Fulbright Honors K as U.S. Student Program Top Producer

For the sixth time in seven years, Kalamazoo College has been named a Top Producing Institution for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

The recognition, publicly unveiled today by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, was given to the colleges and universities that received the highest number of applicants selected for the 2023–24 academic year.

K can claim 11 Fulbright representatives overall, including seven who count toward U.S. Student Program numbers. Those seven place the College among the top 20 U.S. Student Program referring baccalaureate institutions in the country. K’s representatives and their host countries are Natalie Call ’23, Denmark; Samuel Kendrick ’23, Uzbekistan; Kanase Matsuzaki ’23, Jordan; Rachel Cornell ’22, Ecuador; Anna Dorniak ’20, Poland; Nat Markech ’21, South Korea; and Garrett Sander ’19, Mexico.

In addition to the seven in the U.S. Student Program, three K representatives—Vincent DeSanto ’23, Ben Flotemersch ’23 and Sean Gates ’23—were selected for an Austria U.S. Teaching Assistantship through Fulbright. Plus, Professor of English Amelia Katanski ’92 was a U.S. Scholar Program selectee who worked in Australia, where she collaborated with faculty at the University of Wollongong to develop curriculum that better prepares K students for study abroad there.

“This has been another extraordinary year for Fulbright awards at K,” President Jorge G. Gonzalez said. “Although it’s great for us, I am particularly excited about the impact that these opportunities will have on our graduates and the people from around the world who they will meet during their fellowship year.”

Many candidates apply for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program as graduating seniors, though alumni may apply as well. Graduating seniors apply through their institution. Alumni can apply as scholars through their institution or as at-large candidates. K is the only college in Michigan to earn the top producer distinction in the bachelor’s institution category.

“The College’s repeated presence on the Fulbright Top Producers list speaks to the extraordinary success K students have forging overseas connections while seeking to make a difference abroad,” Center for International Programs Executive Director Margaret Wiedenhoeft said. “Our dedicated faculty and staff will continue to empower students like this year’s honorees while ensuring K’s dedication to international immersion.”

Fulbright, the federal government’s flagship international exchange program, is funded through an annual appropriation, from the Department of State. Host institutions, participating governments, corporations, and foundations worldwide also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in more than 160 countries.

Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 students from a variety of backgrounds have participated in the Fulbright Program before returning home with an expanded worldview, a deeper appreciation for their host country and its people, and broader professional and personal networks.

“As a diplomat, I’m proud of the Fulbright Program because it supports changemakers and fosters global cooperation on issues of shared importance,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a congratulatory letter to the College. “Fulbrighters strive to make the world a better place in classrooms and countries worldwide. Kalamazoo College’s designation as a Fulbright Top Producing Institution clearly demonstrates your dedication to promoting global engagement and mutual understanding among the peoples and nations of the world.”

Fulbright U.S. Student Program Selectee Natalie Call holding an alpaca
Natalie Call ’23
Fulbright U.S. Student Program selectee Kanase Matsuzaki on the Quad at Kalamazoo College
Kanase Matsuzaki ’23
Fulbright U.S. Student Program selectee Rachel Cornell '22
Rachel Cornell ’22
Portrait of Fulbright U.S. Student Program selectee Nat Markech '21
Nat Markech ’21
Fulbright Fellows: Ben Flotemersch
Ben Flotemersch ’23
Professor of English Amelia Katanski
Professor of English Amelia Katanski ’92
Kalamazoo College’s 2023-24 Fulbright representatives include seven U.S. Student Program honorees, three Austria U.S. Teaching Assistants and one U.S. Scholar Program selectee.
Portrait of Fulbright Fellow Samuel Kendrick
Sam Kendrick ’23
Fulbright U.S. Student Program selectee Anna Dorniak '20
Anna Dorniak ’20
Fulbright U.S. Student Program selectee Garrett Sander '19
Garrett Sander ’19
Fulbright Fellow Sean Gates
Sean Gates ’23

Academy Street Winds Theme Addresses Time

Help an audience honor the career of Kalamazoo College Director of Bands and Professor of Music Tom Evans at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the winter concert for the Academy Street Winds. 

Evans, the ensemble’s director, plans to retire at the end of the academic year. Friday’s concert theme, “It’s About Time,” reflects his own feeling regarding retirement and affirms musical selections that will explore teaching or the ephemeral values of time. The ensemble’s website says the program will present a delightful mix of music, sometimes whimsical and sometimes poignant, that will put a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and a bit of melancholy in your soul as you consider the fleeting quality of time. 

Evans’ career began on the podium and in the classroom in 1976. He has been with K for 29 years and leads groups such as the College’s Symphonic Band, Jazz Band and Pep Band in addition to the Academy Street Winds. He also teaches the popular Beginning Band class, which—in about eight weeks every spring—teaches students who have never learned a band instrument the basics of playing one of their choice. In 2020, he and Department of Music Chair Andrew Koehler both received the Community Medal of Arts from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, recognizing their contributions to the city’s arts scene. 

Academy Street Winds Director Tom Evans with a student
Music Professor Tom Evans rehearses his trombone with Rushik Patel ’22 at Light Fine Arts. Evans, the director of the Academy Street Winds, will retire at the end of the 2023–24 academic year.

The Dalton Theatre concert is free and open to the public, but goodwill donations are gratefully accepted. 

“Finding the right words to express my gratitude to my students, my colleagues, and the College is difficult,” Evans said. “Clearly, they’ve been some of the best experiences and years of my life. I am sincerely grateful to all who have supported me. And I am especially grateful for those with whom I’ve had the pleasure of making music. While my years at K were meaningful and momentous for me, I also hope that they were meaningful and momentous for those who shared my journey. How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” 

‘Let’s Learn!’: Moffit Scholarship Fund Honors Professor, Supports Students 

Over the past 35 years, the business and economics department at K has grown from one part-time business professor to a popular business major with several full-time faculty.  

One constant over that time has been Professor Timothy Moffit ’80. Moffit took on that part-time business professor role in 1989 as a one-year sabbatical replacement, and other than a couple short breaks in the first few years, he has been teaching students at K ever since. 

As Moffit approaches retirement this spring, a group of alumni—both classmates and students of Moffit’s—have established a scholarship in his honor. Given to students for the first time in the 2023–24 academic year, the Dr. Timothy Moffit ’80 Endowed Scholarship in Business has already raised $175,000 from a small group of donors. The goal is to increase that total to at least $300,000, which will provide $15,000 to scholarship recipients majoring in economics and business every year, forever. 

The honor speaks to Moffit’s commitment to the classroom and his students, to business within the framework of the liberal arts, and to his department and the College as a whole. 

Love of learning has kept Moffit in the classroom for 35 years. 

“That’s what brought me to K, and that’s what’s kept me at K,” Moffit said. “As a teacher, you never stop learning, and I tell my students that you never really learn a subject until you teach it. I find that enchanting because I love learning.” 

Moffit’s belief—supported by what he hears from former students—is that his classroom has been rigorous, demanding, and full of experiences and applications that bring meaning to theory. 

“Many students who go to grad school say, ‘Boy, your classes are tougher than my grad school classes.’ The rigor and the toughness are not for the sake of being tough. It’s out of excitement for the material. I want to learn—let’s learn!—so I’m fairly demanding in terms of what we learn and how we learn. I think for a lot of students, it’s incredibly rewarding. Once they’ve graduated from K, they’re like, ‘Wow, in the workplace, I really do know how to do these things. I can accept this challenge, because I was beat up by Moffit,’” Moffit said with a laugh. 

Professor Timothy Moffit teaches a class from a blackboard
As Professor Timothy Moffit approaches retirement this spring, some alumni have established a scholarship in his honor.

Donate to the Moffit Endowed Scholarship in Business 

If you would like to honor Professor Moffit and help make K accessible to students pursuing degrees in economics and business, please make a gift online to the Dr. Timothy Moffit ’80 Endowed Scholarship in Business or contact Lindsay O’Donohue at 269.337.7299 or lindsay.odonohue@kzoo.edu

Moffit’s approach to teaching and continued influence inspired Gary Lewis ’00 to help fund the business scholarship. Lewis is founder and managing partner of Aquila Equity Partners, and Moffit serves as an advisor to the company. 

“For so many of us, Dr. Moffit helped to foster an unmatched passion for business, accounting and finance,” Lewis said. “Not only did he provide us with a rigorous academic foundation, but he also taught us the tenacity, big-picture thinking and real-world pragmatism which is so critical for being successful.” 

Aaron Ries ’06, another contributor to the scholarship fund, applied lessons learned from Moffit’s classes in his first post-K job with the investment banking company Jefferies. Today, as the company’s co-head of leveraged loan sales and trading, Ries credits Moffit for having played a significant role in his life.  

“Tim had an outsized positive impact on my mindset, approach, education, and as a result, my career,” Ries said. “And he did it one lesson, one interaction, one test at a time. His energy and enthusiasm are infectious. That type of compounding at the individual level, at first daily, then over years, and now decades, is so valuable.” 

Jeremy Ardshahi ’25, a business major with a political science minor, took two accounting classes with Moffit before becoming one of the first recipients of the scholarship. 

“The classes were not easy, but I really liked Dr. Moffit as a teacher,” Ardshahi said. “When we would get stressed out about the work, he would take us off topic a bit, make us laugh, and then bring us back on topic, and that worked well to keep the class learning. The course work is definitely not easy, but it’s rewarding, and he makes it a lot more fun than it could be.” 

As a student, Moffit loved the liberal arts experience, taking many English classes in addition to religion, philosophy and history. (He met his wife, Kimberley Yull Moffit ’82, when she tutored him in French.) As a professor, he appreciates how business pulls from many disciplines, including communication, psychology, mathematics, history and philosophy.  

“I took a lot of different types of classes, and I have used them extensively, both in my business career and also in my teaching of business,” Moffit said. “I try to integrate all of these because they’re important in business. You need to bring all those skill sets into play to be effective.” 

Moffit is proud of how the business department has grown and flourished during his tenure, and he is loyal to the school itself. When he first came to K as a transfer student, Moffit “fell in love with the school immediately, and I have been in love with it ever since. That’s why I came back, because I had such great memories of learning and the community. 

“The campus is lovely, the study abroad makes this place special, and the students are unique. They have this entrepreneurial flair about them, whatever discipline they may be interested in. That is true throughout the ages.” 

Moffit felt a calling to teach when he was young, and taught Sunday School classes in high school and piano lessons in college. After graduating from K, he taught English in Japan for two years, earned an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College, and worked in investment banking for about six years before taking on his first teaching position at K. 

“Teaching is my passion, business is my profession, and I marry the two in the classroom,” Moffit said. Yet after 35 years, it’s “just time” to retire, Moffit said. “I have a lot going on and a lot of outside interests.” 

He owns three local businesses with his son—Kalamazoo Kettle Corn, Heilman’s Nuts & Confections and a medical supply company. He also sits on the board of Delta Dental as well as other boards. 

“I have a new grandson; I’m a granddad,” Moffit said. “There are just so many things I want to do. I want to go fishing and hunting and take my grandson fishing. I’ve done this for a long time, I think I’ve accomplished what I set out to accomplish, and I’m ready to move on. 

“I’ll miss the classroom for sure, but this doesn’t mean I’ll stop teaching.” 

Moffit also intends to do what he can to help make the scholarship in his name successful. 

“I was just a poor dirt farmer kid,” he said. “The school really supported me and helped me get through. I didn’t have the money to go here, but they found a way for me, and I would like to help create that same opportunity for others. I have a soft spot in my heart for those first-generation students, or the kids from these little schools that don’t have educational opportunities, let alone life opportunities like traveling abroad and seeing the bigger world. If this scholarship in any way can help students who need help to have that experience, that would be phenomenal.” 

“I would 100 percent need to have a job if I didn’t receive the scholarship,” Ardshahi said. “If I were working and playing sports and going to class, I would have a lot more stress in my life. Knowing that the fund is dedicated to someone who has taught me and is still teaching at the school makes it more personal, too.” 

In this way, Moffit’s commitment to teaching, to business and the liberal arts, to K and its students, will continue long after his upcoming retirement. 

“This scholarship is a well-deserved and fitting tribute for someone who has given so much to the K community and deeply impacted numerous K students’ lives over the last 30-plus years,” Lewis said. “I’m very grateful for his life-long mentorship and wish him and his family nothing but the best in their next chapter.” 

Moffit is excited about what the scholarship could do for students at K. 

“It’s a huge honor, of course, that students would establish this in my name,” Moffit said. “Usually, you do that when someone dies. I’m not there yet. I’m still teaching, even. I think there’s a lot of opportunity to make this a substantial scholarship for students who want to study business, and that would be great. I want it to be about students and outcomes. It’s not about me.” 

Relic Music Ensemble to Perform Saturday at K

A national tour featuring a period chamber orchestra without a conductor will make its final stop in the Great Lakes at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Dalton Theatre at Light Fine Arts, 1140 Academy St. 

Relic connects with audiences through intimate, imaginative and dramatic representations of early music. This performance’s instrumentation will include violins, violas, cellos, bassoon, basses, theorbos and harpsichords in a concert titled Enchanted Forest

As a whole, the ensemble will tell stories of dancing elves, frolicking nymphs, marching trolls and more through drama and curiosities through English and French baroque. General admission tickets are available for $10 through EventBrite. Kalamazoo College students will be admitted free. 

For more information, contact the Department of Music at 269.337.7070 or Susan.Lawrence@kzoo.edu

Relic will bring its “Enchanted Forest” tour to Kalamazoo College on Saturday night.

Fund Supports Athletics Strength and Conditioning Program

Jonah Spates lifts weights before discussing his impressions of the strength and conditioning program
Student-athlete Jonah Spates ’25 plays football at Kalamazoo College and is benefiting from a new strength and conditioning program.
Emma Stickley lifts weights before discussing the strength and conditioning program at Kalamazoo College
Student-athlete Emma Stickley ’24 says she benefited from the new strength and conditioning program when she was on study abroad. By using an app, she completed the same workouts her volleyball teammates did at home.

How to Donate to K’s

Strength and Conditioning

Athletics Program

If you would like to support K student-athletes, please make a gift online to the Strength and Conditioning Fund or contact Lindsay O’Donohue at 269.337.7299 or lindsay.odonohue@kzoo.edu.

Generous contributions from several alumni and parent donors are enhancing the offerings of the Kalamazoo College Athletic Department’s strength and conditioning program, which is providing student-athletes with confidence and improved performance in the weight room and in competition.

Co-Interim Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Jamie Zorbo said the College in years past had one part-time coach covering strength and conditioning for all of its 18 sports. Now, however, a three-year pilot collaboration with the Richland-based company Athletic Mentors provides each team access to multiple certified coaches, along with nutrition advice, sports psychology services and enhanced technology to improve preparation and game-day experiences.

“We’ve gone from a Division III caliber strength and conditioning program to a Division I by most standards,” Zorbo said. “We’re providing a high level of strength conditioning, coaching, expertise and technology to our teams and athletes.”

That matters to prospective student-athletes, he said, because most of them are used to having a strength coach by the time they reach high school, and the additional guidance is imperative for long-term success.

“It’s a focal point when prospective student-athletes visit,” Zorbo said. “Recruits want us to describe the culture in the weight room and what an offseason program looks like. We’re able to answer that question very positively now.”

Recruits then can benefit firsthand as they matriculate at K. The strength experts work with coaches to establish a team’s custom-fit plan of action while also connecting with athletes through two apps—one to record workouts and communicate any issues, and the other to share educational content about nutrition, sleep recovery, the negative effects of drug-and-alcohol use and more.

“The strength and conditioning coach and a head coach talk about where a team might be deficient,” Zorbo said. “They will ask, ‘How do we need to plan things out,’ ‘What do we need to do to set the team up for success once we hit the season’ and ‘How should we approach strength and conditioning during the season?’ because that changes. They’re very organized and take a year-round approach. That used to be a big challenge for us. It’s not a hurdle anymore, because there are multiple trained coaches that we have access to who handle all the programming and planning for each team. Our athletes are probably in the weight room more than they ever have been before.”

While reflecting on such benefits, Zorbo also declared a big “thank you” to the donors while recognizing that the gifts will help K recruits, coaches and student-athletes for years to come.

“I’m a big believer that the development of our student-athletes is where we really need to be a cut above, and these very generous gifts are a game changer,” Zorbo said. “If you’re a stronger and better-conditioned athlete, that enhances your confidence, safety and your ability to do your job on the field. I believe these changes will lead to more success on the field, so this is transformational.”

From the Student-Athletes

and Coaches

“This past winter, I studied abroad in Costa Rica and I was still able to do all the workouts that all the girls were doing here in the gym because I could just pull up the app on my phone, look at the assigned workout and do it.”

Emma Stickley ’24, volleyball student-athlete

“I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been, I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, and I would like to say I’m the fastest I’ve ever been.”

— Jonah Spates ’25, football student-athlete

“From an injury-prevention standpoint, we need our student-athletes firing on all cylinders 100% of the time. The injury-prevention aspect of this program and maximizing our performance is huge for us.”

— Cross Country Head Coach Kyle Morrison

“I think one of the most important things we can invest in is a program like this; something that will benefit every single one of our teams.”

— Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Jess Smith

“It helps me as a coaching professional by taking something off my plate so that I can focus fully on competition readiness. It helps me do all of the other parts of my job more successfully.”

— Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach Vince Redko

Compete for a Cause Helps K Students Support Local Charities

Two students in red Compete for a Cause t-shirts watching a volleyball game at Kalamazoo College
Ty Horky ’24 (left) and Savera Rajendra-Nicolucci ’24 are co-presidents of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, which created Compete for a Cause to support local charities and foundations.
Two football players in pink t-shirts warming up on the field
Kalamazoo College’s football team joined the women’s soccer team in fall by raising breast cancer awareness and supporting the West Michigan Cancer Center with pink t-shirt sales.
Two students wearing red t-shirts that say Compete for a Cause 2023
Kalamazoo College volleyball spectators supported women’s health and the YWCA by purchasing red t-shirts at a match last fall.

Kalamazoo College’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) developed an idea last fall that is supporting local charities and foundations with the help of students, faculty, staff, parents and the community.

SAAC representatives, including co-presidents Savera Rajendra-Nicolucci ’24 and Ty Horky ’24, created Compete for a Cause, which allows K athletic teams that play in a specific season to select a beneficiary to back and a cause to amplify during a chosen Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) game on their schedule. Starting last term, student-athletes collaborated with local nonprofits, donning custom warm-up shirts on game day to raise community awareness. These custom shirts were available for sale, with all proceeds benefitting their partner organizations.

“Savera and I have been on the SAAC board since we were sophomores and we’ve moved up the committee together along the way,” Horky said. “Doing this was about how we can make something for the SAAC organization that lasts longer than us being here and how we can implement a plan to give back to the communities around us.”

SAAC’s first steps toward such efforts involved meeting with MIAA Commissioner Chris Brown and K athletics administrative representatives with the hope of getting the entire conference involved and initiate introductions with local charities. Their support proved to be inspiring.

“I think the support from administration, from the MIAA Commissioner all the way down, was nothing but positive,” Horky said. “Right off the bat, they just asked, ‘How can we help you? What can we do to get the ball rolling?’ Everybody being behind us has been a huge help.”

Then, despite weathering some in-game storms, the first season of Compete for a Cause was successful. Rajendra-Nicolucci’s women’s soccer squad, for example, chose breast cancer awareness as its cause, selected a game that coincided with a football contest, and conducted a united breast-cancer awareness day between the teams to benefit the West Michigan Cancer Center (WMCC).

Compete for a Cause Games

  • Kalamazoo College’s volleyball team raised women’s health awareness by supporting the YWCA of Kalamazoo with red t-shirt sales last fall.
  • In October, the football and women’s soccer teams raised breast cancer awareness by supporting the West Michigan Cancer Center with pink t-shirts.
  • The men’s soccer team raised food insecurity awareness by supporting Loaves and Fishes in Kalamazoo with orange t-shirt sales in October.
  • K’s men’s and women’s basketball squads are teaming up to support the houseless and the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission in their games on February 3.
  • K’s swimming and diving teams will raise mental health awareness and support Gryphon Place during their home meets on February 3.

    A special thank you to Capital National Bank, HAP, Miller Johnson Attorneys of Kalamazoo and Underground Printing of Kalamazoo for their support. 

Two women's soccer players warming up in pink Compete for a Cause t-shirts before a game
K’s fall athletics teams secured well more than $1,000 in t-shirt sales and online donations for the West Michigan Cancer Center, the YWCA of Kalamazoo and Loaves and Fishes through Compete for a Cause events.
Several football players with backpacks wearing pink t-shirts that say Compete for a Cause in the rain
The Student-Athlete Advisory Council met with MIAA Commissioner Chris Brown and K athletics administrative representatives to generate their support for Compete for a Cause.
Kalamazoo College football players wearing pink t-shirts gather as a team in the rain before their Compete for a Cause game
K’s football and women’s soccer teams endured a rain storm during their Compete for a Cause events, but still successfully raised funds for the West Michigan Cancer Center.

WMCC Director of Development Anne Witherspoon was invited to attend, raise awareness, share information and accept donations to support their mission.

“It was wonderful to see the student-athletes support the community through this initiative,” Witherspoon said. “Beyond just being incredible students, who I enjoyed spending time with, their impressive organization and professionalism fostered a meaningful connection with the K community, letting us share the WMCC mission with parents, fans and donors.”

Athletes were gratified by the support they received and the end result.

“It was definitely more work than we thought, especially with the business aspect of things, but we’ve learned that there’s so much in the Kalamazoo community to love,” Rajendra-Nicolucci said. “It was interesting to see how much we can do just by talking to people. Anne Witherspoon, who works at the West Michigan Cancer Center, said one of her best memories of the day was sitting with Ty and getting to know him and our school. Those connections go a long way and show there’s more to playing a college sport than the gear and winning.”

Student-athletes in dress clothes posing in front of a sculpture
Horky (second from left) and Savera Rajendra-Nicolucci (fourth from right) are co-presidents of SAAC.

In serving SAAC, Rajendra-Nicolucci and Horky have consistently organized campus events for students, including student-athletes. But the first Compete for a Cause events have been special as they’ve reached out to the at-large community. And now, it’s time for K’s winter athletics teams, including Horky’s men’s basketball team, to take the effort’s reins.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams are combining their efforts to support homelessness awareness and the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission during their home games on Saturday, February 3. The same day, the swimming and diving teams will spread mental health awareness and donate all of their proceeds to Gryphon Place.

Separately in their time at K, Rajendra-Nicolucci played women’s golf for two years and taught biology and English to children in Spain during her study abroad experience. After graduating, she hopes to develop a career in medical or pharmaceutical sales. Horky also wants to build a career in medical and pharmaceutical sales and might consider playing basketball as a graduate student to fulfill a final year of eligibility. But Compete for a Cause’s effectiveness will be what they and other SAAC participants point to as they define their legacies at K.

“Students are busy all year, whether it is with school responsibilities, work responsibilities, athletic responsibilities or extracurriculars,” Rajendra-Nicolucci said. “Something as simple as this initiative can remind us that there is always more to be done. Giving back is something you will never regret. Whether it is the connections that you make along the way or the touching moments, these feelings are just as good or even better than the feeling of winning a double overtime game. Everyone is welcome to these games, and we hope to see you and the rest of the Kalamazoo community continue to give back to something greater than just a game.”

Quantitative Economics Major Gives Students More Options

Some adjustments in Kalamazoo College’s Department of Economics and Business have created a new major that will provide additional academic options and future career opportunities for students.

Quantitative economics, which is now declarable, follows most of the curriculum for a standard economics major, but requires two additional math courses, Integral Calculus and Linear Algebra, and two new additional quantitative economics courses, Econometrics and Game Theory, without needing more time to graduate. Econometrics is a computer lab-based theory course that delves into economic questions and issues using statistical methods. Game Theory applies strategic decision making and microeconomics to solve real-world individual and business problems, using mathematical tools.

The adjustments for the new program might seem subtle to some. However, Edward and Virginia Van Dalson Professor of Economics Patrik Hultberg said quantitative economics will better prepare students who are interested in pursuing academic programs beyond K and more technical career paths, such as data analytics. Overall, it will examine economic issues, explore theories and predict future conditions using statistics and mathematical models while emphasizing analytical skills.

Patrik Hultberg working at a blackboard as quantitative economics major comes to Kalamazoo College
Edward and Virginia Van Dalson Professor of Economics Patrik Hultberg said that quantitative economics will be an excellent option for students who are interested in pursuing academic programs beyond K and technical career paths such as data analytics.

“What we have today is two groups of students,” Hultberg said. “Some are perfectly happy with an economics major as it is. Those are students who might be interested in going to law school, public policy fields or similar jobs. But we also have a subset of students—a greater number than in the past—who might double major in economics and mathematics or computer science. The new major will give students interested in quantitative economics—and not upper-level math courses, for example—a chance not to double major and thus open up their schedules so they can take other important courses, like courses that teach how to communicate effectively.”

Hultberg said that over the past few months, he has received emails from students who are thrilled about the new major option. The opportunity should be especially enticing for international students as the Department of Homeland Security defines quantitative economics as a STEM program. That means the major can help international students extend their Optional Practical Training (OPT) by up to three years and stay longer in the U.S. by pursuing practical training or temporary jobs while gaining valuable work experience through their F-1 student visas.

“I’m excited for it and we have some students who are super excited for it,” Hultberg said. “If economics is your true passion, you just want to have options that support that. And if prospective students are interested in quantitative fields and come to K, they will be well-prepared to go to graduate school, whether that’s a master’s in finance or a Ph.D. in economics, and they will be well prepared for jobs in quantitative fields.”

For more information about the quantitative economics major, contact Hultberg at Patrik.Hultberg@kzoo.edu.

Public Lecture to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.

Kalamazoo College will recognize and honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. at 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 17, at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership as a part of events during the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

The center and Student Development will host community organizer and Wayne State University Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Critical Race Studies Aja Denise Reynolds as she presents an open-to-the-public lecture, “Dr. King’s Legacy: Fighting for Justice at Home and Abroad.” The keynote is the reimagining of a love letter from King to young activists in celebration of their fight for a more just world. The event will celebrate him as a radical and phenomenal leader, organizing for freedom and justice. 

Reynolds received her doctorate in educational policy studies and social foundations at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her scholarly work has focused on her collaborative work in creating freedom spaces with Black girls through art, activism and healing as she explores the geographies of Black girlhood. Her dissertation is titled “Ain’t Nobody Checking for Us: Race, Fugitivity and the Urban Geographies of Black Girlhood.” She has more than 12 years of experience as an educator and youth worker and is a part of national education organizations, including the Education for Liberation Network, in which she organizes with teachers, youth, and community organizations to develop more equitable educational structures for marginalized youths. 

Those interested in attending should RSVP online.  

Martin Luther King Day speaker Aja Reynolds
Wayne State University Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Critical Race Studies Aja Denise Reynolds will present a public lecture, “Dr. King’s Legacy: Fighting for Justice at Home and Abroad,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 17, at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, 205 Monroe St.

Counseling Center Strengthens Access to Mental Health Services

This year, the Kalamazoo College Counseling Center has been working on changes to its offerings with the goal of providing more equitable access and more tailored services to students when they need it most.

Starting winter term, the center will eliminate its seven-session limit for individual on-campus counseling, instead adopting a more flexible customized clinical care model. This approach helps ensure students receive the amount of support that best suits their needs.

“Having a session limit tends to put pressure on the student to use all the sessions available to them right away, whether they need them all at that time or not. This may not be the best approach for them, and it can also limit availability for other students seeking support,” said Erica Pearson, director of the counseling center. “Some students may only need three sessions to get the support they’re seeking, while some students may benefit from 10 sessions. Some students may come to us looking for coping strategies, get the info they need, and not need us again until later in the year if something else comes up for them. By introducing a customized clinical care model, the staff is better able to address the needs of more students more effectively.”

Another major enhancement for the center was the introduction of its partnership with Uwill this fall. With Uwill telehealth counseling services, students can receive secure and confidential access to a therapist in addition to what is offered on campus. Students can choose a therapist based on their preferences regarding gender, language, ethnicity and focus area; and schedule a session for video, phone, chat or messaging. “I think some people may worry that because it’s telehealth, the level of care is not equivalent to the services we offer on campus. However, that’s not the case. They’ll have access to licensed professionals, just as they would here, and they’ll have an opportunity to choose someone based on their personal preferences,” Pearson said.

Portrait of Counseling Center Director Erica Pearson
Counseling Center Director Erica Pearson, Ph.D., LPC, NCC

In addition to telehealth counseling services, the center’s partnership with Uwill has expanded crisis services with a 24/7 support line staffed by licensed therapists. “It’s important that students know that this is a support line, not just a crisis line. Now students can talk with a licensed therapist any time of day, between academic quarters, when they’re out of town,” said Pearson. With this service significantly expanding student access to on-demand mental health support, the counseling center will be eliminating walk-in hours on campus and utilizing that time for additional pre-scheduled appointments.

“We hope these changes help address an important need at a time when students are really prioritizing their mental health,” Pearson said. “Offering around-the-clock accessibility through Uwill breaks down barriers of time and availability that often hinder access to services, and it allows our staff to dedicate more time to scheduled appointments on campus. And by utilizing a customized clinical care model, the center is better equipped to provide effective, empathetic and personalized care on campus.”

KP Cinemas to Screen Alum’s Film ‘He Went That Way’

For one week beginning Friday, Kalamazoo’s KP Cinemas will be one of 25 theaters around the country to screen He Went That Way, a thriller co-produced by alumnus Hugh Broder ’77 and based off a chapter in a book written by the late Professor Emeritus Conrad Hilberry. The film will show daily at 10 a.m.

Hilberry interviewed the imprisoned Kalamazoo-area serial killers Larry and Danny Ranes in 1976, influencing his 1987 book Luke Karamazov, which details the brothers’ lives through the pseudonyms Ralph Searl (Larry) and Tommy Searl (Danny).

In 1964, Larry Lee Ranes confessed to killing five men over a period of three months and was sentenced to prison for life. Eight years later, his older brother, Danny Ranes, in a separate case, was sentenced to prison for life for the murder of four young women. The events described in Luke Karamazov reflect real events, spotlighting the two killers, their friends, the woman who married both of them, and prison officials, while addressing the men’s lives, thoughts, reactions, brutal childhoods, and lives in prison more than their crimes.

Hilberry’s story piqued Broder’s interest when Broder discovered it years later in a Michigan authors display at a Detroit bookstore, and it inspired him to pursue a personal goal of creating an independent film. Hilberry provided Broder with the interview tapes, and after digitizing the recordings, Broder heard one of the Ranes brothers say, “You guys all ask me about the five guys I killed. Why don’t you want to hear about the one I didn’t kill?”—inspiring the story Broder decided to tell.

He Went That Way premiered last summer at the Tribeca Film Festival and reflects the real-life account of celebrity animal trainer Dave Pitts, the sole survivor of Larry’s killing spree. The film stars Zachary Quinto and Jacob Elordi with Quinto playing Jim Goodwin, a character based on Pitts, and Elordi portraying Bobby Falls, a character based on Larry. The two have a fateful 1964 meeting along Route 66 that pairs the 19-year-old serial killer with the celebrity trainer and his American TV darling, Spanky the chimpanzee, for three days on the road. The men and their personalities continually conflict as their shared journey becomes treacherous.

In addition to the KP Cinemas screening, the movie also will be available through video on demand starting January 12. Learn more about the film and hear from Broder in our news story from last May.

Hugh Broder with He Went That Way actors Zachary Quinto and Jacob Elordi
Alumnus Hugh Broder ’77 (middle), is the co-producer of “He Went That Way,” a film based on “Luke Karamazov,” a book by the late Professor Emeritus Conrad Hilberry. Zachary Quinto (left) stars as Jim Goodwin and Jacob Elordi (right) stars as Bobby Falls. The two characters meet along Route 66 in 1964, but their personalities conflict in their journey.