General

President Mauri Ditzler’s email to the Albion College community about the vandalism on Superior Street.

The new Randi C. Heathman Indoor Arena was formally unveiled at Homecoming in an October 15 ribbon-cutting ceremony. The riding surface was enlarged, new powerful fans were installed and a new, state-of-the-art surface was laid down. And now, the center aims to become, in time, one of the premier equestrian facilities in the country.

The dream became reality on a sun-splashed Friday afternoon in downtown Albion. A renovated building at 101 N. Superior St., which in former incarnations was a furniture store and a thrift store (among other things), has new life after it was dedicated as the Ludington Center, in front of a crowd of around 100 people.

Albion College received “Video of the Year” honors from the Association of Donor Relations Professionals during its annual international conference last week in Pittsburgh. The three-minute video, produced by BluFish Consulting in Marshall, highlighted three Albion students—Candace Cullens, Jordan Herron and Bailey Beem (all from the Class of 2016)—who spoke movingly about their ability to complete their undergraduate education at Albion thanks to the support from scholarships.

Neuroscientist Dr. Carl Hart brought hard science—and sometimes harder conclusions—to an attentive audience in Goodrich Chapel for the 2016 Richard M. Smith Common Reading Experience lecture. The first tenured African-American in the sciences at Columbia University, Hart is the author of High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery that Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society.

Albion College Athletic Director Matt Arend stood before a crowd of more than 100 people Sunday afternoon and watched as the dream became reality. Thanks to the generosity of longtime Albion residents Bud and Olivia Davis, who provided the lead naming gift, the Davis Athletic Complex represents the start of a new era for outdoor Briton athletics.

The Albion Sister City program is celebrating its 20th year by welcoming a delegation from the French communities of Noisy-le-Roi and Bailly to this weekend’s Festival of the Forks celebration. It’s an opportunity to share a culture and a friendship that continues to grow. “This relationship runs through every part of Albion, Michigan, and Albion College,” said Albion College professor of French Dianne Guenin-Lelle.

Two Albion College students were robbed at gunpoint early Thursday morning. No one was injured.

According to the College’s Office of Campus Safety, the students were sitting in a red 2010 Jeep Patriot in the parking lot at the Bobbitt Visual Arts Center at approximately 1:30 a.m. when two males dressed in black, wearing puffy ski jackets and with their faces partially covered with masks approached them. The students said one of the suspects had a long gun; the suspects proceeded to take the car as well as other personal possessions and left the area.

They were last seen driving east on Michigan Avenue away from campus.

Albion Public Safety is investigating.

Albion College Director of Campus Safety Ken Snyder said patrols will be increased around campus for the next few days. He said this was the first armed robbery on campus in several years.

“We’re relieved no one was hurt in this incident and we’re confident local law enforcement is doing all it can to find the perpetrators,” Albion College President Mauri Ditzler said. “Nothing is more important to us than student safety on campus. We always do everything in our power to ensure a safe and vibrant learning environment for our students.”

The newly expanded Randi C. Heathman Indoor Arena at Albion College’s Nancy G. Held Equestrian Center, currently receiving its finishing touches in advance of its first show Oct. 1-2, was featured this morning on Newschannel 3 WWMT-TV, which serves the large Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek viewing area.

Annual college guides geared toward prospective students and their families continue to recognize the Albion experience. Washington Monthly counted Albion College as among the top 100 national liberal arts institutions—No. 92, to be exact—that contribute to the public good in what the magazine describes as “three broad categories: Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).”