News
Fall in Full Swing at SMC
Published on October 8, 2025 - 2 p.m.
Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees heard updates on academics, arts and athletics at its Oct. 8 regular meeting on the Dowagiac campus.
Interim President Brent Brewer reported on a flurry of activity six weeks into Fall Semester.
On Sept. 18, 18 area high school counselors were welcomed for an annual breakfast.
The fall College Fair on Sept. 24 saw a huge turnout. “We had over 500 high school students attend,” Brewer said, “and 53 colleges and universities. This, by far, was the most well-attended in my 17 years with the college.”
On Oct. 1, under the leadership of Career Development Manager Melinda Kedik-Stockwell, the college hosted its fourth annual Futures Fair with the theme “Superheroes.” Futures Fair brings industry and business to campus to help students ponder their futures. More than 240 students connected with 13 employers to learn about SMC programs and career pathways.
On Oct. 3, Automotive Day for 225 students from seven high schools featured breakout sessions by Zolman Tire and Modern Muscle Car Factory.
This Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10 and 11, SMC hosts the Michigan Mathematics Association for Two-Year Colleges (MichMATYC) fall conference.
The fall choir concert, “Songs of the Soul,” takes place Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. The band concert, “Bayou Breakdown,” is scheduled for Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. The fall play, “Red Days,” runs Nov. 20-22 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 2 p.m., all in the theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building.
On the athletics front, the 19-5 Roadrunners volleyball team continues to dominate, coming off a 3-1 weekend in Grand Rapids to face Marian Ancilla on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse.
Sept. 26 the Roadrunners hosted the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Western Conference Cross Country Championships at Spruce Ridge Golf Club. Freshman Owen Saylor won Runner of the Year, and the women’s team captured the conference title. SMC women rank 13th nationally, the men, 14th.
Basketball season looms. The SMC women went 2-1 in their first scrimmages at Harper College over the weekend and the men travel to Rockford, Ill., this Saturday for three games at the Rock Valley College Jamboree. Regular season play kicks off Oct. 31 at home with the Roadrunner Classic.
Wrestling’s intersquad dual meet unfolds at noon on Sunday in the Fieldhouse.
Trustee Becky Moore presented Math and Science Department Chair Robin Shipkosky of Coloma with her 15-year service pin.
Shipkosky, introduced by Dr. Melissa Kennedy, Academic Dean, School of Health, Natural and Social Sciences, has been an educator since 1981. Her first teaching position was sixth grade math in Bryan, Texas. For the next 15 years, she taught in the K-12 setting across Texas, Ohio and Indiana.
Shipkosky holds a bachelor’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Texas A&M University. In 2009, Shipkosky added her master’s degree in secondary education from Indiana University South Bend (IUSB). She started at SMC in 2010 as an instructor of developmental mathematics.
Shipkosky, whose husband, John, retired from Rieth-Riley Construction Co., has four grown daughters and nine grandchildren. Her oldest grandson recently graduated from Navy boot camp.
Trustees acknowledged eight donations totaling $4,267 to the SMC Foundation.
Nov. 12’s regular meeting will take place at SMC’s Niles campus.
