Macalester College

The Mac journey starts now! A huge thanks to all the families and volunteers who made move-in today a success. Welcome to campus, Class of 2028 — we’re thrilled to have you here!

Cheers to a legendary run, Mac! After countless games and endless spirit, it's time for Mac the Scot to hang up his kilt, kick back and enjoy retirement with a pint in Glasgow, Scotland.

Here's to our biggest fan—may your retirement be full of cozy tartan blankets, peaceful lochside strolls, and plenty of time to perfect your golf swing. Slàinte!

Orientation week is just around the corner, and there's a lineup packed with activities for Macalester's newest Scots!

Alongside regular Orientation scheduling, check out some awesome extra evening programming throughout the week. Catch a flick at Movie Night on the Great Lawn (Wednesday), show off your skills at the Talent Show (Thursday), and celebrate the end of the week with a Class of 2028 Class Photo and Mac swag giveaway (Friday).

Check out the link in our bio for details and the full Orientation schedule.

Just over one week until these serene spots on campus are filled with new faces and memories. Class of 2028, we can’t wait to welcome you!

Lights, camera, action! For Gabby Simpson ’25, studying away with Mac meant an opportunity to get to know Seville through a different lens: a camera.

One of her favorite days abroad began with filming a documentary for her class final. She spent the day exploring the city with friends and conducting street interviews in Spanish and English. “It was rewarding to interact with both locals and tourists while working on our project,” Gabby shared. “We made sure to record candid moments of us just hanging out and wandering the streets, too.”

Think your summer plans are wild? Try tracking apex carnivores in a mangrove-filled 1500 sq. km national park!

After receiving a grant from the Lion Recovery Fund in June, biology professor Stotra Chakrabarti headed to Tanzania’s Saadani National Park to investigate the distribution, density, and conservation implications for this unique population of coastal-mangrove lions as part of his new research project. This project is also directed to support on-ground monitoring capacity and co-learn effective conservation techniques. As a behavioral scientist, his research program focuses on understanding the behavior and conservation of different lion populations.

The Saadani Lion Project is partnered by Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA), A Tent With a View, and Dr. Meredith Palmer from Yale University.

Long before Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the leading Democratic candidate for president, Professor Duchess Harris was closely monitoring the politician's career.

Prof. Harris was appointed to the advisory board for the Kamala Harris Project in 2021. The Project is composed of sixteen nonpartisan scholars from around the country who have been tracking her tenure as the nation's first Black woman vice president.

In recent interviews with MPR and KARE 11, she provided insight on this historic moment.

"A lot of people were not focusing on her because people did not think this moment was going to happen," said Professor Harris. "What I think is going to be interesting is how she will now be vetted in a way that she was not vetted four years ago."



See links to Prof Harris’s appointment announcement and recent interviews below:
https://www.macalester.edu/news/2021/02/macalester-professor-named-to-board-of-the-kamala-harris-project/
https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2024/07/23/the-kamala-harris-project-has-been-closely-tracking-the-tenure-of-the-vp
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/breaking-the-news/were-in-a-different-moment-professor-explains-why-identity-of-vp-harris-matters-more-this-election/89-f63017c8-0cf2-4b34-ad2a-c9c731966b03
https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2024/07/29/kamala-harris-women-in-leadership-and-the-glass-cliff

Kamala Harris, women in leadership and the ‘glass cliff’ MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talked about women in leadership and the Black women leaders who paved the way for Kamala Harris’ candidacy.

When Zainab Mansaray-Storms ’09 set out to bake a Valentine’s Day cake for her fiancé in 2011, she didn’t think that the resulting explosion of red food coloring would lead to a successful pastime.

Her interest began at Macalester when she noticed her peers receiving care packages. "Those boxes always had baked goods from home—chocolate-chip cookies and other comfort food—and I started to realize baked goods are integral to American culture and society.”

As Mansaray-Storms later pursued a PhD in neuroscience, baking became a welcome break from her challenging classes. She began documenting her experiments on her blog, A Classic Twist, which now has over 200,000 monthly visitors and countless classic recipes with bold flavors.

Today, Mansaray-Storms is a regulatory scientist for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While there isn’t much crossover between her day job and her baking career, she continues to challenge the “science” of baking by incorporating African flavors into quintessential American dishes.

The Twin Cities are home to a wide variety of international cultural cuisines. This summer, Reece McKee ʼ25 was able to explore their literal roots in urban agriculture around the metro.

After taking People, Agriculture, and the Environment with Professor Bill Moseley in his sophomore year, McKee was inspired to research urban agriculture systems closer to home. By conducting interviews with local immigrant gardeners for his research, he gained a deeper understanding of creative approaches to farming under limited space and resources.

“The best thing about this research is learning about crops that never would have been grown in Minnesota without immigrants from around the world,” he said.

Following last week's presidential debate, professor of political science Patrick Schmidt joined MPR News host Angela Davis and other analysts to discuss the significance of the recent Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, and to share their thoughts about this November’s presidential election.

Listen to the discussion here:

Analysts on presidential debate and recent Supreme Court moves MPR News host Angela Davis talks with legal and political analysts about the fallout from Thursday’s presidential debate and the significance of the newest Supreme Court decisions.

Get excited, Scots! The Minnesota Scottish Fair & Highland Games are just one week away from returning to campus in celebration of our sesquicentennial.

Come join us for a day full of Celtic music, hammer throws, Highland dancing, and the beloved sound of bagpipes filling campus once again.

Head on over to the Minnesota Scottish Fair's official website to purchase your tickets today.

Tag a friend you're looking forward to celebrating with on July 13!

Tired of reading responses? Try video games for homework.

For English professor James Dawes and computer science professor Bret Jackson, video games are welcomed in and out of the classroom.

Often looked down upon as superficial and intellectually uncomplicated, Dawes and Jackson reframe video games as "pushing the limits of coding wizardry and expanding the possibilities of narrative design."

In the course "Video Games: Coding and Narrative," students look beyond the face value of games and deeper into their cultural significance as they combine storytelling skills and creative visuals to program their own games.

ChatGPT has taken the world–and classroom–by storm. From creating art to studying new languages, there's no doubt that generative AI has changed the landscape of learning.

While AI has been greeted with hesitancy in higher education, Macalester professors and students are stepping mindfully into this new world, exploring and embracing the changes these tools will bring.

“I just don’t see a future in which AI doesn’t become a standard part of how people think, write, and communicate," says professor of environmental studies Chris Wells. "We have to figure out what it means to live in this new world.”

Read more: https://www.macalester.edu/news/2024/05/college-in-the-age-of-ai

Image generated by Adobe Firefly.

Mark your calendars and dust off your kilts: Scottish Fair is coming back to Mac! Originally founded by students in the 1950s, this game-filled festival featured highland dancing, traditional caber throwing contests, and of course, pipe band competitions. Join us on campus July 13 to celebrate our 150th anniversary and show off your Scottish pride!

We're pleased to announce that merchandise featuring our newest Scot, the Highland Cow, can now be purchased through the Macalester Athletics Online Store for a limited time. Visit https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/1macscot24

The final month of the academic year produced a number of impressive "Maccolades," our monthly roundup of achievements and accomplishments throughout the Macalester community.

- Razik Saifullah ’24 took home Best Documentary Film for "You Don’t Feel Safe" (2023) at the Twin Cities Intercollegiate Film Festival. The documentary explores how the formation of a white student union in 1991 wreaked havoc across two college campuses in Minnesota.

- Michael Prior, English professor and Mellon ACM Faculty Fellow, was presented with the Canada-Japan Literary Award, a prize of $10,000 Canadian, for his book of poems, "Burning Province." The prize recognizes literary excellence by Canadian writers, including those who “write a work on Japan, on Japanese themes or on themes that promote mutual understanding between Japan and Canada.”

- Macalester won first place in the Small Campus Waste Diversion Category of the Campus Race for Zero Waste. In another stride toward sustainability, Macalester scored 80.87 on its latest Sustainability Report with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The report, submitted every three years, saw Macalester improve by nearly five points since the last submission.

Read more: https://www.macalester.edu/news/2024/05/maccolades-for-may-2024-queer-role-model-sustainability-awards-an-octogenarian-swimming-legend-and-more/

Mairs Concert Hall played host to a particularly historic event at this past weekend's Reunion: A panel of four Macalester presidents representing four decades of leadership at the college.

As part of Macalester's ongoing sesquicentennial celebrations, President Suzanne M. Rivera was joined by former presidents Brian Rosenberg (2003-2020), Michael McPherson (1996-2003), and Robert Gavin Jr. (1984-1996) for a conversation about leading the college through historic transformation and setting Macalester up for the future.

Oh Reunion, we wish you'd never end!

What a joy-filled weekend seeing our Mac alumni make their way back to campus—we're already counting down the days until next year!

Day one is in the books at , and what a day it was.

Highlights included celebrating the Class of 1974 as our newest group of Golden Scots, catching a concert from Sounds of Blackness, hearing from four Macalester presidents at our presidential panel, and seeing countless friends reunite at 1600 Grand. We can't wait for what's in store today and tomorrow! 💙🧡

Today's the day! It's time to welcome our alumni back for Reunion 2024, and we're simply filled with excitement to see moments like these all over campus throughout the weekend.

What a Grand way to spend a Sunday!

Members from across the Macalester community joined us this past weekend to march in the Grand Old Day Parade, celebrate the start of summer, and show off some Scots spirit with the Mac Pipe Band and our newest Scot, Coo.

One alumnus’s family asked Chaplain Kelly J. Stone to include the music of Metallica as part of the celebration of his life. Another alumna loved literature. For her memorial service, her family brought a box of her books to the chapel, and guests were invited to take a book to keep in her memory.

Stone estimates that in her ten years at Macalester, she has presided over thirty celebrations of life, memorial services, and funerals for alumni and other members of the Macalester community. In conducting ceremonies for yesterday’s students, she sees today’s.

“Our Macalester students have always been up to good trouble, decade after decade after decade,” says Stone. “I think that’s beautiful, and that’s something they share across generations.”

Read more: https://www.macalester.edu/news/2024/05/pastoral-encounters/

We can't believe it's already time to close the chapter on this academic year, but what a year it was!

From welcoming the Class of 2027 to fond farewells for the Class of 2024 and everything in between, it'd be impossible to pick a top memory out of all these great shots. What was your favorite moment, Scots?

"Welcome to the naughty 90s—the 1590s."

It's the first sentence students read when they open the syllabus for English professor Penelope Geng's "Shakespeare's History Plays" course. The course focuses on the famous playwright's four interconnected history plays—Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, and Henry V—which raise timeless questions on power and citizenship brought about by the conditions of late-sixteenth century England.

In addition to reading these plays, students had unique opportunities to see them in person at the renowned Guthrie Theatre in downtown Minneapolis and enjoy a class visit by Guthrie actor Stephanie Bertumen (pictured here).

Eager to learn more about the Highland Cow? We've got you coovered.

Our newest Scot has loads of characteristics that make it a perfect fit for Mac, including resistance to extreme climates and a fierce loyalty to their herd, called a fold. It certainly doesn't hurt that its signature orange coat happens to match our logos, too!

See more of our new athletics branding and learn all about Highland Cattle: https://www.macalester.edu/communications/visual-identity/athletics-identity/athletic-marks/

Check your mailbox! The latest edition of Macalester Today, our quarterly alumni magazine, is in the wild. On this edition's cover: "When Life Throws You A Curveball."

We're also looking back at previous spring covers of Mac Today, featuring sustainable farming (2005), a look at Macalester traditions (2011), and the political journey of Walter Mondale '50 (2017).

Read the spring 2024 issue here: https://www.macalester.edu/news/macalestertoday/

As Americans gear up for another grueling presidential election season in 2024, a recent Pew Research Center poll finds that only ten percent of us feel hopeful about our political system.

If you see yourself in these statistics, David Maeda ’87, Minnesota's director of elections, has a suggestion: Sign up to be an election judge on November 5—you may find yourself inspired anew by having a role to play in the commitment and coordination it takes to put on a free and fair election.

“I tell this to everyone,” regardless of age, race, creed, or partisan leanings, says Maeda, who got his first government job a few years after graduation and has been in his current role since 2019. “If you’re worried, if you have doubts, then get involved.’’

Read more: https://www.macalester.edu/news/2024/02/free-and-fair/

Move over America's Next Top Model, the newest in-vogue fashion show is in JWall.

The Sustainability Office's "Make Art Not Waste" fashion show, which took place April 26 in the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, required student participants to create styles entirely out of upcycled or recycled materials to highlight alternatives to fast fashion and the problem of plastic in the fashion industry. From thrifted outfits to "trashion," looks made from trash or recycled materials, these runway looks are the perfect blend of style and sustainability.

Photos by Ash Granda-Bondurant '27.

Macalester is pleased to announce that the Highland Cow, aka Heiland Coo, is our newest Scot and official mascot!

The Highland Cow was selected with input from thousands of Macalester alumni, students, faculty and staff. Close to 7,500 people weighed in with their preferences throughout the spring semester. The feedback was then reviewed by the Mascot Selection Committee, which is composed of faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

“It’s gender-neutral in appearance, hardy, and can live outside in the cold Scottish weather. They also have even temperaments and are friendly,” noted one entry.

The Highland Cow costume will be introduced this fall at MacFest, September 27-29. “Mac the Scot,” our current mascot, will retire to Scotland in August, where he will watch Macalester’s Pipe Band perform in the World Championships in Glasgow, August 16-17.

Read more about the final selection: https://www.macalester.edu/news/2024/05/macalester-is-pleased-to-announce-its-newest-scot-coo/