Ü $331,000 (Pages 1-3) Ü Alan Page (Pages 12-14)

April 21, 2008 The Digest What’s Happening at KVCC What’s below in this edition   $331,000 (Pages 1-3)  Alan Page (Pages 12-14)  Auto-tech fun (Pages 3/4)  De-stressor (Page 15)  No. 61 (Page 4)  Trash team (Page 15)  Museum’s booker (Pages 4/5)  Art-show winners (Pages 15/16)  More walkers (Pages 5/6)  Estate planning (Page 16)  Printing needs (Page 6)  Frank Lloyd Wright (P 16-18)  A day for interns (Pages 6/7)  ‘Bridges’ deadline (Pages 18/19)  Sexual assault (Pages 7/8)  ‘Polar Astronomers’ (P-19/20)  Speech winners (Pages 8/9)  Hoops on wheels (Page 20)  Our music legacy (Pages 9/10)  Rock’s history (Pages 20/21)  Office Support SOS (Page 10)  Auto Academy 2 (Pages 22/23)  M-TEC presenter (Pages 10/11)  African film (Page 23)  Fun with history (Page 11)  Recycling paper (Pages 24/25)  Sounds of music (Page 12)  And Finally (Page 25) ☻☻☻☻☻☻ Fed grant to assist screening center A $331,000 federal grant will expand the capacity of KVCC’s Michigan High Throughput Screening Center to enhance the drug-discovery prospects of its roster of life-sciences clients that soon might extend to a global marketplace. Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) made the announcement that funds from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services will add to the robotics equipment in the screening center’s lab based in the college’s Michigan Technical Education Center. It comes on the heels of the M-TEC of KVCC’s new collaboration with AFID Therapeutics in Lansing that is boosting the drug-development research efforts of life- science and biotechnology companies by increasing the diversity of the center’s library of compounds that now exceed 100,000 in number. “When the state, our community and the college partnered to locate one of the M- TECs to serve the Kalamazoo region in March of 2001, “said President Marilyn Schlack, “there was a solid consensus it would become a powerful resource for workforce development.

1 “But, as with our students who come to us to nurture opportunities and keep their options open,” she said, “that is what the M-TEC at KVCC has allowed this community to do – to take a risk, to be a key player in Michigan’s bid to become a powerhouse in the life sciences and biotechnology. “This federal grant to increase the capabilities of the screening center,” Schlack said, “is the latest dividend for this community and state initiative – with more to come as we all strive to keep our regional economy vital, up to date and growing.” Since the screening center’s first project in March of 2006, clients across North America have been using its “finding-a-needle-in-a-haystack” computerized robotics to identify promising approaches hypothesized by researchers who are probing for breakthroughs in cancer, malaria, a variety of infectious diseases, diabetes, inflammation, obesity, heart disease, muscular dystrophy and Alzheimer’s. “Most recently,” said James DeHaven, the college’s vice president for economic and business development and executive director of the M-TEC of KVCC, “four of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies have signed master service agreements for outsourcing a portion of their screening needs to the center. We’ve also had inquiries from researchers in Australia, Europe and Japan.” Rob Kilkuskie, senior director of the screening center and a former Pfizer Inc. researcher, originated the “finding-a-needle-in-a-haystack” metaphor in describing the functions of its inventory of robotics equipment to the layman. “Over these two years,” he said, “we been able to fire nearly one million shots to find that needle. Hopefully, we’ve hit a few targets for our clients and given them some of the answers they are looking for in their research.” In addition to large “pharmas,” KVCC’s screening center has contracted with small and mid-size firms, as well as academic and research institutes. DeHaven said the initial laboratory buildout from February of 2005 to that August stemmed from a combination of donations of used equipment from Pfizer. Initial financing of construction and the installation of the equipment that included some new technology was assisted by grants from the Kalamazoo Community and the Irving S. Gilmore foundations. “In order to scale up and offer the latest equipment and screening capabilities to clients,” DeHaven said, “the center must remain in the forefront of science. Continuing to update the specialized equipment and our unique collections of chemicals, as epitomized by the alliance with AFID Therapeutics, will ensure the center’s success and build upon Michigan’s reputation as a productive hub of the life sciences.” “The center’s mission is to provide access to state-of-the-art screening technology and expertise,” Kilkuskie said. “This grant and the collaboration with AFID allow us to expand the diversity of our compound library and greatly facilitate our clients’ drug- discovery research.” The screening center, based on the second floor of the M-TEC that is located in The Groves along I-94 off of 9th Street, accepts projects on a fee-for-service basis without intellectual-property requirements. High throughput screening describes the process in which researchers can relatively quickly narrow the field of possibilities in identifying drug compounds that might be likely prospects to fight a disease or cure an illness. KVCC is a

2 member of the Core Technology Alliance, which is a network of advanced-technology service facilities located at major research institutions across Michigan. These fee-for-service laboratories support public and private biomedical research in genomics, proteomics, structural biology, animal models, bio-informatics, bio- imaging, antibody technology, and high-throughput screening. In addition to KVCC, Core Technology Alliance members include the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Western Michigan University, and Grand Valley State University. KVCC’s not-for-profit screening center and contract-research laboratory provides its services without licensing fees or royalties. KVCC is the only community college in the nation providing these kinds of non-profit services, joining the ranks of Harvard University, the University of Wisconsin, Rutgers University, the University of Alabama, Stanford University and the University of Kansas in this category. Under-the-gun competition for auto tekkies You can watch how today’s high-tech mechanic goes about “debugging” your car at the "Tech Challenge 2008" on Friday, May 2. Students, either enrolled in KVCC’s nationally certified automotive-technology program or its first Automotive Academy, are engaging in a bit of friendly competition as they use brain power, diagnostic resources and manual dexterity to figure out why vehicles are not operating on all of their cylinders. Ten have survived an initial level of competition to advance to the next stage. They are Brian Burroughs, Loretta Murray, Mark Hamill, Matt McClung, Kevin Weeks, Adam Cagle, Kyle Munson, Gerald Lentz, Adam Dombrowski and Adam Frazier. The winner of the 2007 competition, Chad Beimer of Richland, is scheduled to be a commencement speaker at the college’s 61st graduation ceremony on Sunday, April 27, at 4 p.m. in Miller Auditorium on the Western Michigan University campus. The automotive-technology major is a graduate of Gull Lake High School. The public is invited to view “Tech Challenge 2008” to be staged in the automotive lab (Room 5340) and the adjacent parking lot on the Texas Township Campus. The competition will run from 11 a.m. through 3:20 p.m. The awards presentation will be held at 4 p.m. in the Student Commons Theater. Students, faculty and staff are also invited to join auto-tech enrollees, instructors and program advisers for a grilled lunch from 12:30 to 2 p.m. That’s a good opportunity to learn about the program, examine advanced-technology vehicles, and learn more about the growing field of alternative fuels. The five finalists will have survived two written phases of the competition that tested their working knowledge of automotive technology and maintenance. Each of five vehicles, which are being provided by the Harold Zeigler Auto Group, will be programmed to have a particular problem with its electrical system, air conditioning, alignment, or power-train management. “The overall theme of the competition is complaint, cause and correction,” said Douglas Martin, the automotive instructor who is overseeing the 2008 competition. “Each of the contestants will have 40 minutes with each car to hear the ‘customer’s’ complaint, find the cause using available resources, and, given the type of the problem, determine the path to how to fix it.”

3 The “bugs” are being planted by members of the KVCC automotive-technology staff. Each of the participants will be facing the same “bug” for the sake of fairness and balance. The KVCC Automotive Advisory Committee, which is sponsoring the event, will serve as the judges. The committee’s 38 members come from local auto dealers, independent repair services, and educational agencies. “Tech Challenge 2008” is also supported by the program’s club for automotive-technology enrollees. “Frankly,” Martin said, “we borrowed the idea from what Auto Value does each year at its Tech Expo in Lansing. They call it the ‘Top Gun’ technician competition.” It’s the largest show of its kind in the nation for professionals in automotive service and for manufacturers of vehicle components. It also offers the opportunity for mechanics and auto technicians around the state to engage in friendly, on-line competition to demonstrate their talents for keeping vehicles on the road and running efficiently. The May 2 winner will take home a set of tools donated by the competition’s corporate sponsors that include Snap-On Inc., Mac Tools, NAPA Auto Parts, and Wright Tool. For more information, contact Martin at (269) 488-4322 or [email protected]. 61st graduation is April 27 The college’s 61st commencement ceremony is set for Sunday, April 27, in Miller Auditorium on the Western Michigan University campus. Those who have been assigned specific roles for the event should report to the auditorium by 3 p.m., an hour before the program is to begin. Among those faculty and staff members involved in the ritual are Carol Orr, Delynne Andres, Jean Snow, Helen Palleschi, Lois Baldwin, Al Moss, Terry Coburn, Pat Pojeta, Rick Garthe and Lisa Winch.. The faculty speaker will be English instructor Gloria Larrieu. Chad Beimer, an automotive-technology major from Richland, will speak for the graduates. The diploma-day celebration will be telecast live on the Community Access Center’s Channel 22 in the Charter lineup, and then rebroadcast three more times. The dates and times will be announced later. Also scheduled to make remarks is Jeff Patton, chairman of the KVCC Board of Trustees. Providing the music will be the KVCC Choir, directed by Michelle Bauman, and the KVCC Campus Band with conductor Chris Garrett. Special events in new hands at museum Jennifer Austin will jump from her KVCC cap and gown right into new duties at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. The next day after the college’s April 27 graduation ceremony, she will report to the museum Monday morning as its new coordinator of special events. She succeeds James “Jay” Gavan. The Plainwell resident had previously served in another part-time position as an interpretation specialist at the museum. She is a 1996 graduate of Plainwell High School

4 and went on to receive certification in graphic arts and photography at the Allegan County Area Technical Education Center. Her other experiences have included teaching and supervisory duties in a day-care center, assembling office-furniture products for Haworth Inc., and working for the Meijer store in her home city. 18 Relay for Life-ers want more company KVCC will be participating in the 2008 Relay for Life, the annual fund-raiser of the Kalamazoo County Chapter of the American Cancer Society, and the Cougar team is in need of more participants. This year’s event will be staged on Saturday and Sunday, May 31 and June 1, from 11 a.m. to 11 a.m. at The Air Zoo, 6151 Portage. The aviation museum and amusement center will be open for the entire 24 hours, and there will be discounted and free admission for qualified participants. Faculty, students and staff, along with their friends and family, can sign up to walk or run from one hour to the full 24 hours. In addition to co-organizers Lynne Morrison and Mary Johnson, those who have signed up for the blue-and-white Cougar squad are: Theresa Hollowell: Stephen Doherty: Marlyre, Julia and Nick Morrison; Tasia Hayes, Ashley, Sami and Brian Graening; Marylan Hightree; Robert Sutton; Pedro Soto; Katie Pitcher; Mark Sigfrids; Emily Mohney; Montiella Robertson; and Brenda Gardner. While the teams are coming together for a very serious issue - - the fight against cancer - - there is a great deal of fun and camaraderie for teams of family, friends and co- workers who choose to camp out for the entire event. There is entertainment and family activities, plus the victory lap by survivors and the luminaria ceremony at dusk that remembers those that have faced cancer. To sign up as a participant and walk with Team KVCC, contact Mary Johnson at extension 4182 or stop by her office in the Student Commons. The team’s goal is to raise $3,000. Another contact is Lynne Morrison at extension 4164. Both can also detail other ways to help in the initiative. This hyperlink connects folks to the available times for walking: http://classes.kvcc.edu/relay/ At least 30 staff, faculty, administrators, students and family members are being sought to man the KVCC team, but the more the merrier. KVCC’ers can also help the Relay for Life team reach its goal by donating their 10-cent bottles and cans in the so-designated containers located in the Texas Township Campus cafeteria, the Student Commons, the advanced-technology wing, the faculty lounge, and in the lounge by the computer lab. “Teams of family, friends and co-workers camp out for 24 hours, taking turns walking the track,” Johnson said. “Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times, a reminder that cancer never sleeps.” The Relay for Life supports those who have lost a loved one, offers encouragement to those who are currently battling the disease, and celebrates life with those who have survived. But most of all, it is an inspiration to all who participate. All dollars raised go toward supporting services for cancer patients and their families, providing education and early-detection programs, and funding cancer research.

5 Kalamazoo is one of more than 4,000 communities across the continent that stage Relay for Life events in the fight against cancer. More than $1 billion has been raised. Act on end-of-semester printing needs now With the days in the winter semester winding down to a precious few, KVCC's Printing Services is asking that end-of-semester printing requests be submitted as soon as possible Terry Coburn, media services manager, urges instructors to not wait until the last minute to get their final exams printed. He also has some additional advice. “Before you leave for the summer,” he said, “please get your fall-semester printing work into printing. When you can do this for us, we then have lots of time to work on the jobs over the summer.” Coburn can be reached at extension 4215. Companies to meet their interns April 24 A high-tech internship program offering major scholarship dollars and priceless job experience will have at least two KVCC participants this summer. Simony Breviglieri and Mark Meninga will be among the college students taking part in an opening reception for the 2008 program on Thursday (April 24) from 4 to 6 p.m. in the 241 E. Michigan Ave. headquarters of Southwest Michigan First. The joint venture between Southwest Michigan First and the Kalamazoo-based Monroe-Brown Foundation is a train-your-own workforce-development program that awards each student as much as $8,800 in revenue to apply to their college educations. It is open to eligible KVCC, Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College students. In KVCC’s case, students must be entering their second year of studies. They will be exposed to valuable networking opportunities and valuable on-the- job training in their chosen fields. Breviglieri’s experience will be in information technology, while Meninga’s internship will be targeting drafting and design. Breviglieri, an international student from Brazil, is majoring in business administration. Meninga, a graduate of Comstock High School, is specializing in computer-assisted design and manufacturing. In addition to KVCC, among the companies taking part in the 2008 edition are: ADMETRx, MPI Research, ProNAi, CSM Group, Landscape Forms, Proteos, A. M. Todd Co., Tekna, Stryker Instruments, Riley Aviation, Workforce Strategies Inc., NanoVir LLC, Jasper Clinic, Treystar Holdings Inc., W. Soule & Co., AVB Construction, Wolverine Pipe Line Co., and Parker Hannifin Corp. Brass Division Each intern will work for the employer for a minimum of 400 hires from May through September. The interns are paid at least minimum wage. The 10-week post is regarded as full time, but it can be customized to fit the needs of each company and intern. Upon successful completion of the internship - as decided by the company and the foundation - each of those parties will pay the intern a $500 bonus - a total of $1,000. On top of that, the foundation will award a pair of additional payments of $2,500 at the beginning of each of the two semesters following the internship. "The program worked very, very well in the summer of 2007,” said Ron Kitchens, president and chief executive officer of Southwest Michigan First. “It is designed to keep the talent that we train here in our part of the state. Companies learned whether they

6 could be getting quality employees. I’m already hearing talk relating to long-term employment for these interns. That’s the whole idea. ”The reasoning for the initiative called the Southwest Michigan First Talent Network is simple -- one of the key components to sustained economic development in high-tech fields including manufacturing is “lots of smart people.” “The interns will receive great experience for their careers,” said Jill Bland of Southwest Michigan First. “They will build a valuable network of business leaders and fellow interns while earning significant funding for their educations. We hope that they not only learn more about what they want out of life, but that they begin to see Kalamazoo as a place where they can grown from student to young professional.” For many enterprises - and not just those in emerging businesses - the No. 1 factor for achieving success is finding the right people to fit the right jobs. Internships are tried-and-true ways to “grow your own” and identify prospects with high potential. It’s the classic win-win equation: great experience for those who are selected as interns and a no-strings-attached arrangement on the part of the employer because internships are basically akin to temporary jobs. The employer gets essentially a low-cost look at a potential permanent employee who could either be somebody who would not be a good fit or somebody who has “the right stuff” to be a future leader. In order to find that out, interns - while supervised and operating within a structured work environment - should be given enough autonomy and enough leeway to determine their own direction. That allows the employer to evaluate the person’s judgment, how he or she works with other people, and work habits. Few one-on-one interviews provide those types of measurements. Sexual assault’s many victims topic of panel Sexual assault with its murderous impact on a person’s essence will be the focus of a panel discussion that will examine all aspects of the crime. As part of the KVCC observance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the program is set for Monday (April 21) in the Student Commons Theater from noon to 2 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Examining its root causes, effects on victims, and how a community responds to these criminal acts will be: ● Kalamazoo County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Ann Johnson ● Sigrid Carpenter, a victim advocate in the Office of the Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney ● Vicki Vanus, an investigative interviewer for the Children’s Advocacy Center ● Sherry Brockway, supervisor of criminal justice advocacy services at the YWCA of Kalamazoo ● Laurie Sweet, a nurse examiner in sexual-assault cases at the YWCA of Kalamazoo ● Det. Sgt. Rich Mattison of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department ● Kim Luther, acting area manager of probation and parole for the Michigan Department of Corrections ● Doug Kosinski, manager of the Office of Research and Planning for the Michigan Department of Corrections ● Kate Krell, a sexual-assault survivor.

7 KVCC’s ‘primary’ pitchers are winners The student who made a presidential pitch for U. S. Sen. Barack Obama (D- Illinois) came out the winner in the college’s speech contest earlier this month. JoVaughn Head was judged to be the top presenter as a result of eloquence, animation, voice quality, pacing and visuals. Placing second in the 11-student competition was Jeremy Sealrs, who served as his own candidate and was cited for his clear and concise presentation, his commitment, as well as for visual complements. In making a campaign speech for actor Matthew McConaughey, David Mann earned points for an “excellent characterization and good-humored delivery,” according to communications instructor Pat Conroy, who helped organize the event. Among the judges were fellow faculty members Jenny Ott, Sadie Miles, Jacob Arndt, and Sarah Jones, with Steve Ott recording a video for posterity. The winners in the “Who Wants to Be Our Next President?” competition shared $600 in prize money as well as a chance to dabble in the U. S. political system. The participants identified the candidate of their choice, prepared a three-minute platform statement complete with a PowerPoint presentation, responded to questions from judges, and provided a one-minute closing statement. . “The student speakers played the role of any one they think would make a great president, including themselves, the major-party or obscure-party candidates,” Conroy said. The other contestants were James Anderson, Crystal Bravo, Geoff Parker, Treasa Davidson, Chelsie Fitt, Jerome Hill, Max Koopsen and Sorina Dodu. Dodu, a foreign- exchange student from the eastern European nation of Moravia, attended Gull Lake High School. They were judged on articulation, inflection, speaking rate, phrasing, eye contact, whether memorization is used in the delivery, the use of gestures, movement and posture, appearance, and the quality of the presentation’s content and PowerPoint. Conroy says the students were advised to be ready to respond to questions from the judges about: ● the issue of immigration in the United States. ● a manned mission to Mars. ● a position of same-sex marriage. ● an amendment to the Constitution defining marriage. ● whether the U. S. government should establish a cabinet-level Department of Peace. ● the status of public education in the nation. ● what the nation’s next step should be in Iraq and Afghanistan. ● the state of race relations. ● a position on universal health care. ● a federal policy on global warming. ● what should the nation do to restore the U. S. economy. ● how to balance the national budget. ● the overcrowding of prisons in the United States. A flashback to Kalamazoo’s grand music hall

8 A performance palace that made Kalamazoo a mecca for music in the late 19th century until it was destroyed by fire 50 years later is next in the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s “Sunday Series” spotlight of presentations about the history of Southwest Michigan. Tom Dietz, the museum’s curator, will wrap up the winter semester of programs on April 20 with a look back at “The Academy of Music.” His 1:30 p.m. presentation in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater is free. The community’s first “grand” performing-arts center staged its first event in early May of 1882. Dressed in their finest, the cream of Kalamazoo society, joined by visitors from Three Rivers, Battle Creek, and Chicago, filled the auditorium’s 1,250 seats. The evening’s highlight was the popular drama, “Virginius, the Roman Father,” featuring the nationally acclaimed star of the late 19th-century stage, John McCullough. Two days later, the first musical program was a choral performance by the Apollo Club of Chicago. Then came a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s light opera, “Patience,” while a full house closed the opening week at a performance of the comic opera, “La Mascotte.” The Academy of Music’s construction was coordinated by a group of prominent businessmen, including future U.S. Sen. Francis Stockbridge and local building contractor Frederick Bush, who organized the Kalamazoo Opera House Company in March 1881. Their goal was to build a first-rate facility for not less than $30,000. The final cost, however, exceeded $60,000. Their incentive for the venture was, in part at least, dissatisfaction with the village’s existing facility, Union Hall. Located at Michigan and Portage streets, the hall had been built in 1865-66. It was a typical performance space for the time. Seating was on benches, all on the same level, so that the patrons on the back benches often had their view blocked. Audience members sipped beverages of their choice and frequently voiced their pleasure or displeasure with a performance. Union Hall was obviously not, in the view of its leading citizens, an acceptable venue for a prosperous village on the cusp of becoming a city. The Kalamazoo Opera House Company would rename its new facility the Academy of Music. The chosen site was on the east side of Rose Street across from the Kalamazoo County Courthouse. The construction committee hired the famous Chicago architect, Dankmar Adler, to design the facility. Built of red brick and Ohio sandstone, the academy was three stories. The interior featured hand-carved cherry woodwork, plush seating, and the finest silk draperies. A nine-foot chandelier with 100 gas lights hung from the ceiling while another 300 gas jets provided ample lighting. For the next several decades, the Academy of Music was the jewel of the local cultural scene. Such luminaries of the American stage as Sarah Bernhardt and the Barrymore family appeared with touring Broadway plays. John Philip Sousa and Victor Herbert performed with their bands. In 1890, the seats were removed, a temporary floor installed, and a gala charity ball was held in the auditorium. It also hosted boxing matches and even a performance by trained show horses.

9 In March 1897, an exciting new technology was introduced there. A demonstration of Thomas Edison’s Vitascope, an early motion-picture technology, drew an enthusiastic crowd and foreshadowed the decline of live professional theater in Kalamazoo. Within 20 years, W. S. Butterfield took over the management of the academy, adding it to his national theater chain. The Regent Theatre, as it was re-named, offered silent movies and vaudeville acts. On June 6, 1930, students from State High School at Western State Teachers College staged the play “Come Seven”. It was the last production for the old Academy of Music. Four days later, a major fire -- possibly arson -- broke out and destroyed the theater. The front of the building, which housed several stores and offices, survived. In 1967, that portion of the structure was demolished to make room for the Industrial State Bank (now the Comerica Bank building). Don’t tarry to seek exam, end-of-semester aid Instructors needing some office-support assistance for their upcoming final exams should make their requests as soon as possible to Lou Pulka and his staff that is undergoing some major changes. “As the end-of-the-semester activity begins to peak in your classrooms,” Pulka says, “so does the activity in Office Support. Please submit material for April final exams and unit tests as soon as you can. The work for the summer semester will begin soon thereafter, so get that in as soon as possible. And it’s never too early to consider work for this fall before the semester ends. “Given the upcoming changes in Office Support staffing and with the transition to a new learning management system,” Pulka says, “I thought it would be useful to give a ‘head’s up’ and encourage you to get your work into the Office Support system a little earlier than normal.” Users of IntegradePro (electronic gradebook) should also make a contact with Pulka. M-TEC’s Blackledge is Business Review presenter Dan Blackledge, the chairman of the M-TEC of KVCC Advisory Board, will lead one of the break-out sessions at a leadership-building and networking event being sponsored Thursday (April 24) by Business Review Western Michigan in Grand Rapids. The weekly publication’s “Regional Thought Leaders” gathering is slated for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Western Michigan University Conference Center in downtown Grand Rapids. The keynote speaker will be Dan Mulhern, head of the state’s Office of Great Workplace Development and spouse of Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Blackledge will guide a session on mentoring. The other three break-out sessions will focus on diversity, multi-generational issues, and leadership during a recession. Blackledge, a founding member of the M-TEC Advisory Board, is president and chief operating officer of Marion Bio-Energy, a company he founded in 2006. The mission of this erstwhile entrepreneur’s latest venture is to commercialize proven research in alternative energy, specifically in bio-fuels. He founded BlueGranite, an Internet-consulting company in 1996, and sold his interest a decade later. Expanding to a workforce of more than 20 consultants, it grew

10 into one of the dominant software enterprises in this part of Michigan. His “Granite University” was an in-house training program. According to Business Review, the regularly scheduled gatherings connect business people with those who are developing new processes, new strategies, and new investment opportunities. Family History Camp is fun ‘pastime’ Because everybody has a story to tell and to retain for future generations, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum will host a “Family History Camp” the week of June 23-27. Adults and children can attend the week-long practicum that will immerse them in such “tricks of the trade” as instructions in interviewing techniques, collecting and preserving family photographs and documents, using digital media for collecting and storing data, creating a family tree, and developing a family website. Each daily session will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The fee is $100 for an individual adult or $150 for a family of three. “The camp is designed for kids with parents and/or grandparents to learn how to record, preserve and edit oral histories, to be introduced to the basics of genealogy, and to identify family heirlooms,” said Donna Odom, who will guide the camp. She is the interpretation coordinator at the museum and president of the Southwest Michigan Black Heritage Society. “And it’s all a lot of fun,” she said Odom believes it is as gratifying to collect one’s own memoirs as it is to read about the lives and times of athletes, politicians or entertainers. For some, she said, it is cathartic to record the things that have happened to them. “When people begin to tell the things they’ve done and the experiences they have had,” she said, “some of those stories are so fascinating, and they need to be documented.” What a person does with his or her oral history is not what’s important, she said. Few seek to have them published. Most are satisfied knowing their little piece of the world has been documented for future generations. The “Family History Camp” has a limited enrollment. Call the museum at 373-7965, or check the website at HREF="http://www.kalamazoomuseum.org/" MACROBUTTON HtmlResAnchor www.kalamazoomuseum.org for details about registration.. Band, choir to fill Lake with sweet sounds The 43-member KVCC Campus Band, complemented by the college’s choir, will present an end-of-the-semester concert on Friday (April 18) in the Dale Lake Auditorium on the Texas Township Campus. Free and open to the public, the concert’s first notes will be sounded at 7 p.m. The vocals will be provided by choir members under the direction of Michelle Bauman. The members of conductor Chris Garrett’s winter-semester band include: Flute: Caitlin Langeland of Kalamazoo, Krystina Shaw of Portage, and Katie Martinez of Allegan. Clarinet: Sarah Beu, Matthew Bowers, Brooke Briggson and Danylle Davault, all of Kalamazoo; Kyla Armstrong of Climax; Dawn Garrett of Vicksburg; Steven Heimann

11 and Anthony Winfrey of Comstock; Katie MacDowell of Richland; Danielle Daugherty of Marcellus; and Rebecca Rowgo of Parchment. Bassoon: Ruth Birman, Hans Engelke and Leslie Wong, all of Kalamazoo. Saxophone: Hugh Lynch and Ward Vanderberg of Portage; James McCormick of Kalamazoo. Trumpet: Nicholas Hampton, George Sylvester and Matthew VanSickle, all of Kalamazoo; David Camp of Vicksburg; and Merle McCoy of Portage. Horn: Frank Jess of Kalamazoo, Joanne Decker of Mattawan, and Ruth Sloan of Sturgis. Trombone: Ben Tribby and Kelly White of Kalamazoo; Aleks Copeland of Comstock. Euphonium: Matthew Dally, Judy and Mark Schuitema, all of Portage; John Griffith of Kalamazoo; and Jim Woodhamms of Scotts. Tuba: Bill Button and Matt Florian of Kalamazoo; Everett Ridderbos of Paw Paw; and Aaron Yahr of Scotts. Percussion: Jamar McCaskey of Kalamazoo, Jeff Dally of Portage, and Fred Wolf of Constantine. For more information, contact Garrett at extension 4102. NFL great speaks at scholarship fund-raiser Alan Page, who used football at the college and professional levels as a vehicle to the law career he wanted, will keynote the KVCC Foundation’s fourth annual Opportunities for Education (OFE) fund-raiser on Monday, May 19. The banquet, designed to raise scholarship dollars and underwritten by National City Bank, features the former All-American from Notre Dame and National Football League Hall of Famer. It will begin at 6 p.m. at the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Suites in downtown Kalamazoo. In his remarks about “Challenges and Opportunities for the 21st Century Community,” the Minnesota Supreme Court justice will address the importance of adult mentoring and leadership in guiding the youth of today in the right direction toward education and success as a citizen. Using events and situations in his life as signposts, Justice Page will highlight the win-win value of young people giving something back to their communities and why these communities should strive to make certain each and every child has a decent shot at educational success. He wants all people to share his passion about America’s future riding in tandem with America’s commitment to properly educating and guiding the nation’s youth. Page, 62, made the complete circuit as a football player. The 1964 graduate of Central Catholic High School in Canton, Ohio, went on to gridiron glory at Notre Dame, and then played defensive end for 15 years in the National Football League, primarily as a member of the Minnesota Vikings’ famous “Purple People Eaters.” He was inducted in 1988 to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which is located in Canton. Page, the father of four, majored in political science at Notre Dame from which he graduated in 1966. His Fighting Irish team won the national championship his senior year, which merited Page being the Vikings’ No. 1 draft pick that year. As he carved out a career as one of the NFL’s greatest defensive players, Page continued his studies and earned a degree from the University of Minnesota Law School

12 in 1978. After five years of private practice and during which he wrapped up his football career as a member of the Chicago Bears, Page became an assistant attorney general in Minnesota. In 1992, Page was elected as an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was re-elected to six-year terms in 1998 and 2004. In the latter election, Page attracted the most votes of any candidate in the state’s history. Justice Byron White of the U. S. Supreme Court and Page, a nine-time All-Pro selection, share the distinction of being the only notable football players in the nation’s history to serve on high courts of the land. Instead of using brute strength to overpower opponents that is generally the case these days, Page used his quickness and agility to beat blocks and make tackles. He registered nearly 150 “sacks” (tackling the quarterback attempting to pass) in his NFL career. In 1971, he was the second defensive player in league history to be named its Most Valuable Player Page, who is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame located in South Bend, served as the Vikings’ representative for the National Football League Players Association. In 1999, he was No. 34 on The Sporting News’ list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. An example of his athletic endurance is the fact that in 1979 Page became the first active NFL player to complete a marathon. His best time was 3 hours and 27 minutes. Because of his long-distance running, Page played the toughest position in professional football at 225 pounds. Page and his wife, Diane, established the Page Education Foundation that assists minority students in their pursuits of a college education. He has expressed an interest to teach in a public school for a few years once he leaves the bench. In speaking about the challenges facing children in the 21st century, Page flashes back to the paths he took to achieve success and the difficult decisions he had to make to stay on those paths when there were easier ways to travel. Keenly interested in American youth, Page conveys a philosophy - one that he lives - that sports are not the end of the journey. They are the means to reach that end. “Athletics can help you,” he says, “if they are used in the right way. If used in the right way, they can help in academic pursuits.” The Pages use their foundation for their own version of “No Child Left Behind,” urging young people to be as passionate about their education as they are about sports. Because too many don’t understand that message, the foundation stresses mentoring roles. The foundation has awarded more than $5 million in scholarship assistance to 2,600 students. Page thinks of football as a good chapter in his life, but a past chapter. “If I could choose a way to be remembered, it wouldn’t be my association with football. It is the past, and a good past, but I’d want to be remembered with children - my children and other children.” The KVCC Foundation was formed in 1980 and has accumulated nearly $10 million in assets. Its mission is to enhance educational opportunities and the learning environment at the college by supporting the academic, literary and scientific activities of KVCC students and faculty. Its assists the college’s Honors Program, minority enrollees

13 and non-traditional students through scholarships and awards grants that promote innovative approaches to learning. “Because KVCC’s tuition is the lowest among the state’s 28 community colleges and fees are practically non-existent,” said Steve Doherty, executive director of the KVCC Foundation, “scholarship dollars take students a very, very long way toward their goals. We want to help even more in the coming years, now that state and federal sources of scholarships are either drying up or are in jeopardy because of budget cuts.” In the fall semester of 2007, the foundation was able to assist 212 students. For the 2007-08 academic year, scholarship and grant assistance should reach nearly $350,000 for tuition, fees, books and supplies, as well as for the child-care and transportation costs that students face in pursuing a degree or a new career. “That represents a minimal fraction of the dollar value of scholarships that are available through the KVCC Office of Financial Aid,” Doherty said. “That type of assistance has federal and state sources that carry restrictions. So do some of those scholarships established by organizations or individuals. And all of those are very important. “Ours, however, are more open-ended, less restrictive, and available to a broader representation of students who choose to attend KVCC,” Doherty said. “They are what our ‘Opportunities for Education’ event is all about.” While the unprecedented, nationally recognized gift to this community that is The Kalamazoo Promise is a blessing to families living in the Kalamazoo Public Schools district, Doherty said, during a typical semester no more than 15 percent of KVCC’s enrollment are Kalamazoo graduates. That means a large segment of the other 85 percent still need various levels of scholarship assistance. Tickets for Opportunities for Education are $125 per person. A corporate sponsorship for a table of eight is available for $1,500. For more information about Opportunities for Education, how far scholarship dollars go at KVCC, and tickets for spending an evening with one of the nation’s most respected citizens, contact Steve Doherty, executive director of the KVCC Foundation ([email protected]), or Denise Baker ([email protected]) at (269) 488-4442. Ease your strain in the Commons Because the end of a semester can be tense and full of anxious moments for both students and instructors, a “Stress Relief Day” has been book to provide comfortable massages and free refreshments. Available on Wednesday (April 23) in the Student Commons will be some massage therapy from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Forum. The Commons Theater will be the stage for instructor Joe Brady to offer some stress-management techniques from 11 a.m. to noon. That will be followed by structured resume-writing assistance available from Brady’s wrap-up to 3 p.m. So let it go by going to the Commons that day. 5 in Kane’s roadside trash-pickup crew Are you appreciative of those litter-filled plastic bags you see along Michigan’s highways and freeways, and of the folks who give of their time to clean up after some people’s thoughtlessness?

14 You can turn appreciation into action by joining the KVCC Faculty Association in its participation in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program. Tim Kane, who can be reached at extension 4466, is gathering a cadre of volunteers to clean up a section of state road on Saturday (April 19). Instructors Steve Walman, Natalie Patchell, Lisa Winch and Jean Snow have signed on so far. Faculty, staff and students are invited to gather by 10 a.m. at the intersection of M-43 and M-40 west of Kalamazoo in the car-pool lot, or to share a cup of joe around 9:30 in the Outpouring Coffee Shop. Kane is also organizing repeat missions on Friday, July 18, and Saturday, Sept. 20. He reports that volunteers only need to bring a pair of gloves. Trash bags and safety vests will be provided. The faculty association has received a certificate of appreciation from M-DOT and Gov. Jennifer Granholm for its 2007 willingness to take part in the program whose motto is “Pitchin’ in for Pleasant Peninsulas.” Students share $1,200 for art-show creations A color photograph that Jaclyn Buiskool titled “Gas Fumes” won the best-of- show title at the 2008 Student Art Show. An untitled ceramics piece by Heath Jorrity earned runner-up honors among the 125 submissions in calligraphy, drawing, oil and acrylic paintings, watercolors, mixed media, ceramics, sculpture, in black-and-white, color and alternative-process photography, and digital graphics in the college’s annual juried art show. Here are the top-two finishers in each category: Photography: Wendy Shelton and Seth Chapman. Alternative media photography: Luke Fiordalis and Natalie Hackenberg. Painting: Susan Gutzki and Linda Isakson. Color drawing: Jacqueline Tafoya and Mark Jagielski. Black-and-white drawing: John Cathcart and William Fritsch. Digital fine art: Brandon Butzirus and Stephanie Pease. Ceramics: Wendy Tonn and Joan Kahled. Sculpture: Chad Bagge and Janet Raklovits. They are vying for $1,200 in prizes for best-of-show, and for first-place, second- place and honorable-mention selections in each category. Faculty also chose recipients of merit awards for students who have demonstrated growth in ceramics, photography and two-dimensional art. Among those students so honored were Mnawar Eskander, Mary Holcomb, Emily Barrera, Ted Cavanagh, Dalee Camp, Lisa Beams and Robert L. Morris. Serving as the show’s juror was Michael Northrop, who specializes in painting techniques of the Baroque masters, but also does printmaking, mosaics, egg tempera, frescos and stained glass. He is currently a full-time instructor of art and humanities at Glen Oaks Community College. Early estate planning is Monday topic

15 There is more to success at the college level than what happens in the classroom and how well a student does. Other factors can play a role in whether college ends up as a satisfactory experience. With that in mind, the Student Success Center is presenting a series of workshops during the winter semester to focus on the barriers to success and what resources are available to help students make their way. The free sessions are being held in the Student Commons. All students are welcome. Refreshments are part of the attraction to learn about life resources and how to avoid the every-day barriers that can negatively impact on academic success. Here’s the next booking:  “Yes! Your Life (Estate) Matters” on Monday (April 21) at 12:30 p.m. Kalamazoo attorney Danielle Redmond Street, whose commentaries are featured each week on WKZO radio during the Lori Moore Show, will talk about the importance for families to have wills, trusts and power of attorney. This presentation is set for the Student Commons Theater. For more information, call Pamela Siegfried at extension 4825 or Diane Vandenberg at extension 4755. Frank Lloyd Wright’s creativity is documentary topic The showing of Ken Burns’ documentary about the life and times of architect Frank Lloyd Wright is complementing the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s current nationally touring exhibition about the wonders and miracles of building complicated edifices. The Sunday documentary series in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater is profiling some of the planet’s most amazing engineering and architectural projects. Set for April 27 is “Frank Lloyd Wright,” part two of the film produced by Burns and spouse Lynn Novick. The episodes will be shown at 1:30 p.m. in the Stryker Theater. The last documentary on May 11 is “Echoes from the White House: Celebrating the Bicentennial of America’s Mansion.” The showings are free, as is admittance to the museum to see “Raise the Roof” that is on display through June 1 in the Havirmill Special Exhibition Gallery on the museum’s third floor. Wright, who died in 1959 at the age of 92, was primarily based in the Chicago area during his architectural career. Designated in 1991 as “the greatest American architect of all time,” Wright and his creative designs have a place in the Kalamazoo area’s history as well. Several residences and commercial structures have his touch. “Raise the Roof” probes the secrets, surprises, science and extraordinary engineering feats that have produced amazing buildings around the world. Visitors can travel to great heights and distant ages to investigate the foundations of architecture and engineering. They can step over the threshold of an authentic Mongolian house, climb to the top of a skyscraper under construction, learn building secrets from a 9,000-year-old city, watch mighty buildings crumble, and raise the roof of a dome.

16 They can enter a full-scale “ger” (pronounced “care”), a circular tent of lattice, poles, fabric and rawhide invented by nomadic Mongolians. The ger is known in this country by the name of its Turkish relative, the yurt. Elegant and energy-efficient, one can be erected in one day, but cooperation is needed. These days, the ancient structures are gaining popularity as homes, cabins, and offices. Near the ger in the exhibition, visitors can explore the secrets of the mud-brick ruins of Çatalhöyük (pronounced Chat-tahl-hu-yook), believed to be the world's oldest city. Excavations at the 9,000-year-old site located near Ankara, Turkey, began in the 1960s but were stopped because of the technical inability at that time to adequately preserve the findings. The dig was restarted in 1993 with a plan to continue for 25 years. Archaeologists believe the ancient city covered an area the size of 50 soccer fields. They are studying the site to learn more about the Neolithic Period, or new Stone Age, when people began abandoning hunter-gatherer lifestyles to settle in communities, grow crops, and raise animals. For thousands of years, people have pretty much agreed that a building with a dome, such as the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome or the U. S. Capitol, marks an important structure. A dome creates a soaring space on the inside, and an impressive sight on the outside. In the “Collapsible Dome” section of “Raise the Roof,” visitors can turn a flat roof into a dome right over their heads, and find out how domes have been engineered through time. Lots of engineering know-how goes into making a building reach for the sky. The 3-D "View From the Top” lets people look down the side of a skyscraper from 40 stories up. In the skyscraper section of the exhibition, visitors can build block towers, make trusses to withstand the forces of tension and compression, and test the response of different buildings to various earthquake frequencies. Another demonstration shows how tall buildings are kept from swaying too much in strong winds. “Raise the Roof’s” Demolition Theater showcases the explosive work of the famous Loizeaux family that own and operate Controlled Demolition Inc., the world's largest organization of demolition experts. Dangerous conditions that can lead to carbon-monoxide poisoning in homes are explored in the "Downdraft House," a doll-house-sized model outfitted with airflow indicators, a working furnace, and operating doors and vents. "Meet the Mites" shows how infinitesimal numbers of creatures live in all homes and buildings all of the time. Several “story corners” tell the tales of some very unusual buildings. One is the Winchester House in San Jose, Calif., that was built by the heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune. In response to a psychic’s warning that the ghosts of those killed by the famous rifles would haunt her unless she built day and night, Sarah Winchester constructed a six- acre house filled with twisting stairways and blocked passages to confuse angry spirits. The coolest hotel in the world is the Ice Hotel built every year in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. Rooms, chandeliers, and even glasses in the bar are made entirely of ice. The building’s temperature is a chilly 35 degrees from November until April, when the whole thing melts.

17 Other highlights include "Timber!" where visitors can assemble ingenious wooden joints held together without nails, and "Listening to the Walls," an activity drawn from interviews with blind and visually impaired people who navigate through buildings using their sense of sound. April 30 deadline for ‘Bridges’ program Instructors should be alerting their minority students about taking advantage of an opportunity to sample careers in science this summer. Seven KVCC students earned $11 an hour for a 30-hour work week as undergraduate research assistants last summer. They were part of a 13-student contingent taking part in the 2006-07 National Institutes of Health’s “Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program” through the Western Michigan University Department of Biological Sciences. The program liaisons at KVCC are chemistry instructors Robert Sutton and Charissa Oliphant. In addition to the 30 hours of experience that will pay $10 per hour this coming spring and summer, students can also be assigned up to 15 hours per week during the academic year. Applications can be submitted now for the next installment of the program. The deadline is April 30. More application information and directions are available by contacting Sutton at extension 4175 or [email protected] or Oliphant at extension 4402 or [email protected]. The mission of “Bridges” is to offer minorities enrolled in community colleges the opportunity to relevantly explore scientific fields, enhance their academic accomplishments in science courses, and smooth the path toward a degree in a science field at a four-year university. Taking part in this kind of endeavor teaches higher-order thinking skills, which is an important component of anyone’s education. “Bridges,” which promotes institutional collaborations between community colleges and four-year universities, is a function of the National Institute of General Medical Studies, one of the National Institutes of Health. In addition to KVCC, taking part in the NIH Michigan Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program at WMU are Grand Rapids Community College, Henry Ford Community College, Kellogg Community College, and Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor. The WMU experience focuses on careers as biomedical and behavioral scientists who would spend their working years seeking the causes of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, mental illness, and other biologically impacted maladies. “Bridges” seeks to nurture minority students to consider careers in these fields because of the growing need for trained scientists in one of the fastest-growing industries in the U. S. economy. Similar programs in Michigan are based at Wayne State University and the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids. While KVCC has been involved several years, last summer’s contingent included: Jealyn Foston of Cassopolis; Ruben Galvan, an international student living in Kalamazoo; Martin and Carmen Kuchta, who were both home-schooled; Jerbor Nelson, a graduate of Portage Central High School; Delicia Powell, an alumna of Kalamazoo Central High School; and Matthew Watson, a Comstock High School graduate.

18 The other six students hailed from Grand Rapids, Henry Ford (four), and Lake Michigan. All participants wrapped up their assistantships by creating posters on the research they pursued. Last few showings of ‘Polar Astronomers’ “Polar Astronomers,” the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s newly created planetarium show, will continue billings through April 27. In addition to incorporating the story of Edward Israel, the Kalamazoo arctic explorer who perished near the top of the world in pursuit of scientific knowledge, “Polar Astronomers” explores the adventures such deep-freeze pioneers as Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, and Robert Scott. Showtimes are 3 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $3. Israel served as the astronomer and magnetic observer for the American “Greeley Expedition” to Lady Franklin Bay during the first International Polar Year in 1882. “Israel made measurements of the sun, moon and stars to determine the locations of landmarks mapped by the expedition,” said Eric Schreur, the planetarium’s coordinator who produced the new show. “During the long winter nights,” he said, “Israel viewed the Northern Lights and watched their effects on the magnetic instruments he monitored.” When the expedition post was not relieved after two years as planned, Israel tracked the progress of the party’s retreat to Cape Sabine where they tried to survive another brutal winter on meager rations. The Kalamazoo explorer died three weeks before rescuers arrived. Schreur’s production, which coincides with the third International Polar Year, documents the journeys of those who reached the Earth’s north and south geographic poles. They are both described and compared to today’s exploration of space. “The show concludes,” he said, “by surveying three astronomy-research projects that are under way at the South Pole. One is collecting meteorites that have fallen in Antarctica and with the passage of time have been transported to other regions by the slowly flowing glacial ice.” The other two are searching below the polar ice for evidence of miniscule remnants that might have been generated in the explosions of distant starts and during the formation of black holes. “Polar Astronomers” also reports on the South Pole Telescope that looks for shadows of galaxy clusters and other evidence that can shed light on the origin of the universe. “Polar regions that once challenged the lives of explorers and that are now accessible to scientific researchers,” Schreur said. “They are conducting research that can show us how we fit into the cosmos.” Hoops on wheels at KVCC Saturday night Basketball on wheels will be the attraction at the KVCC gymnasium on Saturday (April 19) at 2 p.m. The two-hour game between the Kentwood Rollers and the Fort Wayne Bandits will be free and open to the public, as will the halftime entertainment – a wheelchair game between co-ed teams of KVCC and Western Michigan University athletes. The co- captains of the Cougars on wheels will be Tim Hiller and Brendon Birchmeier.

19 Donations to support the Disability Network of Southwest Michigan are welcome, while local businesses are helping to support the event. For more information, call (269) 345-1516 or visit this website: www.drccil.org. Another contact is Samantha Neesley at [email protected]. The Rollers and the Bandits are Division III teams in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. Rock ‘docs’ continue at museum A PBS series that explores the history of rock ‘n’ roll will continue with showings set for April 27 beginning at 3 p.m. in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater. Booked to accentuate the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s ongoing photo exhibition that focuses on the early days of three rock ‘n’ roll icons, the upcoming episodes are “Guitar Heroes” and “The ‘70s: Have a Nice Decade” There is no charge to view these attractions, or to take in the exhibition that chronicles the early days of three rock ‘n’ roll legends – Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Before Elvis was The King, Dylan was just an introverted folk singer with a natural sound, and John, Paul, George and Ringo were only lads from Liverpool, they were trying to find their niche like hundreds of thousands of other musicians. “Artist to Icon: Early Photographs of Elvis, Dylan, and The Beatles,” provides a glimpse into the lives of these aspiring artists before they became rock ‘n’ roll legends – before Presley’s recording of “Hound Dog” in the 1950s, the British Invasion and the rise of Beatlemania in the 1960s, and before Dylan went electric. The free exhibit, which will be displayed in the museum’s first-floor gallery until May 26, includes 48 rarely seen black-and-white photographs by five photographers, capturing some of the innocence, ambition and unbounded adventure of the early days of rock ‘n’ roll. “It is remarkable to be able to assemble early images of such significant figures in rock history,” said Chris Bruce, director of curatorial services for Experience Music Project in Seattle that organized the traveling exhibition. “It is extremely rare to have a photographer granted regular access to an artist’s life over an extended period of time.” In March 1956, RCA Victor hired Alfred Wertheimer to take publicity shots of the then 21-year-old Presley, a newly signed artist from Memphis, Tenn. The record company suggested he use black-and-white film because it was cheaper than color – most RCA executives didn’t think Elvis would last longer than six months. Following the shoot, Wertheimer spent four months with Presley—at home in Memphis, performing on the road and preparing for his inaugural television appearances -- first on a Saturday-night summer fill-in variety show hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and then on The Ed Sullivan Show. Not only did Elvis endure, he was so successful that he became shrouded by his celebrity and personal access to him was thereafter denied. Wertheimer’s photographs are the first and last look at the day-to-day life of the rocker who became known as “The King.” In August of 1960, a band based in Liverpool, England, called The Beatles landed a series of gigs in the rowdy clubs of Hamburg, Germany. Inspired by American rock ‘n’ roll bands in their look and sound, The Beatles played seven to eight hours a night, covering such favorites as Presley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

20 They were befriended by young German artists Astrid Kirchherr, Jürgen Vollmer, and Max Scheler. They persuaded the group to pose for them on and off the stage before The Beatles hit the big time back home and launched the British Invasion with the group’s own appearance on Sullivan’s Sunday-night show in 1963. Influenced by the style of their artistic German friends, The Beatles adopted their trendy haircuts and fashionable clothing, and the rest is hirsute history. In the summer of 1963, photographer Daniel Kramer watched Dylan perform on television. He was taken with the enormous presence of the 22-year-old folksinger. A year later, Dylan invited Kramer to accompany him between the summers of 1964 and 1965. Dylan was about to do the unimaginable – abandon folk music for rock. Kramer’s camera followed Dylan from the height of his folk acclaim, through his initial ventures into electrified music. Kramer not only captured an epic transformation in the musician’s career, but also documented a revolutionary change in rock ‘n’ roll. These photographers were clearly in the right places at the right times. Through their images, viewers can gain a sense of milling through backrooms and small clubs in the moments before the artists became rock icons, and the world of music changed forever. Accompanying the photographs are audio kiosks featuring oral histories with each photographer giving visitors colorful stories behind the images on display. The remaining “History of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ documentary schedule is: ● May 11 – “Punk” and “Up From the Underground.” May 30 last day for auto academy 2 The deadline to apply for KVCC’s second Automotive Academy and its accelerated training model to provide the next generation of technicians for employment in the profession has been extended to May 30.. The inaugural 18-member academy, which convened in early September of 2007, is in the middle of its second phase of training and will conclude in August after some “in-the-shop” experience. Among the selection criteria in the competitive process are the quality of the written applications, a “documented work ethic,” interest in and knowledge of automotive technology, letters of recommendation, and driving records. As part of the process, David “Charlie Fuller, KVCC’s director of career academies in advanced technology, and members of the automotive program’s advisory committee will interview each applicant. The three-phase, 42-week approach to fast-track training has been requested by Southwest Michigan auto dealerships and automotive shops. The fee for the second academy is $9,000 for more than 1,500 hours of intensive, targeted professional instruction. This includes uniforms valued at $300, $700 worth of textbooks, and $7,000 in high-tech tools that automotive technicians need to function. “The automotive academy is like a job,” Fuller said. “We look for students who can make a full-time commitment, not somebody who will skip a class here and there.”

21 Beginning on Sept. 2, the enrollees will be in class or in the lab from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, and 8 to 2:30 on Fridays. “For example,” Fuller said, “our regular introductory course in shop fundamentals spans 15 weeks and meets twice a week. In the academy, it is done in eight consecutive class days. In other words, don’t miss a class.” Fuller said the KVCC academy rates as a bargain because similar programs across the country carry a price tag of $25,000 to $30,000, and many of those don’t include the tools offer. In the college’s regular auto-tech curriculum, the cost for a two-year degree is about $6,000, including books. Students generally provide the basic tools, while more sophisticated equipment is available in the KVCC lab. The thrust to create an automotive academy came from the advisory committee and the dealerships they represent, Fuller said. “They wanted a fast-track training program and to offer another avenue for students interested in targeted instructions in this field. They told us what we needed to teach students and they recommended lots of hands-on learning.” After two busy phases of five-days-a-week training, the academy’s third stage comes into play, and even more reality enters the picture. “Over the summer when our auto labs are generally not used,” Fuller said, “we’ll turn them into an authentic repair shop. Students will learn about and practice customer relations, business skills, the process of ordering parts, communication skills, and preparing accurate estimates.” In addition to working on the vehicles owned and operated by KVCC, the shop will be open to the public. The only caveat is that the prospective customer is driving “a decent vehicle that has educational value,” Fuller said. Fuller said “the shop will be run like a business. At the end of each day, the students will gather to learn whether they were productive and assess their efficiency. If some kind of problem crops up, it’s back to the classroom to review procedures, the diagnoses, and what went wrong in the repairs.” In addition to stressing the eight automotive-knowledge areas that are certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and preparing students to reach those standards, the KVCC academy will explore advanced-technology and hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels because, in many instances, a different branch of knowledge is required. Auto-body repairs may also some day come into play, Fuller says. Financial aid is available, and scholarship funds awardable through the Kalamazoo Promise also qualify for the KVCC Automotive Academy. While the accelerated-training modules are non-credit entities, those who successfully complete the academy, which will be 100 percent directed toward automotive courses, can be eligible for 33 credits. Those can be applied toward a two-year degree (66 credit hours) by completing additional technical courses and passing classes in college and technical writing, technical math, political science, social science, and wellness/physical education. Fuller can be contacted for more information at extension 4178. African film about dust-lust for gold is Thursday billing

22 A spent gold mine in Africa that mirrors the hopelessness of people who still live in its proximity hoping for some kind of existence is the setting for a movie produced in the West African nation of Burkina-Faso that has an April 24 billing at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. “Dreams of Dust” will be shown that Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater. Tickets are $3. In “Dreams of Dust,” a Nigerian peasant comes looking for work in a gold-mining town that saw its best days 20 years earlier. However, the inhabitants, including a single mother of one daughter continue – out of force of habit -- to eke out an existence in what has become a wasteland. On the surface in an African hell on earth, he battles for a better future for the woman and her child while, down below, “ant-like men burrow deep into the desert and risk their lives to mine gold that probably no longer exists.” In addition to its striking story, “Dreams of Dust” was praised for its striking cinematography at invitational showings at the Shanghai, Chicago, Melbourne, Venice and Sundance international film festivals. Here are the rest of the museum’s award-winning, Thursday-evening billings into June: ♦ “The Way I Spent the End of the World” (Romania) – May 22 ♦ “Fraulein” (Switzerland) – June 19 More information about events and attractions is available by checking the museum’s web site at www.kalamazoomuseum.org or by calling 373-7990 or (800) 772- 3370. Recycle those end-of-semester papers With the end of the winter semester upon us and thoughts turn to cleaning out the office, don’t just dump. Keep those recyclable resources in the mainstream. Think about what you are doing and don’t be lazy in doing it. The college’s commitment to recycling the mountains of paper required for daily operations is still strong. The losers for not maintaining that strength are the landfills of Southwest Michigan, and the trees that help replenish the planet with the stuff we all breathe. Hammered through all of us in many a science class is that trees eat what we exhale and what comes out of our vehicles’ exhausts. Each time a tree is saved through the use of recycled paper, so is an oxygen generator. It’s not that tough to do. All that is required is a little patience and a sense that one is doing the right thing. The same goes with metal and plastic products that touch our lives and, without any consideration, end up in trash containers. What good is it to down a plastic bottle of that good, clear, clean water, and then relegate the containers to the landfills? Thanks to information provided by Tony Ide, custodial services manager, just about every ilk of paper product that comes our way can be recycled. In one of his studies, Ide concluded that 80 percent of what the college incinerates doesn’t have to be destroyed that way. Print out this list of “recyclables” and post it just above your blue bin:  Newspapers  Business cards

23  Hard-cover books  Copy paper  Index cards  Trade journals and magazines  Cardboard  Fax paper  Junk mail  Notebook paper  Paper bags  Envelopes without plastic windows (Think about cutting out the plastic windows)  Business forms  Computer printouts  File folders  Maps  Post-it notes  Stationery Ide says it is not necessary to remove staples or other forms of bindings from the paper items to be recycled. Obviously, paper clips can be easily salvaged before launching the paper materials into the blue bin. However, he advises, if the above materials are soiled by excessive dirt, food, grease or other forms of gook, send them to the incinerator. Most of this applies to what we do in our homes, too. By taking the time to recycle paper, plastic, metal and glass products, the amount of trash, debris and garbage bound for the landfill can be drastically reduced. If possible, establish a compost pile in your yard. That can accomplish at least three goals – create your own fertilizer, build up a personal supply of worms if you are an angler, and greatly reduce the amount of trash you put out along the roadside for pickup, thus reducing your costs. Need more convincing? It is estimated that it takes a plastic container 50,000 years to decompose. Think about that the next time you chuck away that empty water bottle that cost you at least a buck. As the Nike folks say, “Just do it.” And finally. . . With his tongue planted firmly in his cheek and demonstrating the “cheek” he made famous in his four years with “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” on BBC, comedian/actor John Cleese is advocating that his homeland of Great Britain repossess the United States. Here is the opening to his proclamation to the citizens of the United States of America: “In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for president and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

24 “Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas which she does not fancy). “Our prime minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections. “Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. “A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.” Nominated for an Academy Award for his script for “A Fish Named Wanda” and awarded roles in a couple of James Bond movies this millennium, Cleese is joking – at least we believe so – in his first statement because he has publicly avowed his support for U. S. Sen. Barack Obama as the next U. S. president. ☻☻☻☻☻☻