SMC Registrar Addresses Honor Inductees

Southwestern Michigan College Registrar Steve Carlson urged 12 Sigma Psi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa honor society inductees and their families April 25 to have faith and to persevere as they seek their purpose. “I have sat with hundreds of college students,” Carlson said in Mathews Conference Center West, “helping them find purpose in life and that thing that really motivates them.”

SMC Criminal Justice Sweeps SkillsUSA-Michigan Again

Southwestern Michigan College’s criminal justice students returned from the 2025 Skills USA-MI Skills and Leadership Conference April 11-13 in Grand Rapids with two gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal.

SMC Student Art Show Winners Announced

Jacob Overholt and Connie Grabemeyer received top recognition April 15 at Southwestern Michigan College’s annual student art show in the Art Gallery of the Dale A. Lyons Building. Overholt won the six-category Mina Peer Award, determined by popular vote as overall Best of Show.

SMC Gets Grassroots Preview of World Cup Soccer Sod

A Michigan State University research associate attended Southwestern Michigan College’s “Ag Day” April 10 to provide a grassroots sneak preview of next year’s FIFA World Cup soccer tournament across North America. Dr. Jack Guevara, who is originally from the Philippines, outlined extensive turfgrass research done with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to develop perfect sod playing surfaces across 16 host cities in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

SMC Inks Social Work Agreement with WMU

Southwestern Michigan College and Western Michigan University signed a social work articulation agreement April 7 formalizing a longstanding informal partnership. The agreement signed by retiring SMC Dean of Arts and Sciences Dr. Keith Howell and WMU Dean of the College of Health and Human Services Dr. Lillian Smith takes effect immediately.

President Bids Farewell at Final Meeting

At his final meeting as president April 9, Dr. Joe Odenwald left the Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees with some advice. “The future is focused on the students and the culture they bring,” he said. “Leadership has a three-year plan to position the college for continued student enrollment growth. The Room to Grow campaign, launching today, means it will be hardhat-wearing season through 2028.”

SMC Announces New Wrestling Facility, Arts Building Upgrade and ‘Room to Grow’ Capital Campaign

Southwestern Michigan College announced two construction projects today: an expansion of the Charles O. Zollar Building to include a brand-new wrestling room for the Roadrunners and upgrades to the Dale A. Lyons Building to improve music facilities for faculty, students and the community.

Following Her Bliss to a Picture-Perfect Career

Morgan Adams, who graduated from Southwestern Michigan College with straight A’s in 2016, grew up in Dowagiac at the height of the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival in an arts-rich atmosphere that enveloped the community and its schools. But the salutatorian of Union High’s Class of 2014 probably would have gravitated to art anyway.

Forensic Nurse Speaks at SMC

Stephanie Price trod an untraditional path into nursing, studying journalism at Butler University and working as a reporter. When she stepped away from newspapering to start her family, she felt tugged in a different direction. Twenty years later she studied nursing at Indiana University South Bend (IUSB). Now Price, RN, BSN, CEN, has a third credential behind her name to navigate a relatively new field, forensic nursing, which she joined last November at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.

SMC Presents ‘Shrek: The Musical’

“Shrek” Director Andrew Fisher has his own backstory with Southwestern Michigan College’s spring musical. Fisher played Donkey in the spirit of Eddie Murphy’s film rendition, while Matthew Hickok of Niles in his current 28-member cast takes the role in a “different direction” inspired by Looney Tunes.