Category: Events

Professor, Author to Deliver Weber Lecture

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William Weber Lecture Speaker Joe Soss
Joe Soss, the University of Minnesota’s Cowles Chair for the Study of Public Service, will deliver the annual William Weber Lecture in Government and Society at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Olmsted Room at Mandelle Hall.

A professor and author known for exploring the interplay of democratic politics, societal inequalities and public policy will visit Kalamazoo College on Tuesday. Cowles Chair for the Study of Public Service Joe Soss will deliver the annual William Weber Lecture in Government and Society at 8 p.m. in the Olmsted Room at Mandelle Hall.

Soss holds faculty positions in the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the political science department and sociology department at the University of Minnesota. His open-to-the-public lecture, “Preying on the Poor: Criminal Justice as Revenue Racket,” shares a title with his current book project.

In the upcoming book, Soss and coauthor Josh Page will argue that police officers, acting as street-level enforcers for a program promoted by city officials in Ferguson, Missouri, used fines and fees to extract resources from poor communities of color and deliver them to municipal coffers.

The authors will further argue that what happened in Ferguson is not an anomaly in U.S. history or of contemporary American governance while offering a political analysis of the origins, operations and consequences of revenue-centered criminal justice practices that have grown in the U.S. since the 1990s.

Soss also co-authored a 2011 book, Disciplining the Poor: Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race, with Richard C. Fording and Sanford Schram. That book explained the transformation of poverty governance over 40 years and received the 2012 Michael Harrington Award, the 2012 Oliver Cromwell Cox Award, the 2012 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award and the 2015 Herbert Simon Award.

The Weber Lecture was founded by Bill Weber, a 1939 graduate of Kalamazoo College. Weber also founded the William Weber Chair in Political Science at the College before passing in 2012. Past lecturers in this series have included David Broder, Van Jones and DeRay Mckesson. For more information on Soss and his work, visit his website.

“Spitfire Grill” Opens Season of Women-Focused Plays

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Three Performers from Spitfire Grill
Rebecca Chan ’22 (right) will play Percy and serve as the dramaturg for the Festival Playhouse production of Spitfire Grill. Sedona Coleman ’23 (left) will play Shelby and Sophie Hill ’20 (middle) will play Hannah.

Can a former prison inmate one day be redeemed, have healthy relationships and feel free from the person who once attacked her? The fall Festival Playhouse production of the musical Spitfire Grill examines these issues for parolee Percy Talbott, who tries to forge a new place for herself in the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin. There, she combats town gossip—mostly about herself—in a place that represents freedom, far from where she was attacked.

Rebecca Chan ’22 will play the lead role and serve as the production’s dramaturg.

“When (Percy) was in prison, she found a picture of Wisconsin in a travel book,” Chan said. “It looked open and free, so she decided she wanted to go there when she was released.”

As the dramaturg, Chan is responsible for working with the director, Visiting Professor “C” Heaps, on background research and how current events and perspectives might inform or shape the production. That means in addition to performing a critical role, Chan is preparing a lobby display and writing an essay that will further discuss the play’s themes including female empowerment, domestic abuse, redemption and the mistreatment of veterans, especially Vietnam War veterans.

The theme of female empowerment is especially important to Chan, who feels honored to participate in the Playhouse’s 56th season, which recognizes women in theater under the theme “HERstory: Forgotten Female Figures.”

Chan notes that many storylines in theatre productions are male-dominated, even as a majority of those participating in college theatre settings are women. “It’s nice to do a show where a majority of the performers are women and they’re a big influence on the show,” Chan said.

Spitfire Grill has three main characters, all of whom are women. Shelby, played by Sedona Coleman ’23, is a woman in her 30s who struggles to find connections outside of her emotionally abusive husband. Hannah, played by Sophie Hill ’20, is an elderly woman and the owner of the grill. Hannah has a son, Eli, who left to fight in Vietnam and has never returned. Like Percy, both are characters trying to find their place in Gilead.

“The town falls apart because Eli had been a symbol of hope and the future,” Chan said. “Eli’s missing status is the catalyst for everything falling apart. The play’s progression starts in the winter, and the costuming and dialogue reflect the progression of seasons. That’s followed by rebirth and more life in people’s lives before it ends in fall with the colored leaves.”

By the end, the three female characters who once were isolated and lonely become strong friends.

“It’s almost like they build their own family,” Chan said.

The show is accompanied by a live, five-person orchestra, performing on a piano, a guitar, a mandolin, a violin, a cello player and a keyboard tuned to sound like an accordion. Their folk-like music, derived from Appalachia, reflects Percy’s background as a West Virginia native.

The performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, through Saturday, Nov. 9, with a 2 p.m. showing on Sunday, Nov. 10. Tickets for all four shows at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse are available by visiting festivalplayhouse.ludus.com or by calling 269.337.7333. Adults are $15, seniors are $10 and students are $5 with an ID. Kalamazoo College students, faculty and staff are admitted free with their College IDs.

Learn more about Spitfire Grill at reason.kzoo.edu/festivalplayhouse.

Inspiration Adds ‘Spark’ to College Singers Concerts

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From the Chicago area to Kalamazoo, music lovers will have a chance to see a Kalamazoo College vocal group in two public concerts coming soon.

College Singers Concerts
The College Singers have concerts coming up in Naperville, Illinois, on Oct. 25 and in Kalamazoo on Oct. 31.

The College Singers—a 28-voice mixed soprano, alto, tenor and bass choir representing music majors and non-music majors—will perform concerts titled Spark. The first is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 25 E. Benton Ave., in Naperville, Illinois. The concert is free and open to the public; donations will be accepted to defray the cost of touring for the choir. On Saturday, the group will perform a private concert at the Primo Center for Women and Children in Englewood for the residents receiving services from this non-profit.

The group returns to Kalamazoo to perform at 4:10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in the lobby of Dalton Theater at the Light Fine Arts building on campus. This concert is also free and open to the public. It is one hour long and should be long before trick or treating begins.

Spark is so-titled because it relates to pondering the origins of an idea through music and psychology.

“I was curious about the ways in which ideas come to life from nothing in particular,” said Assistant Music Professor Chris Ludwa, the group’s director, about crafting the performance. “That got me to thinking about the origins of various systems, even life itself, so the concert explores all of those things from the birth of people to the birth of ideas.”

The College Singers have performed in cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Traverse City and Lansing before, leaving the Chicago area as a logical next destination for its first concert of the year—not only for its K connections with prospective students and alumni nearby, but the openness and welcoming nature of the public venues.

“It’s important that we move from the concert hall to the community,” Ludwa said. “Too often music has been something offered up in venues that exclude part of society.”

The director added the concerts will appeal to virtually any music lover.

“The song list will hit numerous genres from spirituals to chant,” Ludwa said. “We have old folk songs sung by trios and big, energetic songs that include drums, stomping and other forms of expression. If you have a pulse, you’ll find something that speaks to you on this program.”

Kalamazoo College, founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts and sciences college and the creator of the K-Plan, which emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, independent research, and international and intercultural engagement.

For more information on the concerts, please contact Ludwa at cludwa@kzoo.edu or 231.225.8877.

Pianist Slates Free Concert at K

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Pianist Sookkyung Cho
Pianist Sookkyung Cho will perform a free concert Thursday, Oct. 17, in Kalamazoo College’s Dalton Theater at Light Fine Arts.

A Korean-born professional pianist noted for her career appearances at venues such as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and the Chicago Cultural Center will perform in a free concert at Kalamazoo College.

Sookkyung Cho will perform pieces by composers such as Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin and Alexander Scriabin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in Dalton Theater at Light Fine Arts. A founding member of the New York-based Almava Trio, Cho has been featured in major music festivals including Yellow Barn, Norfolk and Sarasota, and was a performing associate at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine.

Before her appointment as an assistant professor of piano at Grand Valley State University in fall 2015, Cho was a member of the piano and chamber music faculty at New England Conservatory Preparatory in Boston and the music theory faculty at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Cho earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Juilliard, where she was honored with the prestigious John Erskine Graduation Prize. She also has a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Institute and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Juilliard.

For more information about this concert, please contact the Music Department at 269.337.7070 or susan.lawrence@kzoo.edu.

Homecoming 2019 Begins Oct. 18

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Kalamazoo College will welcome back alumni, families and friends for a fun-filled weekend as we celebrate Homecoming 2019 on Oct. 18-20.

Homecoming 2018 lo 0464 for Homecoming 2019
Alumni and guests will participate in events such as the 5K Run/Walk during Homecoming 2019.

Events begin at dawn Friday when alumni are invited to begin taking self-guided tours of the Lillian Anderson Arboretum. The “Roots in the Earth” first-year seminar created the tour in 2018, sponsored by the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement, with stop information available at the arboretum’s website. Visitors can enjoy acres of marsh, meadow and forest, and visit the Batts Pavillion, named for H. Lewis Batts Jr. ’43 and Jean M. Batts ’43.  Parking at the arboretum is available throughout the day in its main lot, with overflow parking offered at the Oshtemo Township Park, 7275 W. Main St., just east of the property.

Other Homecoming 2019 highlights will include:

  • Peter Rothstein ’14, the 2019 Young Alumni Award recipient, delivering a lecture titled From K to Tea at 4 p.m. Friday in Room 103 at Dewing Hall. Rothstein will talk about how he created a successful business after attending K. Rothstein, a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree , established Dona Chai with his sister, Amy. The company crafts tea concentrates and sodas brewed with spices from around the world.
  • The Alumni Association Awards at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Dalton Theatre, honoring the Distinguished Achievement, Distinguished Service, Young Alumni, Weimer K. Hicks and Athletic Hall of Fame awards recipients.
  • Guided campus tours and opportunities to visit newer facilities including the Fitness and Wellness Center, the Intercultural Center, the Hornet Golf Lab and revamped weight room at Anderson Athletic Center, and the Admission Center. Consult our full Homecoming schedule for specific times.
  • An improvisation show with K’s improv troupe, Monkapult. Free tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the door at Connable Recital Hall in Light Fine Arts at 10 p.m. Friday.
  • The Homecoming 5K Run/Walk at 8 a.m. Saturday. Check in will begin at 7:30 a.m. The event, offering an opportunity to see the campus and neighborhood, is open to all ages and fitness levels. The first 300 registrants will receive commemorative T-shirts designed by Tanush Samson ’19.
  • The K Song Project at 1 p.m. Saturday. Guests can enjoy a high-energy performance from the College Singers featuring songs submitted by reunion classes.
  • Athletics events throughout the weekend including team reunions, a volleyball match at 5 p.m. Friday against North Park at Anderson Athletic Center, a women’s soccer match against St. Mary’s at noon Saturday at the Athletic Fields Complex, a men’s soccer match against Alma at 4:30 p.m. at the Athletic Fields Complex, and the Homecoming football game against Albion at 2 p.m. at Angell Field.

You can still join the festivities and renew connections with your classmates. Visit our homecoming website for a full schedule, details and registration information. And watch the College website, Facebook page, and Twitter (@kcollege) and Instagram @kalamazoocollege accounts for photos and updates throughout the weekend.

“Spaceman of Bohemia” Author Visits K

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Students new to Kalamazoo College will take an important first step in connecting with each other and with faculty and staff when the 2019 Summer Common Reading author visits campus on Friday, Sept. 13.

Spaceman of Bohemia bookcover
Jaroslav Kalfař, the author of the science-fiction novel Spaceman of Bohemia, will discuss his 2017 book and answer questions from students in a colloquium Friday, Sept. 13, at Stetson Chapel.

Jaroslav Kalfař, the author of the science-fiction novel Spaceman of Bohemia, will discuss his 2017 book and answer questions from students in a colloquium at Stetson Chapel. Kalfař’s appearance will cap the class of 2023’s experience with K’s Summer Common Reading program which joins the Kalamazoo College community in conversations about their book. Frequently, the author returns in four years to speak at the class’s Commencement.

Spaceman of Bohemia tells the story of orphan Jakub Procházka, who becomes Czechoslovakia’s first astronaut, after being raised by his grandparents. His dangerous solo mission to Venus offers him a chance to be a hero while atoning for his father’s sins as a Communist informer.

As he’s alone in space, Jakub befriends a possibly imaginary giant alien spider. The two conduct philosophical conversations about love, life and death, forming an emotional bond, helping Jakub through clashes with Russian rivals in attempting to return to Earth.

Kalfař was born in 1988 in the Czech Republic, moving to the U.S. at age 15. He earned an M.F.A. from New York University, where he was a Goldwater Fellow and a nominee for the first E.L. Doctorow Prize. He is a recipient of the 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship. Spaceman of Bohemia is his first novel and the book was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, The Arthur C. Clarke Award Science Fiction Book of the Year and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

The Summer Common Reading program is a key component of K’s first-year experience program, which ties hands-on experiential learning, advising, first-year forums and seminars, assistance from peer leaders and Residential Life to guide new students through their transition to college.

The first-year experience program helps K students achieve academic success, identify and pursue passions, connect with Kalamazoo College and the greater community, develop intercultural understanding and build a purpose-filled life.

Convocation to Open Academic Year

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Kalamazoo College will welcome 398 first-year students and their families to the 2019-20 academic year at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, during Convocation.

Faculty walking to open convocation 2018
Kalamazoo College will welcome 398 first-year students and their families to the 2019-20 academic year at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, during Convocation.

The ceremony, serving as the first of two bookends to the K experience with the other being graduation, will take place on the Lower Quad. The ceremony’s rain site will be Stetson Chapel.

K’s first-year students include 29 degree-seeking international students, plus 10 transfer students and 19 visiting international students. New students will attend K from 29 states including Illinois, California, Texas and Minnesota, and 15 countries including Jamaica, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Students of color from the U.S. make up about 36 percent of the incoming class. Twenty-four percent of the incoming class will be the first in their families to attend college.

President Jorge G. Gonzalez, Provost Danette Ifert Johnson, Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students Sarah Westfall, Chaplain Elizabeth Candido ’00, faculty, staff and student leaders will welcome new students and their families. Convocation will conclude with new students signing the Matriculation Book.

Martin Acosta ’97, the founder and CEO of Inalproces and Kiwa, will deliver this year’s keynote address. Acosta was an international student from Ecuador who studied economics and business at K, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an M.B.A. from INSEAD, he became an entrepreneur, professor and business consultant.

In 2009, Acosta and his wife, Natalie, wanted to make a difference for the people of Ecuador. In 2009, they launched Kiwa. Kiwa works directly with farmers in Ecuador and northern Peru to turn native vegetables like Andean potatoes and beets into snack foods for a worldwide market, helping these farmers escape poverty. Today, Kiwa is a global brand of premium vegetable chips sold in more than 30 countries. Kiwa has won international awards for innovation and corporate social responsibility as it strives to fulfill its mission to provide quality, innovative snacks that are friendly to the environment and beneficial to everyone.

Convocation will be available through a live stream. There will also be a reception after the ceremony behind Stetson Chapel on the Upper Quad. The reception’s rain site will be the Hicks Student Center.

Festival Playhouse to Amplify Women’s Voices in 56th Season

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Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse will celebrate its 56th season by honoring a tradition of empowering women through a community of theatre.

Festival Playhouse cMUMMA Twelfth Night
The Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College produced “Twelfth Night” last spring in its 55th season addressing assumption and confusion. Its 56th season will amplify women’s voices with Spitfire Grill, Silent Sky and Water by the Spoonful.

Under a theme of “HERstory: Forgotten Female Figures,” the three main stage plays will provide a realistic and meaningful look at women whose voices aren’t always heard—let alone amplified—and will reflect the work the Playhouse strives to accomplish offstage.

In the fall production of the musical Spitfire Grill by Fred Alley and James Valcq, parolee Percy Talbott tries to forge a new place for herself in the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin, as she combats town gossip, mostly about herself. In addition to female empowerment, the production’s themes include redemption, the economic problems of small towns, and the plight of Vietnam War veterans. The show will run Nov. 7-10.

Silent opens in the darkest months when the stars are brightest and runs Feb. 27-March 1. The play by Lauren Gunderson honors astronomer Henrietta Leavitt for the discoveries she made without recognition in her lifetime. In 1900, she has the opportunity to work at Harvard College Observatory, but is denied he opportunities of her male counterparts. Regardless, she enthusiastically begins tracking changes in Cepheid stars, leading to scientific discoveries that have long-term implications in the field of astronomy.

The season will conclude May 14-17 with the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The play follows Odessa Ortiz, who uses the screen name Haikumom to moderate a chat room that ministers to those struggling with addiction as her own family life falls apart.

All three shows will be produced at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors 65 and older, and $5 for students in the general public. Tickets are free to patrons who present a Kalamazoo College ID. Tickets will be available  beginning Sept. 16 at festivalplayhouse.ludus.com or by calling the box office at 269.337.7333.

Visit the Festival Playhouse website for more information on the upcoming theatre season and additional student productions.

2019 Commencement Slated for Sunday

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Kalamazoo College’s 2019 Commencement will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 16, on the campus Quad. A total of 300 members of the class of 2019 are expected to participate in the ceremony with biology, psychology and business representing the most popular majors.

2019 Commencement cMUMMA Commencement 2018 0143
The 2019 Commencement ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 16.

Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez will welcome graduates along with about 2,000 family members and friends, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and community members. A livestream of the ceremony will be available.

This year’s class includes:

  • 174 Michiganders;
  • students from 26 states including Illinois and California;
  • students from eight countries including China and India; and
  • 117 double majors and one triple major.

Rain Location

If inclement weather forces the ceremony indoors, it will take place at Anderson Athletic Center, where tickets will be required for entry. Each senior will receive six tickets that will be distributed at the mandatory senior rehearsal at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 13. Some additional tickets will be available at the rehearsal if students need more. If events are forced indoors, graduating students will receive an email Sunday with that information. Such an announcement would also be made at K’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

2019 Commencement Parking

All faculty, staff and student parking lots will be available to families and guests. Click the link with the title of each lot below to see its location on our interactive map.

Vehicles must be parked in marked stalls. Permits are only required for handicapped spaces. If you choose to park in a surrounding neighborhood, please note all posted regulations, which are maintained by the City of Kalamazoo.

Handicapped Guests and Parking

Limited handicapped parking spaces are clearly marked and available throughout campus, both on streets near campus buildings and in campus lots. Handicapped spaces are reserved for vehicles with a state permit.

Due to limited handicapped parking, a designated drop-off area will be available on Campus Drive in front of Hoben Hall, accessible from Academy Street. Families may drop off guests for barrier-free access to the Quad before finding parking elsewhere on campus.

A designated seating area will be available for guests in wheelchairs on the northeast side of the Hicks Center. Families with guests in wheelchairs who would like to reserve seating in this area should contact Kerri Barker at 269.337.7289 or kerri.barker@kzoo.edu. Guests in wheelchairs who wish to sit with their entire party elsewhere on the Quad may do so.

Barrier-free restrooms are available at Olds Upton Hall at the south side of the building, near the main entrance at the Hicks Center, and in Stetson Chapel at the south side of the building.

Keynote Speaker

Kenneth G. Elzinga, Ph.D. ’63 will serve as the Commencement keynote speaker. Elzinga is the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia and a leading authority on antitrust policy, writing for numerous journals, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Law and Economics, and the Harvard Law Review. He has served as a special economic advisor to the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and has testified in several precedent-setting cases including three U.S. Supreme Court cases.

Elzinga has co-authored murder mysteries under the pen name Marshall Jevons. His books feature a sleuth who solves crimes using economic theory. The books Murder at the Margin, The Fatal Equilibrium, A Deadly Indifference and The Mystery of the Invisible Hand were written with the late Trinity University professor William Breit.

K awarded Elzinga with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2000.

Honorary Doctorate

Author Leslie Jamison will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Jamison wrote the 2014 book The Empathy Exams, which the graduating class read as first-year students for the summer common-reading program. The book involves a collection of essays that ask how people should care about each other as she reflects on her own experiences of illness and injury.

Jamison — a Washington, D.C., native raised in Los Angeles — also wrote a novel titled The Gin Closet (2010) and a nonfiction book titled The Recovering: Intoxication and its Aftermath (2018). She is a 2004 graduate of Harvard College and currently serves Columbia University as an assistant professor and the head of its nonfiction concentration. Her next book of essays, titled Make it Scream, Make it Burn, is due out in September.

Student Speaker

The 2019 Commencement student speaker is Angelica Rodriguez, who is graduating with majors in biology and critical ethnic studies. She studied abroad in Budapest, Hungary, and her Senior Individualized Project focused on using critical ethnic studies theories and frameworks to analyze biomedical research practices and explore both her majors. While at K, Angelica was involved in many activities, including the West African Percussion Ensemble and working at the Writing Center.

Senior Awards Ceremony

The Senior Awards Ceremony will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Stetson Chapel. The awards include honors in all academic divisions, prestigious scholarships and special non-departmental awards.

Baccalaureate

Baccalaureate, a non-denominational service with student and faculty speakers and musical performances, will be at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at Stetson Chapel. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.