Article Author: Rick VanGrouw

WMU’s Research University drives growth through student education. Successful urban planning and development depends on partnerships—business and government leaders, commercial and residential developers, and major institutions like hospitals and universities—all of which contribute significantly to the economic vitality of a community and region. A recent study shows that Western Michigan University (WMU) is a big-time […]

How urban planning and revitalization will shape the future of Kalamazoo. On a hot and hazy Thursday afternoon in August, a small crowd spilled from a white event tent on a construction site in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A dozen shovels jutted from the brown dirt nearby, symbols of the groundbreaking on 180 East Water Street, a […]

Tune your bow with corporate culture. In 2010, during the mad scramble from the nadir of the Great Recession, renowned business leader Alfred O. Weber, recently retired, strode into a hotel conference room in Detroit. In January of that year, Weber had been named co-president and CEO of MANN+HUMMEL GmbH, a global leader in the […]