While the in-person Commencement will be postponed, the College will hold a virtual Conferral of Degrees ceremony on June 14.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic and recommendations from public health organizations, Kalamazoo College has announced it is postponing its in-person Commencement 2020 ceremony until a later date.
In a message to the senior class, President Jorge G. Gonzalez said, “This has been a tremendously difficult decision for us to make; however, public health experts continue to advise against large group gatherings as we head into summer. While the tradition of Commencement is sacred and dear, your safety and the safety of your families must come first. Nevertheless, I want to reassure you that we will have a Commencement ceremony for the class of 2020 on campus once it is safe to do so.”
While in-person events will be postponed, the College will hold a virtual Conferral of Degrees ceremony on June 14. Members of K’s Class of 2020 and their friends and families are invited to gather together online as College leadership recognizes each student and confers their Kalamazoo College degrees.
The Princeton Review examined 656 institutions for this year’s Best Value Colleges list and selected Kalamazoo College among the top 200 colleges and universities.
A Kalamazoo College education provides one of the most outstanding returns on investment, according to the Princeton Review.
The education-services company profiles and recommends K in the 2020 edition of The Best Value Colleges, its annual guide to undergraduate schools.
The Princeton Review examined 656 institutions for this year’s list and selected K among the top 200 colleges and universities, placing it among the top 7 percent of the nation’s four-year colleges. Kalamazoo College is the only Michigan private school and just one of three Michigan schools overall to be honored this year.
Colleges and universities were selected based on surveys of students and administrators. Survey topics included academics, cost, financial aid, career services, graduation rates, student debt and alumni support. The Princeton Review also factored in data from PayScale.com surveys regarding alumni salaries and job satisfaction.
According to the College’s profile at the Princeton Review’s website, student respondents said K “allows students to really develop personal relationships with their peers and professors” and is “a campus run by and for the students.” Students also said the open curriculum means they have more time to explore exactly what they want to learn, rather than being required to take classes in which they have no interest.
Colleges and universities on the list “are truly distinctive and diverse in their programs, size, region and type, yet they are similar in three areas,” Princeton Review Editor-in-Chief Robert Franek said. “Every school we selected offers outstanding academics, generous financial aid and/or relative low cost of attendance, and stellar career services. We recommend them highly to college applicants and parents seeking schools that are academically top-notch and committed to making their programs affordable. These colleges are also standouts at guiding their students to rewarding futures.”
“The flexibility of the K-Plan, our approach to an excellent education in the liberal arts and sciences, allows us to seek out students with a broad array of interests, achievements and experiences,” Interim Dean and Director of Admission Suzanne Lepley said. “We strive to provide an excellent return on investment for all of our students as we help them grow as individuals.”
The Best Value Colleges is one of more than 150 books developed by The Princeton Review and published by Penguin Random House. Others that are resources on this topic include The Best 385 Colleges, which includes Kalamazoo College in 2020.
A world-renowned expert on social justice and its role in international sports will visit Stetson Chapel at Kalamazoo College on Monday, Nov. 4.
Social justice and international sports expert Richard Lapchick will visit Kalamazoo College on Monday, Nov. 4.
Richard Lapchick, the endowed chair and director of the DeVos Sports Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida and the president of the Institute for Sport and Social Justice (ISSJ), will conduct a conversation about sports, justice and activism with Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Director Lisa Brock. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. before the event, “Just Sport: A Conversation on Sports, Justice and Activism with Dr. Richard Lapchick,” begins at 7:30 p.m.
Lapchick founded the Center for the Study of Sport in Society in 1984 at Northeastern University. He served as its director for 17 years and is now its director emeritus. The center has attracted national attention to its efforts ensuring the education of athletes from junior high school through the professional ranks. The center’s Project TEAMWORK was called “America’s most successful violence prevention program” by public opinion analyst Lou Harris. The project won the Peter F. Drucker Foundation Award as the nation’s most innovative nonprofit program and was named by the Clinton Administration as a model for violence prevention.
Lapchick also helped form the National Consortium for Academics and Sport, which is now the ISSJ, in 1985. Nationally, ISSJ athletes have worked with nearly 19.9 million young people in the school-outreach and community-service program, which focused on teaching youths how to improve race relations, develop conflict-resolution skills, prevent gender violence and avoid drug and alcohol abuse. They collectively donated more than 22 million hours of service while member colleges donated more than $300 million in tuition assistance.
Lapchick has authored 17 books, received 10 honorary doctorates, and is a regular columnist for ESPN.com and The Sports Business Journal. He has written more than 600 articles, has given more than 2,900 public speeches, and has appeared several times on Good Morning America, Face the Nation, The Today Show, ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, The CBS Evening News, CNN and ESPN. From the sports boycott against apartheid to exposing the connection between sports and human trafficking, he has spoken before Congress, and at the United Nations, the European Parliament and the Vatican.
For more information on the event, please call 269.337.7398 or visit the Arcus Center on Facebook.
Rebecca Chan ’22 (right) will play Percy and serve as the dramaturg for the Festival Playhouse production of Spitfire Grill. Sedona Coleman ’23 (left) will play Shelby and Sophie Hill ’20 (middle) will play Hannah.
Can a former prison inmate one day be redeemed, have healthy relationships and feel free from the person who once attacked her? The fall Festival Playhouse production of the musical Spitfire Grill examines these issues for parolee Percy Talbott, who tries to forge a new place for herself in the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin. There, she combats town gossip—mostly about herself—in a place that represents freedom, far from where she was attacked.
Rebecca Chan ’22 will play the lead role and serve as the production’s dramaturg.
“When (Percy) was in prison, she found a picture of Wisconsin in a travel book,” Chan said. “It looked open and free, so she decided she wanted to go there when she was released.”
As the dramaturg, Chan is responsible for working with the director, Visiting Professor “C” Heaps, on background research and how current events and perspectives might inform or shape the production. That means in addition to performing a critical role, Chan is preparing a lobby display and writing an essay that will further discuss the play’s themes including female empowerment, domestic abuse, redemption and the mistreatment of veterans, especially Vietnam War veterans.
The theme of female empowerment is especially important to Chan, who feels honored to participate in the Playhouse’s 56th season, which recognizes women in theater under the theme “HERstory: Forgotten Female Figures.”
Chan notes that many storylines in theatre productions are male-dominated, even as a majority of those participating in college theatre settings are women. “It’s nice to do a show where a majority of the performers are women and they’re a big influence on the show,” Chan said.
Spitfire Grill has three main characters, all of whom are women. Shelby, played by Sedona Coleman ’23, is a woman in her 30s who struggles to find connections outside of her emotionally abusive husband. Hannah, played by Sophie Hill ’20, is an elderly woman and the owner of the grill. Hannah has a son, Eli, who left to fight in Vietnam and has never returned. Like Percy, both are characters trying to find their place in Gilead.
“The town falls apart because Eli had been a symbol of hope and the future,” Chan said. “Eli’s missing status is the catalyst for everything falling apart. The play’s progression starts in the winter, and the costuming and dialogue reflect the progression of seasons. That’s followed by rebirth and more life in people’s lives before it ends in fall with the colored leaves.”
By the end, the three female characters who once were isolated and lonely become strong friends.
“It’s almost like they build their own family,” Chan said.
The show is accompanied by a live, five-person orchestra, performing on a piano, a guitar, a mandolin, a violin, a cello player and a keyboard tuned to sound like an accordion. Their folk-like music, derived from Appalachia, reflects Percy’s background as a West Virginia native.
The performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, through Saturday, Nov. 9, with a 2 p.m. showing on Sunday, Nov. 10. Tickets for all four shows at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse are available by visiting festivalplayhouse.ludus.com or by calling 269.337.7333. Adults are $15, seniors are $10 and students are $5 with an ID. Kalamazoo College students, faculty and staff are admitted free with their College IDs.
Karen Sisson, Kalamazoo College’s new CFO, is coming from Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she served for 11 years as a vice president and treasurer.
Kalamazoo College has named a new vice president to lead the business and finance areas for the liberal arts institution. Karen Sisson, former vice president and treasurer of Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. will begin her new role on March 1, 2020.
“Karen’s extensive experience in higher education, finance and operations are a great fit for K,” said Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez. “Her open style of communication, calm demeanor and commitment to the liberal arts impressed the campus community.”
As Pomona’s chief financial officer, Sisson was responsible for financial management and capital planning, including financial reporting, budget administration, investments, real estate, and nonacademic business supervision for human resources. She was also responsible for the physical plant, including housekeeping, grounds, maintenance and food service. In addition, Karen oversaw Pomona’s significant efforts toward a more sustainable campus.
“I am thrilled to join K and to become part of such an academically distinctive and caring community! I look forward to working with and supporting students, faculty and staff in my new role,” said Sisson.
Prior to working in higher education, Sisson spent 17 years in California local government finance and administration, including nine years as chief financial officer and deputy executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, the department responsible for LAX, Van Nuys, and Palmdale airports. While serving as deputy mayor for finance and performance management in Los Angeles, she was appointed the city administrative officer, the first woman to hold that position. Sisson also has experience in commercial banking, mortgage banking and financial consulting.
An alumna of Pomona College, Karen earned her M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and her M.A. in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Kalamazoo College’s former vice president for business and finance left K to become the vice president for finance and business at The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.
Sisson was selected after a nationwide search conducted by an on-campus committee with the assistance of Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, an executive search firm specializing in the education and non-profit sectors. Comprised of faculty, staff and trustees, the committee was co-chaired by Associate Provost Laura Lowe Furge and Vice President for Advancement Al De Simone.
“The committee worked diligently and recruited a robust pool of candidates, and I am delighted with the outcome.” said Gonzalez.
Kalamazoo College, founded in 1833, is a nationally recognized residential liberal arts and sciences college located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The creator of the K-Plan, Kalamazoo College provides an individualized education that integrates rigorous academics with life-changing experiential learning opportunities.
From the Chicago area to Kalamazoo, music lovers will have a chance to see a Kalamazoo College vocal group in two public concerts coming soon.
The College Singers have concerts coming up in Naperville, Illinois, on Oct. 25 and in Kalamazoo on Oct. 31.
The College Singers—a 28-voice mixed soprano, alto, tenor and bass choir representing music majors and non-music majors—will perform concerts titled Spark. The first is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 25 E. Benton Ave., in Naperville, Illinois. The concert is free and open to the public; donations will be accepted to defray the cost of touring for the choir. On Saturday, the group will perform a private concert at the Primo Center for Women and Children in Englewood for the residents receiving services from this non-profit.
The group returns to Kalamazoo to perform at 4:10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in the lobby of Dalton Theater at the Light Fine Arts building on campus. This concert is also free and open to the public. It is one hour long and should be long before trick or treating begins.
Spark is so-titled because it relates to pondering the origins of an idea through music and psychology.
“I was curious about the ways in which ideas come to life from nothing in particular,” said Assistant Music Professor Chris Ludwa, the group’s director, about crafting the performance. “That got me to thinking about the origins of various systems, even life itself, so the concert explores all of those things from the birth of people to the birth of ideas.”
The College Singers have performed in cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Traverse City and Lansing before, leaving the Chicago area as a logical next destination for its first concert of the year—not only for its K connections with prospective students and alumni nearby, but the openness and welcoming nature of the public venues.
“It’s important that we move from the concert hall to the community,” Ludwa said. “Too often music has been something offered up in venues that exclude part of society.”
The director added the concerts will appeal to virtually any music lover.
“The song list will hit numerous genres from spirituals to chant,” Ludwa said. “We have old folk songs sung by trios and big, energetic songs that include drums, stomping and other forms of expression. If you have a pulse, you’ll find something that speaks to you on this program.”
Kalamazoo College, founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts and sciences college and the creator of the K-Plan, which emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, independent research, and international and intercultural engagement.
For more information on the concerts, please contact Ludwa at cludwa@kzoo.edu or 231.225.8877.
One Kalamazoo College alumnus and one student have ensured K’s reputation as a home for change ringing will continue by earning a national award named after a former K professor.
Ian McKnight ’19 is one of two with Kalamazoo College ties to receive the first Jeff Smith Memorial Young Ringer Award.
Ian McKnight ’19 and Sam Ratliff ’21 are among ringers from towers in Kalamazoo; Kent, Connecticut; Shreveport, Louisiana; Northampton, Massachusetts; Marietta, Georgia; and Sewanee, Tennessee, to earn the first Jeff Smith Memorial Young Ringer Award from the North American Guild of Change Ringers. The award recognizes bell-ringing achievement and a commitment to local change ringing communities.
Sam Ratliff is studying mathematics and computer science on study abroad in Aberdeen, Scotland, this fall and rings regularly with the band at St. Machar’s Church there.
The award is named after the late Jeff Smith, a longtime and beloved professor at Kalamazoo College. In addition to teaching mathematics, Smith taught hundreds of students to ring changes and inspired the College to install change ringing bells at Stetson Chapel on campus.
Change ringing developed in England and is traditionally heard after royal weddings as well as before and after most English church services. It requires a group of ringers working in tight coordination to ring the bells in changing permutations. Because each tower bell takes more than a second to complete its full 360-degree rotation, the bells can’t ring traditional music or melodies. That constraint led to an intricate system of generating unique permutations known as change ringing.
In addition to strengthening the abilities of the Kalamazoo band of change ringers, McKnight and Ratliff have both rung quarter peals. A quarter peal contains a series of at least 1,250 permutations rung in rapid succession according to rules that ensure no permutations are repeated. A quarter peal takes about 45 minutes of concentration and cooperation among the band of ringers, creating beautiful sounds.
McKnight graduated with a degree in political science in June after earning a senior leadership award. He once wrote about his experience with change ringing in K’s student blog. He now works for State Rep. Darrin Camilleri in Detroit.
“It’s a real honor to receive an award named for Jeff Smith, without whom I would probably never have discovered ringing,” McKnight said. “I first went to the tower after hearing the bells that he brought to Kalamazoo College and was hooked after just one practice. For four years since, ringing has been a great joy and a source for friends on both sides of the Atlantic. I know that will continue to be the case for many years to come.”
“I heard that ringing was a cooperative musical, physical and mental exercise, all of which interested me, so I dropped into the tower the first week of my first year at K,” Ratliff said. “The algorithmic methods that we use to make music held my attention and I’ve been ringing ever since.”
The Kalamazoo College ringers welcome visitors and would be pleased to show anyone how the bells are rung. The ringers can be contacted at kzooringers@yahoo.com.
The Princeton Review profiles and recommends K in the 2020 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 385 Colleges, which is on sale now.
Kalamazoo College is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduates to earn their college degree, according to The Princeton Review. The education-services company profiles and recommends K in the 2020 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 385 Colleges, which is on sale now.
Only about 13 percent of the nation’s 3,000 four-year colleges are profiled in the book, which is one of The Princeton Review’s most popular publications. The company chooses the colleges based on data it annually collects from administrators about their institutions’ academic offerings. The Princeton Review also considers data it gathers from its surveys of college students who rate and report on various aspects of their campus and community experiences.
“We salute Kalamazoo College for its outstanding academics and we are truly pleased to recommend it to prospective applicants searching for their personal ‘best-fit’ college,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief and lead author of The Best 385 Colleges.
According to students Princeton Review interviewed, “the open curriculum means students have more time to explore exactly what they want to learn, rather than being required to take classes in which they have no interest, and the school motto of ‘More in Four’ not only describes how much students will learn in their time at Kalamazoo College, but also that this institution will try as hard as possible to get you to graduate in four years.”
“We’re gratified to know that students, through the Princeton Review, say they appreciate the experiential education Kalamazoo College offers,” said Eric Staab, Kalamazoo College dean of admission and financial aid. “Experiences from career-development opportunities to study abroad and senior-year projects add breadth to our distinctive approach to the liberal arts and sciences, and ensure lifelong educational value.”
The Princeton Review’s school profiles and 62 ranking lists in The Best 385 Colleges are posted at www.princetonreview.com/best385 where they can be searched for free with site registration.
The Best 385 Colleges is the 28th annual edition of The Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges” book.
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, a publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice, named Kalamazoo College among its 400 Best College Values for 2019 on Thursday.
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranked Kalamazoo College No. 92 overall and No. 50 among private liberal arts colleges on its list of the Best College Values.
The rankings place K No. 92 overall in the country and No. 50 among private liberal arts schools, making it the top-ranked private liberal arts college in Michigan. The honor confirms that K combines a quality education with affordability to provide a transformative experience accessible to students regardless of their financial need. That transformative experience is available through the K-Plan, which combines rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, independent research and international and intercultural engagement in a distinctive approach to the liberal arts and sciences.
“The flexibility of the K-Plan allows us to seek out students with a broad array of interests, achievements and experiences,” said Eric Staab, K’s dean of admission and financial aid. “Our efforts attempt to prevent costs from being barriers for students who can contribute their distinctive ideas and talents to, and benefit from, our richly diverse campus and programs.”
Kiplinger’s analyzes employment outcomes, graduation rates, student-to-faculty ratios and low student debt at graduation to compile its rankings. More than 98 percent of all K students receive financial aid and/or scholarships, 74 percent graduate within four years, and 91 percent of the class of 2018 was employed within six months of graduation.
The full list will appear in the September 2019 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse will celebrate its 56th season by honoring a tradition of empowering women through a community of theatre.
The Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College produced “Twelfth Night” last spring in its 55th season addressing assumption and confusion. Its 56th season will amplify women’s voices with Spitfire Grill,Silent Sky and Water by the Spoonful.
Under a theme of “HERstory: Forgotten Female Figures,” the three main stage plays will provide a realistic and meaningful look at women whose voices aren’t always heard—let alone amplified—and will reflect the work the Playhouse strives to accomplish offstage.
In the fall production of the musical Spitfire Grill by Fred Alley and James Valcq, parolee Percy Talbott tries to forge a new place for herself in the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin, as she combats town gossip, mostly about herself. In addition to female empowerment, the production’s themes include redemption, the economic problems of small towns, and the plight of Vietnam War veterans. The show will run Nov. 7-10.
Silent opens in the darkest months when the stars are brightest and runs Feb. 27-March 1. The play by Lauren Gunderson honors astronomer Henrietta Leavitt for the discoveries she made without recognition in her lifetime. In 1900, she has the opportunity to work at Harvard College Observatory, but is denied he opportunities of her male counterparts. Regardless, she enthusiastically begins tracking changes in Cepheid stars, leading to scientific discoveries that have long-term implications in the field of astronomy.
The season will conclude May 14-17 with the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The play follows Odessa Ortiz, who uses the screen name Haikumom to moderate a chat room that ministers to those struggling with addiction as her own family life falls apart.
All three shows will be produced at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors 65 and older, and $5 for students in the general public. Tickets are free to patrons who present a Kalamazoo College ID. Tickets will be available beginning Sept. 16 at festivalplayhouse.ludus.com or by calling the box office at 269.337.7333.
Visit the Festival Playhouse website for more information on the upcoming theatre season and additional student productions.
