Passing the Presidential Baton

Encore-Magazine-Kalamazoo-College-Presidents-June-2016

Kalamazoo College’s leaders — old and new — look to the future

Olga Bonfiglio
May 31, 2016
Features

From its perch overlooking the city, Kalamazoo College has been a stately presence for 183 years, during which time the college and its leaders have left an indelible mark on the area.

At the end of this month, one more of those leaders passes the baton to the next: After 11 years at the helm, Dr. Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran, the college’s first female and first African-American president, will retire, and Dr. Jorge Gonzalez will assume his new post as the college’s 18th president and its first Latino leader.

Olga Bonfiglio

There was no better writer to take on our story about the economic redevelopment of the Northside than Olga. She has taught urban development at Kalamazoo College for several years and was the host of Public Voice, a Community Access Center show interviewing local urban redevelopment leaders. She has previously written for the Huffington Post, U.S. Catholic, Planning (the trade journal for urban planners) and the Kalamazoo Gazette.