At Kalamazoo College, students are recognized for their achievements through a variety of honors, awards, and prizes that celebrate scholarly and creative accomplishment, leadership and contributions to the College community. These recognitions—conferred by the College, academic departments, and national honor societies—include (but are not limited to) those listed here.
Kalamazoo College publishes a Dean’s List at the end of each quarter that includes those students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 while carrying a full-time course load of at least three units.
The College also celebrates student achievement through official ceremonies. The Honors Day Convocation, held on Friday morning of Family Weekend during the fall term, recognizes students for academics and leadership. On commencement Saturday, awards and special recognition are given to graduating seniors at the Senior Awards ceremony. Beyond the awards listed below, departmental prizes and honors are awarded each year throughout the divisions.
FINE ARTS DIVISION
Brian Gougeon ’81 Prize in Art
The Margaret Upton Prize in Music
Charles Cooper Award in Fine Arts
Lilia Chen Award in Art
George Eaton Errington Prize
Michael Waskowsky Prize
Lillian Pringle Baldauf Prize in Music
Fan E. Sherwood Memorial Prize
Ruth Scott Chenery Award Irmgard Kowatzki Theatre Award
DIVISION OF MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES
Alliance Française Prize in French
LeGrand Copley Prize in French
Chinese Outstanding Achievement Award
Hardy Fuchs Award
Joe Fugate Senior German Award
Margo Light Award
Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin
Provost’s Prize in Classics
Japanese National Honor Society, College Chapter
HUMANITIES DIVISION
O.M. Allen Prize in English
Gail Griffin Prize
Bruce E. Mills Award
Elwood H. and Elizabeth H. Schneider Prize in English
Mary Clifford Stetson Prize
Dwight (1929) and Leola Stocker Prize
Charles Lewis Williams Jr. Award
James Bird Balch Prize in American History
John B. Wickstrom Prize in History
Hodge Prize in Philosophy
L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy American Studies
David Strauss Prize in American Studies
Critical Ethnic Studies Community Praxis Award
Cassandra Solis ’16 Prize in Critical Ethnic Studies
Marion H. Dunsmore (1920) Memorial Prize in Religion
NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION
H. Lewis Batts Prize
The Biology in Liberal Arts Prize
Frances Diebold Scholar Award
William E. Praeger (1922) Prize in Biology
Winifred Peake Jones Prize in Biology
Annual Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry
Annual Undergraduate Award in Organic Chemistry
Annual Undergraduate Award in Physical Chemistry
Jeff Bartz Community in Chemistry Award
Kurt Kaufman Fellow
Lemuel F. Smith Award
Provost’s Prize in Computer Science
Clarke Benedict Williams Prize
Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics
John Wesley Hornbeck Prize
Cooper Prize in Physics
SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION
C. Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business
C. Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics
William G. Howard (1867) Memorial Prize in Economics and Business
Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize
Provost’s Prize in Economics
C. Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business
Robert and Karen Rhoa Prize in Business
E. Bruce Baxter ’64 Memorial Award
Eugene P. Stermer ’50 Award in Public Administration
Marshall Hallock Brenner ’55 Prize
The Raymond L. Hightower Award
Xarifa Greenquist Memorial Psychology Department Award
Richard D. Klein ’53 Senior Award in Psychology
Richard D. Klein ’53 Senior Impact Award in Psychology
Donald W. VanLiere Prize Psychology in Coursework
Donald W. VanLiere Prize Psychology in Research
Catherine A. Smith ’82 Prize in Human Rights
Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Prize in Women’s Studies
William G. Howard (1867) Memorial Prize in Political Science
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION
The George Acker Award
Mary Long Burch ’61 Award
C.W. “Opie’’ Davis (1928) Award
Hornet Athletic Association Award
Knoechel Family Award
Tish Loveless Award
Lauren Rosenthal ’13 Memorial Prize
Catherine A. Smith ’82 Prize in Women’s Athletics
Maggie Wardle ’02 Prize
COLLEGE AWARDS
The Henry ’36 and Inez Brown Prize
Gordon Beaumont Memorial Award
Virginia Hinkelman Memorial Award
Slava-Cica and Spasa Voynovich Scholar
H.P. and Genevieve Connable Scholarship
Fred and Sarah Greer Endowed Scholarship/Lorinda Kay Sanford Memorial
National Honor Societies
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 rank in the top 20% of their class and earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 during the first year.
Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest honorary scholarship society in the United States, has a chapter, Delta of Michigan, at Kalamazoo College. To be eligible for inclusion in Phi Beta Kappa, students must be at the top of their class in GPA and demonstrate both breadth and depth in their coursework.
Fellowships and Scholars
Programs such as the Heyl Scholarship Program, The Kalamazoo Promise and the Posse Scholars program provide selected undergraduates with scholarship support and mentoring that deepen their education and strengthen their engagement on campus and off. Other scholarships and programs support civic engagement opportunities and study abroad for undergraduates, such as the Caroline Ham ’48 Scholar, LaPlante Civic Engagement Scholars, and Vibbert Civic Engagement Scholars.
Kalamazoo College students have also earned a wide range of highly competitive national post-grad fellowships, including a Rhodes Scholarship, a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities, and awards from the Fulbright, Watson, and Harry S. Truman programs. Graduates pursuing advanced study are also regularly awarded fellowships and assistantships by their graduate institutions.
Also available for Kalamazoo College students are the F.W. and Elsie L. Heyl Graduate Fellowships, established by Dr. and Mrs. Heyl for graduate study in chemistry, physics, or related fields at Yale University. The Herbert Lee Stetson Fellowship assists in funding graduate study at Harvard, Yale, and Johns Hopkins Universities, the University of Chicago, or a European university. The Jerry Sherbin Fellowship is a 10-month grant that gives one graduating K senior the opportunity to explore a topic of personal interest outside the U.S. To learn more about post-graduate awards and opportunities, check out our grants, scholarships and fellowship website.