Weimer Hicks

Weimer K. Hicks (May 9, 1909 – April 1985) was President of Kalamazoo College from 1954 to 1971.

Hicks is considered responsible for building Kalamazoo College's reputation as an academic powerhouse and a leader in international education through his development of the "K Plan". This academic program serves as the basis for the liberal arts education which students receive at the school. Hicks conceived of the "K Plan" program under which most Kalamazoo students spend at least one term abroad and spend at least one term working in an academic internship. As part of the original "K Plan," Kalamazoo College freshmen had the summer quarter off; sophomores and juniors were on campus in the summer; most sophomores had a career quarter in the spring, and most juniors spent fall and winter quarters off campus in a foreign-study program. However, the College scrapped its summer term in 1996 after the admissions office recognized the difficulty in attracting students to a year-round college with alternating quarters on and off. The Student Center on Campus is named for Weimer Hicks.He was known for his warmth of character and for knowing a majority of students by name when he encountered them on campus.