{"id":5941,"date":"2015-05-08T15:59:13","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T19:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=5941"},"modified":"2022-12-19T09:24:49","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T13:24:49","slug":"commencement2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/commencement2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Author and Journalist David Finkel Delivers Kalamazoo College Commencement Address June 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Graduation<\/a>David Finkel<\/strong>, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author of \u201cThe Good Soldiers\u201d and \u201cThank You for Your Service,\u201d will deliver the commencement address to the Kalamazoo College graduating class of 2015 on Sunday June 14 at 1:00 p.m. on the campus Quad, located at 1200 Academy St. in Kalamazoo.<\/p>\n

Finkel will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the College. Asia Liza Morales<\/strong> \u201915<\/strong> will address her fellow graduates in the role of senior speaker. Attorney, author, and LGBTQ activist Urvashi Vaid<\/strong>, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the College.<\/p>\n

\"Pulitzer<\/a>
David Finkel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kalamazoo College commencement is free and open to the public. Parking will be in high demand, so allow extra time. The College sets up about 3,000 folding chairs on the campus Quad and guests are invited to bring a lawn chair or blanket to stretch out on the grass. In case of rain, Anderson Athletic Center (1015 Academy St.) is the alternate site. Unfortunately, the gym can only accommodate the graduates, a few of their family members, and K administrators and faculty. K uses a special ticketing process for those seats.<\/p>\n

For those unable to attend, K Commencement will be live-streamed via the Web.<\/p>\n

David Finkel was the summer common reading author for the class of 2015 prior to their arrival at the College in fall 2011. He visited the K campus during students\u2019 first-year orientation, giving a lecture and reading from \u201cThe Good Soldiers,\u201d his bestselling account of a U.S. Army infantry unit during the Iraq War \u201csurge.\u201d The book earned the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize and was named best book of 2009 by the New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Per K tradition, Finkel returns to deliver the commencement address to the same class of students he met in 2011.<\/p>\n

\"Urvashi<\/a>
Urvashi Vaid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Urvashi Vaid is director of the Engaging Tradition Project at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School. Her most recent book is \u201cIrresistible Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics.\u201d She was executive director of the Arcus Foundation<\/a> from 2005 to 2010 and was instrumental in creating the vision for what is now Kalamazoo College\u2019s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. Ms. Vaid received her bachelor\u2019s degree from Vassar College and her law degree from Northeastern University Law School.<\/p>\n

Asia Morales has pursued a major in biology with an interest in environmental studies while at K. She has been a Peer Leader, President\u2019s Ambassador, StuComm representative, and a member of multiple civic engagement programs and student organizations, including S3A (Sexual Safety & Support Alliance), which educates, advocates, and provides support for victims of sexual assault. A Posse Scholar from Los Angeles, Asia studied abroad in Spain.<\/p>\n

\"Student<\/a>
Asia Morales ’15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finkel\u2019s most recent book, the critically acclaimed \u201cThank You for Your Service,\u201d chronicles the challenges faced by American soldiers and their families in war\u2019s aftermath. Among its many awards, the book was named a finalist for the 2013 National Book Critics Award in nonfiction and the New York Public Library\u2019s Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. It was named one of the best nonfiction books of 2013 by Publishers Weekly<\/em>, one of the top 10 books of the year by The<\/em> Washington Post<\/em>, and best nonfiction book of 2013 by Kirkus Reviews<\/em>.<\/p>\n

An editor and writer for The Washington Post<\/em>, Finkel has reported from Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, and across the United States, and has covered wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He received the MacArthur Foundation \u201cgenius\u201d grant in 2012 for \u201chis long-form newswriting that has transformed readers\u2019 understanding of military service and sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finkel won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for \u201chis ambitious, clear-eyed case study of the United States government\u2019s attempt to bring democracy to Yemen.\u201d He received his B.A. degree from University of Florida in 1977.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Finkel, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author of \u201cThe Good Soldiers\u201d and \u201cThank You for Your Service,\u201d will deliver the commencement address to the Kalamazoo College graduating class of 2015 on Sunday June 14 at 1:00 p.m. on the campus Quad, located at 1200 Academy St. in Kalamazoo. Finkel will also receive an honorary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":5978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[234],"tags":[164,20,19,38],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-5941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-events","tag-social-justice","tag-speakers","tag-students"],"yoast_head":"\r\nAuthor and Journalist David Finkel Delivers Kalamazoo College Commencement Address June 14 - News and Events<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"David Finkel, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author of \u201cThe Good Soldiers\u201d and \u201cThank You for Your Service,\u201d will deliver the commencement\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/commencement2015\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Author and Journalist David Finkel Delivers Kalamazoo College Commencement Address June 14 - 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Brown","author_link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/author\/abrown\/"},"guten_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",1556,1040,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg","1556","1040",false],"large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1-1024x684.jpg",600,401,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",1536,1027,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",1556,1040,false],"ab-block-post-grid-landscape":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",598,400,false],"ab-block-post-grid-square":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",600,401,false],"pl-blogpost-landscape":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",598,400,false],"pl-blogpost-square":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",600,401,false],"guten_post_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",1197,800,false],"guten_post_layout_portrait_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",1200,802,false],"guten_post_layout_square_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",1200,802,false],"guten_post_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",598,400,false],"guten_post_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",600,401,false],"guten_post_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",600,401,false],"campus-posts-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",300,201,false],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",300,201,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",400,267,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg",600,401,false]},"category_info":"<a aria-label=\"archive of category Events\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/events\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Events<\/a>","tags_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/events\/\" rel=\"tag\">events<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/social-justice\/\" rel=\"tag\">social justice<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/speakers\/\" rel=\"tag\">speakers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/students\/\" rel=\"tag\">students<\/a>","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/commencement2015\/\" 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\/commencement2015\/\" 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\/commencement2015\/\" 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><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-5978 size-medium\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/at-Toss-at-K-by-Keith-Mumma1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Graduation caps tossed in the air\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>David Finkel<\/strong>, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author of \u201cThe Good Soldiers\u201d and \u201cThank You for Your Service,\u201d will deliver the commencement address to the Kalamazoo College graduating class of 2015 on Sunday June 14 at 1:00 p.m. on the campus Quad, located at 1200 Academy St. in Kalamazoo.<\/p>\n<p>Finkel will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the College. <strong>Asia Liza Morales<\/strong> <strong>\u201915<\/strong> will address her fellow graduates in the role of senior speaker. Attorney, author, and LGBTQ activist <strong>Urvashi Vaid<\/strong>, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the College.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5979\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5979\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/avid-finkel-photo_sq-1e58e747b53accb8ca2dc4439f59988607129f28-s6-c303.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-5979 size-thumbnail\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/avid-finkel-photo_sq-1e58e747b53accb8ca2dc4439f59988607129f28-s6-c303-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Finkel\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5979\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Finkel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kalamazoo College commencement is free and open to the public. Parking will be in high demand, so allow extra time. The College sets up about 3,000 folding chairs on the campus Quad and guests are invited to bring a lawn chair or blanket to stretch out on the grass. In case of rain, Anderson Athletic Center (1015 Academy St.) is the alternate site. Unfortunately, the gym can only accommodate the graduates, a few of their family members, and K administrators and faculty. K uses a special ticketing process for those seats.<\/p>\n<p>For those unable to attend, K Commencement will be live-streamed via the Web.<\/p>\n<p>David Finkel was the summer common reading author for the class of 2015 prior to their arrival at the College in fall 2011. He visited the K campus during students\u2019 first-year orientation, giving a lecture and reading from \u201cThe Good Soldiers,\u201d his bestselling account of a U.S. Army infantry unit during the Iraq War \u201csurge.\u201d The book earned the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize and was named best book of 2009 by the <em>New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Per K tradition, Finkel returns to deliver the commencement address to the same class of students he met in 2011.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5980\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5980\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/rvashi-Vaid-headshot_1000px_300dpi4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-5980 size-thumbnail\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/rvashi-Vaid-headshot_1000px_300dpi4-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Urvashi Vaid\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5980\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Urvashi Vaid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Urvashi Vaid is director of the Engaging Tradition Project at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School. Her most recent book is \u201cIrresistible Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics.\u201d She was executive director of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arcusfoundation.org\/\">Arcus Foundation<\/a> from 2005 to 2010 and was instrumental in creating the vision for what is now Kalamazoo College\u2019s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. Ms. Vaid received her bachelor\u2019s degree from Vassar College and her law degree from Northeastern University Law School.<\/p>\n<p>Asia Morales has pursued a major in biology with an interest in environmental studies while at K. She has been a Peer Leader, President\u2019s Ambassador, StuComm representative, and a member of multiple civic engagement programs and student organizations, including S3A (Sexual Safety & Support Alliance), which educates, advocates, and provides support for victims of sexual assault. A Posse Scholar from Los Angeles, Asia studied abroad in Spain.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5981\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5981\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/15-by-Tony-Dugal2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-5981 size-thumbnail\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/05\/15-by-Tony-Dugal2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Student speaker Asia Morales\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5981\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Asia Morales ’15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Finkel\u2019s most recent book, the critically acclaimed \u201cThank You for Your Service,\u201d chronicles the challenges faced by American soldiers and their families in war\u2019s aftermath. Among its many awards, the book was named a finalist for the 2013 National Book Critics Award in nonfiction and the New York Public Library\u2019s Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. It was named one of the best nonfiction books of 2013 by <em>Publishers Weekly<\/em>, one of the top 10 books of the year by <em>The<\/em> <em>Washington Post<\/em>, and best nonfiction book of 2013 by <em>Kirkus Reviews<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>An editor and writer for <em>The Washington Post<\/em>, Finkel has reported from Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, and across the United States, and has covered wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He received the MacArthur Foundation \u201cgenius\u201d grant in 2012 for \u201chis long-form newswriting that has transformed readers\u2019 understanding of military service and sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Finkel won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for \u201chis ambitious, clear-eyed case study of the United States government\u2019s attempt to bring democracy to Yemen.\u201d He received his B.A. degree from University of Florida in 1977.<\/p>\n","comment_info":"No Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5941","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\/147"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5941"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18602,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5941\/revisions\/18602"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5941"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=5941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}