News

Dowagiac Dedicates Police Station to George Grady

Dowagiac dedicated the George L. Grady Police Station in City Hall Aug. 24 to Southwestern Michigan College’s 2021 inspiration for its Grady Scholar leadership-development program. Grady is believed to have been the first Black police chief in the United States 58 years ago on Aug. 16, 1965 — 102 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Grady Scholars Program Mentors Tomorrow's Leaders

Southwestern Michigan College’s leadership-development scholarship program was introduced in 2021. Named for local trailblazer George Grady, Dowagiac resident and Michigan’s first African American police chief, the goal of the program is to build student leaders among underrepresented groups and provide them with a jumpstart on their academic and extracurricular goals.

Kelsey Barton Named Academic Advisor/Athletic Coordinator

Growing up, Kelsey Barton’s life revolved around sports, playing volleyball, softball, basketball or watching her siblings’ games. As an adult, Southwestern Michigan College’s new Academic Advisor/Athletics Coordinator still coaches volleyball. The past two years she taught mathematics at Niles High School, from geometry to personal finance, and to seventh graders at Ring Lardner Middle School.

SMC's Summer Honor Rolls Announced

Southwestern Michigan College named 17 students to the President’s and Dean’s lists for Summer Semester 2023. The two students honored on the President’s List earned perfect 4.0 grade-point averages while carrying a full course load of at least 12 credits. Fifteen students appearing on the Dean’s List compiled at least a 3.5 GPA while carrying a full course load.

ETS Entrepreneurs‘ Products Sell for $1,037

A Southwestern Michigan College Educational Talent Search/Michigan State University Extension collaboration exposed 22 budding entrepreneurs to business principles Aug. 7-11. Six teams created products they marketed Friday noon in front of the David C. Briegel Building on SMC’s Dowagiac campus. Proceeds of $1,037 were donated to Hidden Acres, a local non-profit for rescue animals.

Midwest Energy & Communications to Name Esports Arena

Southwestern Michigan College announced today that Midwest Energy & Communications (MEC) of Cassopolis has made a generous donation of $25,000 to partner with the college’s Esports team over the next decade.

SMC Enrollment Rebounds After Pandemic

The Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees heard Aug. 9 that enrollment trends which turned a post-pandemic corner in 2022 continue to move in a positive direction ahead of the Sept. 5 start of Fall Semester.

Cleveland Rocks Nick Neppach's Rural World

Constantine’s 2010 Valedictorian Nick Neppach continued compiling accomplishments at Southwestern Michigan College, achieving a 4.0 grade-point average, earning an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in pre-engineering and capturing the 2015 Darrin Williams Memorial Scholarship awarded to the top math/science student. He was the third Constantine graduate to win in four years.

Six Students Complete SMC ETS Public Safety Camp

Southwestern Michigan College Educational Talent Search’s Public Safety Camp July 24-28 exposed six high school students to a variety of careers, including, for the first time, the Coast Guard. Participants included Mya Vazquez of Dowagiac, Chelsea Etling, Amy Duckworth and Ossian Duckworth of Niles and Meagan Conrad and Taylor Gableman of Cassopolis.

AEP Foundation Grant to Fund SMC's Grady Scholars’ Third Year

Southwestern Michigan College announced today that the American Electric Power (AEP) Foundation, on behalf of Indiana Michigan Power, has renewed its grant in the amount of $12,000 to fund the third year of scholarships for the Grady Scholars leadership-development program. The scholarships are named for George Grady (1933-1977), a Dowagiac resident, Navy diver and Korean War veteran who served as Michigan’s first African American police chief for nine years from 1965 through 1974.