Writer In Residence Diane Seuss has been hard at work, and the result is a prolific fall and winter. Her poem “Either everything is sexual or nothing is, take this flock of poppies,” appears in the 2013 edition of the Pushcart Prize anthology, which is hot off the presses. And her poem “Oh four-legged girl, it’s either you or the ossuary” is in the fall/winter issue of Black Warrior Review. The poem won the Summer Literary Seminar’s Poetry Prize. “Hub,” a lyric essay, won Wag’s Revue’s winter contest (To access all of the essay’s pages, click on the arrow on the right margin). “I emptied my little wishing well of its emptiness” won Mid-American Review’s Fineline Competition and appears in its fall/winter issue. Two poems, “I’m moved by her, that big-nippled girl,” and “The ghosts down in North-of-the-South aren’t see-through” will appear in Ecotone’s “Abnormal” issue. The poem “Hindenburg” will appear in a forthcoming issue of Devil’s Lake. In other news, poet Adrian Blevins wrote a review of Di’s most recent collection of poems that appears in “On the Seawall: Ron Slate’s Website.” Just reading/hearing the titles of Di’s poems is a rewarding poetic experience!
alumni
K Alumna Wins Prize for Science Journalism
Kirsten Weir ’99 is the winner of the 2012 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in the children’s science news category. The awards are administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for professional journalists to honor distinguished reporting for a general audience. Weir received the award for her article “Uninvited Guests,” which appeared in the April/May 2012 issue of Current Health Kids. In a way that appeals to children and adults the article describes the parasites and microbes that live in and on our bodies. Said Weir: “Kids often seem to think that science is something that happens in a laboratory or a faraway place. I loved that this story underscored how much is still unknown about the organisms living right under our noses (not to mention the rest of our bodies).”
Kalamazoo College’s Only Rhodes Scholar Offers Advice to WMU Finalist
Kalamazoo College alumna Becky Gray ’81 is the only student from K or Western Michigan University ever to receive a Rhodes Scholarship. In a Nov.15, 2012 Kalamazoo Gazette article, she offered some words of advice for Rhodes Scholarship finalist Mitch Zajac, a WMU graduate student and former football player.
Kalamazoo College Alumna Helps Develop Bicycle Safety Simulator
Jodie Plumert ’85, professor and chair of psychology at the University of Iowa is helping lead a joint research project with the University’s computer science department to develop a simulator that uses virtual environment technology to study children’s decision making process when riding a bike. The simulator employs a stationary bicycle sitting in the middle of three large screens and equipped to feed real-time information into a computer network, which creates an interactive virtual environment. Bicyclists “ride” up to a simulated intersection, assess the traffic “crossing” on the screens around them, then determine when it’s safe for them to cross. Read more about Jodie and her research on her UI webpage.
Check out the video below where Jodie helps demonstrate the simulator.
Peter Tippett ’75 Wins U.S. Chamber of Commerce Award
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce presented its first Leadership in Health Care Award to Peter Tippett M.D., Ph.D ’75, chief medical officer for Verizon and vice president of the Verizon Incubator. Peter is responsible for Verizon’s health IT strategy and the development of an extensive portfolio of solutions that are enabling the rapidly evolving health care information technology ecosystem. Tippett has worked as an emergency room doctor, as a helicopter emergency physician, and as a virologist. He also worked in software development and is widely credited with creating the first commercial anti-virus product that later became Norton AntiVirus.
K Alumnus Is Half of “Dynamic Duo” Behind Health Fair for Homeless
Stevie Simmons ’12 graduated from Kalamazoo College in June with a Bachelor’s degree in history. Now a Battle Creek, Mich., resident, Stevie is pursing a Bachelor’s degree in human service administration from Sienna Heights University, while working for AmeriCorps VISTA at Kellogg Community College, a national service program that aims to fight poverty. He’s also half of a “dynamic duo” helping to organize the upcoming Greater Battle Creek/Calhoun County Project Connect Homeless Health Fair.
K Grad (and Fulbright alumna) Sends Letter to Fulbright Applicants
Julia Anderle de Sylor ’09 has posted a letter to Fulbright applicants that offers encouragement, advice, and an assessment of the value of the rigorous application process, regardless of whether one is ultimately accepted. Julia received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant fellowship in Germany after she graduated from K, and she writes how it changed her life. At K she majored in German and studied abroad in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
This ’44 Grad is Young at Heart
Virginia “Jinny” (Taylor) Hilf ’44 was the first editor of The Index, the student newspaper of Kalamazoo College. Today, at age 90, Jinny is making news for her lifetime of accomplishments in northwest Indiana and elsewhere.
Post-Grad Public Service
“Politics and Public Service: K-Plans and Career Paths” was the theme of the Week Six (Oct. 19) Community Reflection in Stetson Chapel. Co-sponsored by the Center for Career and Professional Development and Alumni Relations, the reflection hosted a panel of Kalamazoo College alumni working in the areas of politics or public service.
College Republicans Co-Leader Aubry McIntyre ’15 and College Democrats President Alex Werder ’15 began the Reflection with a mock political debate. They sparred over the issues central to this year’s presidential election, modeling “civilized political discourse” for the audience of students and alumni present for Homecoming weekend.
Arnold Campbell ’72 spoke about his meandering path from study abroad at K to the United States Foreign Service, where he currently serves as Officer and Chargé d’Affaires for the U.S. Embassy in Malta. After studying abroad in Germany, he said he found his calling. “I no longer wanted to be a tourist in the world; I wanted to be participating in those other cultures, and that was because of what I’d experienced here.” His wife, Martha Campbell ’72, also held office in the Foreign Service after K, most recently as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Marshall Islands. She said her K education prepared her for a rigorous, demanding, and exciting job.
Lastly, Amanda Stitt ’02 read from an essay chronicling her journey in Michigan politics rooted in a few influential K classes. She founded K’s chapter of the College Democrats and opted to leave school during her junior fall to help with the 2000 election. Stitt served as former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s political director, ran a statewide nonprofit, and now works with the UAW. She said her K-Plan helped her develop the communication, networking, and leadership skills she would later need in the political world.
Community Reflection offers a unique forum for discussion, worship, performance, and community expression each Friday at 10:50 AM in Stetson Chapel. The campus community and general public are invited. [Story and photo by Elaine Ezekiel ’13]
“Walking Dead” Star Plugs Kalamazoo Prof
Steven Yeun ’05 is an actor who plays Glenn Rhee, a pizza delivery guy turned survivalist in “The Walking Dead,” the wildly popular apocalyptic zombie drama on AMC. In a recent New York Times interview, Steve gives a shoutout to Kalamazoo College professor Andy Mozina and his book “The Women Were Leaving the Men.”