{"id":31935,"date":"2026-04-02T20:31:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/?p=31935"},"modified":"2026-04-02T20:33:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:33:54","slug":"rwanda-research-national-debate-success-new-insights-into-environmental-change-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/rwanda-research-national-debate-success-new-insights-into-environmental-change-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda Research, National Debate Success, New Insights into Environmental Change, and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

Debate duo brings the heat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Macalester students Will Kochel \u201927 and Isa Harrison \u201928 advanced to the semifinal round of the 2026 American Debate Association National Championship at Emory University. After six preliminary rounds, the pair entered the elimination bracket as the tournament\u2019s No. 9 seed. They defeated Northwestern and Emory in the octafinals and quarterfinals to reach the Final Four, where they narrowly lost to Georgetown in a 2-1 decision. Kochel was also named the tournament\u2019s eighth-place speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full ride to Yale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zhijun He \u201926 earned a fully funded spot in Yale University\u2019s master\u2019s program in African Studies for fall 2026, including full tuition and health coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYale\u2019s Council on African Studies is one of the most intellectually rigorous homes for the kind of interdisciplinary, Africa-centered research I\u2019ve been building toward at Macalester,\u201d He said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s research examines why some states recover from collapse while others do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUsing Rwanda as a central case, I\u2019ve examined how a country that experienced genocide in 1994 became one of Africa\u2019s most administratively capable states within a generation,\u201d he said. \u201cAt Yale, I\u2019ll extend this work. The stakes are not abstract: understanding this helps explain why billions of dollars in foreign aid have produced so little change in some places, and so much in others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also was named a Rhodes Scholar China Constituency finalist earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zhijun<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Octavia brought to light <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beth Severy-Hoven, professor of the Classical Mediterranean and Middle East, published a new book<\/a>, Octavia: The Life of a Roman Matron Between Antony and Augustus<\/em>, with Oxford University Press as part of its Women in Antiquity series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Octavia was the elder sister of the first Roman emperor, Augustus; the fourth wife of Mark Antony; and an ancestor of the emperors Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile Octavia\u2019s contemporaries have had multiple biographies written about them, this is the first published monograph focused solely on Octavia in any language,\u201d Severy-Hoven said. \u201cHer life provides a fascinating view into changes in the social and political landscape for women and men of the Roman elite\u2014and how those changes came about\u2014as the Republican system of government disintegrated into total war and a new imperial system emerged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Severy-Hoven added that conversations with Macalester students over the years have benefited her work enormously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Octavia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Unearthing 200 years of change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Geology Professor Kelly MacGregor published a paper<\/a> with Macalester graduate Heidi Anderson \u201914 in Quaternary Research<\/em>, an international journal published by Cambridge University Press.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study examines environmental change over the past 200 years in Glacier National Park, Montana. MacGregor noted that the work has involved at least a dozen Macalester students over the course of her career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe collected cores of sediment from the bottom of lakes and looked at how organic material sources and sedimentation rates changed as the park was established and as more and more visitors came into the region,\u201d MacGregor said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anderson now works for the Nature Conservancy in Montana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mac goes all in on democracy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Macalester earned the Highly Established Action Plan Seal for the 2026 election cycle from ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge<\/a>. The college\u2019s nonpartisan democratic engagement action plan was recognized as among the best in the country for increasing civic learning, political engagement and voter participation among college students. Macalester is one of 129 campuses<\/a> recognized for this cycle, with action plans evaluated using the Strengthening American Democracy Action Planning Guide Rubric<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ALL<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Graduate earns honors for courageous leadership <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Girl Scouts River Valleys named Macalester graduate Gloria Perez \u201988 as its Celebrate Changemakers honoree for Courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As president and CEO of the Women\u2019s Foundation of Minnesota, Perez leads the nation\u2019s first statewide women\u2019s foundation\u2014advancing research, advocacy, and community investments that strengthen economic security and opportunity for women and families across Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in her career, she helped grow the Jeremiah Program from a local nonprofit into a nationally recognized model supporting families as they move from poverty to prosperity across two generations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Girl Scouts River Valleys said Perez\u2019s leadership reflects a deep commitment to gender and racial equity and to building pathways where more families can thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeaders like Gloria show girls what courage looks like in the real world,\u201d the organization said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Game-changing leadership <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Donnie Brooks, associate vice president of student affairs and director of athletics, was named an Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. The award recognizes athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses, and surrounding communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recipients are selected for their dedication to higher education and student-athletes, as well as their demonstrated teamwork, loyalty, excellence, and ability to inspire individuals and teams to high levels of accomplishments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Twin Cities\u2019 top 25<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Macalester graduate Anna Coskran \u201991 was named a Power Shift 25 leader<\/a> by the Minneapolis\/St. Paul Business Journal<\/em>, which recognizes newly appointed CEOs, presidents, and executive leaders shaping Twin Cities organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2025, Coskran became president of NTH Inc., a real estate and project management firm. She brings more than two decades of experience advising organizations on aligning real estate decisions with business strategy. Her local portfolio spans a wide range of projects, from redeveloping an abandoned brewery to leasing office space in downtown towers. Recent clients include the Minnesota Star Tribune<\/em> and law firm Stinson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to be considered for future Maccolades<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s Maccolades, please let Communications & Marketing know by filling out this Maccolades form<\/a>. For recent book publications, please use this book publication form<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maccolades is a monthly round-up of the most recent accolades and accomplishments earned by members of the Macalester community.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":881,"featured_media":31961,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[277],"class_list":["post-31935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-newswire","tag-maccolades"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"fields":{"main_feature_story":"","custom_image":false,"custom_link_url":"","custom_feature_title":"","custom_feature_caption":"","custom_markup":"","custom_markup_link":"","custom_markup_title":"","custom_markup_caption":"","byline":"","article_type":false,"post_thumbnail_style":"default","flickr_photoset_id":"","youtube_id":"","square_thumbnail":false,"press_downloads":false,"press_photos":false,"story_title":"","story_caption":"","rotations":false,"maps":false,"marker_title":"","marker_text":"","geographic_location":false,"feature_embed":"","news_icon_name":"","image_options":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/881"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31935"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31973,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31935\/revisions\/31973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}