Ypsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce Honors EMU and EMU Partnership
by Geoff Larcom, Published May 06, 2010
YPSILANTI - The Ypsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce has recognized Eastern Michigan
University (EMU) as a 2010 Business Education Honor Roll Partner and awarded the Early
College Alliance (ECA), partnered with EMU, with the Chamber’s E3 Award.
Eastern was recognized as a 2010 Business Education Honor Roll Partner along with 43 other businesses throughout Ypsilanti, Willow Run and Lincoln. To receive recognition, Chamber members had to meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Release employees with pay for a minimum of 8-hours per year to volunteer in the K-12 schools and/or participate in the various school-to-work programs available.
- Host students in their company through a job shadowing or internship program.
- Contribute cash or in-kind supplies to K-12 schools.
For the E3 (Exemplary Educational Endeavors) Award, the ECA at EMU along with two other educational programs from Ypsilanti Area Public Schools were chosen to receive the honor by a committee of five Chamber members. To be considered for the award, members of the Ypsilanti community had to nominate an educational program in their district that does one or all of the following:
- Provides enhanced educational opportunities and experiences for students and/or teachers both inside and outside the classroom.
- Increases parental and community involvement in the educational process.
- Prepares students to enter the workforce and develop lifelong learning skills.
- Develops innovated initiatives, such as business partnerships or career pathways.
- Continues to improve the quality of Ypsilanti Area K-12 public schools.
The ECA at EMU allows 10th and 11th grade high school students currently enrolled in one of the five ECA member school districts – Milan, Ypsilanti, Whitmore Lake, Lincoln and Chelsea - to finish their high school diploma while earning up to 60 college credits. The ECA at EMU was chosen for the E3 Award largely in part for being nominated by a student currently in the program.
“I didn’t even know we were nominated until I received an e-mail from the Ypsilanti Chamber of Commerce saying the Early College Alliance had won the award,” said Dave Dugger, director of the ECA at EMU. “It just shows the community is recognizing the importance of rethinking the structure of education in the 21st century.”
For more information on the honors received, please visit the Ypsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce website at http://www.ypsichamber.org/.
