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The Right Rev. Terry M. Brown ’66 was granted heraldic arms by the Canadian Heraldic Authority. Although the CHA has granted arms to many bishops and clergy of the Anglican Church of Canada, Bishop Brown may be the first to hold both American and Canadian citizenship. Born in Iowa, Terry was educated in Iowa and Michigan, receiving a B.A. at Kalamazoo College before beginning doctoral studies at Brandeis University that were interrupted by U.S. Army service in Japan in the late 1960s. He began a lifelong connection with the Anglican Church of Canada after his return from the military, and trained for ordination at Trinity College, Toronto. He was consecrated Bishop of Malaita, Melanesia, in 1996, retiring in 2008. In the 16 years since his retirement, Terry has served as assisting bishop in the Diocese of Niagara, as priest in charge of a local parish, as a participant in archival and historical work, and as a key figure in the Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Terry Brown passed away in April 2024. He will be remembered in Fall LuxEsto.
Jim Cameron ’69 has been recognized by the Historical Society of Michigan as the winner of the 2023 History Hero Award. Jim incorporated oral histories into the curriculum of his classrooms during his 37 years teaching history at Saline High School. He has also conducted oral histories resulting in the 2005 book Voices over the Valley: An Oral History of Saline Valley Farms, which earned the Historical Society of Michigan’s Award of Merit in 2005. While earning a degree in economics and business at Kalamazoo College, he decided to get his social studies teaching certification. He earned his master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University. Jim was hired by Saline Area Schools to teach economics and U.S. history in the early 1970s, and his teaching skills earned him the 2010 Gilder Lehrman Teacher of the Year Award for Michigan. He has presented at more than 50 Teaching American History colloquia in 22 states, was co-creator of the Historical Society of Michigan’s Center for Teaching Michigan History, served as the social studies consultant for the Michigan Department of Education from 2011-2019, served on the board of trustees for the Historical Society of Michigan, judged at state and national History Day events, and chaired the historical society’s Education and Conference Committee. Jim also serves as the president of the Michigan Oral History Association and is a member of the Michigan Council for History Education, where he served as executive director for 12 years. Jim is expected to publish his second book in 2024, on the Bixby Marionettes. Jim’s next oral history endeavor is on the history of the J.W. Westcott Co., the only boat in the United States with its own ZIP code, 48222.
George Drake ’69 is enjoying retirement: spending time with his wife, Jeannine, with whom he shares tea every morning, engaging in wonderful discussions about the life of the spirit, family and the world; working outside to stay fit (and enjoying Jeannine’s wonderful vegan cooking); reading (especially about astronomy and trains); participating in two local astronomy clubs; and traveling to see friends.
Karen Stanley ’69 retired as a professor of Academic English as a Second Language in December 2023, after 39 years of teaching at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In 2023, Linda (Popp) Scholten ’71 retired from her 39-year profession as a certified quilt show judge. “It was my honor to judge quilts in shows ranging from national shows, regional shows, state fairs and local shows,” she said. In addition, her works have been published in magazines and books, the most recent of which was in the 2023 Quilt Art Engagement Calendar.
Leonard Pasek ’79 writes, “The end of 2023 was a great year, with me retiring from a 14-year second career as a Spanish and ESOL teacher for the City Schools of Decatur in Georgia. Not long after, I morphed myself into a content development role where I have contributed hundreds of articles on LinkedIn.” His post on dealing with toxic behavior has drawn close to 6 million views.
Scott Vance ’80 has been promoted to managing editor at The Washington Post. In his new role, he oversees The Post’s international, business, tech and sports coverage. Scott joined The Washington Post in 1995 and most recently served as a deputy managing editor, where he oversaw coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He was national security editor during the Iraq War, editing Pulitzer Prize-winning stories by Dana Priest that revealed the secret prisons run by the CIA and other unknown aspects of U.S. counterterrorism operations.
Mark H. Ebell ’83 recently retired from the University of Georgia after a long career as a primary care medical researcher and professor of epidemiology. In January, he learned that he was to receive the 2024 Curtis G. Hames Research Award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. The award is given to one individual each year whose career exemplifies dedication to research in family medicine over the years. Recipients are honored during the organization’s annual spring conference. Mark’s work has centered on improving patient and physician decision making, primarily around acute respiratory infections, end-of-life decisions and cancer screening. Mark was a Fulbright Scholar at Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2019 and a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force from 2012 to 2015. He resides in Athens, Georgia.
Jack D. Buckley ’85 was recently named president of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST). Jack is a pulmonologist and critical care physician and a professor of medical education at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Previously, he has served as pulmonary and critical care medicine (PCCM) program director at both Henry Ford Hospital and Indiana University, and he also held leadership positions in clinical care at Indiana University Health and as division head of PCCM at Henry Ford. Jack received his medical degree from Wayne State University and his Master of Public Health degree from Indiana University. Jack has been an active and engaged member of CHEST since 1997. He has served in leadership roles across many domains of the organization and currently serves on the CHEST SEEK Pulmonary Medicine Editorial Board. For Jack’s dedication to advancing PCCM education and faculty development, he received the CHEST Master Clinician Educator Award in 2016, and has been an annual Distinguished CHEST Educator recipient since the award’s inception in 2017. He was also the recipient of the Presidential Honor Lecture at CHEST 2022.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently appointed Diane Kreger ’87 to the LGBTQ+ Commission. Whitmer created the LGBTQ+ Commission in June 2023, to ensure that Michigan’s LGBTQ+ community is represented at all levels of government, including its executive branch. The first-ever appointments to the newly established commission are pioneers and leaders in advocacy, activism and education in the LGBTQ+ community. They, along with the structure of the commission, reflect the socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, cultural, gender identity, sexual orientation, occupational, political and geographic diversity of the state. Diane is a psychotherapist who works in private practice with the Arbor Wellness Center. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Kalamazoo College, a master’s in psychology of education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a post-master’s certification in family therapy from The Philadelphia Center. She was appointed to represent the private sector for a term commencing November 30, 2023, and expiring on November 29, 2027.
Gretchen Knapp ’90 was recently named deputy mayor of Bloomington, Indiana. The deputy mayor oversees daily operations at city hall. Gretchen was previously head of operations and marketing at The Mill, a coworking and business incubator space in Bloomington. After graduating from K, Gretchen earned a master’s degree from Indiana University.
Kimberly D. Osborne ’93 has been inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame at the University of Oklahoma. The Hall of Fame honors leaders in the fields of continuing education and adult learning and serves as a record of inspiration for the next generation of continuing education leaders. Kim was one of seven 2023 inductees into the Hall of Fame. Recognized as a national and international authority in strategic communications, Kim has been an advisor to senior leaders of U.S. and foreign militaries and governments, Fortune 500 companies, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations. She is also the founder and chief executive officer of an international management and communications consulting firm. Kim holds a Ph.D. in adult education from the University of Georgia, a master’s degree in communications management from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and management from Kalamazoo College.
The Piston Group has announced the appointment of Bob Holloway ’95, previously the president of Piston Automotive, as the new chief operating officer. In his new role, Bob will oversee operations of the Piston Group’s companies. Bob’s career at Piston Automotive began in 2007, as director of program management. He quickly took on additional roles in business development and served in various capacities, including vice president and general manager, before being appointed president in 2019. Prior to joining the Piston Group, Bob worked for a decade at Ford Motor Company in roles spanning product engineering, program management, quality and customer service. Bob earned a bachelor’s degree in physics at Kalamazoo College, a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.
Joe Wicklander ’02 has joined Old National Bank as senior director of a newly created Financial Institutions Group. In this new role, Joe will be responsible for building a team to focus on providing credit, liquidity, treasury management and capital markets solutions to financial sponsors, hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, asset managers, broker dealers, futures commission merchants, financial exchanges, specialty finance companies and more. Joe brings more than 20 years of financial experience to Old National. For the past decade, he led the Financial Institutions Group for CIBC Bank in Chicago. Prior to that, he held several executive positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Joe earned his bachelor’s degree from K and studied accountancy at DePaul University. He also earned an M.B.A. from University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. He is active in his community where he has held—and currently holds—leadership roles for numerous civic and professional organizations.
Dia Bryant ’04 has joined the West Orange, New Jersey, Board of Education. The board unanimously voted to appoint Dia from among 15 applicants seeking to replace a board member who resigned in January. Dia will serve until November, when elections will be held for that seat and two others. Originally from Detroit, Dia holds a bachelor’s in economics from K, a master’s in math education from Brooklyn College, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She recently stepped down as the executive director at the Education Trust–New York to spend more time with her family. Prior to joining Ed Trust–NY, Dia worked with the New York City Department of Education in multiple capacities for over sixteen years. She was a teacher, school founder, and served as the special assistant to the first deputy chancellor. She has worked and supported system-level school leaders domestically and internationally advising on instructional approaches, school design, equitable school improvement, and change management. Her passions are education, research, data, equity and opportunity.
Benesch, an AmLaw 200 law firm, has further expanded its team in its Chicago office, welcoming Of Counsel Cole Hardy ’06 to the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Cole is a seasoned technology transaction attorney. His career has been dedicated to helping businesses navigate the complex world of technology, intellectual property, and privacy, enabling them to thrive in a digital age. Over the years, he has had the privilege of representing a diverse array of clients, including startups and established e-commerce, retail, and pharmacy companies. His experience spans various sectors within the technology industry, including software and data licensing, e-commerce, telecommunications, data privacy and cybersecurity. Cole received his J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law and his B.A. in economics with a mathematics minor from Kalamazoo College.
Thomas Cook ’21 recently joined the FOX 17 team as sports director. He will anchor sports on FOX 17 News at 6 and 10 p.m. A native Michigander, Thomas graduated from Kalamazoo College, where he was a four-year member of the men’s basketball team. While in college, Thomas worked on the FOX 17 Blitz team during the high school football season. Thomas went on to earn a Master of Science in broadcast and digital journalism with a focus in sports media and communication from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in Syracuse, New York, in May 2022. Since July 2022, Thomas worked in Lansing as a sports anchor and reporter, covering high school, collegiate and professional sports. While he loves being at the biggest games, Thomas also focuses on telling local stories that impact the community.
Brianna R. Flinkingshelt ’22 recently joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a research associate in the Systems Evaluation Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center. Flinkingshelt earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Kalamazoo College. IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three federally funded research and development centers in the public interest. IDA answers the most challenging U.S. security and science policy questions with objective analysis leveraging extraordinary scientific, technical and analytic expertise.
Marco Savone ’22 was recently featured on a news segment for FOX 17 West Michigan to tell the story of his Italian family-inspired liqueur brand, Cráz Cello, based in Michigan and started in August 2020. With his uncle Dominic Savone and co-founder Jason Verbrugghe, Marco helped Cráz Cello expand to many liquor stores, bars and restaurants across Michigan. Marco serves as vice president of sales for the company. They use their family’s recipe from Italy to create three Italian liqueurs: LímonCello, OrángCello, and the world’s first LīmCello. Marco’s education at K influenced his professional pursuits in many ways.
WEDDINGS
Elizabeth Lamphier ’08 married Ron Patrick on August 3, 2023, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Fellow K grads joined the celebration. Pictured are (from left): Gwen Persons ’08, Elena Brooks-Perkins ’08, Elizabeth (Lamphier) Patrick ’08, and Ron Patrick.
Megan Loyer ’17 and David Lieber ’17 married on October 21, 2023, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They fell in love at Kalamazoo College while members of the Cirque du K club. Madison Perian ’17 was Megan’s maid of honor, and Eric Janowiak ’19, Marlon Gonzalez ’17 and Storm Hunter ’17 were also in the wedding party. In addition, alumni Madeline Woods ’18, Raoul Wadhwa ’17, Erica (Fiekowsky) Dodds ’12, Stephany Perez ’17, Jon Jerow ’17, Reid Blanchett ’16, Hannah (Mason) Storteboom ’18 and Hannah Lehker ’17 attended the wedding. Autumn Buhl ’21 and Liam Tait ’20 (not pictured) also were members of the wedding party.
Shannon Irvine ’18 and Nicholas Marsh ’16 were married in Dearborn, Michigan, on October 28, 2023. Seven other Kalamazoo College graduates were in the wedding party (Reshay Tanasse ’18, Gabrielle Shimko ’18, David Smith ’17, Jacob Scott ’17, Koji Vroom ’17, Riley Boyd ’17, and Zack Ray ’20. The wedding was officiated by William (Billy) Roberts ’16. Following graduation from K, Shannon obtained her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Tufts University in 2022 and currently attends Central Michigan University College of Medicine working toward her M.D. Nicholas Marsh worked on economic development in Detroit, before transitioning in 2022 to Momentus Capital, a national organization focused on investing in underserved communities.
Elaine Vanderberg ’52 recently published her fourth children’s book in a series on overcoming challenges. Cora: An All Alone Girl (Readersmagnet, 2023) is her latest book to explore a common problem that children face and encourage readers to believe in themselves. Cora is an intelligent girl who feels trapped in her family’s poverty. She finds herself and a source of hope in books. Although Elaine grew up with a love of reading, books, stories and news, she never expected to write books. It started when a granddaughter asked for a bedtime story. She eventually published that first story as Chloe: The Left-Behind Angel, and it was followed by Timmy, the Timid Cloud and Sammie, The Sad Salamander.
Brad Burkhart ’71 recently published a book of ekphrastic poetry (poems written about works of art) with Seattle poet Cheryl Latif. Cheryl chose 40 of Brad’s sculptures to write poems about. The book is called Reflexions: Sculpture & Poetry (2023) and is available through BookBaby Publishing. Brad’s art explores the collective, cultural calling many feel to reintegrate intuition with rationality. As an undergraduate art major at K, Brad traveled extensively in Europe, absorbing the profound influences of medieval and Renaissance artists. He was struck by the shift in the art from that period when human consciousness moved from a spiritual orientation to an intellectual orientation. Later, thinkers who addressed the value of integrating intuitive knowing with rational thought began to lend inspiration to Brad’s artistic concept and purpose. The artist’s relationship with nature and ecology led him to also study horticulture and landscape design. He eventually became a leader in native habitat restoration in Southern California. The healing influence of the natural world resonates in many of Brad’s sculptures. Brad began focusing exclusively on this artwork in 2012. He creates clay relief panels depicting mythic, intuitive scenes that seem to offer a story about how to address the deep sense of alienation from self, nature, and one another that many people experience today.
WINTER 2024 CORRECTIONS:
In the Winter 2024 article 50 Years of LandSea, we inadvertently missed mention of one of LandSea’s co-founders, the late Professor Emeritus of Physics David Winch. Winch took LandSea’s helm from 1976 to 1991 and was a pivotal figure for many alumni.
Madeline Costanza ’86 wrote us to say, “Professor Winch WAS the program in the late 1970s and 80s. In addition to his impressive work in science, Professor Winch trained the leaders, rappelled down huge cliff faces, and built LandSea into the institution that it is…There’s at least a generation of K grads who would know nothing of The Cremation of Sam McGee without Dave Winch.”
Pamela Harris Kaiser ’83 wrote, “I remember the dignity and encouragement that David Winch intentionally built into Land/Sea for every student. He deserves to be mentioned in any discussion of the valuable character-building aspects of LandSea.”
Professor Emeritus of Biology Paul Sotherland said, “One image of Dave that invariably comes to mind, not from first-hand experience but from many tales told to me by LandSea alums, is Winch appearing almost magically, and seemingly out of nowhere, to LandSea participants while they were engaged in their solo adventures… Whenever I think of Dave I think of LandSea; whenever LandSea comes to mind I immediately think of Dave.”
We updated our online story accordingly, and included these words from David Winch:
“Students go into LandSea anticipating the exciting individual experiences—the hiking, climbing and sailing. But most students come out with a sense that the biggest benefit is the people. There is an intensity to this experience that helps to develop bonds between us all.”
WHERE’S THE CLASS OF ’68?
Amid the whirlwind of nostalgia and rekindling of old friendships, we somehow misplaced a photo in last issue’s homecoming coverage. Fortunately, we found our photo from the Class of 1968 reunion dinner, and present it here. Hope to see you at Homecoming and Reunion Weekend again soon!
Have a ZooBit to Share?
Did you get married? Have a baby? Get a new job or move to a new city? Tell us about your recent travels, career developments, family updates, mini-reunions or anything else! Photos are welcome. Use our online form or email us to submit a note. If you email, please include your class year.