General

For the first time, a graphic novel was Albion’s pick for the annual Richard M. Smith Common Reading Experience—The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui. Following Bui’s afternoon talk September 26 in Goodrich Chapel, Alan Headbloom, ’75, screened his documentary Newcomer Legacy, recounting the immigrant experiences of nine Vietnamese refugees who settled in Grand Rapids in the 1970s.

Mandy Dubiel, director of admission since 2015 and a part of the Albion College Office of Admission since 1996, was named Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management on October 1. In her new post, Dubiel will work closely with Vice President for Enrollment Management Hernan Bucheli on developing a new enrollment management plan to shape and recruit future Albion classes.

Albion College has been awarded a major federal grant to prevent and respond to interpersonal violence on campus. The $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) provides a unique opportunity for institutions of higher education to establish multidisciplinary approaches to combat sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campuses.

It is ambitious. It is intrepid. It is challenging. And it is the next step in Albion College’s goal of creating a liberal arts experience for students to change the world. The College is embarking on perhaps the most far-reaching comprehensive campaign in its 185-year history, and by the time it ends Albion will be remade in ways both large and small.

With more than two decades of experience in higher education enrollment, Hernan Bucheli will assume duties as Albion’s new vice president for enrollment management on October 1. “[Albion] is a top liberal arts institution, it’s residential and the campus is taking a journey toward being diverse and inclusive, and that’s very attractive.”

Two well-established rankings of American colleges and universities, U.S. News and World Report and Washington Monthly, feature Albion College in their latest editions in the area of social mobility. Albion also was included in a U.S. News list of the top 101 first-year experiences in higher education, spanning universities as well as colleges coast to coast.

Groundbreaking began in mid-August for the expansion of the Dow Recreation and Wellness Center, which will significantly increase fitness and recreational opportunities for all Albion College students. A $5 million leadership gift from Joe, ’82, and Julie Serra, announced in March, kickstarted the project, which is expected to be completed by May 2020.

As the Albion College campus community settles into the fall 2019 semester, Leroy Wright, vice president for student development and dean of students, shares a message of support with all students.

“Consistency” could be one word to describe Albion’s incoming Class of 2023, which moved in August 23 in advance of the start of fall semester August 26. According to Director of Admission Mandy Dubiel, the 419 first-year students and 27 transfer students match the qualities that positively distinguish Albion’s current student body.

Elizabeth Palmer, ’10, has a family background full of teachers that includes her father, mother and sister. But she was interested in another direction: historic preservation. Now she is Albion’s new Marilyn Crandell Schleg Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, and ready to make available the College’s impressive archives to all those interested. Says Palmer: “I’m of a mind that why do we have it if it’s not benefiting others?”