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Class: Is Civil Discourse Still Possible in Politics?

Posted on March 6, 2026March 6, 2026

Americans are struggling to talk across political divides, but a classroom at Kalamazoo College recently became a laboratory for civil discourse. Political Science Associate Professor Justin Berry led what he describes as the best class he’s had the privilege of teaching: a senior seminar on political polarization that challenged students not just to study the problem but to actively engage with it.

“I teach a lot of the bigger kinds of classes—intro classes—on Congress and the presidency,” Berry said. “This was my first opportunity to teach a seminar-oriented class, and I was excited about the chance to design something new. I picked a topic that I thought was pertinent to what they’ve learned over their time in political science. It’s a topic that’s particularly relevant to the democracy they’re participating in today.”

Berry designed the course to give students the tools and experiences they need to model what he calls civil disagreement. Over the term, students examined the forces driving political polarization in the United States, from widening divides among elected officials and the public to the ways media and social media reinforce differences. They analyzed the most recent election cycle using various sources, and through dialogue and interviews, they practiced ways to communicate across these differences.

“I wanted to give them the space and the tools to engage in difficult conversations,” he said. “I wanted them to fundamentally disagree on ideas, concepts and values, and yet do so in a constructive, civil way, which I think is absent from our politics today.”

Berry also noted the delicate balance between creating a sense of safety while fostering genuine disagreement in a course of this nature.

“I want to engender an environment that’s intellectually, politically and socially safe, but at the same time, I don’t want it to be so safe that people aren’t actually sharing their true beliefs,” he said. “If everybody’s feeling happy and comfortable, we’re probably not engaging in a real political discussion because politics is conflictual.”

The class was able to achieve that balance, Berry said.

“There was enough overlap, commonality and trust in one another for us to engage in a meaningful conversation on a weekly basis,” Berry said. “Yet there was also enough disagreement to lead to a meaningful exchange. A student would have a strong opinion, attitude or concept, and people would push back and give different perspectives. I heard students say time and again that in their discussions, they changed an attitude or an opinion toward something and I thought that was great. That’s real conversation.”

Political Science Associate Professor Justin Berry teaches his polarization and civil discourse students.

The Assignment That Changed Perspectives

The centerpiece of the course was an intentional challenge: students had to interview someone with drastically different political views and write about their conversation. For many students, this meant stepping far outside their comfort zones. What they discovered often surprised them.

Lyrica Gee ’26 spoke with her uncle in Florida, whose politics differed sharply from her father’s despite their similar upbringings.

“I had gone home with some of the questions that we’ve been asking in class,” she said. “I talked to my dad about it and heard some of his answers about the way he was raised by his parents and their ideological lenses. Then, going into that interview with his brother, who ended up with a totally different political perspective, it was interesting to see how such a similar background landed them in these different situations.”

Libby McFarlen ’26 emphasized the humanizing effect of the face-to-face conversation she had.

“It’s so much easier to see what people think and dismiss it when it’s online,” she said. “But when you’re actually speaking to someone face-to-face, it personalizes those opinions. You realize that your opinions about people who disagree with you are attached to a real person, not to a statistic or someone on the other side of a phone screen.”

Berry mentioned two outcomes from the project that were especially noteworthy to him.

“I had one student who interviewed her dad, and she valued the experience so much that she wants to do it with all of her family members and record the conversations to trace her family’s political story,” he said. “I also had some students who assumed those they interviewed had very different beliefs, only to find false polarization once they had the conversation. Sometimes our assumptions are just false, and these things that we think divide us are our own misperceptions.”

Two students talking in a polarization and civil discourse class — Reagan Woods ’26 (left) talks with Lyrica Gee ’26.

Student leads the class on polarization and civil discourse from a blackboard — Libby McFarlen ’26 leads a discussion.

Student-Led Learning Creates Community

For Reagan Woods ’26, the seminar did more than explore polarization; it gave students practical ways to understand and challenge it.

“Polarization in past political science courses has been an undergirding theme that doesn’t get talked about,” she said. “It’s almost like the boogeyman—this unnamed force that drives our political differences and our current political economy. I like that we have a course where we can address it head-on and say, ‘This is what this is. Let’s name it. Let’s talk about it. Let’s dissect it.’”

The seminar’s structure was deliberately collaborative. Rather than traditional lectures, students led discussions, preparing activities and questions to engage their peers with weekly readings on topics such as media, geographic, and identity-based polarization. Woods described these readings as tools that could be kept in a tool belt, ready to use for class discussions, as well as outside the classroom.

“We have this tool belt full of theories, so what do we do with it now,” she asked. “Do we tackle polarization? Is this a problem we can fix? And while there is no one answer to that, I think it still got the gears turning. We can ask, ‘Is polarization an inevitable problem?’ Dr. Berry also mentioned that we’ve been more polarized before when we fought the Civil War and during the revolution, but we survived as a nation. This is not a hopeless cause, which I think was a hopeful message.”

Hollis Masterson ’26, who is pursuing majors in political science and history, appreciated how the seminar synthesized his undergraduate work.

“The interview assignment and leading class discussions were probably the most important to the classroom experience,” he said. “They offered a great sense of community and understanding among us about where our politics lie, our backgrounds, and that variability of where we all come from.”

Berry said the students embraced the student-led process.

“One thing I found really special about the class was how kind and gracious they were with one another,” he said. “In today’s world of social media and our phones, more often I’ll walk into a classroom, and students won’t be engaging with each other. But because they were developing the lesson plan, I would walk into class, and no one was on their phones—they’d be chatting about the reading they’d done. They posted questions on social media to poll other K students about their attitudes toward topics like political violence, and then they brought up the results in class. We would talk about the different responses in the community, so the conversations didn’t just end in the class; they kept flowing. That, for me, is a rare occurrence.”

The student-led approach created unexpected benefits. Masterson noted that the class brought together political science majors who had rarely shared a classroom before their senior year.

“It became this slow development of a community,” he said. “I wish we could have started this cohort sooner, but having the opportunity to tie everything together as a group made this one of the most valuable experiences of my education.”

Two students talk about their civil discourse and polarization class — Hollis Masterson ’26 (left) talks with Dymytri Hayda ’26.

From Skeptic to Scholar

Maddie Hanulcik ’26 had an experience with the course that reflects the transformative power it had.

“I was excited to take the senior seminar with my cohort, but to tell you the truth, I wasn’t excited about the topic,” she said. “We know that polarization exists, so I wondered whether we needed to make a whole class about it.”

Hanulcik’s perspective shifted drastically as the course progressed. What she initially dismissed as obvious became fascinating as she discovered the depth and breadth of polarization’s impact. The transformation was so complete that Hanulcik chose polarization as the focus of her Senior Integrated Project (SIP). Her project examines why Generation Z has significantly lower faith in democracy than Generation X and how the media influences this decline.

“If people don’t believe in democracy, that’s really scary,” Hanulcik said. “Even if a democracy is not functioning the way you want it to, it’s important to change it for the better instead of just abandoning it. We need to have things like civil discourse and a civil society to keep democracy alive.”

Two students listen in civil discourse and polarization course — Lilly Cleland ’26 (left) and Maddie Hanulcik ’26

Students in a classroom sit in a semicircle around their professor — Senior Libby McFarlen (from left), Estrella Arana, Lilly Cleland, Maddie Hanulcik, Reagan Woods and Lyrica Gee talk with Associate Professor of Political Science Justin Berry.

Challenging Assumptions

Perhaps the course’s most powerful lesson was how small the actual policy differences could be between opposing sides.

“Despite the fact that ideologically and verbally we have all of these differences, when it comes down to policy, the difference between a moderate Republican and a moderate Democrat is maybe an inch wide,” Gee said. “The difference between voting for one person and voting for the other is sometimes just about how much you dislike the other team.”

Hanulcik, a self-described libertarian, was one of only two non-left-leaning individuals in a class of 20. Initially, that made her feel uneasy, but as class conversations progressed, she found common ground she hadn’t expected.

“People started asking me why I felt the way I did, and after explaining, they said, ‘Oh, I share almost every belief that you have. I just came to it in a different way in my head.’”

The experience helped Hanulcik recognize her own polarization.

“At the beginning of the class, I was polarized against people who were polarized,” she said. “But then I realized I have to have conversations and help them understand the dangers of polarization and what it can lead to.”

She came to see polarization not as a simple left-right divide but as a problem created by extremes on both sides.

“Most individuals here in the U.S. have a similar concept of good or bad,” she said. “Discourse is driven by the extreme ends of both parties, and folks are slowly pulled from the middle. At what point do we lose that extreme dialogue and start communicating with folks in the middle?”

McFarlen captured a common takeaway from the course: people on both sides of the aisle really aren’t as different as they think; they are just shaped by different environments and experiences.

“It doesn’t mean they are your enemies,” she said. “It just means that they think differently, and it’s important to try to understand why people think the way they do.”

Gee reflected on how social media algorithms and sensational journalism exacerbate division for entertainment and profit.

“We’re stoking this fire between the two sides to make it more entertaining,” Gee said. “The entertainment aspect is making us grow further apart because we are sitting in our anger rather than in any critical thinking.”

Associate Professor Justin Berry — Associate Professor of Political Science Justin Berry

Civil Discourse and Polarization Class — Seniors Maddie Hanulcik, Reagan Woods, Lyrica Gee, Lilly Cleland, Estrella Arana and Libby McFarlen listen to Associate Professor of Political Science Justin Berry.

Beyond the Classroom

The lessons students learned have already begun influencing how they engage with politics beyond the classroom. McFarlen said the course changed how she views political campaigns, making her more attentive to how candidates target different audiences and frame their messages.

For Masterson, the course sparked greater interest in state and local politics, where he said bipartisanship still occasionally exists. He’s applying to master’s programs at Tufts University, George Washington University, and three Australian universities, having fallen in love with Australian politics during study abroad.

Gee, who plans to pursue political journalism in Washington, D.C., sees the course as foundational to her future work.

“I always want to look toward educating others and helping them get through really complex bureaucratic systems,” she said. “Having some of these ideas in my head is going to be very helpful in understanding the complexities within people.”

Hanulcik plans to join the Peace Corps after graduation.

“I love being abroad,” she said. “I like moving all the time, and I like helping people in some way, shape or form. I want to live my life as a life of service.”

Libby McFarlen listens in the civil discourse an polarization class — Libby McFarlen ’26

A Model for Democratic Citizenship

For Professor Berry, the course represents more than an academic exercise. It’s about preparing students for democratic citizenship in a fractured era.

“We have reached the point where we can no longer discuss politics with those with whom we disagree,” he said. “I wanted to provide students with a venue to grapple with difficult political questions and model how to engage in civil disagreement. It is a vital component of democratic citizenship, and it is not a skill we have effectively modeled for them.”

The results speak for themselves. What began as a required senior seminar became what multiple students described as their favorite class at K. In a moment defined by division, the course offered a glimmer of hope, proof that with curiosity, respect, and honesty, real conversation is not only possible; it’s transformative.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

Posted on March 5, 2026March 5, 2026

When Americans think about the Revolution, they often picture the Boston Tea Party, the Siege of Yorktown, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the famous men who shaped these iconic events. Charlene Boyer Lewis ’87, the Larry J. Bell ’80 Distinguished Chair in American History, reminds us that the American Revolution wasn’t just fought by generals and statesmen; it unfolded in kitchens, camps, farms, and city streets, where women’s decisions, labor, and political thought shaped the outcome of the war. For Women’s History Month, Boyer Lewis reflects on how women across racial, economic, and political lines experienced and contributed to the founding of our Republic—their influence still shaping the nation 250 years later.

Q: How should we rethink the role of women in the American Revolution?

Boyer Lewis: Women at the time did not have access to formal leadership or political roles. However, the American Revolution didn’t just happen with “those guys in Philadelphia” or the men fighting on the battlefield. A revolution is essentially a civil war, so there is no real distinction between the homefront and the battlefront. Roughly a third of the colonists were Loyalists, a third Patriots, and a third what historians call disaffected—they hadn’t really chosen a side. During the war and the period leading up to it, women were often calculating and making choices about their allegiance based on what was best for their families. Yes, there were some women who were making choices based on political ideology—Mercy Otis Warren, the poet and playwright; Martha Washington; Abigail Adams, writing to John Adams to “remember the ladies.” Mrs. Benedict Arnold, whom I write about, started as a Loyalist flirt, then became a Patriot bride, and then became a very strident Loyalist when she and her husband committed treason. But most women were choosing whether to be a Patriot or a Loyalist based on which side their families were taking and what would be best for their families, their community, and their neighbors. As the British and Patriot forces moved around, women would often shift their loyalties to whichever troop had occupation at the time.

Once the Revolution started in 1775 and 1776, women had to choose sides, just like men did, and women very much understood that they were moving from being subjects in a monarchy to citizens in a republic. They understood the stakes.

Q: In what concrete ways did women participate in the Revolution, both before the fighting began and during the war itself?

Boyer Lewis: Most women spent the years leading up to the Revolution involved in the protests and boycotts against tea and British imported goods. The boycotts would not have been successful otherwise; you needed women to forego purchasing those items for their households. They were eschewing imported silk, cotton, and linen; they were gathering to share each other’s spinning wheels and looms to make homespun fabric, and they were conscious that in doing so, they were taking a stance against English oppression. Some of them said they felt nationalistic while they were doing it.

Kalamazoo College Professor of History Charlene Boyer Lewis, A Republic, if You Can Keep it — Charlene Boyer Lewis ’87 is the Larry J. Bell ’80 Distinguished Chair in American History at Kalamazoo College.

Abigail Adams bronze statue at the Boston Women's Memorial located on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall — A bronze sculpture of Abigail Adams by Meredith Bergmann at the Boston Women’s Memorial on Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

As the war started, women weren’t removed from warfare. When you live on a rural farm near a battlefield, the violence is going to come right into your home or your surrounding area. Women in these situations served multiple purposes for armies, bringing water, serving as laundresses and cooks, and taking care of wounded and sick men in their homes. Along with these really basic services to the army, they also provided sexual services to soldiers. That was, frankly, a really effective way for women to make money.

Women were also an important part of the army encampments, known as camp followers. Many had no choice but to follow their husbands, fathers, or brothers serving in the army, as they could not afford to stay at home, so they were feeding, laundering, and tending to sick men in the encampments. George Washington complained regularly that all these women, children, and literal baggage made it difficult to move an army quickly. But he also recognized their importance, and the women were provided half rations.

There are a handful of women that we know of who disguised themselves as men. A woman named Deborah Sampson was an ardent Patriot who wanted to go and fight. She cut her hair, bound her breasts, and fought in the Continental Army for a couple of years. Despite being wounded several times, it wasn’t discovered that she was a woman until she fell ill with fever and was found out by a doctor when he undressed her. He was shocked because everybody knew this soldier as Robert Shurtleff. Of course, they kicked her out immediately when they realized she was a woman. She received an honorable discharge, and 30 years later, she applied to Congress for a pension, like any other Continental Army soldier. Congress sent Paul Revere to Massachusetts to interview her, and he found her case deserving. So, she became the first woman to receive a military pension in American history.

Most women experienced the Revolution from afar. They kept the farms going, kept the newspapers in print. Women ran taverns. They ran shops. They were picking up for the men and learning all sorts of skills. Abigail Adams actually made more money for the farm than when John Adams was running it. There are many letters back and forth between wives and their husbands about logistics, like, when should I sell the corn? When do I plant? They start with lots of questions, and over time, the women become more and more confident. Instead of saying, when do I do this? They say, “Oh, I sold all the corn last month.” They now know how to take care of it.

But there was a scary side to this independence. In any war, troops often use violence to subdue a population, so women were sexually assaulted; they were physically abused. Women watched in terror while their houses were turned topsy-turvy as soldiers looked for money, weapons, clothing—anything to sell—because soldiers were allowed to come in and pilfer. Women lived with that terror every day during this war, and it’s clear many of them suffered later from trauma. This is what I mean by no separation between the homefront and the battlefront: there was no safe homefront. The battlefront was everywhere. You could walk the street and be hassled by a soldier. You could walk the street and be questioned at bayonet point as to which side you are on.

Women also smuggled things over lines using the fact that they were women and not combatants. Women were very good spies because soldiers were often hesitant to accost women and say, “What’s on your person?” So, women often tucked things under their dresses. We know of one story where two women were walking the Philadelphia line, going from British into Patriot territory, and soldiers thought they were pregnant, but under their alleged bellies were leather shoes, leather belts, and some food.

Q: How did the Revolution unfold differently for Black and Native American women?

Boyer Lewis: We tend to think of slavery as a southern phenomenon, but at the time of the Revolution, there were enslaved people in every single one of the 13 Colonies. It was the British who first offered freedom to enslaved people, and they offered it very early on. It wasn’t altruistic; they understood this was good strategy, offering freedom to those enslaved under Patriot masters. Thousands took that offer, and the number of Black Loyalists was tremendous. Whenever the British came near a Patriot farm or homestead, enslaved women fled, and they would take their children with them to look for freedom behind British lines. Many ended up in different parts of the British Empire—Canada, for instance, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia—and the British gave them farms there. Some of them ended up in England. Tragically, when the British started running out of supplies, some of these women were sold into slavery in the Caribbean, which is basically a death sentence. The Americans also eventually offered freedom and land to enslaved men who joined them, so many Black men fought valiantly for the Continental Army, in the hopes of surviving the war and owning their own land.

Other enslaved women and their families took advantage of the chaos of war to run away. Historians estimate that 25,000 to 30,000 enslaved Africans chose to run, usually north, to cities like Philadelphia or Boston, where it was easy to slip in and not be noticed.

Enslaved people were also hearing the Patriots’ language of liberty, independence, and equality, and were writing petitions, or having white allies write petitions on their behalf, petitioning legislatures in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island to abolish slavery, arguing that it was oppositional to what the Patriots advocated. Many Patriots understood that slavery was antithetical—Massachusetts, for instance, abolished slavery immediately. Vermont, the first new state after the Revolution, did not allow slavery. So, the voices of these enslaved women were having an impact.

There’s a marvelous poet named Phyllis Wheatley, who was owned by a Massachusetts family, and they taught her English, Greek and Latin. She gets published during the Revolution, and she writes poetry to George Washington and to some of the other Continental Army officers. She’s a very ardent Patriot, and George Washington actually writes her back, complimenting her on her genius. He even invites her to visit camp.

But Black women also experienced the most violence during the war. When soldiers came to a homestead, farm, or town house, and there was an enslaved or even a free Black servant, they were the ones most likely to be abused or dragged into helping the army. When white families were running short of food, they would feed their own family first over their enslaved people, so Black women experienced starvation more than white women did.

Just like white women, Black women and Native American women were taking stances and choosing sides. Molly Brant, an Iroquois woman, was a highly influential Loyalist among her tribe. She ended up getting a sizeable pension from the British government for her efforts during the Revolution.

Q. What did the Revolution change—or not—about women’s role in political life?

Boyer Lewis: Ultimately, these changes were very temporary. When the men returned, the women didn’t want to keep running the farm, the store, or the tavern, and they gave back that responsibility. However, they were still aware of themselves as political beings and very much engaged in the political conversations of the time. You can look at letters, and it’s clear that women gained more confidence in the household, and there’s probably a more equal sense of give and take with their husbands.

But while the Patriot revolutionaries got rid of a lot of British laws that they decided were too oppressive, too tyrannical, they never questioned the inferiority of women. They never questioned the law, which is known as coverture, that establishes how, upon marriage, a woman legally ceases to exist and is subsumed by her husband’s identity. As I mentioned earlier, Abigail Adams argues to John Adams in an incredibly famous letter, “Remember the ladies.” She says, “Remember, all men will be tyrants if they could.” She’s asking him to remove coverture in the Declaration of Independence, using the language of the Revolution. John Adams writes back to her, “As to your extraordinary code of laws, I cannot but laugh.” Coverture remains untouched after the war.

Yet one huge impact of the Revolution is the idea that, if women were political beings and had political thoughts, what role would they play in this new republic? Women will be acknowledged as citizens. They’ll be counted in the census, counted for the House of Representatives, and taxed as citizens, but they’re not going to be given any political rights.

So, a group of progressive-minded men and progressive-thinking women crafted a role in the 1780s and 1790s for women that was known as Republican Motherhood, and this is how women were meant to contribute. They were going to raise good, virtuous citizens—meaning boys—who would continue to sacrifice their private interests for the good of the Republic. Women—middle- and upper-class women—saw Republican Motherhood as a way to act politically.

One important outcome of Republican Motherhood is that it demanded that women be educated. This led to a huge surge in women’s education in the coming decades. This idea that women have equal intellect and should be educated to serve the Republic is tremendous. There’s no going back.

The young women who then go to school in the early 1800s will be the ones who lead the women’s rights movement in the 1840s—Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, all are the beneficiaries of this notion of Republican Motherhood. Elizabeth Cady Stanton at Seneca Falls in 1848 rewrites the Declaration of Independence in terms of women’s independence, and where Thomas Jefferson referenced the tyranny of King George, Elizabeth Cady Stanton referenced the tyranny of men over women. It’s a marvelous full-circle moment. The American Revolution didn’t change women’s lives that dramatically, but by 1848 they’re going to use the language of the Declaration of Independence to call for their rights.

Q: How does expanding the story of the Revolution reshape our understanding of who made our republic possible and what it takes to sustain it?

Boyer Lewis: In 1787, Elizabeth Willing Powel, a prominent social figure and friend of the Washingtons, asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” And he famously replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

If we want to tell a story as inclusive as possible about the American Revolution, we have to center women’s experiences equally with men’s experiences. Where was this Revolution fought? It was fought everywhere, in every single city, in every town, on every farm. The women were shaping the Revolution as much as any man with a musket or as much as any founding father who signed his name to the Declaration of Independence.

Women’s participation in boycotts became just as important as Patrick Henry standing up and saying, “Give me liberty or give me death.” They were protesting the Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, and the Townshend Acts. They were writing to newspapers. They were forming organizations to collect money for the Continental Army. Women were the ones who kept the farms and shops running. Without them, there would have been nothing left to fight for—and no republic to keep.

Charlene M. Boyer Lewis is a professor of history at Kalamazoo College. She is the author of Ladies and Gentlemen on Display: Planter Society at the Virginia Springs, 1790-1860 and Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte: An American Aristocrat in the Early Republic. Her current project is a biography of Margaret Shippen Arnold titled Traitor, Wife: Peggy Shippen Arnold and Revolutionary America, forthcoming from Norton in 2027.

From ‘Wait, What’ to ‘Here’s Why,’ Stevens-Truss Champions Science

Posted on February 11, 2026February 11, 2026

'Wait, Why': Regina Stevens-Truss with three students — Emily Dalecki ’26, Morgan Paye ’26, Dorothy H. Heyl Professor of Chemistry Regina Stevens-Truss and Anoushka Soares ’26 worked together in the Stevens-Truss lab last summer.

Regina Stevens-Truss with former student — Stevens-Truss and student Ava Apolo ’25 point to Apolo’s photo in a display highlighting that year’s Senior Integrated Project students in Stevens-Truss’ lab.

Some people spend years searching for their calling. For Regina Stevens-Truss, the Dorothy H. Heyl Professor of Chemistry at Kalamazoo College, finding her calling was different.

“I’m not sure that it was a matter of finding what I wanted to do,” she said. “It was more like destiny. I have always loved science and math!”

That destiny has taken her on a remarkable journey. She’s gone from a 14-year-old immigrant—arriving in Brooklyn, N.Y., with limited English—to a nationally recognized biochemistry educator who has spent 26 years inspiring students at K. And career success is why the United Nations is celebrating women like Stevens-Truss today, February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

According to the U.N., a significant gender gap has persisted throughout the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines all over the world. Even though women have made tremendous progress toward increasing their participation in higher education, they are still underrepresented in these fields. The U.N.’s hope is that role models like Stevens-Truss will continue inspiring young women to stay with STEM—in academics and their professions—for years to come.

The ‘Wait, What’ Kid

Born in Panama, Stevens-Truss arrived in the United States in 1974 with an insatiable curiosity that often tested her father’s patience.

“I was that kid who wanted to know ‘Why? How?’” Stevens-Truss said. “My dad would say to me in Spanish all the time, ‘Cállate, Regina,’ because I would always ask why. Yes, I was that ‘wait, what?’ kid in school.”

Her transition to the U.S., though, wasn’t easy. Placed in eighth grade despite limited English proficiency, Stevens-Truss faced isolation as a self-described scrawny Black Latina in 1970s Brooklyn.

“I got picked on a lot and had very few friends,” Stevens-Truss said.

But what could have derailed her education became her anchor.

“What grounded me was school, and in particular my math classes.”

Those early teachers, none of whom looked like her, saw something special and encouraged her learning. When her family moved to New Jersey, she found community among her white classmates at Cherry Hill West High School.

“Those were hard years because I was an outcast yet again,” Stevens-Truss said. “I only had three Black friends. My friend groups were all white women, and they helped keep me in science and math because we all loved these subjects. We were taking these classes together, we lived near each other, and I belonged.”

Finding Her Path

At Rutgers University, Stevens-Truss initially pursued medicine—like many first-generation students—to fulfill family expectations. Later, a turning point came at the University of Toledo while she was working as a part-time research technician for Richard Hudson ’61.

Regina Stevens-Truss with a former student — Stevens-Truss stands with Kaleb Brownlow ’01, the first SIP student she had in her tenure at K.

'Wait, Why': Regina Stevens-Truss with student and painting — Dalecki shared her portrait of Stevens-Truss during a Fun Friday activity last summer in which students painted their principal investigators.

Hudson was a K chemistry alumnus who would later become her Ph.D. advisor. One day he walked into the lab with unexpected news and said, “Regina, you need to go do something else.” Thinking she was being fired, Stevens-Truss asked why. His response changed her life: “Because I can tell you’re bored. You need to go get a Ph.D.”

He was right.

“I love learning, and when it gets stagnant, I get bored,” Stevens-Truss said.

That restless curiosity that made her the “wait, what?” kid still drives her today, pushing her to constantly find new ways to reach students.

The Biochemistry Connection

What captivates Stevens-Truss about biochemistry now is the intersection where chemistry illuminates biology.

“Living systems are so complex and yet work so well that I, still to this day, find it exhilarating to learn about them,” she said. “My chemistry classes felt like work, and my biology classes made no sense to me. It’s always been awesome when I could connect my chemistry knowledge to biological phenomena—hence the reason I consider myself a medicinal biochemist. I love to understand living systems through how chemical changes impact them.”

This philosophy permeates her teaching. Ask her biochemistry students, and they’ll tell you she constantly pushes them to ask how and why—the same questions that defined her childhood. Her current research focuses on ESKAPE pathogens, as she and her lab students study how antimicrobial peptides and hybrid compounds—developed in the K labs of Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry Dwight Williams and Associate Professor of Chemistry Blake Tresca—work against dangerous bacteria like E. coli and S. aureus.

Twenty-Six Years at K

Hudson had more career advice for Stevens-Truss when she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan.

“Richard called the lab one day and said to me, ‘Regina, I have the job for you: teaching chemistry at Kalamazoo College.’”

Her response was, “Kalama what?”

That was 26 years ago. What keeps her engaged after more than two decades? The students.

“Their curiosity amazes me, and their true interest in knowing makes me want to know and keeps me questioning and finding out,” Stevens-Truss said. “They make me laugh daily.”

Her impact extends far beyond K. The 2023 ASBMB Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education recognized her decades of work on classroom and social issues affecting student success.

“Being selected for this award was incredibly humbling,” she said. “It also helped validate my career.”

That commitment to student success has taken many forms. In 2016, she received K’s highest teaching honor, the Florence J. Lucasse Lectureship for Excellence in Teaching. In 2018, she was named the College’s director of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inclusive Excellence grant, awarded to K’s science division. She’s also been a faculty leader for Sisters in Science, a student organization that visits local schools to encourage young women to pursue science; and Sukuma, a peer-based study group for students of color in the sciences.

A Message for the Next Generation

When she was asked what message she hoped her students would carry forward, Stevens-Truss didn’t hesitate, though she acknowledged it might sound clichéd.

“Truly, follow your dreams,” she said. “Don’t let naysayers tell you that you don’t belong and that you can’t.”

She encourages students to ask themselves key questions: How did you get here? Why do you want to be here? Who inspires you? Who gives you the brutal truth? Who supports you when you’re down?

“Answers to these questions will help keep you on track,” she said.

Her advice for finding your passion is simple yet profound.

“The thing that you go to bed at night thinking about, the one that gets you up in the morning ready to go do it, is your passion and what you should do. Make a career out of that and you’ll be happy.”

It’s advice that comes from experience. Stevens-Truss never stopped being that curious kid who wanted to know why and how. She just found a way to build a life and help hundreds of students build theirs around asking those questions.

As she puts it, “Figuring out how and why something changed, to this day, brings me joy, so I think being a scientist is what I was made to be.”

Ten Days Opened a World Through Short-Term Study Abroad 

Posted on January 27, 2026January 27, 2026

For some Kalamazoo College students, study abroad can feel out of reach—too long, too expensive or too intimidating to fit into already full academic and personal schedules. But for 23 students who spent 10 days in the Dominican Republic during winter break, a short-term, faculty-led program offered something transformative: a first step into global learning that reshaped how they see the world and themselves. 

Led by Associate Professor of Spanish Ivett López Malagamba, the immersive experience brought students to Santiago de los Caballeros, a mid-sized city in the Dominican Republic, where they lived with host families, conducted daily academic work and navigated life almost entirely in Spanish.  

Students sitting at an outdoor table in the Dominican Republic while on short-term study abroad — Kalamazoo College students who participated in short-term study abroad over winter break were welcomed to the Dominican Republic with a special dinner.

Students participate in an orientation during short-term study abroad in the Dominican Republic — Students participated in an orientation when they arrived in the Dominican Republic.

An Accessible Path to Global Learning 

The short-term program targets students who may face barriers to longer study abroad opportunities, including first-generation college students, students of color, student-athletes and those balancing multiple commitments on campus. It was first launched as a pilot program in 2019, funded through a grant from the Mellon Foundation, which supported faculty planning, along with Center for International Programs funds. Additionally this year, the Ambassador Martha L. Campbell and Consul General Arnold H. Campbell Foreign Study Endowment and the Robert J. Kopecky ’72 Endowed Study Abroad Fund helped high-need students afford the experience. The Campbell Endowment was established in 2009 to support and enhance the foreign study experience for K students. The Kopecky fund was established in 2022 to help maximize the number of students who participate in study abroad while encouraging students to explore the culture around them during their international experience.

For some participants, the Dominican Republic trip marked their first time traveling internationally or even boarding an airplane. 

“For them, this was not just an academic experience; it was a personal milestone,” López Malagamba said. 

Academically, the program is tied to the Spanish curriculum. Students must have completed Spanish 201, the final course in K’s language requirement sequence for Spanish. In the fall, participants enroll in a preparatory course and attend predeparture sessions focused on Dominican history, race relations, politics and the country’s deep connections to the United States and the Caribbean. And once they are in the Dominican Republic, the learning is nonstop. 

“Every day is academic,” López Malagamba said. “Even when students are on a beach or in a community celebration, they are learning—about economics, migration, tourism, race, history and the environment.” 

Students visit Samana in the Dominican Republic during short-term study abroad — In the coastal region of Samaná, students encountered a lesser-known chapter of shared history: communities founded by formerly enslaved people from the U.S. who settled there in the 19th century.

Chocolate making at Sendero del Cacao — Students had a chance to make chocolate while learning about the country’s export economy through cocoa farming, studying the role of tourism in shaping cities, and examining the deep ties between the Dominican Republic and the United States.

Learning Beyond the Classroom 

Students explored the Dominican Republic through lectures, guided visits and hands-on experiences that reinforced themes from their language coursework, including urban life, nature, the arts and professions. They learned about the country’s export economy through cocoa farming, studied the role of tourism in shaping cities, and examined the deep ties between the Dominican Republic and the United States. 

In the coastal region of Samaná, students encountered a lesser-known chapter of shared history: communities founded by formerly enslaved people from the U.S. who settled there in the 19th century. A guide, himself a descendant of those settlers, shared how English once flourished in the region before being suppressed and how that legacy still shapes Dominican identity. 

“These are moments where students realize that U.S. history doesn’t stop at our borders,” López Malagamba said. “It lives in other places, in other people’s stories.” 

Environmental justice was another key focus. Students learned how coastal communities balance the economic need for tourism with the protection of ecosystems, national parks and marine environments that sustain local livelihoods. 

Living with host families added another layer of immersion and challenge. Students had to adapt to new routines, unfamiliar foods and different cultural expectations, all while communicating in a second language. 

“There’s always a moment where students feel overwhelmed,” López Malagamba said. “They miss their familiarity. They realize how hard it is to express themselves fully. But then something shifts.” 

That shift often comes in small victories: asking for directions, explaining a preference at the dinner table or successfully navigating a conversation they once would have avoided. 

“By the end, students realize, ‘I can do this,’” she said. “That confidence is powerful.” 

Spanish Class at Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra — K students participated in a Spanish class while visiting the Dominican Republic.

Students visit Monumento a los Heroes de la Restauracion on study abroad — Students visited the Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración, which was built for the 100th anniversary of the Dominican War of Independence, which was fought in 1844 to gain sovereignty from Haiti.

‘I’m Hooked’ 

For Tom Clark ’27, the Dominican Republic trip became a lifeline to study abroad after he had to cancel plans for a longer program in Greece. The business major, who is dual-enrolling at Western Michigan University to pursue exercise science, realized too late that he couldn’t balance a two-term study abroad with his academic timeline. 

“I went through all the predeparture stuff, was all ready to go, and then I realized I wouldn’t be able to do it,” Clark said. “But right as I dropped it, I got an email about this trip to the Dominican Republic. I saw it was over winter break, so it wouldn’t take away from credits that I would need. It was perfect.” 

The trip marked Clark’s first time leaving the country, and the experience immediately challenged his assumptions about privilege and perspective. 

“I thought I was familiar with other cultures,” he said. “I thought of myself as an empathetic person who could put himself in the shoes of others. And then I actually took the trip, and my understanding was much different.” 

Simple differences struck him immediately. Getting off the airplane, he looked for a water fountain to fill his bottle only to realize public drinking fountains don’t exist in places without widespread access to clean water. The language immersion then proved to be both challenging and rewarding. Clark hadn’t taken a Spanish class in nearly a year, and the first few days were rough. But surrounded by Spanish speakers constantly—including his host parents, who spoke no English—he found his skills returning and improving rapidly. Those challenges, in fact, became opportunities for connection. 

Among Clark’s favorite moments was a joint class session with Dominican students learning English as a second language, meeting people his age from vastly different backgrounds, yet fundamentally similar. He made a friend named Casey who runs a fashion brand with 60,000 Instagram followers and is working toward getting a green card. 

The experience reframed how Clark thinks about language learning. In a classroom, he explained, students have varying levels of investment. On the trip, everyone was committed, making the learning more dynamic and applicable. 

“We were talking about how another language is like learning a superpower,” he said. “I learned I could travel to many countries and be perfectly fine. I could meet people and connect better. The Dominican is a tiny island, so I’m hooked on imagining what the rest of the world is like.” 

Tres Ojos National Park — Tres Ojos, or Three Eyes National Park, is a 50-yard, open-air limestone cave.

Students at Tres Ojos National Park — Students walk through Tres Ojos National Park.

Discovering New Perspectives 

For Sarah Guerrero Gorostieta ’28, a first-generation college student, the Dominican Republic trip offered something unexpected: a chance to see her own culture through new eyes while discovering how much she still had to learn. 

“I have never learned so much in such a short amount of time about myself, my peers and an entirely new country,” Guerrero said. “With my Mexican heritage, I assumed because I’m Hispanic and because they’re Hispanic, there would be some similarities between us. There definitely were, but there was also so much nuance.” 

Although Mexico and the Dominican Republic were both colonized by Spain, Guerrero learned how French and African influences shaped Dominican culture differently. More importantly, she heard those histories directly from Dominicans themselves.  

Guerrero’s experience was framed with many memorable moments. She recalls feeling grateful for trying plantains for the first time, exploring caves and seeing the ocean. 

“I’d never felt so many emotions packed into one trip,” she said. “And I’m really excited to carry all of those lessons into study abroad.” 

Guerrero is next hoping to study at Belfast University in Northern Ireland, where she wants to explore political tensions and the media’s role in conflict—themes she first encountered in the Dominican Republic through a guest lecture on how the media weaponizes political relationships during elections. 

Santiago de los Caballeros Tour of the City — Students stopped at St. James the Apostle Cathedral during a tour of Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.

Downtown Santiago de los Caballeros — Associate Professor of Spanish Ivett López Malagamba (right) led the short-term study abroad experience through places such as downtown Santiago de los Caballeros.

Opening Doors for Student-Athletes 

For Riley Shults ’28, a runner on K’s cross-country team, the 10-day format meant he didn’t have to choose between his sport and international experience. 

The short-term trip to the Dominican Republic didn’t change Shults’ academic trajectory, he said, but it reinforced the direction he wanted to pursue. He is declaring an anthropology-sociology major in February and is now planning to study in Oaxaca, Mexico, during the winter of his junior year through a program focused on community engagement and Indigenous cultures. 

“I knew that I wanted to care about people, and I knew that I wanted to travel the world,” he said. “This program was the first real experience that I got to have of that.” 

One question lingered throughout the trip: Can such a short program truly transform students in the way longer study abroad experiences do? And for Shults, the answer is unequivocal. 

“One hundred percent,” he said. “I barely talked to anyone on that trip before it, and now I see them every day. Every little aspect fundamentally changed who we are because we were forced to think about someone other than ourselves. It’s not just about me anymore. It’s about the whole world.” 

The change came through small moments that accumulated into profound shifts. Shults discovered he loves beans and rice. He overcame his lack of confidence in his language skills and found himself thinking in Spanish. He engaged with complex political histories he’d only read about in textbooks as his host mother shared stories each morning about the country’s history under dictator Rafael Trujillo. 

“I used to think one way, and now I think this other way,” he said. “Study abroad pulls people out of their comfort zones. Once you push past that boundary your learning is only limited to what you allow yourself to find.” 

One particularly memorable moment came during a Sunday block party in a working-class neighborhood of Santiago. Community organizers welcomed the K group with music, announcements and open celebrations.

Students danced alongside children, parents and grandparents in the streets. Shults found himself at the center of that celebration, dancing with elderly women who grabbed his red hair for good luck. He moved freely without self-consciousness in a way he’d never experienced at home. 

“Every single person is not caring about what other people say, they’re just moving,” he said. “It’s such a different culture than ours. Here, people don’t just dance. We’re always thinking about what other people are doing. But that’s not what they think. They’re just going to have fun.” 

His experience now surfaces in unexpected moments back on campus. In a class about water systems, Shults reflected on the reality that Dominican tap water isn’t safe to drink. 

“I’m sitting in class thinking, ‘I lived this,’” he said. “I lived this example where you don’t have water right on the tap.” 

A resident of the Los Pepines neighborhood dances with Riley Shults '28 — A resident of the Los Pepines neighborhood dances with Riley Shults ’28.

Visit to the Monumento a los Heroes de la Restauracion — The Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración is the tallest building in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.

Distinct Opportunities Bring Transformations 

Although the program lasts just 10 days, its impact extends far beyond winter break. López Malagamba noted that many students return with renewed interest in longer study abroad opportunities and greater confidence in navigating unfamiliar environments. For her, watching students undergo their transformations in just 10 days remains the most rewarding part of leading the program. 

“These students come back with a different understanding of what it means to be a global citizen,” she said. “They’ve lived with families who welcomed them. They’ve navigated challenges in a second language. They’ve sat with discomfort and come out stronger.  

“These programs remind students that the world is bigger than the U.S. and their immediate communities,” she said. “They learn that their actions matter, that their country has an impact elsewhere, and that shared humanity exists across borders. That’s the kind of learning that stays with you long after the trip ends.” 

K Students Explore What Makes a City ‘Stick’

Posted on January 12, 2026January 12, 2026

Senior business majors at Kalamazoo College are stepping into a hands-on consulting experience this winter, partnering with a local coalition to explore one of Kalamazoo’s most compelling questions: How can our city foster a stronger sense of belonging and create the kind of social, cultural, and recreational experiences that encourage recent graduates to stay? With nearly 25,000 undergraduate students across the area’s colleges and universities, it’s a question with real potential to shape Kalamazoo’s future.

A 2024 report from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research found that nationally, only 47% of public university graduates and 43% of private college graduates stay in the same metro area as their alma mater. While job opportunities often drive alumni migration, the Kalamazoo region offers notable employment options: according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, 20 Fortune 1000 companies have headquarters here, and the greater metro area is home to numerous smaller businesses and nonprofits, offering diverse career pathways for new grads. This project, therefore, focuses on another part of the equation: “value of place”— the cultural vibrancy, amenities and social connections that shape daily life and make a location truly stick.

To examine that element, K’s business capstone class is working with Sarah Olszowy, chief experience officer at Greenleaf Hospitality Group, and other members of the Kalamazoo Marketing Coalition, a cross-sector group representing business, regional development, city government and destination marketing. Their coalition aims to improve collaboration and synergy among marketing teams promoting the region. Additional members include Kimberly Viers, marketing and communications manager at Southwest Michigan First; K alumna Dana Wagner ’10, director of marketing and communications at Discover Kalamazoo; Meghan Behymer, downtown coordinator for the City of Kalamazoo; and Allie Lochart, senior marketing manager at Greenleaf Hospitality Group.

Amy MacMillan, L. Lee Stryker Professor of Business at K, is co-teaching the capstone with Visiting Assistant Professor of Business Matthew Schultz. Mirroring the structure of a professional consulting firm, student teams composed of team leads and associates will research the issue and develop data-driven proposals. Each recommendation will need to show meaningful potential for positive return on investment within three years.

The business capstone combines two senior-level courses, one in marketing and one in finance, into a program named The InKubator for Experiential Innovation, a teaching approach that immerses students in real-world problem solving while strengthening their analytical and design-thinking skills. As an InKubator course, students will engage with guest mentors and presenters from various disciplines, drawing on humanities perspectives to expand their creative thinking and problem-solving approaches.

“We invite artists, authors, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and other innovators to our program to help unleash our creative potential,” said MacMillan. “Our business students take courses across the liberal arts—in creative writing, psychology, languages, sociology, music, and more. Most students studied abroad. They’re often amazed to find how relevant these courses and experiences are in business problem-solving. At a time when it’s tempting to outsource brainwork to AI, we nurture human creativity to the fullest—and, yes, we’ll harness the power of AI, too.”

Expanding learning beyond the classroom, the course will meet periodically at the downtown Radisson in meeting space provided by Greenleaf Hospitality Group. Throughout the term, Olszowy will review student progress and offer guidance as teams refine their ideas.

The course will conclude with a final presentation in which students will share their proposals directly with Olszowy and other coalition representatives, offering K students an opportunity to contribute to an important conversation already underway regarding talent retention and community development in the region.

“This partnership with Kalamazoo College brings fresh perspective and real momentum to one of our community’s most important questions,” said Olszowy. “Engaging K students in this work gives us an invaluable window into what the next generation is seeking in a community. Their ideas and lived experiences support Greenleaf Hospitality Group’s role as the host of Kalamazoo and help shape a more vibrant, welcoming city that inspires recent graduates to build their future here.”

Inkubator for Experiential Education 2026 students group picture — Kalamazoo College’s business capstone class is working with Sarah Olszowy, chief experience officer at Greenleaf Hospitality Group, and other members of the Kalamazoo Marketing Coalition, a cross-sector group representing business, regional development, city government and destination marketing. Their coalition aims to improve collaboration and synergy among marketing teams promoting the region.

Inkubator for Experiential Education — Amy MacMillan, L. Lee Stryker Professor of Business at K, is co-teaching the capstone with Visiting Assistant Professor of Business Matthew Schultz.

Inkubator for Experiential Education students — Business majors at K are partnering with a local coalition to explore one of Kalamazoo’s most compelling questions: How can our city foster a stronger sense of belonging and create the kind of social, cultural, and recreational experiences that encourage recent graduates to stay?

Faculty, Staff Showed Inspired Teaching, Leadership in 2025

Posted on December 17, 2025December 17, 2025

From breakthrough scholarship and inspired teaching to national recognition and community leadership, Kalamazoo College faculty and staff made 2025 a year of impact. Across campus and around the world, K educators, researchers and professionals advanced knowledge, strengthened student experiences and elevated the College’s mission in meaningful ways. Here’s a look back at the top 10 faculty and staff stories of 2025—moments that captured the creativity, commitment and excellence that define the College.

10. Africa Month Marks Concentration’s Relaunch

Kalamazoo College marked the relaunch of its African studies concentration in May with Africa Month 2025, a vibrant celebration organized by Director of African Studies Dominique Somda and Assistant Professor of French Manfa Sanogo.

Africa Month invited thoughtful and meaningful engagement with Africa and Afro-descendants worldwide thanks in part to support from a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence grant and the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. The events welcomed visionary scholars, artists, curators and thinkers whose work challenges certitudes and expands horizons and included lectures, an art exhibit, workshops and roundtable discussions.

Africa Month events in 2025 — Director of African Studies Dominique Somda and Assistant Professor of French Manfa Sanogo hosted brilliant scholars, artists, students, colleagues and friends from near and far in May for Africa Month events.

9. Potts Earns Sixth Wilde Award for Best Lighting

Professor of Theatre Arts Lanny Potts previously received Wilde Awards for Farmers Alley Theatre productions such as The Light in the Piazza in 2012, Bridges of Madison County in 2018 and Bright Star in 2021. This time, the honor came because of his work in the 2024 Farmers Alley Theatre production of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a show presented at K that featured youthful characters trying to figure out their own personalities through competitive spirits and strong desires to spell.

The summer performances—along with a Famers Alley production of School of Rock—united K students with professional Actors’ Equity Association performers and stage workers, just like in the summer stock productions they once had with the Playhouse’s launch in 1964, 60 years prior. 

Wilde Award recipient Lanny Potts — Professor of Theatre Arts Lanny Potts earned his sixth Wilde Award for lighting in 2025.

8. Complex Systems Group Honors K Professor

Péter Érdi, the Henry Luce Professor of Complex Systems Studies, is serving a two-year term as the secretary and vice president of protocol for the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). Founded in 1954, ISSS is among the oldest global organizations devoted to interdisciplinary inquiry into the nature of complex systems. It since has expanded its scope beyond purely theoretical and technical considerations to include the practical application of systems methodologies in problem solving.

Artificial intelligence lecture featuring Peter Erdi — Péter Érdi is the Henry Luce Professor of Complex Systems Studies at Kalamazoo College.

7. Mellon-Funded Project Brings Humanities Leaders to K

The Learning in/from Place and Community Conference gathered humanities leaders from around the country to help design a model for how liberal arts institutions can engage meaningfully with broad social themes.

The conference concluded the Humanities Integrated Locational Learning (HILL) Project—envisioned by Associate Professor of Sociology Francisco Villegas, Associate Professor of English Shanna Salinas and Professor Emeritus of English Bruce Mills—which built student coursework rooted in K’s commitment to experiential learning and social justice. The program addressed 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. More on the HILL Project will be featured in the spring issue of LuxEsto.

HILL Project Humanities Conference — Jamala Rogers, the executive director of the Organization for Black Struggle in St. Louis, was among the speakers at the Learning in/from Place and Community Conference.

6. Faculty Member’s Fellowship Benefits Students

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Cecilia Vollbrecht is one of just 10 faculty members from institutions across the country to be chosen for a new fellowship that will help students in the chemistry and biochemistry department at K attain new skills.

Through 2027, Vollbrecht will participate in an annual weeklong bootcamp through Accelerating Curricular Transformation in the Computational Molecular Sciences (ACT-CMS), during which she will receive curriculum development and assessment training to help her introduce computer programming and computation in her courses.

Portrait of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Cecilia Vollbrecht — Assistant Professor of Chemistry Cecilia Vollbrecht

5. Research Partners Earn National Recognition

Maxwell Rhames ’25 and Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Kalamazoo College’s Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science, received national recognition for their three years of work together that culminated in Rhames’ Senior Integrated Project (SIP). Together, they earned an honorable mention in the 2024 Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award for Undergraduate Research for work that examined what alternative metals could possibly be used to make things like solar panels less expensive, one day assisting a global shift toward renewable energy.

Student and faculty member with Undergraduate Research Award — Maxwell Rhames ’25 and Daniela Arias-Rotondo received an honorable mention in the Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award for Undergraduate Research, which recognizes research that students and faculty perform in tandem.

4. Bee-lieve it: Rare Find Excites K Faculty Member

A discovery last summer was absolutely the bee’s knees for Assistant Professor of Biology Clara Stuligross, a bee ecologist who studies how the insects respond to environmental stressors such as climate change and pesticides. She and alumnus Nathan Rank ’83 confirmed that Rank, while visiting Kalamazoo, had found a deceased rusty-patched bumble bee, a species that hadn’t been officially documented in Michigan since 1999, when the insects were last found in Washtenaw County. Ongoing surveys in the area now are looking for more rusty-patched bumble bees, but so far, only the one individual has been found. 

Rusty-patched bumble bee magnified — Assistant Professor of Biology Clara Stuligross and alumnus Nathan Rank ’83 magnified a recently deceased bumble bee to confirm that the insect Rank found in a local driveway is a rusty-patched bumble bee.

3. Grant Backs Williams Lab, Brain Disease Research

After nearly a decade of research, Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry Dwight Williams has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support his work developing new molecules that could help protect brain cells from dying from neurodegenerative diseases. 

Over the course of the grant, Williams and his students will aim to synthesize and test five families of compounds that could help the fight against conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and glaucoma.

Faculty member Dwight Williams stands in his lab with four of the students who worked under his guidance this summer — Dwight Williams, the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry at Kalamazoo College, has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support his work developing new molecules that could help protect brain cells from dying from neurodegenerative diseases.

2. Civic Engagement Leader Seeks Students, Faculty, Local Partners

When Sashae Mitchell ’13 stepped into her new role as director of the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement last year, it was a meaningful return to the place where her journey in civic and global education began. Mitchell holds a master’s degree in international education and development from the University of Pennsylvania and earned her bachelor’s in mathematics right here at K. We caught up with her to learn more about what inspired her return and her vision for the center’s future. 

New Civic Engagement Leader Sashae Mitchell, faculty 2025 — As the leader of the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement, Sashae Mitchell ’13 wants to expand its impact while sharing its efforts nationally and even globally.

1. Zorbo Named MIAA Football Coach of the Year

Jamie Zorbo ’00 was named the 2025 MIAA Football Coach of the Year, earning the conference’s top honor in his final season leading the Hornets. The recognition came just weeks after Zorbo announced that he would be stepping down from his coaching role to fully focus on his position as the College’s director of athletics, a role he has held since June 2024.

During Zorbo’s tenure, Kalamazoo achieved 59 career wins, including a standout 7-3 campaign in 2018—the program’s highest win total since 1983. Under his guidance, the Hornets also produced 72 All-MIAA selections, developing student-athletes who excelled both on the field and in the classroom.

Jamie Zorbo coaching, faculty 2025 — Jamie Zorbo ’00 was named the MIAA Football Coach of the Year.

Pitcher’s Thistle Protectors Collaborate on Beaver Island

Posted on October 19, 2025October 19, 2025

Three students taking notes on plants on Beaver Island — By the end of the summer, Caleb Jenkins ’26, Willow Hayner ’27 and Mairin Boshoven ’25 had recorded data on nearly a thousand Pitcher’s thistle seedlings, some barely a half-centimeter tall, on Beaver Island.

A bee gathers pollen from a Pitcher's thistle plant — Pollinators such as bees, monarchs and hummingbirds rely on Pitcher’s thistle for food in the early spring before much else blooms.

Surrounded by the waters of Lake Michigan, between the state’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, three Kalamazoo College students spent their summer with Professor of Biology Binney Girdler, studying a small species of plant that fulfills big roles.

Caleb Jenkins ’26, Willow Hayner ’27 and Mairin Boshoven ’25 devoted their days to researching and protecting Pitcher’s thistle, a rare and threatened yet important plant on Beaver Island, where the students spent a couple of months at a remote hub for scientific activity: Central Michigan University’s Biological Station.

Pitcher’s thistle grows only on the shores of the western Great Lakes, Jenkins said, where it began to spread thousands of years ago as a huge glacier traveled northward, depositing minerals and sand.

“As the glacier melted, it gave us our Great Lakes,” Jenkins said. “From that, Pitcher’s thistle established roots deep within the Earth. As it grows, it collects more and more sand as the sand drifts and storms wash up deposits, assisting dune grasses in building dunes. Those dunes have developed into areas like the Sleeping Bear Dunes and Wilderness State Park.”

Studies in Wisconsin have shown that entire swaths of Pitcher’s thistle have been wiped out by an invasive weevil called Larinus planus, which destroys the plant’s seeds. Beaver Island is unique because researchers have yet to find any evidence of the weevils there. Their absence helps make the island an ideal spot for the pollinators that rely on Pitcher’s thistle for food in the early spring before much else blooms. It also provided Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven with a perfect environment for their research, conducting tests and measurements that contribute to the plant’s conservation.

Even the deer on Beaver Island, whose growing numbers are hurting populations of other plants, seem to be having less impact on Pitcher’s thistle.

“The seedlings of the Pitcher’s thistle tend to be the most vulnerable,” Boshoven said. “The deer might step on a few or bite them, but the plants tend to be very resilient. Humans would be much more of a threat to the plant’s population than deer.”

CMU’s Biological Station is a nucleus for scientists and students from across the country. Hayner said K’s representatives were collecting data during the day while evenings brought talks from visiting researchers from organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.

“These groups often gave lectures on their research, and it was amazing to meet them and learn about their work,” Hayner said. “We also got to work in Binney’s lab, right next to the shores of Lake Michigan. As an added bonus, we were able to participate in the end-of-summer open house and poster show to present our research to the public.”

Much of the team’s daily work involved close observation—very close observation.

“There was a lot of crawling involved,” Jenkins recalled with a laugh. “We’d be hunched over the plants in the sand, and when people walked by asking what we were doing, we’d pop our heads up like groundhogs and say, ‘We’re measuring plants!’”

By the end of the summer, the group had recorded data on nearly a thousand seedlings, some barely a half-centimeter tall. Beyond the data, the project connected the students with the island community, whose residents deeply value Beaver Island’s natural plant and animal systems and appreciate research on species vital to the island’s ecology.

“You don’t have to convince anyone there why conservation matters,” Boshoven said. “They already know. One of my favorite moments was sharing our findings at the open house and seeing how excited people were about the research. It felt like conservation was happening in real time.”

All three students credit Girdler for fostering an environment that balances challenges with encouragement.

“Binney never pressured us just to produce results,” Jenkins said. “I could lay out what I’d learned and what I understood and say, ‘Here’s where I am.’ She was more than happy to meet us in the middle. That level of understanding is an extra bit of humanity you usually don’t get in academic settings.”

“She met us where we were and encouraged us to keep going, even when things went wrong.” Hayner added. “She’s an outstanding mentor. I learned so much just being part of her lab and hope to continue working with her on data analysis this year.”

For Boshoven, the experience has been transformative.

“My first summer there opened my eyes to what fieldwork could be,” she said. “Now I know I want to go to grad school not just for the degree, but for the process of doing the research. It really taught me how and why I want to structure my work in the future.”

Boshoven expects such enthusiasm to spread to the next generations of K students.

“The program Dr. Girdler has built is so well thought out,” Boshoven said. “Academically, it’s a great experience; she will follow it through with you all the way to publishing research, which is impressive for undergraduates. It has made me an exponentially better researcher. On the other hand, it was also just a great time.”

Jenkins said the experience solidified his own dream of becoming a conservation biologist.

“Anyone who knows me knows I’m a plant guy,” he said. “If I can spend the rest of my life studying plants and teaching people about them, I absolutely will.”

Hayner, too, found the project has influenced her long-term goals.

“I’m not totally sure where I’ll end up, but I know I want to keep doing fieldwork,” she said. “This showed me how passionate I am about plant ecology.”

Three students research Pitcher's thistle on Beaver Island — Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven joined Professor of Biology Binney Girdler this summer on Beaver Island to research Pitcher’s thistle, a threatened species of plant.

Three people on a ferry to Beaver Island — The remote location of Beaver Island required the research team to take a ferry from Charlevoix, Michigan, to their summer home.

Professor Proud of Students, Beaver Island Research

Professor of Biology Binney Girdler said she’s proud of all of her students who perform research, especially Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven, who did so in such a remote place.

“From Kalamazoo, it’s a three-and-a-half-hour road trip followed by a two-hour ferry ride,” she said. “There is one small grocery store on the island, one gas station where gas is $6 a gallon and four restaurants. But on the plus side, the students had 300 feet of sugar sand Lake Michigan beach at their disposal, and the lake to go jump in whenever they wanted. I was incredibly proud of each of them for their creativity and dedication. Each student had their own piece of the puzzle. I was really impressed with what a great team these three scholars made. Even though they each had ownership of a different part of the project, they coordinated their work well so that they traded jobs and supported each other through challenges, especially when I was off-island. My students were professional and engaging, and community members told me what a great job they did presenting.”

What is Pitcher’s Thistle?

Named after: Zina Pitcher, a U.S. Army surgeon at Fort Brady and an amateur naturalist. He discovered the plant in the 1820s along Lake Superior.
Scientific name: Cirsium pitcheri or CIPI for short.
Range: Native only to the dunes of Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior.
Status: Federally threatened in the U.S., federally endangered in Canada.
Ecological role: Stabilizes sand dunes with deep roots; blooms early to feed pollinators such as bees, monarchs and hummingbirds.
Biggest threat: Shoreline development and a seed-eating invasive weevil, Larinus planus.
Why Beaver Island matters: It’s one of the few places with no reports of weevil damage, offering a refuge for healthy populations.
Kalamazoo College connection: Professor of Biology Binney Girdler and her students have studied the species for years, contributing to its conservation.

K Welcomes New Faculty for 2025

Posted on October 3, 2025October 3, 2025

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

Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Bonnie Ebendick

Ebendick arrived at K after earning her Ph.D. in biological sciences in August from Western Michigan University (WMU). She previously earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology/biotechnology, with a specialization in microbiology, from Michigan State University.

Before attending WMU, Ebendick worked as a research scientist at Michigan State, the University of Toledo and Iontox, LLC, beginning in 1999. Her teaching experience includes positions as a lecture teaching assistant and recitation teaching assistant at both Michigan State and WMU.

Visiting Assistant Professor Bonnie Ebendick — Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Bonnie Ebendick joins the Kalamazoo College faculty.

Visiting Assistant Professor of English Kevin Fitton

Fitton recently earned his Ph.D. in English creative writing from WMU. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hope College, a master’s degree in New Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Master of Fine Arts from Bennington College.

Before arriving at K, he taught first-year writing, children’s literature and creative writing workshops as a graduate assistant at WMU; courses in creativity and literature at Grand Valley State University; and academic writing at Olivet University.

Visiting Assistant Professor of English Kevin Fitton joins the Kalamazoo College faculty.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
and Biochemistry Andrew Jensen

Jensen arrived at K from the University of Michigan, where he was a postdoctoral researcher, a mentor for graduate and undergraduate researchers, and a guest lecturer for courses in chemical analysis, physical properties of analysis, environmental chemistry and mass spectrometry. He previously served as a graduate research assistant at the University of Colorado, Boulder and an undergraduate research assistant at Davidson College in North Carolina.

Jensen earned a Ph.D. in analytical, environmental and atmospheric chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Davidson College.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Andrew Jensen joins the Kalamazoo College faculty.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics and Business Matthew Schultz

Schultz has prior teaching experience at Kellogg Community College, where he was an adjunct instructor for business courses specializing in economics; Lakeview School District, Climax-Scotts Community Schools and Battle Creek Central High School, where he taught marketing, accounting, entrepreneurship, business law, finance, business management, career preparation and computer science; and with the MiSTEM Network/Code.org, where he facilitated teacher training for the AP Computer Science Principles curriculum.

Schultz received a Ph.D. in education from Indiana Wesleyan University, a master’s degree in career and technical education from WMU, and both a Master of Business Administration and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Cornerstone University.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics and Business Matthew Schultz, new faculty, 2025 — Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics and Business Matthew Schultz joins the Kalamazoo College faculty.

Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature Brayan Serratos García

Serratos García recently earned a Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature from Vanderbilt University, where he also completed a master’s degree in the same field. He holds a bachelor’s degree in World Languages and Cultures with an emphasis in Spanish from Iowa State University. His research explores transoceanic connections among Europe, Asia, and the Americas during the Early Modern period, with particular emphasis on the contributions of Indigenous and local knowledge-producers.

Serratos García has held teaching positions as instructor, adjunct faculty, teaching assistant, and course coordinator at Vanderbilt University and Fisk University, as well as a teaching appointment at Beijing Normal University. He has taught a wide range of courses from introductory language classes to advanced seminars on Spanish and Portuguese literature and culture. In addition to Spanish and Portuguese, he speaks Chinese and Italian and has lived, studied, and conducted research across Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature Brayan Serratos García, new faculty 2025 — Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature Brayan Serratos García

Grant Backs Williams Lab, Brain Disease Research

Posted on September 23, 2025September 23, 2025

For Dwight Williams, the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry at Kalamazoo College, persistence has paid off. After nearly a decade of research and one unsuccessful grant application, Williams has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support his work developing new molecules that could help protect brain cells from dying from neurodegenerative diseases. 

The grant, worth nearly $385,000, is a milestone for both Williams and his students, who have played a central role in shaping the project since its inception. 

“After an unsuccessful application in 2018, I went back to the basics and sought guidance and mentoring from my networks, which ultimately strengthened the resubmission,” Williams said. “Receiving this award is such an encouragement, not only for the research ahead, but also for the opportunities it generates for Kalamazoo College’s students.” 

Tackling Neurodegeneration 

Williams said that while neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Glaucoma each begin in different ways, they have been found to share a common cellular process that significantly damages or kills brain cells. His lab focuses on ways to block or reduce this process, extending the health and function of brain cells. 

Over the course of the grant, Williams and his students will aim to synthesize and test five families of compounds, each consisting of several unique molecules, for their neuroprotective potential. Results will be shared with the broader scientific community through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. 

Expanding Opportunities for Students 

The NIH funding represents more than just progress in the lab. It directly supports K students by providing stipends for two of them each summer for the next three years, ensuring that financial barriers don’t prevent their participation in research. 

“Many of our students want to engage in scientific research, but limited funding has often been the biggest barrier,” Williams said. “This award helps bridge that gap by expanding access to meaningful research experiences.” 

In addition to stipends, the grant will allow the lab to acquire new equipment and instrumentation, speeding up experiments and enabling access to data that previously wasn’t possible for the lab to collect. These upgrades, Williams said, will help his students grow as independent scientists while working on a project with real-world significance. 

Williams defines success in part by the progress of his student researchers. His aim is to help them strengthen their scientific identity, deepen their research independence, and prepare for graduate school, professional careers and leadership roles. 

“Being awarded this funding shows the scientific community the incredible talent and aptitude of the young scholars here at K,” Williams said. “The majority of the data used in this proposal was produced by our students. That is very impressive to me.” 

Dwight Williams stands in his lab with four of the students who worked under his guidance this summer — Dwight Williams, the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry at Kalamazoo College, has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support his work developing molecules that could help protect brain cells from neurodegenerative diseases. The grant is a milestone for both Williams and his students, who have helped shape the project.

Williams Thanks …

“I want to thank my many mentors, Dr. Yan Zhang and Dr. Jill Bettinger of Virginia Commonwealth University; Dr. Laura Furge; and Dr. Syliva Fitting of UNC-Chapel Hill, who have helped me bring this together. I am also deeply grateful to every young scholar who has contributed to this project over the years. Their dedication and creativity have been essential to moving the work forward. I am especially thankful to: 

Suma Alzouhayli ’17 

Myles Truss ’17 

Rachel Chang ’18 

Natalie Hershenson ’18 

Christina Keramidas ’18 

MinSoo Kim ’18 

McKinzie Thiede ’19 

Madeline Harding ’22   

Skyler Rogers ’23 

My-Anh Phan ’23 

Rhys Koellmann ’24 

Jenna Beach ’24 

Cassy Bennett ’25 

Katya Koublitsky ’25 

Thank you for sharing your skills and talents with the Williams Lab and for contributing uniquely to this project since its inception. This award is a reflection of your hard work.”

Since Williams arrived at K in 2015, he has mentored dozens of students in the lab, recalling each by name and recognizing the role they played in advancing the work. “Their dedication and creativity have been essential to moving the work forward,” he said. “This award is a reflection of their hard work.” 

Persistence and Gratitude 

Williams also acknowledged the challenges of securing federal research support at a time when funding is increasingly limited. The lab’s first NIH application in 2018 was administratively withdrawn and rejected. The resubmitted proposal, sent in February 2024, required patience while awaiting the decision. 

“Knowing that the federal funding landscape is changing only reinforces the necessity of persistence, perseverance and patience,” Williams said. “Things are going to be very different moving forward, but I am continually encouraged by our students because I know they can face tough challenges, execute excellent science and solve big problems by working together—all while having fun and building community along the way.” 

Williams added that his faith has guided him throughout the process. 

“I must first thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ,” he said. “Without Him, this opportunity would not have been possible.” 

He also expressed gratitude to mentors at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and K, as well as to colleagues such as former Director of Faculty Grants Jessica Fowle ’00.  

Looking Ahead 

For Williams, the NIH grant represents both an achievement and a launching point. It will allow him to pursue ambitious research goals, expand opportunities for student scientists, and share discoveries that might one day contribute to new treatment strategies for people around the world. 

“The work supported by this grant has the potential to benefit people far beyond our campus,” Williams said. “And the students engaged in this work will carry forward skills that will influence communities and fields for years to come.” 

K Awards Two Employees with Lucasse, Ambrose Honors

Posted on September 17, 2025September 17, 2025

Kalamazoo College today honored one faculty member and one staff member with two of the highest awards the College bestows on employees. Professor of Mathematics Eric Barth received the 2025–26 Florence J. Lucasse Lectureship for Excellence in Teaching, and Campus Safety Officer Adam Kaur was named the recipient of the W. Haydn Ambrose Prize for Extraordinary Service.

Barth has served K for more than 28 years as a department chair, assistant provost, first-year class dean and director of the dual-degree engineering program. He has held his professor title since 1997. During the pandemic, he was a leader in providing resources to faculty about effective online teaching.

Barth was granted K’s Outstanding Advisor Award in 2019. He also was a College leader in developing a partial-unit course to help struggling students develop the skills for academic success through a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) grant awarded to K in 2018.

Nominators said Barth’s teaching exemplifies a holistic commitment to student learning and success. Through course feedback, students have described him as being passionate, encouraging, supportive and engaging while he strives to get the best out of every student. A ceremony to confer the Lucasse Fellowship traditionally occurs in the spring term, during which the honored faculty member speaks about their work.

Kaur has worked at K since 2021. Nominators said his varied background—including a degree in education and a previous career in hospitality—gives him a broad range of skills. He’s also kind, helpful and thoughtful with tremendous foresight and an empathetic ear as he handles emergent situations calmly, efficiently and expertly with optimism in challenging circumstances. His presence sets a positive tone for students to interact with Campus Safety while making K a better place to live, work and learn.

Kaur’s interests extend beyond his work to the campus community. He regularly attends Hornet athletic contests, and he is something of a legend for his remarkable rapport with K’s squirrel population.

The Ambrose Prize is named after W. Haydn Ambrose, who served K for more than 20 years in a variety of roles, including assistant to the president for church relations, dean of admission and financial aid, and vice president for development. Ambrose was known for being thoughtful in the projects he addressed and treating people with respect. In addition to a financial award, Kaur has earned a crystal award to commemorate the achievement and an invitation to sit on the Prize’s selection committee for two years.

Congratulations to both of the honorees.

The Assignment That Changed Perspectives

Student-Led Learning Creates Community

From Skeptic to Scholar

Challenging Assumptions

Beyond the Classroom

A Model for Democratic Citizenship

Q: How should we rethink the role of women in the American Revolution?

Q: In what concrete ways did women participate in the Revolution, both before the fighting began and during the war itself?

Q: How did the Revolution unfold differently for Black and Native American women?

Q. What did the Revolution change—or not—about women’s role in political life?

Q: How does expanding the story of the Revolution reshape our understanding of who made our republic possible and what it takes to sustain it?

The ‘Wait, What’ Kid

Finding Her Path

The Biochemistry Connection

Twenty-Six Years at K

A Message for the Next Generation

An Accessible Path to Global Learning

Learning Beyond the Classroom

‘I’m Hooked’

Discovering New Perspectives

Opening Doors for Student-Athletes

Distinct Opportunities Bring Transformations

Professor Proud of Students, Beaver Island Research

What is Pitcher’s Thistle?

Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Bonnie Ebendick

Visiting Assistant Professor of English Kevin Fitton

Assistant Professor of Chemistryand Biochemistry Andrew Jensen

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics and Business Matthew Schultz

Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature Brayan Serratos García

Tackling Neurodegeneration

Expanding Opportunities for Students

Williams Thanks …

Persistence and Gratitude

Looking Ahead

An Accessible Path to Global Learning 

Learning Beyond the Classroom 

‘I’m Hooked’ 

Discovering New Perspectives 

Opening Doors for Student-Athletes 

Distinct Opportunities Bring Transformations 

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
and Biochemistry Andrew Jensen

Tackling Neurodegeneration 

Expanding Opportunities for Students 

Persistence and Gratitude 

Looking Ahead 