Statewide leadership, NYC influence, new academic paths, and more

Maccolades is a monthly round-up of the most recent accolades and accomplishments earned by members of the Macalester community. Below are highlights from December 2025.

Grant opens path to Buddhist Studies

Professors Erik Davis (Religious Studies) and Jake Nagasawa (American Studies) were awarded an Academic Development Grant from the Khyentse Foundation for the project “Course Development: Foundations of Buddhist Studies at Macalester.” The grant will support the creation of a new course introducing students to Buddhist Studies as an academic discipline, tracing Buddhist philosophical and institutional development from its origins through the rise of Mahāyāna traditions. The course also will include a community engagement component, with field visits to Buddhist temples across the Twin Cities, connecting students with the diverse Cambodian, Thai, Vietnamese, Tibetan, and other Buddhist communities in Minnesota.

’08 Grad has the ear of NYC mayor

Macalester graduate Legacy Russell ’08, was named to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s advisory Committee on Arts and Culture. Russell is executive director and chief curator of the experimental arts institution The Kitchen.

Strengthening belonging on campuses statewide

Shammah Bermudez, director and ADA/504 compliance officer for Macalester’s Center for Disability Resources, was named president-elect for the Minnesota Association of Higher Education and Disability, the state chapter of the Association on Higher Education and Disability. In this role, Bermudez will work with disability resource professionals statewide, providing leadership for the annual state conference and partnering with higher-education associations to advance best practices and inform policy.

“What excites me most is the opportunity to continue advocating for students with disabilities at a statewide level, while also collaborating with colleagues across higher education institutions to ensure that students with disabilities have a meaningful voice and sense of belonging on every campus,” he said. 

Community-building at its finest

Macalester students Theo Darci-Maher ’27, Sarah Solomon ’26, and Mary Daley ’27, all Team Impact Fellows, earned the 2025 Division III Team Impact Fellowship Campus of the Year award. 

“This award recognizes Macalester on a national level for bringing together people in our community who typically would not meet,” Darci-Maher said. He noted that children with severe illnesses or disabilities often struggle to feel included, and joining a college sports team offers a strong sense of belonging. Athletes, he added, gain significant perspective on teamwork and connection.

The fellows aim to make Team Impact a visible part of Macalester athletics and something every recruit learns about when touring facilities. Last year, they launched an annual partnership with the University of Minnesota to bring together matched families and teams from both campuses.

The ethical high ground

Macalester took two Ethics Bowl teams to the Ohio River Valley Regional Tournament at the University of Cincinnati. Students spent the last three months tackling 12 ethical dilemmas ranging from reproductive tourism to femicide laws. Out of 14 teams and 11 schools, both Macalester teams were in the top three overall. As part of this accomplishment, Macalester Team 2 faced Ohio Northern University in a championship round, winning the round by one point and taking first place. Fresh off their 2025 national championship, the team will return to nationals in March to defend the title.

Tools that transform campus work

Kyle Flowers, executive director of residential life, earned the Top Program (Educational Session) award at the 2025 Upper Midwest Region Association of College and University Housing Officers conference. His session received the highest rating and drew one of the largest audiences of the event.

Flowers introduced core project-management principles and showed attendees how to apply practical tools and strategies in their professional work.

“Working in higher education means there is always work to be done, partners to collaborate with, and deadlines to meet,” Flowers said. “In a world with ever-competing priorities, it’s difficult for us to take a step back and learn what larger businesses and corporations use to manage their workflows — project management tools.” 

He added that it was gratifying to see strong interest in how these approaches can support management and leadership across higher education.

Playing for something bigger

Macalester graduate Milosz Fernandez-Kepka ’23, was featured in a Telemundo story about his work with Soccer Without Borders, a nonprofit based in Oakland, California. The organization uses soccer as a vehicle to help newcomer and immigrant youth integrate into American culture and achieve their full potential. The team he coaches has found success both on and off the pitch. Fernandez-Kepka studied geography at Macalester. 

Scholarship on the complexity of “Vietnam”

Professors Karín Aguilar-San Juan, chair of American Studies, and Christina Hughes, sociology, collaborated on a yearlong project around the 50th anniversary of the end of the wars in Southeast Asia. One project was co-editing a special issue of the Journal of Transnational American Studies, now published and available for free download. The professors also co-wrote the introduction: “Thinking with and Beyond ‘Vietnam’: 50 Years after the US Wars in Southeast Asia.” 

Professor Hughes contributed the paper “The Refugee Carceral Condition under Racial Capitalism: Histories of Intracommunity Policing across French Indochina, Cold War Southeast Asia, and US Resettlement Contexts.” Professor Aguilar-San Juan contributed the paper “Thinking With and Beyond the Vietnam Antiwar Movement: An Interview with Frank Joyce, Rebel for Peace.” 

Civic skills for divided times

Takeo Kuwabara, director of engagement communication and visiting assistant professor, was awarded a $1,000 Project Pericles microgrant to support a spring 2026 workshop focused on helping students engage with conflict driven by differences in values. Project Pericles supports innovative courses and projects that place civic learning at the center of higher education.

The workshop will use a role-play scenario, an experiential learning tool that invites participants to step into the perspectives of stakeholders involved in real disputes. A facilitated discussion will follow, focusing on building skills for thoughtful civic discourse.

“Through practice of these skills, students can develop the muscle memory to meaningfully participate in conflicts and consider how to make forward progress on issues that seem deadlocked by contested values,” Kuwabara said. 

Funded by the Mellon Foundation and the Eugene M. Lang Foundation, the competitive grant recognizes creative, scalable approaches to teaching that deepen civic engagement.

A leader in global service

The Peace Corps recognized Macalester as one of the nation’s top-producing small colleges for volunteers. In the agency’s most recent rankings, Macalester placed No. 3 among small colleges nationwide, underscoring the college’s longstanding commitment to global engagement and public service.

Minnesota continues to be a strong contributor to the Peace Corps, with 65 volunteers currently serving worldwide and nearly 7,000 Minnesota residents having served since the agency’s founding in 1961.

How to be considered for future Maccolades

If you or someone you know recently earned an award, fellowship, or honor and would like it to be considered for inclusion in next month’s Maccolades, please let Communications & Marketing know by filling out this Maccolades form. For recent book publications, please use this book publication form.