News

One of the iconic figures in Albion College athletics as a student-athlete, a coach and an administrator, Frank Joranko passed away March 8. The 1952 alumnus was a nine-time Britons letter winner (four in football, four in baseball, one in basketball) who returned to Albion in 1973 and coached two MIAA championship teams in football and nine in baseball. Joranko also served as athletic director for 16 years and was an associate professor of physical education.

With nearly 20 years of experience working with students in a higher education setting, Detroit native Leroy Wright has been named Albion College’s new vice president for student development and dean of students. Wright, who has been associate vice chancellor for student affairs at Appalachian State University in North Carolina since 2016, will begin his duties at Albion on July 1.

Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley brought both criticism and inspiration to a full house February 26 at the Bohm Theatre in a powerful address at the 2019 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation and Community Celebration. The annual event, co-presented by Albion College and the Albion Branch NAACP, was originally scheduled for January 30 but was postponed due to the state-declared cold weather emergency.

Gregory Eastwood knew since he was young that he wanted to be a doctor. Now, a career that has included work as a gastroenterologist and a bioethicist has led him to write a book about the issues involved with the end of life. “I think it is important to be aware of the process of dying and how it plays out in contemporary America,” he says.

Noah Ascencio, ’22, received five-figure scholarship offers from some of the country’s top theatre schools—but he says his love for theatre was actually one reason for choosing Albion’s program.

The third annual Albion College Film Festival will be held Sunday, February 17, at the Bohm Theatre and student organizers are convinced it will be the biggest, best and most expansive one yet.

Albion College will host “RiverTalk Albion: Connecting the Kalamazoo River Community,” one of two community conversations centered on linking resources, lives and livelihoods to the river, which remains a valuable and vital part of Michigan. It will be held February 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Ludington Center.

The February 11 opening of a new primary and express health clinic is the realization of a longtime plan that will benefit both Albion College students and the Albion community at large. Oaklawn Express Care – Albion is the result of a partnership, first announced in summer 2018, between the College and Marshall-based Oaklawn Hospital. Says President Mauri Ditzler: “The new clinic comes at just the right time.”

Dayton, Ohio, native Craig Kirby became interested in public service at Albion College, and that interest has taken him to Washington, D.C., where he has worked for a president, a vice president and senators, as well as rubbed elbows with international figures. Now he has brought his love of helping to the golf course. “I bet on myself and on an idea that I believe in,” he said.

It was a busy media week for Albion College economics and management professor Vicki Baker, who was featured in two online publications that focused on two topics she has studied extensively: the value of a liberal arts education, and the obstacles and opportunities facing mid-career academic professionals.