Alumni Relations

Dr. Calvert Johnson ’71

The Distinguished Achievement Award honors those graduated from the College who have achieved distinction in their professional fields. Candidates shall have received awards or other recognition from their peers as evidence of distinguished achievement in their profession. National or international recognition indicating a continuing or enduring level of achievement is desirable. The 2016 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award is Dr. Calvert Johnson ′71. If you know someone like this, please nominate them today!

Past Recipients

The following recipients are listed alphabetically, followed by class year and the year of award.

Hon. Glenn S. Allen, Jr. ’36 – 1986

Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals
Served as Mayor of Kalamazoo for four terms
Special counsel for legal, fiscal and legislative affairs

Dr. Harold B. Allen ’24 – 1980

Professor of English and Linguistics, University of Minnesota
Editor, Linguistic Atlas of the Upper Midwest
Author of many books and papers on linguistics

Renee Askins ’81 – 1999

Founder, The Wolf Fund
Project Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Exhibit Coordinator, Yellowstone National Park

Dr. George C. Baldwin ’39 – 1987

Research engineer, General Electric Company
Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Physics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Research Physicist, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Dr. H. Lewis Batts, Jr. ’43 – 1978

Professor of Biology, Kalamazoo College
Founder and Executive Director, Kalamazoo Nature Center;
Developer, Parkview Hills Residential Community

Larry Bell ’80 – 2010

Founder, Bell’s Brewery, Inc.
Board of Directors, American Malting Barley Association
Ex Officio Board Member, The Beer Institute
Inaugural Chairman, Michigan’s Brewer’s Guild

Bruce Benton ’64 – 1988

Coordinator, West African Riverblindness (Onchocerciasis) Control Program of the World Bank.

Dr. Louis F. Brakeman ’54 – 1992

Provost, Stetson University
Previous Professor and Chairman of the Department of Political Science, Denison University
Previous President and Provost, Denison University

Dr. Roger E. Brinner ’69 – 1987

Group Vice President and Chief Economist, Data Resources
Previous Senior Staff Economist, President’s Council of Economics Advisors

Dr. Harold W. Brown ’24 – 1982

Professor of Parasitology, College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University
Parasitologist, Presbyterian Hospital
Author, Basic Clinical Parasitology

Garry Brown ’51 – 1994

Retired from Washington, D.C. law firm, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart
Previous Kalamazoo Area Representative, House of Representatives
Served on Commission on Housing

Dr. Susana Cabeza de Vaca ’67 – 2011

Resident Director for the Kalamazoo College study abroad program in Ecuador
Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in Ecuador

Arnold Campbell ’72 – 2012

Previously served at various US embassies and consulates for the Department of State′s Foreign Service.
Previously served as Special Assistant to two Deputy Assistant Secretaries in Washington.
Recipient of several meritorious honor awards, a superior honor awards, and the Secretary′s Career Achievement Award.

Dr. David Campbell ’71 – 1995

Professor of Biology, Grinnell, IA
Henry Luce Professor in Nations and the Global Environment & Chair
Fellow National, The Explorers Club

Martha Campbell ’72 – 2012

32-year career as a Foreign Services Officer
Previous Dean of the School of Professional Area Studies at the Foreign Service Institute
Previous Executive Director of the European Bureau

Dr. Italo Carl Candoli ’50 – 1986

Superintendent for Independent School District, Fort Worth, Texas
Previous Professor and Chairman, University of Kansas Department of Higher Education

Frances Clark ’28 – 1987

Founder and President of New School for Music Study, Princeton University
Author, Frances Clark Library for Piano Students

Scott Cleland ’82 – 2000

Founder and Managing Director, The Legg Mason Precursor Group
Founder, “Investment Precursors in Telecom, Internet and Electronic Commerce” Conference

Alma Smith Crawford ’27 – 1983

President of the Kalamazoo Board of Education
Civic Leader and Volunteer

Harold Decker ’67 – 2008

Principal Lawyer with Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C
Interim President and CEO of American Red Cross immediately following terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
Retired from 21 years as a Staff Attorney with The Upjohn Company/Pharmacia Corporation

Dr. Mildred Doster ’30 – 1976

Assistant Director, Denver Public Schools Department of Health
Assistant Clinical Professor of Preventive Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Chairperson, Joint National Committee of the American School Health Association and the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness

Paul Eads ’73 – 1997

Production Designer/Art Director, Motion Pictures and Television, including Universal Pictures
Emmy Recipient, Design of “N.Y.P.D. Blue” and “Murder One”
“Excellence in Production Design” award recipient for the Series “Brooklyn South”

Dr. Eva M. Eicher ’61 – 1992

Senior Staff Scientist, The Jackson Laboratory
Cooperating Professor in Zoology, University of Maine

Dr. Kenneth G. Elzinga ’63 – 1983

Professor of Economics, University of Virginia
Faculty Member, Law and Economic Center’s Advanced Course for Federal Judges on Antitrust Economics
Co-Author, The Antitrust Penalties

Elsie Herbold Froeschner ’35 – 1988

Free Lance Biological Illustrator
Previous Entomological Illustrator, US National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Dr. Harry T. Garland ’68 – 1983

President of Cromemco, a major supplier of computers to foreign countries
Publications in Electronics Magazines

Dr. Walter A. Good ’37 – 1977

Defense Researcher, Applied Physics Laboratory of The Johns Hopkins University

Dr. William E. Good ’37 – 1977

Researcher in Color Television, General Electric Co.
A Developer of the Light Valve Projection System, which made large screen television possible

Dr. Richard D. Haas ’65 – 1993

Advisor, Research Department, International Monetary Fund

Dr. Donald L. Hafner ’66 – 1987

Associate Professor of Political Science, Boston College
Advisor, US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
Co-Editor, Weapons in Space

E. James Harkema ’64 – 1992

Head Football Coach, Eastern Michigan University
MAC Coach of the Year, 1987

Dr. John N. Howell ′61 – 2015

Ph.D. in pharmacology from UCLA
Associate professor of physiology emeritus at Ohio University

Dr. Richard C. Hudson ’69 – 1991

Executive Producer of Science Programming at KTCA-TV, St. Paul, Minnesota
Series Producer for the Emmy Award winning program, Newton’s Apple

Holly Hughes ’77 – 1995

Feminists Art Institute Member
Playwright, WOW Women’s Theater
Playwright and Performer, “The Well of Horniness,” “Clit Notes,” and “Preaching to the Perverted”

Dr. Cynthia Earl Kerman ’44 – 1979

Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature, Villa Julie College
Author, Creative Tension: The Life and Thought of Kenneth Bolding
Co-Author, The Lives of Jean Toomer: A Hunger for Wholeness

Lisa Kron ’83 – 2003

Playwright: 101 Humiliating Stories, Well, and 2.5 Minute Ride, which was recipient of Obie Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations, L.A. Dramalogue Award, GLAAD award for Best Off-Broadway Play, and named Best Autobiographical Play by New York Press.
Founder of Obie and Bessie-award winning Five Lesbian Brothers theater company
Actress: The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, The Vagina Monologues, Well, and others

Vincent Liff ’73 – 1995

Casting Director

Jacqueline Buck Mallinson ’48 – 1989

Adjunct Associate Professor of Science, Western Michigan University
Co-Authored and Developed standardized tests for the Scholastic Testing Service
Director, Instructor, Evaluator in more than 30 National Science Foundation Institutes and Programs

Mark McDonald ’73 – 1996

Sports Editor, The Dallas Morning News
Previous Political Editor, International Herald Tribune in Paris
Guide, John Muir Wilderness and Mt. Whitney regions of the Sierras

Dr. Ralph W. McKee ’34 – 1981

Assistant Dean Emeritus of the School of Medicine, UCLA
Professor Emeritus of Biological Chemistry, UCLA
Author of over 100 publications in the fields of nutrition. cancer, and metabolism research

Dr. Genna Rae McNeil ’69 – 1986

Ecumenical Officer, American Baptist Churches, USA
Previous Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Howard University School of Law, and Roosevelt University
Author, Groundwork: Charles Hamilton Houston and the Struggle for Human Rights

Julie Mehretu ’92 – 2007

Acclaimed artist
MacArthur Fellow and fellow with The American Academy in Berlin, Germany
Work has shown worldwide including the Whitney Biennial and a solo show at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis

Rev. David Mesenbring ’73 – 2003

Educator and Advocate in South Africa during 1970s and 1980s, researcher, editor and publisher of writings of Steven Biko; during 1980s served as Lutheran World Federation’s Alternate Representative to the U.N., and spread awareness of Southern Africa.
Founder, Seafarer’s House, an ecumenical non-profit that connects seafarers to their families and emphasizes human rights.

Helen Pratt Mickens ’76 – 2006

Professor and Associate Dean of Community Relations at Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Fellow of the State Bar of Michigan and has served on the board of directors of the Ingham County Bar Association

Dr. John D. Montgomery ’41 – 1988

Ford Foundation Professor of International Studies, Harvard University
Served US Army and was instrumental in planning the rebuilding of Hiroshima
Publisher of 15 books and numerous articles

Dr. Daniel Nepstad ’79 – 2013

Ph.D. in forest ecology from Yale
Co-founder of the Amazon Institute of Environmental Research (IPAM)
Published more than 140 scientific articles and book chapters and three books

Dr. Gilbert F. Otto ’26 – 1989

Adjunct Professor of Zoology and Senior Research Associate, University of Maryland
Previous Assistant to the Vice President and Director of Personnel, Abbott Laboratories
Consultant, FDA, World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health, and the National Academy of Science

Guy L. Perry ’27 – 1988

Founder and Chairman of the Board, G.L. Perry, Inc.
Founded his first store in 1939, Elkhart, Indiana
Expanded the first store into 14 stores located in Michigan and Indiana

Harley R. Pierce ’51 – 1993

Head Football and Tennis Coach, Sturgis High School, MI
National High School Tennis Coach of the Year, 1979
Michigan High School Football Coach of the Year, 1969 and 1974

Dr. Fred O. Pinkham ’42 – 1989

Associate Director of the Morrison Institute for Population and Resource Studies, Stanford University
Previous President and Chief Executive Officer, Population Crisis Committee
Previous President, Ripon College

Jack P. Ragotzy ’48 – 1993

Producer and Director, The Barn Theatre, Augusta, MI
Director, Several Broadway and Off-Broadway Productions
Director, Actor, Writer, various TV programs

Dr. William R. Rogers ’54 – 1985

President and Professor of Religion and Psychology, Guilford College
Author, Nourishing the Humanistic in Medicine: Interactions with the Social Sciences, Project Listening and The Alienated Student

Hon. Gerald E. Rosen ′73 – 2014

Chief U.S. District Judge
Member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Council

Daniel M. Ryan ’42 – 1975

Publisher, Kalamazoo Gazette
Community Leader

Dr. John Sarno ’44 – 2004

Innovator in back pain therapy as a result of the mind-body process
Author, Mind Over Back Pain, Healing Back Pain, and The Mindbody Prescription

Hon. Myra Selby ’77 – 1998

Justice, Indiana Supreme Court
Previous Director of Health Policy

Rev. P. Ronald Spann ’65 – 1999

Rector, Church of the Messiah
Focuses on providing decent, affordable housing for low income families through the renovation and rehabilitation of existing dwellings
Church of the Messiah Housing Corporation (CHMC), which provides consulting services to other non-profit groups involved in community development, was formed under Rev. Spann

Dr. Laurence E. Strong ’36 – 1984

Professor of Chemistry, Kalamazoo College and Earlham College
Research Professor, Earlham College
Director, Chemical Bond Approach Project

Gene Tidrick ’64 – 2004

Expert in development economics, serving as one of the World Bank’s lead economists in China, India, and Southern Africa
Author, Accelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa (still recognized as one of the most significant works on Africa), Leading Issues in Economic Development, co-author of China: Long-Term Issues and Options and Can Africa Claim the 21st Century?

Dr. Peter S. Tippett ’75 – 2005

CEO of Cybertrust and creator of the antivirus product purchased by Norton AntiVirus
1998 Entrepreneur of the Year and listed on 2002’s “25 Most Influential CTOs” by InfoWorld Media Group

Dr. Frank S. Tomkins ’37 – 1990

Senior Scientist, Metallurgical Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory
Scientific Observer, US atom bomb test on Bikini
Department of State Technical Advisor, US delegation to the Second International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy

Dr. Margaret E. Waid ’40 – 1987

Associate Medical Director, Central Indiana Regional Blood Center
Previous Chairperson of the Medical Technology Department, Florida International University
Cancer Education Coordinator and Pathology Instructor, Florida International University.

Dr. John W. Warner ’66 – 1990

Chairman, President and CEO, Taunton Technologies, Inc.
Previous Acting Chief, Research Flight Programs Development Branch at NASA Headquarters

Craig S. Wells ’75 – 1989

Owner and Operator, Craig Wells Photography
Recipient of National Gold and Silver Awards for Photography

Kathleen West ’77 – 2001

Co-Founder, SHIELDS for Families Projects, Inc.
Director, Drug Endangered Children Resource Center and Clearinghouse
Consultant, Center for Child Protection, Children’s Hospital of San Diego, and National Advocacy on Addictions in Los Angeles

Owen W. Williams ’48 – 1986

Deputy Director of Management and Technology, Defense Mapping Agency, US Department of Defense
Assisted with the development of the fields of satellite geodesy, laser geodesy, airborne gravimetry, and the establishment of the World Gravity Standardization Network

David Wilson ’69 – 2009

Founder, Museum of Jurassic Technology
MacArthur Fellow

Marcia J. Wood ’55 – 1986

Professor of Art, Kalamazoo College
National Sculptor Exhibitor