May the wind be at your back during your journey “home” to Homecoming 2016–October 14-16. Registration is open (with the schedule posted), and more than 300 persons plan to attend as of this writing (September 16). And why not! The autumn weekend is packed with events for all (and all ages).
Among the highlights:
Story Zoo at the Cavern Fire Circle (next to Stetson Chapel). Everyone has a favorite K story, or a S.O.B. in the closet. All alumni, students, faculty and staff are invited to stop by, enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and record your favorite K memory. All recorded stories will be sent to the College Archives as well as being available for future K publications. Individual or group stories are welcome!
The Alumni Association Awards Ceremony and Dessert Reception in Dalton Theatre. The event includes honors for distinguished achievement and distinguished service as well as new inductees into the athletics Hall of Fame. Of special note: Professor Emeritus of Biology Paul Sotherland will receive the Weimer K. Hicks Award.
And speaking of opportunities to reconnect with faculty, make sure Saturday’s departmental receptions make your calendar (see photo). It’s your chance to catch up with current and emeriti faculty in the Hicks Center.
It’s likely you know your alma mater has a new president (the institution’s 18th): Jorge Gonzalez. You can meet him and his wife (K alumnae Suzie (Martin) Gonzalez ’83) at an open house in the Kalamazoo College Field House Hornet Suite.
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry finalist Diane Seuss ’78 will read from her most recent collection of poems, Four-Legged Girl (Graywolf Press, 2015). Di is a longtime professor of English at K and her readings are unforgettable. And you’ll be able to purchase a copy of Four-Legged Girl at the Kalamazoo College Bookstore.
Professor of Chemistry Regina Stevens-Truss will discuss the ongoing Science and Social Justice project, work that has engaged some of the best minds in the country since 2011. Project collaborators include the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, Harvard Medical School, the SENCER group and Massachusetts General Hospital. What social justice questions should be explicit in all scientific research and STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)? Help us come up with ideas.
On Sunday join Binney Girdler, associate professor of biology and director of the Lillian Anderson Arboretum, for a tour of “the Arb,” 140 acres of marsh, meadow, pine plantation and second-growth deciduous forest in Oshtemo Township. Not only is it a site for active research and ecological monitoring, it’s a grand place for a Sunday stroll. And it features the College’s brand new off-the-grid education pavilion named after Dr. H. Lewis Batts, Jr. ’43 and Jean M. Batts ’43. You gotta see it!
And these events are just a few of the highlights. Register now, and come home for Homecoming.