Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor

Aaron T. Bliss Aaron Thomas Bliss (May 22, 1837 – September 16, 1906) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative and the 25th governor of Michigan, and was from Saginaw. Bliss Township was named after him. Early life in New York Bliss ...

for the training of teachers. In 1957, G. Mennen Williams signed a bill into law that made Western a university and gave the school its current name of Western Michigan University. Western is one of the eight

research universities A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...

in the

State of Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The university has seven degree-granting colleges, offering 147 undergraduate degree programs, 73 master's degree programs, 30 doctoral programs, and one specialist degree program. It is governed by an eight-member board of regents whose members are appointed by the governor of Michigan and confirmed by the Michigan Senate for eight-year terms. The university's athletic teams compete in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) and are known as the

Western Michigan Broncos The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program representing Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's baseball, basketball ...

. They compete in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

for most sports.

History

On May 27, 1903, Michigan Governor

signed a bill authorizing the creation of a teacher-training facility. Kalamazoo was chosen as the new school's location on August 28, 1903. Other locations considered included Allegan,

Muskegon Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, Decatur, Three Oaks, and

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. The first building, then known as the Administration Building, and now known as East Hall, was constructed in 1904. The university was first officially known as Western State Normal School, and originally offered a two-year training program. The first principal was Dwight B. Waldo, who served from 1904 until 1936. The school was renamed several times throughout its early history, beginning with Western State Teachers College in 1927, Western Michigan College of Education in 1941, and Western Michigan College in 1955. On February 26, 1957, Governor G. Mennen Williams signed a bill into law that made Western Michigan College the state's fourth public university and gave the school its current name of Western Michigan University. Most of the oldest and original WMU buildings and "classrooms" are collectively known as East Campus, directly East from the more central "West Campus". Access to the East Campus site was an issue because of the steep grade elevating it above the city. The

Western State Normal Railroad The Western State Normal Railroad, also known as the Normal Railroad or Western Trolley, was a funicular which operated on the campus of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the United States from 1908–1949. It is the only know ...

was established in 1907 to carry students and staff up and down the hill via a

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

. It operated until 1949. Western Michigan University was negatively impacted by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Giving remarks at a WMU board of trustees meeting on April 23, 2020, President Edward Montgomery stated "The COVID-19 pandemic has also transformed higher education and our University in ways that few of us could have imagined". He went on to state "the crisis has already cost WMU well over $45 million, and we expect the tally to rise through the remainder of this fiscal year". To soften the economic toll of the pandemic, WMU instituted a number of cost-cutting measures. Montgomery stated he was personally taking a 10% pay cut and there would be pay cuts between 5%–10% for other WMU executives. Montgomery stated these cuts will save WMU "approximately $1 million".

Presidents

* Dwight B. Waldo (1904-1936) * Paul V. Sangren (1936-1960) * James W. Miller (1961-1974) * John T. Bernhard (1974-1985) * Diether H. Haenicke (1985-1998) * Elson S. Floyd (1998-2003) * Judith I. Bailey (2003-2006) * John M. Dunn (2007-2017) * Edward B. Montgomery (2017- )

Academics

Admissions

Undergraduate

WMU is considered "selective" by ''U.S. News & World Report''. For the Class of 2025 (enrolled fall 2021), WMU received 18,853 applications and accepted 15,612 (82.8%). Of those accepted, 2,112 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 13.5%. WMU's freshman retention rate is 77.2%, with 56.3% going on to graduate within six years. The enrolled first-year class of 2025 had the following standardized test scores: the middle 50% range (25th percentile-75th percentile) of

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

scores was 1000-1200, while the middle 50% range of ACT scores was 21-27.

Graduate

For Fall 2022,

Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Western Michigan University Cooley Law School ("Cooley") is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by en ...

received 1,352 applications and accepted 651 (48.15%). Of those accepted, 191 enrolled, a yield rate of 29.34%. Cooley Law School had a middle-50%

LSAT The Law School Admission Test (LSAT; ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal rea ...

range of 146-151 for the 2022 first year class.

Academic divisions

WMU is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". It has 147

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher e ...

programs, 73

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

programs, 30 doctoral programs, and one

specialist degree The specialist degree is an academic degree conferred by a college or university. The degree is formatted differently worldwide and may be either a five-year program or a doctoral level graduate program that occurs after a master's degree but befo ...

program. The university has seven degree-granting colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Aviation, the Haworth College of Business, the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the College of Fine Arts and the College of Health and Human Services. In addition, the university has a Graduate College and the Lee Honors College. The Haworth College of Business is the university's

business school A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, o ...

. One of the largest business schools in the United States, it has some 4,000 undergraduate students and 500

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

(MBA) and

Master of Accountancy The Master of Accountancy (MAcc, MAcy, or MAccy), alternatively Master of Science in Accounting (MSA or MSAcy) or Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAcy, MPAcc or MPAc), is a graduate professional degree designed to prepare students for public ...

(MSA) students. The college is in Schneider Hall on the main campus. The College of Business was renamed in honor of alumnus G. W. Haworth after Haworth gave a large donation in the 1980s. In 2001, WMU and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School entered into a partnership where students could obtain a

Master in Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

from WMU while simultaneously working on a law degree from Cooley. In 2008, WMU and Cooley expanded this partnership so now WMU students enrolled in both MPA and

Masters in Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

programs at WMU may simultaneously work on obtaining a law degree from Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University. The university's board of trustees voted November 5, 2020 to end its affiliation with the Cooley Law School, indicating the board believed that affiliation with Cooley had become a distraction from the university's core mission. The disassociation requires three years to take effect. The law school closed its campus in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 2020, and plans to close its Grand Rapids, Michigan, campus in August 2021.

Campus

WMU's campuses encompass more than and roughly 150 buildings. Western Michigan University is divided into five campuses in and near

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

: *West Campus * East Campus *

Oakland Drive Campus Oakland Drive Campus is a campus of Western Michigan University. It is the university's newest land acquisition. The campus, acquired in 1998, was originally state property used by the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital. The hospital is stil ...

*Parkview Campus *College of Aviation (Battle Creek, MI)

West Campus

West Campus is the primary and largest WMU campus in

, and is usually referred to as "Main Campus." Most of the university

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and

administrative Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

buildings are on West Campus, including the College of Arts and Sciences, Haworth College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, College of Fine Arts, the Lee Honors College and Waldo Library. Many of the

residence halls A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university ...

are found scattered throughout West Campus, while other

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

(affectionately referred to as "The Valleys") are adjacent to West Campus in Goldsworth Valley. Waldo Library is the fourth largest university library system in Michigan, where it houses millions of various resources such as books, audio/visual materials, maps, electronic resources and more. The library also has a Special Collections and Rare Book Room, where they preserve thousands of manuscripts, facsimiles, and unique items available for viewing one item at a time. The Bernhard Center is a centrally located multi-purpose student union that provides student and community groups with meeting space. Located within the Bernhard Center is the Bronco Mall, a one-stop-shop for students which includes a large 24-hour computer lab, a food court featuring Subway, Biggby Coffee, The Burger Bros, numerous tables and chairs for eating and socializing, a

PNC Bank The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 states and the District of ...

, and one of two school

bookstore Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

s. Waldo Library and the attached University Computing Center are on West Campus, as is the Dalton Musical Center. Recently constructed buildings on West Campus include the Western Heights

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

and the Chemistry Building, which replaces aging McCracken Hall. West Campus is also the site of Miller Auditorium. A large entertainment venue seating nearly 3500 people, it is Michigan's fourth largest auditorium. Miller Auditorium hosts events ranging from popular musicals and

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

to graduation commencements and film screenings. The Gilmore Theater Complex, featuring three performance stages and faculty offices, is directly next to Miller Auditorium. The Richmond Center for Visual Arts was added to the Fine Arts Complex in 2007, followed by South Kohrman Hall being renovated into the Kohrman Hall Studios in 2008. Both buildings house the

Gwen Frostic Gwen Frostic (April 26, 1906 – April 25, 2001) born as Sara Gwendolen Frostic, was an American artist, entrepreneur, author, and Michigan Women's Hall of Fame inductee. A lifelong resident of Michigan, Frostic is known for her naturalist, Linoc ...

School of Art.

East Campus

East Campus is the original development dating from the university's founding in 1903. It contains many of the university's historical buildings including, East Hall, West Hall, North Hall, Walwood Hall, Spindler Hall, Vandercook Hall, and The Little Theater. Many of these buildings are on a hill overlooking the city of

. Walwood Hall, renovated in 1992, is home to the Graduate College, the Graduate Student Advisory Committee, the Medieval Institute, the WMU Office of Research and several other academic and administrative offices. In December 2012, WMU announced plans to renovate its birthplace, historic East Hall, for use as an alumni center. It also announced plans to demolish several of the university's original historic buildings and utilize the hilltop as green space. In August 2013 West Hall and the Speech and Hearing building on WMU's East Campus were demolished. The original portion of East Hall was retained, but North Hall and the two side wings of East Hall came down. East Hall reopened in 2015 as Heritage Hall, home to the WMU Alumni Center. In addition to the renovation of East Hall, the portico of North Hall was preserved and positioned just north of East Hall.

Oakland Drive Campus

The Oakland Drive Campus is the university's newest land acquisition. It is home to the university's College of Health and Human Services and the WMU Army ROTC program. It is now also home to the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections new location, the Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center.

Parkview Campus

The Parkview Campus is home to the university's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and is within the Business Technology and Research Park. "Erected" in 2003, the $72.5 million building Floyd Hall is and features two three-story wings connected by a middle glass enclosure. The campus is about southwest of the main campus. The campus contains the paper coating plant. The school offers 17 undergraduate engineering, technology and applied sciences programs, while the graduate level, the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences offers 9 master programs, and 6 doctoral programs. In Fall 2018, the Master of Science in Engineering Management (MSEM) degree was offered in Punta Gorda at the WMU Punta Gorda campus. The MSEM program was globally certified by the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM). The 30-credit program was offered as a hybrid, with monthly in-person classroom sessions augmented by online coursework.

College of Aviation

The College of Aviation offers three undergraduate aviation majors and has over 950 undergraduate students. ; College facilities WMUcirrusSR20

The College of Aviation runs a Cirrus SR-20 fleet and turbine engine testing sites. Additionally the College of Aviation has a fleet of

Piper PA-44 Seminole The Piper PA-44 Seminole is an American twin-engined light aircraft manufactured by Piper Aircraft. The PA-44 is a development of the Piper Cherokee single-engined aircraft and is primarily used for multi-engined flight training.Montgomer ...

, one Cirrus SR-22, one

Piper PA-18 Super Cub The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, single-engine monoplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the PA-11 Cub Special, and traces its lineage back through the J-3 Cub to the Taylor E-2 Cub of the 1930s. In close ...

, and one

American Champion Decathlon The American Champion 8KCAB Decathlon and Super Decathlon are two-seat fixed conventional gear light airplanes designed for flight training and personal use and capable of sustaining aerobatic stresses between +6g and −5 ''g''. The Decath ...

used for flight training. The facility is in Battle Creek, Michigan at W. K. Kellogg Airport. ; New runway Because the demand for training was high, the city of Battle Creek and the Air National Guard, in conjunction with the College of Aviation, constructed a new runway just to the west of the original runway 23 and parallel to it. This caused Battle Creek's main runway to be renamed runway 23R and the new runway 23L. The project's cost was around $7 million, 95% of the money coming from the government. The runway is now fully "operational". ; Punta Gorda From August 2017 to August 2019, Western Michigan University operated a satellite campus in Punta Gorda, Florida near the Punta Gorda Airport with additional facilities being located on the airfield. WMU planned to build a new building on the north side of the airport to consolidate the aviation classes at the airport. Western Michigan University offered aviation and music therapy programs in Punta Gorda and used

Florida SouthWestern State College Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW or Florida SouthWestern) is a public college with its main campus in Fort Myers, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college has satellite campuses in Charlotte County and Collier Cou ...

’s campus. It was announced in February 2019 that WMU Punta Gorda would close due to low enrollment numbers.

Medical school

Western Michigan began planning a medical school in 2008, named

Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed) is a Private university, private medical school in Kalamazoo, Michigan. WMed was established in 2012 and confers the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, as well as Master of Scie ...

, which admitted its first class in August 2014. Privately funded and created in partnership with Borgess Medical Center and

Bronson Methodist Hospital Bronson Methodist Hospital is a 434-bed non-profit teaching hospital located in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, and is a Level I trauma center. Bronson Methodist Hospital is the flagship of the Bronson Healthcare Group, a non-profit ...

, the school was seeded by a $100 million cash donation from Dr. Homer Stryker's granddaughter, Ronda Stryker, and her husband William Johnston, a WMU trustee – the largest cash gift ever given to a college or university in Michigan. It is also the 15th largest cash gift ever given to any public university in the nation.

Law School

Western Michigan University had a partnership with Thomas M. Cooley Law School for over a decade, that on August 13, 2014, culminated in the adoption of a new name and partnership, the

. In 2020, the university's Board of Trustees voted to end its affiliation with the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. In 2023, the law school will stop using the WMU name.

Regional sites

Western Michigan University also has several regional sites that offer education to more than 6,000 students each year. These regional sites are in cities throughout

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

: *

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which en ...

* Benton Harbor *

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

Student life

Western Michigan has more than 300 registered student organizations. Students are welcomed to school each year with "Bronco Bash", an event with live entertainment performances and booths sponsored by student and community organizations. On-campus housing provides 23 residence halls and special interest housing for students in programs such as the honors college, aviation, business community, engineering and applied sciences, science scholars, education, fine arts, health and human services, second year students, transfer students, magellan housing, wellness housing.

Entertainment

The Campus Activities Board is the main student organization responsible for bringing entertainment events for students. The organization sponsors concerts, comedians, special events, and "Miller Movies," presented at the school's main theater, Miller Auditorium. CAB sponsors both Bronco Bash and WMU's student Homecoming activities, in addition to many registered student organization events and activities. There are also many concerts available to the public through WMU's College of Fine Arts. An up-to-date calendar can be viewed at the School of Music website.

Student government

The Western Student Association (WSA) along with the Graduate Student Association (GSA) are the "primary" body of student government at Western Michigan University. WSA has four branches: the executive cabinet, the senate, the judicial council, and the allocations commission. The Graduate Student Association's leadership consists of an executive board and several committees such as the Graduate Financial Allocation Committee (GFAC), which is in charge of distributing GSA funds to other registered student organizations.

Social groups

WMU sponsors or recognizes several groups aimed towards personal and social development. This includes faith and spiritual development, the Office of

LBGT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

Student Services, Greek Life, services for International Students, Multicultural Affairs, Off-Campus Life, and Sponsored Student Organizations. WMU also has around 400 student organizations registered through the university that are available to any student.

Student activism

Placement of the Chemistry Building generated much controversy from student groups because it displaced a large portion of greenery in the center of West Campus. A temporary outdoor plaza was constructed outside of Sangren Hall in 2007 to replace the greenery. However, this also generated controversy and protests among students and faculty because of its aesthetic characteristics and costs. One such protest by a student group involved requesting the financial records of the construction and using chalk to depict the costs of each item on the plaza.

Fraternities and sororities

Some of the fraternities established on campus include Alpha Kappa Psi,

Alpha Eta Rho Alpha Eta Rho () is a coed international professional college aviation fraternity that serves as a contact between the aviation industry and educational institutions. The fraternity strives to foster, promote, and mentor today's college students ...

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

Alpha Sigma Phi Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social fraternity with 181 active chapters and provisional chapters. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest Greek letter fraternity in the United States. The ...

, Alpha Tau Omega,

Delta Sigma Pi Delta Sigma Pi () (officially the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi, Inc.) is a coeducational professional business fraternity and one of the largest in the United States. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907, at the School ...

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricult ...

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

, Omega Delta Epsilon, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma,

Phi Chi Theta Phi Chi Theta ( or PCT) is one of the largest co-ed Professional fraternity, professional business Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States. Phi Chi Theta was founded as a women's business fraternity on , in Chicago, Illinois ...

, Phi Gamma Delta,

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

Phi Sigma Pi Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity () is a gender-inclusive/mixed-sex national honor fraternity based in the United States. The fraternity is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania with the purpose ...

Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic fraternity with approximately 74 active chapters and provisional chapters in North America. Most of its first two dozen chapters were granted to schools in ...

, Pi Kappa Alpha,

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

Omega Delta Phi Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. (), also known as O-D-Phi is a multicultural fraternity that was founded on November 25, 1987, at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Its seven founders known as the "Men of Vision" to fraternity members want ...

, Sigma Gamma Rho

Sigma Lambda Beta Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Incorporated () (known as Betas, Lambda Betas or SLB) is a historically Latino based fraternity in the United States, now expanded to include a multicultural membership. Founded in 1986 at the Univers ...

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College (now the University of Richmond), and its national headquarte ...

, and

Sigma Tau Gamma Sigma Tau Gamma (), commonly known as Sig Tau, is a United States college social fraternity founded on June 28, 1920, at the University of Central Missouri (then known as Central Missouri State Teachers College). The fraternity was founded as a re ...

. Some of the sororities established on WMU's campus are,

Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international women's fraternity founded on January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage "AOI ...

Alpha Chi Omega Alpha Chi Omega (, also known as Alpha Chi or A Chi O) is a national women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. As of 2018, there are 132 collegiate and 279 alumnae chapters represented across the United States, and the fraternity counts ...

, Alpha Kappa Alpha,

Alpha Phi Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international sorority with 172 active chapters and over 250,000 initiated members. Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York on September 18, 1872, it is the fo ...

Alpha Xi Delta Alpha Xi Delta (, often referred to as A-''"Zee"''-D ) is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893. Baird's Manual is also available online hereThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois, United Stat ...

Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is a women's fraternity and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the umbrella organization of 26 women's fraternities. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chap ...

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

Delta Xi Nu Delta Xi Nu Multicultural Sorority, Inc. () is a sorority that was established at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Vall ...

Delta Zeta Delta Zeta (, also known as DZ) is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Delta Zeta has 170 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada, and over 200 alumnae chapters in Cana ...

, Lambda Theta Alpha,

Pi Beta Phi Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867 as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after ...

Sigma Alpha Iota Sigma Alpha Iota () is a women's music fraternity. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its m ...

, Sigma Gamma Rho,

Sigma Kappa Sigma Kappa (, also known as SK or Sig Kap) is a sorority founded on November 9, 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. In 1874, Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pie ...

Sigma Lambda Gamma Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Incorporated () (also known as Gammas or SLG) is a national sorority. It was founded on April 9, 1990, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, by five collegiate women who wanted an organization to em ...

Sigma Psi Zeta Sigma Psi Zeta () Sorority, Inc., also known as Sigmas or SYZ, is a progressive multicultural sorority. It was founded on March 23, 1994 at the University at Albany and incorporated in New York on March 15, 1996 by the 10 Founding Mothers. The s ...

and

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic ach ...

Health services

Western Michigan University students and faculty are served by Sindecuse Health Center. Resources include full clinical, diagnostic, and nursing services, health promotion options, sports medicine and physical therapy, dental services, and a pharmacy. Sindecuse Health Center is on Main Campus, and is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.

Transportation

The university offers a free shuttle bus service for students and staff called Bronco Transit. It allows them to travel around Main Campus as well as to Oakland Drive Campus, Parkview Campus, and the College of Aviation in Battle Creek. The fleet consists of 7 buses operated by

Indian Trails Indian Trails, Inc. is an inter-city bus company based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus (in Metro Detroit) and Kalamazoo. History Indian Trails was founded in 1910 in Owosso as the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service, whose main busi ...

. In 2020, Metro Transit took over the

campus bus service with the addition of 2 new routes, route #19 Ring Road and route #25 Parkview Campus. Students and staff can also ride for free on Metro Transit when showing their school ID.

Athletics

The Western Michigan Broncos are a

(NCAA) Division I

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

school. They compete in the

in men's basketball, baseball,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, soccer and tennis; and women's basketball, cross-country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. The men's hockey team competes in the

National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference formed on July 9, 2011. The league began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a combina ...

. The Western Michigan Broncos main rival is the

Central Michigan Chippewas The Central Michigan Chippewas are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Central Michigan University (CMU), located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The school fields sixteen men's and women's intercollegiate teams that compete at the ...

who also compete in the Mid-American Conference. The Broncos have won two NCAA national championships. The cross country team won the NCAA title in 1964 and 1965.

School songs

The current alma mater, Brown and Gold, and the current WMU fight song are the result of a 1959 contest to replace existing songs. Open to the university community, the two-stage contest first solicited lyrics and then music. Alumnus James H. Bull won the lyrics stage with his entry for Brown and Gold. Alumnus Walter Gilbert took the honors for the fight song lyrics and the music for both the fight song and alma mater.

Notable alumni

Western Michigan University has had a number of notable alumni. Among them are: *

Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) and Mike Baxter on the ABC/ ...

, actor *

Danny DeKeyser Daniel Christopher DeKeyser (born March 7, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played with the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL). He formerly play ...

, professional hockey player * Bruce Campbell, actor *

Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords ...

, actor and professional football player *

Gershwin A. Drain Gershwin Allen Drain (born January 24, 1949) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Drain received his Bachelor of Science in 1970 from Western Michigan University, wh ...

, federal judge who played football for the Western Michigan Broncos *

Greg Jennings Gregory Jennings Jr. (born September 21, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Western Michigan an ...

, professional football player * Lucy Lameck, Tanzanian politician and first female cabinet member after Tanganyika won independence who also played a major role in the campaign to end British colonial rule in her country. *

Marin Mazzie Marin Joy Mazzie (October 9, 1960 – September 13, 2018) was an American actress and singer known for her work in musical theatre. Mazzie was a three-time Tony Award nominee, for her performances as Clara in '' Passion'' (1994), Mother in '' ...

, Tony Award-nominated actress *

Richelle Mead Richelle Mead (born November 12, 1976) is an American fantasy author. She is known for the '' Georgina Kincaid'' series, '' Vampire Academy'', '' Bloodlines'' and the '' Dark Swan'' series. Education and career Richelle Mead was born in Michigan, ...

, #1 New York Times Bestselling author *

Mike Nahan Michael Dennis Nahan (born 2 July 1950) is a former Australian politician who was Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia's Western Australian branch and Leader of the Opposition from the 2017 state election until his resignation in June 201 ...

, member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

* Frank Quilici, professional baseball player *

Homer Stryker Homer Hartman Stryker MD (November 4, 1894May 5, 1980) was an American orthopedic surgeon, inventor, businessman, and the founder of Stryker Corporation. His inventions contributed to orthopedic care, patient comfort, and medical staff convenie ...

, founder of the Fortune 500 company

Stryker Corporation Stryker Corporation is an American multinational medical technologies corporation based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Stryker's products include implants used in joint replacement and trauma surgeries; surgical equipment and surgical navigation system ...

* Merze Tate, international relations scholar and first African-American woman to graduate from WMU, attend

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and receive PhD in International Relations at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

* Luther Vandross, singer, songwriter and record producer

Notes

References

External links

*
Western Michigan Athletics website
{{authority control Public universities and colleges in Michigan Buildings and structures in Kalamazoo, Michigan Education in Calhoun County, Michigan Education in Grand Rapids, Michigan Education in Ottawa County, Michigan Education in Lansing, Michigan Education in Muskegon County, Michigan Education in Berrien County, Michigan Education in Grand Traverse County, Michigan Educational institutions established in 1903 1903 establishments in Michigan