Alumni Notes

Published March 17, 2015

Kathleen Beeman (SPA02), retired Detroit Public Schools teacher, was hired as principal of St. Stephen School in New Boston.

Ryan Cowell (BA04), will become principal of Booker T. Washington STEM Academy on July 1, 2015. Cowell began his teaching career at Centennial in 2007, working as an instructional coach.

Julia Dalrymple (BBE04), received the 2014 Dr. Louis R. Graziano Outstanding Marketing Educator Award from the Michigan Marketing Educators Association. Dalrymple is currently a marketing instructor at Lake Orion High School.

Katie Dickson (MAT14), teaches at the Old Redford Academy Middle School in Detroit. Her approach to teaching her eighth graders is hands-on and lab-based. She is in charge of developing a new pre-chemistry curriculum for her school. This includes a new course designed develop students' knowledge and higher-level thinking skills, which both the Next Generation Science Standards and Michigan High School Content Expectations require. 

Debra Donahue (MA87), was unanimously chosen by the Forsyth County Department of Social Services Board to lead the department as executive director. Prior to arriving at Forsyth, Donahue managed abuse and neglect investigations and served as manager of economic services for the Wayne County Department of Social Services.

Michele Duff-Anderson (BA94, MA01), a teacher at John Glenn High School in Westland, has received the National History Teacher of the Year award by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Duff-Anderson is the first teacher from Michigan to receive this award.

Sherry Griesinger (MA89, BS84) and Eric Center (MA85, BS76), received Novi Teachers of the Year Awards for their dedication to students and classroom from Novi Community Schools. Griesinger teaches elementary students at Deerfield Elementary School and Center teaching social studies and U.S. history at Novi Middle School.

Anne M. Hasseld (PBC09), marketing teacher at Hartland High School, was honored with the 2014 Jack T. Humbert New Professional of the Year Award by the Michigan Marketing Educators for an outstanding marketing education program.

Bobbie Hayes-Goodrum (SPA06), principal at Cloverdale School and Visions Unlimited in Farmington has been named among The Michigan Chronicle's, "40 under 40 African American Leaders."

Michael Johnson (PBC05), received the Principal of the Year Award for Region 2 from the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association. Johnson has been the principal at Carpenter Elementary School since fall 2014.

Donna Lake (BS76), a former elementary teacher in Jackson, was awarded the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce's Athena Award on January 22, 2015. The award goes to women who demonstrate excellence, creativity and initiative in their profession; contribute time and energy to help improve the community; and actively assist women in realizing their leadership potential. In addition to mentoring youth and volunteering for several non-profit organizations, Ms. Lake is on the Jackson College Board of Trustees and the Jackson College Foundation Board of Directors.

Angela Newing (MA08), was appointed assistant principal of Forsythe Middle School in Ann Arbor last fall. Newing taught mathematics for 20 years in Ann Arbor Public Schools.

Melissa Robinson (BBA03, BSN09), Molly Peabody (BS14), and Jason DeCamillis (BS14), along with sponsor Janet Fisher (department head, Special Education) received $5,000 from EMU's Women in Philanthropy group to support the fall 2015 Connecting the Dots conference for special education research. This special education research is funded by a generous endowment from Delores Brehm (BA52) and her husband William Brehm.

Richard Roe (BS10, MAT13), teaches at the Allen Academy, a small charter school in Detroit. Since earning his master's degree at EMU, Richard has been teaching math, physics, engineering, and robotics. Mr. Roe is the mentor and coach for the FIRST Robotics Team, which he founded in 2013. In 2014, the team expanded to include a middle school First Tech Challenge Team.

John Silveri (MA84), is retiring in June 2015 as superintendent of Waterford Public Schools. Over his career in education, Mr. Silveri has served as a teacher, counselor, principal, and superintendent. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Guidance and Counseling from EMU.

Lisa L. Sterling (BS03), was named Teacher of the Year at Francis Bradley Middle School in Huntersville, North Carolina. Lisa has been teaching 7th grade honors and inclusion (special education) at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for three years now. She is also the 7th grade chair person and volleyball coach.

Doreen Swift (BS93), was one of three Farmington teachers named Teacher of the Year by Farmington Public Schools. Swift teaches 5th grade math, English language arts and social studies at Power Upper Elementary School. The award puts Swift in the running for the 2014-15 Oakland County Outstanding Teacher of the Year award.