney Biennial (2006); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2010); dOCUMENTA (13) (2012); Sharjah Biennial (2015); Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, Porto, Portugal (2017); Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge, UK (2019); and the 58th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, (2019).

Among the largest and best known of her commissioned works are Mural, a 23-by-80-foot painting that Mehretu created for the lobby of Goldman Sachs in 2010, and the HOWL, eon (I, II) series at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which stand at 23-by-32 feet each and flank the main staircase of the museum’s atrium.

Commencement speaker Julie Mehretu
Julie Mehretu ’92, a world-renowned painter, will be the Commencement speaker for Kalamazoo College’s Class of 2021 on Sunday, June 13.

Mehretu has been honored with numerous awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005 and the U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts in 2015. In 2020, TIME named Mehretu to its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and is represented by Marian Goodman Gallery, New York/Paris. A mid-career survey of Mehretu’s work is currently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art through August 8.

Mehretu received a B.A. from Kalamazoo College, studied abroad at the University Cheik Anta Diop, Dakar Senegal, and received a Master’s of Fine Art with honors from The Rhode Island School of Design in 1997. She will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the Commencement ceremony.

Charlotte Hall ’66

Trailblazing journalist Charlotte Hall ’66 will give the commencement address to the Class of 2020 in a celebration honoring last year’s graduates. This in-person event at 10 a.m. June 12 will recognize alumni whose degrees were conferred in a virtual ceremony last year.

Hall is the retired editor and senior vice president of the Orlando Sentinel, where she oversaw the newsroom’s transformation into a digital news provider. Before joining the Sentinel, Hall spent 22 years at Newsday on Long Island, rising through the ranks to managing editor and vice president. Under her direction, Newsday reporters won numerous honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Hall served as a Pulitzer juror three times. For her efforts to increase newsroom diversity at Newsday, Hall received the Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership in 2003 from the American Society of News Editors and the Associated Press Managing Editors.

Hall served as president of the American Society of News Editors and later as the president of the Society’s foundation. She also served on the Accrediting Committee of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC).

Since her retirement in 2010, Hall has been active in journalism organizations and in higher education. In 2011, she was the Reynolds Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism at Washington and Lee University. She currently serves on the Temple University Journalism Board of Advisors.  She also has been active in nonprofit journalism.

Commencement Speaker Charlotte Hall
Charlotte Hall ’66, a member of Kalamazoo College’s Board of Trustees and a retired pioneering journalist, will be the Commencement speaker Saturday, June 12, for the Class of 2020.

Hall has served on the Board of Trustees of Kalamazoo College for 22 years and led the Board as its first female chair from 2013-2019. She participated in two presidential searches, chairing the search committee that nominated President Jorge G. Gonzalez.

She received her B.A. from Kalamazoo College and her M.A. from the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. Hall will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the Commencement ceremony.

Emeriti Trustees Establish New Scholarship with $5 Million Gift

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Brown Scholarship Endowment
A $5 million commitment to Kalamazoo College from emeriti trustees Rosemary and John Brown will create an endowed scholarship fund that will help students of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

A generous $5 million commitment to Kalamazoo College from emeriti trustees Rosemary and John Brown will create an endowed scholarship fund to help provide access to talented students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. The Browns are active philanthropists, particularly as strong supporters of higher education.

The Rosemary K. and John W. Brown Endowed Scholarship Fund will further the College’s strategic plan by assisting future students in achieving their goals through a K education. The Browns have donated to higher-education institutions through scholarships, faculty-chair funding, capital projects and programs within engineering, sciences and mathematics, the performing arts and veterinary medicine including many gifts to K over the years; in particular, they made two large gifts to establish the Rosemary K. Brown Endowed Professorship in Mathematics and Computer Science, showing their generosity to the College. Such efforts nurture future breakthroughs, progress and leadership. One of their favorite quotes is by Nelson Henderson: “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”

“We are profoundly grateful to the Browns for their remarkable gift, which opens the doors of our unique institution to students who otherwise might not have this opportunity,” Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said. “A K education is truly life-changing for our students, and we are honored that the Browns have chosen to invest in our mission and our students through both their past service as trustees and their financial support of the College.”

Rosemary Brown is a lifelong educator who shared her passion for math with students in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and several schools in Kalamazoo. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Auburn University and her master’s degree in mathematics education from Rutgers University. She received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Freed-Hardeman University, an honorary doctor of science degree from Auburn University, and was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Auburn’s College of Science and Math. Rosemary is an emerita trustee of the College, having served on the board from 1998 to 2009. She was also a member of the Kalamazoo College Women’s Council.

John Brown is former chairman, president and CEO of Stryker Corporation. He was named Chairman Emeritus of Stryker in 2010. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Auburn University, an honorary doctor of humane letters from Kalamazoo College, an honorary doctor of laws degree from Freed-Hardeman University, and an honorary doctorate in science from Auburn University. John is an emeritus trustee of the College, having served on the board from 1980 to 1995.

Reflecting on their gift, the Browns shared, “Our involvement with Kalamazoo College dates back to the late ’70s when we moved to Michigan.  It has been a rewarding experience: getting to know the administrators, the faculty, the students, attending the Boys’ tennis tournaments, the concerts, the Kitchen lectures…we are happy to play a role in helping students have the opportunity to become part of the K family.”

Gift Will Create New Endowed Professorship in Computer Science

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Judith and William Bollinger Endowed Professorship in Computer Science
Judith Bollinger ’77, a Kalamazoo College trustee, and her husband, William, are creating the Judith and William Bollinger Endowed Professorship in Computer Science with a generous gift to K.

A generous gift from a Kalamazoo College alumna and her spouse will support the institution’s students and its strategic plan, Advancing Kalamazoo College: A Strategic Vision for 2023, by funding the Judith and William Bollinger Endowed Professorship in Computer Science.

“We are deeply honored and grateful to the Bollingers for this wonderful gift,” Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said. “This endowment will strengthen our Computer Science Department and invest in its faculty while empowering students to attain more of the skills that employers demand. It will benefit students and their achievements beyond their years at K.”

The computer science program at K has experienced a greater than tenfold increase in the number of majors in the past 10 years, and the department’s offerings are also in great demand from nonmajors. The increased interest from students makes the addition of an applied computer science faculty member a valuable and vital investment to ensure students access to the classes they want.

“In computer science, we put a really high priority on issues of access and equity, and we have for a long time,” Computer Science Chair Alyce Brady said. “That means one of the aspects that we’re really interested in—thanks to this endowment—is expanding our reach to address students beyond just the computer science majors. With an additional faculty member, we would hope to provide for more students and continue our focus on developing a curriculum that allows everyone to thrive.”

Provost Danette Ifert Johnson noted that the gift “represents the value of what we do at K and the fact that there are folks outside the institution who believe in what we do. That speaks not just to the kinds of experiences that our students have, but the real impact that our students make in the world as graduates.”

One of those graduates is Judith Bollinger ’77, a Kalamazoo College trustee. After graduating from K with a B.A. in English, she earned her MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania before working at Goldman Sachs for more than 13 years. In 1999, she joined ABG Securities as a research director and executed the company’s merger with Sundal Collier as its CEO in 2001. Bollinger was the board chair of ABG Sundal Collier, before serving as the chair of its foundation for Women in Finance beginning in 2019.

Her husband, William Bollinger, co-founded Egerton Capital Limited, a London-based asset-management firm in 1994 and remains a limited partner. He attended the University of Texas, earning a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in business administration.

In designating the gift, the Bollingers noted that the knowledge and skills gained by a computer science education are applicable and necessary in nearly every discipline, and that all students can benefit from the attainment of such skills, regardless of their area of study. Says the couple, “Most disciplines today—from medicine to finance—require robust computer science skills.  We hope that our gift equips many generations of K students with the computer skills they need to flourish in their chosen fields.”

Poetry Professor Receives NEA Creative Writing Fellowship

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Oliver Baez Bendorf Receives Creative Writing Fellowship
Kalamazoo College Assistant Professor of English Oliver Baez Bendorf is one of 35 writers receiving a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship.

The National Endowment for the Arts today announced that Oliver Baez Bendorf, a Kalamazoo College assistant professor in the Department of English, is one of 35 writers who will receive a 2021 Creative Writing Fellowship of $25,000.

Baez Bendorf was selected from about 1,600 eligible applicants. Fellows are selected through a highly-competitive, anonymous process and are judged on the artistic excellence of the work sample they provided. The fellowships provide funding for recipients to write, revise, research and travel.

“I am honored and still in shock to have received this prestigious grant,” Baez Bendorf said. The fellowship will help fund his work on a future collection of poems, including research travel when that becomes possible again after the pandemic. He hopes to go to Hessen, Germany, to visit the Ronneburg Castle, in which his father’s ancestors took refuge from religious persecution. The castle now houses festivals and a falconry center.

Baez Bendorf is the author of two poetry collections, most recently Advantages of Being Evergreen, published in 2019. Jennifer Natalya Fink, a professor of English at George Washington University, described that book as a “wild queer reimagining of the potential of language to redress our past oppression and imagine new possibilities for gender, nature, and ecstasy.”

In 2020, Baez Bendorf received the early career achievement award from The Publishing Triangle. His work has also garnered fellowships from CantoMundo, Vermont Studio Center and Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing. His poems appear in recent or forthcoming issues of American Poetry Review, Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, New England Review, Orion, Poetry, the anthology Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics, and other publications.

Since joining the faculty in 2018, Baez Bendorf leads the poetry workshops at Kalamazoo College and teaches introductory creative writing classes. In fall 2020, he taught a first-year seminar he designed titled “Romance and Revolution: The Life and Times of Pablo Neruda.”

Outside the classroom, he has mentored K students in their pursuits of nature writing and literary editing. In 2019, he collaborated with colleagues across the college to host a celebrated writer on campus. A faculty research grant from the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership enabled him to participate in the New Orleans Poetry Festival, which featured his work in ecopoetics.

Baez Bendorf, who was born and raised in Iowa, holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Iowa, and a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry and Master of Arts in Library and Information Studies, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The late Conrad Hilberry, a poet and beloved Professor Emeritus of English who taught at K from 1962 until 1998, also received a Creative Writing Fellowship from the Arts Endowment in 1984.

Since 1967, the Arts Endowment has awarded more than 3,600 Creative Writing Fellowships totaling over $56 million. Many American recipients of the National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and Fiction were recipients of National Endowment for the Arts fellowships early in their careers. The full list of 2021 Creative Writing Fellows is available online.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support these 35 talented poets through Creative Writing Fellowships,” said Amy Stolls, director of literary arts at the Arts Endowment. “These fellowships often provide writers with crucial support and encouragement, and in return our nation is enriched by their artistic contributions in the years to come.”

Visit arts.gov to browse bios, artist statements and writing excerpts from a sample of past Creative Writing Fellows.

Six Earn Heyl Scholarships

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Heyl Recipient Madeleine Coffman
Madeleine Coffman

Heyl Recipient Lukas Bolton
Lukas Bolton

Heyl Scholar Jordyn Wilson
Jordyn Wilson

Six students from Kalamazoo County high schools received Heyl Scholarships to attend Kalamazoo College in the 2020-21 school year. Pursuant to scholarship criteria, all will major in STEM-related fields.

Since 1971, the Heyl Scholarship Fund has been available to remarkable Kalamazoo-area math and science students, and was established through the will of Dr. Frederick Heyl and Mrs. Elsie Heyl.

Heyl Recipient Emily Haigh
Emily Haigh

Heyl Recipient Bijou Hoehle
Bijou Hoehle

Heyl Recipient Xavier Silva
Xavier Silva

Frederick Heyl was the first director of research at the Upjohn Company and also taught at Kalamazoo College. The scholarships are renewable for four years and cover tuition, fees, college housing and a book allowance.

Recipients of the Heyl Scholarships include: Lukas Bolton, Kalamazoo Central; Madeleine Coffman, Hackett Catholic Prep / Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center (KAMSC); Emily Haigh, Portage Central / KAMSC; Bijou Hoehle, Kalamazoo Central; Xavier Silva, Portage Northern / KAMSC; and Jordyn Wilson, Parchment / KAMSC.

K Names New Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid

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New Vice President MJ Huebner
Kalamazoo College is excited to welcome Mj Huebner as its new vice president for admission and financial aid. Huebner is coming to K from the University of Texas Permian Basin, where she has been the interim vice president of enrollment management.

Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez announced today that Mj Huebner will join the liberal arts institution as the new vice president for admission and financial aid. Huebner, interim vice president of enrollment management at the University of Texas Permian Basin, will begin her new role on Sept. 8, 2020.

Huebner comes to K with nearly 30 years of higher education experience. In addition to leadership positions in admission and enrollment management at institutions such as Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, Huebner has worked as a trusted colleague with nearly 40 colleges and universities across the U.S. as an enrollment management consultant. In these various roles, Huebner has demonstrated her ability to evaluate critical data and trends, analyze and implement enhanced approaches for recruitment and financial aid, fine-tune marketing and communication strategies, and drive key enrollment metrics.

“We are excited that Mj brings a wealth of experience from a wide variety of colleges and universities, both as a member of the leadership team and as an outside consultant,” said Gonzalez. “Her strong focus on data analysis, measurement and continuous improvement, combined with her upbeat personality and positive management style, make her a great fit for K.”

As an alumna of Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Huebner also understands personally the value of a liberal arts education.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to support K’s mission to foster enlightened leadership in an increasingly uncertain and complex world,” said Huebner. “Building on K’s strong, time-tested tradition of excellence, our challenge for the future will be to stay relevant, top-of-mind and beloved. Greeting that challenge with enthusiastic authenticity, optimism and diplomacy will be a privilege.”

Huebner was selected after a nationwide search conducted by an on-campus committee with the assistance of Napier Executive Search, an executive search firm specializing in higher education and enrollment management. Comprised of faculty and staff, the committee was chaired by Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students Sarah Westfall.