Kalamazoo College

Two former Kalamazoo College professors are 2009 National Book Award Finalists. David Small (photo), who taught in the art department, is the author and illustrator of "Stitches", a graphic novel and finalist in the category of Young People’s Literature. Bonnie Jo Campbell, who taught in the English department, is t...he author of "American Salvage",a book of short stories and finalist in the Fiction category.

Campbell’s book is one of five finalists among 236 entries submitted. Small’s is one of five finalists among 251 entries. The winners will be announced at the 60th National Book Awards Benefit Dinner and Ceremony in New York City on Wednesday, November 18.

"Stitches" recreates Small’s harrowing life story, his flight from a difficult home life with nothing more than the dream to become an artist. Campbell’s stories bring to startling life the complexities of working class characters in desperate times. Small is the author and illustrator of numerous books for children, many of which have won awards. Campbell is the author of a collection of stories, "Women & Other Animals", and a novel, "Q Road." She has won a Pushcart Prize and the 2008 Eudora Welty Prize.Read More

Alumni Association conferred its annual awards during Homecoming this past weekend. David H. Wilson ’69 (photo) received the Distinguished Achievement Award; Vernon R. “Ven” Johnson ’83 received the Distinguished Service Award; and Billie Fischer,Ph.D., professor emerita of art and art history, received the Weimer K.... Hicks Award. Wilson is a former filmmaker who founded the Museum of Jurassic Technology (Culver City, Calif.), an ineffable “collection” of questions on the meaning and motive of museums. For his work with the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Wilson received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (the so-called “genius grant”). He lectures about his work around the world and has been featured in major publications. Johnson was a tennis standout for the Hornet tennis team. He won the MIAA conference title in singles and doubles three consecutive years and was MVP of the conference his senior year. The prominent Detroit-area attorney has continued an ardent supporter of Hornet athletics. For many years he has hosted an annual alumni-varsity tennis tournament in Detroit. That festive occasion, followed by a party for families and friends, has steadily grown and now attracts some 30 alumni tennis players. Fischer distinguished herself in class (a Florence J. Lucasse Fellowship Award for Excellence in Teaching, the College’s most prestigious pedagogical honor) and was very involved in the lives of students outside of class (a Frances Diebold Award). She’s a fixture at athletic events and student plays and musical performances. She also is active in countless community organizations and projects. She received the Community Medal of Arts award from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo in 2005. She lives near the College and, even though she’s retired, continues to participate in the Summer Common Reading program for incoming freshman.Read More

Art professors Tom Rice and Sarah Lindley will participate in a show titled “Facing Michigan” at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art (Grand Rapids, Mich.). The opening reception occurs Friday, October 23, from 6 PM to 9 PM. Lindley curated the show, and it includes three other Michigan artists (Sadashi Inuzuka, Uni...versity of Michigan; and Paul Wittenbraker and Norwood Viviano, Grand Valley State University). “Facing Michigan” brings together artists creating work that responds to the many challenges confronting the people, land, water, and cities of Michigan. The artists approach the subject with their own questions and language. The juxtaposition of work within the space of the gallery offers a complex dialogue about issues relevant to the state’s past, present, and future. http://uica.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewpage&pageid=649Read More

Internationally celebrated American artist Julie Mehretu '92 opened her first print retrospective at the Highpoint Center for Printmaking in Minneapolis. The 20-piece show
opened on Saturday, October 3, and runs through November 21. It
includes images the Ethiopian-born artist has made at top printmaking
studios around th...e country. The multi-layered prints combine abstract
gestures, vortex swirls, color flares, and graphic patterns suggestive
of maps, urban planning grids, and architectural drawings. Mehretu was
awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005. The so-called genius grant
provides no-strings-attached support to enable its recipients to pursue
their intellectual and creative endeavors.Read More