Eighteen-year-old Ed Hortelano ’83, at that time finishing his high school education in Detroit, Michigan, and pondering a college education, had only once been out of North America. He knew almost nothing about travel abroad, even as the thought intrigued him.
“I was hopelessly naïve then, as most 18-year-olds are,” Hortelano laughed. “I had only been to the Philippines because my parents were from there. But then we had College Day at my high school, and Kalamazoo College had a booth there—I had never heard of K—and it was all about study abroad.”
Hortelano did not know it then but choosing Kalamazoo College was about to open doors to the world for him, doors that would never close.
“My other interest was chemistry,” he said. “I had a teenage fascination with melting things, changing things, but I also wanted to understand nature. At K, I majored in chemistry, and my sophomore year was the first time I got to work in a lab. From the experiences I had during my career development quarter, I knew that was what I wanted to do—to be a chemist.”
Hortelano took his first transatlantic trip to Hanover, Germany, with about a dozen other Kalamazoo College students, to study abroad for two quarters while living with a host family. Eyes wide, heart beating hard, he embraced the opportunity to walk into a world completely new and wonderfully strange to him.
“Fantastic,” he said. “Living with a German family forced me to speak the language in daily life. I got all the cultural elements. I had heard in high school that German was important to chemistry—not true, that was just random advice—but I chose that path and it changed me. This was during the Cold War when Germany was divided into the East and the West. I hadn’t been interested in politics before then, but we were taken on a trip into Berlin, this bizarre island in the middle of East Germany, and seeing that gave me an entirely different perspective on the world—and also on America.”
Without the modern technological connections of today, Hortelano felt his separation from home sharply.
“I wasn’t really homesick, just aware of distance, of my separation,” Hortelano said. “Writing letters became important. Transatlantic phone calls weren’t easy to arrange and were expensive. I began to understand how my parents must have felt leaving the Philippines and coming into a different culture and language.”
It was an experience Hortelano would never forget. After earning his Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry at Wayne State University, Hortelano began a career which would take him on the road across the country and overseas, traversing the globe. His ease adjusting to different countries, different cultures, became a quality employers noticed and rewarded.
“My first job after earning my doctoral degree and postdoctoral fellowship eventually took me back to Germany,” Hortelano said. “For two-and-a-half years, I worked at the Bayer headquarters in Leverkusen. I was hired as a research chemist in part because I could speak both German and English. It was a good opportunity to see and be seen at the headquarters. It was the first opportunity to lead multi-cultural teams.”
For the next two decades, Hortelano worked for Bayer, moving from location to location as his work and positions progressed upward. Hortelano worked on—and led teams working on—polyurethane raw materials for coatings, adhesives and other applications. Over the course of his career, he had a variety of assignments, including heading a project to commercialize materials for holographic data storage, leading to sales to a global key account.
Hortelano married a chemical engineer, Jane, in 2000. Their son, Ethan, was born in Pittsburgh in 2002. In 2009, the Hortelano family moved to Shanghai, China. The family returned to the United States when their son was in second grade at an international school, after 18 months in Asia.
“While in China, I tried to learn some Mandarin words alongside my son. As we traveled in China or spent weekends together in Shanghai, I tried to help him understand the differences in culture and the privileges we enjoy in America,” Hortelano said. “When we returned to the States, to work at Bostik in Milwaukee, once again I was able to apply my global experiences. I was leading international teams developing adhesives—mostly for diapers. It’s a huge market.” By 2010, Hortelano was chief technology officer for the Bostik North American operations, and in 2015, he became global vice president at Loparex, leading product development, tech service and research activities.
This resulted in another family move to Raleigh, North Carolina, and once again Hortelano’s global reach was a valuable quality. Visiting his team required him to travel to the Netherlands, India, Thailand and back to China. At present, Hortelano leads materials development as the senior vice president of engineering and development at 3D Systems in South Carolina.
And the travel never stops.
“At 3D Systems, we are leaders in the field of 3D printing,” Hortelano said. “It’s a fantastic technology, building layers upon layers of plastic or metal, fusing powders with lasers. We also have technologies where we convert liquid resins to solids using light. My team is responsible for the development of all materials that are used by our printers.”
Maintaining his connection to Kalamazoo College throughout, Hortelano still remembers himself at that tender young age, looking out upon an unknown world and the adventures it offered. He wanted to pass that privilege along to those coming up in generations behind him.
“I heard that my classmates were raising funds for an endowment so that students who couldn’t afford to study abroad could still have that experience,” he said. “I wanted to help to close that gap, so that anyone who wants to study abroad, can.”
It is not the only K connection Hortelano has maintained over the years.
Since 2019, Hortelano has served as a trustee on the Kalamazoo College Board of Trustees, currently serving as vice chair of the buildings and grounds committee.
“If everything is working as it should, the physical footprint of K is invisible to you,” he said. “There’s still a lot to be done, but K has been working hard to maintain buildings and it’s been investing in renewing the physical plant. However, we do have a lot of constraints—for example, the challenge of having limited open land. Our dormitories are aging—I lived in Trowbridge, so I have a lot of affection for that building, but it is ancient. It needs to be updated or replaced, but where do we move the students during that time? Overcoming these challenges will require creativity and resources. The College is preparing to renew the Campus Master Plan, which will address this critical need.”
While working to solve such problems, Hortelano also manages to schedule in time to visit with friends from K—friends he’s had since he was a first-year student on Lux Row.
“A handful of us have stayed close over the years, and about seven years ago, we decided to charter a sailboat for a long weekend together,” Hortelano said. “We’ve been doing that every year since—except this past year during the COVID-19 pandemic when we got together over Zoom calls, playing video games together once a week.”
Hortelano laughed. “I need to apologize to my friends’ wives for the video games,” he said. “I treasure these friendships. We’ll be back on the water again this August.”
Travel, Hortelano has learned, creates distance but also reduces it. It has brought people close in business and in his personal life, expanded understanding of what makes us different and the same, breaking down barriers and building collaborations.
“Study abroad was transformational in my life,” Hortelano said. “K gave me that.”
These words describe the bold outcomes K strives for as part of the Brighter Light Campaign.
Growth in the College’s ability to provide access to the full richness of the K experience to bright and talented students, regardless of their means. Growth in its ability to attract and nurture high caliber, dedicated faculty as they continue to innovate, teach and mentor K students year after year.
Renewal of this beautiful, lively campus, creating and enhancing the environments where K students learn, live and play. Renewal of our students’ commitment to fellowship, leadership and learning and the College’s commitment to provide welcoming spaces in which those activities occur.
Endurance of the programming that makes K a catalyst for the transformative personal and professional development of its students and extends K’s reach into the local community of which it is a part. Endurance created by a strong endowment and financial sustainability that will weather the types of challenges we collectively faced this past year.
In my short time at K, I have been continually gratified by the enthusiasm and generosity of so many of the College’s alumni and friends. I have delighted in hearing from alumni, students, faculty and community members who each have a remarkable and unique K story to tell, and I look forward to hearing many more!
Every gift to K is a part of the Brighter Light Campaign; I invite you to learn more about the effort as we share stories of opportunity and the immediate and lasting impact of your collective philanthropy. As members of this vibrant and strong community, I invite you to “be the light” that will make the campaign’s goals a reality, sustaining and enhancing the excellence of a K education for future generations of students who will, in turn, bring a brighter light to the world.
I look forward to connecting with you all as we work to transform K’s future.
Lux esto,
Karen T. Isble Vice President for College Advancement
CAMPAIGN PRIORITIES
1
BRIGHTEROpportunities
•Scholarships and Financial Aid •K-Plan (Study Abroad, Career Development, Student Research)
Endowed scholarships and gifts through the Kalamazoo College Fund give exceptional students the opportunity to attend K regardless of their financial means, and enable students to start life after K with lower student debt upon graduation. Your campaign gift can also provide financial support that allows students to fully participate in K-Plan experiences like study abroad, internships and meaningful research.
2
BRIGHTERMinds
•Faculty and Staff Recruitment and Retention •Interdisciplinary Scholarship and Research
Our faculty and staff members have served as advisors, motivators, counselors and guides for generations of K students and alumni. K’s teacher-scholars never stop learning; they keep pace with new advancements in their disciplines and share that knowledge with students in ways that ignite their passion for learning. By endowing faculty and staff positions, you can help K recruit and retain high-caliber talent, allow us to preserve small class sizes, enhance academic excellence and increase personalized guidance and support for students
3
BRIGHTERExperiences
•Athletics •Campus Improvements
Many students choose K knowing they can play the sports they love in college—in fact, nearly 25% of K students are athletes. Contributing to endowed and annual funding for athletics will help support program budgets, ensure equity across all sports and fund improvements to fields and facilities. Additionally, we want all areas of our beautiful and historic campus to provide welcoming and modernized spaces for students to live, learn and play—today and for years to come.
Create a BRIGHTERWorld
Kalamazoo College has been the light leading the way for inspired thinkers and determined leaders for nearly 200 years. The Brighter Light Campaign is an opportunity for those who have benefited from a life-changing K education—or have witnessed its effect in the community and around the world—to sustain and enhance the College’s offerings.
A Transformational Campaign
A Q&A with campaign co-chairs and Board of Trustees members Amy Upjohn and Jim Heath ’78.
Amy Upjohn and Jim Heath ’78 are co-chairs of the Brighter Light Campaign
K has a mission to develop enlightened leaders. What does enlightened leadership mean to you and how does K deliver on it?
JIM: Leadership to me is really about being able to define purpose for both yourself and for your team—to provide a vision of what paths you might take and then trying to encourage others to follow that path, supporting and guiding them. I think that’s what Kalamazoo College teaches and what K represents. The College has a very clear purpose in trying to develop students—mind, body and soul—and the faculty, the staff and the coaches are there to guide and direct and provide this vision, and they do a fantastic job at it. This was certainly my experience.
I was deeply impacted by several people at Kalamazoo College—professors and coaches who influenced me beyond what I learned on the field or in the classroom. People like Ed Baker who was the head football coach, who pushed me and taught me about going harder than I thought I could ever go, and Madame Dale, my French teacher, who was not going to accept my rather mediocre efforts, so to speak. And as a history major, I had three history professors—John Wickstrom, David Strauss and David Barclay—who were just terrific. They were super smart guys that never tried to be the smartest person in the room. They really tried to bring out the best in every one of their students. They taught me to appreciate history, a subject I really loved, and they pushed me beyond my comfort zone, forcing me to prepare and to really up my game. The lessons they taught me are the lessons that I have tried to instill in my children and also in my professional life.
One of the campaign’s top priorities is growing the endowment. How does strengthening the endowment help K’s competitive position?
AMY: K has managed to do a lot of really good work without a huge endowment, yet we know that in order to stay competitive, we need to grow our resources. When I talk about being competitive, it’s not just about recruiting students. The larger our endowment, the more competitive we can be in recruiting and retaining faculty. K has an extremely impressive faculty, but for us to continue to attract these talented individuals and have them want to stay and grow here, and really invest themselves in the culture at Kalamazoo College and in the K-Plan, we have to be able to invest in them as well.
The K-Plan itself is an exceptional program where we focus on developing students holistically—it isn’t just about giving them the academics and the degree and letting them figure out the world on their own after graduation. They’ve traveled overseas, they’ve had internships, they’ve had externships. We spend a lot of time focused on social justice and what the real needs are in society, and they’re exploring this abroad, in the U.S. and in our own community. We are helping prepare these students to be caring and perceptive individuals, people who really take the time to focus on others. We’re sending students into careers or off to graduate school who are fully prepared for whatever that next step brings. That’s what makes K competitive relative to other institutions, so continuing to expand those opportunities—as well as access to those opportunities—through the endowment is really important.
In what ways do you see K creating a brighter light within the community?
AMY: That, for me, is the reason that I sit on the board as a trustee. I didn’t go to Kalamazoo College. I have connections to K through my family; my mother sat on the board, my father has an honorary degree, and my brother-in-law and niece graduated from the College. So as a young person I knew a lot about K. When I was first asked to sit on the board, it was really an honor, because I feel that Kalamazoo College brings so much to our community. And our community brings so much to K.
When we look at community-based internships, for example, not only are our students growing and learning, they’re also giving back locally. Consider the Kalamazoo Public Schools and how hard they’re working to prepare kids for the Kalamazoo Promise scholarship program—our students are involved in many of those schools. And they aren’t just helping these students academically; with the personal experiences they bring, the experiences they’ve had with the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement and the Arcus Center—our students are equipped to understand the difficulties that some of the kids are facing. They understand diversity and inclusion, which is incredibly helpful to those schools and their students.
When I look at the arts and the opportunities for theatre, music and collaboration with the community, like the Gilmore Piano Festival or the Bach Festival, all those things make our community stronger. It’s great for our faculty and staff, too, living in a vibrant community where they can see the support and the philanthropy. And this outstanding faculty and student body that we have, they want to be a part of the Kalamazoo community. The K-Plan encourages them to get involved. That’s huge for Kalamazoo. And it provides a whole other support network for students while they’re here.
What led you sign on as a campaign co-chair?
AMY: I am so excited about this campaign and the focus on endowment, because I think that is our greatest need, and it will have the greatest impact on the college as a whole, as well as individually to our faculty, staff and students. As I said earlier, this is an opportunity for me to give back to an institution that has had a huge impact on a community I love and have lived in all my life.
JIM: In its own way, Kalamazoo College has transformed the lives of so many and we need to continue to do that, in a way that’s a little more personalized, that offers a variety of experiences that students can take advantage of and with faculty and a staff who are very committed to fulfilling the mission. This campaign is a way for us to build up the endowment and other areas that are necessary to continue K’s great legacy.
Be The Light
When students come to K, it’s not just about becoming a physics major or getting a job. It’s really about transforming young people’s lives and teaching them that learning never ends. I’m learning as much today if not more than I did 40 years ago. I started out in my career as a teacher and a coach, and later I went into business. I was ready to tackle anything even though I was more of a generalist—I felt like I could assimilate into just about any role because I had this well-rounded education. My experience as a student at K was something that I feel very strongly about, and I want to continue to be able to help other kids get these opportunities—in the classroom, outside the classroom, overseas, etcetera. That’s why I’m a member of the Board of Trustees and why I agreed to be a campaign co-chair. Contributing to this campaign and being able to further this mission is really important to creating a brighter future and ultimately a brighter world.
GIVE TODAY:
The Kalamazoo College Fund: Provide vital support for all aspects of the K student experience.
Endowed Gifts: Support K’s liberal arts mission with a gift that lasts forever by endowing scholarships, faculty recruitment and retention, academic and co-curricular programs, experiential learning and athletics.
Planned Gifts: Create a legacy by including K in your estate plans or by making a gift that provides you with income for life.
WAYS TO GIVE:
Online: Give securely online by visiting kzoo.edu/onlinegiving/. Gifts can be made using a MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover card, PayPal, Venmo, or ACH bank transfer (wire transfer).
Call: Please call 269.337.7236 and Advancement staff can process your credit card gift over the phone.
Send a Check: Checks may be made payable to Kalamazoo College and sent to: Kalamazoo College, Office of Advancement, 1200 Academy Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49006.
Securities Transfers: Transferring appreciated publicly traded securities to K allows you to avoid capital gains taxes and receive a tax deduction for your gift.
IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD): A QCD is an otherwise taxable distribution from an IRA owned by an individual who is 70½ or older that is paid directly from the IRA to a qualified charity. Making a QCD to K counts toward your required minimum distribution and is excluded from your taxable income.
Corporate Matching Gifts: Gifts matched by your employer provide a wonderful opportunity to double, sometimes even triple, your contribution to K.
More questions? Contact our Advancement team at 269.337.7236 for assistance, or visit kzoo.edu/brighterlight.
Dear Alumni, Families and Friends of KalamazooCollege:
In 1912, Herbert Lee Stetson, the namesake of Stetson Chapel, became the seventh president of Kalamazoo College. He ushered in a period of growth and change, and under his leadership the College modernized the curriculum, expanded the faculty and grew the endowment to support future expansion. When the chapel was named in his honor, Stetson said that it had always been his supreme desire to make K as good an institution as possible, “always maintaining high ideals, emphasizing quality rather than quantity, developing marked individuality and independence of thought among its students, and creating that spirit which transforms this world into the best possible world for human beings to become all they are capable of becoming.”
Over the years, K has continued to grow and modernize, aiming to do as much as possible to maximize its potential while being a good steward of its resources. The opportunities K provides today to its student body may well have exceeded the wildest dreams of its early leaders—and these opportunities are available to the most diverse student body in the College’s history, as K strives to be more equitable and inclusive, not just in its enrollment but in its policies and practices.
The strategic plan we set forth in 2018, “Advancing Kalamazoo College: A Strategic Vision for 2023,” includes reimagining the K-Plan and enhancing co-curricular programs; investing in human capital; fostering equity and inclusion; making and planning for campus improvements; supporting the continued personal growth of our alumni and maintaining those connections so important to K’s fellowship in learning.
We are making steady progress on these priorities; however, to fully realize them, we also need to grow the funding that supports these efforts—funding that allows us to enhance our programming, hire exceptional faculty, make much-needed capital improvements, and most critically, keep K affordable for bright and talented students regardless of income level.
This is why the Brighter Light Campaign, announced publicly during fall homecoming and described in the story on page 18, is a critical component of our strategic plan. By contributing to this fundraising campaign—through gifts large and small, through time, through word of mouth—you can help K continue to develop and inspire future leaders and citizens of the world.
Long before Loren Pope wrote his best-selling college guide, Kalamazoo College was a “college that changed lives.” Stetson recognized this when he talked about K’s spirit, transforming the world into one where all people can realize their potential. I hope you will join me in supporting the Brighter Light Campaign; together, we can carry on this mission, and shine an ever-brighter light into the world.
The listing acknowledges individuals and organizations that made gifts to Kalamazoo College last fiscal year (July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021). Your philanthropy in support of the Kalamazoo College Fund, Hornet Athletic Association and various designated funds helps the College provide a powerful liberal arts education that makes a difference in the lives of K students. THANK YOU!
1970
Richard Heady published his novel, The Embudo Virus (Terra Nova Books), in February 2021. For information about the book, visit its website at richardheady.com. Richard’s short stories have appeared in Carve Magazine, The Best of Carve Magazine and Aethlon.
1971
Ronald Frantz has been selected by the State Bar of Michigan to receive the Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Service Award for 2020. He has also been chosen to receive the 2020 William H. Delhey Prosecution Service Award by the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan. Ron retired this year after serving as the Ottawa county prosecutor for 30 years. He joined that office 43 years ago after graduating from Case Western Reserve University Law School in Cleveland. The Frank J. Kelley award recognizes extraordinary governmental service that strengthens the American system of justice while demonstrating integrity and leadership as well as dedication to principle and the ideals of democracy. The Delhey award emphasizes the furtherance of justice on behalf of the people of Ottawa County and the State of Michigan along with outstanding contributions to the professional education of Michigan’s prosecutors. As a career prosecutor, Ron served on myriad community and professional committees and boards and was president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan in 2006. He was the first in the state of Michigan to prosecute a case using DNA and tried the longest case in the history of Ottawa County, a 10-week murder trial in 1991. In bestowing the Delhey award upon Ron, one of his peers observed, “Ron has fulfilled his role as prosecutor with incomparable dignity and grace.”
1973
Mary Sies, Deborah Dupont and Lisa Rosenberg (L-R) met as first-year students in Basement East, Trowbridge, during fall of 1969. The three friends see each other every few years and recently met for a catch-up dinner at Mary’s house in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Deb’s house in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Tom Carrico, June 2021).
1976
Carlton Marcyan recently completed a two-year master’s program in conflict resolution at Dominican University located in River Forest, Illinois. The curriculum included Psychology of Conflict, International Conflict Resolution, and Circle Practice/Restorative Justice. He continues to carry on as a senior partner at his Chicago law firm, Schiller DuCanto & Fleck, and is its former managing partner. His family is doing well and he and his wife, Ana, are expecting their second grandchild soon. He is pictured with his grandson, Cameron, at the Lake Forest beach.
1977
Clarkson University Professor of Mathematics Scott R. Fulton has been named professor emeritus for exemplary service to the University. Throughout the past 35 years, Scott has accrued a distinguished record of excellence in research, teaching and service. His teaching spans 66 semesters and 126 course offerings, and has impacted more than 6,100 students. He has taught nearly the full spectrum of departmental courses, with 14 different undergraduate courses and six different graduate courses. He has supervised six master of science students and five Ph.D. students. Scott’s research interests lie in mathematics and atmospheric science. He has had a nearly continuous record of research funding, sourced from the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and the Department of Energy, with efforts directed at the development of models and methods for the study of atmospheric dynamics, including balanced flows and hurricanes. He continues to both perform research and publish and has continued a collaboration with his former thesis advisor for more than 40 years. He has also provided superior service to his department, school and university, including 10 years as the executive officer of the Department of Mathematics and continuous service on the department undergraduate committee. His multiple university committees include the tenure, promotion, honors research, teaching excellence and president’s budget committees. Scott has also led a number of curricular reviews and assessments and recently contributed to the development of new majors in data science and mathematical economics. He has been honored with the Clarkson Personal Computer Curriculum Development Award and the Outstanding Advisor Award. He was also named to the Clarkson Million Dollar Club for his level of research funding. He is a member of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the American Meteorological Society, as well as the Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Mu Epsilon honor societies. Fulton received both his Ph.D. and master of science degrees in atmospheric science from Colorado State University.
Steven Schmidt was nominated this year for the 2021 Association of Performing Arts Professionals William Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence and Sustained Achievement in Programming. Steven served as the Rochester Civic Music general manager in Rochester, Minnesota, for 32 years and retired in September. Steven is a past recipient of the Sally Irvine Ordway award for Commitment, recognizing lifetime achievement, contribution and leadership in Minnesota arts and/or culture and a Mayor’s Medal of Honor Award for Excellence in City Service. In addition to serving as the leader of the Civic Music department, he is a touring and recording singer/songwriter/musician.
1980
Terri Kline has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Apria Inc. and will serve on the Board’s audit committee. Terri brings to Apria deep expertise in healthcare advisory work and currently serves on the boards of Amedisys, Intersect ENT, SaVida Health and Presbyterian Health Plan Inc. Previously, she served as executive vice president of Henry Ford Health System (HFHS), as president and chief executive officer of Health Alliance Plan—a subsidiary of HFHS—and as senior vice president and chief health care management officer of Health Care Service Corporation. Terri holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan.
1985
The Shyft Group Inc. announced the appointment of Joshua Sherbin as chief legal officer and chief compliance officer. The Shyft Group is the North American leader in specialty vehicle manufacturing and assembly for the commercial and fleet vehicle industries, as well as for the recreational vehicle markets. Josh brings more than two decades of experience in corporate legal and compliance. He most recently served for 16 years as senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary at Trimas Corporation. Previously, he served for eight years as North American corporate counsel and corporate secretary for Valeo and as senior counsel at Kelly Services.
1987
Misonix Inc. announced its board of directors has appointed Patrick J. Beyer as an independent member of the board. Pat joined the board on May 12, 2021. Pat is currently president of International and Global Orthopedics for ConMed, a position in which he has served since October 2020. He previously served as president of ConMed International. Prior, he served as chief executive officer of ICNet, a privately held infectious control software company. Prior to this, he spent 21 years at Stryker Corporation where he led Stryker Europe from 2005 to 2009; Stryker U.K., South Africa and Ireland from 2002 to 2005; and Stryker Medical from 1999 to 2002. Pat graduated from K with a B.A. in economics, obtained his M.B.A. in finance from Western Michigan University and attended Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
1988
Gila (Dorostkar) Millar was recently installed as the 47th president of the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry (CSPD). CSPD is a professional organization that represents the specialty of pediatric dentistry in California and is dedicated to advocating for optimal oral health for infants, children and adolescents. With more than 900 members, it is the largest pediatric dental state organization in the U.S. and a component of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
Elizabeth (Haselden) Monahan was appointed human resources department director for the city of Bellingham, Washington. In this position, she will lead a team of 16 human resource professionals and serve on the mayor’s executive-level department head team. Elizabeth most recently served as the director of human resources for the Port of Bellingham. Prior to her more than 11 years with the Port, she was the labor relations manager for Western Washington University and held various human resources roles for Weyerhaeuser. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from K and a master’s in labor and industrial relations from Michigan State University.
1990
Ethan Segal, who is a professor of East Asian history at Michigan State University, appeared in the recent Netflix series Age of Samurai. Segal, a scholar of medieval Japan, is one of the historians interviewed for the program. He appears in episodes four and six.
1992
Morowa Yejidé has published her second novel, Creatures of Passage (Akashic Books, 2021). In naming it one of the Best Books of Winter 2021, The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Yejidé’s surreal new novel has no shortage of otherworldly surprises, but it’s her this-worldly protagonist who steals the show…Informed by a richly woven mythology and propelled by themes of regret and revenge, Creatures of Passage has earned some apt comparisons to Toni Morrison’s Beloved.” The Chicago Review of Books says, “History-haunted in the best sense, readers shouldn’t miss this mythic thriller.” Morowa is also the author of the critically acclaimed novel Time of the Locust, which was a 2012 finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize, long-listed for the 2015 PEN/Bingham Prize and a 2015 NAACP Image Award nominee. She lives in the D.C. area with her husband and three sons.
1994
In May, David K. Best, D.O., was sworn in as the president of the Michigan Osteopathic Association for a one-year term after serving several years as a trustee. David has practiced medicine since 2002, specializing in primary care and addiction medicine, and has served on the Michigan Osteopathic Association’s board of directors since 2014. In addition, he served on the board of the Michigan Osteopathic Family Physicians for eight years. He has spent the majority of his career in northern Michigan, most recently serving as a hospice physician at Heartland Hospice and running Best Medical Services, PLLC in Traverse City. He holds a D.O. from Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine and an M.S. in Medical Sciences from Wayne State University.
Nate Bolin has joined DLA Piper’s litigation and regulatory practice in Washington, D.C. Nate advises on U.S. trade remedies, export controls, economic sanctions, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and related areas of national security and international trade laws. He regularly helps clients successfully navigate the complex CFIUS process and national security issues involving investments and cross-border transactions. He has extensive experience with emerging technologies in the aerospace, defense, oil and gas, medical, transportation, semiconductor, consumer electronics and telecommunications industries. Nate has helped hundreds of companies across various industries successfully resolve internal and government investigations and compliance issues involving these laws. Due to his extensive experience with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), he has been appointed by the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs to serve on the U.S. State Department’s Defense Trade Advisory Group for three consecutive terms, most recently for the 2020-2022 session. He also advises companies on compliance with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions and U.S. export control laws. Nate received his J.D. from George Washington University Law School and his M.A. from Stanford University.
Wendy E. (Manning) Stark has been appointed senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at PPL Corporation. In her new role, Wendy will lead PPL’s legal department and oversee the company’s ethics and compliance program. She brings more than two decades of legal experience to PPL, with the vast majority of her service in the public utility sector. She joins PPL from Pepco Holdings LLC, where she was senior vice president, Legal and Regulatory Strategy, and general counsel. She began her legal career in labor and employment law, representing clients first at Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP and then at Baker & Hostetler LLP, both in Cleveland. In 2002, she joined FirstEnergy Corporation’s legal team as an attorney and spent a decade with the company, her last seven years as associate general counsel before joining Pepco. Wendy holds a bachelor’s degree in English and political science from K and earned her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School. Throughout her career, she has served on numerous nonprofit and industry boards, including the Girl Scouts Council of the Nation’s Capital, GridWise Alliance, the New Jersey Utilities Association, Homeless Children’s Playtime Project in Washington, D.C., and the Energy Association of Pennsylvania.
1997
Rob Dunn and Monica Sanchez have published Delicious: The Evolution of Flavor and How It Made Us Human (Princeton University Press, 2021), which offers new perspectives on why food is enjoyable and how the pursuit of delicious flavors has guided the course of human history. Kirkus Reviews says, “Our hosts at this empirical dinner party envision a new future for the study of flavor, with seats for the curious of every stripe…A persuasive, entertaining argument about how our avid pursuit of deliciousness helped shape our evolutionary path.” Rob is a professor of applied ecology at North Carolina State University and in the Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics at the University of Copenhagen. His books include Never Home Alone. Monica is a medical anthropologist who studies the cultural aspects of health and well-being. Rob and Monica live in Raleigh, North Carolina.
1999
Christopher Seaton, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Rhodes College, was a 2021 recipient of the Faculty Mentor Award from the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Mathematics and Computer Sciences Division. The award honors mentors for their success in mentoring undergraduate researchers. After K, Christopher earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His research interests include differential geometry and topology of singular spaces, invariant theory and symplectic reduction. Promoting research experiences that synthesize techniques from many fields of mathematics to build student skills, he has co-authored nine articles with undergraduate students and supervised more than 20 theses of fourth-year students.
2002
In the spring of 2021, Brittany (Nestell) Dillman completed her Ph.D. in educational psychology and educational technology from the College of Education at Michigan State University. Brittany’s dissertation study involved examining lesson planning and classroom discourse practices of secondary mathematics pre-service teachers. Brittany works as the graduate certificate programs director for the Master of Arts in Educational Technology program at MSU. She and her husband, Peter, live in East Lansing with their 5-year-old twins. Brittany is supremely grateful for her K undergraduate education, experiences and connections and wishes everyone well. You can reach Brittany via email at dillmanb@msu.edu.
2003
Scott A. Petz has been selected among America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators® for 2021. Scott is a member in Dickinson Wright PLLC’s Troy, Michigan, office, where he focuses his practice in the areas of commercial and business litigation, class and collective actions, labor litigation, consumer protection, and condemnation and land use. Scott received his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School, magna cum laude.
2004
Jacob Bolton recently graduated from Portland Theological Seminary with a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Global Perspectives. Writing a dissertation titled The Green Lectionary: Creation Care and the Revised Common Lectionary, Jacob graduated with distinction while researching the intersection of creation, scripture and liturgy. After earning his Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary (2007), he served multiple churches in New York for 15 years, and recently began a new position at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Virginia, as the associate pastor for Christian formation.
2005
Heather Abraham was appointed to a tenure-track position at the University at Buffalo School of Law as an associate professor of law and director of the Civil Rights and Transparency Clinic. She recently completed a clinical teaching fellowship at Georgetown Law, where she served as a supervising attorney in the Civil Rights Clinic. Her scholarly research focuses on fair housing and race-conscious policies to decrease racial segregation. (Heather is second from left with law students and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.)
2006
Lisa Dallacqua was named executive director of curriculum and assessment for Troy Community School District 30-C in Illinois. Previously, Lisa served as senior executive director of teaching and learning at East Aurora School District 131. She is the previous principal at Western Avenue School in Flossmoor School District 161. She also previously served at Bloom Township High School in School District 206 as its district coordinator for the history and foreign language departments. After graduating from K with a bachelor’s in Spanish literature and political science, Lisa earned a master’s in teaching from National Louis University and a master’s in educational leadership from the American College of Education. She also earned a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
2010
Benjamin Cooper will be joining the Yang Lab of Plant Evolution as a Ph.D. candidate in the plant and microbial biology program at the University of Minnesota in fall 2021. Following graduation from K, Ben received his Master of Science in plant biology and conservation from Northwestern University in 2016 and currently is employed as a data analyst for the National Park Service.
2016
Senior Wealth Management Associate Brian Farrell has earned his Certified Financial Planner certification (CFP®). Brian has worked at Greenleaf Trust since 2017 and is responsible for the development of comprehensive wealth management plans, the execution of goal-based planning strategies and the management of investment portfolios. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Kalamazoo College.
A Record-Setting Kalamazoo College Friendship
Seventy-seven years! That’s the result if one subtracts 1944 from 2021. It also represents the continuous number of years that Joan (Akerman) Millar ’48 and Jackie (Buck) Mallinson ’48 have been close friends. The friendship began when both young women arrived on the K campus in September 1944. Neither had ever even seen the campus before. Both were nervous, frightened young women, leaving home for the first time. They had been randomly assigned to be roommates by the dean of women. After observing the two girls during their initial meeting, Jackie’s mother commented, “Well, that arrangement won’t last two weeks!” Wrong! Not only were Joan and Jackie roommates all four years at K, they have remained very close friends for the many years since, even though they have always lived in different states. Both women will celebrate their 95th birthdays in November. In March 2021, Joan, who now lives in Ohio, made a brief trip to Michigan on family business. During the trip, she and Jackie were able to have lunch together. Fortunately, they had both been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, wore masks and social distanced, except for the brief time when this picture was taken.
Members of the Class of 1944 lived through the Great Depression, World War II, Vietnam, 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic. But through it all, close friendships have endured. This one had its beginning at Kalamazoo College.
