A good number of Eastern Michigan University
faculty, staff, students and alumni have had some noteworthy
achievements in recent months. The following represents
a compilation of "People" items for the period
of late April through early July.
Linda Yohn,
music director and morning jazz host at
89.1, WEMU, is the winner of the 2006 Duke Dubois Jazz
Humanitarian Award presented at the Jazz Week conference
and awards ceremony in Rochester, New York.
 |
Yohn |
The award is given to an individual to recognize a long-standing
commitment to jazz, jazz radio, jazz education and generous
service to the jazz community. This person exemplifies
mentoring and leadership skills for others in the industry.
It was established in the name of Duke Dubois, a respected
jazz radio promotion representative who died tragically
in a fall. He encouraged the best out of musicians
and those who programmed the music and firmly believed
in jazz education. An endowed scholarship has been
set up in his name through the International Association
of Jazz Educators (IAJE).
Nominees are selected by JazzWeek subscribers, including:
jazz radio programmers, jazz record company executives
and independent jazz radio record promoters. JazzWeek
is the weekly online publication dedicated to jazz and
jazz radio programming.
"It is really an honor for me to win this award," said
Yohn. "But, I want to make it clear that I am also a reflection
of the supportive WEMU listeners and the creative music
staff and they made it possible for me to win."
"Nobody in the jazz community deserves to win this award
more than Linda Yohn," said WEMU's General Manager Arthur
Timko. "The
fact that WEMU succeeds with a jazz format in a time when
even large cities can't sustain the music is largely due
to Linda's tireless efforts on behalf of WEMU on the air,
behind the scenes and in the community. It is very fitting
that the Duke Dubois Humanitarian Award went to her."
 |
MAKING THE GRADE: (above, right) Anthony
Buto, Jr., a 2003 graduate of EMU, recently
receives
his Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
Corporate Intern
Program certificate from
his Defense Logistics
Information Service
(DLIS) commander, Col. John
Fitzgerald,
USMC. Buto now works at the DLIS
headquarters
in Battle Creek as an
information technology specialist. |
Anthony Buto,
Jr., a 2003 Eastern Michigan University graduate
with a bachelor's degree in business administration,
has completed the Defense Logistics Agency's Corporate
Intern Program and is now working for the Defense Logistics
Information Service Headquarters in Battle Creek, Mich.,
as an information technology specialist.
The DLA is replenishing its retiring workforce by recruitng
the best and the brightest candidates. The two-year intern
program takes candidates through on-the-job assignments,
cross training, conferences and seminars. The DLA provides
supply support, technical and logistics services for the
U.S. military and several federal civilian agencies. Headquartered
at Fort Belvoir, Va., the agency is the one source for
nearly every consumable item, whether for combat readiness,
emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations.
The Defense Logistics Information Service provides interoperable,
integrated and quality logistics data and enterprise information
technology solutions for joint war fightes, the military
services, the Defense Department and other federal agencies
in order to optimize the efficiency of the DOD supply chain.
 |
Cao |
Liquin Cao,
professor of sociology, anthropology and criminology, was
part of a St. Louis Post Dispatch story about the increase
in violent crime in the Midwest. The FBI reports that there
was a nationwide increase of 2.5 percent in violent crime
— murder, rape, robbery and assault — and a staggering
4.8 percent increase in murder. The 12-state Midwest region
fared even worse, with reports of violent crime rising
by 5.7 percent. Some criminologists pointed to higher unemployment
rates in the region. In Detroit, "the federal government
is monitoring city finances, the school system is breaking
up, the police morale is very low," said Cao. "When
you put all that together, it's not surprising that crime
would go up."
Jennifer Onslow,
the EMU VISION student coordinator, has been selected to
represent the state of Michigan at the national Campus
Compact 20th Anniversary Summit in Chicago in October.
Norma Moreno,
of Ann Arbor, an international business & French student
at EMU, has been named one of 34 students in the country
to be part of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
(CHCI)'s highly competitive Congressional Internship Program.
Interns are responsible for conducting extensive legislative
research, monitoring day-to-day hearings, managing constituent
communications and assisting with general policy matters.
CHCI's internship program provides all participants with
housing, roundtrip transportation to and from Washington,
D.C., and a $2,000 stipend. To be eligible, applicants
must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents with
leadership potential and a vast history of community and
public service.
Tony Martin,
director of EMU's Center for Regional and National Security,
is running for the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners.
Martin will be running as a Democrat against incumbent
Rolland Sizemore Jr., D-District 5 in Ypsilanti, in the
upcoming August primary. Sizemore was elected to the Washtenaw
County Board of Commissioners in 2001. Martin, a township
resident for the past 20 years, has served as chair of
the Ypsilanti Township Planning Commission and, more recently,
served as a trustee on Lincoln Schools' Board of Education.
Martin was a police officer at EMU for 18 years and is
a member of the Lincoln School Board.
A team from EMU,
headed by Linda Woodland, professor
of accounting, was the top fundraising team for this
year's "Walk
and Wag," the annual fundraising event for the
Humane Society of Huron Valley. The event raised more
than $13,000. The EMU team earned more than $2,000
and won the team competition, which they have won every
year a team competition has taken place. Woodland raised
$1,700 from about 25 donors, including EMU staff, alumni
and the greater community. She and her husband, Bill,
adopted Kuma, their 8-year-old Japanese Akita, five
years ago from this shelter.
Sandi Nielson,
director of the College of Business's Professional Education
Center, has been appointed to the 2006 Board of Examiners
for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. The award
is the highest level of national recognition for performance
excellence that a U.S. organization can receive. The board
is composed of leading experts selected from industry,
professional and trade organizations, education and health
care organizations and government. Those selected meet
the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition.
Frank Fedel,
an exercise physiologist lecturer, was recently cited in
a Detroit News article on the health benefits of in-line
skating. Fedel co-authored "Fitness In-Line Skating" (Human
Kinetics, $15.95) and said rollerblading enhances cardiovascular
fitness, muscle endurance and weight loss.
"If you are looking to have fun and lose weight at
the same time, this is a great activity," said Fedel. "It's
easy to learn, and there's not a lot of joint stress."
Suzanne Marie Zelnik
Geldys, assistant professor of health,
physical education, recreation and dance, was recently
featured in the Ann Arbor News. She is teaching various
dance styles to about 20 fourth- and fifth-grade students.
Students learn swing, salsa and meringue.
 |
Friedman |
Monroe Friedman,
faculty emeritus in sociology, was recently interviewed
in The Modesto (Calif.) Bee for a story about what makes
a successful boycott. Friedman, who wrote a 1999 book on
boycotts while teaching at EMU, said the idea of a media
boycott is to get attention just for taking a stand against
a company. He described two environmentalists in the 1990s
who hung a banner that said "Boycott Mitsubishi" outside
the company's offices in San Francisco. He said there also
has been a rise in the number of symbolic one-day boycotts,
such as the May 1 immigration protests.
Max Kanagy,
associate dean for the College of Technology, recently
participated in the 60th anniversary celebration of the
Ten Thousand Villages retail chain. Kanagy opened a store
in Ann Arbor in 2004. The store was founded in 1946 in
Lancaster, Pa., by Edna Ruth Byler, a volunteer for Mennonite
Central Committee, who wanted to create a business model
that fairly compensated poor Third World artisans by importing
and selling their handcrafted items. Today, there are 140
North American stores with $22.7 million in sales and a
payroll of 110 groups of artisans from 33 countries in
Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Jesusa Arnett,
a graduate student in EMU's Master of Social Work program,
has been awarded the statewide Recognition of Merit Award
for a graduate student from the Michigan Chapter of the
Organization of Latino Social Workers. This award is based
on academic performance, leadership and involvement in
the Latino community. This is the first time that a student
from EMU has received this statewide award, and it was
presented at the OLASW's annual banquet in Ann Arbor.
Marilyn Wedenoja,
director of EMU's Master of Social Work program, has received
the "Outstanding Community Involvement Award for 2006" from
the Washtenaw Community Health Organization. She
was given this award at the Celebration of Success 2006,
sponsored by the Washtenaw Community Health Organization
(WCHO) and the Community Support and Treatment Services,
which provides community mental health services in Washtenaw
County. She also was the keynote speaker for this
event, and spoke on the topic of person-centered planning.
“The award came as a surprise to
me,” said Wedenoja. “I had been asked
to be the keynote speaker about the person-centered planning
process. I didn’t know, until I arrived and saw it
on the program, that I had been selected for this award.”
Wedenoja, who has more than 30 years of experience in
the mental health services field, has worked with the WCHO
to educate the community regarding person-centered planning.
Person-centered planning involves the creation of methods
and resources that enable persons with disabilities to
define their own directions in life. In Michigan,
person-centered planning is mandated by law to those who
receive state-funded mental health services.
“I felt very humbled by the recognition because
I hold the people in this organization and in our community
in such high regard,” said Wedenoja.
She also has worked with the WCHO by participating in
cable television programs for community education about
mental health services, gathering data for a family education
program, and helping design and provide training to mental
health patients and their families.
 |
Reiling |
Denise Reiling,
associate professor of sociology, was recently featured
in the Ann Arbor News for her work studying the Old Order
Amish. For the past 17 years, Reiling has been debunking
the idyllic stereotype of a simple, but happy people who
have managed to escape what nags the rest of us. Although
the Amish have isolated themselves, they have not insulated
themselves from the problems faced by the rest of society,
Reiling said. The Amish suffer from depression and anxiety;
there's alcohol and drug use among youth. There's schizophrenia.
There are eating disorders. Amish women aren't so different,
either: They worry about their weight.
Dowagiac Union
High School is one of three pilot Michigan high schools
to participate in the SERT program sponsored by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and Eastern Michigan University.
It was recently featured in the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune. Skip
Lawver, EMU professor
and FEMA representative, started the program as a post-Sept.
11, 2001, attempt to "change the culture of emergency
management" by starting training in schools.
Steven Gillis's second
novel, "The Weight of Nothing," has been named
a finalist for "Book of the Year" in literary
fiction in by
the Independent Publishers Association and by ForeWord
Magazine.
Gillis’s novel was one of four finalists
chosen from a pool of more than 300 to be considered for
these national awards. The awards are unique because they
are open only to writers whose works are the product of
small publishing houses.
“It always feels good to be recognized in this way
by editors/judges. Awards, obviously, aren’t why
I write, though it’s always cool to get some recognition,” said
Gillis, who is a lecturer in writing at EMU.
"The Weight of Nothing" deals with issues of memory, regret,
revenge and forgiveness through the eyes of two friends,
Bailey Finne and Niles Kelly. They ultimately travel to
Algiers to confront their demons and try to put them
in the past, Gillis said.
“I wanted to write a story which dealt with this
issue of personal history and how one got beyond those ‘incidents
and accidents’ which otherwise come to frame us,” said
Gillis, of Ann Arbor.
The novel has received favorable reviews. Midwest Book
Review gave it five stars and characterized it as “a
poignant chronicle of the long, difficult journey of the
human spirit.” Publisher’s Weekly described
Gillis’s novel as “beguilingly mystical.”
Gillis’s first novel, "Walter Falls," was
named a finalist for National Book of the Year in 2003.
Gillis is currently working on a collection of stories
entitled "Giraffes," which will be published later this
year by Atomic Quill Press. He also is working on a new
novel entitled "Temporary People."
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Tyler |
Norm Tyler,
professor of geography and geology, recently took on Starbucks
Coffee in a recent Detroit News article. The focus of the
article was why the coffee company only has five locations
in Detroit when the Detroit Metro Airport has six Starbucks
retailers. Tyler said that Detroit may be falling behind
in the "cool cities test." "There
is something called the experience economy where more and
more retailers try to sell a unique environment," Tyler
said. "Starbucks
certainly falls into that category. With its café environment,
its wireless Internet access and unique music, they are
selling a lifestyle. Someone has decided that Detroit is
not looking for that type of experience." Starbucks
disagrees.
Wayne State University's
Instructional Technology (IT) Department, part of
the College of Education, presented two EMU staff members with awards for academic
achievement in the past year. Kevin Devine, EMU's director of
student media, was awarded this year's Outstanding Master's Student of the Year
award. John Bruenger, an instructional technologist with EMU's
IT Department, was awarded the Outstanding Ed Specialist Student of the Year
award. The awards were presented May 3 by Wayne State's IT faculty at the annual
spring reception at WSU's McGregor Conference Center.
Ruth Ann Armitage,
associate professor of chemistry, was featured in the April
24 issue of Chemical & Engineering News in reference
to her presentation at the American Chemical Society national
meeting, which took place in March. Armitage's presentation
was part of a symposium on archeological chemistry, where
she discussed the work she has carried out with her students
on identifying the black coating on rock paintings in Little
Lost River Cave in Idaho.
