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Four staff members will receive WMU's annual Make a Difference Award for 2012-13 Friday, Oct. 4. The award is the highest honor the University bestows specifically on non-faculty employees for service excellence.

The 15th annual Homecoming Campus Classic 5K race is Saturday, Oct. 12, on WMU's main campus and is open to people of all ages. Online registration is available at wmich.edu/campusclassic/registration through Thursday, Oct. 10.

Kalamazoo's Oktoberfest festival runs from 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place. The festival will include food, beverage, and artisan vendors along with live music.

The annual gathering to review accomplishments and focus on the new academic year will kick off at 2 p.m. Friday. Oct. 4. Faculty and staff members will receive awards for exemplary service and scholarship.

Dr. Daneen Wardrop, longtime faculty member and internationally known poet-scholar, will be formally recognized for her contributions to scholarship at WMU and beyond at the Oct. 4 Academic Convocation.

Dr. Holly J. Nibert, Paul R. Solomon and Dr. Sarah E. Summy will receive Distinguished Teaching Awards at the annual academic convocation, set for 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

A reception celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Sichel Lecture Series is set for 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2. Dr. Erica Field will present the first talk of the 2013 series Wednesday, Oct. 16.

SHW Group, of Berkley, Mich., the firm that designed Sangren, received the prestigious award presented during AIA-Detroit's annual awards ceremony Sept. 19 at Detroit's Eastern Market.

The all-student cast will give several performances of the meta-comedy Oct. 10-20 in the Shaw Theatre at the Gilmore Theatre Complex. Graduating music theatre performance majors will perform following some shows.

The Kalamazoo Film Society will present the film "I'm So Excited" Friday through Sunday, Oct. 4-6, at WMU's Little Theatre. The film is rated R; admission is $5.

Comedian Melissa Villaseñor will put on a show at 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, in 227 Bernhard Center. Admission is $1 with a valid student Bronco Card, and $2 without.

Members of the Kalamazoo community can learn more about the consequences of climate change and potential responses through a series of free events taking place on and off the WMU campus this fall.

Arthur W.J. Stoddart, a WMU associate professor emeritus of mathematics, died Friday, Sept. 6, at age 79. Stoddart taught at the University for 29 years.

Tim Rann, freelance consultant for start-up social businesses and impact investment funds, will speak at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, in 2000 Schneider Hall.

Dancer and choreographer Peter Chu and his company chuthis will perform excerpts from his full-length piece "Nothing Sticks" at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave. in Kalamazoo.

Drs. Alan E. Kehew and Toni Woolfork-Barnes will be honored during the University's annual Academic Convocation, set for 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

The WMU Chorale is runner-up in the 2013 American Prize competition's college and university choral division. The prize is a national contest that annually recognizes the best performing artists in the United States.

Mary Ann LeDoux, a staff member in the Valley 2 Dining Service, died Thursday, Aug. 29, at age 48. She served the University for six years, having joined the staff in 2007.

Dr. Bob Melville, senior scientist with the New Jersey Institute of Technology, will give a free lecture titled "Science, Engineering, Adventure and Education: Service with the U.S. Antarctic Program" at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27.

WMU's Children's Place Learning Center now offers back-up care. Parents can pre-register children for back-up care in the event of a snow day or other unexpected event.

The "Essential Rhythms" exhibit, featuring the work of Justin Bernhardt, is on display in the College of Health and Human Services building's second floor art gallery, with a reception set for 4-6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, in the gallery.

Help celebrate the diversity of WMU and Kalamazoo by being a flag bearer before the University's homecoming football game Saturday, Oct. 12. Register today and enjoy a free tailgate party while assembling flags for the event.

Staff member Willie J. Mitchell Jr. died Sept. 16 at age 40. A visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in the Harper Funeral Home Chapel. A memorial service is set for 11 a.m. Sept. 27 in Christ Temple Church.

The Sphinx Virtuosi and The Catalyst Quartet, laureates and top alumni of the acclaimed Sphinx Competition for Young Black and Latino String Players, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

The School of Music will present its fourth annual WMUsic Showcase Spectacular at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, in Miller Auditorium. Proceeds from the benefit concert will go toward music student scholarships.

The Johnny Rodgers Band will headline the School of Music's Centennial Gala at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Arthur Derse, director of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, will speak at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in Fetzer Auditorium's Putney Auditorium. His talk is part of the 2013 WMU Medical Humanities Conference.

Carolyn Forché, an English professor at Georgetown University and author of four books of poetry, will read at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in the Little Theatre.

Dr. Ronald Kramer will give a talk titled "Is Climate Change a Crime? Moral, Legal and Political Perspectives" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, in 105-107 Bernhard Center.

Andrew and Kathleen Widner, owners of The Spirit of Kalamazoo, will speak at 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4, in 2150 Schneider Hall. The event is free and open to the public and begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m.