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?”
Albion College alumni and friends answered a call for support over the last year in inspiring fashion, sparking a record fundraising total that will benefit the College for years to come in ways that will prove beneficial and dramatic.
“When I began embracing my autistic identity and getting involved in disability rights, I didn’t know what I wanted to contribute and where my place should be,” writes the sociology and English double major and Brown Honors Program and Ford Institute member. “This summer, the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) ended up being the perfect place for me to explore those questions.”
“This summer I interned in Michigan’s 44th District Court in my hometown of Royal Oak to gain a better understanding of the judicial system in Michigan,” writes Brittan, a political science major and Ford Institute member. “I was surprised to learn that there are many ways our district court helps people in my community.”
Albion College’s “great reputation,” as well as its “small-town feeling” and “rigorous but rewarding” academic experience, are just some of its qualities cited by The Princeton Review in the 2020 edition of the test-prep company’s annual college guide, The Best 385 Colleges.
Chemistry professor Craig Streu, a 2004 Albion alumnus, and his student researchers are on the cutting edge of developing light-responsive chemotherapy to battle different types of diseases, from arthritis to Alzheimer’s to perhaps the biggest obstacle of all—cancer.
Albion College’s Board of Trustees now sits at 27 members following the recent appointments of Jeffrey Youle, ’81, Allison Maki, ’97, and Chelsei Carpenter, ’19. The appointments began on July 1.
Maximilian Loria, ’21, a member of the Britons’ men’s soccer team, arrived at Albion College thinking he would prepare for a career in accounting. A marketing class in the recently completed spring semester may have changed his outlook, and he is using a summer internship at DTE Energy to help narrow his focus while making connections that will assist in his professional development.
Albion College is among a select group of institutions featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2020. The publication, now in its 36th edition and considered one of the best independent college guides available, mentions that Albion “attracts an ambitious, involved group of students” while touting the College’s “top-notch academic and career counseling.”
Elijah Shalis, ’02, has always loved history, and when he learned that James Robinson, a slave who fought for American independence, had been all but forgotten, he worked to make sure he received the honors he deserved in the Detroit cemetery where he is buried. And that story has resonated.
