Other stories in the Winter 2008 issue of Exemplar:
Two EMU professors – Bill Welsh and Robert Jones, both of the Department of Geography and Geology – are looking across Michigan to study how coastal brownfield sites – contaminated land in proximity to the state’s Great Lakes shoreline – can be cleaned or contained and made economically productive again.
Through an $890,000 National Science Foundation grant, Eastern Michigan University is helping 100 high school students from Detroit prepare for information technology careers in the areas of facility management andhomeland security.
Students like Sommer Eagle (’03) may one day help the state of Michigan eliminate its shortage of nurses.
Tom Sidlik spent nearly 30 years at Chrysler, where he helped shape everything from the Dodge Viper to global procurement. Today, as chairman of the EMU Board of Regents, he is helping steer EMU on the road ahead. Read more
A recent gift of $200,000 from Phil Jenkins, friend and local philanthropist, will fund scholarships for returning students in EMU’s leadership and counseling program. Jenkins’ generosity supports the Jenkins-Tracy Expendable Scholarship fund, which provides tuition support to a cohort of students during a three- to four-year period while they complete their master’s degrees. Read more
Lucy Parker loves competitive sports, and actually prefers tennis to golf. But when it comes to women’s sports at Eastern Michigan University, the alumnus and former administrator would pick up a stick, racquet or club and strike any ball to promote students and coaches. She gets another chance to do so later this year, when the golf outing that bears her name has a 20th and final start. Read more
Pat Swan-Brown (’74) flipped through the fall issue of Exemplar, quickly noting its disco-themed coverage of Homecoming, and then set the magazine aside. Only when friends and fellow alumni jokingly asked her to sign their copies did she realize what she had missed. Read more
Joel Schoenhals first grazed the ivory keys of a piano when he was a toddler. Today, the EMU professor has reached one of the pinnacles of his field by recently being named a Steinway Artist, a highly distinguished honor that recognizes outstanding ability and achievement in music. He is the first EMU professor to earn the distinction, which he now shares with major recording artists like Diana Krall, Harry Connick, Jr. and “piano man” Billy Joel. Read more
Red Simmons points proudly to a picture showcasing a shot of his life’s work: an image of the University of Michigan’s first women’s track and field team. Not only was Simmons (MSNC ’33) the team’s first coach, he spearheaded the sport during a time nationally when women’s sports were barely recognized or respected. Read more
Duane Zemper (MSNC ’42) is used to staying out of the public eye and being behind the camera. But a PBS documentary recently turned the tables. His adventures as a photo reconnaissance officer in World War II were featured this fall in a documentary made by a Flint, Mich., public television station. Read more