The Digest
What’s Happening at KVCC
What’s below in this edition
ü Interacting with history (Pages 1-3) ü Effective resumes (Page 17)
ü ‘Wind’ graduates (Pages 4/5) ü Any surplus food? (Pages 17/18)
ü Campus project (Pages 5/6) ü Pre-holiday exercise (Page 18)
ü Shilts v. Shilts Page 6) ü Race documentaries (P-18/19)
ü Photos by kite (Page 7) ü Telling our stories (Page 19)
ü Mavis Staples (Pages 7/8) ü Keeping them fresh (Page 20)
ü Latinos, immigration (Pages 8-10) ü History gallery on TV (Page 20)
ü Foundation’s grant deadline (P-10/11) ü What’s cooking? Fuel! (P-20/21)
ü Adler astronomer (Pages 11/12) ü Joe Reilly’s tunes (Pages 21/22)
ü ‘The Smelting Pot’ (Page 12) ü Art Hoppers to judge (Page 22)
ü Our eBay (Page 13) ü ‘Seasons of Light’ (Pages 22/23)
ü ‘Annie’ on stage (Pages 13/14) ü PTK growing (Page 23)
ü Friday-night fun (Pages 14-16) ü Library services (Pages 23/24)
ü Building a wind turbine (Pages 16/17) ü And Finally (Page 24)
☻☻☻☻☻☻
Museum’s new history gallery opens Saturday
The reopening of the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s history gallery on Saturday (Dec. 4) will be complemented by a day full of free activities:
v Two presentations on the use of the arts in teaching the sciences by a world-famous astronomer
v Three Challenger Learning Center simulated space missions
v Three planetarium shows
v Two family-oriented concerts featuring the songs of Michigan environmental educator Joe Reilly
From 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. at the downtown-Kalamazoo museum, visitors will also be able to experience the “RACE: Are We So Different?” exhibit in the third-floor gallery and a photographic display on the first floor that captures the landscape of America’s diversity.
Jose Francisco Salgado of the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum in Chicago will talk about using the visual arts to improve the understanding and comprehension of the sciences at 1 and 3:30 p.m. in the World Works Room.
Riley’s performances are booked at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater. The Challenger missions and planetarium shows will be available from 12:30 through 3 p.m.
The museum’s history gallery has been closed since last January when the Portage-based firm of MAVCON, along with several other contractors, began construction on the second floor, but its reincarnation has been in the planning stages for several years.
Titled “Kalamazoo Direct to You” and still featuring the opening section of the same name that graced the former history gallery, the new attraction has 17 galleries, or chapters, that present a broader review of the story of this part of Michigan.
Each offers hands-on, multimedia, interactive experiences intended for visitors to place themselves in history.
The 17 sections retell the story of Kalamazoo County with an emphasis on how Kalamazoo grew from a village on the Michigan frontier in the 1830s, to a city in the 1880s, and to a metropolitan area in the 1960s.
The gallery illustrates how the community was able to grow because of its people and its location on the railroad midway between two dynamic cites of the 19th and 20th centuries: Chicago and Detroit.
In addition to the fortune of location, residents honored three civic virtues that continued to build the community:
(1) The economic ingenuity that converted natural resources into products.
(2) A continuing tradition of civic involvement.
(3) An abiding faith in the power of education to shape its future.
Exhibit planners took all of these factors into account in fashioning the gallery.
While the contributions of Titus Bronson, the Upjohn family, the ingenuity of Homer Stryker, the Checker Cab, celery, and the various industrial eras of the community are still covered, ”the new ‘Kalamazoo Direct To You’ provides a greater presence to the previously unsung contributors to our story, including those of the many women and minority business, civic, and community leaders,” said Bill McElhone, the museum’s director. “That is part of Kalamazoo’s unique heritage.”
Other old favorites such as the general store, Douglass Community Center, and the Todd collection remain part of the remodeled gallery.
However, the new features add substance and faces to Kalamazoo’s story as it unfolds from bog iron to windmills and friable pills, from carriages and farm machinery to paper and medical equipment.
Short biographies, “Who in Kazoo,” offer stories of Kalamazoo residents whose choices continue to affect the community today. For example:
· The two entrepreneurs whose foundry, then the largest in Michigan, processed the rich bog-iron deposits along the Kalamazoo River and laid the basis for later metal-working industries including stove, carriage, windmill, and agricultural-implement manufacturers.
· How the ingenuity of a businessman and a technician made Kalamazoo a mandatory stop on the international rock ‘n’ roll scene.
· The role of a Kalamazoo physician and scientist in the development of the mysterious and dangerous X-ray tube that would evolve into a medical breakthrough in health care.
· The woman who ran one of the city’s major paper producers for a quarter of a century long before members of her gender were involved in the business world.
Among the scores of interactive, hands-on experiences are these – a visitor can imagine himself/herself as a news anchor at John Fetzer’s WKZO-TV reporting on presidential candidate John F. Kennedy’s visit to Kalamazoo in the summer of 1960; assembling a showcase of A. M. Todd’s antiques and artwork for public display; becoming part of a string band on a sound stage by plugging into an amp a realistic-looking guitar, banjo, or mandolin.
"What distinguishes ‘Kalamazoo Direct to You’ is that the stories told are of ordinary people sometimes doing extraordinary things,” said Elspeth Inglis, assistant director for education programs.
“Generations of Kalamazoo area residents' stories are represented with objects, photographs and hands-on activities,” Inglis said. “Visitors will experience something of the lives of many who came before, and leave knowing that they're part of the story, too."
“If anyone ever thought history was boring,” said Paula Metzner, assistant director for collections, “they should come and see this new exhibit on Kalamazoo history.
“This exhibit,” she said, “has a bold, modern design mixed with lots of great audio and video elements, hands-on activities, historic photographs, and a wonderful blend of old and not-so-old artifacts, many of which the community has given to the museum over the last 130 years.”
"In the new Douglass Community Center,” said Annette Hoppenworth, programs coordinator, “patrons are invited to sit a spell and socialize with their neighbors. Visitors can serve up ‘snacks’ from the soda fountain while learning more about the services offered by the community center throughout history as well as today."
Regarding his “Science Through Art” presentation, Salgado will talk about how he uses his skills in astronomy education and the visual arts – especially photography -- to create multimedia venues that communicate science in engaging ways, and provoke a sense of curiosity about the Earth and its place in the universe.
Two of the results are critically acclaimed astronomy films created to accompany live performances of classical music, including Gustav Holst’s “The Planets.”
Salgado, a Puerto Rican, earned his doctorate in astronomy from the University of Michigan.
Since beginning his initiative in 2000, Salgado been engaged in collaborations with the Boston Pops, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, and scores of other musical and scientific organizations.
Wind Academy II graduation is Dec. 10
With 14 enrollees ready for their Dec. 10 graduation from Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Wind Turbine Technician Academy, all slots have been filled for the third edition of the 26 weeks of training and applications are being taken for the fourth that starts July 5.
Scheduled for 10 a.m. at KVCC’s Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC) on The Groves Campus off on 9th Street along I-94, the program is open to the public.
The third academy will convene on Jan. 3 with graduation slated for June 30. Members of that class hail from Arizona, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota and Michigan. Among the home towns of the Michigan enrollees are Muskegon, Vicksburg, and Kalamazoo.
The graduates of the second academy are:
· James Babiasz of Kalamazoo
· Charles Williams of Kalamazoo
· Anthony Parcher of Kentwood, Mich., who will speak for the graduates
· Raymond Bradley of Greenville, Mich.
· Nicholas Matkin of Kalamazoo
· Nicholas Clements of Clawson, Mich.
· Arden Major of Marcellus
· Alexis Della Costa of Kendall, N. Y.
· Larry Lawlor of Waukegan, Ill.
· Dan Fagan of Port Sanilac, Mich.
· Justin Knapp of Casa Grande, Ariz.
· Mohamed Farwana of Kalamazoo
· Andrew Galemore of Carbondale, Colo.
· David Houting of Zeeland.
Presenting the credentials to the second batch of graduates will be their instructors, Tom Sutton and Greg Meeuwsen.
Parcher, Della Costa, Galemore, Williams and Farwana were the recipients of $1,000 scholarships from the Grainger Foundation. Dellas Costa is the first female graduate of the academy.
Prospects for employment would appear high for the graduates of the second academy if the fate of the first students is any indication.
Fourteen of those graduates are employed, 11 of them in the wind-turbine industry. Of the other two, one has returned to his native England to seek employment in the British wind industry while the other is lining up interviews. Of those not currently involved with wind turbines, one has resumed his education in California and another has been deployed to Afghanistan as part of his military commitment.
“It is exciting to hear from our graduates in the field,” said Cindy Buckley, director of training and development at the M-TEC. “Five are employed by the same company. Two from Michigan have kept their homes and their families here. They are flown to their jobs around the country, work for five weeks, and are flown back here for two to three weeks.
“It’s like a fraternity,” she said. “On one assignment, five of the graduates ended up at the same wind farm in Montana. Our graduates are highly regarded in the wind industry for the quality of their training and their commitment to safety.”
She reports that company and industry recruiters have already contacted those who will receive their academy credentials on Dec. 10 and scheduled interviews.
The KVCC academy received a $550,000 federal appropriation to purchase specialized laboratory equipment, including a 90-foot tower and turbine unit that is scheduled to be installed in the M-TEC’s parking median for testing and training purposes by New Year’s Day.
Only KVCC’s program is certified by Bildungszentrum fur Erneuerebare Energien (BZEE) in the United States.
Located in Husum, Germany, and founded in 2000, BZEE was created and supported by major wind-turbine manufacturers, component makers, and enterprises that provide operation and maintenance services. As wind-energy production increased throughout Europe, the need for high-quality, industry-driven, international standards emerged. BZEE has become the leading trainer for wind-turbine technicians across Europe and now in Asia.
KVCC has educational partnerships with Fuhrlaender North America, based in North Kingston, R. I., and the Michigan-based Crystal Flash Renewable Energy. These arrangements give KVCC academy students the chance for in-depth exposure to the maintenance requirements and hands-on monitoring of utility-scale wind turbines, and to cutting-edge technologies.
The first step to gain access into the next academy is to complete the written application, which can be downloaded at this web site - www.kvcc.edu/training. Applications can be mailed or faxed to the college.
A math test is also part of the screening process, along with the results of a medical examination and documented work experience in technical fields.
The last step in the application process is a screening for an ability to function in tight quarters and work at great heights.
The fee is $12,000.
For more information, contact Buckley at (269) 353-1250 or . A video about the program is available at http://www.mteckvcc.com/windtechacademy.html.
The Grainger Foundation, an independent, private foundation based in Lake Forest, Ill., was established in 1949 by William W. Grainger, who founded W. W. Grainger Inc. in 1927.
$12-million project starting to wind down
Both floors of the new wing on the Texas Township Campus are now occupied by KVCC functions, while the remaining phases of the $12-million project are nearing completion.
“Materials Handling is also operating in its new receiving space in the addition,” reports Dan Maley.
“Next is the clearing out the temporarily used space in the Student Commons theater and forum to return to their normal configuration,” he said. The project’s final classrooms are nearing completion while the remodeling of the space for Facilities Services is under way and progressing as planned.
Maley expects all of the unfinished phases to be reading in time for winter semester, as will new signs throughout the campus.
“Thanks to everyone's extraordinary efforts, communication and teamwork,” Maley said, “the project is nearing completion, on time and under budget.”
The “star” of the $12-million expansion and renovation, the wing is the new home to the Student Success Center, several student-service functions, and a 150-seat auditorium.
The new wing houses the Student Success Center on the second floor and the Office of Admissions, Registration and Records, the Office of Financial Aid, the Office of Institutional Research, and Central Receiving on the first level.
In all, KVCC will lose eight classrooms and gain 10, plus the 150-seat mini-auditorium/lecture hall in the new expansion. The Student Success Center has reverted to serving as The Gallery.
Dollars for such projects are banked in capital funds by the state and by the college, and are not part of each’s general fund. Michigan’s formula for higher-education projects has not changed from past years. Each community college and the state provide 50 percent of the costs.
The Kalamazoo architectural firm of Eckert Wordell designed the expansion and remodeling, while the Miller-Davis Co. is serving as construction manager.
This is the college’s first major construction initiative since the Student Commons in 2001.
Historic night in Cougar basketball annals
The front page of Thursday’s (Dec. 2) Kalamazoo Gazette captured the drama and the poignancy of the previous night’s basketball game in which Dick Shilts, in his 32nd and final season at the Cougars’ cage mentor, coached against his 27-year-old son, Ricky.