If there were such a thing as “The Hall of Fame of the Hall of Fame” the criterion for induction would be a very high bar. Such as: one of only two persons in the history of an institution’s athletic programs to achieve a rare distinction. By that measure, Jeanne Hess belongs in Kalamazoo College’s hypothetical HOF-o-HOF. She is one of only two coaches in K’s nearly two centuries of sports to win more than 500 matches. The other is George Acker…rarefied air, to be sure.

Jeanne coached 35 seasons, claimed five Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships, and finished third or higher in the conference 10 times. Her teams played in NCAA regional tournaments six times, and Jeanne was named Regional Coach of the Year twice.

Her responsibilities (and excellence) at K far exceeded the boundaries of volleyball. She chaired and served as a professor in the physical education department; she coached as an assistant on women’s basketball and softball teams, and she served as a beloved academic advisor and associate chaplain in the College’s chapel program.

“K was my life,” says Jeanne. Surely the K-Plan permeated it. Perhaps inspired by the curriculum’s study-abroad component, Jeanne took volleyball teams abroad on four occasions—to China, Costa Rica, Trinidad-Tobago, and South Africa. Her scholarly endeavors include writing and publishing two books: “Sportuality: Finding Joy in the Games,” and “MaxAbility: Who Are You? What Are You Here For?” Jeanne also has won two of the College’s most prestigious prizes: the Diebold Award for teaching excellence and the Lux Esto Award for consistently profound achievement in the liberal arts during a long career at K.

She serves on many community service boards and is a prolific volunteer. After Jeanne retired from K (2019) she was elected to a seat on the Kalamazoo City Commission. She continues to serve on the City Commission, currently as vice mayor.

To know Jeanne, one might think she’s congenitally predisposed to see joy or its potential in most every experience, to speak words that reflect respect for the promise inherent in every person, to think thoughts of relentless optimism and possibility. This extraordinary gift is manifest in her teaching, writing, coaching, and public service.