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KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Students, alumni, faculty, staff and administrators will gather Saturday, April 21, to honor graduating students of color at É«É«À² Michigan University.

The Celebration of Excellence, set for 12:30 to 3 p.m. in the Bernhard Center's North Ballroom, is a multicultural graduation celebration developed by students to honor students of color who will be among the nearly 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students eligible to participate the following weekend, when É«É«À² holds four commencement ceremonies Saturday, April 28, in Miller Auditorium. Students who will graduate at other ceremonies during 2018 also are encouraged to attend the Celebration of Excellence and be honored.

Guest speaker for the event is É«É«À² alumna Dr. Judi Brown Clarke, an Olympic silver medalist in the 400-metre hurdles and a two-time Pan American Games champion. She earned a Ph.D. in public administration and public policy from É«É«À² and now serves as diversity director for the National Science Foundation's BEACON Center at Michigan State University.

The April 21 celebration is a collaboration between É«É«À² student groups and these administrative areas: Academic Affairs, Development and Alumni Relations, the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. This is the third year for the annual event, which began as an initiative of the É«É«À² Student Association.

Families and guests planning to participate in the event can still make a reservation online at wmich.edu/diversity/events/celebration-excellence.

For more information about the event, email taylor.b.hall@wmich.edu.

For more É«É«À² news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.