Ted Ligibel, director of EMU's Historic Preservation program in the department of geography and geology, has received $20,905 from the National Park Service (through Heidelberg College's Center for Historic and Military Archaeology) to research and document the boundaries of the Raisin River Battlefield. The project covers the routes taken by both American and British armies and allies, and to and from the battles during the War of 1812.
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EXCAVATING HISTORY: Ted Ligibel, director
of EMU's Historic Preservation Program,
received a grant from the National Park
Service to research and document the
boundaries of the Raisin River Battlefield
(above) in Monroe. The site is pertinent to
the War of 1812. |
"We're concentrating on zones peripheral to the battlefield core," Ligibel said. "So, our work extends outside the limits of the area normally associated with the battle of Monroe. We're focusing, among others, on British and Indian assembly areas and assault routes, the path of retreat of U.S. Regulars across the River Raisin, and sites of resistance and capture of fleeing U.S. Regulars."
The River Raisin Battlefield Center in historic Monroe is the site of the Battles of the River Raisin, sometimes referred to as the Battles of Frenchtown or the Massacre on the River Raisin, one of the largest military encounters in the War of 1812. These particular battles took place Jan. 22, 1813.
"We'll combine primary and secondary data, and literature reviews to produce Geographic Information System (GIS)/electronic mapping that will be available in hard copy and digital formats," Ligibel said. "We'll incorporate an extensive review of the existing eyewitness accounts, second-hand accounts of battlefield interpretations and prior artifact discoveries from the battlefield area."
To conduct their documentation, Ligibel and his group are using resources from EMU's IGRE and Map Library; the Clement, Burton and State libraries; several other historical repositories; and materials from the Monroe County Historical Museum and Historical Society.
"It's an extensive review of what were pivotal battles," Ligibel said.
The LINGUIST List, a unit within EMU's Institute for Information and Technology (ILIT), recently raised its target amount of $60,000 from subscribers and sponsors to support graduate assistantships for EMU students who work at The LINGUIST List.
This year's month-long fund drive had a circus theme, featuring a Big Top cast of famous linguist ringmasters, language puzzles and games, book and journal subscription prizes, and assorted premiums of LINGUIST paraphernalia.
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LANGUAGE LOVERS: Graduate students and
professional faculty and staff with The
LINGUIST List pose after the group reached
its goal of raising $60,000 for its annual
pledge drive. Funds raised go toward
supporting graduate assistantships for EMU
students who work at The LINGUIST List.
Photo by Roxana Newman |
Currently, 22 graduate students — working toward EMU degrees in the linguistics program — work part-time at LINGUIST/ILIT, in the English language and literature department, and the department of computer science. The students are responsible for the day-to-day duties of posting numerous messages to LINGUIST List subscribers, including conference announcements, job openings, calls for papers, book and journal table of contents, and book reviews. They also maintain approximately 2,000 pages of the Web site. The site includes directories of linguists and linguistics programs, and hosts 100 other mailing lists related to the profession.
Students also contribute their knowledge and energy to several of ILIT's sophisticated language technology projects, currently funded by the National Science Foundation and guided by its co-directors, Anthony Aristar and Helen Aristar-Dry, both of whom are professors of English language and literature. Some students are helping to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) to map the languages of the world and integrate them with other non-linguistic data from the social sciences. Other students are building a digital library of genetic relationships among the world's thousands of languages. Still others are involved in expanding the amount of digitally searchable linguistic data that can be marked up with a standard ontology of linguistic concepts. These projects can all be seen on ILIT's Web site at http://linguistlist.org/ilit.
While the bulk of support for graduate assistantships comes from fund drive, donations are received throughout the year. To make a contribution, go to LINGUIST's Donate Now! button at http://linguistlist.org/donation/index.cfm
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GRIDIRON TITAN: Jason Jones, a senior
defensive lineman for the EMU football
team, was drafted by the Tennessee Titans
in the second round of the NFL Draft. |
Jason Jones, a senior defensive lineman for the EMU football team, was chosen in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans April 26. Jones was the 54th overall pick and 23rd in the second round. Jones is the first EMU player to be drafted since Chris Roberson was a seventh-round selection of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2004 NFL Draft.
The 6-foot 5-inch, 270-pound Jones ranked in a tie for seventh in the nation and first in the Mid-American Conference in tackles for loss at 1.63 per game. He had 70 tackles, which was fourth on the team. He was selected to play in the 2008 Senior Bowl All-Star Game and finished with three tackles, one sack and one forced fumble. He was invited to the NFL Combine in late February.
"To tell you the truth, when the Titans came up and I saw the pick was in, I didn't think they were going to call. I thought they were going to pick someone else," said Jones in a conference call courtesy of TitansOnline.com. "I saw a '615' number on my cell phone and my heart started pumping real fast. I picked it up and, sure enough, it was the Titans and they were saying they were getting ready to draft me. That was it."
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OLYMPIC HOPEFUL: Kevin Doak, a former
EMU swimming standout, has qualified for
the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100-meter
backstroke. The trials take place June 29-
Juy 6 in Omaha, Neb. |
Kevin Doak, a former EMU swimming standout, has qualfiied for the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb., June 29-July 6. His time of 57 seconds in the 100-meter backstroke at the Ohio State Grand Prix April 5 made him eligible fo the Trials. Doak, a Brighton native, currently holds four national records (50 backstroke short course meter, 100 backstroke short course meter, 50 backstroke short course yard and the 100 backstroke long course meter) in the 25-29 masters group. He was a letterwinner at EMU from 1999-2003 and still holds the EMU record in the 100-yard backstroke and was a member of the 200 medley relay team. Doak also was named to the All-Mid-American Conference team three times and won 10 MAC titles during his career.
Shayla Stephens,
a 2005 EMU graduate, debuted her stage play, "The Ten-Year Plan," April 24 at the Farmington Civic Theatre. Stephens wrote and directed the play, which revolves around two former high school sweethearts and the feelings that surface during their 10-year high school reunion.
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BALANCING ACT: Jolene Worley, a
member of EMU's women's gymnastics
team, was recently named to the Academic
All-Mid-American Conference team.
Worley previously had been named MAC
Gymnast of the Year and the conference's
Senior Gymnast of the Year. |
Senior Jolene Worley and junior Duyen Zu Vuong, members of EMU's women's gymnastics team, were recently named to the Gymnastics Academic All-Mid-American Conference Team. It is the first time Worley has garnered the award and the second time Vuong was named to the team, composed of nine gymnasts from the MAC. Worley, who was the MAC Gymnast of the Year and Senior Gymnast of the Year, has a 3.22 GPA as an individualized studies program major. Vuong carries a 3.77 GPA as a biology major.
Six Eastern Michigan University swimmers garnered Mid-Major All-American honors from CollegeSwimming.com Madeleine Pilchard was named to the first team for her efforts at the NCAA Championships, which included an 11th-place finish in the 200 freestyle and 13th in the 100 freestyle. Her teammates — Hannah Burandt, Ashley Durand and Alissa Rickard — were named honorable mention. Juniors Derrick Roe and Ryan Fulkerson, on the men's side, also received honorable mentions.
Mid-major institutions are designated as colleges or universities that are not affiliated with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) as well as those institutions awarding less than half of the maximum-allowable scholarships (seven for women, five for men). CollegeSwimming.com is a leading Web site for collegiate swimming for teams, coaches and fans.
