Two
of Eastern Michigan University's own were recently hailed
for their efforts on the Wireless Washtenaw Project.
Connie Schaffer, chief information officer for ICT, and
Bill Shell, director of Academic and Computing Technology
Services, played key roles in the Wireless Washtenaw Project,
which received the Midwest Collaboration Award from the
Midwest Technology Leaders May 9. Schaffer serves on Wireless
Washtenaw's Advisory Board and Shell was a member of the
project's steering committee.
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WIRELESS WIZARDS: Connie Schaffer, chief
information officer for ICT, and Bill Shell, director
of
Academic Computing and Technology Services,
pose
with the Midwest Collaboration Award given
to the
Wireless Washtenaw Project by the Midwest
Technology Leaders. Schaffer and Shell played key
roles in the Wireless Washtenaw Project and were
awarded individual certificates. |
The award recognizes partnerships that impact growth within
the technology community. As part of Wireless Washtenaw,
EMU's physical plant will, within the next nine months,
work with the county to provide several building locations,
free of charge, for the county to mount small antennas.
The antennas will assist the county's wireless service
network while the university will benefit from having wireless
services expanded to campus green space. All EMU classroom
buildings and 97 percent of its administrative buildings
are already wireless, Schaffer said.
"I am very honored that Eastern Michigan could be involved
in Wireless Washtenaw," said Schaffer. "To me, it's an
example of the way collaboration should take place. While
there was a lot of effort, the collaboration was effortless."
"It was a great opportunity for people from different
organizations to come together in a positive way," Shell
said. "Collaboration works best when you have education,
government and private industry working together, and that's
what happened."
The purpose of Wireless Washtenaw is to develop a community
wireless broadband network in Washtenaw County through
use of the local government's infrastructure and regulatory
authority to partner with private providers, community
institutions, businesses and community organizations. Goals
include providing an economic development tool to attract
and retain businesses; reduce the digital divide; improve
the delivery of county services; facilitate wireless technology
use for citizens and visitors; create a seamless, wireless
infrastructure to attract and retain young professionals;
and establish a wireless, broadband network without burdening
taxpayers.
Jim Streeter,
Eastern Michigan University's longtime sports information
director, was the recent recipient of the 2007 "Best of
the Best Award" by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association
(DSBA). The award was presented at the 21st Annual DSBA
Charity Golf Scramble July 9 at Cherry Creek Golf Club
in Shelby Township.
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Streeter |
The Kathy Best "Best of the Best Award" is given annually
for excellence in sports media/public relations in the
state of Michigan. It is named after Best, a former media
relations specialist with the Detroit Red Wings.
This fall marks Streeter's 34th year in the sports information
department and his 33rd as sports information director.
Streeter received his bachelor's degree in physical education
from EMU.
He was sports editor of the Eastern Echo, the student
newspaper, for two years. After graduating, he was a sportswriter
with The Ypsilanti Press for two years before joining EMU
as assistant sports information director in 1974. He was
named the sports information director in August 1975.
He is a member of the College of Sports Information Directors
of America (CoSIDA) and was a member of the publications
committee for four years. He served as secretary of the
Detroit Sports Broadcasters and Writers Association from
1990-1994 after serving as vice president for one year.
Streeter was selected as one of nine media marshals for
the 2004 Ryder Cup golf competition at Oakland Hills Country
Club. He was inducted into EMU's Athletic Hall of Fame
in 2004.
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Nastos |
Michael G. Nastos,
longtime 89.1 jazz host, retired from EMU. His last broadcast
was July 27. A mainstay of the WEMU music programming staff,
Nastos hosted the evening program on WEMU for more than
27 years. In addition to hosting duties, Nastos was the
station's chief music librarian and Jazz Datebook editor
when not on the air.
"Michael G. Nastos has contributed enormously to the growth
and success of WEMU's jazz format," said WEMU General Manager
Art Timko. "He's a true student of the music, both as a
radio host and as a musician, and took pride in imparting
his knowledge to the WEMU audience. He's been a tireless
promoter of both recorded and live jazz, and his legacy
will live long here at EMU."
WEMU will conduct a national search for a successor, with
the hope to have someone in place by the end of September,
Timko said.
Derrick Fries,
assistant professor of special education, has earned a
number of laurels of late, for both his prowess in sailing
and triathlons. Fries was recently nominated for the Sailing
World International Hall of Fame. Fries won six sailing
world championships and 15 national championships from
1975-2001.
This year, Fries, at age 54, has placed
in the top seven overall in nine of 10 triathlons in
which he has competed.
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ON THE RUN: Derrick Fries, 54, and an
EMU assistant professor of special
education, has tackled 10 triathlons this
summer and finished in the top seven
overall in nine of them. |
"My goal this summer is not to win
age group events or the masters events," said Fries,
who on a 16-triathlon tour and is
personally being sponsored by Zipp Tires. "Rather,
I want to be in the top seven overall in each event and
re-define age at 54.
In the 10 triathlons he has competed
in this year, Fries set five masters records and actually
was the overall winner of the Motor City Triathlon, beating
171 other competitiors, June 24. The event consisted of
a 500-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike ride and a 3.4-mile
run. In his latest effort in Clarkston Aug. 5, he placed
seventh overall and set a new master's record for the course.
In the one competition — the
Grand Haven Triathlon — he did not place, he pointed
to a flat bicycle tire as the culprit.
In each competition, he has worn an EMU
logo on his triathlon suit. The suit was purchased by Ted
Coutilish, associate vice president of marketing and communications;
and Michael Bretting, associate dean of the College of
Education, Fries said.
He wraps up his triathlon schedule for
this year Sept. 23.
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WHO'S YOUR TIGER: Robb
Wilson, a 1993
EMU
graduate, is the scoreboard
operations manager
for the
Detroit Tigers. Photo by Michael
Andaloro |
Robb Wilson,
a 1993 Eastern Michigan University graduate, became the scoreboard
operations manager for the Detroit Tigers in July after
serving as a communications contractor for KLA Laboratories.
He had previously worked for the Tigers as a scoreboard
producer and director. Wilson was present for the last
game at Tiger Stadium, the first game at Comerica Park,
the opening of Ford Field, the 2006 Super Bowl, and the
1997 Major League All Star Game (as a fan).
Young Iob Chung,
a former EMU professor of economics and former head of
the economics department, had his book, "South Korea in
the Fast Lane: Economic Development and Capital Formation," published
in June by Oxford University Press.
This book completes Chung's
study of Korea's economic development after the country's
modernization that began in 1876. The book is a study of
the cessation of the Korean War to date, based on available
data with minimal historical description. The book focuses
on investment, sources and means of capital formation; and
the government's role in them for economic growth and structural
changes. The title of his first volume is "Korea Under
Siege, 1876-1945: Capital Formation and Economic Transformation."
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Hill |
Graham Hill,
a junior on EMU's golf team, was recently named a 2007 Cleveland Golf All-America
Scholar. The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Scholars
Committee named him. Juniors and seniors with at least a cumulative 3.2 GPA
are eligible. In addition, golfers must have a stroke average of 76 or less.
Hill was the 2007 MAC Golfer of the Year and was a member of the Academic All-Mid-American
Conference team. Hill, a finance major, has a 3.52 GPA.
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Aili |
Courtney Aili,
a junior golfer on EMU's women's golf team, won the City
of Ann Arbor Women's Golf Championship June 24 at Leslie
Park Golf Course. Aili shot a 2-over-par to complete the
two-day tournament with a score of 148. Fellow junior golfer
Stephany Fleet just missed winning a national championship
in the 36-hole final of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public
Links Championship June 23 at Kearney Hill Golf Links.
Four
Eastern Michigan University women's golfers — Courtney
Aili, Kelly Boogaard, Marjorie Thuot and Stephany Fleet
— were
named to the National Golf Coaches Association All-America
Scholar Teams for Division I July 9. The minimum
cumulative GPA is 3.5 and student-athletes must have competed
in at least 50 percent (Division I) of the college's regularly
scheduled competitive rounds during the season.
The
Eastern Michigan University volleyball
team was one of
just 55 NCAA Division I programs to receive the American
Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for
2006-2007. The honor marks the seventh time in the program's
history and the third consecutive year that EMU has earned
the award.
The AVCA Team Award, initiated in 1992-1993, honors college
and high school teams that display excellence in the classroom
by maintaining at least a 3.3 cumulative team GPA on a
4.0 scale.
"All decisions regarding the volleyball team center on
the interests of the student-athlete and academics are
a core belief of our volleyball program," said Head Coach
Kim Berrington. "We believe the success of our program
is based on the development of personal responsibility
and the cooperation among teammates, staff and the University."
