After a 60-day contract turned into a week shy of 24 years, the campus squirrel feeder decided it was time to retire from Eastern Michigan University. After living on a lake for the last 15 years and not spending a day on his boat within the last five, Michael Erwin and his wife decided it was time to do just that.
"I'm going to miss the people and what I do, but they'll still be here and I plan to visit," said Erwin, the acting associate vice president for student affairs. "And since we're planning so much lake time this summer, I'm sure they'll get invites to the lake."
 |
FRIEND OF THE ANIMALS: Mike Erwin, acting
associate vice president for student affairs, takes
time out to feed a squirrel near Mark Jefferson. After
nearly 24 years at Eastern Michigan University, Erwin
will be retiring at the end of April. |
After he received his doctorate from the University of Michigan, Erwin was hired under a 60-day contract to improve corporate recruiting in EMU's Career Services Center. Prior to working for EMU, Erwin was a program manager of the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of Michigan. Erwin received his master's and bachelor's degrees from Indiana University.
In August 1985, Erwin became the assistant director for corporate relations in the Career Services Center. In October 1990, Erwin was promoted to acting director of the center. In 1992, his position became permanent. In 2005, he transferred to the student affairs office to become the acting associate vice president for student affairs. He will retire from this position at the end of the semester.
"I am so proud of the direction of the Career Services office," Erwin said. "When I first came here, the organization wasn't well focused with the resources they had. It is much more valuable to students now."
When the College of Education needed an adjunct professor several years ago, Erwin stepped in. He soon learned the five years of experience he received as a middle-school English teacher, before going back for his doctorate, wasn't enough preparation for the intense workload. Although he enjoyed the contact with students, it was a challenging task.
"It was a very pleasant and shocking experience because I discovered how rusty I was in organizing material for students," Erwin said.
Anyone who knows Erwin is aware of his unsophisticated dining tastes. The "Big 3" will certainly miss one of their most loyal customers. He was a patron at least once a week to one of the three drive-ins around campus — Bill's, Chick-Inn and Cluck's. Erwin is looking forward to the Sonic opening soon in Southfield and the dozen more scheduled to open around Michigan within the next year.
"Those Sonics are all over the south and Indiana was the closest one before, and that's a little too far to go for lunch," said the native Hoosier.
When he's not soaking up the sun on his boat or parked in Southfield eating coney dogs, Erwin and his wife are planning a fair amount of travel. They have an extensive list including, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, southeast Asia and New Zealand.
Like many Michigan retirees, the couple plans to find a place in the south to spend the winter. Because Erwin said he is not ready for four o'clock dinners, they are looking at places in Florida that offer a mix of young residents, older residents, tourists and visitors.
When asked about what he will miss the most about EMU, without hesitation, Erwin said, "Feeding the squirrels. It's such a contrast to the meetings. When the squirrels take the food right out of your hand, you feel like you have done something worthwhile. It's just so relaxing."
After a long, boring meeting, he would often sit on a bench outside of Welch Hall and feed peanuts to the squirrels.
Erwin summed up his time spent at EMU when he said, "Eastern was a nice place to come to for 60 days and, 24 years later, it's still a nice place to be."
