The presidents of
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College and Kalamazoo Valley Community College are working together to explore a cooperative higher education center in downtown Kalamazoo.
The project would be part of the
Arcadia Commons West initiative being developed for an unused portion of the downtown.
The presidents say the agreement to explore the creation of a higher education center as a major component of the Arcadia Commons West development will provide opportunities to apply for planning grants for the center and for Arcadia Common West's other educational and economic-development elements.
"We all want to make this happen," says
KVCC President Marilyn Schlack, "because we all understand what a benefit this would be for the Kalamazoo community, and for each of our institutions. The planning funds will help us decide the footprint for a building that will allow us to do what we want to do."
Programs that have been proposed to be housed at a higher education center may be examined during the planning process. Some suggestions have been a culinary-arts school, food-administration and dietetics degree-granting programs, an art gallery/curatorial-training center, a community sustainability center, and a collaboration that would bring together elements involving international education and diversity.
Community members have said they hope the Arcadia Commons West project will provide job creation, housing opportunities, neighborhood improvements, retail and commercial growth, parking and transportation, urban gardens and a food-producing cooperative, an enhancement of Kalamazoo's art community, and entertainment.
"This concept holds a great deal of potential and could have significant impact on Kalamazoo," says President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran of
Kalamazoo College. "We look forward to exploring this opportunity."
Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Tom Thinnes, Kalamazoo Valley Community College
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