News

SMC Hosts 202 from Area High Schools for Junior Day

Southwestern Michigan College hosted 202 high school 11th graders from Lawton (38), South Bend Career Academy (20), Decatur (35), Cassopolis Ross Beatty (27), Berrien Springs (22), Watervliet (four), Covert (16) and Kalamazoo Central (40) May 17 for Junior Day. Participants visited SMC’s Dowagiac campus for nuts-and-bolts advice on the college admission process.

SMC Celebrates Half a Century of Steve's Run

A lot has happened in the half-century spanning the Original Road and Trail Race to Steve’s Run, with the 50th running taking place on Friday, July 19, at 6 p.m. in downtown Dowagiac, in conjunction with the Summer Festival and BBQ Competition. Known as Steve’s Run since 1992, it left downtown in 2015 for Southwestern Michigan College’s campus, where it began in front of the David C. Briegel Building, named for SMC’s fifth president from 1981-98.

Boeing Engineer Shoots for the Stars with Satellites

Jenny Hinton came to Southwestern Michigan College from Monticello, Ill., for three semesters, graduating early in December 2018 with a straight-A average. In January 2019, she transferred to Utah State University for her baccalaureate degree in electrical engineering.

Cass County Bar Presents Law Day Liberty Bell to Dr. Mary Young-Marcks

Cass County Bar Association packed Chief Judge Carol Bealor’s courtroom May 10 to hear Law Day Liberty Bell recipient Dr. Mary D. Young-Marcks. Young-Marcks just retired after a record 40 ½ years on Southwestern Michigan College’s faculty teaching government, criminal justice, social work, cultural anthropology and history as a professor of social science.

SMC salutes 50 at Retirement and Recognition Breakfast

In addition to Dr. Mary D. Young-Marcks’ record 40 ½ years on Southwestern Michigan College’s faculty, the retirements of Susan B. Coulston, Ron Tyler and Dave Layman were celebrated May 3 at the Employee Retirement and Recognition Breakfast in Mathews Conference Center East.

‘It’s Never Too Late for a New Beginning’

Trevor Zimmerman was a COVID-19 casualty, his life, along with countless others, disrupted by the global pandemic. “Southwestern Michigan College has not only provided me with a different path, but also equipped me with the necessary tools to redefine myself and embark on a new career,” Zimmerman told SMC’s Outstanding Graduate Reception May 2 in the theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building on the Dowagiac campus.

SMC Board Opens Bids for Residential Expansion

Southwestern Michigan College’s Board of Trustees May 8 opened bids for expanding housing capacity. In January, the board decided to add new rooms with a total of 36 beds to the three existing residence halls on the Dowagiac campus to address growing housing demand. Construction will begin this summer, with the new space available beginning in January 2025.

SMC Assistant Volleyball Coach Graduates with Her Players

Southwestern Michigan College Assistant Volleyball Coach Tami Williams walked in the 57th Commencement May 4 alongside the first volleyball players SMC has graduated since pausing intercollegiate sports in 1997. Williams enjoyed a 22-year career in education, but she transferred to Western Michigan University just shy of her SMC associate degree by an economics class.

SMC’s 57th Commencement Graduates 384

A nurse and a musician spoke on behalf of Southwestern Michigan College’s Class of 2024 May 4 at 57th Commencement ceremonies outdoors for 384 students in Alumni Plaza on the Dowagiac campus. Connor Vance of Eau Claire, a trumpet player who aspires to direct bands, addressed the School of Arts and Sciences Saturday morning, while Watervliet native Ashley Minnick of Niles, a cardiac nurse for Corewell Health in St. Joseph, spoke to the Schools of Business, Advanced Technology and Nursing.

SMC Graduates 17-Member Nursing Class

Southwestern Michigan College May 1 welcomed 17 new nurses to America’s largest health care profession with almost 4.7 million registered nurses (RNs) nationwide. The federal government projects that more than 203,000 new positions will be created each year through 2031.