About KCIE

Kalamazoo College Inclusive Excellence (KCIE)

KCIE is the acronym being used to define the work of the Kalamazoo HHMI Inclusive Excellence work. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), in 2015, began its initiative to provide financial support to Colleges and Universities across the USA in becoming more inclusive in the way that students are engaged in learning, with a particular emphasis on institutions addressing racial inequities that continue to marginalize students of color in STEM. In 2017 the first cohort of HHMI IE schools were announced, and Kalamazoo received the grant with the second cohort in 2018. To the extent that STEM departments discover how to be more inclusive, this work has the potential to permeate other disciplines at an institution, hence making the entire institution more inclusive.


Meet our Leadership Team

Dr. Regina Stevens-Truss

Program Director (2019-Present)

Regina Stevens-Truss, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Email: Regina.Stevens-Truss@kzoo.edu

Phone: 269.337.7330

About Regina

Regina Stevens-Truss, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry – teaches General Chemistry, Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, and Infection-Global Health & Social Justice. In addition, Regina initiated the ACSJL Science & Social Justice project (check out its Praxis Center site). As an ACSJL Faculty Fellow she has been planning and leading science camps for high school students since arriving at K, worked with the local women chemists group and the Girl Scouts Glowing Embers troop on earning a chemistry badge, and created both the Sisters in Science (2002) and Sukuma (2010) student groups. As the program director, oversees the day-to-day operations of the grant’s implementation, works closely with the Administration on new initiatives, collaborates with each priority team, and works with multiple campus offices (academic and non-academic) on student-focused inclusivity initiatives.

Director Implementation Team
  • Katrina Frank, Web Services Specialist
  • Kelly Frost, Reference and Instruction Librarian
Brittany Liu

CARE Priority Co-Leader (2020-Present)

Brittany Liu, Associate Professor of Psychology

Email: Brittany.Liu@kzoo.edu

Phone: 269.337.7108

About Brittany

Brittany Liu, Professor of Psychology – teach courses in general psychology, research methods, social psychology (how the world around us, especially the people, affect people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions), and ways psychology and the criminal legal system intersect. As CARE lane facilitator I work on professional and personal development opportunities for K faculty and staff with the aim to support their goals of creating more inclusive environments in their work with students. I’ve been at K since 2014 and my favorite time of the school year is fall when the whole campus is excited to reunite and jump into the classroom. Fun fact: I find ice breakers mildly thrilling, which explains much about my teaching style.

Professor, Binney Girdler.

InTRO Priority Co-Leader (2022-Present)

Binney Girdler, Professor of Biology

Email: Binney.Girdler@kzoo.edu

Phone: 269.337.5977

About Binney

E. Binney Girdler, Professor of Biology – an ecologist who teaches Ecology & Conservation, Population & Community Ecology, Plant Biology, and Environmental Science, and serves as Director of the Environmental Studies Program. In addition, she piloted a Science and Social Justice first-year class as part of an ACSJL Faculty Fellowship. She was a founding member of the Dow Council. As InTRO lead, she is responsible for overseeing programs and mini-grants to enable faculty to re-vamp and coordinate their introductory classes.

InTRO Implementation Team
  • Rick Barth, Professor of Mathematics, Assistant Provost for Teaching, Learning and Assessment
  • Pam Cutter, Professor of Computer Science
  • Jen Furchak, Associate Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry
  • Rachel Love, Science, Mathematics, Business & Economics Learning Commons Specialist
  • David Wilson, Associate Professor of Physics
Bruce Mills

RewARD Priority Co-Leader (2019-Present)

Bruce Mills, Professor of English

Email: Bruce.Mills@kzoo.edu

Phone: 269.337.7037

About Bruce

Bruce Mills, Professor of English – teaches American Literature surveys (pre-1865), African American Literature, Building the Archive: James Baldwin and His Legacy, and introductory courses on memoir and short fiction. He has published books and/or articles on abolitionists Lydia Maria Child, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs as well as Edgar Allan Poe and Margaret Fuller. In addition, he has been involved in autism programming/advocacy and written a memoir exploring life with his autistic son. In first-year and senior seminars, he has developed partnerships with community members, including a collaboration with SHARE (Society for History and Racial Equity) which can be seen at the Oral History in the Liberal Arts website. He is committed to the work of inclusion, equity, accessibility, and racial healing. He has a broad and deep fascination with storytelling and its capacity to create change. As the RewARD Priority Co-Leader since 2019, Bruce collaborates with colleagues on developing policies and procedures that help make visible and reward DEI work within review and promotion guidelines.has been the RewARD Priority Co-Leader since 2019.

RewARD Implementation Team
  • Beau Bothwell (Associate Professor of Music)
  • Alyce Brady (Professor of Computer Science)
  • Amy MacMillan (Associate Professor of Economics and Business)
  • Ivett Malagamba-Lopez (Assistant Professor of Spanish)
  • Shanna Salinas (Associate Professor of English)

Former KCIE Leadership

  • Program Director, 2018-2019, Jim Langeland, Professor of Biology 
  • CARE, 2018-2020, Kyla Day Fletcher, Associate Professor of Psychology  
  • InTRO, 2018-2021, Rick Barth, Professor of Mathematics 
  • RewARD, 2018-2019, Regina Stevens-Truss, Professor of Chemistry