anthropology Archives - News and Events

K Welcomes New Faculty for 2024

Posted on October 1, 2024October 1, 2024

Kalamazoo College is pleased to welcome the following faculty members to campus this fall:

Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kelsey Aldrich

Aldrich arrives at K from Duquesne University, where she earned a Ph.D. and served as a graduate teaching assistant in biochemistry. Her educational background also includes a Bachelor of Science in chemistry with American Chemical Society (ACS) certification from Grove City College, where she was an undergraduate teaching assistant in organic, analytical and general chemistry.

Aldrich will teach a Shared Passages Seminar course this fall titled Cultured: The History and Science of Fermented Foods. In winter spring terms, she will teach classes in general chemistry and biochemistry. Her professional affiliations include membership in the ACS and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).

New Faculty Member Kelsey Aldrich — Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kelsey Aldrich

Visiting Assistant Professor of English Erika Carbonara

Carbonara recently earned her Ph.D. in English from Wayne State University. She additionally holds a master’s degree from Oakland University and a bachelor’s degree with university honors from Wayne State.

She specializes in early modern literature with an emphasis on gender, sexuality, and kink studies. In her previous teaching positions, she has taught a wide range of courses from introductory composition to literature classes focused on Renaissance literature, children’s literature, and women’s literature. This term she will lead a course on social justice from a literary perspective with a focus on issues, events, movements and historical moments while emphasizing areas of power difference such as race and ethnicity, disabilities, class, gender and sexuality.

New faculty member Erika Carbonara — Visiting Assistant Professor of English Erika Carbonara

Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Rachel Chaiser

Chaiser’s educational background includes a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a bachelor’s degree with honors in mathematics from the University of Puget Sound.

In Boulder, she served as a part-time graduate instructor in linear algebra for non-math majors and calculus courses, a graduate teaching assistant in precalculus and an advanced undergraduate research mentor. At K this fall, she will teach calculus with lessons in algebra, precalculus and analytic geometry.

New faculty member Rachel Chaiser — Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Rachel Chaiser

Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Sharon Colvin

Colvin has teaching experience with the University of Pittsburgh School of Education as an instructor, leading students with research methods and applied research; and the University of Maryland First-Year Innovation and Research Experience (FIRE) as an assistant clinical professor. Before getting her PhD., she was a youth services librarian for 10 years. At K, Colvin will teach educational psychology in fall, which applies the principles of psychology to the practice of teaching.

Colvin holds a Ph.D. in learning sciences and policy from the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, Health and Human Development; a master’s degree in library science from the Simmons University Graduate School of Library and Information Science; a master’s degree in mind, brain and education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education; and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wellesley College.

New faculty member Sharon Colvin — Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Sharon Colvin

Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Caitlin Coplan

Coplan arrives at K from Northwestern University, where they recently earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. They also hold a bachelor’s degree with honors in physical and educational chemistry from the University of Utah.

Coplan has prior professional and teaching experience as an instructor as a part of the Arch program for incoming first-year students, and a teaching assistant for general chemistry and nanomaterials courses at Northwestern. They have also served as an interim undergraduate chemistry advisor, College of Science student ambassador, and teaching assistant in general chemistry at the University of Utah. At K, they will teach analytical chemistry this fall.

New faculty member Caitlin Coplan — Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Caitlin Coplan

Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Mahar Fatima

For the past seven years, Fatima has served the University of Michigan, first as a postdoctoral researcher and then as a research laboratory specialist. Her research interests include studies of the sensory neural circuits under physiological or pathological conditions, the molecular mechanisms required to interpret sensory information, and how relations between neural and non-neuronal systems contribute to chronic pain, chronic itch, and pulmonary disorders. This fall, Fatima will teach neurobiology at K, addressing the structure and function of the nervous system with topics including the cell biology of neurons, electrophysiology, sensory and motor systems, brain development, and nervous system dysfunction.

Fatima earned a Ph.D. from the National Brain Research Centre in India along with master’s and bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and life sciences respectively from the University of Allahabad.

New faculty member Mahar Fatima — Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Mahar Fatima

Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion Shelby King

King holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in religious studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) along with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas State University, San Marcos.

Her teaching areas include the history of religion in America, religion and popular culture, religion and American politics, theories and methods in religion, and theories of genders and sexualities. Her professional memberships include the American Academy of Religion, and the UCSB Center for Cold War Studies and International History.

New faculty member Shelby King — Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion Shelby King

Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Cemile Kurkoglu

Kurkoglu comes to K from Denison University, where she had been a visiting assistant professor, teaching undergraduate mathematics and statistics courses since 2021.

Kurkoglu holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from Indiana University Bloomington, where she served as an associate instructor for algebra, calculus and finite mathematics courses and she assisted for graduate mathematics courses. She also has a master’s degree from Bilkent University and a bachelor’s degree from Hacettepe University. Her graduate-level coursework included abstract and commutative algebra, number and representation theory, and ordinary and partial differential equations, real and complex analysis, and topology.

New faculty member Cemile Kurkoglu — Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Cemile Kurkoglu

Visiting Assistant Professor of History Josh Morris

Morris is arriving at K from Wayne State University, where he has been a visiting assistant professor at Grand Valley State University since 2021. Elsewhere, he has served St. Clair County Community College, the University of Toledo and Wayne State University as an adjunct faculty member; a graduate teaching assistant at Wayne State and Cal State University Pomona; and a lecturer for the Los Angeles Workers’ Center and the University of California, Irvine.

Morris holds a Ph.D. from Wayne State, a master’s degree from CSU Pomona, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, all in history. His professional memberships include the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Historical Materialism Society for Critical Research in Marxism, the Labor and Working-Class Historical Association and the Historians of American Communism.

New faculty member Joshua Morris — Visiting Assistant Professor of History Joshua Morris

Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Sociology Koffi Nomedji

Nomedji holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Duke University, a master’s degree in economics from Oklahoma State University, and bachelor’s degrees in sociology and economics from the University of Lomé, Togo, West Africa. At Duke, Nomedji taught courses in introductory cultural anthropology, the digital revolution, the anthropology of money, and development and Africa.

New faculty member Koffi Nomedji — Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Sociology Koffi Nomedji

Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science Nick Polanco

While recently earning a Ph.D. in computer science at Michigan State University, Polanco conducted research in automotive cybersecurity specific to autonomous vehicles. He also was a teaching assistant in artificial intelligence, computer organization and architecture, software engineering, computer systems, discrete structures, mobile applications and development, and database systems.

At K, Polanco will teach courses in introductory computing and programming basics for JavaScript and web development this fall.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science Nick Polanco

Director of African Studies and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Dominique Somda

Somda has arrived at K from the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where she was a research fellow. She also has past appointments as traveling faculty with the International Honors Program (IHP) at study abroad and world learning sites in the U.S., Spain, Jordan, India, Nepal, Senegal, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Chile; as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at Reed College and the Department of Anthropology and Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; as a visiting scholar in anthropology at the London School of Economics; as a postdoctoral fellow at the Université Paris Nanterre in France; and as a teaching and research fellow at the University of Paris Nanterre.

Somda has a Ph.D. and two master’s degrees in ethnology and comparative sociology from the University of Paris Nanterre, and a master’s and bachelor’s in philosophy from the University Clermont Auvergne.

Somda will lead a course this fall at K titled On Being Human in Africa. The course will examine the experiences of Africans through racialized and gendered existences, their affective relations, their ways of relating to and caring for each other and the land; and explore what it means to think and write about Africa with representations and discourses including fiction, academic writing and social media.

Director of African Studies and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Dominique Somda

Assistant Professor of Biology Clara Stuligross

Stuligross was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Riverside prior to K. She holds Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California, Davis, and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Earlham College.

Stuligross studies the impacts of environmental stressors on native bee ecology and recently received a federal grant to study the effects of climate change on bees. She also has professional experience as a museum educator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, where she taught science outreach programs and developed hands-on climate change education lessons. At K this fall, she will teach Biology Explorations.

Assistant Professor of Biology Clara Stuligross

Visiting Instructor of Chinese Ruyuan Yang

Yang has a master’s degree in teaching Chinese to non-native speakers from the Beijing Language and Culture University, and a bachelor’s degree in teaching Chinese as a second language from Yunnan Normal University in Kunming, China.

Yang previously has taught college-level courses in beginning, intermediate and advanced Chinese at K; basic and intermediate Chinese, and Chinese dance and culture at Western Michigan University; and integrated Chinese and Chinese listening and speaking courses at Beijing Language and Culture University. Yang’s courses this fall include beginning and intermediate Chinese.

Visiting Instructor of Chinese Ruyuan Yang

Six Faculty Earn Endowed Chair Honors

Posted on September 27, 2024October 2, 2024

Kalamazoo College has appointed six faculty members as endowed chairs, recognizing their achievements as professors. Endowed chairs are positions funded through the annual earnings from an endowed gift or gifts to the College. The honor reflects the value donors attribute to the excellent teaching and mentorship that occurs at K and how much donors want to see that excellence continue.

The honorees are:

Espelencia Baptiste, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Senior Faculty Chair
Anne Marie Butler, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Junior Faculty Chair
E. Binney Girdler, the Dow Distinguished Professor in Natural Sciences
Sohini Pillai, the Marlene Crandell Francis Endowed Chair in the Humanities
Dwight Williams, the Kurt D. Kaufman Endowed Chair
Daniela Arias-Rotondo, the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science

Espelencia Baptiste, Anthropology-Sociology

Baptiste is currently on sabbatical in Benin where she is working on a book project focused on different ways Africans and Haitians claim each other across time and space. Her research focus centers on the relationship between Africa and its diasporas. She has been active and engaged within the College since her arrival; most recently, she received the College’s Outstanding Advisor Award in 2023 and served as Posse mentor from 2019-2022.

Her courses include Lest We Forget: Memory and Identity in the African Diaspora, You Are What You Eat: Food and Identity In a Global Perspective, Communities and Schools, and Missionaries to Pilgrims: Diasporic Returns to Africa. Within her teaching, she is invested in challenging students to imagine the production of power, particularly as it relates to belonging, as a continuous phenomenon.

Baptiste has a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

Endowed Chair Espelencia Baptiste receives a plaque from Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez — Espelencia Baptiste, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership senior chair, received the College’s Outstanding Advisor Award in 2023 as presented by President Jorge G. Gonzalez

Anne Marie Butler, Art and Art History; Women, Gender and Sexuality (WGS)

Butler has a joint appointment in Art History and Women, Gender, and Sexuality. Her research focuses on contemporary Tunisian art within frameworks of global contemporary art, contemporary global surrealism studies, Southwest Asia North Africa studies, gender and sexuality studies, and queer theory. At K, she teaches at the intersection of visual culture and gender studies, instructing courses such as Art, Power and Society; Queer Aesthetics; Performance Art; and core WGS classes, and this is her fourth season as volunteer assistant coach for the swimming and diving team at K.

Butler is co-editor for the volume Queer Contemporary Art of Southwest Asia and North Africa, which will be available in October (Intellect Press). She has been published in ASAP/Journal, Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, and The London Review of Education. She is also an editor for the volume Surrealism and Ecology, expected in 2026.

Butler has a bachelor’s degree from Scripps College, a master’s degree from New York University and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Portrait of Endowed Chair Anne Marie Butler — Anne Marie Butler is the the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership junior chair.

E. Binney Girdler, Biology

Girdler is the director of K’s environmental studies program and a biology department faculty member. She focuses on plant ecology and conservation biology with her research involving studies of the structure and dynamics of terrestrial plant communities.

Girdler previously had an endowed chair as the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science. She develops relationships with area natural-resource agencies and non-profit conservation groups to match her expertise with their research needs and the access needs of students. In 2022, she and K Associate Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas contributed to a global research project that proves humans are affecting evolution through urbanization and climate change. The study served as a cover story for the journal Science.

Girdler commonly teaches courses titled Environmental Science, Ecology and Conservation, and Population and Community Ecology along with an environmental studies senior seminar. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Dow Distinguished Professor in Natural Sciences E. Binney Girdler at Batts Pavilion.

Sohini Pillai, Religion

Pillai is the director of film and media studies at K and a faculty member in the religion department. She is a comparatist of South Asian religious literature, and her area of specialization is the Mahabharata and Ramayana epic traditions.

Pillai is the author of Krishna’s Mahabharatas: Devotional Retellings of an Epic Narrative (Oxford University Press, 2024), a comprehensive study of premodern retellings of the Mahabharata epic in regional South Asian languages. She is also the co-editor of Many Mahabharatas (State University of New York Press, 2021) with Nell Shapiro Hawley and the co-author of Women in Hindu Traditions (New York University Press, under contract) with Emilia Bachrach and Jennifer Ortegren. Her courses have included Religion in South Asia; Hindu Traditions; Islam in South Asia; Dance, Drama, and Devotion in South Asia; Religion, Bollywood, and Beyond; Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians: Religion and Star Wars; and Princesses, Demonesses, and Warriors: The Women of the South Asian Epics.

Pillai has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley; a master’s degree from Columbia University; and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.

Sohini Pillai standing in her office with some Star Wars memorabilia — Marlene Crandell Francis Endowed Chair in the Humanities Sohini Pillai displays some of her personal Star Wars memorabilia including a painting of Grogu gifted to her by a student.

Dwight Williams, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Williams previously was an endowed chair at K, having served as the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry from 2018–2020. He teaches courses including Organic Chemistry I and II, Advanced Organic Chemistry and Introductory Chemistry. His research interests include synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology.

Williams spent a year as a lecturer at Longwood University before becoming an assistant professor at Lynchburg College. At Lynchburg, he found a passion for the synthesis and structural characterization of natural products as potential neuroprotectants.

Williams learned more about those subjects after accepting a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral research fellowship at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. During that fellowship, he worked in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology, where his work was published in six peer-reviewed journals.

In 2019, Williams was awarded a Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching grant from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and Course Hero. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Coastal Carolina University and a Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth.

Kurt D. Kaufman Endowed Chair Dwight Williams holding a molecular model in his office.

Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Arias-Rotondo earned a grant valued at $250,000 last year from the National Science Foundation through its Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS). The LEAPS-MPS grant emphasizes helping pre-tenure faculty at institutions that do not traditionally receive significant amounts of NSF-MPS funding, including predominantly undergraduate institutions, as well as achieving excellence through diversity. She uses the funding primarily to pay her student researchers, typically eight to 10 per term, and bring more research experiences into the classroom.

This year, Arias-Rotondo earned an American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund grant, which will provide $50,000 to her work while backing her lab’s upcoming research regarding petroleum byproducts. Her lab traditionally develops molecules that absorb energy from light while transforming that energy into electricity. The grant will allow her and her students to take molecules they have designed to act as catalysts and unlock chemical transformations through a process called photoredox catalysis. In this case, those transformations involve petroleum byproducts and how they might be used.

Arias-Rotondo teaches Introductory Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Molecular Structure and Reactivity, and commonly takes students to ACS conferences. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

Portrait of Endowed Chair Daniela Arias-Rotondo — Daniela Arias-Rotondo has been named the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science.

Thailand Lessons Influence Student, Kalamazoo’s First Read Along

Posted on September 26, 2024October 2, 2024

Emerson Wesselhoff working at a table with a city of Kalamazoo table cloth, ready to lead city's first read along — *Emerson Wesselhoff ’25 is working in an internship with the city of Kalamazoo, where she is leading the city’s first Kalamazoo Reads effort through the book* “Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design” *by journalist Charles Montgomery about urban design and happiness.*

Emerson Wesselhoff with a host family and a fellow student in Thailand — Wesselhoff (left) sits with one of her host families and a fellow student in the Maetha agricultural co-op village. The younger Thai woman is Pi Pui, the expert seed saver for the village. The older Thai woman is her mom, Mae Sawn.

Wesselhoff works with elementary school students she led in a read along — Wesselhoff works with elementary school students during her internship in Thailand with Kiaow Suay Hom, which translates to Green, Beautiful and Fragrant in English.

A study-abroad experience, a passion for sustainability and a love for her city have helped a Kalamazoo College Heyl scholar leave her mark on Imagine Kalamazoo 2035, the city’s newly launched master plan.

Emerson Wesselhoff ’25 is an outreach and engagement intern working with City Planner Christina Anderson ’98. She was among the officials at an open house September 19 when the city shared some of its successes from the previous master plan and discussed with residents what they can expect over the next year with the new plan.

Now, as a part of Imagine Kalamazoo 2035, Wesselhoff will lead the city’s first Kalamazoo Reads effort, a community read along and discussion with clubs, community groups and residents. Together, they will have meaningful conversations about Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design, a book by award-winning journalist Charles Montgomery beginning Monday, September 30. The book combines urban design and an emerging science of happiness that will help participants analyze some of the world’s most dynamic cities, while brainstorming what residents want in Kalamazoo.

“I first read the book at K through a class I took sophomore year,” Wesselhoff said, speaking of a seminar led by Anderson, City of Kalamazoo Chief Operating Officer Laura Lam ’99 and then-Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement Director Alison Geist. “We want Individual citizens, book clubs, organizations, boards, shops and institutions to read it, and every month we will host a community-led discussion of the book. I’ve put together a big toolkit that provides summaries, links to the author’s TED talk, and discussion questions to guide thoughts and processes. We want to get people thinking about how the city makes us happy and what happiness means in our lives.”

Wesselhoff’s opportunity is a relatable follow-up to a reading-focused experience she led when she studied abroad in Thailand last year. She concluded her time overseas with a six-week climate engagement internship through a non-government organization called Kiaow Suay Hom, which translates to Green, Beautiful and Fragrant in English. There, she studied the benefits of green spaces in fighting pollution and particulate matter (PM 2.5) as smoke and smog cause health risks such as heart attacks, cancer and respiratory issues in Thailand. The organization had created a children’s book about PM 2.5 that was central to the outreach Wessselhoff performed as part of her internship.

How to Participate
in the Read Along

Let Wesselhoff know if you or a group will join the read along and whether you would like resources by emailing her at wesselhoffe@kalamazoocity.org.
Happy City is available at a discount at Bookbug and This is a Bookstore (3019 Oakland Drive), in person and online. Use the discount code KALAMAZOO if you buy the book online. You may also read an online version of the book or get it from the Kalamazoo Public Library as an eBook or audio book via Hoopla.
Public read along discussions start Monday, September 30, with a gathering at Bookbug and This is a Bookstore. A second discussion will take place Wednesday, October 23, at Jerico, 1501 Fulford St. Free reservations are available online for the September 30 event and the October 23 event.
A Happy City toolkit is available online to guide independent reads and discussions.
Share your read along results by completing a brief online form, sending an email to hello@kalamazoocity.org with your responses typed, or attaching a scan of any written notes to an email. Return a paper copy by mail or in person to Community Planning and Economic Development, 245 N. Rose St. in Kalamazoo, during business hours.

Emerson Wesselhoff with other students in Thailand — During her internship in Thailand, Wesselhoff volunteered at a local farm with her fellow NGO interns to help the farmers prepare for a big harvesting event.

Emerson Wesselhoff discusses sustainability with elementary school students she led in a read along — Wesselhoff told elementary school students about what they can be do with green space and pollution-filtering plants to fight health risks that are common in Thailand.

Wesselhoff makes a presentation to a group of NGO's in Thailand — At the end of her Thailand internship, Wesselhoff presented information on her work to Chiang Mai’s Breath Council, a larger council of NGOs dedicated to helping fight PM 2.5 pollution.

“Having more green space, carbon-sequestering and pollution-filtering plants is a great way to combat PM 2.5,” Wesselhoff said. “Creating those green spaces starts with awareness and I learned the importance of youth education. A huge component of my internship was going around to local elementary schools in In the Mae Hia subdistrict of Chiang Mai, Thailand, and showing how sustainability connects to local culture, children’s lives, and how to keep them and their friends and family safe. I learned how to engage with kids and break down a heavily scientific and scary topic, while connecting it to their culture and their lives at home. It made them feel empowered to make choices that are healthier for their community.”

She hopes Happy City read along conversations will have similar success and spark some ideas regarding potential local sustainability efforts.

“I’m trying to help bring awareness to how the city impacts our sense of happiness and our sense of self in where we live,” she said. “That’s a big piece of environmental engagement work—knowing where you live, knowing its shortcomings, and advocating for the things that make it great, and sustainability planning is a huge part of that. I look at my study abroad experience, which was so centered on putting my assumptions on the back burner and learning from local people through their lived experiences. I’m trying to bring that same practice back here. I think we often turn to academics, politicians or big systems to figure out how to make progress. What I learned from local communities in Thailand is to focus instead on making space for our relationship to land, first and foremost. Community awareness and respect will follow close behind.”

Wesselhoff was abroad for a total of six months, spending her time first with the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute—a hands-on, fieldwork learning center based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, focused on sustainability.

With ISDSI, Wesselhoff and 13 other students from around the world, including two other K students, took one monthlong class at a time with courses including culture, ecology and community; sustainable food systems; political ecology and ocean ecology. The first week of each class consisted of lectures before the students stayed three weeks with host families, mostly in indigenous communities, and performed field or volunteer work in the community.

In the sustainable food systems course, Wesselhoff and her peers spent two weeks living in an organic co-op village called Maetha, staying with a seed saver and learning about organic agriculture. The third week she lived on an organic coffee farm called Nine One Coffee near a jungle and learned about the organic bean-to-cup process.

With the forestry course, Wesselhoff traveled to Mae Hong Son, the northernmost province in Thailand, near the Myanmar border, and backpacked between six villages, starting at low elevation and proceeding higher with each stop. Along the way, she lived with six indigenous host families who graciously taught the students about livelihoods and land rights in their highland communities.

During the ocean ecology course, Wesselhoff and her group went south to learn about mudflats and mangroves while living on a coastal farm, before spending about a week and a half in the Adang archipelago near the Malaysian border to kayak through more trading routes and learn about coral reef ecosystems. When the classes ended, students from other colleges returned home and the K students began working internships. Wesselhoff’s experience now feeds her desire to improve life in Kalamazoo.

Wesselhoff with a baby elephant — Wesselhoff greeted a baby elephant during an excursion with the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute.

Emerson Wesselhoff in Thailand — Wesselhoff participated in a field expedition to Wiang Khum Kam, an ancient archeological site south of Chiang Mai.

At home, the Loy Norrix High School graduate is a biology major with a concentration in environmental studies and minors in English and anthropology-sociology. She also serves K as a Climate Action Plan Committee student representative and intern, advocating for the College’s efforts in being carbon neutral by 2050. The committee maintains the College’s Climate Action Plan in association with the President’s Climate Leadership Commitment, which K joined in 2010, while establishing goals, monitoring progress, conducting annual reporting and providing guidance on projects and initiatives to support the plan. Plus, Wesselhoff writes blog post updates addressing news on climate efforts at K, and all her work excites her to extend her work into the city.

“The more time I spend in Kalamazoo, the more I realize just how much people care about this place,” Wesselhoff said. “I think I’m lucky because I’m not just here as a four-year college student. I have roots here and that gives me a distinct advantage. I’m in a college environment most of the time with the connections I build in the K community, but I also work with folks in the city, getting to talk to stakeholders and community members, going to places like the farmers market or events downtown like Art Hop and Lunchtime Live. Even if people have a complaint to voice, it’s because they care about where they live. The city of Kalamazoo is headed in a unique direction, with bountiful opportunities to make the city a more connected, livable, and sustainable place. I feel very fortunate to be here in a time of my life where I can learn all about those things.”

Actor, Producer Return as Alumni to Screen ‘Grassland’

Posted on November 21, 2023November 21, 2023

A celebrated actor fresh off his role as Magic Johnson in an HBO series and an up-and-coming movie producer, both alumni of Kalamazoo College, returned to campus last week, seeking a chance to change society’s views regarding marijuana incarceration policies.

Quincy Isaiah ’17—an actor known for Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty—and Producer Adam Edery ’19 met students for a conversation about social justice in the entertainment industry and screened their new independent movie, Grassland, with a discussion panel and a private audience at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership.

Grassland is expected to premier at a variety of film festivals in 2024 with Isaiah, Edery and Consulting Producer Shon Powell ’18—a third K alumnus—among those in its credits. The movie, set in 2008 during the Great Recession, follows a single Latina mother whose illegal marijuana business is jeopardized when her son befriends new neighbors, a young white boy and his police officer grandfather. According to production research, Latino people were four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people at the time, while Black people were seven times more likely.

Actors Mía Maestro and Jeff Kober star alongside Isaiah, who plays Brandon. Maestro’s credits include the 2014–15 TV series The Strain and the 2012 film The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2. Kober’s credits include TV series such as The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy and China Beach. His movie roles include a part in the 2016 film Sully.

Edery was among the first to join the project with one of his jobs being to secure funding for it, a role he relished considering the film’s subject matter.

“For me, I feel like my participation in the creation of the film was because of my K experience,” Edery said. “I was an anthropology-sociology major, and even before I had anything to do with film, I wanted to go into social justice and activism. A lot of the early projects that I produced were comedy based or random opportunities. There was nothing that felt like, ‘Wow, this is the type of story I want to tell.’ And then I read the script for Grassland. It was like a light flipped on in my head. The passion to do this project was inspired by me coming to K.”

Edery had previously reached out to Isaiah to connect as both were in Los Angeles, both were in the entertainment industry, and both were K alumni. Isaiah didn’t have a lot of time to meet until his work with Winning Time had finished, but when they finally got together, their networking proved to be mutually beneficial.

“We met for lunch and Adam slid the script to me,” Isaiah said of Grassland. “I read it and I loved it. It was beautiful and it had a lot of heart to it. I think that’s what pulled me to it, and with the K connection, I think there’s a different expectation you feel about certain people. Just meeting with him and hearing his thoughts about social justice made me feel very comfortable to work with him. I felt a kinship.”

Edery never had a doubt that Isaiah would flourish in his role as Brandon, but the producer said watching Isaiah act in person was amazing.

“I was blown away while watching him on set,” Edery said. “I always knew that Quincy is a super nice, hard-working, super talented actor, but I had never been there before to see him physically act. I remember a graveyard scene where it felt like I was looking at a different person. I think that’s a testament to how great Quincy is as an actor and how he crushed the role by pouring himself into it. When we watch it on screen, it almost doesn’t register that I’m watching Quincy. It’s like me and Quincy are watching Brandon.”

Beyond the film’s acting talent, Edery hopes the film will be known for asking its audiences an important question: How did we get here?

“The movie takes place in 2008 and something Quincy and I talk about is that this film has no villain,” he said. “It doesn’t say the police officer is the villain or that Sophia, who is growing weed, is the villain. It points at the system in place. Then being in 2023, it forces us to ask, ‘What are the systems that allowed us to have 40,000 people in prison for something that’s legal in Michigan now?’”

Isaiah said the film’s importance, in his opinion, is about viewers seeing different perspectives while following characters on a journey of emotions.

Quincy Isaiah and Adam Edery at the Festival Playhouse before screening Grassland — Actor Quincy Isaiah ’17 (left) and Producer Adam Edery ’19 returned to Kalamazoo College to screen their independent film titled “Grassland.”

Actor Quincy Isaiah at the Festival Playhouse — Isaiah performed in plays such as “Raisin in the Sun” and “In the Heights” in his time at K.

Quincy Isaiah, Adam Edery and Emily Williams attend the "Grassland" screening — Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Executive Director Emily Williams introduces Isaiah and Edery at the “Grassland” screening.

"Grassland" discussion panel — Edery, Isaiah and Williams were among the people who participated in the panel discussion after the “Grassland” screening.

“These are people you could pass on the street and never pay much attention to, but when you see their story on the big screen, it’s right in front of you,” he said. “You have to pay attention and care about them.”

With there being no villain in Grassland, Isaiah said any character could potentially resonate with any viewer at any time.

“Some might gravitate toward Brandon,” he said. “Some people will gravitate toward Sophia and John (a police officer) or even Sophia’s mom. She’s so good in it and it’s for such a short time, but there’s so much weight to her role. I think everybody will find some character they see themselves in and that’s what you want a movie to be. You want to see yourself represented on the screen.”

His own character, though, is somebody who feels stuck with few options for moving on.

“I don’t want to spoil the movie, but he’s just finding himself in tough position after tough position because of something he did as a child,” Isaiah said. “He’s looked at like a dog and that’s the story of so many people. I relate to Brandon because I want the freedom to mess up and not be reprimanded for life because of it. But as sad as his story is, there’s something in him that will allow him to have a second life. He just has to put in more effort than his counterparts, which is difficult, but it’s his reality and I think he’s strong enough to figure that out.”

Ultimately, Edery said the opportunity to screen the film at K felt obvious, especially after discussing the possibility with President Jorge G. Gonzalez and Associate Vice President for Development Andy Miller ’99 and connecting with Arcus Center Executive Director Emily Williams.

“Even when we were filming, Quincy and I were saying that we have to bring this film back to campus,” Edery said. “One of the reasons we made the film was the K connection, but this is a movie that people can engage with through debate and conversation, laughter and crying. I think K students are the perfect crowd for it because they’re thoughtful and they want to reflect. It was a no-brainer to bring it back to K.”

“I double down on that,” Isaiah added. “K students are thoughtful and open to conversation, and we’re alumni, so it’s like being back home. We met with some students and we were able to have some candid conversations about the film, about our roles and our jobs, and about their curiosity regarding us as people and professionals. There were some big questions, so it was an excellent experience. It’s so surreal to walk down that cobblestone road. Coming into K, I was a kid. When I left, I had the tools to figure myself out. I think the K influence is that I can be fully transparent and vulnerable on screen. That’s what I learned to do here: I learned how to be a man.”

With the movie complete, Edery and Isaiah will be among those teaming up to nominate Grassland for inclusion in film festivals such as Sundance while participating in social justice campaigns to advance its cause.

“We want to get it in front of as many people as possible whether it’s here at K, at film festivals or wherever,” Edery said. “I’m proud of it, and when people watch it, I hope it inspires them to change their hearts and minds. We’re also partnering with organizations like the Last Prisoner Project to support the work that they’re doing to get people out of prison or their sentences commuted if they’re in prison because of marijuana. If we could boil it down to one goal, I’d like us to focus on the people who are still locked up right now and push that charge to get people out.”

Isaiah hopes that one day he will hear stories about how the film changed people’s hearts and minds.

“Marijuana is everywhere now,” Isaiah said. “It’s not fair for people to be locked up for that and then be unable to find a job or feed themselves or their families because of a mistake they made 10 or 15 years ago when it wasn’t OK. If we can make a change for even one person, that would be cool because hearing their stories breaks my heart. I hope people will hit up their representatives, talk to a formerly incarcerated person, take a virtual prison tour or do whatever it is that the film inspires them to do to push for change.”

Humanities Courses Lead Students to New Orleans

Posted on February 6, 2023February 8, 2023

A major grant awarded to Kalamazoo College helped 17 students begin experiencing a new dimension of hands-on learning in their humanities coursework through a visit to New Orleans over winter break.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation granted $1.297 million in January 2022 to provide new learning opportunities through the College’s Humanities Integrated Locational Learning (HILL) project. HILL builds student coursework rooted in the College’s commitment to experiential learning and social justice to address issues such as racism, economic inequities and homelessness, while examining history, how humans share land, and the dislocations that bring people to a communal space.

Within HILL, there are multiple academic departments represented with clusters of classes that emphasize collaborative learning within the humanities and humanistic social sciences:

The Beyond Kalamazoo course clusters focus on location or dislocation and emphasize place-based learning through an integrated travel component in New Orleans, St. Louis or San Diego.
The Within Kalamazoo cluster, which emphasizes a theme relevant to location or dislocation, where faculty directly collaborate on coursework that engages directly with social issues in the Kalamazoo community.
The digital humanities hub, which publishes, archives and assesses outcomes in relation to course work and partnerships beyond and within Kalamazoo.

New Orleans was the first site on which the Beyond Kalamazoo cluster focused. In fall, courses consisted of Lest We Forget: Memory and Identity in the African Diaspora in New Orleans, taught by Associate Professor of Anthropology Espelencia Baptiste; Public Art and its Publics led by Professor of Art and Art History Christine Hahn; NOLA Divided: Race in the Big Easy, led by Associate Professor of English Shanna Salinas; and The World Through New Orleans, led by Associate Professor of Music Beau Bothwell. Each course operated independently with discipline-specific instruction.

Students interested in doing place-based research in New Orleans applied for the Beyond Kalamazoo cluster, which included six weeks of preparation, instruction on research methodologies in the humanities, the seven-day research trip, and post-trip research and writing. Those students were put into research groups formed by research interest and a distribution of one member from each of the cluster courses, so every group had at least one representative from each of the four cluster courses.

The students’ pre-trip collaboration—based on their knowledge from their respective courses within the departments of English, art history, anthropology-sociology and music—helped them create a collaborative research project that would emphasize location or dislocation, problem solving and social justice in New Orleans.

Students and volunteers paint colorful signs — During a volunteer day, Jenna Paterob ’23 worked with her peers to create signs for Ms. Gloria’s Garden at People for Public Art in New Orleans.

Paintings and artwork on a wall — Community partners such as Lower Nine, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the long-term recovery of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Ida and Rita, and the levee breaches of 2005; and People for Public Art, an organization of artists that funds, creates and documents works of public art for the City of New Orleans to reflect the stories of the people, were significant contributors to the experiences Kalamazoo College humanities students had.

People for Public Art facility during humanities trip to New Orleans — “Throughout the day, I discovered that we were seeing different types of public art, allowing us to feel like we were a part of the community,” said Jenna Paterob ’23 of her humanities experience at People for Public Art in New Orleans.

Colorful paintings and adornments on a building in New Orleans — Kalamazoo College students enrolled in Humanities Integrated Locational Learning classes this fall called their experience in New Orleans educational, eye-opening, fun and immersive.

Figurines of seven African powers in New Orleans — “There is a ton of history that none of us knew about before going there, even though we had all taken a class about the city,” said Josh Kuh ’23. “I thought it was valuable to have this structured opportunity that felt like doing more than observing for research.”

Students and volunteers painted signs for a garden in New Orleans — During a volunteer day, Jenna Paterob ’23 worked with her peers to create signs for Ms. Gloria’s Garden at People for Public Art in New Orleans.

Their subjects of interest for the projects included the city’s theatre scene, public transportation and historical ties to slavery with each student connecting their social justice interests with each of a variety of community partners. Students were encouraged to use onsite and digital archives at the Historical New Orleans Collection for their projects when applicable.

The community partners included Lower Nine, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the long-term recovery of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Ida and Rita, and the levee breaches of 2005; and People for Public Art, an organization of artists that funds, creates and documents works of public art for the City of New Orleans to reflect the stories of the people. Students then worked with these partners during their on-site visit this winter.

Morgan Acord ’23, an English major with a passion for literature, found Salinas’ class to be fascinating because New Orleans has a literature culture all its own, she said. She appreciated that their trip also included cultural opportunities such as participating in a second-line parade, seeing the Oak Alley and Whitney plantations, and observing French and Spanish artifacts at the New Orleans Archive.

Yet for Acord, filling a need for social justice work through a nonprofit was the biggest benefit.

“We helped an 80-year-old woman and her husband who had been sleeping on an air mattress in their kitchen after Hurricane Ida,” Acord said. “They were living in a shotgun-style house and all of her belongings were in what I assumed was the living room. Overall, it showed how catastrophic those New Orleans hurricanes were. You see the footage on TV, but to see it firsthand and see how people live in houses still under repair is eye opening. It felt good on the surface to be able to help, but it was eye opening to know how privileged some of us are.”

Together, Acord and classmates including Josh Kuh ’23, an anthropology-sociology major from Seattle, tore a front wall out of the house that had been destroyed by termites, painted baseboards, and laid down flooring in what was to be the couple’s bedroom. Professor Mills along with Lower Nine representatives assisted in painting the ceiling and the dining room.

“There is a ton of history that none of us knew about before going there, even though we had all taken a class about the city,” Kuh said. “I thought it was valuable to have this structured opportunity that felt like doing more than observing for research. We provided a meaningful service to the organizations that we were working with. I think the biggest takeaways of mine involved seeing firsthand how extensive the hurricane damage was. I saw the disarray in this house and it hadn’t been fixed even though it had been almost 20 years since some of the damage happened.”

Jenna Paterob ’23, a business and psychology double major and art minor, took Professor Hahn’s class in fall because she often feels like she overlooks public art.

“Our experience in New Orleans was educational, eye-opening, fun and immersive,” she said. “It isn’t every day that we get to go into a new area of the country and interact with the community there. I feel like we were able to see bigger issues encapsulated in the city such as tourism, racism, white supremacy and classism. “I feel like when we stay in one place for a long period of time, we may become a little desensitized to the issues that surround us. Therefore, going to a new area, especially as someone who has never been out of the Midwest, was definitely an educational experience for me.”

Paterob had a social justice experience with People for Public Art in New Orleans. During the volunteer day, Paterob worked with her peers to create signs for Ms. Gloria’s Garden. The location offers opportunities for children to garden, cook, sew, make jewelry and music, and take yoga and meditation classes. The garden is managed by a nonprofit, Developing Young Entrepreneurs, which provides youths and young adults with entrepreneurial skills and a safe space for people to feel free to be themselves.

“When I first discovered that we were going to be making signs, I was confused about what that had to do with public art,” she said. “Throughout the day, I discovered that we were seeing different types of public art, allowing us to feel like we were a part of the community. Painting signs for plants in a garden may not be the first thing people think of when they think about public art, but we really did create some fun and beautiful pieces of art that communicate information and improve the garden. I liked that day because I was exposed to a whole new setting and sense of community. I also learned that the organization creates a bunch of impactful pieces, such as the memorial pieces they showed us. They took a tragic event that was minimized and silenced by certain people and allowed the community to come together to grieve. I learned a lot about New Orleans and how the residents interact with their community through learning about the public art there.”

Ally Noel ’24, an anthropology-sociology and English double major, had similar praise for her experience at People for Public Art.

“That day shifted my entire trajectory in terms of my research in New Orleans,” she said. “Going into New Orleans, I had this idea of what I thought I wanted to study but then after Monica (Kelly, representing People for Public Art) was telling the story of the lower mid-city and the inequities that exist there, I realized I wanted to do research on the closure of Charity Hospital after Hurricane Katrina hit. That was the day that everything clicked for me, and I realized, being in that space was important. A student can study a space from afar, but being there helps research in terms of learning and making meaning of the experience.”

Salinas is serving as the curriculum coordinator for integrated travel to New Orleans and a co-principal investigator for the HILL initiative as a whole.

“The primary vision of this initiative is collaboration, be that students sharing their knowledge with other members of their research group based on the cluster class they took, community partners holding space for students to learn about the work they do in New Orleans and the stakes of that work, and research groups working across disciplines in the humanities to develop a digital humanities research project that reflects both their academic knowledge and their experiences in the city,” Salinas said. “We asked students to commit to one eight-hour work day with two of our community partners. Students self-selected according to interest or research investment, frequently with research group members on different work sites. Afterward, students were able to come together and share those experiences with each other and discuss what they learned. It was these moments that enhanced their research and, ultimately, their collaborative projects. HILL’s curricular design relies on students being able to share their experiences, to talk to each other about what they learned, to root in in the type of instruction they received in their cluster classes, and to make those concrete connections back to things like community-building as a crucial element of the humanities.”

As they reflected on their experiences, the students praised the opportunity to go to New Orleans and said they would encourage their peers to seek HILL-focused, place-based learning classes as well.

Baptiste’s class, for example, set the table for students such as Maya Nathwani ’23, an anthropology-sociology and biology double major, to examine history away from campus when she missed a study abroad opportunity because of COVID-19. Lest We Forget: Memory and Identity in the African Diaspora in New Orleans provided Nathwani with a life-changing experience in her college years that she otherwise would’ve missed.

“The class emphasized understanding what history is and how it’s created and produced, along with who has the ability to share and pass on history, impacting how we remember the past,” Nathwani said. “Going to do research in a space where I’d never been was intimidating just because I’d never done it before. But I would encourage other students to try these classes, too, because the professors prepare you to be successful.”

Seed Stewards: Students Learn, Grow at Hoop House

Posted on August 19, 2022December 19, 2022

Seed stewardship lies at the heart of two summer Environmental Stewardship fellowships at Kalamazoo College’s Hoop House this summer.

Maeve Crothers ’23 and Nora Blanchard ’23 are completing fellowships through the Larry J. Bell ’80 Center for Environmental Stewardship that will form the basis of their Senior Integrated Projects this fall.

An online seed stewardship course is helping the students develop skills crucial to their projects. Crothers is part of a seed collaborative’s efforts to create stable tomato seeds, while Blanchard is cultivating corn gifted from the Wixárika community in Mexico to Cyndy García-Weyandt, assistant professor of critical ethnic studies.

“A big part of what we’re learning this summer is how to be good seed savers and seed stewards,” Blanchard said.

The course, Seed Seva, is designed and taught by Rowen White, a member of the Mohawk community called Akwesasne, with traditional territories in what is now New York state and Canada. White lives in northern California, where she runs Sierra Seeds.

“We’re thinking about how our relationships with plants are so intertwined,” Crothers said. “Plants adapt to the environment and the conditions we put them under, but Rowen has also talked about how humans have been adapted by plants to take care of them. It’s very much a symbiotic relationship.”

Summer Fellowships at K

Several Kalamazoo College students are completing summer 2022 Environmental Stewardship fellowships through the Larry J. Bell ’80 Center for Environmental Stewardship and we are featuring some of their projects at kzoo.edu. Read on to learn about some of the environmental fellowships making a difference in the local community.

Open-Source Tomato Seed Initiative

Seed Steward Maeve Crothers — Maeve Crothers ’23 is completing a summer
Environmental Stewardship fellowship and a
fall Senior Integrated Project on a collaborative tomato
growing project with a local seed company.

This is the second year Crothers has participated in an open-source tomato seed initiative with Nature & Nurture Seeds for an Environmental Stewardship fellowship. The project is an Organic Research and Education Initiative grant-funded collaboration between the Organic Seed Alliance, the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative and Seedlinked.

Her advisor, Mellon Fellow for Experiential Learning Amy Newday, connected her with the project to de-hybridize Juliet tomato seeds.

While hybrid plants are not inherently bad, Crothers said, their seeds are unstable because of the mix of genetic material. If you save the seeds and replant them, you may end up with very different and unpredictable produce the following year.

“We’re working to create a stable variety of Juliet tomatoes that can be planted and grown by everyday people, by home gardeners,” Crothers said.

Erica Kempter of Nature & Nurture Seeds performed the initial cross of the tomato varieties Maeve is growing. The Seed to Kitchen Collaborative is managing the collaborative trials and collecting both the data and the seeds from the plants that are selected for advancement to the next generation.

During summer 2021, Crothers was growing the third generation of the plants. She grew 15 different plants, and selected the best three—based on a combination of health, productivity, disease resistance, taste and appearance—to return to the project.

“We had some weird tomatoes last summer,” Crothers said. “We had 15 of the plants and they all grew completely different tomatoes. Some of them were small and round. Some of them were long and yellow. Some of them were striped; some weren’t. And they had very different tastes. Some of them were really good. Some of them were mealy and gross.”

The Seed to Kitchen Collaborative grew a fourth generation in greenhouses over the winter, and this summer, Crothers is growing a fifth generation. She has five plants each of three different varieties, of which she will pick the best to send back. Since there is still a fair amount of variety in the plants, Crothers expects the project will need a few more generations before they have a stable variety of seeds that can be planted and saved year after year.

Crothers’ work is part of a community-based seed project, with other growers throughout the Midwest taking part in the same work with tomatoes. The project is key to food justice efforts, as communities that strive for food sovereignty and independence from large food systems require reliable seeds. The fellowship has also been a learning experience for Crothers.

“I came into this fellowship last year with basically no gardening experience other than my couple months that I had worked with the Just Food Collective in this space, because we didn’t really ever have a garden growing up or anything,” Crothers said. “I have learned so much about what plants look like and what to do for them and how to tell if a plant is struggling, has disease or nutrient deficiency or anything. I’ve definitely learned a lot about nature and how healing it can be to work with plants and work in the dirt and just be.”

Corn Cultivation

Seed Steward Nora Blanchard — Nora Blanchard ’23 is cultivating corn gifted to Cyndy Garcia-Weyandt, assistant professor of critical ethnic studies, from the Wixárika community in Mexico, for their summer Environmental Stewardship fellowship.

Amy Newday also advises Blanchard and encouraged them to apply for a fellowship to support their work with corn gifted to Cyndy García-Weyandt, assistant professor of critical ethnic studies, by the Wixárika community in Mexico.

“That was a tremendous, amazing gift that was given to us,” Blanchard said. “We now have the responsibility of caring for this corn and doing the best that we can to build a relationship with what we call Our Mother Corn now that she’s here.”

There are five different varieties within the corn—multicolored, yellow, sweet, white and blue—and their arrangement and cultivation are significant for the Wixárika community.

“Not being a part of that community, it’s been really important for me to become familiar with those traditions” with a lot of help from García-Weyandt, Blanchard said. “That’s what the corn is familiar with and needs. We’re learning how Our Mother Corn grows here and I’m learning how to communicate with her and become really observant about her needs.”

García-Weyandt led Blanchard in a traditional seed-planting ceremony and blessing of the seeds in the spring. Blanchard is also learning different techniques, such as hand pollination, and keeping the Wixárika community informed about how the corn is developing.

The hope is that the plants will produce ears of corn. Although they have not yet formed a tassel and silk, which normally would happen at this time, Blanchard remains hopeful.

“Sometimes when you grow a plant that’s from southern areas in the north, the pollination date can move into fall,” Blanchard said. “This could be something that is going to take a while.”

The interaction between culture and cultivation fascinates Blanchard, who marvels that you could find one variety of multicolored corn grown all across a country, yet in different areas, people will have selected for different colors, flavors, sweetness and use.

“That’s why it’s so important to understand and be willing to learn about the community this Mother Corn is coming from,” Blanchard said. “When you look at this corn, the colors and everything are because of the community that has selected for it, and it tells you something; it tells you a story, and it’s amazing. I can’t wait to get different ears and see all the colors and what they look like. I’m excited for that.”

Blanchard plans to hold a harvest festival for the corn in the fall.

Senior Integrated Projects

Blanchard and Crothers will be writing fall SIPs based on their summer growing experiences.

“I want it to be the documentation of the agency of Our Mother Corn throughout this experience this summer, helping her grow,” Blanchard said. “I also want to do a personal side of that, too, where I’m also documenting my own growth and change over the summer in relation to the corn.”

For Blanchard, an anthropology and sociology major, the community aspect of cultivation is key.

“Community is something I’ve been thinking about a lot this summer and how that’s a really big part of the work we’re doing and food justice,” Blanchard said. “How do we meet other people who are doing the work we’re doing, and how do we build relationships with them and learn about these structures and people and movements within our own community that we can support or that can support us? This corn is a result of her culture and that’s a really wonderful thing. It’s such an important thing to maintain. What does it mean for the corn to be growing on this land in Michigan and how do I maintain this relationship with the Wixárika community in the future?”

Crothers, a political science major with an environmental studies concentration, will use the tomato project as a jumping-off point to dive into the origins, history and cultural differences in various types of seed stewardship.

“I’m also interested in the legality of it, like how can you put a patent on a living thing and call it intellectual property?” Crothers said. “People can get in trouble for growing their own corn next to genetically modified corn; if it pollinates their corn, they can get sued for growing corn they don’t have the right to. I’d like to dive a little deeper into that and also how we can work together to save seeds and create new varieties that can be available for everybody.”

Both students have found a passion for food justice and food sovereignty through their involvement with the Just Food Collective and the Hoop House.

“Those considerations are what drew me to the Hoop House in the first place,” Crothers said. “Then I fell down the rabbit hole of realizing it’s such a complex problem; it’s related to seeds, to income inequality and housing inequality and so many things. There’s so much to unpack. Seed saving has its own complexity, but for me, it’s been an element of food justice to focus on that has helped me learn more about the bigger picture.”

“The way I approach and understand food sovereignty and food justice are always changing,” Blanchard said. “I don’t know how you would do this work without having that be the forefront of what you’re thinking about and considering all the time.”

Humanities Grant Boosts Experiential Learning Project

Posted on January 26, 2022March 21, 2022

Portrait of Humanities Project Leader Shanna Salinas — Associate Professor of English Shanna Salinas

A major grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will provide new learning opportunities for Kalamazoo College students and faculty seeking solutions to societal problems and promote the critical role of the humanities in social justice work.

The $1.297 million three-year grant will provide funding for the College’s Humanities Integrated Locational Learning (HILL) project, which is building student coursework rooted in K’s commitment to experiential learning and social justice to address issues such as racism, border policing, economic inequities, homelessness and global warming, while examining history, how humans share land, and the dislocations that bring people to a communal space.

The project was envisioned by Associate Professor of English Shanna Salinas (Co-PI), Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Assistant Professor of Sociology Francisco Villegas (Co-PI) and Professor of English Bruce Mills. HILL will invite K faculty to build curricula that foreground how power structures produce destabilizing dynamics and the collective response(s) of affected communities through the development of course materials, collaborative faculty-student research and community engagement, the development of program assessments and the sharing of oral histories tied to partnering projects and organizations.

Portrait of Humanities Project Leader Francisco Villegas — Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Assistant Professor of
Sociology Francisco Villegas

Each class within the curriculum will fit into one of two cluster programs: the first focuses on hubs outside of Kalamazoo such as New Orleans, St. Louis and San Diego; the second looks within Kalamazoo with themes relevant to the city such as prison reform and abolition, and migrants and refugees. Both cluster programs will contribute to a digital humanities initiative for publishing, archiving and assessing coursework and partnerships. Each will provide opportunities for immersing students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences.

Salinas and Villegas will co-direct the HILL initiative. The three sites outside Kalamazoo—New Orleans, St. Louis and San Diego—were chosen for their current or historical dispersion of people from their homeland, as well as dislocated communities with strong histories of social justice movements. About 15 to 20 students at a time will go to those cities to further their experiential learning. Salinas added that faculty and students will first put in research and legwork related to their collaborative partnerships with a year of concentrated work. Then, by about December 2022, they will be ready to conduct in-person learning, first in New Orleans.

Portrait of Bruce Mills — Professor of English Bruce Mills

In addition to co-directing the project, Salinas will also serve as the curriculum coordinator for New Orleans. “We hope that students will develop an understanding of place as a living entity with a storied history and people who are a part of that location,” Salinas said. “We want students to learn what it means to be a part of a particular place. We want them to contend with histories, and meet the residents and people who inhabit the spaces we study with a real sense of generosity and purpose. We want to change students’ understanding about how they approach space and operate within it.”

Villegas plans to build on his strong connections within Kalamazoo County in leading the cluster focused on issues inside Kalamazoo. As a member of an exploratory taskforce (and now advisory board chair), he helped Kalamazoo County launch a community ID program in 2018, allowing residents, including those otherwise unable to get a state ID, to obtain a county ID.

“I think the grant speaks to the Mellon Foundation seeing promise in the kind of work we are imagining,” Villegas said. “It’s encouraging that they are willing to invest so greatly in such a project. They’re also recognizing the ethics of the project. They’re trusting that we’re going to engage with cities, including our home city, with a sense of respect and with a recognition of furthering community agendas already in place rather than imposing our understandings to other spaces. Most importantly, we’re invested in thinking about how students can consider the humanities in these projects as a way of producing nuanced understandings toward addressing very big problems.”

Mills will lead the digital humanities portion of the initiative. He noted that one measure of success for participating faculty will be how HILL shows the enduring dimensions of its partnerships with the digital project playing a large role.

“When you create classes, writing projects, oral histories or collaborate on community projects, these efforts often get lost when they just go into a file or a paper or are not passed along in local memory,” Mills said. “The digital humanities hub is an essential part of this initiative because faculty, students and city partners will have a site for a collective work to be published or presented. Community members will have access to it. That means the work being done will not disappear.”

Beau Bothwell tenure — Associate Professor of Music
Beau Bothwell

Portrait of Esplencia Baptiste — Associate Professor of
Anthropology and Sociology
Espelencia Baptiste

Portrait of Christine Hahn — Professor of Art and Art History
Christine Hahn

In addition to Salinas, Villegas and Mills, Associate Professor of Music Beau Bothwell and Professor of Art and Art History Christine Hahn will be curriculum coordinators for St. Louis and San Diego respectively. The first four courses that will be offered in the HILL project are Advanced Literary Studies (Salinas, English); Missionaries to Pilgrims: Diasporic Returns (Associate Professor Espelencia Baptiste, Anthropology and Sociology); The World Through New Orleans (Bothwell, Music); and Architecture Urbanism Identity (Hahn, Art and Art History).

The Mellon Foundation’s grant to K is one of 12 being issued to liberal arts colleges as a part of the organization’s Humanities for All Times initiative, which was created to support curriculum that demonstrates real-world applications to social justice pursuits and objectives.

“Kalamazoo College’s commitment to social justice is most profoundly realized through students’ opportunities to connect the theoretical with hands-on work happening in our communities,” Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said. “We’re grateful for the Mellon Foundation’s generous support, which will enable us to build on our foundation of experiential education and demonstrate to our students how the humanities have a practical role in fostering positive social change.”

The Mellon Foundation notes that humanities thought and scholarship efforts influence developments in the social world. However, there’s been a sharp decline in undergraduate humanities study and degree recipients nationwide over the past decade despite students’ marked interest in social justice issues. The initiative targets higher student participation in the humanities and social justice while building their skills in diagnosing cultural conditions that impede a just and equitable society.

“The Humanities for All Times initiative underscores that it’s not only critical to show students that the humanities improve the quality of their everyday lives, but also that they are a crucial tool in efforts to bring about meaningful progressive change in the world,” said Phillip Brian Harper, the Mellon Foundation’s higher learning program director. “We are thrilled to support this work at liberal arts colleges across the country. Given their unequivocal commitment to humanities-based knowledge, and their close ties to the local communities in which such knowledge can be put to immediate productive use, we know that these schools are perfectly positioned to take on this important work.”

K Honors 10 Faculty Members as Endowed Chairs

Posted on November 10, 2021March 21, 2022

Kalamazoo College has appointed 10 faculty members as endowed chairs, recognizing their achievements as professors. Endowed chairs are positions funded through the annual earnings from an endowed gift or gifts to the College. The honor reflects the value donors attribute to the excellent teaching and mentorship that occurs at K and how much donors want to see that excellence continue.

The honorees are:

Francisco Villegas, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership junior chair;
Leihua Weng, the most senior faculty member in Chinese;
Cyndy Garcia-Weyandt, an endowed chair in critical ethnic studies;
Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada, the Marlene Crandall Francis Endowed Chair in the Humanities;
Kathryn Sederberg, the Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Endowed Chair;
Regina Stevens-Truss, the Dorothy H. Heyl Senior Endowed Chair in Chemistry;
Blakely Tresca, the Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science;
Amy Elman, the William Weber Endowed Chair in Social Science;
Autumn Hostetter, the Kurt D. Kaufman Endowed Chair; and
Richard Koenig, the Genevieve U. Gilmore Endowed Chair in Art.

Francisco Villegas

Villegas, an assistant professor of sociology at K, was a sociology lecturer at the University of Toronto Scarborough from 2014 to 2016 before arriving in Kalamazoo.

Villegas specializes in the topics of immigration, race, citizenship, deportability and illegalization. He has a doctorate in sociology in education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, a master’s degree in Mexican American studies from San Jose University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and social behavior from the University of California Irvine.

Kalamazoo County launched a community ID program in 2018, allowing residents to obtain it, including those otherwise unable to get a state ID, with Villegas serving as the ID advisory board chair. At this point, more than 3,000 residents have obtained one.

Leihua Weng

Weng, an assistant professor of Chinese language and literature, has taught at K beginning Chinese and advanced Chinese, as well as different content courses in English, such as women in China, urban China and Chinese films.

Weng’s research interest includes (trans-)nationalism and globalization in literature and films, traditions and modernity, and postmodern literary theories. She received her Ph.D. in comparative literature at the University of South Carolina, a Master of Arts at Peking University, and a Bachelor of Arts at Zhejiang University. She taught at Sarah Lawrence College and Pacific Lutheran University before she came to K.

Cyndy Garcia-Weyandt

García-Weyandt, an assistant professor of critical ethnic studies, has taught courses at K in environmental studies such as Body, Land and Labor; and Plant Communication Kinship, as well as courses in critical ethnic studies such as Argument with the Given, a writing seminar exploring dreams, storytelling, poetry, art activism, memoir, and personal narratives as sources of knowledge and social change. She is coordinator and co-founder of Proyecto Taniuki (“Our Language Project”), a community-based project in Zitakua, Mexico.

In the Taniuki, she collaborates with urban indigenous communities in language revitalization efforts. Her research areas include indigenous knowledge systems, land pedagogy, urban indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous art and performances, and ontology. García-Weyandt’s ancestral homeland is in San Juan Sayultepec Nochixtlán, Oaxaca, México. She is a poeta, an immigrant, a first-generation college student, and former community college transfer student. She has a Ph.D. and master’s degree in culture and performance, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, all from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada

Maldonado-Estrada, an assistant professor of religion, is the author of Lifeblood of the Parish: Men and Catholic Devotion in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, an ethnography about masculinity and men’s devotional lives in a gentrified neighborhood in New York City. She teaches classes at K on religion and masculinity, urban religion, Catholics in the Americas and the religions of Latin America.

Outside K, Maldonado-Estrada is a co-chair of the Men and Masculinities Unit at the American Academy of Religion and is an editor of Material Religion: The Journal of Art, Objects, and Belief. She also was chosen for the 2020-2022 cohort of Young Scholars in American Religion at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis’ Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture.

Earlier this year, Sacred Writes—a network of religion scholars committed to helping a broad global audience understand the significance of their work—selected Maldonado-Estrada to be one of 24 scholars from around the world receiving a Public Scholarship on Religion for 2021. Maldonado-Estrada received her doctorate in religion from Princeton University and her bachelor’s degree in sociology and religion from Vassar College.

cMUMMA Academic Rigor GERMAN Sederberg (prof) 2018 lo 7186.JPG

Kathryn Sederberg

Sederberg, a co-chair in the Department of German Studies, will be honored in a virtual ceremony November 20 by the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) as one of five national recipients of the Goethe‐Institut/AATG Certificate of Merit. The honor recognizes her achievements in furthering the teaching of German in the U.S. through creative activities, innovative curriculum, successful course design and significant contributions to the profession.

Sederberg teaches beginning, intermediate and advanced German as well as Contemporary German Culture and the senior seminars on varying topics. She holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Regina Stevens-Truss

Stevens-Truss, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has taught at Kalamazoo College since 2000. She teaches Chemical Reactivity, Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry and Infection: Global Health and Social Justice.

Research in her lab focuses testing a variety of compounds (peptides and small molecules) for antimicrobial activity. She is also the current director of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inclusive Excellence grant awarded to the College’s science division in 2018.

Stevens-Truss earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Toledo. She held two fellowships at the University of Michigan between 1993 and 1999, one of which was a lectureship in medicinal chemistry.

Blakely Tresca

Tresca, an assistant professor of chemistry, has been at K since 2018. He’s a supermolecular chemist with additional research interests in organic chemistry. He co-leads the College’s annual Kalamazoo American Chemical Society networking event, allowing students to discuss chemistry careers with industry professionals.

Tresca holds a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in the Molecular Foundry.

Amy Elman

Elman, a professor of political science, has taught a variety of courses within the political science, women’s studies and Jewish studies departments. During her tenure at K, she has also been a visiting professor at Haifa University in Israel, Harvard University, SUNY Potsdam, Middlebury College, Uppsala University in Sweden and New York University.

Elman has received two Fulbright grants, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a grant from the Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism at Hebrew University. She has written three books: The European Union, Antisemitism and the Politics of Denial (2014); Sexual Equality in an Integrated Europe (2007); and Sexual Subordination and State Intervention: Comparing Sweden and the United States (1996). She also edited Sexual Politics and the European Union: The New Feminist Challenge (1996). She has a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from New York University.

Autumn Hostetter

Hostetter, a professor of psychology, has expertise in cognitive psychology—specifically, the psychology of language and spatial cognition. She has taught classes at K including Cognition, Experimental Research Methods, the Psychology of Language and Mind, and the first year seminar Harry Potter Goes to College.

She maintains an active research lab on campus exploring how we use our bodies to help us think and communicate. She provides many opportunities for Kalamazoo College students to participate in research, both as participants and as research assistants. Some recent publications have appeared in journals such as the Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, Psychological Research, the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Teaching of Psychology, and the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. Many of her publications feature Kalamazoo College students and alumni as co-authors. Hostetter earned a bachelor’s degree from Berry College and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Richard Koenig

Koenig began teaching art and photography courses such as Digital Photography, Analog Photography, Alternative Photographic Processes and several seminars at K in 1998.

His fine art work, Photographic Prevarications, was shown in six one-person exhibits in as many years (from 2007 to 2012). Koenig’s long-term documentary project Contemporary Views Along the First Transcontinental Railroad spawned four articles (between 2014 and 2019). In 2020, Koenig collaborated with four others on a multi-media exhibit, Hoosier Lifelines: Environmental and Social Change Along the Monon, 1847-2020, which was shown this year at the Grunwald Gallery of Art at Indiana University and the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana.

Koenig received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute and his Master of Fine Arts from Indiana University.

School Psychologists Group Honors K Alumna

Posted on August 27, 2021August 15, 2022

School Psychologists Group Honors Zoe Barnes — Zoe Barnes ’18 is being honored by
the National Association for School Psychologists.

A Kalamazoo College alumna, inspired by her experiences in diversity at K, has earned a special honor from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

Zoe Barnes ’18, now a graduate student at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE), has received the 2021 Student Leader Champion Award for her efforts in advancing social justice throughout her university, in the community and through her chosen profession.

“I’m very excited because it’s a wonderful honor,” Barnes said. “Social justice is a buzzword to some, but it’s a constant, ongoing process of challenging what we know and checking our own biases. In school psychology, social justice is important because if you look at a school and see who the teachers and staff are, you will often see groups dominated by white staff members. They don’t reflect the increasing diversity of students, especially in public schools. Social justice can help us challenge the status quo.”

Several students at SIUE, including Barnes, expressed their interest in social justice to faculty last summer. The professors sensed an opportunity to connect them all, leading to the formation of the Graduate Students for Social Justice, a group that talked about injustices on campus and developed ideas for addressing social justice within their respective programs.

Barnes is a member of that group and also recently served as the social justice chair of the Graduate Organization for Child and Adolescent Psychology Students (GOCAPS) at SIUE. Her service led a faculty member to nominate Barnes for the NASP honors.

Barnes said the K community helped her develop an interest in diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice after she arrived from a predominantly white community in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At that point, Barnes started seeing more peers who looked like her. Students of color provided an energizing space where she could discuss the discrimination and microaggressions she experienced on campus with others who could relate.

“Being at K, and just being surrounded by people who look like me and had similar experiences really helped me,” Barnes said. “Talking helped put a name to the discomfort.”

Barnes double majored in Spanish and psychology and minored in anthropology-sociology at K. After a gap year, Barnes looked for help in determining her career path. At that point, she talked with Suzie Gonzalez ’83, spouse of K President Jorge G. Gonzalez.

“I went down this route to school psychology because of Suzie Gonzalez,” Barnes said. “I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my life when I met up with her. She was a school psychologist and she definitely inspired me.”

Barnes earned her master’s degree through SIUE in December and now is seeking a clinical child and school psychology specialist degree with an expected graduation date of May 2022. She will be honored at NASP’s 2022 annual convention in February.

“I would love to make an impact however I can as a school psychologist,” Barnes said. “When I picture my career, I want to be firmly planted in a school district. I want to walk down the halls and recognize all the students and know their educational history. Early intervention is a huge part of school psychology and I would love to support them from the very beginning.”

Honors Convocation Lauds Students’ Achievements

Posted on November 6, 2020March 21, 2022

More than 250 students were recognized Friday during the annual Honors Day Convocation for excellence in academics and leadership. Students were recognized in six divisions: Fine Arts, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized, as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College awards. Student athletes and teams who won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards also were honored. The students receiving Honors Day awards or recognition are listed below. Watch the recorded event at our website.

FINE ARTS DIVISION

Brian Gougeon Prize in Art

Awarded to a sophomore student who, during his or her first year, exhibited outstanding achievement and potential in art.

Elena Basso
Nicole Taylor
Camryn Zdziarski-West

Margaret Upton Prize in Music

Provided by the Women’s Council of Kalamazoo College and awarded each year to a student designated by the Music Department Faculty as having made significant achievement in music.

Katherine Miller-Purrenhage

Cooper Award

For a junior or senior showing excellence in a piece of creative work in a Theatre Arts class: film, acting, design, stagecraft, puppetry or speech.

Jonathan Townley

Sherwood Prize

Given for the best oral presentation in a speech-oriented class.

Sedona Coleman
Cameo Green

Theatre Arts First-Year Student Award

Given to a sophomore for outstanding departmental efforts during the first year.

Milan Levy

MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES DIVISION

LeGrand Copley Prize in French

Awarded to the sophomore who as a first-year student demonstrated the greatest achievement in French.

Tristan Fuller
Claire Kvande

Hardy Fuchs Award

Given for excellence in first-year German.

Ben Flotemersch
Elizabeth Wang

Margo Light Award

Given for excellence in second-or third-year German.

Ellie Lotterman
Noah Prentice

Romance Languages Department Prize in Spanish

Awarded for excellence in the first year in Spanish.

Emma Sidor
MiaFlora Tucci

Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin

Awarded to an outstanding student of the language of the ancient Romans.

Sydney Patton

Provost’s Prize in Classics

Awarded to that student who writes the best essay on a classical subject.

Jane Delmonico

Classics Department Prize in Greek

Awarded to the outstanding student of the language of classical Greece.

Nick Wilson

HUMANITIES DIVISION

Allen Prize in English

Given for the best essay written by a member of the first-year class.

Shanon Brown

John B. Wickstrom Prize in History

Awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in history.

Helen Edwards
Sam Kendrick

Department of Philosophy Prize

Awarded for excellence in any year’s work in philosophy.

Julia Bienstock
Emma Fergusson
Luke Richert
Teague Tompkins

L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy

Awarded to a sophomore who in the first year shows the greatest promise for continuing studies in philosophy.

Garret Hanson
Clarice Ray
Mikayla Youngman

NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION

Department of Chemistry Prize

Awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in chemistry.

Abby Barnum
Marissa Dolorfino
Elizabeth Wang

First-Year Chemistry Award

Awarded to a sophomore student who, during the first year, demonstrated great achievement in chemistry.

Thomas Buffin
Mallory Dolorfino
MiaFlora Tucci

Lemuel F. Smith Award

Given to a student majoring in chemistry pursuing the American Chemical Society approved curriculum and having at the end of the junior year the highest average standing in courses taken in chemistry, physics and mathematics.

Jennalise Ellis

Computer Science Prize

Awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in computer science.

Eleanor Carr
Vien Hang
Aleksandr Molchagin
Erin Murphy
William Shaw
Hanis Sommerville

First-Year Mathematics Award

Given annually to the sophomore student who, during the first year, demonstrated the greatest achievement in mathematics.

Tolkien Bagchi

Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics

Awarded to a member of the junior class for excellence in the work of the first two years in mathematics.

Joseph Jung
Tommy Saxton
Carter Wade

Cooper Prize in Physics

Given for excellence in the first year’s work in physics.

Oliver Tye
Blue Truong

SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION

Departmental Prize in Anthropology and Sociology

Awarded for excellence during the first and/or second year’s work.

Milan Levy
Milagros Robelo
Aija Turner

Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics

Awarded annually to a student who has done outstanding work in the Department of Economics and Business during the sophomore year.

Kayla Carlson
Mihail Naskovski
Emily Tenniswood

William G. Howard Memorial Prize

Awarded for excellence in any year’s work in economics.

Nicklas Klepser
Nathan Micallef
Sage Ringsmuth
Andrew Sheckell

Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business

Awarded annually to a student who has done outstanding work in the Department of Economics and Business during the sophomore year.

Lucas Kastran
Cade Thune
Alex Wallace

Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize

Awarded for excellence in the first year’s courses in the Department of Economics and Business.

Zoe Gurney

William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Political Science

Awarded for excellence in any year’s work in political science.

Elisabeth Kuras

Department of Psychology First-Year Student Prize

Awarded for excellence in the first-year student’s work in psychology.

Violet Crampton
Sarah Densham

PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION

Division of Physical Education Prize

Awarded to those students who as first-year students best combined leadership and scholarship in promoting athletics, physical education and recreation.

Sam Ankley
Alexis Petty

Maggie Wardle Prize

Awarded to that sophomore woman whose activities at the College reflect the values that Maggie Wardle demonstrated in her own life. The recipient will show a breadth of involvement in the College through her commitment to athletics and to the social sciences and/or community service.

Camille Misra

COLLEGE AWARDS

Henry and Inez Brown Prize

Denise Jackson
Heather Muir
James Totten
Vanessa Vigier

Heyl Scholars (Class of 2024)

Lukas Bolton
Madeleine Coffman
Emily Haigh
Bijou Hoehle
Xavier Silva
Jordyn Wilson

Posse Scholars (Class of 2024)

Nicholas Davis
Nathan Garcia
Zy’ere Hollis
Tytiana Jones
Aaron Martinez
Udochi Okorie
Joshua Pamintuan
Anthony Peraza
Samantha Rodriguez
Rina Talaba

National Merit Scholars (Class of 2024)

Carter Wade

Voynovich Scholars
Awarded annually to a student who, in the judgment of the faculty, submits the most creative essay on the year’s topic.

Marina Bayma-Meyer
Yung Seo Lee

Alpha Lamda Delta

Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year. The Kalamazoo College chapter was installed on March 5, 1942.

Jez Abella
Hashim Akhtar
Cameron Arens
Tolkien Bagchi
Elena Basso
Cassandra Bergen
Thomas Buffin
Natalie Call
John Carlson
Mary Margaret Cashman
Cassidy Chapman
Nicholas Cohee
Violet T. Crampton
Lauren Crossman
Sarah Densham
Charles Pasquale DiMagno
Mallory Dolorfino
Marissa Dolorfino
Katia Duoibes
Hannah Durant
Carter Eisenbach
Benjamin Flotemersch
Caelan Frazier
Nathaniel Harris Fuller
Tristan Fuller
Grace Garver
Zoe Gurney
Yoichi Haga
Vien Hang
Garrett Hanson
Lucy Hart
Katherine Haywood
Marshall Holley
Audrey Huizenga
Ian Becks Hurley
Jonathan Jiang
Emily Robin Kaneko Dudd
Benjamin Tyler Keith
Isabella Grace Kirchgessner
Sofia Rose Klein
Lena Thompson Klemm
Rhys Koellmann
Elisabeth Kuras
Caroline Lamb
Am Phuong Le
Dillon Lee
Ginamarie Lester
Milan Levy
Thomas Lichtenberg
Cassandra Linnertz
Alvaro J. Lopez Gutierrez
Kanase J. Matsuzaki
Camille Misra
Aleksandr V. Molchagin
Samantha Moss
Arein D. Motan
Matthew Mueller
Erin Murphy
Maya Nathwani
William Naviaux
Sudhanva Neti
Stefan Louis Nielsen
Keigo Nomura
Rohan Nuthalapati
Jenna Clare Paterob
Sheyla Yasmin Pichal
Harrison Poeszat
Noah Prentice
Isabelle G. Ragan
Abby L. Rawlings
Katherine Rock
Skyler Rogers
Gi Salvatierra
Hannia Queren Sanchez-Alvarado
Madeline Gehl Schroeder
William Shaw
Hanis Sommerville
Alex M Stolberg
Kaleb Sydloski
Clara Margaret Szakas
Claire Tallio
Nicole Taylor
Abhishek Thakur
Kaia Thomas
Blue Truong
Oliver Tye
Duurenbayar Ulziiduuren
Chilotam Christopher Urama
Elizabeth G. Wang
Margaret L. Wedge
Ryley Kay White
Katelyn Williams
Skai Williams
Leah Wolfgang
Camryn Zdziarski-West
Sophie Zhuang
Nathaniel Zona

Enlightened Leadership Awards

Robert Barnard
Irie Browne
Rebecca Chan
Nolan Devine
Daniel Fahle
Grace Hancock
Julia Leet
Lia Schroeder
Matthew Swarthout
Jonathan Townley
Ethan Tuck
Ian Yi

MIAA Award

These teams earned the 2019-2020 MIAA Team GPA Award for achieving a 3.3 or better grade-point average for the entire academic year:

Men’s Baseball
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Golf
Women’s Golf
Men’s Lacrosse
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Softball
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Women’s Volleyball

MIAA Academic Honor Roll
Student Athletes 2019-2020

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association each year honors students at MIAA member colleges who achieve in the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average for the entire academic year.

Max Ambs
Georgie Andrews
Grant Anger
Hunter Angileri
Samuel Ankley
Julia Bachmann
Travis Barclay
Elena Basso
Lillian Baumann
Alex Bowden
Austin Bresnahan
Jack Brockhaus
Pierce Burke
Annika Canavero
Raekwon Castelow
Claire Cebelak
Walker Chung
Nicholas Cohee
Thomas Cook
Noah Coplan
Rachel Cornell
Chase Coselman
John Crane
Cameron Crothers
Gwendolyn Davis
Riley Davis
Emmelyn DeConinck
Robert Dennerll
Sarah Densham
Eva DeYoung
Mallory Dolorfino
Marissa Dolorfino
Amanda Dow
Austin Duff
Alex Dupree
Hannah Durant
Thomas Fales
Dugan Fife
Gwendolyn Flatland
Payton Fleming
Matthew Ford
Clifton Foster
Luke Fountain
Sierra Fraser
Rachael Gallap
Brendan Gausselin
Katie Gierlach
Anthony Giovanni
Madison Goodman
Mya Gough
Matthew Gu
Rebekah Halley
Grace Hancock
Laura Hanselman
Lucy Hart
Katherine Haywood
Zachary Heimbuch
Alyssa Heitkamp
Daniel Henry
McKenna Hepler
Sam Hoag
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Matthew Howrey
Tre Humes
Aidan Hurley
Amiee Hutton
Benjamin Hyndman
Samantha Jacobsen
Jonathan Jiang
Jaylin Jones
Jackson Jones
Amani Karim
Lucas Kastran
Maria Katrantzi
Greg Kearns
Ben Keith
Will Keller
Jackson Kelly
David Kent
Hannah Kerns
Meghan Killmaster
Dahwi Kim
Alaina Kirschman
Lena Klemm
Allison Klinger
Ella Knight
Nicholas Kraeuter
Brandon Kramer
Matthew Krinock
John Kunec
Nicholas Lang
Juanita Ledesma
Jack Leisenring
Kathryn LeVasseur
Marissa Lewinski
Rosella LoChirco
Rachel Madar
MacKenzy Maddock
Deven Mahanti
Lauren Marshall
Samuel Matthews
Courtney McGinnis
Dylan McGorsik
Keelin McManus
Benjamin Meschke
Tytus Metzler
Nathan Micallef
Camille Misra
DeShawn Moore
Dominic Moore
Maxo Moran
Samantha Moss
Elizabeth Munoz
Alexis Nesbitt
Nikoli Nickson
Madeline Odom
Abigail O’Keefe
Marianna Olson
Michael Orwin
Ella Palacios
Cayla Patterson
Hellen Pelak
Calder Pellerin
Scott Peters
Eve Petrie
Nicole Pierece
Noah Piercy
Jared Pittman
Harrison Poeszat
Zachary Prystash
Erin Radermacher
Harrison Ramsey
Zachary Ray
Jordan Reichenbach
Benjamin Reiter
Ashley Rill
Molly Roberts
Katherine Rock
Lily Rogowski
Isabelle Russo
Justin Schodowski
Michael Schwartz
Darby Scott
Andrew Sheckell
Josephine Sibley
Elizabeth Silber
Nathan Silverman
Jack Smith
Katherine Stewart
Abby Stewart
Grant Stille
Alexander Stockewell
Alex Stolberg
Hayden Strobel
Thomas Sylvester
Jacob Sypniewski
Clara Szakas
Nina Szalkiewicz
Jack Tagget
Leah Tardiff
Emily Tenniswood
Cade Thune
Kaytlyn Tidey
Mary Trimble
Matt Turton
Oliver Tye
Damian Valdes
Madison Vallan
Naomi Verne
Alex Wallace
Maija Weaver
Margaret Wedge
Tanner White
Megan Williams
Madalyn Winarski
Hannah Wolfe
Brandon Wright
Tony Yazbeck
Julie Zabik
Christian Zeitvogel
Sophie Zhuang