General

Albion College’s national reputation continues to shine with a strong placement earlier this month on The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings. On their list of the country’s best liberal arts colleges, Albion was ranked No. 65.

For Albion, 2016 was a year for celebration. The College cheered a lot of growth: a big new first-year class, the creation of the Ludington Center and the Harrington gift that will spur neighborhood revitalization near campus. There also was the City’s groundbreaking for a new hotel and planned expansion of the Bohm Theatre. We present photos of just a few highlights of student achievement, academic inquiry and innovative programs that make Albion an exemplary college and special community.

The Ludington Center, Albion College’s latest connection between the College and the City of Albion, officially opened January 3. Located at 101 N. Superior St. in a renovated building constructed in 1900 that is adjacent to Albion City Hall, the Ludington Center will be the new home for several College organizations as well as a community career and internship center, and includes classroom and meeting space.

A feature-length article describing the vital relationship between Albion College and the City of Albion, with references to other liberal arts colleges in small towns and rural communities and their shared challenges, was published in the December 21, 2016 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Nathan Horsman has worked with horses all over the country, and now he’s brought his expertise to Albion College as its new Western coach and instructor.

Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post, will bring his unique insights on life in America to Albion’s 2017 Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation and Community Celebration. He will present “We’re Someplace We’ve Never Been: Race, Diversity, and the New America” as part of the Monday, January 30, event, scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Bohm Theatre in downtown Albion.

On Tuesday, November 29, 333 donors generously gave $113,057.53 to Albion College as part of international giving day. It’s the fourth straight year the College has taken part in the event and the fourth straight year donors have surpassed the previous year’s total.

For the sixth straight year, Albion College has been recognized for its commitment to promoting civic engagement, volunteerism and service learning. Albion was one of 86 colleges and universities named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its collective 2015 efforts.

Award-winning author Rita Williams-Garcia used personal experiences and her great gift of storytelling to help Albion celebrate the end of its 2016 community Big Read on November 1.

One by one, they came up to the blue and red sign with the words “Albion Chooses Love” and signed it. From longtime community members to college students to children, the signatures were a thunderous message and a definitive answer to an incident that stunned and galvanized the Albion community. “These symbols speak loud,” Rev. Donald Phillips of the Albion Ministerial Association and chaplain of Albion College told the gathered crowd. “But we’re coming together as a community to speak louder.”