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Education Service Leader - Western Michigan University

Education Service Leader Award: honors schools, colleges, universities and other organizations that support youth making a difference in their communities.

WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY has a rich tradition of engaging students in service. During the 2016–17 academic year, nearly 20,000 students served the greater Kalamazoo area and southwest Michigan. Of those, 6,677 were engaged in academic service learning. In all, students generated 1,638,126 volunteer hours. Volunteers have led highly attended archaeological lectures, supported incarcerated citizens during the reintegration process, organized WMU’s first annual Rainbow Run 5K and partnered with Kalamazoo Public Schools to provide tutoring for students. Some of these WMU flagship efforts have won awards for their creativity and success, and all of them have promoted service and connectedness in west Michigan. “Service learning is a mutually beneficial endeavor in which course learning objectives are met by addressing community-identified needs, putting academics into practice,” said Dr. Martha B. Warfield, WMU vice president for diversity and inclusion.