Speaker to discuss effects of Kalamazoo Promise

Sept. 30, 2009

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University will host author Dr. Michelle Miller-Adams Wednesday, Oct. 7, on campus to discuss her book, "The Power of a Promise: Education and Economic Renewal in Kalamazoo."

The event, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 3301 of Friedmann Hall, will focus on a comprehensive account of the Kalamazoo Promise, a program announced in 2005 in which a group of anonymous donors agreed to pay tuition costs going forward for every graduate of Kalamazoo public high schools to attend public college in Michigan.

Miller-Adams, a visiting scholar at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and assistant professor of political science at Grand Valley State University, will discuss the program's impact thus far and the challenges that remain if the Promise is to catalyze a communitywide transformation envisioned by its designers. She is an expert on community-building and economic development, and the "Power of a Promise" is her third book focusing on these themes. A book signing will precede the event at 2:30 p.m.

Sponsored by WMU's Institute of Government and Politics, the talk is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Susan Hoffmann, director of the Institute of Government and Politics in the Department of Political Science, at susan.hoffmann@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5692.

Adapted from: www.wmich.edu/wmu/news