{"id":38511,"date":"2025-10-01T20:16:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T00:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/alumni\/?page_id=38511"},"modified":"2025-10-02T15:18:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T19:18:55","slug":"jeanne-hess-athletic-hall-of-fame-inductee","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/alumni\/awards-nominations\/alumni-awards-and-athletic-hall-of-fame-program\/jeanne-hess-athletic-hall-of-fame-inductee\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeanne Hess \u2014 2025 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Jeanne Hess \u2014 2025 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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If there were such a thing as \u201cThe Hall of Fame of the Hall of Fame\u201d the criterion for induction would be a very high bar. Such as: one of only two persons in the history of an institution\u2019s athletic programs to achieve a rare distinction. By that measure, Jeanne Hess belongs in Kalamazoo College\u2019s hypothetical HOF-o-HOF. She is one of only two coaches in K\u2019s nearly two centuries of sports to win more than 500 matches. The other is George Acker\u2026rarefied air, to be sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s basketball and softball teams, and she served as a beloved academic advisor and associate chaplain in the College\u2019s chapel program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cK was<\/em> my life,\u201d says Jeanne. Surely the K-Plan<\/em> permeated it. Perhaps inspired by the curriculum\u2019s study-abroad component, Jeanne took volleyball teams abroad on four occasions\u2014to China, Costa Rica, Trinidad-Tobago, and South Africa. Her scholarly endeavors include writing and publishing two books: \u201cSportuality: Finding Joy in the Games,\u201d and \u201cMaxAbility: Who Are You? What Are You Here For?\u201d Jeanne also has won two of the College\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To know Jeanne, one might think she\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeanne’s Athletic Achievements at Kalamazoo College<\/strong><\/summary>
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