Western Michigan University's Center for Leadership and Business Strategy and Kalamazoo College started an exciting partnership this semester that allows students to leave the classroom and collaborate on in-depth consulting projects. Students enter the experiential learning course and are paired into teams, led by students who have previously taken the course, and work with local West Michigan companies to provide business strategies and solutions.

Over the past week, both institutions held a historic event at Sleeping Giant Capital where they brought together students, CEOs in residence, program collaborators, President Montgomery of Western Michigan University, President Gonzalez of Kalamazoo College, Mayor Anderson of Kalamazoo, Provosts, Haworth furniture representatives, AVB, and other influential civic leaders. This event was led by co-directors of Western's Center for Principled Leadership and Business Strategy Drs. Doug Lepisto and Derrick McIver and Amy MacMillan, L. Lee Stryker Associate Professor of Business Management for Kalamazoo College. The event told the story of the ecosystem involved in making this a reality for students, Kalamazoo, the future of higher education, and companies within West Michigan.

The meeting displayed this ecosystem that provides opportunities for students, from the professors, the institutions, the client company, the space design, the impact on the community, and the overall benefits. From both institutions, six students were able to speak on their time in the program, its impact on their lives, and the opportunities students have been given through joining this program.

President Montgomery noted after their exchanges, "I had a feeling getting to know Doug, Derrick, and now you {Amy} that this program would be an incredibly high energy and impactful program. And then you hear these stories and that's what you hear. That its changed people's lives, changed perspectives, and it gifted them opportunities... That's a win-win. You grow as an individual and then we as an institution have an impact on what surrounds us as an ecosystem, the education systems, corporate partners, and the community. That's part of what makes Kalamazoo so special, and I would love to see this thing grow even bigger."

"As a faculty member, the easiest thing you can do is stay in your classroom where you control everything that happens," President Gonzalez said. "When you agree to do something like this, all that is out the door... But what is going on here? And my answer to that is this is the future of Kalamazoo. This is the future of this country...We have civic leaders, business leaders, we have students, and faculty getting together to make a better future. And that is why I'm so excited about this program. I really hope this program continues to grow and expand because of this opportunity that this group of students has this term, I hope that we have hundreds of students over the years that will be able to experience this."

Both President’s noted how thankful they were for the opposite institution for working together to make this experiential learning opportunity for students possible. They also appreciated the faculty involved in making this a reality. Greg Dobson, Chief Operating Officer of this semester’s client AVB, also thanked the institutions for coming together and offering these experiences to shape students’ futures.

Dobson and AVB, a construction and development firm, challenged students this semester by looking into future growth strategies. Throughout the semester student teams will compete to come up with the best recommendations and are guided by faculty members on how to solve these issues. Colleague Andrew Schipper, President of Commercial Construction at AVB, also announced that AVB will also be awarding a $5,000 cash prize to the students of the top team.

Haworth furniture representatives, also spoke on the importance of an ecosystem as it pertains to space in higher education. The Haworth team partnered with The Center for Principled Leadership and Business Strategy back in November, to follow alongside their customers and to study how and why students utilize space the way they do. This provides students with the ability to learn and grow in state-of-the-art environments and offers Haworth the opportunity to understand its audiences better.