faculty

Hornet “Senior” Mitch Wilson Tests His Mettle in National Golf Tourney

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Kalamazoo College men's golf coach Mitch Wilson
Hornet Men’s Golf Coach Mitch Wilson

Kalamazoo College Men’s Golf Coach Mitch Wilson had a good summer playing the sport. He was on the winning team in the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) vs. Golf Association of Ontario tournament. He won the club championship at The Moors golf club in Portage, Mich. He made it to the semifinals of the GAM Michigan Senior Match Play. And he finished third in the Michigan Senior Open.

Hard to top that! And yet the 57-year-old is having an even better fall.

In the recent U.S. Senior Amateur played at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif., Wilson shot a seven-over-par 151 (76-75) to miss by just two strokes making the top 64 and qualify for the match play portion of the tournament. It’s the first time he’s ever played in the event operated by the United States Golf Association (USGA).

“Was I happy with my scores? Well, no,” Wilson said with a smile. “I would like to have three shots and one putt over.

“I made three double bogeys, two on the first day and one on the second day, and all of them were preventable. The rest of the tournament was pretty good.”

The local veteran golfer, who has played national tournaments before, (including the USGA’s U.S. Mid-Amateur (for players 25 and older) in 1998 and 2000), still had that nervous feeling on the first tee at the Senior Amateur.

“As much experience as you have in events like this, you still have those first-tee nerves,” he said. “I had enough birdies, but I made a few bad mistakes and it cost me.”

What Wilson has found is that there are a lot of very good golfers in the 55-over set. However, it’s a different mindset.

“It’s not as intense as a senior and you understand it’s not the end of the world,” he said. “It’s a real pleasure to play in these events and become reacquainted with guys you haven’t seen in a while.”

He’s been able to work on his golf game a little more than usual this summer. He retired as the executive director of Pretty Lake Camp near Kalamazoo this past March.

“I’m going to take a year to see how things are going, possibly do some consulting,” Wilson said.

He keeps busy by being on the board of the First Tee of Battle Creek, a nonprofit organization that teaches life skills and leadership through the game of golf, and coaching the Hornet men who are having one of their better seasons of late.

Looking at his tournament results this summer, the extra work has paid off.

Story by Paul Morgan

Jewish Studies Program Sponsors Panel Discussion

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Director of Jewish Studies Jeff Haus
Director of Jewish Studies Jeff Haus speaking with students

On Wednesday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m., the Jewish Studies program at Kalamazoo College will host a panel discussion titled, “Boycott Divestment Sanctions: Alternative Narratives.” The discussion will take place in the Mandelle Hall Olmsted Room and is free and open to the public. This program will add to the campus discussion of the issue of boycotts and divestment targeting Israeli companies and academics by placing the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinians into a broader political and historical context. The panel will also consider the implications of some of the rhetoric surrounding the BDS movement.

Participants include historian Kenneth Waltzer and political scientist Yael Aronoff, both members of the Jewish Studies program at Michigan State University (Aronoff is the present director of the program, and Waltzer is her immediate predecessor), and political scientist Amy Elman, the Weber Professor in Social Science at Kalamazoo College. Both Waltzer and Aronoff will consider the issue of Jewish self-determination (which is often left out of BDS discussions), and provide a critical assessment of BDS and its implications. Elman’s presentation will discuss her recent research on the European Union and its policies toward Israel and Jews, and the inherent contradictions contained therein. Jeffrey Haus, director of Jewish Studies at Kalamazoo College, will moderate the program, which will also include a question and answer period for the audience.

Paper’s Tops at Conference

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Amy MacMillan among three receiving awardsAmy MacMillan, the L. Lee Stryker Assistant Professor of Business Management, co-authored a paper titled “Improving the Collaborative Online Student Evaluation Process”—a research effort so fine it received the award for Best Conference Refereed Paper from the Marketing Management Association. The award was presented at a lunch during the MMA conference in San Antonio, Texas. Amy wrote, “I am enjoying representing Kalamazoo College at this conference, attended by hundreds of marketing educators, as well as industry experts and journal editors. From teaching ideas to research strategies technology tools, there are many things I’m excited to bring back to campus.” The financial support to attend the conference is part of the endowed professorship that Amy holds. That aspect of endowed professorships–the encouragement of faculty learning and scholarship–is one reason they are so important and a primary focus of The Campaign for Kalamazoo College. Amy (at left) is pictured with two of the paper’s co-authors (both from Western Michigan University). The fourth co-author teaches in China.

With/Out ¿Borders? Opens Thursday

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Two social justice advocates attend Without Borders ConferenceMore than 500 social justice advocates, scholars and leaders ranging from civil rights icons and eccentric artists to young organizers and poet laureates will be on the Kalamazoo College campus, as well as locations throughout the city, this weekend, Sept. 25-28 to participate in the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) “With/Out ¿Borders?” conference.

Attendees will engage in questioning–and openly attempt to complicate –the political, ideological, cultural, and social barriers that make up our world. Thought-provoking plenary sessions, participatory think tanks, and moving and entertaining artistic performances are just some of the diverse and engaging platforms that will be used to question the borders that surround so much of our world today–and develop paradigms and strategies to break them down.

Well-known performance artists and cultural workers Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Michèle Ceballos Michot, whom make up the performance troupe La Pocha Nostra, will be on stage on Friday afternoon with Adriana Garriga-López, the Arcus Social Justice Leadership Assistant Professor of Anthropology. The trio will discuss, instigate, and agitate on the meaning of border politics, performance, and the role of art in the process.

Later that day, the conference will take on a more poetic note, as two well-known poets read form their work and engage with local poet and activist Denise Miller and Lisa Brock, academic director of the ACSJL.

Nikki Finney, winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry, and Keorapetse “Willie” Kgositsile, former poet laureate of South Africa, will bear witness to history and exile and set the stage alive with “truth telling” and love poems crafted out of the struggles of black people from both the southern areas of the United States and South Africa.

Civil rights icon Angela Davis will take to the stage on Saturday morning, along with distinguished African American studies expert Robin D. G. Kelley, peace activists Lynn Pollack and Leenah Odeh and academics Alex Lubin and Saree Makdisi, to discuss the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Movement emerging globally in support of the Palestinian people, who live in walled, or “bordered” territories.

Participants in this plenary session will ask if the BDS movement is the next critical solidarity movement of our time, who it’s for, who it’s against, and why.

Cities will take center stage later Saturday, when a plenary of scholars and organizers examine resistance movements in cities today. Organizer and writer Kali Akuno, Detroit-based activist shea howell and David Stovall, professor of African-American studies, will discuss teacher protests in Chicago, water rights issues in Detroit, city planning strategies in Jackson, Miss., and minimum-wage increase advocacy efforts nationwide at this plenary moderated by Rhonda Williams, associate professor of History at Case Western University.

The future of various social justice movements will be on display in the Hicks Center Banquet Room Sunday morning, where a host of young social justice advocates and organizers will discuss their own projects, talk about the need for more youth to become involved and analyze the New Youth Movement.

Civil rights organizers Phillip Agnew and Charlene Carruthers, undocumented immigrant advocate Lulu Martinez, climate change organizer Will Lawrence, sexual assault awareness organizer Zoe Ridolfi-Starr and voting rights advocate Sean Estelle will be in on the discussion, moderated by the Mia Henry, executive director of the ACSJL.

For a full list of events, go to the conference’s schedule page.

Working Together to End Violence

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Advertisement for Working Together to End Violence eventKalamazoo College’s Ethnic Studies program is collaborating with the student organization, Sexual Safety and Support Alliance, and the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) to present “Working Together to End Violence.” The event will occur on Friday, September 26, at 2:35 p.m. in the ACSJL building on K’s campus, and it will feature a viewing and discussion of the film Hearing Radmilla. The film was produced and edited by Angela Webb and documents the turbulent reign of Radmilla Cody, Miss Navajo Nation 1997-98, and the first biracial person to hold that title. The film chronicles her development as the goodwill and cultural ambassador of the Navajo Nation and her success as an award-winning vocal artist. Later Cody was sentenced to 21 months in a federal corrections facility for misprision of a felony, essentially concealing knowledge of a crime. The extenuating circumstances included an abusive boyfriend involved in marijuana trafficking. When Cody was released in 2004 she became a passionate activist against domestic violence. Both Webb and Cody will attend and participate in the discussion, which is part of the social justice leadership center’s With/Out ¿Borders? Conference.

The film offers an unparalleled treatment of race and gender in the U.S., according to Reid Gomez, who directs the College’s Ethnic Studies program and will serve as the moderator of the event. “No other film crosses the firm racial boundaries that police the categories of Black and Indian. Significantly, the film also addresses the epidemic of domestic violence and the singular position of women in prison.”

The issue of domestic violence has been prominent recently as a result of developments in the case of former Baltimore Raven Ray Rice and his wife Janay Palmer Rice. But the issue is longstanding and particularly acute for indigenous women. “According to a U.N. report, indigenous women are eight times more likely to be murdered that non-indigenous women,” said Gomez. “The violence against Black and Indian/indigenous women has largely been ignored, disavowed, and rendered invisible.”

Gomez has high praise for the film. “Webb was able to tell Cody’s complex story (of colonialism, racism, and domestic violence) without resorting to any grotesque display or to the erotics of terror.”

K Art Professor Sarah Lindley Exhibits in “Of Consequences: Industry and Surrounds” in Lansing

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Advertisement for arts eventAssociate Professor of Art Sarah Lindley exhibits her artwork in a two-person show with Norwood Viviano titled “Of Consequences: Industry and Surrounds” at the Lansing (Mich.) Art Gallery, from Sept. 5 through Oct. 30. A community reception will be held Sept. 5, 7-9 p.m. The Gallery is located at 119 N. Washington Square in Lansing. For more information: (517) 374-6400 or www.lansingartgallery.org.

By the Way: The new creative director of the Lansing Art Gallery is Barb Whitney ’98.

Center Court Dedicated to Kalamazoo College Legend

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Gigi Acker, Nancy Acker and Judy Acker-Smith at George Acker Court
Pictured on the George Acker Court are (l-r): Gigi Acker, Nancy Acker, and Judy Acker-Smith.

On Saturday, August 2, Kalamazoo College named center court of Stowe Stadium “George Acker Court,” dedicating it to the memory of the legendary coach and teacher who touched the lives of so many K students and Kalamazoo community members. President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran delivered a moving address, which is published below.

“Tonight we are pleased to honor the late Coach George Acker, a teacher and mentor who believed in the potential of others, and had a profound influence on the lives of many.

“George was dedicated to Kalamazoo College for more than five decades (1958-2011). His legendary 35-year career ranks him as the most successful men’s tennis coach in NCAA Division III history. In the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), he is ranked first among coaches for all sports (men’s and women’s) with the most conference championships. Coach Acker’s tennis teams won seven national championships and 35 MIAA championships. He was twice named NCAA Division III Tennis Coach of the Year and was also named NCAA Division III Tennis Coach of the Decade for the 1980s. Coach Acker ranks fourth in the nation among all Division I, II, and III tennis coaches with the most NCAA titles.

“Coach Acker had a far-reaching presence on the campus of Kalamazoo College. Although tonight we are focusing on his tennis accomplishments, it is important to acknowledge that George also taught physical education classes and coached football, wrestling, and cross-country. He coached and mentored more than 600 student-athletes on 65 different teams during his storied career at K. He earned respect and admiration because he was hardworking, humble and honest, and, he valued everyone equally.

“It is fitting that we should honor Coach Acker at the opening night of the USTA Boy’s 18s and 16s National Tournament. Coach Acker played an integral role in this tournament, serving for more than fifty-one years (1959-2010) in a variety of roles including: referee, athletic trainer and umpire, tournament official, and tournament administrator. In 1983 his contributions were recognized when he was awarded a Green Jacket. In 1993, he was declared Honorary Referee. Always available to provide wise counsel and an historic perspective, Coach Acker was an active member of the Kalamazoo USTA Advisory Board from 1998-2011, a total of 13 years. Coaches, players and the tennis community all recognize that the NATS at the Zoo is the best junior tennis tournament there is. There are many reasons for this, and one of those reasons is the commitment of George Acker.

“Tonight we honor this coaching legend and say ’thank you’ for his many contributions to the sport of tennis. We are delighted to have several members of the Acker family with us tonight, including Nancy Acker, affectionately known as ’Mrs. Coach,’ and daughters Gigi Acker and Judy Acker-Smith. We also have more than 175 former players and friends of the family with us this evening. Your attendance tonight speaks volumes about the profound impact George had on the lives of so many.

“And now, it is my distinct honor to announce to all of you that from this day forward center court at Stowe Stadium will be known as the George Acker Court.”

Dense, Disconcerting Bite

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Faded portrait of Diane SeussThat I could have written it shorter had I only more time has been attributed to great writers from Montaigne to Mark Twain. Those multiple attributions may be the best testament to the statement’s truth. It is hard to write “good short.” Unless you’re Writer-in-Residence Diane Seuss ’78, winner of Indiana Review’s 2013 1/2K Prize for her prose poem “Wal-Mart Parking Lot,” which was published in IR’s Summer 2014 issue.

More good news: IR editor Peter Kispert interviewed Di about various prize-related matters, including which actual Wal-Mart inspired her, how she approached making her poem, and the challenges and triumphs of the compressed form. You can read that interview online. In the 1/2K, word count cannot exceed 500 and all genres are open–albeit constrained. Di is spending part of the summer at Hedgebrook on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. Hedgebrook is a retreat for women writers. “If you receive the residency you get your own little cottage (overlooking Mt. Rainier and the Sound), solitude, and meals out of their organic garden,” wrote Di. “I’m not sure how to receive such a gift, but I’m working on it.”

In other news, The Missouri Review published Di’s poem “Still-Life with Two Dead Peacocks and a Girl (after Rembrandt),” one of a series that arose from Di’s interest in still life painting. “What I discovered about still lives is that they are not still,” Di said, “or their stillness draws out our projections like a poultice lures poison.”

My Cheated Eyes

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Kalamazoo College Psychology Professor Siu-Lan Tan in her officeBelieving is not seeing–especially at the movies. Siu-Lan Tan, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Kalamazoo College and a very popular blogger for Psychology Today and Oxford University Press (What Shapes Film: Elements of the Cinematic Experience and More), recently wrote two interesting pieces on perception … or rather, perhaps, misperception. The most fundamental illusion of the movies is obvious (except this reader never realized it until he read Siu-Lan’s blog), and that is the illusion of motion. Pictures don’t move even though things seem to move in the movies that I watch. From that revelation the blog moves (no pun intended) to differences in perception among different animals (an outcome of natural selection driven by survival). Take birds. Their perception has evolved to be much more sensitive to moving stimuli (compared to humans). Good for snatching prey, good for avoiding becoming prey, and good for safe high-speed landings into small nests. Not so good for a summer flick date night. That explains why Siu-Lan titled that blog: Why You Can’t Take a Pigeon to the Movies: A bird’s eye view of film. Not long after she wrote that mind-bending delight, Siu-Lan posted a second blog on the subject of perception–this one focused on a viral music video by the band OK Go. The title of that piece: Is the Writing on the Wall? A musical tribute to Gestalt psychologists. Turns out the writing was NOT on the wall (though you could have–and did–fool me). Siu-Lan skillfully connects the video’s visuals with the song’s words (I needed someone to do that because I was too busy following the moving–but, remember not really moving–pictures to even register the lyrics. Siu-Lan writes: “The music is not just an accompaniment to the collage of optical illusions and paradoxes, but an integral part of the work. The song is about miscommunication that can go on in a relationship. (Or is the idea of two people really ‘getting each other’ merely an illusion?)” Hmmmm. Anyway, check out both posts. You gotta see the OK Go video. Of course, you won’t be seeing what you’re seeing.

Making Research Click

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Michael Finkler uses a pencil to point as Bel Da Silva looks on
Michael Finkler and Bel Da Silva study the embryonic development of snapping turtles.

Michael Finkler ’91, Ph.D., “pays forward” the kind of hands-on research opportunity he had at K (thanks to his mentor, Associate Provost Paul Sotherland, who was teaching biology when Finkler was a student). Finkler is a professor of biology at Indiana University Kokomo. This past summer he hosted in his lab Brazil native Bel Da Silva, an undergraduate student (Federal University of Amazonas) participating in an exchange program called Science Without Borders. She assisted in Finkler’s ongoing research of snapping turtle embryo development. IU-Kokomo posted a story about the collaboration in its online newsletter, and in the interview for that story, Finkler paid tribute to Sotherland: “’I had a really great mentor as I completed my undergraduate thesis, and that’s when research really clicked for me,” he said. “That’s why I’m a professor now, because of that mentoring. In Bel’s case, I also saw an opportunity to get experience working with an international student.’” Sotherland served as Finkler’s SIP advisor. In fact, their SIP work (a productive collaboration that included John Van Orman) eventually led to the 1998 publication of a paper titled “Experimental manipulation of egg quality in chickens: influence of albumen and yolk on the size and body composition of near-term embryos in a precocial bird” in the Journal of Comparative Physiology. Seems that the seed of a K experiential opportunity like the Senior Individualized Project grows across time and borders. After all, the IU-Kokomo article notes that Da Silva intends to become a professor and researcher, the kind of scientist and teacher who will provide hands-on research opportunities for students from Brazil and other countries.