A recent Kalamazoo College alumnus is among this year’s recipients of a national change-ringing award named after a longtime and beloved former K professor.
The North American Guild of Change Ringers has presented Xavier Silva ’24 with the Jeff Smith Memorial Young Ringer Award. Since 2019, the honor has recognized guild members 22 years of age or younger who have rung at least one quarter peal in the past year.
Silva, a math and computer science double major at K, has rung three quarter peals, the first in October 2023. A quarter peal contains a series of at least 1,250 permutations rung in rapid succession according to rules that ensure no permutations are repeated. A quarter peal takes about 45 minutes of concentration and cooperation among a band of ringers, creating beautiful sounds.
Silva arrived at K as a Heyl scholar and quickly began change ringing for several public events. During his senior year, he was the K student contact for the community ringers at Stetson Chapel and coordinated the Kalamazoo College Ringers for weekly Community Reflections gatherings and the Day of Gracious Living.
“Change ringing has given me a meaningful experience through the challenge of ringing itself and through the people I’ve met,” Silva said. “It has combined two things I’m passionate about, music and math, in a challenging yet incredibly fun way. There is also an incredible international community that has welcomed me with open arms through a shared love and experience. If I had never started bell ringing, I would have missed out on the community that has surrounded and supported me. It has been a pleasure to ring at K.”
The North American Guild of Change Ringers has presented Xavier Silva ’24 (middle) with the Jeff Smith Memorial Young Ringer Award.
The ancient art of English change ringing involves a group ringing bells in structured, unique permutations in rapid succession. The practice requires training, concentration and teamwork and leads to great satisfaction and strong interpersonal bonds.
In addition to teaching mathematics, Jeff Smith taught hundreds of students to ring changes and inspired the College to install change ringing bells at Stetson Chapel on campus. Smith died in April 2019 at the age of 88, but spent nearly 30 years of his career at K. A scholarship in his name now supports students in financial need.
For more information on the North American Guild of Change Ringers, visit its website.
The University of Notre Dame’s math department chair will visit Kalamazoo College at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, to deliver the annual Kitchen Lecture.
Professor David Galvin will deliver a talk titled “Question Everything: Paradoxes, Surprises and Counterintuitive Truths” in the Hornets Suite, 1600 W. Michigan Ave. He will discuss mathematics as an exact science that contains oddities and paradoxes that have serious implications and consequences in the real world. By the end of the discussion, attendees should expect to see that it’s a wise strategy to take nothing for granted and question everything.
Galvin has been teaching at Notre Dame since 2013 since serving the University of Illinois, the Newton Institute and the University of Washington as a visiting professor. He also completed postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania after obtaining a Ph.D. in math from Rutgers University, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cambridge University.
The George Kitchen Memorial Lectureship was established at K in 1999 to honor the life of George Kitchen, a mathematician who had been an inspiration to students and fellow mathematics educators throughout his teaching career at Portage Northern High School. Kitchen believed that a love for mathematics and its applications could be cultivated in every student.
The lectureship is supported through gifts from his students, friends and colleagues. It provides high school students and educators with an opportunity to hear mathematicians speak about their work at a level intended for high school students. The public is welcome to attend.
More information on this event is available by contacting Physics, Math and Computer Science Office Coordinator Kristen Eldred at 269.337.7100 or keldred@kzoo.edu.
University of Notre Dame Professor of Mathematics David Galvin will deliver the Kitchen Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, in the Hornets Suite at Kalamazoo College, 1600 W. Michigan Ave.
As a strategic communications intern, Thomas Lichtenberg ’23 backed the Bazelon Center’s efforts by planning and drafting many of its social media posts and strategies.
A Kalamazoo College student experienced an internship with an organization that protects the disabled this term.
Thomas Lichtenberg ’23—a political science and philosophy major and math minor—worked in Washington, D.C., for the Judge David A. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, which helps attorneys and others who work to protect the legal rights of people who experience mental disabilities. In some cases, the center will also represent individuals in court who face discrimination or a denial of needed services.
Lichtenberg earned the opportunity through the Washington Center, a group that unites college students with a variety of nonprofit organizations in the nation’s capital. As a strategic communications intern, he backed the Bazelon Center’s efforts by planning and drafting many of its social media posts and strategies. His drafts, which would get approved by a policy or legal director, touted events such as a virtual awards ceremony highlighting the center’s 49th year. That event featured figures such as singer John Legend and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. He also attended a virtual briefing on infrastructure with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and separately met some well-known people, even if only virtually in some cases.
“I attended a congressional briefing,” he said. “I walked to the Supreme Court once and Representative Ilhan Omar was speaking about court reform there. I also met a lot of newscasters. We have a pretty strong relationship with PBS and I got to meet Judy Woodruff and a couple other PBS reporters at an afterparty for our award ceremony.”
Another event he covered through social media was a live YouTube discussion concerning the use of student resource officers in schools and how some officers have mistreated students of color and students who have disabilities. In a social campaign, however, the Bazelon Center more directly targeted publicity regarding an active case, CVS Pharmacy Inc. v. Doe, in cooperation with other disability and civil-rights groups.
“At the end of my time, we actually won that Supreme Court case and social media was essential to it,” Lichtenberg said. “It involved CVS and a group of people with HIV who argued that they were receiving different treatment based on their condition. CVS was trying to say that if it’s unintentional discrimination, then Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 doesn’t apply.”
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil-rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.
“A ruling like that would’ve been catastrophic for disability rights,” Lichtenberg said. “Essentially, if that were in place, the person who didn’t have full use of their legs, for example, wouldn’t have a legal recourse if someone built a building that could only be accessed by stairs. “Our social media campaign pressured CVS into withdrawing the case and commit to find a solution which respects the rights of people with disabilities, which is pretty unheard of for such a big company.”
Lichtenberg is returning to K’s campus for winter, where he served last spring as a teacher’s assistant for a logic and reasoning philosophy class that includes an independent study requirement. For that, he wanted to figure out how someone might codify a version of Star Trek’s Prime Directive, a guiding principle that prohibits Starfleet members from interfering with the natural development of alien civilizations while protecting unprepared civilizations from receiving advanced technology, knowledge and values before they’re ready for it. For now, however, he will reflect on an overwhelmingly positive experience in Washington, D.C.
“I find it amazing that there are only about seven people who work for the Bazelon Center,” Lichtenberg said. “It’s incredible that they’re able to manage the cases they do. It was a real honor to work for them and I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned to my classes in a new context.”
Kalamazoo College is the only institution in Michigan ranked among the nation’s top liberal arts colleges by AcademicInfluence.com.
AcademicInfluence.com is endorsing Kalamazoo College as one of the top four-year schools in the country where students can excel in the liberal arts, according to rankings released this week.
The website is the information center for a data-analytics company that measures the influence and thought leadership of a college’s or university’s faculty and alumni, providing prospective students a place where they can draw insightful comparisons between schools.
K, at No. 45, is the only institution in Michigan to reach the list of top liberal arts colleges. The website mentions K’s thought leadership on subjects such as political science, economics, sociology, biology, literature, mathematics and philosophy as just a few of the reasons why.
“Job demands are changing,” AcademicInfluence.com Academic Director Jed Macosko said. “More is expected of today’s college graduates. This makes the liberal arts appealing and practical. Students who can demonstrate a breadth of skills and the flexibility to take on anything asked of them are finding greater success postgraduation. … If you’re a student looking for a well-rounded education, these schools should be at the top of your list.”
The K-Plan is K’s distinctive approach to the liberal arts and sciences. Its open curriculum utilizes rigorous academics, international and intercultural experiences, a hands-on education and independent scholarship to help students think critically, solve problems creatively, and collaborate across cultures and languages.
“A liberal arts model provides the most thorough college education because it teaches students how to attain not just one, but a variety of skillsets that employers desire, while engaging with the world,” Director of Admission Suzanne Lepley said. “To be named among the top 50 liberal arts institutions in the country is an honor for Kalamazoo College as it shows how well we prepare students for a global, modern workplace.”
Kalamazoo College recognized outstanding achievements by its students Friday with the annual Honors Day Convocation.
More than 250 students were recognized Friday during the annual Honors Day Convocation for excellence in academics and leadership. Students were recognized in six divisions: Fine Arts, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized, as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College awards. Student athletes and teams who won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards also were honored. The students receiving Honors Day awards or recognition are listed below. Watch the recorded event at our website.
FINE ARTS DIVISION
Brian Gougeon Prize in Art
Awarded to a sophomore student who, during his or her first year, exhibited outstanding achievement and potential in art.
Elena Basso
Nicole Taylor
Camryn Zdziarski-West
Margaret Upton Prize in Music
Provided by the Women’s Council of Kalamazoo College and awarded each year to a student designated by the Music Department Faculty as having made significant achievement in music.
Katherine Miller-Purrenhage
Cooper Award
For a junior or senior showing excellence in a piece of creative work in a Theatre Arts class: film, acting, design, stagecraft, puppetry or speech.
Jonathan Townley
Sherwood Prize
Given for the best oral presentation in a speech-oriented class.
Sedona Coleman
Cameo Green
Theatre Arts First-Year Student Award
Given to a sophomore for outstanding departmental efforts during the first year.
Milan Levy
MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES DIVISION
LeGrand Copley Prize in French
Awarded to the sophomore who as a first-year student demonstrated the greatest achievement in French.
Tristan Fuller
Claire Kvande
Hardy Fuchs Award
Given for excellence in first-year German.
Ben Flotemersch
Elizabeth Wang
Margo Light Award
Given for excellence in second-or third-year German.
Ellie Lotterman
Noah Prentice
Romance Languages Department Prize in Spanish
Awarded for excellence in the first year in Spanish.
Emma Sidor
MiaFlora Tucci
Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin
Awarded to an outstanding student of the language of the ancient Romans.
Sydney Patton
Provost’s Prize in Classics
Awarded to that student who writes the best essay on a classical subject.
Jane Delmonico
Classics Department Prize in Greek
Awarded to the outstanding student of the language of classical Greece.
Nick Wilson
HUMANITIES DIVISION
Allen Prize in English
Given for the best essay written by a member of the first-year class.
Shanon Brown
John B. Wickstrom Prize in History
Awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in history.
Helen Edwards
Sam Kendrick
Department of Philosophy Prize
Awarded for excellence in any year’s work in philosophy.
Julia Bienstock
Emma Fergusson
Luke Richert
Teague Tompkins
L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy
Awarded to a sophomore who in the first year shows the greatest promise for continuing studies in philosophy.
Garret Hanson
Clarice Ray
Mikayla Youngman
NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION
Department of Chemistry Prize
Awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in chemistry.
Abby Barnum
Marissa Dolorfino
Elizabeth Wang
First-Year Chemistry Award
Awarded to a sophomore student who, during the first year, demonstrated great achievement in chemistry.
Thomas Buffin
Mallory Dolorfino
MiaFlora Tucci
Lemuel F. Smith Award
Given to a student majoring in chemistry pursuing the American Chemical Society approved curriculum and having at the end of the junior year the highest average standing in courses taken in chemistry, physics and mathematics.
Jennalise Ellis
Computer Science Prize
Awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in computer science.
Eleanor Carr
Vien Hang
Aleksandr Molchagin
Erin Murphy
William Shaw
Hanis Sommerville
First-Year Mathematics Award
Given annually to the sophomore student who, during the first year, demonstrated the greatest achievement in mathematics.
Tolkien Bagchi
Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics
Awarded to a member of the junior class for excellence in the work of the first two years in mathematics.
Joseph Jung
Tommy Saxton
Carter Wade
Cooper Prize in Physics
Given for excellence in the first year’s work in physics.
Oliver Tye
Blue Truong
SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION
Departmental Prize in Anthropology and Sociology
Awarded for excellence during the first and/or second year’s work.
Milan Levy
Milagros Robelo
Aija Turner
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics
Awarded annually to a student who has done outstanding work in the Department of Economics and Business during the sophomore year.
Kayla Carlson
Mihail Naskovski
Emily Tenniswood
William G. Howard Memorial Prize
Awarded for excellence in any year’s work in economics.
Nicklas Klepser
Nathan Micallef
Sage Ringsmuth
Andrew Sheckell
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business
Awarded annually to a student who has done outstanding work in the Department of Economics and Business during the sophomore year.
Lucas Kastran
Cade Thune
Alex Wallace
Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize
Awarded for excellence in the first year’s courses in the Department of Economics and Business.
Zoe Gurney
William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Political Science
Awarded for excellence in any year’s work in political science.
Elisabeth Kuras
Department of Psychology First-Year Student Prize
Awarded for excellence in the first-year student’s work in psychology.
Violet Crampton
Sarah Densham
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION
Division of Physical Education Prize
Awarded to those students who as first-year students best combined leadership and scholarship in promoting athletics, physical education and recreation.
Sam Ankley
Alexis Petty
Maggie Wardle Prize
Awarded to that sophomore woman whose activities at the College reflect the values that Maggie Wardle demonstrated in her own life. The recipient will show a breadth of involvement in the College through her commitment to athletics and to the social sciences and/or community service.
Camille Misra
COLLEGE AWARDS
Henry and Inez Brown Prize
Denise Jackson
Heather Muir
James Totten
Vanessa Vigier
Nicholas Davis
Nathan Garcia
Zy’ere Hollis
Tytiana Jones
Aaron Martinez
Udochi Okorie
Joshua Pamintuan
Anthony Peraza
Samantha Rodriguez
Rina Talaba
National Merit Scholars (Class of 2024)
Carter Wade
Voynovich Scholars
Awarded annually to a student who, in the judgment of the faculty, submits the most creative essay on the year’s topic.
Marina Bayma-Meyer
Yung Seo Lee
Alpha Lamda Delta
Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year. The Kalamazoo College chapter was installed on March 5, 1942.
Jez Abella
Hashim Akhtar
Cameron Arens
Tolkien Bagchi
Elena Basso
Cassandra Bergen
Thomas Buffin
Natalie Call
John Carlson
Mary Margaret Cashman
Cassidy Chapman
Nicholas Cohee
Violet T. Crampton
Lauren Crossman
Sarah Densham
Charles Pasquale DiMagno
Mallory Dolorfino
Marissa Dolorfino
Katia Duoibes
Hannah Durant
Carter Eisenbach
Benjamin Flotemersch
Caelan Frazier
Nathaniel Harris Fuller
Tristan Fuller
Grace Garver
Zoe Gurney
Yoichi Haga
Vien Hang
Garrett Hanson
Lucy Hart
Katherine Haywood
Marshall Holley
Audrey Huizenga
Ian Becks Hurley
Jonathan Jiang
Emily Robin Kaneko Dudd
Benjamin Tyler Keith
Isabella Grace Kirchgessner
Sofia Rose Klein
Lena Thompson Klemm
Rhys Koellmann
Elisabeth Kuras
Caroline Lamb
Am Phuong Le
Dillon Lee
Ginamarie Lester
Milan Levy
Thomas Lichtenberg
Cassandra Linnertz
Alvaro J. Lopez Gutierrez
Kanase J. Matsuzaki
Camille Misra
Aleksandr V. Molchagin
Samantha Moss
Arein D. Motan
Matthew Mueller
Erin Murphy
Maya Nathwani
William Naviaux
Sudhanva Neti
Stefan Louis Nielsen
Keigo Nomura
Rohan Nuthalapati
Jenna Clare Paterob
Sheyla Yasmin Pichal
Harrison Poeszat
Noah Prentice
Isabelle G. Ragan
Abby L. Rawlings
Katherine Rock
Skyler Rogers
Gi Salvatierra
Hannia Queren Sanchez-Alvarado
Madeline Gehl Schroeder
William Shaw
Hanis Sommerville
Alex M Stolberg
Kaleb Sydloski
Clara Margaret Szakas
Claire Tallio
Nicole Taylor
Abhishek Thakur
Kaia Thomas
Blue Truong
Oliver Tye
Duurenbayar Ulziiduuren
Chilotam Christopher Urama
Elizabeth G. Wang
Margaret L. Wedge
Ryley Kay White
Katelyn Williams
Skai Williams
Leah Wolfgang
Camryn Zdziarski-West
Sophie Zhuang
Nathaniel Zona
Enlightened Leadership Awards
Robert Barnard
Irie Browne
Rebecca Chan
Nolan Devine
Daniel Fahle
Grace Hancock
Julia Leet
Lia Schroeder
Matthew Swarthout
Jonathan Townley
Ethan Tuck
Ian Yi
MIAA Award
These teams earned the 2019-2020 MIAA Team GPA Award for achieving a 3.3 or better grade-point average for the entire academic year:
Men’s Baseball
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Golf
Women’s Golf
Men’s Lacrosse
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Softball
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Women’s Volleyball
MIAA Academic Honor Roll
Student Athletes 2019-2020
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association each year honors students at MIAA member colleges who achieve in the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average for the entire academic year.
Max Ambs
Georgie Andrews
Grant Anger
Hunter Angileri
Samuel Ankley
Julia Bachmann
Travis Barclay
Elena Basso
Lillian Baumann
Alex Bowden
Austin Bresnahan
Jack Brockhaus
Pierce Burke
Annika Canavero
Raekwon Castelow
Claire Cebelak
Walker Chung
Nicholas Cohee
Thomas Cook
Noah Coplan
Rachel Cornell
Chase Coselman
John Crane
Cameron Crothers
Gwendolyn Davis
Riley Davis
Emmelyn DeConinck
Robert Dennerll
Sarah Densham
Eva DeYoung
Mallory Dolorfino
Marissa Dolorfino
Amanda Dow
Austin Duff
Alex Dupree
Hannah Durant
Thomas Fales
Dugan Fife
Gwendolyn Flatland
Payton Fleming
Matthew Ford
Clifton Foster
Luke Fountain
Sierra Fraser
Rachael Gallap
Brendan Gausselin
Katie Gierlach
Anthony Giovanni
Madison Goodman
Mya Gough
Matthew Gu
Rebekah Halley
Grace Hancock
Laura Hanselman
Lucy Hart
Katherine Haywood
Zachary Heimbuch
Alyssa Heitkamp
Daniel Henry
McKenna Hepler
Sam Hoag
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Matthew Howrey
Tre Humes
Aidan Hurley
Amiee Hutton
Benjamin Hyndman
Samantha Jacobsen
Jonathan Jiang
Jaylin Jones
Jackson Jones
Amani Karim
Lucas Kastran
Maria Katrantzi
Greg Kearns
Ben Keith
Will Keller
Jackson Kelly
David Kent
Hannah Kerns
Meghan Killmaster
Dahwi Kim
Alaina Kirschman
Lena Klemm
Allison Klinger
Ella Knight
Nicholas Kraeuter
Brandon Kramer
Matthew Krinock
John Kunec
Nicholas Lang
Juanita Ledesma
Jack Leisenring
Kathryn LeVasseur
Marissa Lewinski
Rosella LoChirco
Rachel Madar
MacKenzy Maddock
Deven Mahanti
Lauren Marshall
Samuel Matthews
Courtney McGinnis
Dylan McGorsik
Keelin McManus
Benjamin Meschke
Tytus Metzler
Nathan Micallef
Camille Misra
DeShawn Moore
Dominic Moore
Maxo Moran
Samantha Moss
Elizabeth Munoz
Alexis Nesbitt
Nikoli Nickson
Madeline Odom
Abigail O’Keefe
Marianna Olson
Michael Orwin
Ella Palacios
Cayla Patterson
Hellen Pelak
Calder Pellerin
Scott Peters
Eve Petrie
Nicole Pierece
Noah Piercy
Jared Pittman
Harrison Poeszat
Zachary Prystash
Erin Radermacher
Harrison Ramsey
Zachary Ray
Jordan Reichenbach
Benjamin Reiter
Ashley Rill
Molly Roberts
Katherine Rock
Lily Rogowski
Isabelle Russo
Justin Schodowski
Michael Schwartz
Darby Scott
Andrew Sheckell
Josephine Sibley
Elizabeth Silber
Nathan Silverman
Jack Smith
Katherine Stewart
Abby Stewart
Grant Stille
Alexander Stockewell
Alex Stolberg
Hayden Strobel
Thomas Sylvester
Jacob Sypniewski
Clara Szakas
Nina Szalkiewicz
Jack Tagget
Leah Tardiff
Emily Tenniswood
Cade Thune
Kaytlyn Tidey
Mary Trimble
Matt Turton
Oliver Tye
Damian Valdes
Madison Vallan
Naomi Verne
Alex Wallace
Maija Weaver
Margaret Wedge
Tanner White
Megan Williams
Madalyn Winarski
Hannah Wolfe
Brandon Wright
Tony Yazbeck
Julie Zabik
Christian Zeitvogel
Sophie Zhuang
World Teachers’ Day honors educators such as Kalamazoo College alumna Margaret Ferris ’90, who teaches classes online and in-person simultaneously.
As teachers guide children in new ways through a pandemic, World Teachers’ Day, celebrated each October 5, is recognizing the unique nature of this year with a theme of “Leading in Crisis, Reimagining the Future.”
Conducted through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the day is to honor educators such as Kalamazoo College alumna Margaret Ferris ’90, a teacher at The Episcopal School of Dallas, where she helps guide high school students in the classroom and online every day in the wake of COVID-19.
“I love the connections I make with my students as they become adults, and I love sharing my passion for math with them,” said Ferris, who is the school’s Math Department Chair. “My hope is they will become as excited about the subject as I am.”
At K, Ferris prepared for a teaching career with a study-abroad experience that involved student teaching in Mexico City while she majored in math and minored in Spanish.
“I took all the education classes at K, but more importantly, K taught me to think critically, be open minded and be accepting of everyone,” she said. “The math education I got there was outstanding. Foreign study gave me a perspective of the world I wouldn’t have otherwise had. And the liberal arts, having knowledge in not just one subject but every subject, has helped me in the classroom.”
Since college, Ferris has taught pre-algebra to Spanish-speaking students in Houston, was Director of Education at a Sylvan Learning Center, and taught all levels of high school math at two private schools in Miami before joining the Episcopal School. This year, however, has been unlike anything she ever could’ve prepared for. Ferris’ school started this fall with two weeks of online classes before returning to the classroom, where she has taught juniors and seniors AP Calculus and Statistics, in person and online simultaneously, for about four weeks.
“Despite the hurdles, I was so excited to see my students and colleagues again,” Ferris said. “There is something special that happens in the classroom that is very difficult to replicate. Our community has really come together to keep each other safe, as well. The seniors have set a great example for the younger students. Everyone is wearing a mask, following one-way traffic patterns, and maintaining a safe distance. I have been so impressed with our entire community and the way that we are showing such great care for each other.”
Still, social-distancing guidelines prevent group work, a major component of Ferris’ curriculum, for in-person students.
“Normally, I would circulate around the room when they’re working in groups,” Ferris said. “That’s a big adjustment for me. There’s a lot more preparation that goes into each class period.”
Ferris also has to balance the needs of two audiences at the same time.
“I worry about the engagement of the students who are learning remotely,” she said. “Are they getting the same experience as the in-person students? I constantly find myself checking in with them – are you guys at home ok? Do you have any questions for me?”
And Ferris notes that opportunities for students to socialize with their peers, arguably a central part of the high school experience, look very different this term.
“The online students don’t have the same opportunities to hang out with each other,” Ferris said. And for the in-person students, “lunchtime would normally be a time when they relax, connect with each other and talk about things that don’t have to do with class. There are usually 10 students per table, and now there are four with partitions between them. What our school has done is create outdoor spaces that allow for physically distanced socializing.”
Regardless, teachers like Ferris bring a silver lining to education during a pandemic. She said it has forced her to re-examine her teaching to ensure she reaches her students and guides them in ways that fit multiple learning environments.
“I’ve had to really look at how I teach and what methods I use,” Ferris said. “It’s allowed me to take a look at my curriculum and see how I could do things in a different way to make sure everyone is engaged, even if they’re working on their own where they would normally be working together and more collaboratively.”
Ultimately, The Episcopal School of Dallas will continue to send its graduates to college at schools ranging from Austin College to Yale. In fact, the 107-member Class of 2020 received 460 acceptances to 139 colleges and universities. And teachers such as Ferris deserve a lot of the credit for doing their part to get them there.
“In my calculus class, I hope there might be an engineer or two, or a physicist,” she said. “Then again there might not be and I understand that. Some of my students will ask, ‘Mrs. Ferris, why do we need to know math?’ It’s because by doing math, you’re exercising your mind. You’re learning to think critically. You’re learning how to problem solve. You’re learning to do something that’s difficult. And that will serve you well no matter what career you choose. Just like working out exercises your body and you get stronger? This is exercise for the mind.”
Math Professor Rick Barth is preparing for a spring term of distance learning through his home work station.
A social media meme circulating of the late children’s TV star Mr. Rogers is reminding people to “look for the helpers” in a crisis. When that crisis is COVID-19, which has forced Kalamazoo College to switch from in-person to distance learning this spring, those helpers for students are K faculty and staff.
Distance learning, defined as cooperative educational experiences between people physically separated, is uncharted territory at most liberal arts institutions. That includes K, which prides itself on face-to-face interactions between students and faculty, and personalized experiences. Yet while students adjust, optimistic and dedicated faculty are ensuring that learning opportunities will proceed smoothly when the term starts in April.
Regardless of a student’s need—whether it’s technology access, academic requirements, concern over tutoring and office hours, or something unexpected—faculty want students to know their professors are eager to provide support and direction, and ensure a breadth of educational experiences true to the liberal arts.
Jeff Bartz, K’s Kurt D. Kaufman Professor of Chemistry, said he and his colleagues are communicating regularly with tools such as Slack, an instant messaging app, while reaching out to students through email and social media. One recent tweet that included a picture of chemistry faculty dressed as Alice in Wonderland characters for a costume contest said: “Hey, Kalamazoo College chemists. This group may be a bunch of characters, but we’ll help you get through this.”
Bartz is designing a physical chemistry course in two-week modules that will address topics such as climate change, the hole in the ozone layer, and energy and fuel efficiency.
“The hard part for a chemist is that laboratory work is a big part of what we do,” Bartz said. “We’ve considered doing laboratories here and pushing out the data to students. We might set up students for experiments where they already have the material at home, or send them the material they need through the mail. I think my colleagues are doing a really good job figuring out those things.
Assistant Professor Kathryn Sederberg said the creativity ongoing in the Chemistry Department is also common in the German Department. She regularly teaches courses from first-year seminars and beginning German to intermediate German and contemporary German culture.
“We’re thinking, for example, that students might pair up and have video chats in German using the apps they already use to communicate with distant family and friends,” Sederberg said. “We will also rely on the platforms we have been using for years as a complement to classroom work, like discussion boards.”
Sederberg also is drawing inspiration from faculty at other colleges and universities.
“We are reading and sharing articles about best practices for quickly transforming courses into online formats,” Sederberg said. “Distance learning won’t replace the face-to-face instruction we do so well at K, and part of what makes our program so strong is the work students do with each other on campus. However, this pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis, and we will get through it together. And we will really celebrate when we’re back together on campus in Kalamazoo!”
The move to distance learning in many courses will benefit from pedagogical innovations a number of K instructors have been moving toward in recent years, such as those of Math Professor Rick Barth.
“My spring course is a statistics course that has, over the last decade, been redeveloped with lots of digital content and remote learning, sometimes referred to as a flipped classroom,” Barth said.
However, as the Assistant Provost for Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Barth is aware students are concerned about whether they will receive the same peer tutoring that they would in person. But Math Department Student Advisor Maddie Ward and Math-Physics Center (MPC) Peer Instructor Ben Behrens will continue serving other students.
“All the consultants know how many people depend on the MPC for help in their classes, and we will do whatever we can to help everyone with online learning,” Behrens said.
“Our big task is to imagine how we’ll each pivot to bring our accumulated experience to help students learn without face-to-face classes for a time,” Barth said. “In my view, this may well be the singular defining challenge of our careers as teachers. During this time, I’m glad to be at K with wonderful and supportive faculty colleagues. It brings me great optimism to imagine this special group of scholars and teachers bringing our best to this challenging new task.”
Students and faculty will also be supported by Information Services staff such as Education Technology Specialist Josh Moon. Moon helps faculty integrate tools such as Microsoft Teams, a virtual space for chats, audio calls and video calls, and Moodle, an online classroom environment, into learning plans.
“I have a strong hunch that weeks three through five [of the term] will be much easier for everyone than maybe the first two” in the term, Moon said. “However, students will probably find that this helps them develop communication skills that will benefit them in their careers.”
All three professors said the key for students will be maintaining individual communication through tools such as email, and being patient with each other and faculty and staff this term.
“This is a spring of gracious living,” Bartz said. “But it could be an opportunity for us as faculty to connect with students even better than when they’re so busy with all the things they’re normally doing on campus. It’s going to require more time on my end than normal, but it’s because I care a lot about the education of my students.”
More than 250 students including Rebecca Chan ’22 were recognized Friday, Nov. 8, at the Honors Day Convocation at Stetson Chapel.
Family Weekend served as the backdrop for the Honors Day 2019 convocation. More than 250 students were recognized Friday, Nov. 8, for excellence in academics and leadership in six divisions: Fine Arts, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized, as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College awards. Student athletes and teams who won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards also were honored. The students receiving Honors Day awards or recognition are listed below.
FINE ARTS DIVISION
Brian Gougeon Prize in Art
Kate Roberts
Beth Schulman
Zoe Zawacki
The Margaret Upton Prize in Music
Sophia Yurdin
Cooper Award
Maria Jensen
Sherwood Prize
Rebecca Chan
Brianna Taylor
Theatre Arts First-Year Student Award
Rebecca Chan
MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES DIVISION
LeGrand Copley Prize in French
Rebecca Chan
Thomas Saxton
Hardy Fuchs Award
Christian Zeitvogel
Margo Light Award
Daniel Fahle
Romance Languages Department Prize in Spanish
Emiley Hepfner
Hayden Strobel
Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin
Kelly Hansen
Provost’s Prize in Classics
Jessica Chaidez
Annabelle Houghton
Classics Departmental Prize in Greek
Lydia Bontrager
HUMANITIES DIVISION
M. Allen Prize in English
Abigail Cadieux
Jessica Chaidez
John B. Wickstrom Prize in History
Fiona Holmes
Department of Philosophy Prize
Mitch Baty
Julia Bienstock
Emma Fergusson
L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy
Max Bogun
Zoe Celeste Schneberger
Nick Wilson
NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION
Winifred Peake Jones Prize in Biology Natalie Barber
Abigail Gray
Madeline Harding
Grace McKnight
Department of Chemistry Prize
Aleksandra Bartolik
Grace McKnight
First-Year Chemistry Award
Robert Barnard
Saudia Tate
Andrew Walsh
Professor Ralph M. Deal Endowed Scholarship for Physical Chemistry Students Leonardo Sota
First-Year Mathematics Award
Haley Crabbs
Thomas Saxton
Carter Wade
Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics
Lisa Johnston
Dahwi Kim
Samuel Ratliff
Cooper Prize in Physics
Revaz Bakuradze
Samuel Barczy
Kate Roberts
SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION
Departmental Prize in Anthropology and Sociology
Yuridia Campuzano
Mauricio Guillén
Jillian Lynk
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics
Rebekah Halley
Chaniya Miller
William G. Howard Memorial Prize
Georgie Andrews
Jade Jiang
Zachary Ray
Adam Snider
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business
Nathan Micallef
Sage Ringsmuth
Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize
Mihail Naskovski
William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Political Science
Ava Keller
Christian Zeitvogel
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION
Division of Physical Education Prize
Walker Chung
Kaytlyn Tidey
Maggie Wardle Prize
Darby Scott
COLLEGE AWARDS
Gordon Beaumont Memorial Award
Yasamin Shaker
Henry and Inez Brown Prize
Mya Gough
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Rosella LoChirco
Elizabeth Munoz
Erin Radermacher
Virginia Hinkelman Memorial Award
Jilia Johnson
HEYL SCHOLARS
Class of 2023
Samuel Ankley
Ben Behrens (’20)
Carter Eisenbach
Rachel Kramer
Rachel Lanting
Alexis Nesbitt
Suja Thakali
Elizabeth Wang
POSSE SCHOLARS
Class of 2023
Jayla Ekwegh
Naile Garcia
Devin Hunt
Juan Ibarra
Angel Ledesma
Milan Levy
Katharina Padilla
Milagros Robelo
Emilio Romo
Diego Zambrana
NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS
Class of 2023
Donald Brown
Claire Kvande
VOYNOVICH SCHOLARS
Audrey Honig
Nikoli Nickson
ALPHA LAMBDA DELTA
CLASS OF 2022
Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year. The Kalamazoo College chapter was installed on March 5, 1942.
Elizabeth Abel
McKenzi Baker
Natalie Barber
Samuel Barczy
Aleksandra Bartolik
Mitchell Baty
Julia Bienstock
Alexander Bowden
Haylee Bowsher
Irie Browne
Elizabeth Burton
Abigail Cadieux
Rebecca Chan
Gabriel Chung
Haley Crabbs
Sofia Diaz
Adam Dorstewitz
Imalia Drummond
Daniel Fahle
Emma Fergusson
Kaitlin Gandy
Levon Gibson
Jessica Gracik
Madeline Guimond
Emiley Hepfner
Ellie Jones
Joseph Jung
David Kent
Yung Seo Lee
Marissa Lewinski
Donna Li
Isabella Luke
Deven Mahanti
Clara Martinez-Voigt
Mihail Naskovski
Rushik Patel
Houston Peach
Anthony Peraza
Lucas Rizzolo
Marco Savone
Isabella Shansky-Genovese
Caroline Skalla
Emily Smith
Abby Stewart
Emily Tenniswood
Carter Wade
Samantha White
Zachary Worthing
Christian Zeitvogel
ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Performing Arts: Music
Marilu Bueno
John Carlson
Emily Dudd
Sarma Ejups
Peter Fitzgerald
Rose Hannan
Garrett Hanson
Koshiro Kuroda
Milan Levy
Matthew Mueller
Clarice Ray
MIAA AWARDS
These teams earned the 2018-2019 MIAA Team GPA Award for achieving a 3.3 or better grade-point average for the entire academic year:
Men’s Baseball
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Golf
Women’s Golf
Men’s Lacrosse
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Softball
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Women’s Volleyball
MIAA ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
Student Athletes 2018-2019
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association each year honors students at MIAA member colleges who achieve in the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average for the entire academic year.
Hayleigh Alamo
Georgie Andrews
Hunter Angileri
Lauren Arquette
Brooklyn Avery
Julia Bachmann
Sonal Bahl
Nicole Bailey
Lillian Baumann
Brad Bez
Rose Bogard
Jacob Bonifacio
Maria Bonvicini
Alexander Bowden
Molly Brueger
Jane Bunch
Pierce Burke
Alexander Cadigan
Gabriel Chung
Isabelle Clark
Noah Coplan
Rachel Cornell
Chase Coselman
Eva Deyoung
Alexis Dietz
Adam Dorstewitz
Amanda Dow
Sydney Dowdell
Thomas Fales
Colton Farley
Anders Finholt
Clifton Foster
Jakob Frederick
Brendan Gausselin
Sarah George
Jacob Gilhaus
Anthony Giovanni
Rachel Girard
Sophia Goebel
Preston Grossling
Garrett Guthrie
Rebekah Halley
Emily Hamel
Grace Hancock
Megan Heft
Alyssa Heitkamp
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Matthew Howrey
Benjamin Hyndman
Samantha Jacobsen
Benjamin Johanski
Jaylin Jones
Jackson Jones
Claire Kalina
Grace Karrip
Lucas Kastran
Maria Katrantzi
Greg Kearns
Jackson Kelly
Brandon Kramer
Benjamin Krebs
Matthew Krinock
Stefan Leclerc
Kathryn Levasseur
Rosella LoChirco
Molly Logsdon
Nicholas Ludka
Andrea MacMichael
Rachel Madar
Deven Mahanti
Cydney Martell
Samuel Matthews
Eliza McCall
Benjamin Meschke
Hannah Meyers
Nathan Micallef
Zachary Morales
Max Moran
Amanda Moss
Elizabeth Munoz
Kelly Nickelson
Nikoli Nickson
Ian Nostrant
Drew Novetsky
Michael Orwin
Dylan Padget
Paul Pavliscak
Calder Pellerin
Anthony Peraza
Erin Perkins
Eve Petrie
Zach Prystash
Daniel Qin
Erin Radermacher
Harrison Ramsey
Zachary Ray
Jordan Reichenbach
Benjamin Reiter
Lucas Rizzolo
Margaret Roberts
Scott Roberts
Lily Rogowski
Marco Savone
Ashley Schiffer
Nicholas Schneider
Justin Schodowski
Darby Scott
Justin Seablom
Sharif Shaker
Drew Sheckell
Nathan Silverman
Maya Srkalovic
Abby Stewart
Grant Stille
Shelby Suseland
Garrett Swanson
Jacob Sypniewski
Nina Szalkiewicz
Jack Tagget
Leah Tardiff
Emily Tenniswood
Cade Thune
Matt Turton
Madison Vallan
Zachary Van Faussien
Travis Veenhuis
Tejas Vettukattil
Vanessa Vigier
Maija Weaver
Megan Williams
Hannah Wolfe
Sophia Woodhams
Austin Yunker
Christian Zeitvogel
One Kalamazoo College alumnus and one student have ensured K’s reputation as a home for change ringing will continue by earning a national award named after a former K professor.
Ian McKnight ’19 is one of two with Kalamazoo College ties to receive the first Jeff Smith Memorial Young Ringer Award.
Ian McKnight ’19 and Sam Ratliff ’21 are among ringers from towers in Kalamazoo; Kent, Connecticut; Shreveport, Louisiana; Northampton, Massachusetts; Marietta, Georgia; and Sewanee, Tennessee, to earn the first Jeff Smith Memorial Young Ringer Award from the North American Guild of Change Ringers. The award recognizes bell-ringing achievement and a commitment to local change ringing communities.
Sam Ratliff is studying mathematics and computer science on study abroad in Aberdeen, Scotland, this fall and rings regularly with the band at St. Machar’s Church there.
The award is named after the late Jeff Smith, a longtime and beloved professor at Kalamazoo College. In addition to teaching mathematics, Smith taught hundreds of students to ring changes and inspired the College to install change ringing bells at Stetson Chapel on campus.
Change ringing developed in England and is traditionally heard after royal weddings as well as before and after most English church services. It requires a group of ringers working in tight coordination to ring the bells in changing permutations. Because each tower bell takes more than a second to complete its full 360-degree rotation, the bells can’t ring traditional music or melodies. That constraint led to an intricate system of generating unique permutations known as change ringing.
In addition to strengthening the abilities of the Kalamazoo band of change ringers, McKnight and Ratliff have both rung quarter peals. A quarter peal contains a series of at least 1,250 permutations rung in rapid succession according to rules that ensure no permutations are repeated. A quarter peal takes about 45 minutes of concentration and cooperation among the band of ringers, creating beautiful sounds.
McKnight graduated with a degree in political science in June after earning a senior leadership award. He once wrote about his experience with change ringing in K’s student blog. He now works for State Rep. Darrin Camilleri in Detroit.
“It’s a real honor to receive an award named for Jeff Smith, without whom I would probably never have discovered ringing,” McKnight said. “I first went to the tower after hearing the bells that he brought to Kalamazoo College and was hooked after just one practice. For four years since, ringing has been a great joy and a source for friends on both sides of the Atlantic. I know that will continue to be the case for many years to come.”
“I heard that ringing was a cooperative musical, physical and mental exercise, all of which interested me, so I dropped into the tower the first week of my first year at K,” Ratliff said. “The algorithmic methods that we use to make music held my attention and I’ve been ringing ever since.”
The Kalamazoo College ringers welcome visitors and would be pleased to show anyone how the bells are rung. The ringers can be contacted at kzooringers@yahoo.com.
Eugenia Cheng was an early pioneer of math on YouTube and her videos have been viewed around 15 million times to date. She will deliver two lectures May 1 at Kalamazoo College.
A YouTube math pioneer, author, pianist and scientist interviewed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and featured in the New York Times, Wired and the Wall Street Journal will deliver two lectures on Wednesday, May 1, 2019, at Kalamazoo College.
Eugenia Cheng, Ph.D., the Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, will address “Inclusion and Exclusion in Math” at 4:10 p.m. in Room 207 at Olds Upton Science Hall. This lecture, designed for math majors and faculty, will encourage less divisive conversations to explore why women are underrepresented in math.
“The Art of Logic,” part of the Jennifer Mills Lecture Series, will attempt to find the truth buried beneath sound bites, spin, memes, divisive arguments and “fake news” by teaching attendees to think like a mathematician to decipher what people are really saying. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. in Room 103 at Dewing Hall; it is free and open to the public.
Cheng’s work encompasses research in category theory, undergraduate teaching, authoring mathematics books for a general audience, public speaking, professional development for teachers, mathematical art and music. Cheng was an early pioneer of math on YouTube and her videos have been viewed around 15 million times to date. Her books, which will be available for purchase after the evening lecture, include:
Beyond Infinity: An Expedition to the Outer Limits of Mathematics, which considers why some numbers are uncountable by planning a dinner party for 7 billion people using a chessboard, making a chicken-sandwich sandwich, and creating infinite cookies from a finite ball of dough.
Cheng earned tenure in pure mathematics at the University of Sheffield in England, where she now is an honorary fellow. She also has taught at Cambridge University, the University of Chicago and the University of Nice. She holds a Ph.D. in pure mathematics from Cambridge. Learn more about her at her website.
Jennifer Mills ’82 earned a degree in math and physics from K. After graduating, she worked a few years as a teacher in the physics laboratory at the General Motors Institute, now Kettering University, before beginning graduate work in physics at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. Shortly before her death in 1990, Mills created a fund at K to support public lectures in science and math by women or minority speakers. The lecture series each year brings experts in the natural sciences, math, computer science, history, philosophy or sociology to the College.
