Smith Alumni House

Photo of the Smith Alumni HouseRenovated in 1999 and opened in March 2000, the Smith Alumni House serves as headquarters for the Alumni Relations Office with space for Alumni Board meetings and receptions. The house displays memorabilia and provides guest rooms for visiting alumni.

The house is named after Arthur L. Smith ‘38 and Carra Jones Smith ‘42, who provided the lead gift for the renovation.

The porch is named in memory of Julie Hazel Norman, an active alumnus of the College. The back and front walkways feature bricks with names of alumni on them.

Originally built in 1886, the house was leased to Alma College in 1887. The Board of Trustees purchased the property from August Bruske, Alma’s second president, in 1917. It was used as the president’s house until 1927, when it came to be known as the Kirk House after English Professor Florence Kirk, who lived there.

The house was known as the Kirk International Center from 1982 to 1999.

Alma College Campus Map

 

Alma College’s early acceptance agreement with the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine recognizes the College’s strengths in science and health education. The agreement reserves two admissions slots per year for Alma College pre-med graduates.

 

Graduate Profile

Katie Matonich

Katie Matonich
Graduation: 2008
Major: English

When she was still an Alma College student, Katie Matonich’s advice to students was “to remember that being an English major isn’t all rainbows and sunshine, but it’s what makes writing about rainbows and sunshine fun!”

Now, as the development coordinator for the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, she seems to have found her pot of gold.