Press Releases

CONTACT: Jeff Palmer

April 24, 2008

KALAMAZOO COLLEGE CELEBRATES 175th ANNIVERSARY

Series of Events Planned to Mark 175th
and 50th Anniversary of Study Abroad Program

KALAMAZOO (Mich.) – Kalamazoo College officials announced today that the College will celebrate two major milestones in 2008: the 175th anniversary of its founding and the 50th anniversary of its pioneering study abroad program.
The College community will celebrate both anniversaries in a series of events held this spring and during the 2008-2009 academic year that begins in the fall.

“These two anniversaries give us many good reasons to celebrate our rich history and look ahead to our promising future,” said Kalamazoo College President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran. “We invite parents, alumni and friends of the College everywhere to join our celebration.”

Spring events at Kalamazoo focus on the 175th anniversary.
April 20: The Kalamazoo Gazette will publish a special section in its Sunday newspaper honoring the College. The 16-page tab will feature photos and articles about Kalamazoo’s history and traditions, the strong “town-gown” connections that link the College and the community, its vaunted Kalamazoo Plan and study abroad program, profiles of noteworthy alumni, and more.

April 24, 4 p.m.: A Founders Day Convocation in Stetson Chapel will be a colorful and festive event featuring music by the College Singers, Jazz Band, Guild of Change Ringers (ringing eight English tower bells), and Bach Festival Chorus; presentations and building plaque unveilings for College luminaries James and Lucinda Stone, Allan Hoben, and Herbert Stetson; tributes from local, state and federal government dignitaries; and conference of an honorary degree on professional tennis player and coach Vic Braden, a member of the Kalamazoo class of 1951.

May 17: Kalamazoo College students, faculty, staff, alumni and others will gather for a “Day of Gracious Giving.” Participants will carry out community-wide acts of good will, such as painting and repairing homes; planting, cleaning up and beautifying College Park at the intersection of Academy St. and Stadium Dr.; and serving meals at Ministry with Community, a daytime shelter that serves the area’s homeless, poor, mentally ill, and hard-to-serve adults.

June 13-15: Commencement 2008 features a weekend of activities with an anniversary theme, including presentations and book-signings by alumna and trustee Emerita, Marlene Crandell Francis ’58, who has written a comprehensive history of the College titled A Fellowship in Learning: Kalamazoo College, 1833-2008.

Ongoing: Other anniversary activities include the launch of www.kzoo.edu/time-travel, a website devoted to the College’s history featuring an annotated time of events throughout the College’s past, and displays of College memorabilia in the Upjohn Commons Library lobby and A. M. Todd Rare Book Room. The Todd Rare Book Room is open from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and by appointment. The current exhibition is “The Fair Arcadian Hill: Celebrating the College’s 175th Anniversary.”
Fall 2008: Anniversary events in the fall will focus on the 50th anniversary of Kalamazoo’s study abroad program, which began in 1958. In June of that year, 25 Kalamazoo students left by ship for three study-abroad destinations in Europe. Today approximately 250 Kalamazoo students study each year at 50 program sites in 25 countries on six continents—most for six months or longer—and Kalamazoo has become a model for study-abroad programs at colleges and universities nationwide.

The study abroad program is a key feature of the College’s innovative “Kalamazoo Plan,” which also features rigorous on-campus academics, career internships, community and course-based service learning programs, and senior individualized projects.

Founded in 1833, Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu) is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the “Kalamazoo Plan.” By emphasizing scholarship, civic engagement, and study abroad, Kalamazoo cultivates “A Fellowship in Learning: At Home in the World” among students, faculty, and a community of scholars worldwide. In 2008, Kalamazoo College celebrates the 175th anniversary of its founding and the 50th anniversary of its pioneering study abroad program.