Update
A UNIQUE MOMENT, AN UNWAVERING MISSION
SPRING 2022
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ART AND POLICY
Lexi Taylor, ’22, engages in both at the Athens Democracy Forum.
HOMETOWN PURPOSE
With deep roots in the Albion community, Interim President Joe Calvaruso, ’78, elevates his service to the College.
EMPHASIZING MISSION AND VISION
Joey Miller, ’75, the first woman to chair the College’s Board of Trustees, discusses her expanded role.
‘A TRUE ASSET TO ALBION’
Recognizing the dedication of Michael Harrington, ’85, following his service as board chair.
IT’S IN THE NUMBERS
They help tell the story of Albion as one of America’s most innovative liberal arts colleges.
10 FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
A national award in physics; advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in geology; sabbatical research in pandemic Paris.
11 A PLACE TO CONNECT
At the corner of Cass and Huron, an inspiring Alumni Unity Hall will soon emerge.
Albion College Update is a free publication produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications and distributed to alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the College. The next edition of Io Triumphe! magazine will publish in fall 2022. It will include all Albionotes submissions (Class News, Weddings, Baby Britons, Obituaries) received since the Spring-Summer 2021 edition. 2 | Albion College Update
ALBION COLLEGE’S MISSION Albion College is an undergraduate, liberal arts institution committed to academic excellence. We are learning-centered and recognize that valuable learning takes place in and outside the classroom, on and off campus. We prepare students to translate critical thought into action.
FIND MORE ONLINE: www.albion.edu
Connect with students, faculty, staff, and alumni through Albion College’s social media channels.
Crafting a Visual Voice An Albion senior finds a purposeful Forum to explore future avenues for her art.
By Jake Weber Lexi Taylor, ’22, is used to people wondering what she might do with majors in studio art and art history. But the question took on new meaning in the fall as Taylor was one of only 23 undergraduates worldwide selected as delegates to The New York Times Athens Democracy Forum in Greece.
Already chosen as a captain of the 2021 women’s soccer team, Taylor knew it would be tough to tackle the additional yearlong commitment of pre- and post-conference requirements. She was also unsure of how this experience might inform her studies and the plans she already had for a career in art. Nonetheless, Taylor was excited to see where art would fit into an international political conversation.
“I was the only art major there,” says Taylor, noting that the other students came from six continents and, as one might expect, were mostly majoring in political science and international studies.
In June, the undergraduate delegates were divided into teams, each preparing materials for the end-ofSeptember conference. “No matter when we met, someone was always up at 3 a.m. for the meeting,” Taylor recalls, noting that her team members included students from the U.S., Switzerland, Greece and China. “I managed to work art into almost every conversation. It was hard sometimes, but someone had to do it.”
“People were definitely confused when I told them what I was studying,” she says. “But for me, the connection between politics and art seems obvious because of the classes I’ve taken with [Albion art history professors] Bille Wickre and Nancy Demerdash. I made a huge effort during conference group discussions to point out the overlap, and I was pleasantly surprised at how receptive people were.”
Action and Inspiration The Athens Democracy Forum is an international gathering of world leaders, policymakers, activists and media figures. It’s not the sort of place you’d expect to find an art major, but Taylor notes that it was Wickre who encouraged her to apply. “I was thinking about political science and law school before I took my first art history class,” Taylor recalls with a smile. “Dr. Wickre knew this was something that would interest me.”
It didn’t take long to find out.
Drawing Up a Plan Interestingly, the 2021 Forum included a panel on art and activism featuring noted artist/activist Ai Weiwei. The Chinese dissident’s presence was a conference highlight that carried special resonance for the lone art student in the audience. “Ai Weiwei taught me that art should not be reduced to a weapon for democracy,” says Taylor. “It’s much more valuable and central to how we are able to express ourselves beyond politics. I think we have a narrow idea of ‘art’ as what we see in museums, but it’s more expansive than that.” The Forum’s global scope underscored the educational value of a medium that
Self-Portrait, the artwork Lexi Taylor shared as part of her Democracy Forum experience; Taylor at the Acropolis (left). communicates beyond language. “The Forum, and my art history classes, opened me to history that needs to be relearned,” Taylor explains. “It’s often a lot easier to learn certain issues through art than it is by reading a history textbook. Visual art can help people understand issues from personal perspectives, hopefully leading to a more thorough understanding of the topic.” Within the next five years, Taylor plans to enroll in an M.F.A. program, where she won’t be the one person in the room talking about art. But, she says, her Athens experience—and her non-artist peers—will have a long-lasting influence on how she approaches her art-making future. “I definitely want to do activist art and be involved in policy change. But I’m also just interested in this other way of getting through to people,” she muses. “Being in a group that doesn’t understand art language taught me to communicate it in different ways.”
Spring 2022 | 3
A Hometown Purpose With deep roots in the Albion community, Interim President Joe Calvaruso, ’78, elevates his service to the College.
By John Perney
Milestone markers tend to come in the form of memorable conversations for Joseph Calvaruso.
For example, take a few words of advice he received as a late1970s Albion College student from economics professor Dr. Larry Steinhauer. “One day, he said, ‘I really need to talk with you.’ So, my heart rate goes up,” Calvaruso recalls. “He said, ‘You and this premed, I know that’s what you want to do, but why don’t you start taking some business classes? I think that would work well for you.’ It changed my whole college outlook.” Calvaruso shared this career-defining memory from the president’s office in the Ferguson Building after being named interim president by the Board of Trustees in December. He has served as a trustee since 2010. A fifth-generation Albion native on his mother’s side and third-generation on his father’s side, Calvaruso adds a backdrop to his college-student memory. “I started pre-med, and if I had gone to a big school, I would’ve gotten lost. Albion was a wonderful place to grow up—to ride your bike, to know the community—and it was an honor to go to Albion College. “After graduating from Albion High School, I was the first generation in my family to have an option of going to college. 4 | Albion College Update
And I didn’t apply to 20 schools; I applied to Albion and I was proud to get into Albion.”
An Opportunity to Give Back Steinhauer’s encouragement eventually led Calvaruso to a successful career of nearly three decades in banking in West and Southwest Michigan. Along the way, he became connected with President Gerald R. Ford through volunteerism and service—a link that began in 1977 on Albion’s campus the day the 38th president announced the creation of the Ford Institute. A later conversation led to a more focused commitment to service when he became executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation in Grand Rapids, a position from which he retired in 2020. “I’m on my third career now,” Calvaruso says with a smile. “I enjoyed being retired for a period of time but felt this was an opportunity to give back to the community and to the College I love.” The interim president’s workplace carries an even greater meaning for him that goes beyond courses, papers, semesters and student life. He married his wife, Donna, on the Albion campus in 1997, and the couple will celebrate their silver anniversary in 2022.
On December 24, 2021, Interim President Calvaruso shared the following message with the entire Albion College community. To our Albion family: My name is Joe Calvaruso, and I am deeply honored to serve as the interim president of our beloved Albion College.
Previous page: Joe and Donna Calvaruso in the President’s Office, with Robinson Hall in the background. Above: On Superior Street, Interim President Calvaruso talks with Billy Beers, new director of the Albion Chamber of Commerce. Left: Inside Albion City Hall, Calvaruso meets with City Manager Haley Snyder and Scott Kipp, chief of Albion Public Safety. “I have adopted Albion College and the Albion community as my own, and I am delighted that both have embraced me,” Donna Calvaruso notes. “Over the years I have seen Albion grow and change, and I am excited about the future.”
Our Collective Best Interests As Calvaruso settles into his new role, conversations will continue to be key. He plans to continue a listening tour with community leaders and businesses he and Donna began the first week of January. “We need to engage our entire community,” he emphasizes, “and that’s something I’m looking forward to in the weeks ahead.” And now, with that work under way, the kid from Austin Elementary and Washington Gardner Junior High is eager to do his part to build and connect new memories and milestones in the place he has always called home. “Albion College is strong,” he wrote in his December announcement letter to the College community (right). “Our faculty and staff are committed and engaged. Our students are passionate and focused. Our community wants us to succeed— and we will if we can pull together and put our collective best interests at heart.”
When I enrolled as a freshman in the fall of 1974, our country was in a fair measure of chaos. The U.S. was embroiled in the Vietnam War, which sharply divided our nation. We struggled with issues of race. We were coming off a gas shortage and slapped by double-digit inflation. Our problems seemed to stretch for miles—and there were no ready answers. I’m feeling some of these echoes on campus and in our community right now. The College has faced significant challenges during this time. I walk through the Quad and feel the tension. I’ve received phone calls from alumni, faculty and friends in the community who have shared their concerns. After nearly two years of the pandemic, we are all exhausted—and the end is not yet in sight. But just as our ship righted itself while I was a student, so it will again now. Albion College is strong. Our faculty and staff are committed and engaged. Our students are passionate and focused. Our community wants us to succeed— and we will if we can pull together and put our collective best interests at heart. In the coming months, I intend to do just that. We are about to launch a search for a new president, which is simultaneously an exciting and daunting proposition. I pledge to work hand in hand with faculty, staff, students and the Albion community to continue the day-today work that is so necessary for us to thrive. I ask that you join me in a spirit of cooperation to prepare to welcome our 18th president. For those of you who do not know me, my roots in the Albion community run deep. I’m fifth generation on my mother’s side and third on my father’s to call Albion home. My mother owned Dorothy’s, a beauty salon that served the community for decades. Like my father and grandfather before me,
I worked for the Albion Malleable Iron Company making sure product met quality standards as it was going out the door. Like my parents and so many of my extended family, I graduated from Albion High School. I enrolled in Albion College after graduating, one of 200 pre-med students who started that year. But it quickly became clear to me—and to my professors—that I wasn’t cut out for medical school. So, I followed their advice and switched my studies to economics and management, which set me on a nearly three-decade career in banking. That’s the beauty of Albion College and the liberal arts. My classes were small enough and my professors cared enough to step in and help me find a better path. I was able to take classes that not only prepared me to be successful in business, but allowed me to enjoy a second career and pursue my interest in public service to become executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation in Grand Rapids. That, too, was an incredible honor—as it was in 2009 when I was asked to join the Board of Trustees for the College. My love for Albion College and all we stand for is tremendous. I even married my wife, Donna, on our beautiful campus in 1997. We look forward to celebrating our 25th anniversary year in Albion in 2022. Donna has adopted Albion College and the Albion community as her own, and I am delighted that both have embraced her. I hope to meet you in January. Donna and I plan to spend time walking campus, visiting our various departments and programs and connecting with the greater Albion community. I would love to share a cup of coffee with you and listen to your concerns, your hopes and your dreams for our future. I am eager to get started and look forward to serving the College and the community, both of which are home to me. Go Brits! Joe Calvaruso, ’78 Spring 2022 | 5
Emphasizing Mission and Vision Joey Miller, ’75, the first woman to chair Albion College’s Board of Trustees, talks about her expanded role. By John Perney
Joey Miller joined the Albion College Board of Trustees in 2017. One month into the job and Joey Miller, ’75, has already rolled up her sleeves and gotten to work as the new Albion College Board of Trustees chair. “When you sit on Albion’s board as an alum, you’re not just bringing your skills, but you bring your heart,” Miller says about her experience not only as a board member of five years but of her recent election as the chair. “I can truly appreciate my Albion education. Sitting on the board has helped me realize and revisit once again that the foundation for whatever success I have had, professionally or personally, was acquired while I was a student at Albion,” she continues. “I learned how to learn and it gave me the confidence of going into uncharted territory.” For Miller, who retired a few years ago as global vice president of information technology for automotive supplier Magna International, that territory is one to which she has grown accustomed. The first
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woman to become Albion’s board chair has also been, as she says, “the first female in a lot of things.” “To be a woman executive in the auto industry was not very common, nor was being a woman in the IT world. So, it’s an experience I am familiar with, but I never take it lightly,” Miller says. “It’s a responsibility to be the first female. For anyone in any population who perhaps has been underrepresented, any time you start walking the path, you must look back as well as forward to help those who come after.” Miller received her B.A. in anthropology from Albion and was a graduate fellow in anthropology and political science at Oberlin College. As board chair, she plans to use the bedrock skills learned through her liberal arts education. “I like to ask questions; I like to understand,” she says. “I love knowing about all the other departments and the skills that make up Albion College. It’s fascinating. I want to
understand how everything fits, how it all complements each other.” Miller remains involved in the corporate sector building virtual global teams as an executive consultant. As it pertains to team building, she characterizes recent changes in College leadership as a unique moment to pursue that endeavor. “My focus as chair will be to build a strong, unified team from the whole of the Albion College community,” Miller says. She wants to work with faculty, staff, alumni and the administration to provide the very best education and experiences for our students. “First, we have to acknowledge that any change is difficult,” she says. “But it’s also an opportunity. Let’s reaffirm who we are and where we are going. It’s important to build a unified community across the campus and with the College partners.” Miller says that process needs to have a laser focus on mission and vision. Together,
they’ll serve as a springboard, especially in the short- to intermediate-term. “Over the years, I’ve learned to listen and learned the value and respect of listening,” Miller says. “Allow people to have their voice, and consider it, and then move forward. I’ve had to make difficult decisions, but it’s important to base them in fact and then communicate those decisions clearly.” The resident of the Kalamazoo area plans to do a lot of her listening in person on campus. Miller says she treasured the opportunity to talk with students during a recent campus visit and is eager to set in motion a broader, richer College dialogue.
Miller, who resides in the Kalamazoo area, met and spoke with students during a recent campus visit.
“I am at the point in my life where I can be truly engaged, and that is a gift,” she says. “I am entering into an enriching, fulfilling experience—particularly on this educational board. With every interaction, I am honored that I get to give back to my alma mater, the place that shaped me.”
MISSION Albion College is an undergraduate, liberal arts institution committed to academic excellence. We are learning-centered and recognize that valuable learning takes place in and outside the classroom, on and off campus. We prepare students to translate critical thought into action.
VISION Albion College is nationally recognized for its academic excellence in the liberal arts tradition, a learning-centered commitment, and a future-oriented perspective. The College is a leader in preparing students to anticipate, solve and prevent problems in order to improve the human and global condition. The College immerses students in the creation and processing of knowledge, and graduates skilled architects of societal change, active citizens and future leaders. Miller and Interim President Joe Calvaruso, ’78, are focusing squarely on Albion’s liberal arts foundation as they build community across campus and with College partners. Spring 2022 | 7
‘A True Asset to Albion’ In February 2022, Michael J. Harrington, ’85, stepped down as chairman of the Albion College Board of Trustees and as a member of the board. Harrington was named chairman of the Albion College Board of Trustees May 4, 2020. He previously served as chair of the Institutional Advancement Committee after joining the board in 2012. During his tenure as board chair, Albion College successfully navigated the global pandemic, saw unprecedented growth in national rankings, and adopted a robust strategic planning process to guide the College through the next several years. Harrington and his wife, Judy, ’86, have been longtime supporters of and donors to Albion College, giving of their time, talent and treasure to the institution. Their continued investment acts as a catalyst for growth, innovation and action to further meet the College’s commitment to belonging while transforming its relationships and the surrounding community.
In January 2020, Harrington retired as senior vice president and general counsel from Eli Lilly and Company, where he spent nearly three decades with the pharmaceutical company.
“Mike Harrington served Albion College with integrity, thoughtfulness and strong, steady leadership,” said Interim President Joe Calvaruso, ’78. “He has been a true asset to Albion. His wealth of experience and knowledge will be missed, but he leaves a strong foundation on which we can build.”
Born in Evanston, Illinois, Mike received his bachelor of arts degree in English in 1985 from Albion College. He received his law degree from the Columbia University School of Law in 1988. Prior to joining Lilly, Mike was a litigator at the law firm of Baker & Daniels in Indianapolis.
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In addition to their many years serving and supporting their alma mater, Mike and Judy Harrington are active philanthropists in their hometown community of Indianapolis, Indiana.
It’s in the Numbers “Undergrads are especially quick to highlight the strong science, premed and business programs.” –The Best 387 Colleges, The Princeton Review, 2021-22
1,555
Number of students
“In an extremely crowded college landscape, it’s clear that Albion is standing out,” says Jamie Krueger, who joined Albion last fall as vice president for enrollment management after more than a dozen years of admission and enrollment leadership experience at Wayne State University and its School of Medicine. Krueger leads an admission team that shares with prospective students and their families how Albion, as one of the country’s most innovative liberal arts colleges as determined by U.S. News & World Report for the second straight year, offers an immersive and nimble educational experience that creates pathways to success.
26.5%
28.5%
First generation
The William Atwell Brown, Jr., and Mary Brown Vacin First-Year Experience at Albion is in the top 50 among all U.S. colleges and universities for 2022, according to U.S. News. Find more at-a-glance facts and stats below.
32.86%
Out of state
.
“Innovative, student-centered offerings like our School for Public Purpose and Professional Advancement, our emphasis on belonging, our focus as an anti-racist institution, together with our traditional strengths—like our First-Year Experience and our institutes and centers—are providing even more compelling reasons to consider Albion,” Krueger says.
Underrepresented
12:1
Student-faculty ratio
MICHIGAN LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE
No
Top 40 Nationally Money.com
TOP 10 STATES
40.3%
50
Student-athletes
TOP
23
Academic departments
78
Degree programs/ majors
5
Centers and Institutes
MOST INNOVATIVE COLLEGES IN THE COUNTRY U.S. News & World Report
“Albion helps students achieve their goals through personal attention from professors, internships and a devoted alumni network.” –The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2022
Spring 2022 | 9
Faculty Spotlight It was a different experience than they anticipated, but Dr. Perry Myers, professor of German, and his wife, Susanne (an adjunct instructor of French and German courses for Albion), were able to spend Myers’ sabbatical in Paris, where he finished the French sections of his new book, Spiritual Empires in Europe and India: Cosmopolitan Religious Movements from 1875 to the Interwar Era (Palgrave Macmillan, Cham). Myers’ sabbatical was supported by a fellowship from the Institut d’Études Avancées de Paris. “Being in Paris really improved the sections of my book that dealt with France. I had access to the archives and materials that just aren’t available from the U.S.,” says Myers, adding, “The people who got the grant with me were from Harvard, Berkeley, Oxford and other top universities in the world. ... We’re right there with those ‘best’ institutions.” Dr. Nicolle Zellner easily recalls the time she met Dr. Carl Sagan, arguably the most well-known U.S. astronomer and planetary scientist of the 20th century. It was 1993 in Boulder, Colorado, at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society. “I brought a book for him to sign at a meet-and-greet, and I told him he was a big reason why I first became interested in science,” says Zellner, who at the time was soon to begin graduate school. “I remember other people in line hearing me and starting to say the same thing, and he said in a lighthearted way, ‘I feel responsible for all of you.’ It was an honor to have met him.” Twenty-eight years later, Zellner and Sagan have crossed paths again—in a way. Last August, the DPS named Zellner, the Herbert H. & Grace A. Dow Trustees’ Professor in the Sciences at Albion, as the 2021 recipient of the
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Carl Sagan Medal for excellence in public communication. In describing her two decades of contributions to the field outside the classroom, the organization stated that “Dr. Zellner has spoken to thousands of people around the country and has reached millions more through her written articles, television appearances, radio interviews and more. She uses every opportunity to convey her passion and enthusiasm for space science to audiences of all ages, often bringing these topics to audiences who might otherwise not seek them out.” Zellner, on sabbatical this past fall, says she was “overwhelmed but honored to be recognized,” and adds how, as much as she relishes opportunities to share with the public, “The energy I get from the students, and sharing my knowledge, seeing their excitement, answering their questions, helping them learn— that’s part of what feeds me.”
Dr. Carrie Menold, professor and chair of earth and environment, was named one of 12 inaugural LANDInG Fellows for the American Geophysical Union, the nation’s largest organization for educators, researchers and business professionals in the geosciences. LANDInG is short for Leadership Academy and Network for Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences, and during her two-year fellowship Menold will examine 200- and 300-level course content with a focus on retaining diverse students interested in the geosciences. “We’ve had some success in our DEI work [at Albion],” says Menold, the lone LANDiNG Fellow from a liberal arts college. “Writing the application crystallized the progress we have made over the past few years. This award feels like a way to keep moving forward.”
a place to forge
CONNECTIONS At the corner of Cass and Huron streets, an inspiring Alumni Unity Hall will emerge from a complete transformation of the former St. John’s Catholic Church.
Over time and across generations, it’s only natural for an occasional disconnect to form between a college’s older alumni, younger alumni and current students. At Albion College, Alumni Unity Hall will seek to change that—by not only filling gaps but by building bonds. “It’s important to figure out new ways to exchange social capital and to create new bridges between alumni who were here 20, 30 years ago and the students who are here now,” said Dr. Raymond Barclay last fall. (The College’s former chief planning officer helped guide the initial phases of the project.) Alumni Unity Hall will be the end result of a renovation of the historic St. John’s Catholic Church building (the church moved to another community location years ago). Construction is currently underway, and the
College has big plans for the space. The renovation seeks to be respectful of the historical nature of the building, but modernize where necessary, according to Barclay. It will include office space as well as areas to gather and socialize. The Hall will serve as a central and welcoming place for alumni to gather; at the same time, it will be a place for them to interact with and get to know current students. According to Barclay, “The Hall is really meant to be a multicultural symbol to create those linkages and partnerships and relationships, and to allow for those exchanges to happen—but also be a place where there is going to be arts and culture.” Seeing the longtime church being renovated, after sitting empty for years, is a positive development for community
members as well. Trevor Markovich, director of financial aid, grew up in Albion and attended the church as a child. “The rich history of the church within my family also made it very special, as my parents were married in the church and continued to raise me in the church as well,” he said. “Knowing that it will have a purpose again on campus is exciting.” Markovich added that having a special place for alumni to gather is filling an important need. “Alums have never really had a place on campus that brings them all together,” he said. “Alumni Unity Hall will give a new home and create a stronger connection for all alumni of Albion College.” –Ariel Berry
The College began renovations of the 11,450-square-foot project last summer by replacing the roof of the building. The goal is to preserve the community landmark while infusing new life and purpose into the facility. The multipurpose space will include an outdoor amphitheater for performances and festivals, along with interior spaces for student and alumni networking, multicultural events, and alumni and career services.
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COMMENCEMENT 2022 We are excited to celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2022 Saturday, May 7, at 1 p.m. ET (processional at 12:45 p.m.) on the Quad in front of Kresge Gymnasium. The event will also be streamed live on the Albion College YouTube channel. Visit albion.edu/commencement for more information. Congratulations, Brits!