Albion College retiring faculty Jon Hooks, Emmanuel Yewah, and Perry Myers were honored during the college’s May 3rd commencement ceremony. All three were rewarded emeritus status by the faculty.
Albion College President Wayne Webster noted that the three honorees have a combined 96 years of service to the college. “We are grateful for [their] extraordinary service and commitment to the mission of Albion,” Webster said.
From introductory economics to banking, markets, and portfolio theory, Hooks has literally taught the value of money to generations of Albion students. Along with teaching for the past 36 years, Hooks spent decades providing out-of-classroom experiences. He founded Albion’s Investment Club, advising their management of a five-figure portfolio, and leading the annual Chicago trip for 25 years.
He also founded Albion’s Federal Reserve Challenge Team, which won the State of Michigan competition in 2007. Hooks served as a long-time adviser of Albion’s Omicron Delta Epsilon economics honorary, was on the board of trustees of the Albion Community Foundation, and represented the faculty on two Albion College Trustee committees related to finance.
As chair of the faculty’s Computer Advisory Committee, Hooks saw the creation of Albion’s first computer lab, along with the first networking and internet connectivity. With his daughters, Hooks was invited to be an honorary coach for Briton women’s basketball, which he described as “a great honor.”
Myers walked away from investment banking at JP Morgan in Europe to join academia – and has spent the past 21 years enthusiastically teaching German- and Germany-focused courses for Albion College’s Modern Languages and Cultures Department (MLAC), the Honors Program, and First-Year Seminars.
His eclectic background and scholarship (three books, an edited volume, and numerous articles) led him to develop courses that examined the historical intersection of science and religion, South Asian history, and German literature and film. Perry helped develop MLAC’s language and culture for the professions concentration, enhancing the ability of Albion graduates to join international business and government organizations, and advised all 10 of the Albion students who received Fulbright teaching fellowships during his tenure.
Myers’ research has been supported by grants from Albion College, the Great Lakes Colleges Association, the Mellon Foundation, Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, and the Institut d’Études avancées de Paris. Perry’s wife Susanne served as an adjunct professor of both German and French at Albion College for the past 18 years, allowing the German program to maintain a full major.
Yewah retires as Albion College’s most senior faculty member, having opened French language, African culture, and the literature of both world regions to the unique benefit of Albion students. From political cartoons to Caribbean literature and examinations of immigration and immigrants, Yewah taught a broad range of courses for both Modern Languages and Cultures and the Honors Program. Through his first-year seminar “Africa: Myth and Reality” Yewah led 10 groups of students on trips through Cameroon, arranging for visits in private homes, with business and government leaders, to national cultural sites, and even his home village.
The experience led trip alumni to create Albion’s Nwagni Project, which raised funds to rebuild and financially support an elementary school in Batchingou. Yewah has been the recipient of Albion’s Putnam Faculty Mentoring Award, the Students’ Choice Award, and the Phi Beta Kappa Scholar of the Year Award and his scholarship has been supported by Hewett-Mellon, the Great Lakes Colleges Association, the French government’s Center for International Business Development, and Albion’s Howard L. McGregor Endowed Professorship.
