events

Alumna, Theatre Company Bring ‘Will You Miss Me?’ to K

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A Detroit-based experimental theatre company, co-directed by Kalamazoo College alumna Liza Bielby ’02, will present its newest project, a critically acclaimed play billed as a funeral for whiteness, this month in the Olmsted Room at Mandelle Hall. 

Will You Miss Me? layers traditional Appalachian songs with family secrets, ancient Welsh mythology, brutal comedy, and rituals—both inherited and invented—to push audiences to examine the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and grieve the selves that have been forgotten.  

When a haunting song echoes, a weary traveler is drawn into a funeral service for one of many white workers who moved from Appalachia to Detroit in the past century. But as the funeral unfolds, the mourners are confronted by their pasts, their ancestors, and helpful and malicious spirits. Their confusion forces them to question whether they even knew the man they’re mourning and whether he existed at all. 

The Hinterlands troupe will provide two performances of Will You Miss Me? at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, September 28, and 2 p.m. Sunday, September 29. Attendees will be admitted free thanks to sponsorships from the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership; K’s philosophy, critical ethnic studies, theatre and music departments; and the Office of Student Involvement. No reservations are necessary, but seating will be limited. 

Bielby is a former Fulbright Scholar; a student of the Sichuan Chuanju Academy, now Sichuan Vocational College of Art; a graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre; a board member of the Bangla School of Music; and a professor of movement at Wayne State University’s Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance. Bielby, Jenna Kirk, Richard Newman and Maddy Rager are performers in the show with direction from Bielby and Newman. Kirk and Bielby serve as scenic designers. Livia Chesley—who acted in the original performance—designed the show’s masks and puppets with assistance from Monty Eztcorn. 

Will You Miss Me? premiered in 2022 with outdoor versions of the piece performed at Spread Art in Detroit; Tympanum in Warren, Michigan; and Double Edge Theatre in Ashfield, Massachusetts. In 2023, the piece was presented at Play House in Detroit and at Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, through Goodyear Arts with lecture-performance versions shown at the University of Michigan Flint and Teatro Libre in Bogotá, Colombia. 

“It hit me on a body level, a gut level, and it sent me into a kind of reverie that I haven’t felt from a piece in a long time,” said Zak Rose of Slate Magazine. “I was haunted by it, not just on my drive home, but I woke up the next day thinking about it. I kept talking about it and l couldn’t get back to my life before buying a ticket to go see it again the following week.” 

For more information on Will You Miss Me? and the Hinterlands company, visit thehinterlands.org. 

Will You Miss Me at Double Edge 2, Photo by Milena Dabova
 Actors Richard Newman, Livia Chesley, Jenna Kirk as Remy and Liza Bielby ’02 perform a remixed European bear ritual midway through “Will You Miss Me?” Photo by Milena Dabova.
Will You Miss Me at Spread Art 2 Photo by Paul Biundo
Kirk and Newman take on ancient spirits as a funeral dissolves into a forgotten ritual in “Will You Miss Me?” Photo by Paul Biundo.
Will You Miss Me at Tympanum, film still by Adam Sekuler
Newman, Kirk and Bielby perform in “Will You Miss Me?” Film still by Adam Sekuler.

Celebrate the Class of 2024 at Commencement

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Congratulations to the class of 2024! This year’s Commencement is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday, June 16, on the campus Quad. Here’s what you need to know about the weekend’s events surrounding Kalamazoo College Commencement and the ceremony itself. 

Rehearsal

Seniors are required to attend Commencement rehearsal at 2 p.m. Thursday at Dalton Theatre. Faculty and staff will provide graduating seniors with pertinent information, including what to do during an intricate line-up and processional. Students who need to be excused from rehearsal should contact the Office of Alumni Engagement in advance at alumni@kzoo.edu. There will be a senior picnic on the Dewing Hall patio after the rehearsal. 

Parking This Weekend

For your convenience, most of the faculty, staff and student parking lots will be open to everyone. Guests are also invited to use street parking on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods. See the parking information page for details related to street detours, graduate and accessible drop-off, campus parking lots, street parking, campus maps and more.

Class of 2024 Commencement
The Office of Alumni Engagement maintains a website that offers more details regarding Commencement, including a list of frequently asked questions, dining and lodging information, and ceremony accommodations for the class of 2024. For more information, visit the site at commencement.kzoo.edu.

Saturday Events

Receptions for individual departments help families meet professors and see individual projects from selected seniors. Consult the department schedules for information on the time and location for each event. The day’s remaining events—including the Senior Awards Program, the Senior Music Recital and the Baccalaureate—will take place at Stetson Chapel.

Seniors receiving awards will get an invitation from the Provost’s Office after finals to attend the Senior Awards Program, which begins at 2:30 p.m. Contact the Office of the Provost by email if you have questions about the event. The Senior Music Recital is a public concert at 4:30 p.m. featuring performances by graduating seniors who have been involved in music. All are welcome to attend. The Baccalaureate is a public non-religious service with student and faculty speakers and musical performances beginning at 8 p.m.

Livestreams for the Senior Awards Program, Senior Music Recital and Baccalaureate will be available for those unable to attend. An information desk will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the atrium at Hicks Student Center. The College’s bookstore will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Commencement Sunday

Seniors unable to attend the ceremony should inform the Office of the Registrar as soon as possible at regist@kzoo.edu. All participating seniors should meet at Dalton Theatre in their cap and gown no later than 9:30 a.m. Although Commencement will take place outside regardless of weather conditions, the ceremony could be delayed by up to three hours if there is heavy rain or severe weather. Communication about a delay would be sent through a K-Alert, social media and email no later than 8 a.m. Sunday. The ceremony is scheduled to last about two and a half hours.

There are no tickets or rain tickets required for the ceremony, and there is no limit to the number of guests each senior can invite to campus. Chairs will be available to accommodate family and friends on the Quad on a first-come, first-served basis. Open seating will also be available on the grass of the Upper Quad, where guests can sit in lawn chairs and blankets to view the ceremony.

Guests with a mobility challenge can find answers to frequently asked questions on our accessibility information page. An information desk will be staffed from 8 to 10:30 a.m. in the atrium at Hicks Student Center. The College’s bookstore will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Commencement Speakers

The Commencement keynote speaker will be Tamea Evans ’93, a board-certified internal medicine physician and diabetologist, who will receive an honorary Doctor of Science from the College. The class speaker will be Nghĩa (Nolan) Nguyên Trịnh.

More Information 

The Office of Alumni Engagement maintains a website for the class of 2024 that offers more details regarding Commencement, including a list of frequently asked questions, dining and lodging information, and ceremony accommodations. For more information, visit the site at commencement.kzoo.edu. 

Jazz Band Seeks Packed House for Retiring Director

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Music Professor Tom Evans says he has dreamed of seeing a standing-room only crowd for a Kalamazoo College Jazz Band performance since he arrived at K in 1995. 

He’s never truly had that experience. But if there’s ever a time for a packed house, it’s this Friday, May 10, during Evans’ last concert as the Jazz Band’s director. The free and open-to-the-public performance—aptly themed That’s All, Folks—will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Dalton Theatre at Light Fine Arts. 

The concert will leave its audience Feeling Good, which conveniently is the final tune on the docket. Other selections on the program have special significance as they were among the first songs Evans played in his high school jazz band. They include Fever, Soulful Strut, Kickin’ It, Blues for Percy, Intro to Art, Out of the Doghouse, Hard Right and Puente Ariba. Attendees are encouraged to bring their dancing shoes to swing and sway in the aisles should the music inspire them to do so. 

“Finding the right words to express my gratitude to all my students and colleagues, from 1976 to the present, is difficult,” Evans said. “Quite simply, my career has afforded me some of the best experiences of my life. As such, I am sincerely grateful to all who have supported me along the way. And I am especially grateful for those with whom I’ve had the pleasure of making music. While my years of teaching and conducting were meaningful and momentous, I also hope that they were meaningful and momentous for those who shared my journey. How lucky I am to have had something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” 

For more information on this concert and music events, contact Susan Lawrence in the Department of Music at 269.337.7070 or Susan.Lawrence@kzoo.edu.   

Kalamazoo College Jazz Band Director Tom Evans at Dalton Theatre
Friday, May 10, will be the final Kalamazoo College Jazz Band performance for its director, Music Professor Tom Evans.

Public Lecture to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.

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Kalamazoo College will recognize and honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. at 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 17, at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership as a part of events during the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

The center and Student Development will host community organizer and Wayne State University Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Critical Race Studies Aja Denise Reynolds as she presents an open-to-the-public lecture, “Dr. King’s Legacy: Fighting for Justice at Home and Abroad.” The keynote is the reimagining of a love letter from King to young activists in celebration of their fight for a more just world. The event will celebrate him as a radical and phenomenal leader, organizing for freedom and justice. 

Reynolds received her doctorate in educational policy studies and social foundations at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her scholarly work has focused on her collaborative work in creating freedom spaces with Black girls through art, activism and healing as she explores the geographies of Black girlhood. Her dissertation is titled “Ain’t Nobody Checking for Us: Race, Fugitivity and the Urban Geographies of Black Girlhood.” She has more than 12 years of experience as an educator and youth worker and is a part of national education organizations, including the Education for Liberation Network, in which she organizes with teachers, youth, and community organizations to develop more equitable educational structures for marginalized youths. 

Those interested in attending should RSVP online.  

Martin Luther King Day speaker Aja Reynolds
Wayne State University Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Critical Race Studies Aja Denise Reynolds will present a public lecture, “Dr. King’s Legacy: Fighting for Justice at Home and Abroad,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 17, at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, 205 Monroe St.

Music Concerts Put Ensembles Center Stage

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Three concerts in the coming week will put Kalamazoo College students center stage along with a mix of community music partners. 

First, the Kalamazoo Philharmonia will hold a recital titled The 9th at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Dalton Theater at Light Fine Arts as a tribute to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. 

The performance will include a collaboration with the Kalamazoo Bach Festival Chorus and feature soloists Madelaine Lane, soprano; Carrie Ledet, mezzo-soprano; Jonathon Lovegrove, tenor; and Trent Broussard, baritone. Tickets are $2–$5. 

Led by Director Andrew Koehler, the Kalamazoo Philharmonia brings together students, faculty, and amateur and professional musicians. The group won The American Prize in Orchestral Programming—Maestro Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in 2014 and has produced several CDs. It also has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning. 

The Kalamazoo College Singers will have a free performance at 4 p.m. Sunday in the lobby at Light Fine Arts. The hour-long program, simply titled RE, will focus on restoring many of the things we lose in the struggles of daily life within themes of revival, restoration, reparation, resurrection, recirculation and respiration. 

Kalamazoo College Singers perform in a music concert at Light Fine Arts
The Kalamazoo College Singers will perform at 4 p.m. Sunday in the lobby at Light Fine Arts.

The 35-singer ensemble features students representing majors from music to chemistry. They’re from locales as close as Kalamazoo and as far as Colombia. Nature enthusiasts and environmentalists will appreciate the texts centered on Earth’s natural beauty. Other works link the power of nature with the beauty of languages such as Mandarin, drawing together similarities from across the globe. 

Sophomore Tyrus Parnell, a multi-talented musician and Presidential Student Ambassador, will direct the choir in a gospel piece. In solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, the singers will perform pieces by luminaries for queer rights such as the Indigo Girls and kd lang. The whole evening wraps up with a bit of Stevie Wonder and a setting of the spiritual Down by the Riverside. 

“If audiences have never experienced a concert in the lobby of the Light Fine Arts building, they are in for a treat, as the acoustics are superb for a cappella singing, as most of this concert is,” College Singers Director Chris Ludwa said.  

Finally, the International Percussion Ensemble will perform a free concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, in the Dalton Theatre. The group—which includes African drums, Japanese taiko drums and Caribbean steel drums—features individuals with varied musical backgrounds from K, nearby institutions, and the general community.  

For more information on these performances, contact Susan Lawrence in the Department of Music at 269.337.7070 or Susan.Lawrence@kzoo.edu.  

Linguistics Professor to Visit K

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The Department of Spanish Language and Literature and the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership are welcoming University of Illinois at Chicago Professor of Spanish Linguistics Kim Potowski for her lecture, “Apples and Oranges: Best Approaches in Working with Spanish Heritage Speakers.” 

The talk will be held on March 1 from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. in the Hicks Banquet Room at Kalamazoo College. 

Potowski began directing UIC’s Spanish Heritage Language Program in 2002, and she is the founding director of its summer study abroad program in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she spent a year as a Fulbright scholar. Her advocacy for the value of education in two languages for all U.S. children was the focus of her 2013 TEDx talk, “No child left monolingual.” 

Potowski has served as the editor of the journal Spanish in Context since 2009. She also has authored and edited more than a dozen books including El español de los Estados Unidos, Heritage Language Teaching: Research and Practice, Language and Identity in a Dual-Immersion School, and Conversaciones Escritas. 

Register for the in-person lecture online or plan to attend the livestream through Zoom. 

University of Illinois at Chicago Professor of Spanish Linguistics Kim Potowski
University of Illinois at Chicago Professor of Spanish Linguistics Kim Potowski will visit Kalamazoo College on March 1 and provide a lecture titled. “Apples and Oranges: Best Approaches in Working with Spanish Heritage Speakers.”

Kalamazoo College will host world premiere of WWII documentary by K alumnus John Davies ’75

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Heroes on Deck: World War II on Lake Michigan, a one-hour documentary film written, executive produced, and directed by Kalamazoo College alumnus John Davies ’75, will have its world premiere Tuesday February 16, at 7:00 p.m., in Dalton Theatre, Light Fine Arts Building (1140 Academy St.), on the K campus.

The film is free and open to the public through a partnership between Kalamazoo College, the Kalamazoo Film Society (www.kalfilmsociety.net), and the Air Zoo (www.airzoo.org) in Kalamazoo.

Heroes on Deck tells the story of a little known chapter of United States involvement in World War II that took place on Lake Michigan, not far from Kalamazoo. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy was desperate for pilots who could take off from aircraft carriers, strike the enemy, navigate their way back to the ship, and land safely – no easy task in the vast Pacific. With only seven carriers left in the entire U.S. fleet, none could be spared for training. In order to train thousands of young aviators, two old passenger ships were stripped of their upper decks and converted to “flattops,” Navy slang for aircraft carriers.

ill Murphy plane handler aboard USS Wolverine
Heroes on Deck: World War II on Lake Michigan has it’s world premiere Tuesday Feb. 16, 7pm in Dalton Theatre, Light Fine Arts Building, on the K campus.
John Davies ’’75 is writer, director and executive producer of Heroes on Deck: World War II on Lake Michigan.
Filmmaker John Davies ’75 will meet with K students and show his new film, Heroes on Deck, before taking the film to premieres in London, Washington, New York and other cities.

Between 1942 and the end of the war more than 15,000 pilots, including 41st President of the United States George H.W. Bush, practiced landings and takeoffs on the pitching decks of these “freshwater carriers” as they steamed up and down Lake Michigan. Eight successful takeoffs and landings, usually completed in a single day, were enough to guarantee a young pilot a trip to the Pacific.

Crashes, navigational errors, and “water landings” often led to serious injuries and occasionally death. As a result, more than 100 classic WWII fighters and dive-bombers sank to the bottom of the lake. For more than 30 years, with the U.S. Navy’s blessing, a team of skilled professionals has been identifying and recovering these forgotten warbirds, using deep-water divers, side-scan sonar, and Remote Operating Vehicles. More than 40 aircraft have been brought to the surface and a few have been restored to flying condition. Most are on display in museums and airports under the supervision of the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.

One of these airplanes – a Grumman Wildcat – has been fully restored and is on display at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, while another is currently undergoing restoration there. Artifacts from these planes will be on display at the February 16 film premiere at K. Filmmaker John Davies and Air Zoo restoration experts will be present to answer questions.

Narrated by legendary newsman Bill Kurtis, Heroes on Deck uses interviews with surviving pilots and crew members, declassified film and stills, underwater recovery footage, and computer generated recreations that bring to life this vital chapter of American history.

The Kalamazoo College premiere is the first of 10 special viewings that are planned before Memorial Day weekend in May when Heroes on Deck will premiere nationally on Public Television. After K, Davies takes the film to premieres in London (The Royal Aeronautical Society); Cardiff, Wales; Pensacola, Fla. (National Naval Aviation Museum); Chicago, Ill. (Navy Pier); Washington, D.C. (Navy Memorial); Palm Springs, Calif.; and New York City.

John Davies is an Emmy Award-winning Producer/Director who spent the first decade of his career at WTTW-PBS Chicago helping to create documentaries and national series (including Sneak Previews with renowned film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert). Moving to Los Angeles in the 1990s, John created series and specials for networks and cable channels including NBC, ABC, FOX, AMC, TRU-TV, VH-1, BRAVO, and Comedy Central. He’s also produced episodes of Biography for A&E, Intimate Portrait for LIFETIME and documentary specials for Showtime, COURT TV, and ESPN. His reality series, Run’s House, was an MTV hit and his feature length documentary, Phunny Business, (about Chicago’s first black owned comedy club) was hailed as “one of the best documentaries of 2012” by film critic Roger Ebert. John’s recent documentary, The 25,000 Mile Love Story, has won film festivals around the world and premiered on Public Television in fall 2015. He is currently developing Carson the Magnificent, a mini-series about the life of Johnny Carson.

Heroes on Deck spotlights a little known story of heroism performed on Lake Michigan off the coast of Chicago.
Heroes on Deck tells a little known story of heroism performed on Lake Michigan off the coast of Chicago during World War II.

This is the third time Davies has returned to campus in recent years to show one of his films and meet with K students and faculty in documentary film, media arts, and theater arts classes.

Economic Inequality and Political Power in America

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Martin Gilens
Martin Gilens

Martin Gilens will deliver the 2016 William Weber Lecture in Government and Society on January 25 at 8 p.m. in the Mandelle Hall Olmsted Room on the Kalamazoo College campus. The event is free and open to the public. Gilens is professor of politics at Princeton University, and the title of his lecture is “Economic Inequality and Political Power in America.” It is based on his recent book titled Affluence and Influence. Dr. Gilen’s research examines representation, public opinion and mass media as they relate to inequality and public policy. His work has been extensively reported in the media. “While his finding that the wealthiest minority in this country are the only ones who impact policy outcomes is not novel,” said Justin Berry, assistant professor of American politics at K, “the empirical evidence he provides for this common perception is overwhelming.” Gilens has held fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, and the Russell Sage Foundation. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he taught at Yale University and UCLA prior to joining the faculty at Princeton. He also wrote the book Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy. The William Weber Lecture in Government and Society was founded by alumnus William Weber, class of 1939. Past lecturers in the series have included David Broder, E.J. Dionne, Frances Fox Piven, Spencer Overton, Van Jones and Joan Mandelle, among others.

Kalamazoo College Commencement 2015 Will Be Held June 14 at 2:15 on the Quad

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Graduation caps are thrown in the air

NOTE: DUE TO RAIN, COMMENCEMENT IS CHANGED TO 2:15 OUTDOORS ON THE QUAD!

Kalamazoo College 2015 commencement will be held Sunday June 14, 2:15 p.m., on the campus Quad (1200 Academy St.). Approximately 330 K seniors will receive B.A. degrees.

Kalamazoo College commencement is free and open to the public. Parking will be in high demand, so allow extra time. The College sets up about 3,000 folding chairs on the Quad and guests are invited to bring a lawn chair or blanket to stretch out on the grass. In case of rain, Anderson Athletic Center (1015 Academy St.) is the alternate site. The gym can only accommodate the graduates and a few of their family members, as well as K administrators, trustees, and faculty members. K uses a special ticketing process for those seats.

Speakers include Kalamazoo College President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran, Board Vice-Chair S. Si Johnson ’78, Alumni Association Executive Board Chair Alexandra Foley Altman ’97, and senior class speaker Asia Liza Morales ’15.

The Kalamazoo College class of 2015 is one of the most diverse in the College’s history. About 33 percent of students came from states other than Michigan. Nearly 20 percent self-identify as American Indian, Asian, Black or African-American, Hispanic, or two or more races. Fourteen students identify as non-U.S. resident aliens and 32 countries overall are represented by class members.

David Finkel, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author of “The Good Soldiers” and “Thank You for Your Service,” will deliver the commencement address and receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the College. Finkel was the summer common reading author for the class of 2015 prior to their arrival as first-year students at the College in fall 2011. He visited the K campus during students’ orientation, giving a lecture and reading from “The Good Soldiers,” his bestselling account of a U.S. Army infantry unit during the Iraq War “surge.” Finkel won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for his case study of the United States government’s attempt to bring democracy to Yemen. Per K tradition, the summer common reading author returns to deliver the commencement address to the same class of students he met in 2011.

Attorney, author, and LGBTQ activist Urvashi Vaid, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the College on Sunday. Vaid is the president the Vaid Group, LLC, a consulting firm that works on ending inequality of all kinds. She is the former director of the Engaging Tradition Project at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School. Her most recent book is “Irresistible Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics.” She was executive director of the Arcus Foundation from 2005 to 2010 and was instrumental in creating the vision for what is now Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership.

Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu), founded in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the K-Plan that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, leadership development, and international and intercultural engagement.

Kalamazoo College does more in four years, so students can do more in a lifetime.