The Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents granted
emeritus status to three former staff members and one former
faculty member at its regular meeting March 20.
To be awarded emeritus status, faculty and staff must
have served EMU for at least 15 years and be nominated
for emeritus faculty status upon retirement.
Staff granted emeritus status are:
Sandra Baker, operations service specialist
senior, ICT, retired after 26 years of service. Baker had
an unwavering work ethic, provided first-rate customer
service to those that EMU serves, and was always pleasant
and courteous to EMU's constituents, said Rocky Jenkins,
who nominated her.
Maria Davis, library assistant, Halle
Library, retired after 36 years of service. Davis,
of Ypsilanti, was a dedicated member of the University
community and a diligent employee of the library, said
University Archivist Rosina Tammany, who nominated Davis.
Davis worked in the archives since 1978 and, for 18 of
those years (1980-1998), was the sole collector of the
University's historical records.
Manuel Jose Norman, senior platform specialist,
ICT, retired after 25 years of service. Norman received
his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University
of London.
Norman, of Ypsilanti, joined EMU's Computing Department
in January 1980 as the manager of technical and user services.
In July 1985, he became a senior systems programmer. When
several departments were merged to form ICT, Norman was
promoted to senior platform specialist. Norman had a number
of accomplishments, including installing and maintaining
the first campus-wide UNIX system in 1987; and developing
a system to create and maintain UNIX accounts for students
where required by a course. This system is still in use
today.
Faculty granted emeritus status are:
John Cooper, Jr., assistant professor, department of computer
science, retired after 26 years of service. Cooper received
his doctorate, master's degree and bachelor's degree, all
from Michigan State University.
Cooper, a founding member of the department of computer
science, was one of the members of the department of mathematics
who taught some of the earliest courses in computer science
offered at Eastern Michigan University. During the 1980s
and 1990s, Cooper taught many computer classes for majors.
He also volunteered to teach the large-lecture computer
literacy class.
