Awards and Recognition

For our students, our graduates, our faculty.

Albion College in the News

U.S. News & World Report ranks Albion among the 50 Most Innovative national liberal arts colleges (No. 29) and also recognizes Albion for its First-Year Experience and social mobility efforts (2020-21).

We're one of Money's 50 Best Small Colleges (No. 38) in the U.S., and No. 1 in Michigan (2020-21).

Albion is one of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States (No. 71), according to The Wall Street Journal and the U.K.'s Times Higher Education (2021).

Washington Monthly, which considers colleges' contribution to the public good, ranks Albion as the No. 1 liberal arts college in Michigan, No. 24 in the Midwest and No. 82 in the U.S. (2020).

Albion is one of The Princeton Review's Best 386 Colleges (2020-21) and featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges (2020-21).

We are listed by LendEDU as one of the Most Desired Colleges of the Last Decade and among the Best Colleges for Financial Aid (2020).

Albion ranks in the top 10 percent nationally in College Factual's Best Colleges for the Money (2020).

We’re listed as one of America's Top Colleges by Forbes and included in its Grateful Grads index of the top 200 private colleges and universities "with the happiest, most successful alumni" (2019).

Albion is in the top 14 percent of 4,500 colleges and universities in a Georgetown University study tracking return on investment across an entire career (2019).

We're on a list of "10 Incredible Liberal Arts Colleges on the Rise" (2019) and another highlighting the Midwest's 30 Best Colleges and Universities (2019).

Albion is No. 1 in graduate earnings among Michigan small colleges, based on College Scorecard data (Zippia, 2018).

Our History

We’re recognized for being the first private college in Michigan to establish a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Our chapter of this national scholastic honorary society was founded in 1940—second only to the chapter at the University of Michigan.

Our Memberships

Albion is recognized as a charter member of the Annapolis Group, which consists of approximately 130 leading national independent colleges. We work together to increase public recognition around the value of a liberal arts education.

Albion and the 12 other members of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (Allegheny, Antioch, Denison, DePauw, Earlham, Hope, Kalamazoo, Kenyon, Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan, Wabash, and Wooster) established its consortium in 1961.

Albion was a founding member of Michigan Campus Compact (1989), which is affiliated with the national Campus Compact that consists of 1,100 institutions dedicated to encouraging student volunteerism.

A charter member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Albion is the only college to have participated continuously in the conference since its founding in 1888. The MIAA is the oldest active collegiate athletic conference in the United States.

Albion Student Awards and Recognition

Incoming Class Profile

Our students are known and selected for their academic success: 30 percent of our first-year students rank in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and 70 percent are in the top quarter. The middle 50 percent of Albion first-year students have an ACT score range of 22 to 28.

Albion Students

We’ve produced the following scholars over the last three decades:

• Rhodes Scholar (Amy Elaine Wakeland, 1993)

• Seventeen Fulbright Award recipients (Stephanie Krueger, 1993; Niko Kanagawa, 2004; Rebecca Anthouard and Natalie Corbin, 2006; Sarah Heddon and Brynn Howard, 2007; Grace Keeney, Erin MacLeod, and Erica Schuster, 2008; Margaret Leiby, 2009; Sarah Julian and Katie Kirsch, 2012; Thomas Dukes, 2013; Logan Woods, 2014; Natalie Anderson, 2016; Elaina Braunschweig, 2018; Sunny Kim, 2020)

• Two Goldwater Scholars (Arthur Bragg, 1999; Stephanie Sanders, 2014)

• Jack Kent Cooke Scholar (Samata Singh, 2002 and 2006)

• Four Truman Scholars (Steven Chalk, 1989; Amy Wakeland, 1992; Shelly Fox, 1994; Christopher Carpenter, 1996)

• Three Morris K. Udall Scholars (Catherine Game, 2007; Erica Tauzer, 2009; Pryce Hadley, 2011)

• One of 26 EPA Environmental Management Fellows in summer 2006 (Catherine Fontana)

• National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellows (Diane Jackson Constan, 1996; Natalie Dubois, 1997; Arthur Bragg, 1999; Nicholas Whitney, 2000; Shauna Paradine Tschirhart, 2009; Stacy L. Capehart, 2010; Lisa A. Anderson, Meagan E. Bosket, Keith L. Zabel, 2011)

• National Institutes of Health Scholar (Katie Pickworth, 2011)

• Four RISE/DAAD Scholars (Shauna Paradine, 2008; Nick Herrman, 2011; Eric Fink and Alissa Reddy, 2013)

• Gilder Lehrman History Scholar (Chelsea Denault, 2011)

• George J. Mitchell Scholar (Catherine Fontana, 2008)

A team of Albion students placed second nationally in the 2012 AICPA Accounting Competition; another earned honorable-mention recognition as one of four schools in the 2011 Fed Challenge national finals. In addition, three Albion students served as Young Talent Panelists at the state of Michigan's 2013 Governor's Economic Summit; Genevieve Kukurugya-Rabaut was accepted in 2013 to the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF), a program of the national government that provides American English teachers for the public school system; and a student team received a $10,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2006–07 to develop an educational program on energy conservation. Albion was one of only 42 institutions nationwide selected for the award.

Albion Athletics and Academics

Albion College has a history of producing successful scholar-athletes. Here are a few outstanding numbers in athletics:

• 13 Albion NCAA postgraduate scholars (including Joe Silvestri, spring 2015)

• 120 student-athletes on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll for the 2014–2015 academic year

• 35 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championships and more than 590 victories for Albion football—the league’s most successful team

• 29 Academic All-Americans in football since 1979

• 5 NCAA Division III champions in track and field since 1982

• 34 All-Americans in track and field since 1982

• 36 women and men from the Briton swimming and diving program have earned Division III All-America status since 1984

• The 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2009 women’s soccer teams won the MIAA championship, qualifying for the NCAA tournament

• Men’s basketball won league titles in 2003 and 2005, and advanced to the round of eight in the 2005 NCAA Division III Championships

• Women’s basketball shared the league title in 2005, and advanced to NCAA postseason play in 2004 and 2005

• Women’s tennis earned four consecutive MIAA championships from 2005-2008, and finished first again in 2011

• The men’s tennis squad, led by the MIAA's most valuable player and top student-athlete, competed in the NCAA Division III Championships in 2007
  
  

Our Faculty

All of Albion College's 87 tenured or tenure-track faculty members hold a Ph.D. or the appropriate professional degree in their field. All Albion College classes are taught by fully qualified professors.

Since 1990, Albion faculty have received research and equipment grants from:

American Chemical Society
Andrew N. French, chemistry
Vanessa McCaffrey, chemistry
Kevin Metz, chemistry

Beckman Coulter, Inc.
Sheila Lyons-Sobaski, biology
Kenneth J. Saville, biology
J. Dan Skean, biology
Darren E. Mason, mathematics

Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
Charles E. Moreau, physics
Ruth E. Schmitter, biology

Hewlett-Packard
Aaron J. Miller, physics
Andrew N. French, chemistry

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Vanessa P. McCaffrey, chemistry
Nicolle E. B. Zellner, physics

National Institutes of Health
Kenneth Saville, biology

National Science Foundation
William S. Bartels, geology
Lisa B. Lewis, chemistry
Timothy N. Lincoln, geology
Thomas I. Wilch, geology
Nicolle E. B. Zellner, physics

Pew Charitable Trusts
William S. Bartels, geology
Dennis C. Gaswick, chemistry
David G. Seely, physics

U.S. Department of Energy
David G. Seely, physics

Fulbright Program
Daniel S. Christiansen, economics and management
Vanessa P. McCaffrey, chemistry
Gregory M. Saltzman, economics and management
Kyle Shanton, education

NCUR/Lancy Initiative
Wesley A. Dick, history

National Endowment for the Humanities
Maureen Balke, music
Deborah E. Kanter, history
Judith A. Lockyer, English
Marcy S. Sacks, history

Notable Albion Alumni

From the front page to center stage to behind the scenes, an Albion degree gets noticed. Over the years, our graduates have relied on their Albion College education and experience as a foundation for success in a multitude of pursuits. Below are just a few of our alumni who have become leaders and experts in their fields while building rewarding careers.

Robert H. Bartlett, M.D., ’60, Professor of General and Thoracic Surgery (Emeritus), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Pioneer of artificial life support systems. Medallion for Scientific Achievement, American Surgical Association (2002); member, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.

Joyce Livak Benjamins, M.D., ’63, Professor of Neurology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan.

Julie Brigham-Grette, Ph.D., ’77, Professor of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Past President, American Quaternary Association. Expert on the evolution of the Arctic climate.

Daniel Boggan, '67, Senior Vice-President (retired), National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana; Past President, National Forum for Black Public Administrators.

Robert J. Bruner, '99, Chief Executive Officer, Michigan Municipal Services Authority, Lansing.

David L. Camp, J.D., '75, Member (retired), U.S. House of Representatives; Chairman, Ways and Means Committee; Michigan's 4th District, Midland.

Nancy J. Carpenter, Ph.D., '68, Director of Cytogenetics, Center for Genetic Testing, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Josh A. Cassada, Ph.D., '95, Astronaut, NASA, Houston, Texas.

Michael S. David, Jr., '64, Founding Partner, Dodger Productions, New York, New York. Producer of more than 100 plays and musicals on and off Broadway. Winner of 2006 Tony Award for best musical.

Cedric W. Dempsey, Ph.D., '54, President (retired), National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Debra A. Fadool, Ph.D., '85, Professor of Biology and Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee; 2003 Women in Neuroscience Merck Young Investigator.

Michael J. Harrington, J.D., '85, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Global Pharmaceutical Operations, Eli Lilly and Co., Indianapolis, Indiana.

George Heartwell, '71, Mayor, City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2004-2016.

Cinthia Larkin Kazee, '88, Owner and President, Universal Network Development Corp., Sacramento, California.

Andy Krafsur, '83, founder, Spira Footwear, El Paso, Texas.

Ann M. Lewicki, '56, Clinical Professor of Radiology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.; Founder, American Association for Women Radiologists.

Bernard T. Lomas, '46, President Emeritus, Albion College, Albion, Michigan.

Thomas L. Ludington, '76, Judge, U.S. District Court, Midland, Michigan.

Allison Maki, '97, Senior Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer, Detroit Lions, Detroit, Michigan.

Marty Nesbitt, '85, Co-Chief Executive Officer, The Vistria Group; Board Chair, The Barack Obama Foundation; national treasurer for Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, Chicago, Illinois.

Amy Menken Nobile, '91, best-selling author of I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids, Hingham, Massachusetts.

Gary R. Noble, M.D., '57, Vice President of Medical and Public Health Affairs (retired), Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, New Jersey; Rhodes Scholar; former Associate Director/Washington, National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; former Assistant Surgeon General, United States Public Health Service.

Denise Cortis Park, Ph.D., '73, Director, Professor, Distinguished University Chair in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas, Dallas.

Douglas Parker, '84, Chief Executive Officer, American Airlines, Fort Worth, Texas.

Sherry Hood Penney, Ph.D., '59, Endowed Professor of Leadership, Center for Collaborative Leadership Development, College of Management, University of Massachusetts-Boston; former Chancellor, University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Stephen J. Quinn, '89, Chief Financial Officer, Detroit Tigers, Detroit, Michigan.

Hal Roth, '72, Executive Vice President, Colorado Rockies, Denver, Colorado.

Lawrence B. Schook, Ph.D., '72, Vice President for Research, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Jon Scieszka, '76, Popular and acclaimed author of children's books, including The Stinky Cheese Man; former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Library of Congress, Brooklyn, New York.

J. Donald Sheets, '82, Vice Chairman (retired), Dow Corning Corp., Midland, Michigan.

Richard M. Smith, '68, Chairman (retired), Newsweek, New York, New York.

Dennis W. Wahr, M.D., '74, Medical Device Investor/Entrepreneur; President and CEO, Holaira, Inc., Plymouth, Minnesota.

Janet K. Welch, '71, Executive Director, State Bar of Michigan, Lansing.

James M. Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., '77, Rose H. Weiss Orphan Disease Center director’s professor and director of the gene therapy program, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.