Alumni Spotlight - Michelle Bombe VU 83' Awarded Kennedy Center Gold Medallion - VU Alumni Foundation Site
Alumni Spotlight - Michelle Bombe VU 83' Awarded Kennedy Center Gold Medallion
Michelle Bombe (VU 83') serves as the chair of the theatre department and residential costume designer at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. From 2008-2012 she was elected as a faculty member of the college's Board of Trustees. She has held numerous leadership roles with the Kennedy Center American College Festival on both a state and national level. 
In August she will conclude a four-year term as KCACTF's national chair. She has been awarded her second Gold Medallion from the organization for her contributions and poise through over seventeen years of involvement. Michelle is noted for leading the organization through some of its most challenging times with empathy and grace. During her time as chair, she faced a global pandemic, calls for equality in theatre, and the economic challenges facing organizations associated with the Arts.
Michelle has truly forged her own path in the Theatre world. Using the skills that she earned at
Vincennes University, the University of Evansville, and the University of Texas at Austin, she has worked with multiple groundbreaking programs. Many local residents and alumni have seen her costume work showcased at the Jasper Arts Center in 2008 in an exhibition titled Michelle Bombe: Costume Designs for Kentucky Shakespeare Festival 1998-2008. She also served 10 years as the costume designer for a program founded by her husband called Shakespeare Behind Bars. The program, founded by her husband, Curt Tofteland, is based in LaGrange, Kentucky. A documentary under the same name featuring Bombe tours the US and she still serves on the board of directors for the organization.
To learn more about Bombe and her career in theatre and costume design, please visit: