The Biology Department of Kalamazoo College announced recently that John Fraser of Kalamazoo has been appointed Director of the Lillian Anderson Arboretum.

This is a new, part-time position. Up until now, the director's duties have been shouldered by Paul Sotherland, Associate Professor of Biology at K.

John and his wife Ann Fraser moved to Kalamazoo from Tennessee in 2003. John has a Master's degree in Biology from Fordham University and has most recently been involved in GIS analysis for conservation purposes. In Tennessee he was manager of the Landscape Analysis Laboratory of the University of the South in Sewanee.

The new director's duties will include trail maintenance, signage, updating and maintaining the website and acting as liason between the Arboretum and the wider community that it serves. On his appointment, Director Fraser stated: "I'd like to pay tribute to the hard work and devotion of Paul Sotherland, who has volunteered so much of his time to the Arboretum. He is and will continue to be the moving spirit behind the institution, though I hope to be able to relieve him of some of the day-to-day heavy lifting. I'm also looking forward to working with the other members of the Arboretum Advisory Committee. I appreciate their commitment to making the Arboretum an even more valuable resource for the K College community and the whole of Southwest Michigan."