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College Congratulates K-Connected “Geniuses”

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Coincidence? Most certainly, but it is nevertheless fun to count the times a Kalamazoo College campus visit coincides with a subsequent “genius award,” a.k.a. the MacArthur Fellowship.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently announced the MacArthur Fellowships for 2012. On that list were Junot Diaz and David Finkel. Both were featured authors in K’s Summer Common Reading (SCR) program—Diaz in 2007 for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Finkel in 2011 for his nonfiction work The Good Soldiers.

Past MacArthur Fellows with a K connection include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (SCR author—Purple Hibiscus—in 2004, MacArthur Fellow in 2008); Aleksandar Hemon (SCR author—Nowhere Man—in 2004, and named a MacArthur Fellow the following month); and architect Jeanne Gang, who received a MacArthur Fellowship not long after her firm designed the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership.

“Is it cause and effect?” quipped Amy Smith, associate professor of English and associate provost. “Show up at K, get a genius award,” she smiled, no doubt aware that the timeline works in reverse as well. Edward P. Jones won the MacArthur in 2005 and was the Kalamazoo College SCR author (The Known World) two years later; Colson Whitehead got a MacArthur in 2002 and came to K in 2010 when his novel Sag Harbor was the SCR selection.

What is certain is that the SCR selection committee is very good at assessing major writing talent. The committee includes or has included Marin Heinritz, assistant professor of journalism; Andy Mozina, professor of English; Zaide Pixley, dean of the first-year and advising; and Diane Seuss, writer in residence.

Poet Philosopher Will Read at K

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Poet and philosopher and New York Times bestselling author Mark Nepo will give a reading of his works on Tuesday, November 13, at 7 PM in Stetson Chapel at Kalamazoo College. The event is free and open to the public. Nepo will concentrate his reading on his new book Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close to What is Sacred, soon to be published to high acclaim. The book explores the many ways we are asked to listen and how they help us to live. According to Nepo, “Listening is the way we befriend the life we’re given. Our friendship with everything larger than us opens us to the wisdom of Source. This is the work of being.” Nepo has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for more than 35 years, has published 13 books, and recorded eight audio projects. His books have been translated into 20 languages. Nepo has appeared on television and radio, and his work has been featured or cited in countless print publications.

Author Eve Ensler Visits Kalamazoo College

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Eve Ensler at a podium
Eve Ensler presented “Theater as a Tool for Revolutionary Change” at the Dalton Theatre in the Light Fine Arts building. The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership invited the famous feminist to campus. Photo by Jill McLane Baker

Eve Ensler has devoted her life to stopping violence against women and girls, envisioning a planet in which they will be free to thrive, not merely survive. She has traveled to Afghanistan, Bosnia, Haiti, and the Congo providing innovative programming to support women survivors of sexual violence. She is the creator of V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.

Her documentary, What I Want My Words to Do to You, about her work with a writing group at Bedford Hill Correctional Facility in New York, highlights her work exploring the voices of women as a path to empowerment. Her latest book, I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls around the World, made the New York Times best sellers list. Ensler is best known for her Tony award-winning play The Vagina Monologues, which has been performed in more than 130 countries.

On Tuesday May 15, she spent the afternoon and evening on the Kalamazoo College campus meeting students, faculty, staff, trustees, and community guests. She wowed a large audience in Dalton Theatre with her talk, Theater as a Tool for Revolutionary Change, and stayed late into the night to sign books and autographs in the Light Fine Arts lobby. Thank you, Eve Ensler, for your authentic and inspiring visit to K as the 2012 Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership annual spring lecturer.

Professor Dorrien Delivers Speech on Economics, Ethics, and Democracy

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Professor Emeritus of Economics Phil Thomas enjoys his retirement in Northport, Michigan. He also keeps Kalamazoo College informed of events that may be of interest to K alumni in northern Michigan. One such event is Northport Trinity Church’s eighth annual Peace Lecture, which this year features former Kalamazoo College Professor of Religion Gary Dorrien (who currently teaches at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University).

Dorrien will speak on Saturday evening, June 2, at 7 PM, and on Sunday morning, June 3, at 11 AM. The theme of his talks will be “Economic Crisis, Social Ethics, and Economic Democracy.” Dorrien is the author of 14 books and some 250 articles that range across the fields of ethics, social theory, theology, philosophy, politics, and history.

Living Sport: Kalamazoo College Event Gathers Nationally-Renowned Sports Entrepreneurs

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CONTACT: Jim Van Sweden, 269.337.7291

April 6, 2010

[KALAMAZOO, Mich.] A Kalamazoo College liberal arts student is likely to know Sun Tzu and the CEOs and coaches who cite The Art of War in business management and sports. Whether such broad liberal arts learning is an advantage when it comes to making a living in the business of sports will be among the subjects of a panel discussion titled “Careers in Sports Business.” The event features six prominent panelists (some available for media interviews) and occurs Monday, April 19, at 7 PM in Dewing Hall Room 103.

A quarter of “K” students participate in intercollegiate athletics, and the school’s economics and business major is among its three most popular. Panelists will share their pathways to their current positions; discuss present and future business opportunities in sports management; explore the importance of mentorship and networking for gaining a foothold in the business of athletics; speculate on counterfactual “what-ifs” in their careers; and provide key advice for soon-to-be graduates seeking careers that connect their interests in sports and business.

Panelists, half of whom are Kalamazoo College alumni, include Charles Tucker (Class of 1956), president and CEO of The Sports Network; Storm T. Kirschenbaum, president of Metis Sports Management; Kathy DeBoer, executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association; Timon Corwin (Class of 1986), United States Tennis Association senior director of junior and collegiate competition; Kurt David, bestselling sports author and transition consultant for professional and Olympic athletes; and Jeff Pellegrom (Class of 1988), executive vice president and chief financial officer of Minnesota Sports and Entertainment.

Timon Corwin is an eight-time All-American in singles and doubles with the Kalamazoo College men’s team (1983-86). He led the 1986 squad to a NCAA Division III team championship title. He completed a post-graduate fellowship in Bonn, Germany, in 1987 and earned his law degree (Marquette University School of Law) in 1992. He was head coach for the Kalamazoo College men’s tennis team from 1993 to 2007, and his teams finished third or higher in the nation six times. He was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year (1997) and Midwest Regional Coach of the Year (1999). Today he is senior director for the junior and collegiate competition for United States Tennis Association Player Development. This year he also will direct the U.S. Open Junior Championships and the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.

Kurt A. David is the bestselling author of From Glory Days, a book that chronicles the transition of 20 professional athletes from their playing days to life after sports. David graduated (B.A., Elementary Education) from Saginaw Valley State University and earned a M.A. (counseling) from Central Michigan University. He played professional basketball in Europe. He has appeared on radio and television and in a number of articles. He is a nationally certified sports counselor who works with professional and Olympic athletes as they transition to life outside of sports. He is the host and producer of From Glory Days television program.

Kathy DeBoer has been executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association since 2006, and during her tenure AVCA membership has grown by 36 percent and annual convention attendance has increased by nearly 30 percent. Prior to AVCA she spent 23 years in intercollegiate athletics, 18 of them at University of Kentucky as head volleyball coach and senior associate athletic director. She holds a B.A. (Humanities, Michigan State University) and M.B.A. (University of Kentucky). She’s a nationally known public speaker on the impact of gender in competitive behavior in business and sports settings and the author of Gender and Competition: How Men and Women Approach Work and Play Differently.

Sports attorney Storm Kirschenbaum formed Metis Sports Management, LLC, in 2007. The firm represents and markets professional football and baseball players (Kirschenbaum himself has represented nearly 100 professional athletes). Kirschenbaum won a scholarship from then number-one-ranked University of Florida, where he played with David Eckstein (San Diego Padres), Brad Wilkerson (Boston Red Sox), Mark Ellis (Oakland Athletics), and Josh Fogg (Colorado Rockies). He played his final two collegiate seasons at Division I Long Island University-C.W. Post. He holds a B.A. (political science, magna cum laude) and a J.D. (University of Detroit Mercy School of Law). At Mercy he was president of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society. He served three years as vice president of Integrity Sports Player Representation, Inc., and co-founded the Michigan Boxing Hall of Fame. He is a board member of the Inner City Exposure Foundation.

Jeff Pellegrom serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Minnesota Sports and Entertainment (MSE), which owns and controls the Minnesota Wild Hockey Club and the Houston Aeros Hockey Club.  MSE also manages all events at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Pellegrom oversees the finance, human resources, information technology and legal departments for the company.  He graduated from Kalamazoo College (magna cum laude) with degrees in economics and mathematics.  He worked for the Brookings Institution, 3M, Holderbank, and SC Johnson, before taking a position 2 years ago with MSE.  He is married to fellow Kalamazoo College graduate Mary Kruger Pellegrom (Class of 1988), and they have four children.

The Bronx born and reared Charles Tucker, a.k.a. Mickey Charles, is the founder of The Sports Network, the world’s largest independently owned supplier of sports scores and information, with more than 2,000 outlets in the world. He launched that business 27 years ago from his kitchen, and like all great athletes, has never rested on his laurels. Today TSN is expanding geographically (into China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Algeria, among others) and technologically (complementing its saturation of websites by expanding to the mobile phone). He developed his competitive fire on the “city game’s” New York asphalt courts (where “no autopsy, no foul” was the rule). He transferred to Kalamazoo College from Columbia University and played for two seasons on the Hornet basketball team. He was named team captain his senior season, and led that squad to a 14-9 record and a second place finish in the MIAA conference. He earned his law degree (Brooklyn Law School) and began a career as a sports columnist for several newspapers and magazines (including the Philadelphia Inquirer), as a television sports talk-show host (for CBS and later ESPN), as a college English Professor (St. Joseph College in Philadelphia) and then, in 1983, as the founder of a sports scores telephone service that evolved into TSN. He is a popular public speaker who was once offered a contract as an opening-act stand-up comedian.

Founded in Kalamazoo in 1833, Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu) is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the “K-Plan” that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, learning by practice, and both international and intercultural engagement.

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