Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed Dr. Michael Nassaney to fill a vacancy on the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission, which preserves and promotes the legacy of the Underground Railroad's Freedom Trail in Michigan.

Local people who dress the part of parodies, spoofs and characters will parade along the streets of downtown Kalamazoo at the annual Do Dah Parade Saturday, June 8.

U2 tribute band U2 Zoo and rock band Candlebox will be featured alongside traditional Greek fare at the 37th annual Kalamazoo Greek Festival Thursday through Saturday, June 6-8, at Arcadia Creek Festival Place.

Original works of arts and fine crafts will be sold along the downtown Kalamazoo Mall from Michigan Avenue to Lovell Street Friday and Saturday, June 7-8.

Five WMU staff members received awards from the Administrative Professional Association and the Professional Support Staff Organization during separate events this spring.

A family-friendly Bowling Extravaganza will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, June 2, at Eastland Lanes to raise funds for Kalamazoo's annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride celebration.

Willard "Bill" Rose will speak at 8 a.m. Friday, May 31, in the Dean's Conference Room of Schneider Hall. His talk will focus on the business paradigm shift for nature centers.

The birds, plants and history of Kalamazoo's Asylum Lake Preserve will be showcased at a public event from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the preserve's Parkview Avenue entrance.

Jack J. Frey, assistant professor emeritus of music, died May 8 at age 91. A memorial service is planned for 3 p.m. Monday, May 13, in the First United Methodist Church in downtown Kalamazoo.

Applicants to WMU's master of business administration program now have the option of submitting Graduate Record Exam or Graduate Management Admission Test scores.

Candidates for the position of associate provost for the Haenicke Institute for Global Education will give public presentations Monday through Thursday, May 13-16, in 2020 Fetzer Center.

WMU was named the public sector category winner by the Detroit Free Press in this year's Michigan Green Leader competition. Winners in all categories will be honored at a June 10 event.

In its first year, PITCH: A WMU Business Pitch Competition attracted 32 teams. Sales and business marketing major Nate Norman took first place with his Fish Ninja Labs idea.

Lane and street closures will re-route traffic from WMU's Waldo Stadium through downtown Kalamazoo Thursday, May 23, for the Girls on the Run 5K run and walk.

Freshman Mingyuan Yang will compete June 27 as one of three finalists in the International Double Reed Society Young Artist Competition for young bassoon players.

A 15th century prayer book for nuns has been digitized and is now available from the WMU's Special Collections and Rare Books department of University Libraries.

Five doctoral students have received a fellowship from the Graduate College for the 2013-14 academic year, and 85 graduate students were honored in April as recipients of research and teaching awards for 2012-13.

Dr. Margaret Merrion, dean of the College of Fine Arts, is one of five recipients of 2013 YWCA Women of Achievement Awards and will be honored at an event Tuesday, May 21.

Alumnus Matt Mace, co-founder of BlueGranite, will speak at 8 a.m. Friday, May 10, in 2150 Schneider Hall; breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. Registration is required.

The America Reads Program offered through WMU, which helps young children improve their reading, has been recognized by Volunteer Kalamazoo and MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette.

Dr. Todd Barkman, a WMU professor of biological sciences, homes in on the genetics of the world's largest flower 

Herman William Linder. Husband of his beloved Phoebe, and father of Becky, Todd, Julie, and myself. He loved with a passion...people, all things mechanical, and life itself. My brother shared with me, ‘The most important thing Dad taught me about being a mechanic and fixing things was ‘Always look where the light is the brightest first.’ That was our Dad. He was personable and fun; he exuded positive energy and had a great sense of humor; he was truly a character...a one of a kind.

Local school children will get an education in environmental stewardship during the Asylum Lake Preserve's annual Adventure Day from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 7.

At its April 18 meeting, WMU's Board of Trustees approved the retirements of 10 faculty and 11 staff members and also signed off on one faculty and one staff resignation.

The Kalamazoo Film Society will present the comedic drama "Quartet" Friday through Sunday, May 10-12, at WMU's Little Theatre. The film is rated PG-13; admission is $5.

A team from the computer information systems capstone course earned first place in the second annual Midwest Student Information Systems Project and Case Competition, beating out eight other teams from five universities.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is coming to Miller Auditorium for a single performance at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 20. Tickets range from $63 to $79 and are now on sale.

More than 3,000 of the world's leading authorities on the Middle Ages will meet on campus in early May to examine topics ranging from medieval social networking and military history to medieval conspiracy theories.

Sara Rokicki, an advertising and promotion major, is one of six students in Michigan to win a $2,000 scholarship from the Adcraft Club of Detroit's Adcraft Foundation.

Twenty-three graduate students were recognized for outstanding demonstrations of their research earlier in the month at the seventh annual WMU Research and Creative Activities Poster Day.