Jorge Gonzalez never had college president on his list of goals, but looking back he says his whole life has pointed him in this direction.
Gonzalez has been chosen to be the 18th president of Kalamazoo College. He comes from Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif. where he is vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college.
He was on the K-campus Jan. 12 for the announcement that he will succeed President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran, Ph.D. She announced her retirement in April 2015. Her last day at K will be June 30. Gonzalez will begin his new duties as K’s president on July 1.
Gonzalez is 54 and is married to Suzie (Martin) Gonzalez, a Kalamazoo College graduate of the class of 1983.
After his presentation to students and faculty gathered in Stetson Chapel (where he said he could imagine an "even stronger K") he braved the wintery day and headed over to the Hicks Center to chat with students and faculty over lunch.
One of his first stops was a table with two juniors and a senior. They had not had time to go to Stetson Chapel for introductions because, being K-students, they were busy with homework. They caught some of his remarks online, instead. After he left to meet with others, the table of three--Christina Park, Ellen Neveux, and Kate Cebelak--said in their quick conversation with Gonzalez he was "super personable."
Kristi Singh and Guillermo Dominguez were excited to learn the college's new president had a background in economics, their field of study. They also appreciated that he was "super approachable" as is the current president, Wilson-Oyelaran, who they said often goes up, sits with students, and talks to them.
"Since I'm an econ major I hope to be able to have a conversation with him in the future," says Dominguez. "That would be cool."
Next, Gonzalez met with reporters to talk about how he got to Kalamazoo College and some of what he hopes to accomplish as president.
"K is in such a strong position. There are not a lot of things that need to be fixed. I'll be focusing on growth and enrichment that will make it even better," Gonzalez says.
"The challenge is there is always room for improvement." And this is where his economics background comes in. Education is in part about the allocation of scarce resources and unlimited ones, he says. The unlimited ones are ideas. When someone has a great idea "you have to figure out how to make it work within your resources."
He is looking forward to meeting the social and cultural leaders of Kalamazoo because that engagement will open doors that will provide the best educational experiences for K-students, he says.
Gonzalez calls immersion in the liberal arts the most powerful and life-enriching form of undergraduate education especially when students have opportunities to apply their academic work in a variety of extra-curricular experiences.
He has a strong belief in the power of experiential learning (learning by doing) and study abroad, which is aligned with Kalamazoo College’s mission and will help him advance the K-Plan that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, leadership development, and international and intercultural engagement.
Gonzalez's path to college president started when he was growing up in Monterrey, Mexico and decided that he wanted to help reduce poverty in his native country. His plan was to learn what he could in the United States and return as a politician.
His life took a turn when he was a third-year doctorate student in the U.S. and he was asked to teach a class. "I fell in love with it. People would pay me to do this and I could do this for a living?"
That led to 21 years at Trinity where he received the University’s most prestigious teaching award. "I loved it. I never thought I would be an administrator."
Those around him had other ideas. They nominated him to the American Council on Education for its prestigious ACE Fellowship from 2007 to 2008. He spent that academic year at Pomona College--which he describes as a kind of boot camp for college administrators--where he visited and spent time with the leaders of about 30 other colleges and universities across the country.
As a professor and as an administrator—both at Trinity University and at Occidental College—he created innovative programs combining liberal arts academics and experiential applications that cross borders and cultures.
Today he expresses gratitude for the support and encouragement the president and dean of Trinity gave him knowing that he would take his new experiences to other schools. "They told me, this is what we do. We educate people."
He found he loved being an administrator, too. And that is the energy that he carries into his work.
Board of Trustees Chair Charlotte Hall, who led the seven-month presidential search, says "We feel incredibly fortunate that we have found one another." They were drawn to Gonzales because "there is a tremendous fit of values with what we do at K."
To get to their decision, the search committee "did a lot of listening," Hall says. They conducted reference checks themselves rather than letting a consultant do it. The references for Gonzales were very consistent. They repeatedly praised his leadership characteristics--his integrity (what you see is what you get), his enthusiasm and his ability to collaborate. "The values that we want are what he has lived."
Kathy Jennings is the managing editor of Southwest Michigan's Second Wave. She is a freelance writer and editor.