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Welcome to WMU in Detroit

Oct. 27, 2008

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University is moving to Detroit--literally--with a series of activities and events for Metro Detroit high school students and WMU alumni, culminating with the football Broncos hosting the University of Illinois at Ford Field.

Football caps more than a week of activities with the Broncos and Fighting Illini in a special "home game" for WMU at Detroit's Ford Field beginning at noon Saturday, Nov. 8. WMU has a record of 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Mid-American Conference. Illinois is 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten. Game tickets are available through Ticketmaster and range from $22 to $39, plus related fees.

A pre-game party with host WMU mascot Buster Bronco and his friend WMU President John M. Dunn will be held in the North Club at Ford Field from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The cheerleading team, dance team and members of the Bronco Marching Band will be there to help get everyone fired up for the big contest against the Illini. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children age 12 and younger, which includes food and nonalcoholic beverages. A cash bar also will be available.

WMU on Display is one of the unique ways in which the University will be in Detroit, with three dozen exhibits featuring a variety of programs, student projects and campus services in the concourse at Ford Field for 90 minutes prior to game time. Exhibits include:

  • Authentic flight simulator used for WMU pilot training
  • Robo Bronco, a walking, talking, singing high-tech chrome robotic version of WMU mascot Buster Bronco
  • Sunseeker, WMU's solar race car
  • Men's vocal ensemble and music-theatre quartet
  • Body fat assessment
  • Formula race car designed and built by WMU students
  • Career assessment services
  • Athletic training assessment
  • Floating concrete canoe
  • Hearing impairment and hearing aid benefit demonstrated in real-time simulation
  • Blood pressure screening and information on hypertension

A reception with President John M. Dunn and the deans of WMU’s nine colleges will be held Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Mich. The reception is $10 per person and includes hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. Sponsored by the WMU Alumni Association, the event is open to the public.

Throughout the week of Nov. 3, representatives from WMU will be meeting with high school students and counselors from Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties; music faculty ensembles the Western Wind Quintet and Western Brass Quintet will give five performances in three Detroit area high schools; and receptions will be held for several alumni groups and donors.

WMU will participate in the Michigan Yes! Expo from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at Ford Field, expected to draw 15,000 high school students. The WMU Board of Trustees also will hold its regularly scheduled meeting at Ford Field at 2:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, in Conference Room E.

Visit www.wmich.edu/detroit more information, and to buy game tickets and make reservations.

Media contact: Thom Myers, (269) 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu

WMU News
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