Western Michigan University
IN-25: Innovation B

Western Michigan University and the City of Kalamazoo have made a partnership that will work to secure resources for marginalized communities, focusing on social, economic, and environmental disparities. A GeoMap has been created to document and showcase WMU engagement around the city, state and country. The amount of time and community partner is indicated on the map for every volunteer event. This map goes beyond our community partnerships and attempts to document the efforts of the Shared Prosperity movement. https://wmugeography.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=b4b005dc5ea7494299b771eeb5a41273 Specifically, the Shared Prosperity plan will: a) coordinate with the V/MU Office of Community Outreach, the Shared Gold plan for civic engagement, and with other entities and individuals across the University already engaged in community-based research and service; b) facilitate the active involvement of WMU faculty, staff and students in the work of SPK through existing initiatives such as: - the V/MU Signature Program, which encourages students to explore and develop their interests through out-of-class learning experiences; - the development of topic-specific work groups related to SPK goals and strategies,grant writing, and other organizational strategies to be developed. c) sponsor speakers, educational forums and participation in Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo-related events that promote the alignment of V/MU scholarly efforts in support of SPK. See attached supporting documentation, MOU and Action Plan for Kalamazoo. https://www.kalamazoocity.org/spk https://wmich.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/u252/2018/MOU%20Final%20clean%20copy.pdf https://www.kalamazoocity.org/docman/shared-prosperity-kalamazoo/4303-shared-prosperity-kalamazoo-action-plan-march-2018/file