FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cindy Deppe, media relations, 641-269-4834

January 8, 2008

KALKBRENNER NAMED INTERIM COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT DIRECTOR

GRINNELL, IA - Amy Kalkbrenner has been named interim director of community enhancement for Grinnell College. Kalkbrenner will fulfill the responsibilities of the current director, Monica Chavez-Silva, who will be on leave through December 2008.

Kalkbrenner, who also served as interim director in 2003, will represent the college on community projects and programs that enhance the town and campus. The Office of Community Enhancement at Grinnell College develops initiatives that generate commercial activity and improve local quality of life.

"As a major employer, the college has a significant stake in the increasing vitality and diversity of our community," Kalkbrenner said. "I look forward to working with community leaders on innovative projects that extend the varied opportunities offered in the Grinnell area."

In addition to college enhancement responsibilities, Kalkbrenner serves on the Poweshiek Leadership Program steering committee, the board of directors of Imagine Grinnell, and as treasurer of the Grinnell Bike Club. She has served on the board of the Grinnell Community Day Care Center and Fairview PTO, and in 2003-2004, served as interim executive director of Imagine Grinnell. She and her family relocated to Grinnell in 1999 from Connecticut where she was a project manager for MassMutual Life Insurance Co.

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