October 2025 Newsletter

Alisha Siebers
Associate Vice President for College Advancement
Executive Director of the KVCC Foundation
asiebers@kvcc.edu
269.488.4821

Community Drives Success of Kalamazoo Valley Fall Recycling Event

Kalamazoo Valley Community College partnered with Green Earth Electronics Recycling to host a biannual EPS foam and electronics recycling event Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Texas Township Campus. An estimated 250 vehicles attended, a 35% increase compared to the spring event and a 300% increase compared to last fall.

With the help of community members, volunteers filled 23 bags of EPS foam, diverting a significant amount of waste from landfills.

Variations of "Thank you for doing this!" were heard throughout the day, reinforcing the event's positive impact on the community.

Thank you to everyone who participated and supported sustainability efforts at Kalamazoo Valley.

Our next recycling event will be April 18; we encourage everyone to join!

Visiting Writers Series: Reginald Dwayne Betts 

Reginald Dwayne Betts will be providing a variety of events for our Kalamazoo Valley students, faculty and staff as a part of our Visiting Writers series.

Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet, lawyer and the founder and CEO of Freedom Reads, an initiative to radically transform access to literature in prisons. Betts warmly invites students to join his series of events.

Nov. 12 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. | Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College | Student Meet and Greet

Nov. 12 | 7-8:30 p.m. | Discussion of "Doggerel" at the Western Michigan Multicultural Center, open to the public

Nov. 13 | 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. | Kalamazoo Institute of Arts | Student Tour of Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper

Nov. 13 | 6 -7 p.m. | Kalamazoo Institute of Arts | Public Lecture: "The Ways that Paper Leads to Freedom"

Learn more here.

Volleyball Team Ends Season Headed to Districts 

Congratulations to the women's volleyball players! The Lady Cougars ended their regular season on Oct. 30 by defeating Glen Oaks Community College, three sets to zero. They rank second place in the Western Conference of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association with a record of 9-3 and 21-8 overall.

The team has qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 12 District A Tournament, hosted by Grand Rapids Community College Nov. 6-8. Their first match will be 2 p.m. Nov. 6 against Lakeland Community College (Ohio). Click here for more tournament information. 

A highlight of the season was Sophomore Night, at their final home match on Oct. 28, as pictured above. Departing sophomores Alicyn Arevalo, Olivia Dennis, Havilah Fitzgerald, Arabella Mangold and Kiara Wisdom-Preston were recognized for their accomplishments that night. Click here for all 233 photos!

Fall Honorable Lecture Series Continues Through Nov. 18
Enjoy weekly talks this fall examining ways we restore the tenets of reciprocity with the natural world as a community and as individuals. Organized by Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s ValleyHub in partnership with the Kalamazoo Valley museum, the sessions are held every Tuesday, now until Nov. 18, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This drop-in lecture series takes place at the college’s Marilyn J. Schlack Culinary and Allied Health building, located at 418 E. Walnut St. in downtown Kalamazoo. View the list of topics at valleyhub.kvcc.edu/events. 

Support Kalamazoo Valley Staff at Our Faculty and Staff Show!
Looking to see some art? Join us on Nov. 7 from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Center for New Media and Arcus Gallery, 100 E. Michigan Avenue in downtown Kalamazoo. Our staff will put on their creative hats and showcase their skills as a part of Kalamazoo's Friday night Art Hop. We look forward to seeing you there!