Southwestern Michigan College celebrates its wins
At a recent board meeting, Southwestern Michigan College celebrated a number of wins including enrollment numbers, service awards, and large donations.
During the September 10 Board of Trustees meeting, Southwestern Michigan College Interim President Brent Brewer noted what he called an “historic fall.”
Chairman Tom Jerdon mentioned at the meeting, and was quoted in an article posted on SMC’s website, that the college had recently been “firing on all eight cylinders," during the 2025 year. The meeting contained presentations of three capital improvement projects, an economic impact study, and a note that 1,100 students had participated in 17 Welcome Week activities.
An independent study by Lightcast suggested that Southwestern Michigan College has been operating as a major economic force in Cass County. The study found SMC has an annual economic impact of $58.4 million, which is enough money to support over 1,000 jobs.
Southwestern Michigan covers a seven county area including St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Berrien, and Cass counties in Michigan, as well as Elkhart and St. Joseph counties in Indiana. The economic impact across that entire range from the school is well over $200 million, which is enough to support almost 3,000 jobs.
Brewer noted that “The three capital projects were housing, wrestling and soon, (the Dale A.) Lyons (Building). We conducted extensive feasibility studies on several possible solutions to address the housing shortage and determined that converting common areas to suites was the most efficient approach. This added 36 beds this fall without incurring any additional operation cost or debt. The next project is construction of the 11,000-square-foot wrestling facility at the southeast corner of the Student Activity Center. With the addition of women’s wrestling this fall, our team will grow to over 50 wrestlers. This facility is slated for completion by February or March 2026.”
He then went on to note the school’s plans for the future saying “starting in Summer 2026, is the first of three phases at Lyons. This involves transforming the current wrestling room into the choir room. In Summer 2027 we’ll focus on remodeling and adding a small extension to the back of Lyons to better serve the needs of the band program. Finally, in Summer 2028, we’ll renovate the lobby, repurposing the existing choir room to be a new admissions office.”
According to Brewer, Southwestern Michigan College enrolled 2,282 this year, which is up from 2,044 last year, for an increase of 238 students, or an 11.6% increase in both head count and contact hours.
Brewer then gave a wider overview of the school’s improvements, saying, “Over the past four years, we have grown 27.9% in head count and 28.8% in contact hours. With this year’s class, 21 percent of our contact hours are online” and housing is at capacity.”
He also noted athletics numbers, saying that “the enrollment figure includes 140 athletes, or 49 over last year’s 91.”
Recently Southwestern started 12 new programs: surgical technology, social sciences, social work online, radiography technology, psychology online, MRI, medication aide, medical assisting, EEG, cardiovascular technology, business online, and athletic training. Those programs brought in 138 new students in the 2023-24 school year, and 217 in the 2024-25 school year. According to Brewer, the school is “on track for larger growth ahead.”
At the meeting, the board also presented five pins representing 75 years of service to the college.
Professor Andrew Dohm, of Edwardsburg, originally came to Southwestern Michigan from Berrien Springs High School in order to attain his associate degree in science. He then transferred to Michigan Technological University to finish his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, before earning a position at Chrysler Automotive. His 25-year pin was presented by Trustee Skip Dyes.
Dohm continued to work at Chrysler while earning his master’s degree in engineering management. He then moved into a position at Tenneco Automotive in Elkhart, which brought him back to the Michiana area. He became a teacher, instructing pre-calculus students in the summer, before attaining a full time job teaching math in the Fall of 2000. He then went on to earn a master’s degree in educational leadership from Western Michigan University, as well as a graduate certificate in integrated science instruction.
In his time at SMC, Dohm has run classes in physics, a range of math courses, and introductory chemistry. He sponsors seven summer camps, traveling science shows, and hosts school groups on campus and field trips as part of his promotion of STEM education. He was named 2014 Faculty of the Year, and served as a dean for two years, from 2003-05.
Portage local and Business Department Chair Eric Clayborn was also recognized. He received his 20-year pin from Vice Chairman Tracy Hertsal.
Clayborn is also an SMC alumnus, as well as an information technology professor. He joined the school as a part-time technician back in 2003 before being made a full time PC technician two years later. From there he was promoted to IT project manager, where he led upgrade projects to the school’s network infrastructure across the entirety of the campus. He also mentored IT staff and student employees.
Clayborn obtained his master’s degrees in information security and intelligence and business administration from Ferris State University. He also met his wife, Elva, at Southwestern Michigan College.
Professor Gail Shirey, of Kalamazoo, was given her 15-year pin by Trustee Beth Cripe. She was born in Kent City, and earned her bachelor’s degree from Aquinas College before going on to Western Michigan University to earn her master’s degree in reading emphasis.
Professor Shirey spent three years as the education director at Sylvan Learning Center, as well as 20 years at Battle Creek Christian School as an elementary teacher and staff director before landing a position at Southwestern. She and her husband, Ray, have two sons and two grandchildren.
Shirey has been named SMC Instructor of the Year in the past, and teaches English and Critical Reading and Writing as part of the college’s Communications Department.
Trustee Skip Dyes also awarded Professor Deirdre Kirk of Granger with her 10-year pin. Kirk obtained her bachelor’s degree in environmental science, with a minor in marine science, from Penn State University. She then went on to earn her master’s degree in teaching with a concentration in biology.
Prior to coming to SMC, Kirk was an environmental chemist in an analytical laboratory. She came to SMC in 2012 as an adjunct professor before being made a full time faculty member in 2015. Kirk is also an Honors Faculty member. She works with the team at Indiana University South Bend on invasive species removal and river cleanup projects. She also is the Green Club’s advisor.
Kalamazoo’s Walter Pabis was given his five-year pin by Trustee Beth Cripe. He was a programmer at Western Michigan University when he came to SMC to install its Customer Relationship Management software system. He was promoted to lead programmer last year. He has been married for two years and plays the drums in a band with his family.
Finally, Trustees also noted four donations to the Southwestern Michigan College Foundation for a total of $10,500, as well as accepted a gift to the school for $1,000.
More information about Southwestern Michigan College can be found on the school’s website.