Provost's Briefing for November 6, 2019
Student Engagement and Success Updates
Engage @ EMU Celebrates First-Generation Day with Panel Discussion
EMU TRiO Upward Bound, EMU TRiO Student Support Services, and the Eagle Engage Corps are collaborating with the Council for Opportunities in Education to celebrate first-generation students on Thursday, November 7. As part of this day of celebration members of the Eagle Engage Corps will host a panel discussion with EMU students, alumni, and staff members in the McKenny Ballroom at 1 p.m. The panel will discuss their experiences as first-generation students and offer tips for success.
All EMU staff, faculty, alumni, and community partners are invited to attend the panel discussion and are encouraged to post stories, anecdotes, and picture celebrating first-generation students using the #firstgenEMU.
Student Travel Assistance Awards Now Available
Graduate Studies and Research has created two new student travel award programs to support Eastern Students. Applications are invited from currently enrolled Eastern Michigan University undergraduate and graduate students in good standing whose research or creative project has been accepted for presentation at a professional meeting. This assistance is contingent upon the applicant presenting at the meeting.
Requests are considered up to a maximum of $250 and must be supported with a dollar-for-dollar match from department and/or college funds. A General Fund cannot be used to provide the match; however, grant funds, grant cash match funds, development expendable funds, endowment funds, and IDC funds may be used as the source of the matching funds.
We have budgeted $10,000 for each program for the remainder of the fiscal year. Funds will be awarded on a first come, first eligible served basis. Download the application [PDF] and consider sharing this opportunity with your students.
Eastern Alum Named in CNN's Top 10 Heroes of 2019
Eastern marketing alumnus Zach Wigal was named one of the "Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2019." As the founder of Gamers Outreach, Zach "makes sure that children who can't leave their hospital rooms during long-term medical treatment can play video games while they recuperate." His portable game-equipped GoKarts, which can easily be wheeled into patients’ rooms, are now in more than 150 hospitals across the nation. Once named to Forbes' 30 under 30 list, Zach also hosts an annual Gamers for Giving event that raises money for the Autism Society of America.
The ten finalists all received $10,000 to support their good works and the public may now vote to determine which one will become CNN’s Hero of the Year, which comes with a $100,000 prize. Read more about this accomplished Eagle here and consider casting your vote today.
Eastern is Working to Improve Transfer Student Experience
Eastern was selected to participate in the “Foundations of Excellence® Transfer Focus,” a significant self-study and an improvement planning process that addresses collegiate transfer.
A critical component of this process is a survey that will elicit the opinions of faculty and staff about the degree to which our University facilitates an effective transfer experience for our students. The anonymous survey responses are an essential source of information for this project, as we evaluate this institution’s effectiveness in facilitating transfer and recommend appropriate institutional improvements.
If you received an email from Doris Fields with a link to the survey, please take the 10 to 15 minutes to complete it as your input is needed!
2020 Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Awards Nominations
As part of our 2020 MLK Celebration, Eastern continues its tradition of recognizing individuals from within the University and surrounding community who exemplify the values and ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Each year, a key part of the celebration is the presentation of three awards at the MLK Day President's Luncheon, to be held on January 20, 2020. These awards include the:
- MLK Student Scholarship
- MLK Humanitarian Award
- Evans-Strand Peace Award
Nominations for these awards will be accepted through Thursday, November 14, 2019 at 5 p.m. For a full description of each award and information on the application process, please visit Eastern’s MLK Celebration website.
High Performing Academic Programs and Quality Research Updates
Eastern Theatre Presents Yellowman
Directed by Casaundra Freeman, Dael Orlandersmith’s play offers a tale of two African American characters and the intra-racial bigotry associated with having light versus dark skin within the African American community. Yellowman was a 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama. You may purchase tickets now for the upcoming performances November 23-25 at the Sponberg Theatre. Please note that this play is suggested for mature audiences.
Recent Books by Eastern Professors
Heather Neff, Professor and Director of the McNair Scholars Program, has published her seventh novel, Blissfield, a family drama of deep loss and even deeper love. Congratulations, Heather!
David Victor, Professor of Management and International Business, has published a new book entitled, The 7 Keys to Communicating in Mexico: An Intercultural Approach. Congratulations to David and his co-authors Orlando Kelm and Olivia Hernandez Pozas!
Spotlight on Eastern’s Center for Health Disparities Innovation and Studies
A new video tells the story of exciting work underway in Eastern’s Center for Health Disparities, Innovations and Studies (CHDIS). Eastern faculty are working in partnership with the CDC in its efforts to improve the health of all Americans through its Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program. This project focuses on nutrition and physical activity as ways of eliminating health disparities among Asian American communities. If you have a few minutes, please check out the video!
Service and Engagement Updates
Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Awards
The Faculty Senate is pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Awards for tenure-track and tenured faculty. The awards are offered annually in the following categories: Teaching I, Teaching II, Research I, Research II, Creative Activity, and Service. Nominations will be accepted through January 20, 2020. Information on the nomination process and award guidelines are available online.
Nominations Open for the 2019 EMU-FT Full-Time Lecturer Distinguished Teaching Award
The Provost’s Office is now accepting nominations for the 2019 EMU-FT Full-Time Lecturers Distinguished Teaching Award. This award provides EMU with the formal opportunity to honor distinguished full-time lecturers for their dedication to students’ education, as well as to demonstrate the value placed in full-time lecturers by the institution. Nominations will be accepted through December 16, 2019. Information on the nomination process and award guidelines are available online.
Call for Nominations: Part-Time Lecturer Distinguished Teaching Awards
The Division of Academic and Student Affairs at Eastern Michigan University is committed to providing encouragement and incentives in support of distinguished teaching achievements. Six Distinguished Part-Time Lecturers will be awarded as follows:
- Two Part-Time Lecturers from the College of Arts and Sciences
- One Part-Time Lecturer from the College of Business
- One Part-Time Lecturer from the College of Education
- One Part-Time Lecturer from the College of Health and Human Services
- One Part-Time Lecturer from the College of Technology
Nominations will be accepted through December 16, 2019. Information on the nomination process and award guidelines are available online.
Operational Effectiveness Updates
Last Chance for 2019 Faculty and Staff Photos
The Office of Communications provides studio-quality headshots of faculty, staff and students to be used for university purposes. If you don’t have an official university photo, or if it’s time to update your existing photo, you may register for the November 21, 1:30 to 2:30 pm session.
All photographs are taken in 102 Welch Hall and should take approximately 10 minutes. For more information email Deb Burke or call 734.487.6895.
Mark Your Calendar!
Be sure to bookmark the EMU Today site to keep current with all the news and events taking place on campus!
Events
- November 7 – Creating Barriers to Improve Personal Safety Workshop, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Room 300 Halle Library
- November 8 – Global Engagement Council Campus 2 Career Retreat [PDF]
- November 22 – Social Justice Fellowship applications due
Deadlines
- November 12 – Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, In Our Neighborhood Grant applications due
- November 20 – Academic Service-Learning/Community Based Seminar applications due
- January 31 – Faculty Research Fellowship (FRF) and Sabbatical Leave Awards applications due
