Ribfest Kalamazoo runs Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 2-4, and features live music, a cook-off, eating contests, children's events and an arts and crafts sale.

Ralph Marcus "Mark" Spink, retired professor of media services and coordinator of production services in media services, died June 17 at age 86. A memorial service is scheduled for Sept. 2.

Charlene R. Bennett, a former administrative assistant for more than 16 years in the Division of Continuing Education, now Extended University Programs, died June 9. She was 88. There are no services scheduled.

The Instant Innovation Program, part of the Michigan Corporate Relations Network, is a collaboration of six public universities connecting businesses with university resources to help drive innovation.

A combination of heavy rains and electronic problems on the second day of the race led to a multiple-hour delay. The next leg of the race comes through Kalamazoo on Tuesday, July 17.

Racing team will cover more than 1,600 miles over eight days, traveling through Michigan and stopping in Kalamazoo at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences on July 17 for a mid-day checkpoint.

Officers elected to serve one-year terms on the Alumni Association Board of Directors include Chludzinski, La Mere and Lueth as president, vice president and treasurer, respectively.

The WMU Center for African Development Policy Research brings keynote speaker Dr. Solomon Bililign to campus for The seventh International Conference on African Development.

Division of Multicultural Affairs expects to receive a grant renewal from the U.S. Department of Education, resulting in additional funding for the College Assistance Migrant Program.

Kalamazoo Gazette newspaper archive materials dating back to the 1800s will eventually be available to citizens as part of the WMU Archives and Regional History Collections.

The Legacy Collections Center will be built on the Oakland Drive Campus to house the WMU Archives and Regional History Collections as well as archives of the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Student-athletes Leah Grawburg, Kaylee Imel and Heather Marks recognized for outstanding academic and athletic achievements by the National Golf Coaches Association.

The Sunseeker solar race team completed 107 laps of the track at Monticello (N.Y.) Speedway Tuesday, qualifying for the American Solar Challenge cross-country race that begins Saturday, July 14.

Dr. Charles Henderson, associate professor of physics and science education, has been named senior editor of the journal Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research.

Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed Ronald J. Winter, associate professor emeritus of human performance and health education, to the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports.

Dr. Linda Reeser, professor of social work, has received the 2011-12 College of Health and Human Services Teaching Excellence Award for her use of creative teaching techniques.

Flags on all campuses of WMU will be lowered Wednesday, July 11, in honor of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Leach, age 29, of Ferndale, Mich., who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan.

Host families sought for visiting international teachers and students who will be arriving in August and staying from four weeks to one year. Hosts are required to provide a private bedroom and two meals daily.

Eric Bowman of Portage, Mich., has taken first place in the Frank Smith Trombone Solo Competition, the International Trombone Festival's classical trombone division.

WMU's Sunseeker solar race team second of 18 college teams to complete the first pre-qualification event for the American Solar Challenge cross-country race. The race begins Saturday, July 14.

Food from more than 30 area restaurants will be featured at the Taste of Kalamazoo Thursday through Saturday, July 26-28, at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place in downtown Kalamazoo.

Dr. R. Wayne Fuqua, chair of WMU's Department of Psychology, is one of 12 appointees named to the newly created Michigan Autism Council by Gov. Rick Snyder on July 3.

Dr. Lofton L. Durham, WMU assistant professor of theatre, has won the 2011 Martin Stevens Award for Best New Essay in Early Drama Studies for an article published in the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism.

The transition of the Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies to the WMU School of Medicine is complete. KCMS operations, programs, personnel and facilities are now under the auspices of the new medical school.

Music, dancing, singing, poetry reading, and arts and crafts are highlights of the 27th annual Black Arts Festival, held Thursday through Sunday, July 19-22, at various locations in downtown Kalamazoo.

Twelve WMU students to compete in the 2012 American Solar Challenge. For the first time in 20 years, the course will run through Kalamazoo, bringing teams from around the world to the area Tuesday, July 17.

The Kalamazoo Film Society will present the comedy "Damsels in Distress" Friday through Sunday, July 13-15, at WMU's Little Theatre. The film is rated PG and admission is $5.

Terri Culver, accounting, and Carol Morris-Mier, education and human development, have been named president and vice president, respectively, of WMU's Professional Support Staff Organization.

Dr. Hal B. Jenson has announced that the future home of the WMU School of Medicine, located in downtown Kalamazoo, will be named the W.E. Upjohn Campus in honor of the founder of The Upjohn Co.

With two new residential buildings and a community center already being added to the campus's popular Western View housing complex, WMU is laying plans for a new round of housing and dining enhancements.