WMU College of Arts and Sciences

09/04/2026

As policymakers and communities prepare for new Medicaid work and reporting requirements, the Upjohn Institute is partnering with the College of Arts and Sciences to co-sponsor a public lecture titled "Paperwork Requirements or Work Requirements? Administrative Burdens in Medicaid" on WMU's campus.

Join Pamela Herd, the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the University of Michigan, as she examines how administrative requirements affect access to Medicaid coverage and what those burdens mean for individuals, families, and policymakers. A reception will follow the event.

📅 Tuesday, September 15 at 3:30 p.m.
📍 John E. Fetzer Center, WMU

RSVP at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-lecture-with-pamela-herd-tickets-1997930414653?aff=oddtdtcreator

09/03/2026

Join the WMU Ethics Center today as political commentator and author Ben Burgis explores alternatives to capitalism in his lecture "Is Capitalism the Best We Can Do?" 💭

Learn more about his ethical and economic arguments for a new form of socialism informed by the difficulties of both capitalism and Soviet-style central planning.

Advance copies of Ben's forthcoming book, The Blueprint: How Socialism Can Work in the Real World (with Mike Beggs and Bhaskar Sunkara), will be available for purchase. 📕

This event is free to attend and open to all.

📅 Thursday, September 3
🕛 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
📍 Dunbar Hall 1303

09/02/2026

Are you ready for Homecoming Weekend? 📣

Get in the game day spirit at the WMU Alumni Homecoming Tailgate before WMU's football team takes on Kent State! Your ticket includes food, drinks and plenty of fun.

📅 Saturday, October 10
🕛 3.5 hours before kickoff (TBD)
📍 Heritage Hall Grand Lawn

Paid parking will be available in Lot 63 behind Lawson Ice Arena, with shuttles running to take guests to Heritage Hall for the tailgate.

Find more info and RSVP here: https://events.blackthorn.io/en/1I1VGoT7/g/N07Z82597C/broncopalooza-alumni-homecoming-tailgate-2026-4a6oRQHYGb/overview

09/02/2026

Join us in kicking off Homecoming at the annual College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Achievement Awards! 🏆

Enjoy a chance to mingle, take photos, and grab food and a drink from the bar before the ceremony starts. We hope to see you there!

📅 Friday, October 9
🕛 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. (doors open at 11 a.m.)
📍 WMU Student Center Ballrooms A and B

Parking will be available in Lot 20 until 2 p.m. Find a parking map at:

Visitor Parking Metered spaces in WMU lots are for the exclusive use of campus visitors. Payment at a meter may be made with U.S. quarters or by a smartphone through Parkmobile. Instructions are listed on each campus meter. Register for a Parkmobile account or call (800) 280-4146.Parking meter fees....

09/01/2026

Science on Tap is back! 🧬 🍻

Starting this week, join us on the first Thursday of every month from September through May for a happy hour followed by a lecture featuring a new scientific topic.

We hope to see you there!

📅 Thursday, September 3
🕛 Happy Hour: 5 - 6 p.m. | Presentation: 6 - 7 p.m.
📍 Burdick’s Bar & Grill | 100 West Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo

Register at: eventbrite.com/o/science-on-tap-121379889959

08/28/2026

Congratulations to history professor Sally Hadden on her Fulbright U.S. Scholar award! 👏

Today, she arrives at the University of Manchester, UK, where she will collaborate with other scholars and work on a new book about early American legal systems. 📖 ⚖️

She aims to provide students in introductory history, government and law courses, as well as general readers, with a more complete picture of the complex intersection of Indigenous and European legal philosophies in precolonial and colonial America.

“By seeing how my colleagues overseas explain material when they teach, I'll be better positioned to explain information in the book I'm writing, as well as in the classroom when I return to WMU,” Hadden says.

Read more at: https://wmich.edu/global/news/2026/08/fulbright-sally-hadden

06/18/2026

Students in WMU's Geology Club just got back from the trip of a lifetime. ✈️

This year's club trip was to Iceland! Our instructors and students explored its glaciers and waterfalls and snorkeled in the Silfra Fissure where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.

As the oldest registered student organization on campus, the Geology Club was named the national student chapter of the American Institute of Professional Geologists for three consecutive years. ⚒️

Don't miss out on this experience next year! The WMU Geology Club is open to students of all majors with an interest in geology and Earth sciences. 🌍 🪨

Read more about Geology Club: https://wmich.edu/geology/about/student-organizations

06/15/2026

Please join us in supporting the Dr. Benjamin C. Wilson Jr. Memorial Scholarship Endowment in honor of the late Dr. Benjamin C. Wilson, Jr., professor emeritus of 30 years and founder of the Black Americana Studies Program (now known as the African American and African Studies Program) in the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University.

These funds will provide scholarships to History and African American Studies students who are passionate about African American and African History.

We proud to see this endowment fully funded, and we encourage everyone to help us grow this legacy over Juneteenth weekend! 🏆

📅 Saturday, June 20
📍 Crestview Golf Club Kalamazoo

06/12/2026

This week, we were honored to welcome Mr. D.W. Kim '62 and his family back to campus! 🎉

Kim's bachelor's degree in chemistry from WMU, followed by a degree in biochemistry from Wayne State University, gave him the foundation to tackle complex scientific and legal issues throughout a successful career in chemistry and patent law. 🔬

Originally from Korea, he was sponsored by family friends he met in Seoul. The people who have helped him along the way inspired him to give back to the WMU Chemistry Department, where his legacy gifts will help students for generations to come.

Thank you to the Kim family for their deep generosity and commitment to science and education! 👏

06/11/2026

Hands-on learning rocks. 🎸

Playwright, English professor and lifelong rock fan Dr. Steve Feffer has used music to teach history in the interdisciplinary course “The Vietnam War in Rock and Soul” for nine years. His students have listened to songs from the period, made playlists based on the soldiers' experiences and formed bands to immerse themselves in the war's cultural context. 🎶

The class inspired Feffer to pursue his current research project, a book tracing the Vietnam War's appearance in Bruce Springsteen's music.

Read more at: https://wmich.edu/arts-sciences/news/2026/06/vietnam-war-music