Fascinating facts – there are at least a million of them that pertain to the life of Dr. William Fennel III. Here are just a few in no particular order: He lives in the oldest brick house in Ypsilanti, built in 1830; his master’s thesis was about fruit flies and his dissertation was about worms; his grandfather, the first William Fennel, came to America from Germany as a 17-year old boy in 1870 and painted birdcages for a living before he was trained as a blacksmith; Professor Fennel was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy in 1944 and was involved in three key World War II invasions in the Pacific – Manila Bay, Iwo Jima and Okinawa; the EMU professor emeritus enjoys international travel and on one trip to Russia, his tour group had a specially arranged meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev.

The combination of living an interesting life and being a charming raconteur is a splendid one indeed as I learned when Professor Fennel and I enjoyed a lingering coffee break in downtown Ypsilanti. Within five minutes, I completely understood why he is so beloved as one of the great teachers and institutional citizens in the history of EMU.

Fennel grew up in the rural town of Moberly, Mo., where his grandfather had established a successful company, Fennel Wagon Works. When his father entered the family business, it became Fennel Auto Body and Wagon Works. Dr. Fennel fondly recalls that his mother, Thelma, was a fantastic homemaker and cook. “Desserts were her specialty,” he smiles. “We had dessert every day.”

Partnering with his father was a strong career option, but Professor Fennel decided to take another path, After two years at Moberly Junior College, he finished his junior year at the University of Missouri in Columbia before his stint in the military. When he left the Navy in 1946, he returned to the University of Missouri to complete his undergraduate degree in zoology and he continued in the master’s program and became a teaching assistant. “When I taught my first class,” he says, “I knew I was meant to be a teacher but I assumed I would be a high school teacher.”

When he graduated, there were no high school teaching positions available, so Professor Fennel accepted a job at Flint Junior College, where he stayed for three years. He then went to the University of Michigan in for a Ph.D. in zoology, which he earned in 1959. In 1958, when nearly finished with his doctoral degree, he took a job at Brooklyn College as an instructor and was soon promoted to assistant professor and then tenured as an associate professor. In 1967, Professor Fennel moved to Pace College in New York, but his stay was short-lived because he had an invitation to join the Department of Biology at Eastern Michigan University. Impressed with the innovative teaching techniques at EMU, Fennel accepted the offer and began his EMU career in 1970.

Professor Fennel loved teaching the General Biology Lab and has kept in touch with many students over the years. “It’s wonderful to hear that they’ve become doctors or achieved other types of career success,” he says. In 1988, he became the department head of biology, a position he held until 1992.

With his retirement in January 1993, he began a new phase in his “most rewarding” life. He became active with the Ypsilanti Kiwanis Club, a service organization devoted to helping children. Club members serve as ticket takers at EMU football and basketball games as a way of earning money for Kiwanis projects. It works out great for Professor Fennel, who is a huge fan of college sports. “I have no interest at all in professional sports,” he explains. “I love to watch the drive and determination of young people playing for their school.”

Another important aspect of his relationship with EMU is his support of the arts. He attends virtually all of the major music performances and estimates that he has sees at least 90 percent of the theatrical productions on campus. One of his favorite fundraising activities is the annual Jazz Benefit Dance coordinated by the College of Arts and Sciences.

In 2003, Professor Fennel joined the CAS Resource Advisory Board. The position allows him to be a strong supporter of the Undergraduate Symposium and involved in the grant-matching effort of the Kresge Science Initiative.

This year, he will receive special recognition for his dedication and contributions to Eastern Michigan University when he receives the Dr. John W. Porter Distinguished Service Award from the EMU Alumni Association. (The Saturday, May 19, awards dinner is at the Ypsilanti Marriott at Eagle Crest. For ticket information, visit www.emich.edu/alumni.) Professor Glenn Walker of EMU’s Department of Biology and a former student explains why Professor Fennel is so deserving of the high honor: “Bill is, hands-down, the best ambassador EMU could possibly have. His students continue to contact the department decades later to speak with ‘Doc.’ When our department struggled with a transition between department heads, Bill volunteered to fill the void and guide the departmental ship into calmer waters. We continue to reap the benefits of his careful leadership. I’ve been privileged to share space in the same department and University that ‘Doc’ Fennel has chosen to make his own. Bill has earned our respect, admiration and heartfelt thanks.”

“When I taught my first class,” he says, “I knew I was meant to be a teacher but I assumed I would be a high school teacher.”