The president thanked faculty and staff for their dedication and challenged them to continue elevating WMU as a school of choice for 21st century learners.

Recommendations for bus routes, walkability, bike usage and parking at Western Michigan University, as well as input on a future road as part of a new development project, are the focus of two public sessions Thursday, Sept. 26, on campus.

The event also marked the launch of a children's book drive to jump-start the collection of 2,500 new or gently used books throughout the University community for students in kindergarten through the third grade.

Research involving an autonomous electric shuttle officially kicked off Thursday, Sept. 19, on the WMU campus. The $2.1 million project, funded through the Michigan Mobility Challenge announced by former Gov. Rick Snyder last year, focuses on improving transportation options for people with disabilities.

Health officials have recommended avoiding outdoor activities after dusk due to local cases of the rare but serious mosquito-borne virus Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Officials also recommend using insect repellents that contain the active ingredient DEET. UPDATE: Insect repellent is being made available at academic buildings, residence halls, the Sindecuse Health Center, the Student Rec Center and other key areas.

At Fall Convocation, eleven WMU faculty and staff members were recognized for their achievements and contributions to the University. The Distinguished Service, Distinguished Teaching, Distinguished Faculty Scholar, Emerging Scholar and Make a Difference awards were presented during a ceremony Friday, Sept. 20.

The Kalamazoo Refugee Resource Collaborative debuted a pilot program this summer to help middle- and high school-aged refugees get the tools they need to be successful in the American school system.

Kechi Okwuchi, who overcame unbelievable adversity after a plane crash nearly took her life, will deliver the annual Resilience Factor Lecture at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23 in Dalton Recital Hall.

The open house is designed to create new opportunities for advancing collaboration, making connections on campus and in the community and celebrating sustainability at WMU and Kalamazoo.

Luke Kujacznski will speak at 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27, in 1120 Schneider Hall as the  first speaker in the Mercantile Bank of Michigan Speaker Series at Western Michigan University's Haworth College of Business.

Western Michigan University's annual Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 25, will provide area students and the public with the information to make an overseas learning experience part of their college degree programs.

Western Michigan University students Jake DeJulio, Jake Frye and Samantha Mcgrath have received prestigious scholarships from the National Grocers Association Foundation. This is the second consecutive year that WMU students have garnered the most scholarships out of all students nationally who received awards.

The first of three new machines for the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Laboratory, or AMP Lab, in downtown Grand Rapids, weighs more than 20,000 pounds and required removal of one of the windows facing Cherry Street and two cranes in order to move into the building and to its final spot in the Showcase/Prototyping Lab.

Dr. Elena Litvinova, associate professor of physics, will receive the Emerging Scholar Award during WMU's Fall Convocation activities at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 20, in the Bernhard Center.

Diana Hernández, director of the Division of Multicultural Affairs; Dr. Wei-Chiao Huang, professor of economics; and Dr. William Rantz, professor of aviation sciences, will receive Western Michigan University's Distinguished Service Award during WMU's annual Fall Convocation Friday, Sept. 20.

Kaitlin Ridgway, who earned her equivalency and master's degree in music therapy at WMU, is changing lives with her work at Hospice of Michigan.

President Edward Montgomery's State of the University address is at 11:45 a.m. Friday, Sept. 20, in the North Ballroom of the Bernhard Center.

As Distinguished Teaching Award recipients, Drs. Matthew Mingus and Leah Omilion-Hodges join 31 other faculty members who have been honored since the start of the award program in 2006.

Dr. Brian Wilson, WMU professor comparative religion, will receive the Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award.

A $140,000 gift establishing the Monroe-Brown Foundation Entrepreneurship Fund aims to foster job-creation and engage Kalamazoo-area entrepreneurs like Dr. Khady Ndao-Brumblay, who hopes to turn her dream of increasing African representation in children's literature a reality.

Kara Wood, managing director of economic development services for the city of Grand Rapids, will join Western Michigan University as its new associate vice president for community partnerships.

Meeting in formal session Wednesday, Sept. 11, Western Michigan University trustees will consider the sale of a parcel in the Business Technology and Research Park 2, among several other agenda items.

Dr. Vun Doubblestein, Rebecca Huntley, Shari Rose and Dustin Skaggs will be honored for their exceptional contributions to Western Michigan University during Fall Convocation Friday, Sept. 20.

Monthly engaging public talks about science start Saturday, Sept. 14, on the campus of Western Michigan University. Various WMU faculty members will speak and answer questions from 10:30 a.m. to noon in Room 1104 Rood Hall on a variety of topics that are relevant and open to all ages.

Dr. M.K. "Mohan" Mohanan brings to WMU deep expertise in graduate and undergraduate international admissions and the enrollment management lifecycle from his work at Cleveland State University, Rutgers University, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Wayne State University.

Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 9, WMU Today, the compilation of concise campus notices emailed to employees and retirees each week, will become an online repository in addition to a weekly email blast. Employees may post their own notices to appear on the WMU Today site using the University's content management system. As of Monday, Oct. 7, submissions for WMU Today will no longer be accepted by email.

Members of the public, along with students and alumni from WMU and other area colleges and universities, are welcome to attend as many events as they wish. No registration is necessary, although attendees will need to go through check-in at many of the events.

The University community will gather Tuesday, Sept. 10, for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on a new student center and dining facility and also to celebrate a major milestone for Arcadia Flats, the new student housing complex that is rising in Hilltop Village.

The owner and principal of Humanergy, a business leadership development company, will be the first speaker in the Entrepreneurship Forum speaker series at Western Michigan University's Haworth College of Business.

The Sones de México Ensemble, a Latinx group, will use projected images and live music demonstrations to perform on campus Sept. 16 for WMU's celebration of national Hispanic Heritage Month.