Announcement regarding the Western Michigan University School of Medicine

As you receive this message, an event at the College of Health and Human Services Building is getting underway. The purpose of the event is to announce that our new School of Medicine will be named for Dr. Homer Stryker, a 1916 WMU alumnus and the founder of Stryker Corporation.

This fall, the inaugural class of medical students will be welcomed to the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. The name is a wonderful acknowledgement of the qualities we intend to be at the core of the school—innovation, positive patient outcomes, community commitment and global leadership.

This development is a reflection of the fact that three years ago, an anonymous $100 million gift served as the foundation funding for the medical school and allowed us to successfully move the medical school initiative to the point it is at today,

The $100 million gift—which has since been increased—was a personal gift from Homer Stryker's granddaughter Ronda Stryker and her husband, William Johnston, who is a member of our Board of Trustees. It was their vision, and confidence in this University and this community that has made the new medical school a reality.

I wanted you to be among the first to know about this, and I invite you to read more about today's event as well as some additional gift news by going online to WMU News to read the story that has just been posted and will be distributed nationally in the coming moments.

Today, as a University and as a community, we can truly celebrate a development that will have a profound impact on our future.

Best regards,