The Van Liere Symposium is an event held every spring when the Psychology Department majors present their Senior Individualized Projects (SIPs) to the members of the campus, families, and guests. This is an opportunity for upcoming majors to learn what SIPs are about and to discover SIP opportunities for themselves.

The Van Liere Symposium is in honor of the late Donald Van Liere who was the first experimental psychologist at Kalamazoo College. Dr. Van Liere graduated with a BA from Hope College in 1939 with a BA and earned his Masters Degree from Indiana University. He proudly served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946. Upon returning from his tour of duty in Europe during World War II, he returned to Indiana University, where he earned his PhD in Psychology in 1950. Dr. Van Liere and his family moved to Kalamazoo in 1949, where he founded the Psychology Department at Kalamazoo College. He chaired the department for many years, and even after his retirement from K in 1981 he continued to teach Freshman Introduction to Psychology.