September 2017 WMU News

The campuswide celebration at the Bernhard Center includes President Edward Montgomery's State of the University address at 11:45 a.m.

Highlights include the annual China Festival, the Western World Cup soccer tournament and various lectures on global topics.

WMU is the first university to perform "The Witches of Eastwick." The show will open at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, and run through Sunday, Oct. 15, in Shaw Theatre at the Gilmore Theatre Complex on WMU's Main Campus.

Eligible WMU employees are encouraged to attend an upcoming information session, then take advantage of their free-tuition benefit.

George Dales died Sept. 27 in Kalamazoo at age 96. The visitation from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, will be followed by a traditional Greek service. A funeral is planned for 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 2.

Dr. Vinod Thomas, formerly with the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, will be on campus Oct. 11 to discuss his latest book and lead a panel discussion with WMU climate experts.

Drs. Thomas Gorczyca, Victor Cunrui Xiong and Ping Zhang will be honored as 2017 Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award during this year's academic convocation at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in the Bernhard Center.

Danielle Field, program manager of the Haworth College of Business Student Professional Readiness Series, has been awarded second place in the Innovation in Business Education Award program.

Adrienne Fraaza, Tom Grossman, Deborah O'Keefe and Colleen Sante will be recognized during the Fall Convocation Friday, Oct. 6, as Annual Make a Difference Award winners.

President Emeritus John M. Dunn will be honored at the sixth annual Fostering Futures Scholarship Benefit Dinner for his contributions to the success of young people who have been part of the state's foster care system.

The Prism Quartet is coming to the Dalton Center Recital Hall for a free recital at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, and to perform with the WMU Symphonic Band at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, in Miller Auditorium.

Soprano Dr. Karen Wicklund, WMU associate professor emerita of music, will join the Hofeldt-Phillips Trio in a free, public recital at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

Nominations for honorary degree recipients are being accepted through Friday, Oct. 27. Any honorary degrees would be awarded during April commencement.

Dr. Stephen Magura has received a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, to fund a major three-year project to study the effectiveness of national behavioral health registers.

Dr. Charles Ballard, MSU professor of economics, will speak from noon to 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, in 2028 Brown Hall on the topic "The Fall and Rise of Income Equality in the Unites States."

An Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Laboratory is being built at WMU's Grand Rapids regional location to address the shortage of skilled trades and engineering employees in the region.

Vocal ensemble MOSS will share the stage with WMU's finest jazz students and faculty in its first appearance in nearly 10 years at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

Guest artist Brad Edwards, trombone professor at Arizona State University, will perform in a free recital at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

Live music, locally grown food and poetry slam-style talks on building a sustainable community are highlights of an open house at WMU's Office for Sustainability Thursday, Sept. 28.

Dr. Robert Felkel and Yumi Takahashi-Ede will be awarded during WMU's annual Fall Convocation recognition ceremony Friday, Oct. 6, in the Bernhard Center.

The Board has agreed to move forward with negotiations that will result in a new lease agreement between LMC and the state of Michigan.

Dr. William Olsen, professor of English and editor of WMU's New Issues Poetry and Prose, will read from his works at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, in 2452 Knauss Hall.

Trustees approved a three-year labor agreement with the WMU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, calling for a 2 percent salary increase for academic years 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Final WMU census numbers reflect a 5.1 percent increase in the number of beginning undergraduate students and an increase of nearly 1.7 percent in the number of international students.

An on-campus naming ceremony Wednesday, Sept. 27, will honor a trio of celebrated alumni—the late automotive executive Ronald Hall Sr., former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer and entrepreneur Dr. William Pickard.

The test will take place beginning at about 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, unless the WMU Alert system has been activated within the previous 24 hours. If it has, the test will be postponed until Monday, Sept. 25.

President Mark Alan Jackson, an executive with General Motors LLC, and other new officers began serving their one-year terms starting this summer.

WMU will present its Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award to Jeanne Carlson, of Novi, and Birgit Klohs, of Grand Rapids, during an Oct. 13 reception.

Students, faculty and staff will be available to answer questions about studying or working abroad when WMU holds its annual Study Abroad Fair Sept. 27.

The University is one of only 10 institutions in the country and the only one in Michigan to receive grant money for the College Assistance Migrant Program's new funding cycle.