{"id":5770,"date":"2015-04-09T12:12:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T16:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=5770"},"modified":"2023-04-05T15:23:42","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T19:23:42","slug":"kalamazoo-college-president-announces-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/kalamazoo-college-president-announces-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Kalamazoo College President Announces Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileenAndCharlotte.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5771 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileenAndCharlotte.png\" alt=\"Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran and Charlotte Hall\" width=\"600\" height=\"306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileenAndCharlotte.png 600w, https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileenAndCharlotte-300x153.png 300w, https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileenAndCharlotte-500x255.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a>President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/123447803\"><strong>today announced her retirement<\/strong><\/a> from Kalamazoo College, effective June 30, 2016. She made the announcement at the College\u2019s spring term all-campus gathering, a meeting of faculty and staff.<\/p>\n<p><strong>President Wilson-Oyelaran<\/strong> was unanimously elected the 17th president of Kalamazoo College by the board of trustees on December 11, 2004. She began her duties in July of 2005. Prior to the presidency of K she served as vice president and dean of the college of Salem Academy and College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>A native of Los Angeles, President Wilson-Oyelaran earned her undergraduate degree (sociology) from Pomona College, a liberal arts school in Claremont, California. She studied abroad in England as an undergraduate, and used a postgraduate fellowship to study in Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania) for 16 months.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileen2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5773 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileen2.png\" alt=\"Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran\" width=\"200\" height=\"217\" \/><\/a>She returned to the U.S. to earn a master\u2019s degree and Ph.D. in child development and early childhood education (Claremont Graduate University) and then taught in the departments of education and psychology at the University of Ife in Nigeria for 14 years. She married Olasope (Sope) Oyelaran in 1980, and they have four children\u2014Doyin, Oyinda, Salewa, and Yinka.<\/p>\n<p>The family moved to the United States in 1988. President Wilson-Oyelaran taught or served in administrative leadership positions at North Carolina Wesleyan College and Winston-Salem State University prior to joining the faculty of Salem College.<\/p>\n<p>At K she led the development of a 10-year strategic plan for the college that, among other priorities, focused on the re-imagination and integration of the elements of K\u2019s internationally renowned curriculum, the <a href=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/k-plan\/\"><strong><em>K-Plan<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. &#8220;We\u2019re helping students integrate and reflect on the building blocks they use to construct their own unique <em>K-Plan<\/em>s,&#8221; said President Wilson-Oyelaran: classroom explorations in the liberal arts, <a href=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/k-plan\/study-abroad\/\"><strong>study abroad<\/strong><\/a>, career internships and networking opportunities, civic engagement, social justice leadership, and the capstone experience that is the senior individualized project. &#8220;Those elements, alone and in concert, enhance the four years that students spend at Kalamazoo College and will enhance students\u2019 lives for years to come,&#8221; added President Wilson-Oyelaran.<\/p>\n<p>Other curricular improvements during her tenure include revised graduation requirements, implementation of the Shared Passages Seminar Series (which helps students reflect upon and integrate their academic and experiential opportunities), three new academic majors (business, women and gender studies, and critical ethnic studies), two new intercollegiate sports (men\u2019s and women\u2019s lacrosse), the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, and new career and professional development programs such as the Guilds of Kalamazoo College.<\/p>\n<p>President Wilson-Oyelaran helped envision and implement another key focus of the College\u2019s strategic plan: building a campus community whose <a href=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/student-life\/diversity\/\"><strong>diversity<\/strong><\/a> reflects the world where K students will live and work. She acknowledged that much work remains to be done in order to create a learning environment that is equitable and inclusive for each member of K\u2019s diverse learning community&#8211;the most diverse in its history. In this the 10th year of her tenure, 26 percent of K students identify as U.S. students of color. International students (degree-seeking and visiting) are nearly 10 percent of the student body. Fifteen percent of K students are the first in their families to attend college; and one in four comes from a family of modest income.<\/p>\n<p>President Wilson-Oyelaran has reinvigorated campus spaces that students and employees use to solidify the sense of community that characterizes Kalamazoo College. Not since Presidents Hoben and Hicks has the physical campus made such extraordinary gains in beauty and utility. New spaces that have been renovated or erected during President Wilson-Oyelaran\u2019s tenure include the Hicks Center, the athletic fields and field house, and the extraordinary work of architecture that houses the social justice center. In addition to these spaces, construction of a new fitness and wellness center will begin at the end of summer, and preliminary design of a new natatorium is complete.<\/p>\n<p>Also, per the strategic plan, enrollment has grown to nearly 1,500 students (the 2017 goal specified by the plan), and the College has implemented an ambitious alumni engagement plan. President Wilson-Oyelaran also has led the most successful fund-raising campaign in the College\u2019s history. That effort, called the Campaign for Kalamazoo College, is in its final stages, having raised $123 million of its $125 million goal.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/harlotte.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-5774 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/harlotte.png\" alt=\"Charlotte Hall\" width=\"200\" height=\"235\" \/><\/a>Chair of the Board of Trustees <strong>Charlotte Hall \u201966<\/strong> said that the search for a new president would begin immediately. She noted that the search committee would include trustees, alumni, students, faculty, and staff. The 18th president of Kalamazoo College is expected to assume those duties on July 1, 2016.<\/p>\n<p>That new president will have big shoes to fill. &#8220;Eileen, we are so grateful for all the ways you\u2019ve helped prepare K for its future,&#8221; said Hall. &#8220;I know I speak for the entire K community, the Kalamazoo Community, and all the people you have touched throughout your time in higher education when I say we hope the best for you and Sope.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>President Wilson-Oyelaran cited the &#8220;singular honor&#8221; of serving at Kalamazoo College and shared her belief that, K, &#8220;the very best is yet to come.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Her legacy here is truly a blessing for our entire community. More than a decade ago, when she was considering the decision to move from Salem Academy and College to Kalamazoo College, Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran was seeking some sort of sign to tip the scale. She found it when she learned that the great abolitionist and women\u2019s rights activist Sojourner Truth had once met with kindred spirit Lucinda Hinsdale Stone (head of the female department at K, which was one of the first colleges in the country to provide higher education for women). &#8220;Ever since I was a child,&#8221; President Wilson-Oyelaran said in 2004, &#8220;Sojourner Truth has been an icon for me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Now, in turn, Kalamazoo College President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran can be an icon for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran today announced her retirement from Kalamazoo College, effective June 30, 2016. She made the announcement at the College\u2019s spring term all-campus gathering, a meeting of faculty and staff. President Wilson-Oyelaran was unanimously elected the 17th president of Kalamazoo College by the board of trustees on December 11, 2004. She began her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[233,235],"tags":[17,43,39,44,89,20],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-5770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-staff","category-institutional-announcements","tag-campus","tag-community","tag-faculty","tag-humanities","tag-president","tag-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Kalamazoo College President Announces Retirement - News and Events<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran today announced her retirement from Kalamazoo College, effective June 30, 2016. 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Staff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/faculty-staff\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Faculty &amp; Staff<\/a><a aria-label=\"archive of category Institutional Announcements\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/institutional-announcements\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Institutional Announcements<\/a>","tags_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/campus\/\" rel=\"tag\">campus<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/community\/\" rel=\"tag\">community<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/faculty\/\" rel=\"tag\">faculty<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/humanities\/\" rel=\"tag\">humanities<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/president\/\" rel=\"tag\">president<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/social-justice\/\" rel=\"tag\">social justice<\/a>","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/kalamazoo-college-president-announces-retirement\/\" class=\"pl-facebook-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/kalamazoo-college-president-announces-retirement\/\" class=\"pl-twiiter-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/kalamazoo-college-president-announces-retirement\/\" class=\"pl-linkedin-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a>","wordExcerpt_info":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileenAndCharlotte.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5771 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileenAndCharlotte.png\" alt=\"Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran and Charlotte Hall\" width=\"600\" height=\"306\" \/><\/a>President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/123447803\"><strong>today announced her retirement<\/strong><\/a> from Kalamazoo College, effective June 30, 2016. She made the announcement at the College\u2019s spring term all-campus gathering, a meeting of faculty and staff.<\/p>\n<p><strong>President Wilson-Oyelaran<\/strong> was unanimously elected the 17th president of Kalamazoo College by the board of trustees on December 11, 2004. She began her duties in July of 2005. Prior to the presidency of K she served as vice president and dean of the college of Salem Academy and College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>A native of Los Angeles, President Wilson-Oyelaran earned her undergraduate degree (sociology) from Pomona College, a liberal arts school in Claremont, California. She studied abroad in England as an undergraduate, and used a postgraduate fellowship to study in Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania) for 16 months.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileen2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5773 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/ileen2.png\" alt=\"Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran\" width=\"200\" height=\"217\" \/><\/a>She returned to the U.S. to earn a master\u2019s degree and Ph.D. in child development and early childhood education (Claremont Graduate University) and then taught in the departments of education and psychology at the University of Ife in Nigeria for 14 years. She married Olasope (Sope) Oyelaran in 1980, and they have four children\u2014Doyin, Oyinda, Salewa, and Yinka.<\/p>\n<p>The family moved to the United States in 1988. President Wilson-Oyelaran taught or served in administrative leadership positions at North Carolina Wesleyan College and Winston-Salem State University prior to joining the faculty of Salem College.<\/p>\n<p>At K she led the development of a 10-year strategic plan for the college that, among other priorities, focused on the re-imagination and integration of the elements of K\u2019s internationally renowned curriculum, the <a href=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/k-plan\/\"><strong><em>K-Plan<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. &#8220;We\u2019re helping students integrate and reflect on the building blocks they use to construct their own unique <em>K-Plan<\/em>s,&#8221; said President Wilson-Oyelaran: classroom explorations in the liberal arts, <a href=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/k-plan\/study-abroad\/\"><strong>study abroad<\/strong><\/a>, career internships and networking opportunities, civic engagement, social justice leadership, and the capstone experience that is the senior individualized project. &#8220;Those elements, alone and in concert, enhance the four years that students spend at Kalamazoo College and will enhance students\u2019 lives for years to come,&#8221; added President Wilson-Oyelaran.<\/p>\n<p>Other curricular improvements during her tenure include revised graduation requirements, implementation of the Shared Passages Seminar Series (which helps students reflect upon and integrate their academic and experiential opportunities), three new academic majors (business, women and gender studies, and critical ethnic studies), two new intercollegiate sports (men\u2019s and women\u2019s lacrosse), the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, and new career and professional development programs such as the Guilds of Kalamazoo College.<\/p>\n<p>President Wilson-Oyelaran helped envision and implement another key focus of the College\u2019s strategic plan: building a campus community whose <a href=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/student-life\/diversity\/\"><strong>diversity<\/strong><\/a> reflects the world where K students will live and work. She acknowledged that much work remains to be done in order to create a learning environment that is equitable and inclusive for each member of K\u2019s diverse learning community&#8211;the most diverse in its history. In this the 10th year of her tenure, 26 percent of K students identify as U.S. students of color. International students (degree-seeking and visiting) are nearly 10 percent of the student body. Fifteen percent of K students are the first in their families to attend college; and one in four comes from a family of modest income.<\/p>\n<p>President Wilson-Oyelaran has reinvigorated campus spaces that students and employees use to solidify the sense of community that characterizes Kalamazoo College. Not since Presidents Hoben and Hicks has the physical campus made such extraordinary gains in beauty and utility. New spaces that have been renovated or erected during President Wilson-Oyelaran\u2019s tenure include the Hicks Center, the athletic fields and field house, and the extraordinary work of architecture that houses the social justice center. In addition to these spaces, construction of a new fitness and wellness center will begin at the end of summer, and preliminary design of a new natatorium is complete.<\/p>\n<p>Also, per the strategic plan, enrollment has grown to nearly 1,500 students (the 2017 goal specified by the plan), and the College has implemented an ambitious alumni engagement plan. President Wilson-Oyelaran also has led the most successful fund-raising campaign in the College\u2019s history. That effort, called the Campaign for Kalamazoo College, is in its final stages, having raised $123 million of its $125 million goal.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/harlotte.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-5774 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/04\/harlotte.png\" alt=\"Charlotte Hall\" width=\"200\" height=\"235\" \/><\/a>Chair of the Board of Trustees <strong>Charlotte Hall \u201966<\/strong> said that the search for a new president would begin immediately. She noted that the search committee would include trustees, alumni, students, faculty, and staff. The 18th president of Kalamazoo College is expected to assume those duties on July 1, 2016.<\/p>\n<p>That new president will have big shoes to fill. &#8220;Eileen, we are so grateful for all the ways you\u2019ve helped prepare K for its future,&#8221; said Hall. &#8220;I know I speak for the entire K community, the Kalamazoo Community, and all the people you have touched throughout your time in higher education when I say we hope the best for you and Sope.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>President Wilson-Oyelaran cited the &#8220;singular honor&#8221; of serving at Kalamazoo College and shared her belief that, K, &#8220;the very best is yet to come.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Her legacy here is truly a blessing for our entire community. More than a decade ago, when she was considering the decision to move from Salem Academy and College to Kalamazoo College, Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran was seeking some sort of sign to tip the scale. She found it when she learned that the great abolitionist and women\u2019s rights activist Sojourner Truth had once met with kindred spirit Lucinda Hinsdale Stone (head of the female department at K, which was one of the first colleges in the country to provide higher education for women). &#8220;Ever since I was a child,&#8221; President Wilson-Oyelaran said in 2004, &#8220;Sojourner Truth has been an icon for me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Now, in turn, Kalamazoo College President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran can be an icon for us.<\/p>\n","comment_info":"No Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5770"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19535,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5770\/revisions\/19535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5770"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=5770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}