Trustees have scheduled a special conference call meeting for 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 10, to consider approval of a new AFSCME employee contract. The formal public session will take place at the Bernhard Center.

Inductees will be honored at a ceremony at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo and during halftime at a Bronco home football game in October.

Golf, gifts and lunch provided for participants in the Par Buster golf outing Monday, Aug. 27, at the Moors Golf Club in Portage, Mich. Golfers have until Monday, Aug. 20, to register for the event.

Campus chapter of the national honor society Alpha Lambda Delta earns prestigious award for continued excellence in programming, communications and service. 

The open house will be held Thursday, Aug. 23, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the College of Health and Human Services. Attendees can register for classes and talk with instructors and fellow students.

Emma "Em" S. Hollingshead, retired secretary for the vice president for finance, died July 24 at age 93. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 11.

Rebecca Hard, Brian Little and Joseph Russell awarded scholarships by Sales Education Foundation, which also recognized WMU's Sales and Business Marketing Program as one of the nation's best.

Historical re-enactors will stage a militia muster at one of Midwest's oldest historical sites from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 11-12, at the Fort St. Joseph archaeology site.

Dr. Van Cooley, interim dean of the College of Education and Human Development, passed away Friday, July 31, while vacationing in Florida. He was 64.

Penny D. Bundy has been elected state representative for the Michigan ACT State Organization. She will serve on the executive board and the ACT's national advisory group.

Flags on all campuses of WMU will be lowered Friday, Aug. 3, in honor of U.S. Marine Sgt. Justin M. Hansen, age 26, of Traverse City, Mich., who was killed while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan.

Projects include Phase II of the Western View student residential living complex and the renovation of the downtown Kalamazoo building that will house the WMU School of Medicine.

Gifts, pledges and deferred commitments made to WMU totaled $41,575,189 for the 2011-12 fiscal year, which ended June 30. This includes nearly $412,000 in gifts and pledges over $10,000 made in June.

Board approves agreement that spells out the terms under which the University may provide support to the medical school as well as how WMU will be compensated for those resources and services.

WMU received more than $4.6 million in grants during May and June, bringing the year-to-date total for the 2011-12 fiscal year, which ended June 30, to more than $22.7 million.

The Kalamazoo Film Society will present the romantic comedy "Hysteria" Friday through Sunday, Aug. 10-12, at WMU's Little Theatre. The film, set in Victorian England, is rated R. Admission is $5.

Lease agreements approved by the Board of Trustees include a copy center and casual restaurant, both to be located in the Bernhard Center.

The Department of Foreign Languages is now the Department of World Languages and Literatures, as approved by the Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees approved an operating investment policy statement as well as charters for the University audit committee and Department of Internal Audit during their July 25 meeting.

Four students who have transitioned from Michigan's foster care system to lives as successful college students will share their stories with members of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth Monday, July 30.

Mophie, the portable-power trailblazer and developer of the globally renowned juice pack for smartphones, has announced its expansion into the Business Technology and Research Park.

Trustees recently approved the retirements of staff members Maxine R. Gilling, William A. Green, Linda M. Rowen and David H. Smith. They also signed off on the resignation of Dr. Pingbo Tang.

Major budget investments include financial aid, which will see a more than $2.26 million increase, as well as academic support, student services, and campus operations and maintenance.

Tuition to increase 3.91 percent to $378.66 per credit hour for undergraduate courses offered at regional locations and $535.29 per credit hour for graduate courses offered online or at regional locations.

Increase will provide needed funds to preserve institutional quality while keeping cost to attend WMU $460 below $10,442 average annual cost of Michigan's 15 public universities.

Seventeen business students have been awarded scholarships for the 2012-13 academic year in recognition of their outstanding character and academic excellence.

As an associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Edwin A. Martini will focus on undergraduate and graduate student enrollment management, curriculum development and academic program review.

A portion of the trail on the east end of Asylum Lake in WMU's Asylum Lake Preserve will be modified this summer to increase safety, improve accessibility and mitigate erosion.

The WMU Board of Trustees is expected to consider tuition rates and adoption of a general fund budget for the 2012-13 academic year when it meets Wednesday, July 25, in the Bernhard Center.

WMU's Sunseeker solar race team is coming home from the American Solar Challenge with an eighth-place finish and the national collegiate event's annual sportsmanship award.