Partnership Spotlights
About
The Faculty Development Center is pleased to announce "Partnership Spotlights," in which we will be highlighting successful and impactful student-faculty partnerships that are happening right here on our campus! Those profiled will share advice on starting partnerships, the importance of them for both the faculty and student involved, and more!
This Week's Partnership Spotlight: Dr. Katy Greenwald, Professor of Biology & Kaz Reszetar, Undergraduate Student
Interviewed by AnnaBelle Favre
We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Katy Greenwald and Kaz Reszetar about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Kaz Reszetar is a biology major with minors in biochemistry and coastal environments. Katy Greenwald is a professor of biology and the Program Coordinator for the Environmental Science and Society Interdisciplinary Program. Dr. Greenwald has been teaching at EMU since 2010, and before that, taught as a teaching assistant at Ohio State for five years.
Professor Greenwald and Kaz Reszetar have been collaborating since the winter semester of 2022. Kaz is working on two projects in Greenwald’s lab, both having to do with a very unique type of amphibian.
Dr. Greenwald has been studying a specific lineage of salamanders called unisexuals. These salamanders are common in Michigan, and what makes them unique is that this lineage only has female individuals. They reproduce by “stealing” DNA from other species by breeding with males of those species. This results in each individual having anywhere from two to five sets of chromosomes from any of five different species. Greenwald’s research at EMU has closely followed the unisexual salamanders and their mating with blue spotted salamanders, which are also common in Michigan. She researches interactions among species, the inner workings of their DNA, and other insights that have not been researched about unisexual salamanders.
Kaz Reszetar was interested in joining a biology lab to start a project, and was very interested in Greenwald’s work. They emailed the professor, despite not having met her. As an early-college student still in high school, Kaz was unsure they would find a professor willing to work with them. They were very excited when Greenwald decided to take them in as a part of the lab.
Their partnership started over email, but eventually, they were able to meet in person and start working in the lab. Their most recent project began in the Winter 2024 semester, which was spent planning. The pair also used the summer to set up projects, so that they could hit the ground running in the fall.
This fall, Kaz started a project researching a new population of unisexual salamanders in Western Michigan that are a result of breeding with tiger salamanders. This is very unusual for many biological reasons, but an obvious one is the size difference between the two species. Kaz has been looking into possible new genotypes and documenting information on this new population. They are sent tissue samples from a researcher in Western Michigan and are able to do testing and data analysis here at EMU. There is still a lot to learn about population dynamics in unisexuals, because up until the 1990’s, the only methods to determine if a salamander was unisexual required sacrificing the animal. Now, at the end of the breeding season, Kaz has examined tissue samples of over 300 individual salamanders that remain healthy within their own environment.
For Kaz, one project with Katy wasn’t enough. They are also working together toward Kaz’s honors thesis at the same time. Together, the pair are researching the behavior of unisexual salamanders when breeding with blue-spotted salamanders. They have expanded the lab with a new setup containing large breeding boxes. These boxes use cameras to record a pair of salamanders, one unisexual and one blue spotted at night when they are expected to mate.
A possible setback for this partnership’s project is that Kaz is an undergraduate student, and they will only be at Eastern for another two years. Greenwald said, “it’s hard when most projects last longer than an undergrad is here.” Since Kaz will likely graduate before their projects are finished, they hope to have enough results to publish their research. If they do not, Greenwald will find another student willing to continue as a collaborator.
Greenwald has a system of keeping her partnerships and projects connected by having all student collaborators get together with her for weekly lab meetings. At these meetings, students check in about their progress, talk about issues they may be having, and bounce ideas off of each other. These meetings are helpful, and Kaz and Katy regularly stay in contact over email or in person about their projects.
When asked about their relationship as partners with Greenwald, Kaz responded, “I’m pretty self directed, but I do ask a lot of questions, so we pair well.”
An important part of working with a partner is dealing with setbacks. Right now, these two are dealing with regulating the exact temperatures needed to amplify the DNA. Their primer set one went well, but primer set two has not been working. The pair agreed that this type of issue is not atypical, and they won’t let it slow them down. They plan to tinker with different details and try again, and they won’t be surprised or upset if they need many more trials.
Kaz and Greenwald have been working together long enough that their partnership has evolved. “Like any student-faculty project, there is an increasing level of responsibility overtime. As you learn more, you operate more like colleagues. Obviously there is still mentorship, but it becomes more even,” Greenwald said.
Kaz agreed with this sentiment saying, “I definitely feel like I have more independence now that I understand it wholly. I had to catch up to where she is and now I can learn what’s new.”
Dr. Greenwald offered advice to anyone considering pursuing a partnership, “I’ll say the same thing I say about grad school, it's so important to make sure you're genuinely interested in the topic.” She also recommended talking to your potential mentor about your mentor/mentee styles. She understood that everyone works differently and has different needs within a partnership.
Kaz explained that since they expected to struggle finding someone to take a chance on them, they tried to come off as both curious and knowledgeable to potential partners. They said that they wish they had read some of Greenwald’s papers and been prepared with questions when they first met, because in a science career, that is expected.
Kaz also explained that through this partnership, they learned the importance of understanding your mentor’s previous work. “[Katy] has a very interesting perspective because of how intimately we work with these animals. She did tracking research with them, but it didn’t work because they would just spit out the trackers. So, the way she thinks about these salamanders is you only get one contact point with them,” they said.
We thank Kaz and Dr. Greenwald for taking the time to talk with us, and for the inspiring example of their partnership.
Do you know a student-faculty partnership that should be recognized?
Previous Partnership Spotlights
Dr. Barbara Patrick, Professor of Political Science & Naomi Barbour, Undergraduate Student
Published April 7, 2025
Interviewed by TaMeka Lawrence
We were pleased to speak with Dr. Barbara Patrick and Naomi Barbour about their partnership and research at Eastern Michigan University. Their responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Dr. Barbara Patrick, a Professor and the Head of the Political Science Department, received her bachelor's degree in political science from Rust College, followed by her master's and doctorate in public policy and administration from Mississippi State University. She has been teaching in higher education for 16 years, with the last 12 years spent here at Eastern.
Naomi Barbour is a senior undergraduate student at Eastern, currently working toward a bachelor's degree in political science with double minors in public administration and criminology. She is in the process of completing her undergraduate thesis and is set to graduate this April.
Dr. Patrick and Naomi’s partnership began in a Politics of Budgeting class, where students analyzed cities in Michigan experiencing financial distress and those that were financially prosperous. Dr. Patrick explains, “They researched the cities, identifying the population, key issues, and whether or not those issues were managed well or poorly. Based on their findings, they proposed pathways for improving the city's efficiency and effectiveness. Naomi chose to focus on Benton Harbor, which is a city with significant financial challenges.”
Naomi is a McNair scholar here at EMU, and one requirement for her participation in that program is conducting research. Students are tasked with finding a mentor and developing a project. Naomi has come to appreciate Dr. Patrick not only as a professor but also as a person and role model. She had become deeply engaged with the work in her previous project and wanted to expand on the idea for her McNair proposal. Naomi explained, “We had gotten to know each other. I was interested in her, her research going forward.” To make the original work into a McNair project, Naomi added to her project by conducting interviews and coding answers into quantitative data.
Naomi and Dr. Patrick have found that the power dynamics between them have been easy to navigate. They share a mutual respect for each other and the work they are creating. As Dr.Patrick explained, “It quickly became more enjoyable than anything else because the research was so fascinating. You uncover new things you didn’t know, and the research just keeps growing. The conversations were academic, but they also became something we could bond over since it was an issue we both cared about.”
A setback they experienced was an oversupply of topics and issues to research and simply not enough time to include them all. Naomi notes, “I started to hit a wall, as I was dealing with a lot of heavy topics—racism, slavery, and other historical issues. I reached a roadblock when trying to connect past issues to current ones, like contemporary policing problems in the 21st century. That’s when the shift happened, and I began focusing more on Dr. Patrick’s work. I wanted to dive deeper into her research because, while I could find similar information from other sources, her work felt more direct and relevant to what I was studying. She was actively working on the same topics. Dr. Patrick stepped in more than I initially expected, providing valuable resources and guidance that helped shape my research.”
According to them, the work is never truly complete due to the nature of their research. It has expanded and ultimately led them to a thesis. “The conversations were inspiring and pushed me to dig deeper, exploring some of the underlying issues beyond just what the research initially showed,” Naomi explained. Dr. Patrick expanded on this, saying, “We often experience this: people come in with a specific idea, saying, ‘I’d like to do this,’ but then they discover something new, and the focus shifts. The project may be turned in, but we’re still adding to it. She got what she needed to receive credit, but is still working on various aspects of it.”
We thank Naomi and Dr. Patrick for sharing their work with us and look forward to seeing what becomes of such amazing research.
Dr. Andrew Ross, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics & Christina Trotta, Undergraduate Student
Published March 31, 2025
Interviewed by TaMeka Lawrence
We were pleased to speak with Dr. Andrew Ross and Christina Trotta about their partnership and research at Eastern Michigan University. Their responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Christina Trotta is a senior undergraduate student here at EMU. She is pursuing a Bachelor's Degree with a double major in Data Science and Spanish Language. Despite data science being a complex and demanding major, she continues to demonstrate why she is one of EMU’s Presidential Scholars by adding a second major in Spanish.
Dr. Andrew Ross, a professor in the Department of Statistics, obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from Harvey Mudd College, and received his Master's Degree and Ph.D at U.C. Berkeley for Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR). Dr. Ross spent the next four years teaching at Lehigh University before he joined the faculty at EMU, where he spent the last 19 years.
The partnership first began due to the data science major's small network. As mentioned earlier, data science is a relatively new major at Eastern. The major is interdisciplinary, with courses that include computer science, math, statistics, and business information systems. Dr. Ross is currently the main advisor, helping students navigate which classes and pathways they should take while attending EMU to suit their unique interests best. Christina wanted to undertake a more extensive project for her Honors senior thesis, specifically in the field of data science.
Throughout the winter semester, Christina and Dr. Ross have been working on their research, which uses time series forecasting techniques to predict the rates of car crashes in Chicago. Christina specifically wanted to focus her project on time series analysis, as forecasting based on past demand levels is important in the industry. Dr. Ross is personally interested in public safety data sets, including “mainly fire and ambulance data — like how many calls the fire department or ambulance service received each hour, and so on.”
Managing the student-faculty relationship has been easier for the pair since they began the project with similar goals and focused pathways. Dr. Ross commented, “I've had students in the past who are trying to go in all these different directions without prioritizing, and I keep trying to say, no, we’ve got to do this thing next, and then this thing, and then this thing, and so forth. But Christina knew exactly where she wanted to go and what she wanted to get done.”
They have both shared the responsibility for the project and have a vested interest in the end goals. Christina says that she came in knowing specifics, like which data sets she wanted to use, but Dr. Ross helped her with different techniques and models, while also providing insight and ideas to further her research. Christina does most of the work since it is her project, but they review it every week and check in with each other often, so they don’t feel there has been a power struggle. She explains, “It was beneficial that the project wasn’t too open-ended. We identified several foundational questions to address, which really helped us stay focused on the project.”
Some advice they have for starting a partnership is that starting early is a good idea, and identifying who you want to work with is key. “I could have done a project more focused in the statistics field, because I know a lot of faculty there. But I knew I wanted to work with Dr. Ross because he is the advisor for data science, and he would be better equipped to help me with the harder data science aspects that I wanted to learn about.” Ultimately, their example shows us that choosing the right partner who aligns with your goals can make all the difference in the success of the project.
What makes the partnership so important for Christina is the experience she has gained from the project. She explained, “As a data science student, doing work in the discipline and having something else on my portfolio will be a major advantage to me — not only academically, but personally. This feels like real data science — cleaning the data, conducting exploratory data analysis, and then testing and forecasting — which goes a little beyond just basic data analysis. I haven’t had much of that in my past classes.”
For Dr. Ross, this project represents a valuable resource for the future. Instead of simply recommending webpages to students who might find them helpful, he will have something specific to offer them. He explained, “Now I can show them what a previous student did using this method. Once her thesis is done, it’ll be more personal. I’ll be able to relate it to my students in future semesters: ‘Here’s what a Math 419 student did that went quite a bit beyond what we usually cover in class. But if you’re interested, go check it out.’” Ultimately, the project will satisfy some of his research interests while also benefiting his future students.
In such a short amount of time, Dr. Ross and Christina have managed to create a partnership with an amazing project as a result. They exemplify what persistence, clarity, and passion can do for the academic community. We are grateful to Dr. Ross and Christina for the time and work they’ve contributed.
Dr. Carla Damiano, Dr. Claudia Drossel & Nicole Briese, Undergraduate Student
Published March 25, 2025
Interviewed by Trinity Perkins
We met with Nicole, Dr. Damiano and Dr. Drossel to find out more about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Nicole Briese is a presenter at the 45th Undergraduate Research Symposium. She will give a talk on “Decoding family history: The lost art of German cursive handwriting” in Room 350 on March 28 at 10 am. How did she, as a sophomore student who studies psychology, develop an interest in this project?
Nicole told Dr. Damiano and Dr. Drossel that her grandparents immigrated to the United States from Germany. Like a child in many immigrant families, she grew up surrounded by a language different from English. When she entered EMU’s bachelor’s program in psychology, she decided to refresh and expand her existing German skills. Dr. Damiano is Nicole’s German professor at EMU. As part of one of her classes, Nicole collected genealogical documentation on her family. She discovered letters and photos with an old German-style of cursive handwriting that she could not read.
Nicole had encountered an old form of German handwriting called Sütterlin that was taught in Germany through 1942, when Hitler banned it. Dr. Drossel, faculty in the psychology department and the Director of the Robert Thomson Center for the Advancement of Neurobehavioral Health, is a native German speaker and learned this type of cursive writing in her art classes in high school. She helped Nicole read the documents. Drs. Damiano and Drossel identified a common thread for both disciplines – Nicole’s German minor and the psychology major. Nicole then started investigating the literature on handwriting via her own family artifacts with two mentors.
Nicole’s review of the literature shows the importance of handwriting in psychology and across disciplines: While many students do not learn how to write in cursive anymore, studies in psychology support that handwriting facilitates spelling accuracy, memory and recall, and letter recognition and understanding of text. Other research has shown that even a digital pen produces similar results to traditional writing implements. Drawing each letter is the important ingredient. Handwriting also plays a role in understanding how neurological diseases affect people. Dr. Drossel pointed out that people with neurodegenerative diseases may lose their ability to write.
Nicole’s research also suggests that scholars across disciplines benefit from reading cursive handwriting, including Sütterlin, as it affords access to original historical documents. She is now practicing reading and writing.
Research partnerships like these are important and valuable, but not always easy to pull off. The hardest part about having a partnership for them is to find time all together to meet. They tend to meet in twos and never all together. It is difficult to connect at times. Something specifically that Dr. Drossel finds to be difficult is that she might find something interesting to herself, but it may not be the most interesting thing for Nicole. She tries to give Nicole lots of space to develop her own interest and find the direction she wants to go. That can be a difficult balance because she also wants to guide her as well. Dr. Damiano states, “I definitely have my reasons why I think this is interesting and, stemming from my own research interests and experiences and that's nowhere where Nicole is ever going to go, but, you know, the interest is the same.”
Nicole strives to gain knowledge from each of them by the end of this project to move her forward on her path to rebuilding her connections. She is now looking forward to studying abroad at EMU’s partner university, Justus-Liebig Universität in Gießen, Germany, in Winter 2026, and to connecting with others interested in German, psychology, and handwriting. Nicole states, “it's been a full circle concept for me. It’s a connection to my roots and German and it makes me feel very fulfilled.”
Nicole recommends that students take the initiative and reach out to faculty members. She states, “I feel that's something that the students should do is take the initiative and say: oh, I'm interested in this. I wonder if this person can help me with this, or, oh, I'm interested and maybe get involved in a lab this person's in, maybe I can connect with this faculty member, so on and so forth.” In this case, much good stuff happened because the student reached out to the professor.
Dr. Drossel’s advice to students is to “be curious.” Look at things, and you may see an opportunity. She states, “there are a lot of opportunities right here on our campus, you know.” Dr. Damiano adds to that and states, “just look at every little thing you do as something on your resume… It shows that you're interested in your community, that you can do outreach, that you are not afraid to do something scary, and that could lead to a scholarship. That could lead to an assistantship, that could lead to a Fulbright scholarship.”
Dr. Damiano's piece of advice is, “Just tell students about opportunities because it's just a tiny little seed that you plant and then it might grow. It might be stagnant for a while and grow later, right? But you gotta tell people about opportunities.”
In summary, a strong partnership between a student and faculty arose from Dr. Damiano’s assignment in the German class, Nicole’s curiosity, and the recognition that this project could lead to interdisciplinary collaboration. Dr. Drossel’s background and specialty complemented the project and offered additional support for Nicole.
We thank Dr. Damiano, Dr. Drossel and Nicole for sharing the story of their partnership with us!
Dr. Becca Louick & Margot Moffa
Published March 17, 2025
Interviewed by Trinity Perkins
We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Becca Louick and Margot Moffa about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Dr. Louick has been teaching for 8 years at the college level. She has been at Eastern for four years, but before that she was a teacher for middle and high school children with learning disabilities for 8 years. Margot is a senior studying Special Education with a focus on students with learning disabilities. She is also currently a student teacher at a middle school.
Dr. Louick and Margot began this partnership because Margot was a 2023-2024 Brehm Scholar and Dr. Louick was her advisor. The Brehm Scholars Program is housed in the Department of Special Education and Communication Sciences and Disorders; Dr. Louick is the current director of the Brehm Center. All Special Education and Communication Sciences and Disorders majors are invited to apply, and 10 are chosen and they get a chance to work with a faculty mentor from the department and to pick something interesting in the field to do a project on. It starts with a summer course and continues with a conference presentation (often at EMU’s undergraduate or graduate symposium). Margot’s Brehm Scholars cohort also developed a monograph with manuscripts by each Scholar about the study they conducted.
For her research project, Margot is conducting interviews and coding them. She is researching people who have been diagnosed with a learning disability (such as ADHD or dyslexia) in high school or college, and how they would characterize their learning experiences. Margot came up with this idea while talking to other people about the impact it has when your diagnosis comes later than it does for other people. Dr. Louick has been thrilled to be on board with this project, with Margot as the lead and Dr. Louick as her support system. Dr. Louick states, “There's a particular set of experiences or challenges that go with getting a late diagnosis as compared to knowing from the time you're younger that you have a learning disability.”
This is Margot's first time navigating this field of work, so she is still just trying to take everything in. To make sure she is constantly making progress, she makes sure to keep in touch with Dr. Louick to understand how she is improving or how she is growing. Dr. Louick states she loves working with Margot because she is easy to collaborate with, the program makes deadlines and Margot is very good at meeting them. She also finds Margot to be clear with what she needs; Margot is sure to reach out if she needs help!
Margot's project started off as a Brehm Scholars project, then became a SURF (Symposium Undergraduate Research Fellow) project. She is interested in continuing. She is even thinking about continuing this project in graduate school as well and expanding on it. Dr. Louick is encouraging Margot to keep going as well, she states, “It's kind of the way academia works right where, like, you start with this idea, and it just keeps getting a little bigger and a little bigger, and maybe there’s a piece of it that you pursue a little further… It gives you an idea that you branch into something else, but the project idea itself never really ends. It just keeps sort of changing form.”
The hardest part of participating in a student-faculty partnership for Margot is balancing everything that she is doing. She says she is good at communication, but it is still hard to balance all the things she has going on, such as student teaching, state boards, and the research as well. She is able to reach out to Dr. Louick about all these different parts of her education, which Dr. Louick states is the “benefit of a small department.” They spend lots of time together so she is able to help Margot.
The hardest thing for Dr. Louick is that she really wants everything to go well for Margot, and it tends to frustrate her when other things are getting in her way that can negatively impact her. She wanted to help as much as she could, but she could not exactly fix everything and that was hard for her.
In this student-faculty partnership, they never felt a power or control pull. It always was very natural for Margot with Dr. Louick there for support. “Where do I step forward, or where do I have Dr. Louick help me? Where? Where do I need it? It's always felt very natural to me in that regard,” Margot states. Dr. Louick doesn’t feel like there is an issue either. Because the main focus of Margot's work is “ something that she has much more knowledge [in]” than Dr. Louick, and since she is actively a student, (students will tell her things in interviews that they won't exactly be as open to tell Dr. Louick because Margot is closer in age) the project works well.
Something that has changed over time for them in their partnership is how they talk to each other. They are a lot more open with each other now and this has been beneficial for them as Margot's skill set has grown. At the beginning of Brehm, Margot got stressed because she couldn’t figure out how to organize herself properly and got overwhelmed. Dr. Louick supported her and helped her gain those skills so she doesn’t feel like they are that much of a problem anymore. She gave Margot those skills because she grew to know her and what she needed. She also is able to understand what Margot is looking to find out in her project because of the work she has been doing over the past year.
This project is important to Margot because she herself was diagnosed with a learning disability later in life. She states, “So I've had to open up myself to share my experiences, too, so Dr. Louick could understand my viewpoint better of where I'm wanting to go with it.”
A piece of advice Margot would give to a student wanting to start a partnership is to keep an open mind, “because I feel like I went in with like, okay, this is how I'm gonna do it. And this is how I've done it before, this is how I've done my schooling before, and that has totally been uprooted, right? Like how my process has been, how I interact, how I'm corresponding with Dr. Louick. All these are new skills that I have acquired in terms of learning how to do things. So I think just keeping an open mind and being that flexible.”
Dr. Louick’s piece of advice would be to get to know someone ahead of time. She knew Margot from class, before they started working together, and that connection between them really made the partnership really work.
We thank Dr. Louick and Margot for sharing the story of their partnership with us!
Dr. Aaron Liepman & Ryen Padilla
Published March 10, 2025
Interviewed by Trinity Perkins
We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Aaron Liepman and Ryen Padilla about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Ryen Padilla is a sophomore biology major with a concentration in cellular and molecular biology and a chemistry minor. Dr. Liepman is a professor of biology and has nearly 30 years of teaching experience, including almost 20 years at EMU.
Professor Liepman and Ryen Padilla are in a research partnership that has been going on for around a year. Ryen has been working on a research project in Dr. Liepman's lab during that time. Ryen's project aims to answer questions relevant to a larger NSF-funded project in collaboration with Dr. Berkley Walker's lab at MSU.
Their research relates to plant biochemistry. The pathway they are studying is called photorespiration, an important pathway that runs alongside of photosynthesis in plants. They study the temperature responses of photorespiratory enzymes in different plant species. Dr. Liepman notes, “We use recombinant DNA technology to put DNA sequences into the bacteria that encode plant proteins; the bacteria produce these proteins. We can then purify these plant proteins from bacteria more easily than we could from a plant.”
Because the research is complicated and many undergraduate students lack prior lab experience when starting in the lab, Dr. Liepman pays special attention to student growth. “Many students who work with me don't necessarily even start with ‘scientist’ as part of their identity. They don't yet view themselves as scientists, whereas I can see in students that it is an identity that they just don't know that they have.” He has enjoyed observing Ryen’s scientific development. Ryen started as a student in his BIO101 course, a class where students are introduced to many things about being a biology major, including careers, research experiences, etc. Ryen had expressed some interest in getting involved in research, so they began discussing a project, and it grew from there.
Ryen also has noticed scientific growth resulting from her research experiences. When starting in the lab about a year ago, she felt like she didn’t know how to do anything. As she says, “he was showing me all these complicated machines with all this weird tubing and weird buttons that I had to press, and I was really scared to get into research because of the lack of prior experience and because I was a freshman, so I didn't have the confidence, Just seeing how Dr. Liepman has helped me grow in that confidence in being able to do this stuff has really been the most memorable part of this.”
Ryen's work on this project is building the foundations for her senior thesis. She has four proteins from soybeans that she is going to study, but the kind of research they do “makes more questions when you answer one question.” So, it never really finishes. Ryen is hoping to hone in on her skills and continue doing this research. Certain techniques like protein purification are sometimes a struggle for her, but by the time she graduates, she is hoping to have a more complete understanding of the research they are doing and come out of this project with confidence, and hopefully have her own research team one day.
Something that can be difficult about having a student-faculty partnership for Dr. Liepman and Ryen is time considerations. Dr. Liepman often checks in with his students, but most of the time, they work independently. With busy schedules, finding overlapping times to meet can sometimes be challenging. Another concern for Dr. Liepman is determining the type and the right amount of mentoring for each student. Because each student has different needs, trying to figure out how best to mentor a student can be a learning experience. He doesn’t want to do the work for them, but also wants to help them enough, and striking the right balance can be difficult. It also can be difficult to choose who will work in the lab. There are often more people who want to be in the lab than he has time and resources to mentor, so having to make this choice is difficult.
Timing can also be a challenge for Ryen. “I work a job outside here. I am involved in a lot of extracurricular. So, it is hard finding the time, but I'm grateful that he was willing to do research for credit so that I could carve out more time in my schedule to do that because research is a priority. It is hard as a student to find time because sometimes you only have later times available later in the day, when a faculty member may be at home, and you don’t want to disturb them.”
To navigate power and control in this partnership, they treat each other with a mutual sense of respect. Ryen states “I don't feel like I'm necessarily being treated as ‘you don't know this.’ I feel like I'm treated respectfully as in ‘you might not know everything right now, but you have the capability to know that’ and having that understanding I think really helps me feel a little more confident to go and do more things on my own.” She also says that being able to admit that something is hard and having a supportive faculty member is really helpful as well because it makes you feel more comfortable. Something that Dr. Liepman says to his students is “Do you understand?” He encourages them to ask questions when they don’t understand. As he says, “I don't know everything and we’re going to learn about this together. I may have some knowledge about this, and I'm happy to share it with you, but I can't share it with you if I don't know that you don't know.”
A piece of advice Dr. Liepman has for a student wanting to start a partnership is “Don’t be afraid to ask, and be persistent. You may not get an answer right away. You might not get an answer ever and you can ask other people.” and also “don't be afraid to try something that you might not know about. It might sound like it's really weird or boring or whatever, and it might be, but it might not be.”
A piece of advice from Ryen to students is to work on “not being intimidated, regardless of where you're at in your research career and just your general college journey. Professors will understand that you have something to learn, and if you show that you have the passion and the drive to learn more about that, then I think you can open any door that you want. And keep an open mind.” She says she would never have had this opportunity if she hadn’t been open-minded.
We thank Ryen and Dr. Liepman for taking the time to talk with us, and for the inspiring example of their partnership.
Dr. Steven Backues & Patricia Omoyemwen Woghiren
Published March 3, 2025
Interviewed by TaMeka Lawrence
We were pleased to speak with Patricia Woghiren and Dr. Steven Backues about their research partnership at Eastern Michigan University. Their responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Patricia Omoyemwen Woghiren is a senior undergraduate student here at EMU pursuing her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. Coming from Nigeria, Patricia came to Eastern during her freshman year. She is currently completing her thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Backues. Dedicated and resilient, Patricia knew from the very beginning what she wanted to do with her degree and where she wanted to study.
Dr. Steven Backues, a professor in the Chemistry Department, obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biochemistry from Gustavus Adolphus College and then received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Dr. Backues’ general area of interest is membrane trafficking and how proteins control the shape and dynamics of cellular membranes. He is currently studying the membrane trafficking involved in the process of autophagy in yeast.
Their partnership began almost as soon as Patricia started attending Eastern. As a freshman, she immediately approached Dr. Backues for an advising appointment and to inquire about mentorship opportunities. Dr. Backues provided her with all the information he would offer to any student, but he encouraged her to hold onto the idea of mentored research and see how she performed in her entry-level classes before coming back to meet with him again.
Dr. Backues and Patricia's lab studies autophagy, focusing on three different aspects of the process. Each lab member works on a different component, with Patricia's research focusing on Atg11 and its interactions with other autophagy partners. Patricia explains, “Autophagy is a process by which the cell eliminates unwanted materials to provide fuel for itself. I like to refer to it as the cell's waste disposal system, but in doing so, it also generates energy. Different proteins are involved in this process, acting as the core mechanism of autophagy. These proteins are the 'workhorses' of the cell. One of these key proteins is Atg11, and my research centers on studying how Atg11 interacts with other proteins necessary for carrying out autophagy.”
Dr. Backues often reflects on the dynamic of power in his teaching. He is constantly balancing the responsibility of educating his students while also pushing forward with his research. While he acknowledges that things might go faster and smoother if he took absolute control, he recognizes that this wouldn’t provide an ideal learning environment for the students. “It's important to find the balance between how much direction to give and how much freedom to allow. I know that giving more freedom inevitably means more mistakes, but those mistakes also provide more learning opportunities.”
A memorable moment for Patricia and Dr. Backues was last year when Patricia organized a Secret Santa with the idea that everyone would have to get to know each other to give meaningful gifts. Dr. Backues recounts, “I drew her name as my Secret Santa, and I decided to flip it around by giving her a gift that would help me get to know her better. I knew that Patricia is Catholic, and faith is very important to me as well, though I come from a Protestant background. So, I took her and a friend of hers to the Lenten dinner at the Catholic church in town. We talked about it—we discussed Catholicism as she experienced it growing up in Nigeria. It was a really good dinner.”
One thing Patricia has learned from this partnership, aside from the obvious results and information from her research, is the importance of leadership. In her eyes, Dr. Backues is an example of a great leader, having clear direction and plans for the team, but never being harsh or mean. There’s always a balance of encouragement and guidance. If she were to have the opportunity to lead others in science or elsewhere, she would draw inspiration from his leadership qualities.
Patricia and Dr. Backues would tell anyone interested in starting a partnership to remember that you're always learning. Feedback is valuable, and failure is okay—these are part of the process. It's crucial to stay focused on the primary goal of the partnership. In most cases, that’s student learning, but it could be something else, depending on the partnership. Either way, staying focused on the purpose is key
Dr. Backues and Patricia are excellent examples of what hard work and diligence can achieve, especially when students and faculty work closely together. We are grateful to Dr. Backues and Patricia for their time and the accomplishments they’ve contributed to this partnership.
Dr. Sydney Batchelder and Grant Saba
Published February 17, 2025
Interviewed by Elena Parshall
We had the pleasure of speaking with Grant Saba and Dr. Sydney Batchelder about their research partnership at Eastern Michigan University. Their responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Grant Saba is a senior undergraduate student at EMU pursuing his bachelor’s degree in psychology. He is completing his honors thesis under the guidance of Dr. Batchelder. A motivated and driven student, Grant came to EMU and quickly developed an interest in behavioral psychology and substance use research. His academic work reflects his passion for understanding complex social issues and their impact on human behavior.
Dr. Sydney Batchelder is a new faculty member in the Psychology Department at EMU. She began her academic journey in her home state of Connecticut, earning her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Connecticut State University before pursuing her master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Vermont, she joined EMU’s faculty in fall 2024.
Their partnership began during a transitional period for Grant, whose original honors advisor left the university unexpectedly. Searching for a new mentor, Grant was directed to Dr. Batchelder, whose research interests aligned closely with his own. Despite not having officially started at EMU, Dr. Batchelder enthusiastically agreed to collaborate, demonstrating her strong commitment to supporting student research.
The centerpiece of their work together is a study examining how e-cigarette use affects alcohol demand among college students. Using a purchase task methodology, participants are placed in hypothetical scenarios, such as being at a bar, and asked how many drinks or puffs of an e-cigarette they would purchase at varying price points. The study aims to measure demand elasticity and uncover patterns of problematic substance use. By focusing on the growing prevalence of e-cigarette use among college students—currently around 20%—and their concurrent use of alcohol, the research addresses an emerging public health issue.
Although the partnership has been highly productive, they have faced some obstacles. Early ambitions to use ecological momentary assessments, a method requiring real-time data collection from participants multiple times a day, proved to be too resource-intensive. The team pivoted to a survey-based approach, which has allowed them to gather data from over 130 participants to date. They have also encountered challenges in selecting validated psychological measures due to licensing fees on widely used tools. However, their combined perseverance and weekly meetings have enabled them to identify suitable alternatives and maintain steady progress.
Their research has already garnered attention, with Grant and Dr. Batchelder preparing to present at several conferences, including the Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan (BAAM) and the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI). For Grant, this marks his first experience presenting at major academic forums, a milestone that he views with excitement and pride.
When discussing the dynamics of their partnership, both emphasized mutual respect and collaboration. Dr. Batchelder strives to create an equitable working relationship, ensuring that tasks and responsibilities are shared. Grant appreciates this balance, noting that it allows him to take ownership of his work while benefiting from Dr. Batchelder’s mentorship and expertise.
Both also reflected on the personal and professional growth that the partnership has fostered. For Grant, the experience has been transformative, providing a foundation for his future in graduate school and research. Dr. Batchelder, in turn, values the opportunity to mentor and support students, finding it deeply rewarding to contribute to their academic and professional development.
Their advice to others considering student-faculty partnerships is clear. Grant encourages students to take the initiative, emphasizing that most faculty are eager to support passionate and curious students. Dr. Batchelder advises faculty to be approachable and transparent, particularly with first-generation students who may be unfamiliar with academic opportunities.
As they look ahead, both Grant and Dr. Batchelder view their current project as a springboard for future research. They are committed to continuing their work on substance use and exploring new questions that emerge from their findings. Their partnership demonstrates the power of collaboration in driving meaningful contributions to science and fostering a supportive academic community.
This student-faculty relationship exemplifies how shared curiosity and dedication can lead to impactful work. We thank Grant Saba and Dr. Sydney Batchelder for their time and insights into this inspiring partnership.
Dr. John McCurdy and Chris Baker
Published April 15, 2024
Interviewed by Trinity Perkins
We had the chance to speak with Chris Baker and Professor John McCurdy about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Chris Baker is a second year graduate student at EMU. He received his bachelors degree in History from Indiana University - East (Richmond, Indiana).
Professor McCurdy is in his 19th year at EMU. He received his BA from Knox College, his M.A. from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. He specializes in early America, gender, and sexuality.
This partnership began during the Fall 2023 semester as Chris was in McCurdy’s History class HIST 505: Historical Methods. In this class, Professor McCurdy asked the students to develop a research project and find a history topic any time in the world. Chris developed an interest in medieval England. The last exercise for the class was to write a research paper that could be presented at the Graduate Research and Creative Activity Conference, which Chris ended up doing this past March.
For this project Chris decided he wanted to learn more about King John of England (who reigned from 1199 to 1216), because he always had an interest in him. He discovered that his story was actually different from what most people think. Chris states, “he was rather frowned upon even though he did most of the things other kings did. I went down a rabbit hole looking at plays and other writings…government records rather than looking at hearsay stories.” He started researching King John, even reaching out to various archives and societies in England such as the British archives and found tax papers from the Pipe Rolls society that he was able to have shipped to the US. He is going through them slowly because they are in Latin.
Even though McCurdy is not an expert in medieval England, he believed that Chris had some interesting questions and ideas. He was happy to help him with his project.
Chris and Professor McCurdy started their partnership because of a class project. Chris believes this created a great student-teacher relationship because he got to work with Professor McCurdy throughout the semester. McCurdy offered Chris advice on research methods and reviewed his writing. The partnership grew and expanded.
Professor McCurdy states that the partnership “was really easy, because Chris is very motivated, he was very easy to work with.” He got to play an advisory role, explaining how Chris’s writing could be tighter and other topics to pursue.
Navigating power and control in this relationship is a little different than most, because this is a graduate class. Professor McCurdy states, “You expect a graduate student to come in and take the lead” and “it’s different than undergraduate. I just try to support students the best I can and give them suggestions on writing and structure” but he leaves the rest to them. He tries to be more of a “help, than a mentor.” He tries to get there where they need to go. Chris states that at the graduate level, it is more asking your professors questions, but having a clue where you want to go.
A piece of advice Chris would give to a student wanting to start a partnership with a faculty member is “be open to constructive criticism, and be open to ideas that you maybe don’t agree with and open to sources you may have not considered before. Having stuff done ahead of time is also helpful if you are in a partnership.”
Professor McCurdy’s advice for faculty members is to find someone highly motivated, and someone you can be both supportive of because you do not want to destroy the student’s confidence. “It’s not an exclusive partnership, you can help him find other faculty members and other people who can be helpful as well.”
The most memorable moment of this partnership for Chris was when he received an award at the Graduate Research and Creative Activity Conference for one of the best abstracts. He says, “It was very nice to get a reward for something that I didn’t think people would read and to be acknowledged for it before I even presented this presentation.” Professor McCurdy never had a student win that before so it was an honor for him as well.
We thank Professor McCurdy and Chris Baker for sharing their work and their insights about partnerships with us.
Dr. Christopher Gellasch and Rose Allen
Published April 8, 2024
Interviewed by Trinity Perkins
We had the chance to speak with Rose Allen and Professor Christopher Gellasch about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Rose Allen is in her last year here at Eastern. She is president of the Geo Club and also is a senior majoring in Environmental Science with a concentration in hydrology and minor in geology, which is how the two of them met. Rose had Professor Gellasch for an environmental science class during her freshman year. She couldn’t figure out what she wanted her concentration to be and went to Professor Gellasch for some advice and he helped her set up her concentration. During this conversation is when she mentioned she was interested in doing research and later that same year an opportunity came up to start working with Gellasch on research.
Professor Gellasch is an associate professor of hydrogeology, hydrology, and environmental science in the department of Geography and Geology. He received his BS in Geology from Eastern Michigan University. He then went and received his master in Geological Sciences from Indiana University and his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After 23 years as an Army Environmental Science and Engineering Officer, he returned to EMU in 2017.
This partnership has been together since May of 2022. The research is done as part of Rose’s senior thesis. For their research they go up to the EMU Fish Lake Environmental Education Center near Lapeer, MI and take groundwater and surface water samples from different sites there. After that they bring the samples back to the lab and analyze them for different nutrients, then synthesize the data. Rose will be done with this project after her graduation this month. For Professor Gellasch, this project is continuing with other students. As Rose said, “One of the cool things about science is that there is always more to do.” So the project will continue on. There is always more to do and more to learn to help them better understand Fish Lake.
Something that has changed since they first started their partnership and now is the way they interact with each other. When Rose first started she wasn’t quite sure about field work and everything that he did, so Professor Gellasch started taking her out and showing her how to do certain things in the field and the lab so she can have a better understanding.
Two years later Rose is now the person he brings to Fish Lake when he has a field trip and teaches other students and other groups such as a Boy Scout Troup all the things they do. As Professor Gellasch stated, “She has now evolved into a mentor of her own.” While at first she was learning, she is now looking at graduate schools to become a scientist and also a teacher. Rose has enjoyed being able to work with others on her project and showing them everything she is doing. She has presented this work at the Undergraduate Symposium for the last two years and is also publishing this in a peer-reviewed journal which is a big milestone for her personally.
The hardest thing about being in a partnership for Rose is learning how to become her own person under an amazing mentor. Finding her own signature from Dr. Gellasch or other professors has been hard for her. For Professor Gellasch, the hardest thing is making sure to give his students the opportunity to figure things out on their own, but also not sending them astray.
To navigate power in control in their partnership as students and faculty, Professor Gellasch lets his students take the lead, but he will be there for questions if need be. This leads to some very positive outcomes. For example, a memorable experience for them was when Rose presented at a national conference last October. Having that opportunity and seeing Rose have that opportunity to present in front of experts in the field and be confident was really rewarding for them both.
A setback they have had was finding time to finish the final steps of the project, especially in Rose’s senior year. Rose has had a lot on her plate with school work, research, and her actual job. Balancing these all resulted in needing to push things back later than initially planned.
A piece of advice Rose has for someone wanting to start a student-faculty partnership is “If you had a professor that you liked in the past, go to their office hours, talk with them, build a relationship, first as a student, and then, if you’re interested in doing research, through discussion with them you can find out what work they are doing and if they have any projects available.”
The partners also discussed the need to get to know each other first. The student has to know the professor and the professor the student. You sort of want to have a personality match to see if you are able to work well together so you can make sure it will work out well because this project can be anywhere from 1-2 years.
We thank Professor Gellasch and Rose Allen for sharing their work and their insights about partnerships with us.
Dr. John Koolage and John Milkovich
Published April 1, 2024
Interviewed by Elena Parshall
We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. John Koolage and John Milkovich about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
John Milkovich is a graduate assistant in the History & Philosophy Department and with the General Education Department here at EMU. On top of being a second-year graduate student, John also teaches an introductory course at the university. He began his college career at EMU as an undergraduate student studying social studies education with a concentration in history. He picked up a philosophy minor his first semester and quickly made the switch to make philosophy their major. After receiving their bachelor’s degree, he applied to the Graduate Program at EMU and is pursuing their master’s degree.
Dr. Koolage is the Director of General Education, a professor of philosophy, and an ENVI affiliate. He began his career as an undergraduate student at the University of Manitoba where he received a bachelor’s degree in commerce with a specialization in finance. He went back to school to pick degrees in psychology and philosophy. He was later accepted into a PhD program at UW Madison. He has been a professor at EMU for fifteen years.
Their relationship began when John was a freshman visiting Dr. Koolage’s office to discuss changing his major (John has had several classes with him since), but their first working-relationship began in 2021. They were working together on introducing a philosophy summer camp for children and the ideas of how to integrate a spark of curiosity in the minds of children regarding philosophy as a whole. In 2023, they were also part of the Teaching and Learning Together Community through the Faculty Development Center (FDC). Their current work on course redesign started this current academic year.
Their partnership consists of teaching and research in the sense of an intensely focused course redesign for one of Dr. Koolage’s classes. They are exploring an assignment of helping students read and internalize information, and then relating that practice to how it expands their curiosity. The methodology they are testing involves students, John explained, “sitting down with a reading they’ve already read and they film themselves reading it out loud and then talking through all of the thoughts they have while they read it.” The duo wanted to figure out a way to implement this teaching method into a philosophy of life sciences course, so the two of them did some background research to analyze how to maximize student engagement with this style of teaching. They have intentions of publishing a paper regarding these types of think-aloud activities and the correlation with individual curiosity.
Another thing analyzed with these types of activities is the notion of having a way to individuate students within the classroom to form specific student-teacher relationships. Dr. Koolage said, “Think-alouds are an opportunity to have somebody who’s thinking for themselves about the material assigned to them and submit that to me, and then what I’ve tried to do this semester is respond.” He asks students via reflection what they’re interested in and asks them to think about their own thinking in a meta-cognitive way. From there, he can give a meaningful response back, having felt he knows the student’s interest better, which begins to build a relationship between him and the student.
When continuing about their partnership, Dr. Koolage said, “it gives you this interesting insight into how that particular student thinks about what they're engaging with. And, you never have access to that otherwise, you know, you don't just ask people in class stuff like that.” John added in regards to students who don’t necessarily feel comfortable speaking up in class about the benefits of structuring an assignment in this way, “The other ones may feel anxious because they're in this sort of public setting, or just may not have the words at the time, to come up with something that they feel confident in expressing in this kind of public format.” John intends to utilize this method of teaching in their course as well. This multifaceted approach to learning is proving beneficial in engaging students’ curiosity and expressiveness towards the material being taught. Continuous learning will always occur and the work to incorporate useful pedagogies into the classroom will never be done according to these two.
When asked about difficulties within their partnership, the two both expressed feelings of gratitude with how “easy” this partnership has been to them. Dr. Koolage remarks on how there’s an understanding of structures between the two of them that have derived from previous partnerships of Dr. Koolage, that has made the work easier to do and more efficient. However, it was mentioned that navigating the time barriers associated with being in different spots in life can be difficult at times.
Dr. Koolage expressed his gratitude towards John for “thinking through this project’s virtues” when questions are raised about what this project is. He also commended them for having a new teacher mindset to help answer the hard questions; “This project would not exist without them.” John said he’s learned that having a mentor who’s academically interested in the same things, and has been in the field longer than he has, has opened his mind to new pedagogies to implement in the classroom. John said, “Assisting students in their education, while also teaching my own class is very, very enlightening and fruitful for me to think about how I can adapt and change my own class to better do that.” Another important takeaway from this partnership John addressed was the feeling of intellectual self-confidence it has given them. He mentioned previous instances in schooling of being dismissed and being treated like their opinions weren’t valued, and that this partnership has helped establish a foundation for himself within education.
Discussing power and control dynamics within the partnership, John expressed appreciation for the friendly nature between the two that allows for informal conversations which typically lead to advancements on the project. John said it allows them to feel comfortable knowing that while Dr. Koolage has power, the two of them interact in a way that those small fears regarding power are not true concerns. Dr. Koolage’s perspective on power and control dynamics is that with John being in the department and the project being so domain-specific, the project is seen as theirs. He views this partnership as a true collaboration on work they each individually and intend to implement in their classrooms, knowing that they’ll each put their own spin on it.
We asked each of them for a piece of advice to anyone considering a student-faculty partnership. John gave the insight of “if a student were to go to a faculty member and have sort of negative or bad experience in that first time, maybe that's just not the person for you. That's just not the faculty member you should be engaging with in a partnership relationship with. Dr. Koolage wanted readers to know “I think working with, let's call them students for now, but like partners who are not always the same as you in a lot of ways, is an extremely quick and easy way to transform your own thinking. And, it's so rewarding to have better thoughts, ideas, practices and so on that not doing that seems like doing yourself a disservice…if you're not a person who's sort of welcoming to thoughts from others, and you're not always trying to build these partnerships, then you won't have any.”
This student-faculty relationship reveals the power similar interests can have. It can enable long-lasting, mind-cultivating work through a feeling of camaraderie where work doesn’t always have to feel like work when you’re in the right company. We at the FDC, thank John Milkovich and Dr. Koolage for their time and incredibly insightful remarks!
Dr. Christopher Robbins, Jennifer Bennett, and Hannah Bollin
Published March 25, 2024
Interviewed by Trinity Perkins and Elena Parshall
Written by Elena Parshall
We had the chance to speak with Hannah Bollin, Jennifer Bennett, and Dr. Christopher Robbins about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Hannah is a doctoral student and Doctoral Fellow in the Educational Studies program here at EMU. She received her bachelor’s degree in English at Concord University and then her master’s degree at EMU in Women & Gender Studies. Jennifer is a fourth-year doctoral student and Doctoral Fellow in Educational Studies. She works closely with The Workshop for Community+Collaboration. She also taught for eight years before returning to EMU for her master’s degree which was then followed by her pursuing her doctorate. Dr. Christopher Robbins is a professor of Social Foundations of Education, coordinator for the EDST program, and a founding collaborator for The Workshop for Community+Collaboration. He received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Penn State before coming here to teach. All three of these individuals are first-generation college students.
Dr. Robbins met Hannah when she first entered the doctoral program here at EMU. Jennifer and Dr. Robbins met sixteen years ago when she was in her undergrad program and was taking one of his classes. Since then, the two have collaborated on a project for community advocacy groups, which became known as “The Workshop” in mid-February 2023. Hannah and Jennifer met through Dr. Robbins in the fall of 2023, and the three have been working together as a triad ever since. They meet internally on a biweekly basis to identify actionable steps and plan the next meetings, and in a larger group with community partners to brainstorm and gather ideas for engaging community partners and developing projects and events in the other weeks.
The project they’re working on, “The Workshop for Community+Collaboration,” is a service project that seeks to integrate community-based research and community-engaged teaching and learning, through their fellowship that “seeks to be both a service group for community partners and agencies that serve children and families between the home and school while also seeking to become a center-like site where we do workshops, research, engagement, and programming with the partners.” Their relationships with other organizations have expanded immensely as they strive to establish a place that (1) people readily know to visit for support in pursuing their missions; and (2) can amplify the work that they, and other partners, do for the community. The groups they’re working with serve community groups and agencies that address mental health, housing, food insecurity, counseling, health care, youth advocacy, etc.
Dr. Robbins mentioned how this partnership has impacted him in a different way than previous partnerships in the sense that Hannah and Jennifer are not students in his classes, so the pretenses of a traditional student-faculty partnership are dropped. He is able to work directly with them without having the pressing matter of teacher-student role performances in the foreground; they were able to work and learn from each other with less concern around power dynamics. He mentors them and they mentor him. Dr. Robbins said, “it’s nice to not be engaged in that role performance; we can just say what it is we want to do.” With power dynamics broken down between the three, the pieces of the project come together as each is able to focus on their strengths. The word used most frequently throughout this interview was “complementary.” They each commented on how they work so well together because they are each complements of each other.
The hardest part of being in a partnership from Hannah’s perspective is to “realize that while you may have had a negative past experience, don’t assume that every experience will be like that.” And then to set boundaries for yourself so you know what and when to communicate certain things so you don’t reach a point of shutting yourself down. Jennifer mentioned how hard it is to trust yourself and your own voice and how gaining that confidence is a slow process, but well worth it. Dr. Robbins spoke on how “relationships require time but so does the work they do,” so navigating that barrier to gain relationships while you’re working has been hard for him, and how, in general, he wishes there was more time in the week.
Some advice this group is willing to give anyone who’s looking to pursue a partnership would be to have confidence in yourself and what you have to say because people do want to listen. Jennifer said, “Look for the people who make space for you to show up as your whole self.” Also, she said to advocate for yourself in spaces but be able to communicate your interests to others. Dr. Robbins adds, “Be bold. Be humble. Be genuine, and be grateful.” On top of all these other great pieces of advice, they encouraged being open to learning in both roles: faculty and student. If one can open their mind to the notion of learning, great things can happen, but only if you lean in and trust the individuals that you’re working with. Dr. Robbins said, “You get power by relinquishing it. If you’re going to be in a partnership, you can’t be a controller, you’ve got to trust… you do better work when you trust.”
This partnership is a wonderful example of how leaning into each other with trust can produce beautiful, life-changing work for both students and faculty members involved. We thank Jennifer Bennett, Hannah Bollin, and Dr. Christopher Robbins for their time and wisdom shared with us!
Dr. Marshall Thomsen and Hannah Popofski
Published March 18, 2024
Interviewed by Liv Overbee
Written by Elena Parshall
We had the chance to speak with Hannah Popofski and Dr. Marshall Thomsen about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Hannah is a graduating senior studying Physics and Astronomy. Dr. Marshall Thomsen has been a professor at Eastern Michigan University since 1987 in the Physics and Astronomy Department, teaching a wide array of courses.
Their first meeting came from Hannah taking Dr. Thomsen’s Heat and Thermodynamics course. With her involvement in the Honors College, Hannah began doing little research projects within her first course with Dr. Thomsen. Later, during her Ethics course with Dr. Thomsen, Hannah collaborated on a project with him that was later presented at the Undergraduate Symposium. This Symposium project solidified their working partnership together.
For their ethics project, Dr. Thomsen reached out to Hannah to contract with her for the ethics course she was taking. At the time, he was serving on an Ethics Working Group put together by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. Dr. Thomsen had the idea that, for Hannah’s honor contract, she could gather information for a report the Working Group was writing. He felt particularly comfortable contracting her for the project because he noticed her confidence in her coursework. Hannah’s participation consisted of researching misconduct policies of many science organizations, and seeing “what their code of conduct contained in relation to receiving awards and honors at that organization.”
Following this, Hannah reached out to Dr. Thomsen and asked about working on her thesis project with him. Hannah chose Dr. Thomsen as her thesis project advisor because “he's a very organized and methodical professor and mentor… and I knew he'd be able to keep on track with me” He accepted and had an idea in mind: the relationship between the harmonics of rumble strips and the speed at which cars drive over them. With rumble strips being spaced around twelve inches apart as a general standard, a series of tests could be done. This meant that a model could be made regarding the frequencies that are produced at a certain speed when driving over rumble strips.
Some of the takeaways Hannah learned from this partnership with Dr. Thomsen consisted of time management, and how challenging it is to be committed to your own schedule to get things done in a timely manner. She has also learned how important it is to have a relationship with mentors and advisors, and how those relationships can open up opportunities besides traditional undergraduate research.
Dr. Thomsen has learned how using these partnerships can help develop his courses and enable him to utilize research findings for practical uses inside the classroom. Additionally, he has found that collaboration on projects can help iron out some kinks that had not originally been noticed when a single person was working on the research. He also mentions how communication skills are essential to continuous learning. He elaborated on the idea stating, “I find I'm always having to fine-tune my communications and things which seem straightforward to me. I realized when I convey the information to the student, ‘hey, it's not coming across quite the way I like to.’ And so this allows me to fine-tune that for kind of general purposes, that is it'll make me a better teacher in the future”
Advice Hannah would like to give to anyone considering a student-faculty partnership would be “Don't be afraid to ask professors about doing research… I was afraid of my professors, not because they were scary, but because I didn't know them… but you're not going to know unless you ask your professors who are here to help you.” Hannah also mentioned, “I think the hardest part is actually asking in the first place. And then once you start doing the research, that's actually the easier part.”
Dr. Thomsen suggests that faculty considering a student partnership should have a direct and achievable project in mind for undergraduate students so “[students] don’t immediately feel like they’re lost,” but to have more flexibility for graduate students with projects that may or may not pan out. “I think it's important for the undergraduate students to be able to see a project all the way through from start to finish because there are a lot of different components.” Dr. Thomsen emphasized the importance of helping students to understand that there is a learning curve for each new project, that sometimes a project does not develop the way you had expected, and often adjustments need to be made as the project unfolds. Involving the student in as many aspects of the project as possible, from planning through dissemination, gives them better insight into these challenges.
This partnership is important to Hannah because of the benefit undergraduate research has for STEM majors. She elaborates, “I feel like employers want to see that you've had experience applying your knowledge, not just learning and sitting in a lecture. But also it's fun for me, I'm in this major because I like doing research.” This research will once again lead to a presentation at the Undergraduate Symposium this week. Finally, Hannah discussed how pushing and challenging yourself is pivotal to personal growth and education.
This partnership is an exemplary example of how traditional research projects and partnerships can be enriching experiences for both the student and faculty members involved. We appreciate Hannah Popofski and Dr. Marshall Thomsen for sharing their wisdom and experiences with us!
Dr. Courtney Lewis and Alivia English
Published March 11, 2024
Interviewed by Rylin Reynolds
We had the chance to speak with Alivia English and Courtney Lewis about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Alivia is a Graduate student in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program. She is the Graduate Assistant for the Faculty Development Center. Dr. Lewis is an associate professor in the Athletic Training program at EMU. She has been a part of the University faculty for 10 years.
Their partnership came about from a recommendation through a common colleague for both. Jeffrey Bernstein suggested they should get together and talk about student instructor partnership in the clinical education learning community. Alivia said “Jeff introduced us to each other thinking that we would be a good team to lead that learning community.” They started meeting over summer of 2023 to do planning and prepwork to have the learning community ready for the 2023-24 academic year.
This learning community is focused on student and clinical instructor partnerships. Within the learning community there are students and clinical educators: “the idea is to level the playing field among all disciplines.” The community is a way to enhance clinical education and improve partnerships between students and clinical educators. This learning community started in September of 2023 and will end in April at the end of this academic year. The participants in the learning community meet in smaller groups in between full group meetings to do reflections and talk about their experience. Alivia and Dr. Lewis’ goal is to have a “solid artifact to share and disseminate what they have learned through the learning community with others.”
When the learning community meets they talk about different areas of clinical education. For example, they discuss where students need support or where clinical educators can improve their skills. Dr. Lewis said “it’s been really cool because across disciplines everyone is experiencing the same thing. While you think something may be specific to athletic training or to speech/language we are also finding that people in Orthotics and Prosthetics or Psychology are experiencing the same thing.
Since these two didn’t know each other and met through a mutual friend, they didn’t know what to expect, and the beginning of this partnership was nerve-wracking. Dr. Lewis said “like anything when you are thrown into a new experience with new people there's a learning curve and the process of getting to know each other not as just two people but truly developing it into a partnership. Getting to know each other as people is challenging in any aspect of life.” They did not have any prior relationship so they had to “really let our guards down and be vulnerable with one another so we could create a partnership.”
At the beginning of this partnership they were very structured and had planned out what each other person was going to be doing. It was structured this way because they did not know how one another worked and they were trying to figure it out. Alivia said “as time goes on it’s been cool to see how we truly collaborate and how we bounce ideas off each other in meetings. It feels more like a natural partnership or collaboration now versus when we started.” Dr. Lewis added “it’s been nice to see our partnership develop alongside the learning community.”
Alivia said that the hardest part of being in a partnership as a student was finding her role within the partnership and having a lack of confidence. Dr. Lewis always showed, and told Alivia, that she values her opinion and what she brings to the partnership. With this reassurance, Alivia was able to know what contributions to make and how to fill the leadership role. For Lewis, it was the fact that Alivia and her come from two different programs and didn’t know anything about each other. She said “I really valued the fact that we are from two different programs because I think it removes any sort of power dynamic. It’s two people with similar interests that are working together on something.”
Dr. Lewis’ favorite part of the partnership was getting to use the knowledge she learned from a group. She said “I came into this being a member of TaLT (Teaching and Learning Together, an FDC initiative) and learning what it really means to teach and learn together and have these partnerships. So being able to implement what I just learned is super memorable for me.” Alivia’s favorite part of this partnership is the friend (Dr. Lewis) she got because of it. She said “when we sit down for a meeting and the first 15 minutes we are just chatting and catching up, it has been really rewarding and special to be able to connect with Courtney in that way.”
A piece of advice Alivia gives individuals wanting to start a partnership is “be clear on expectations, and have confidence in yourself. It is a learning experience for both parties involved so trust the process.” Dr. Lewis added “definitely understand the expectations going into it, and really evaluate yourself in terms of why do you want this partnership. You really need to understand your own definition of partnership so when you go into it you have those clear expectations.” She also said “ don’t be afraid to look outside of your comfort zone, if you hear or see somebody on campus doing something cool that intrigues you even if it is outside of your norm go for it.”
This partnership is important to Alivia because it has helped her grow. She said “this partnership has helped me grow personally and professionally. I think I have been able to learn so much from Courtney through this partnership and I wouldn't have gotten those opportunities inside of the classroom. I have gained a lot of confidence being in this partnership.” Dr. Lewis said “partnerships in education have been really important to me because there is always growth and together we can get there. I always try to make my classroom feel like a community environment where people feel like they are an equitable part of their educational experience. So to be able to partner with Alivia and do that in a totally different aspect is really meaningful.”
One thing Alivia has learned from this partnership is the fact that everyone is learning. She said “it helped me learn that it’s okay to still be learning and that it’s a cool thing and there is nothing wrong with that.” Dr. Lewis said her biggest takeaway from this partnership is, “don’t be afraid to say yes to something, and truly value what other people see in you.”
This partnership is a clear example of the potential of student-faculty partnerships. The partners profiled here did not know each other initially but still took a shot and have built a successful learning community and a successful partnership. Their partnership does not end when their learning community ends; ideally, they will have this connection forever.
Dr. Peter Blackmer and Alexxus Watson
Published March 4, 2024
Interviewed by Liv Overbee
We had the chance to speak with Alexxus Watson and Dr. Peter Blackmer about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Alexxus is a senior studying Africology and Political Science. Dr. Peter Blackmer has been teaching at Eastern Michigan University for four years in the Department of Africology and African American Studies. Dr. Blackmer has received multiple degrees, including his Master’s and Ph.D. in Afro-American Studies from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Alexxus and Dr. Blackmer first met when Alexxus was a student in one of his classes. The pair started working collaboratively through an honors contract for AFC 221: Black Liberation Struggles. During a previous course, Dr. Blackmer noticed Alexxus’ passion for the work when she wrote a 6 to 8 page paper about the histories of police brutality and community resistance in Detroit. The reason this caught Dr. Blackmer’s attention was due to the fact that the original assignment was only supposed to be two pages long. So, when deciding what the honors contract was going to be, it was a no-brainer for Dr. Blackmer to pull Alexxus into one of his already existing projects.
The partners have collaborated on two main projects over the past few years. Their first collaborative effort began when Dr. Blackmer pulled Alexxus into his and his colleagues' pre-existing project titled “We Want Safety Not Surveillance: What Safety Means and What Residents Want,” which explored Detroit’s Project Green Light initiative. For this project, Dr. Blackmer trained Alexxus on how to conduct oral interviews and literature reviews, and he even provided many sources so Alexxus could understand the basis of the project. Through this work, Alexxus was introduced to different organizations/organizers in the city, as well as people like attorney David Robinson, who has over 30 years of experience with the Detroit Police Department and as an attorney representing survivors of police violence. Her work with this project would later allow her to present at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Alexxus sees this project as her first impactful experience with research and presenting.
Their second project, on which they are actively working together this semester, is Alexxus’ senior thesis for the Honor College. Alexxus is currently examining how Black female hip-hop artists resist certain notions of misogyny in society, and how they utilize community building with their audience and the industry. Alexxus describes how Dr. Blackmer, once again, has exposed her to a whole new array of scholars, even some who he knows personally. Alexxus was recently sharing a source with Dr. Blackmer, and, turns out, he knew the author! Dr. Blackmer habitually connects Alexxus directly with scholars in the field, which Alexxus finds incredibly impactful to her research experience. Dr. Blackmer shares that this is the same experience he received from mentors as a graduate student, so this is “just [him] carrying forth the way [he] was taught.”
This partnership has been an incredibly important aspect of Alexxus’ education. Alexxus put it plain and simple with this statement: “Everyone knows how much I love Dr. B. That’s my guy.” Dr. Blackmer has been one of the biggest supporters of Alexxus’ success, especially in helping her navigate graduation and all her next steps. He provides constant reassurance, and is a great resource for her. Because he has navigated this before, Dr. Blackmer provides a model for Alexxus on getting into a Ph.D. program and pursuing a life of research. Alexxus explains further the impact that Dr. Blackmer has had on her, stating “My whole trajectory has changed. His guidance and support had helped me figure things out in ways that I wasn’t figuring it out by myself…I think it’s such a beautiful thing how you can arm the next generation of scholars to go out into the world and take the knowledge you planted in them to do something.”
Dr. Blackmer explains his support of Alexxus, and students in general, as something he has learned from having good mentors himself. He explains how some scholars have “an inclination to develop mini versions of themselves”, but he finds this tactic incredibly boring. The importance of his participation in this partnership comes from the things he can learn from students. He states, “Working with a student like Alexxus who is so inquisitive, passionate, and interested in this work for the right reasons… it’s what helps me sustain me and my work.” He elaborates that it is incredibly exciting for a faculty member like himself to watch students cultivate and apply their knowledge. He also admits that working with Alexxus has been a learning experience for him, too, and allows him to dive into more bodies of work and even reconnect with old friends. To put it simply, he states “It’s just been a lot of fun.”
Both partners shared their perspective on the aspect of “power dynamic” within the collaboration. Both agreed that the power is distributed quite fairly in their partnership. The experience and information shared have been beneficial towards both parties, with each contributing their own level of experience, expertise, and knowledge. For Alexxus, she has never felt belittled or less than because of her level of knowledge. In this partnership, and in his classrooms in general, Dr. Blackmer gives plenty of space for his students to contribute their ideas and thoughts. Dr. Blackmer attributes this dynamic partly to his scholarly work and education. He shares with us the wisdom that he’s learned: “the best organizers are great teachers, and the best teachers are effective organizers, and that means understanding and navigating dynamics within spaces.” Dr. Blackmer views part of his job as pulling the best parts of students out of themselves and empowering them to explore their interests. He advocates for the fact that authentic partnerships should not be exploitative. Students, just like anyone else, deserve credit, recognition, and fair treatment for the work they provide in academic spaces. Good partnerships should contribute in meaningful ways to the growth of both partners.
Starting a partnership can be hard. Alexxus described how it can be incredibly intimidating to reach out to a professor and engage in collaboration outside of the classroom. However, Alexxus advises that students should “be intentional in establishing [collaborative] relationships and keep a good rapport with people in general.” She believes students should stay in touch with faculty because you never know what opportunities may arise in the future, even if you don't currently see active opportunities. She acknowledges, however, that this effort is “a two way street.” Professors also should be open to these opportunities, to which Dr. Blackmer agrees. He advises faculty to create opportunities for students to explore their interests and “make space for authentic conversations.” He explains that this can be as simple as recommending literature, giving students articles and books to take home with them, or even just acknowledging their interests. This is the way Dr. Blackmer believes faculty can make the effort to connect with students and encourage academic and personal growth.
This partnership is a prime example of the experiences that change the lives of students and faculty here at Eastern Michigan University. This level of collaboration leaves students with tools that help them become scholars themselves. For faculty, this provides enriching and fulfilling reminders of why their work matters.
It was a pleasure to speak to Alexxus Watson and Dr. Peter Blackmer. We appreciate their time and dedication to their shared work.
Dr. Maria Milletti and Syed Wasiuddin
Published February 19, 2024
Interviewed by Trinity Perkins
We had the chance to speak with Syed Wasiuddin and Dr. Maria Milletti about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Syed Wasiuddin is a senior majoring in biochemistry, but also Eastern’s 2023-2024 Student Body President. Dr. Maria Milletti is a professor in the Department of Chemistry. She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry and her Ph.D in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. While she has been teaching for 35 years, she has taught at EMU for 33 of those years.
Syed and Dr. Milletti’s research partnership started two years ago.Syed had Dr. Milletti for a general chemistry course. They had a discussion about research, and eventually Syed joined her lab. This research project has been the same for the last two years “mapping out the energy profile for a reaction that can be used on an industrial scale.” Syed is currently working on writing his thesis as he is graduating in April so they are working their hardest to “bring the project forward as much as possible.” They meet once or twice a week depending on their schedule, throughout the academic year. They also attend other meetings/conferences. They recently went to Indianapolis for an American Chemical Society meeting. There are two others in this group with Syed, but they work on different projects. Some semesters there are group meetings, but this semester there are not any.
For this research project, they use GaussView, which is a… that “visualizes chemical molecules as they move across a mechanism, which is dependent on what step they are using for the software to understand.” They model chemical reactions in their research and this software allows them to see those molecules. So they can understand more than what is known right now about the reactions between these chemical molecules. Their progress on this project is simply based off of the computer and how much of it it can process. They run multiple calculations at one time to ensure that they are moving forward. When they hit a “snag” they take it in steps and strategize. Where did it go wrong? What can they do next? How can they change things? They will know that their work is complete when they figure out everything they were looking forward to when they started this project two years ago.
While there have been a few setbacks in their research. Most recently, they forgot to include two atoms in the molecule. Because of this, the computer was unable to calculate how the mechanism works and the energy of the proposed mechanism. They didn’t discover this until a month into it, because the computer doesn’t send an error message, or it buries it while continuing to work. After it was finally done, they then realized their error and all of the work was indeed useless. Which put them back a few weeks since they had to restart. This isn’t the first time this has happened and it probably won’t be the last, but it won’t stop them on their journey. They power through it.
When asked what they wanted the outcome of this partnership to be, Syed replied that he wanted a connection. He wanted to be able to both understand and apply chemistry to the real world. Dr. Milletti wanted to be able to “teach in a way that is different from what [she] does in class. A different way of mentoring a student, and all the things a teacher should do in a different setting is rewarding.” In the long term, she grows connections with students, reaching out to tell them about their careers, where they ended up, and their lives. This is beneficial for both partners.
This partnership started after Dr. Milletti brought it up during the last day of the General Chemistry 2 lab. To Syed, at first this didn’t seem interesting to him. The reason he is now in it is because of a conversation with the now department head, Harriet Lindsay. He had the realization that this is actually what he wanted to do and went to Dr. Milletti and wanted to be a part of this research. Syed has started to think differently and more theoretically about what he's doing and moving away from organic chemistry analysis and he finds this a good fit for him.
The hardest part of this partnership for the both of them is finding time. Dr. Milletti sometimes struggles with finding out how much of a push she should give a student. She finds herself wondering how much she should be hands off and leaving it to the student, because in class there are dates, and deadlines and a syllabus saying how it goes and even though there is sort of a syllabus for research, there is a closer relationship because it is with individual students. She doesn’t want to seem overbearing, but she wants to be conscious so things get done. She doesn’t want it to take away from their classes or hers either so she has to balance a lot, which she changes over the years to work better.
Syed states that it is important to understand that even though there aren't credits for this semester, it is still like a class and has deadlines to meet, because there are expectations. Even though it isn’t as clear cut, it is important to note that this is on a student's current course load, so you don’t want to work too hard, but you want to work hard enough without wearing yourself out.
A nice memorable experience they have is going to the meeting in Indianapolis. It was nice seeing everyone interact with each other, and people they didn’t know who are chemists. It is a very professional event, so seeing her students talk as chemists and see how well they do is rewarding to Dr. Milletti.
A piece of advice that Syed gives to students is “ Go in with an open mind. A lot of students in the lab are always nervous about it….but it is worthwhile…Just take in the information and learn from it more than anything.”
A piece of advice from Dr. Milletti for a faculty member is “Don’t lose track of the fact that you’re doing this with the student and not for the sake of the research, which sometimes is easy to forget. You’re doing it because you're training a student. Don’t push past where it's good for the students to try and get data out of them.” Student-faculty partnerships are important and we want to continue with them so working together with a student closely and focusing on the partnership and building and learning from it, and each other is beneficial.
Dr. Ron Delph and Riley Coffee
Published February 12, 2024
Interviewed by Rylin Reynolds
We had the chance to speak with Riley Coffee and Dr. Ronald Delph about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Riley is a third year undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in history. Dr. Delph is in the Department of History and Philosophy, where he teaches European History. His specialty is the European Renaissance and he has been at EMU for 31 years.
The partners met in Dr. Delph’s course, HIST 300W: Researching and Writing History, a year ago. The course consisted of students sitting down with Delph, and discussing ideas for research papers, with Delph helping students ultimately make a decision on what was a feasible and well-rounded idea. Riley explained that his affinity toward working with Delph was formed because “Dr. Delph seemed to be the best faculty member that [he] could’ve had for [his] project. He is well-versed in the field.”
Riley is an honors student here at EMU and is working on completing his honors thesis, titled “Democracy in Decline: The Causations for the Collapse of the Roman Republic.” His thesis covers the history of the late Roman republic, specifically “the causations for the collapse of the republican system and its dissolvement into a system of monarchy.” Delph is his thesis advisor. For his thesis, Riley assesses data from primary and secondary sources. Once a chapter is completed, he turns it into Delph, who then edits it and makes suggestions on how to improve Riley’s writing and analysis “It’s a pretty collaborative process,” Delph says. He also notes that Riley is “responsive to suggestions.” Riley will be presenting a chapter from his thesis at the Undergraduate Symposium this March.
Riley is also participating in Dr. Delph’s study abroad spring break program in Italy this year with 19 other students. On this trip, students will travel to Florence and Rome to explore the history and culture of these two cities from the classical past up through the Renaissance. The two partners both expressed their excitement about this opportunity; this is one of the most popular study abroad programs at EMU.
With any project, setbacks are bound to happen. Riley shared his experience with such challenges: “I haven’t had any setbacks content-wise, but definitely with some research… and also [with] just the arduous process of writing.” Part of this process involves revising his chapters after Delph has edited them. Riley notes that some chapters are more annotated than others, which adds to his research time. Delph chimed in, stating “it’s a learning process. While you are working through the paper, you are problem solving. You are thinking about a broad topic, and then analyzing material that hopefully will give you an answer to your question.”
Dr. Delph is incredibly supportive of Riley’s research process.He explained that Riley is taking the correct approach to his research: starting early. Delph elaborated on this idea by noting that Riley was wisely working on writing one chapter per semester as he moves along through his junior and senior year: “[Riley] can work on one chapter per semester. There is nothing like waiting until your final semester of senior year. You try to write this thing all at once, and people implode because they just can’t do it.” Riley understands he can gain a lot of knowledge from Delph, stating “At the end of the day, I’m the student and he is the professor. I am here to learn from him.”
Riley’s advice to anyone wanting to start a partnership is to reach out to the professor and build connections. Riley has done this with a couple of his professors. He shares that it's as easy as staying after class and asking about the lesson, or any curious questions you have about the content. He also suggests going to office hours to create familiarity with the professor.
To Riley, this partnership is important because of his interest in a career in academia; Dr. Delph has the career he wants. He explains that “being able to learn first hand from someone who is as experienced and as skilled in the field as Dr. Delph has just been an invaluable experience.” Delph shares his love of working with students and watching them blossom as “the best part of being on the faculty here.” To him, supporting students through their academic journey, training them, and helping develop their skills is what makes his time here worthwhile.
One important skill Riley has developed from this partnership is learning his limitations and how to communicate with someone, such as a mentor. Learning how to incorporate people’s advice into his work has been impactful, especially when both parties are trying to accomplish the same goal. For this partnership, Riley shared that their goals consist of “ a completed thesis, a successful trip to Florence and Rome, and finally a great presentation.”
This partnership has been rewarding on both sides. Riley is gaining a ton of useful knowledge and experience. Delph is feeling rewarded and happy he gets to help others advance in their careers. A partnership like this represents a definite high impact practice in higher education!
Dr. Kimberly Barrett and Coreena Forstner
Published February 5, 2024
Interviewed by Rylin Reynolds
We had the chance to speak with Coreena Forstner and Dr. Kimberly Barrett about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Coreena completed her academic career at Eastern Michigan in December of 2023. She graduated with a major in Psychology and double minored in Criminology and Sociology. Dr. Kimberly Barrett is an Associate Professor of Criminology in the Sociology, Anthropology & Criminology Department. She has been a part of the EMU faculty since 2013.
Coreena and Dr. Barrett met in White Collar Crime class in Winter of 2022. Coreena had an interest in the University of South Florida (USF) for graduate school because they have a big emphasis on the intersection between criminology and mental health. She reached out to Dr. Barrett because she earned her PhD from USF. Coreena is a first-generation student and sought mentorship for her senior project for the Honors College. She said “ I had to reach out and ask for advice on what I should be looking for and what I should be doing.” After that initial conversation they have been working together ever since.
Dr. Barrett said “Coreena sent me a couple papers that she has worked on about mental health and criminology. She very quickly established herself as an ambitious student and a bright student.”
Some of the projects they have worked on Coreena initiated and Dr. Barrett provided feedback and input. Barrett has also involved Coreena on a couple of her projects, including assistance with data entry and data cleaning. Dr. Barrett said “ this partnership has been collaborative in both directions.”
Coreena was second author on a paper that was published on “examining the lack of prevalence of corporate crime course work in Criminology and Criminal Justice bachelors programs.” Dr. Barrett, Coreena, and Maegen Gabriel (an EMU Sociology graduate student) collaboratively collected and analyzed data from over 400 bachelors programs. They found that the overwhelming majority of the programs don’t require students to take a corporate or white collar crime class to graduate. Coreena assisted with data entry for this project, and she also helped with the reliability analysis. Coreena made contributions during the revise and resubmit process as well. They presented findings from this study, as well as additional analyses of this dataset, at three conferences– one international (2023 Examining the Multifaceted Harms of Corporate and White-Collar Crime Conference)and two regional (the 2022 and 2023 Midwestern Criminal Justice Association Annual Meeting).
I asked Coreena what advice she would give to someone wanting to start a partnership. She said, “For my situation I kinda just took a shot in the dark and was being kinda vulnerable and being like ‘Hey, I don’t really know what I’m doing.’” She was able to do this with Dr. Barrett because she felt very safe with her. She then went on to say “ultimately to reach out it takes a little bit of courage. Just being open and being aware that you don’t know everything and that there is something or somebody you can learn from. Hopefully you can find someone that is receptive to that. Luckily, it worked out in my case.”
Dr. Barrett said “ faculty bios and websites can be a great way of learning a little bit more about faculty and I think reaching out to a faculty you haven’t met just to talk about something that you saw on their website is another great way to initiate that connection and to seek out those opportunities.” They both agreed that in student-faculty partnerships someone has to take a shot in the dark and make that connection first and see where it goes from there.
Coreena said that there has been a couple of challenges that this partnership has had to confront. “I had a couple of hoops I had to jump through with the Honors College because originally I was going to use my McNair project for my honors thesis but there were different requirements that I didn’t anticipate. So there were a lot of changes and panic on my behalf. Dr. Barrett was so patient with me and I’m so thankful for that because those couple of months were so frustrating.” Coreena was able to change her McNair project to fit the requirements for her thesis paper.
There hasn’t been any major changes in the partnership per say but as Coreena became more familiar with her tasks due to repetition they were able to have less face-to-face time and they were able to communicate via email. Coreena said “I gained my confidence so there were a lot less step-by-step instructions. I still had questions all the time but I think that kind of changed it was less directive on her behalf and more so me being like "’Oh, Ican catch up, I remember doing this on the last project.’”
This partnership has been memorable for Coreena because Dr. Barrett taught her “how to be an academic.” Dr. Barrett helped Coreena process her future plans. She helped her identify universities and made her really think about what she was looking for in a graduate program. Dr. Barrett's memorable moment was when she watched Coreena graduate and give the keynote speech at the Honors College Graduation Ceremony. She said, “It was such a nice culminating moment listening to Coreena reflect on her time and offer some words of encouragement to her colleagues.” Dr. Barrett went on to say “I feel honored to have been able to work with Coreena.”
This partnership was important to Coreena because she really needed the guidance and mentorship to help her decide her future plans. Coreena knew graduate school was something she wanted to pursue and she was struggling finding any type of connection to a faculty member. She said “it was important to me to find someone willing enough to work with a student that they didn’t really know.” Dr. Barrett said this was important to her because of the mentors she has had in her life. She said “ I feel like I’ve had very good mentorship in my life. So, I wanted to try and be able to pay it forward.”
Coreena said she has learned “general professionalism” while working with Dr. Barrett. She said “I feel as though I’m graduating and moving to the next step, a lot more well rounded and not just in one area but a lot of technical skills.” Dr. Barrett has learned about mentoring. “Mentors also benefit from the mentoring dynamic and relationship. I am always trying to be a better mentor.”
Coreena and Dr. Barrett have both learned a lot from each other, through multiple projects and rewrite sessions. Their partnership does not stop just because Coreena has graduated. She will take all the skills she has learned from Dr. Barrett onto graduate school and into her work life. Dr. Barrett will continue to try and be a great mentor just like the ones she had in her journey to her position at EMU.
Professor Robert Erlewine & Meg Bernstein
Published January 29, 2024
Interviewed by Rylin Reynolds
We had the chance to speak with Meg Bernstein and Professor Robert Erlewine about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Meg Bernstein is in her senior year majoring in Religious Studies and minoring in Jewish Studies and Creative Writing. She has been attending Eastern Michigan for a year and a half. Professor Robert Erlewine, who joined EMU in August of 2022, is a Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy and is the Director of the Center for Jewish Studies.
Since his arrival at EMU, Erlewine has been hard at work building the presence of Jewish Studies across the Eastern Michigan University curriculum. Erlewine recently finished leading the Engaging Jewish Studies at EMU group, a learning community through the Faculty Development Center which aimed to try and “augment and bring more Jewish Studies components into courses.” Erlewine's desire to implement Jewish studies doesn’t stop there. He wants students to get involved in this process, and that is where Meg comes in. Meg is a part of the Symposium Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) program, and Professor Erlewine is her faculty mentor.
This partnership started outside of the University at a leadership event for the Jewish community in August of 2022. Meg said, “I already knew who he was, so I made a beeline to him right away.” Meg then took one of Erlewine’s classes last year and then halfway through the semester, “Professor Erlewine asked me if I was interested in writing for the Washtenaw Jewish News and interview[ing] some of the scholars that he was bringing in for a lecture series.”
The Faculty Seminar consisted of seven faculty members and ended in December. Erlewine reported that “the Jewish Studies curriculum has gotten a little thin.” He looked around campus for “courses that with a little bit of pushing could have real Jewish Studies content.” Professor Erlewine reached out to people and tried to spread the word, and issued a call through the FDC's website. To his surprise, Erlewine got seven applications even though he “would’ve been happy with five.”
Professor Erlewine’s advice to anyone wanting to start a partnership is to ask a student “Hey, have you thought about doing…?” It is good for a professor or mentor to reach out to students and present them with the opportunities because the students may not know what is available to them. Meg agrees with this. “I had no idea about the SURF program at all before it was mentioned to me.” Meg also mentioned that “from the student’s perspective, find a professor who you relate to on a personal level and one that you can develop a personal relationship with, and also someone whose work you admire and want to learn from.”
The hardest part of this partnership for Professor Erlewine is balancing the partnership with everything else they have going on in their lives. “We are both juggling a whole lot, and so finding time to talk is difficult.” Meg agrees with this, and she hopes to do an independent study with Professor Erlewine, which would make it easier to find time to collaborate.
A memorable moment for both Professor Erlewine and Meg is when Meg’s first proposal for the SURF idea became emotionally fraught in the wake of recent developments. Meg had initially proposed to write about the idea of homeland and the idea of Israel, but in the wake of the atrocities of October 7th and the ensuing war, these topics were too close to home for Meg to write about. Meg said “I was able to come to Bob with these issues that are deeply personal and say I can’t continue writing about this, can you help me reroute this project so it doesn’t cause me emotional duress?” Of course they settled on a different topic.
This partnership is important to Meg because “I want to have really strong Jewish relationships both in my regular life and academically so I definitely sought out Bob’s scholarly work, and it’s important that I learn from somebody like him.” Professor Erlewine said that “Meg is an excellent student,” and “it’s really exciting when you have a student that excels and you let them go out and see where their own lines of inquiry take them.”
Meg has recently learned from this partnership that she frequently designs projects that are huge and need to be “reigned in and decide what the focus is” she said. For Meg, Bob has been very supportive trying to guide her into examining one aspect of a project instead of the whole thing. One thing Professor Erlewine has learned from this partnership is “on a selfish level, Meg’s area of inquiry (the figure of Lilith in the Jewish tradition and popular culture) has helped me think about larger cultural issues in a more academic way. [It has helped me to] realize what the deeper conceptual stakes are” in a range of topics in popular culture.
While there will always be more to do in terms of getting Jewish Studies further integrated into the curriculum, this partnership is a clear marker of progress in terms of boosting the presence of Jewish Studies at EMU. Both Meg’s research, and Erlewine’s seminar, have important roles to play in bringing more work on Jewish Studies to classrooms at EMU.
Professor Zuzana Tomaš and Mars Ward
Published January 22, 2024
Interviewed by Rylin Reynolds
We had the chance to speak with Mars Ward and Professor Zuzana Tomaš about their student-faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Mars is currently in their final semester as an undergraduate student majoring in the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Program (TESOL) and minoring in Linguistics. They have been a student at Eastern Michigan on and off since 2011. Professor Tomaš is in the Department of World Languages teaching TESOL and English as a Second Language (ESL), and she also joined the EMU community in 2011.
Professor Tomaš recently received one of the Faculty Development Center’s Student Wellness Mini-Grant. The grant is meant to make it easier for students with hardships to succeed in class. With this she implemented “various activities and check-ins” which have been appreciated by Mars. This kind of feedback is in part what ignited Professor Tomaš’ passion for student wellbeing, and what started their partnership together.
Professor Tomaš’ project is broadly about how professors can implement wellbeing practices to support student learning. She is looking very closely at her own class’ responses and determining whether these practices work and how students respond to them. Mars took this general concept of wellbeing and zoomed into more of the mental health side. They shared that “the whole reason this interested me is because of my personal ties with mental health, and how it affects students particularly. Being a student who dropped out three times during my undergraduate degree because of varying mental health issues. So this is something that really hit home with me and I feel like more research needs to be done about it.”
A big success they’ve had is Mars’ participation in the Faculty Development Center’s Flipping the Script Conference, a student-led teaching and learning conference that took place this past December. They presented a powerpoint “Addressing the University Student Mental Health Crisis with Faculty Support: Centering Students’ Perspectives.” During this presentation, they discussed the data they have collected through 10 pre-service teachers surveys, along with a qualitative interview from a recent Eastern Michigan graduate who identifies as non-binary. They have only done one pilot interview because they are waiting for their IRB approval, but eventually, Professor Tomaš said they “will be given to all of the pre-service teachers in the TESOL program.”
Mars was able to use this presentation to put students' mental health at the forefront of faculty members’ minds, and they left the conference with something to think about. In addition to participating in Flipping the Script, Mars was fortunate enough to be awarded with a Undergraduate Research Stimulus Program (USRP) award with Professor Tomaš as their mentor. Professor Tomaš said “the pressure is on to build on this pilot and really do a good job with collecting and analyzing the data, hopefully writing up a research paper and presenting at the Undergraduate Symposium.”
This partnership has had a couple minor setbacks. Professor Tomaš joked that “IRB is just a reminder that approvals take a while.” Another setback was survey response time, but that was to be expected by both Mars and Professor Tomaš. A challenge in this partnership was getting it started. They both knew what they wanted their end outcomes to be, but they’ve had to be patient in order to keep the partnership alive. The two have found it a little tricky to coordinate schedules and find time to work together. Ultimately, they’ve found ways to make it work.
I asked how they delegate power and control in their partnership. Professor Tomaš said “I view my students as future colleagues/future educators, because they are training to be teachers, so for me power has ever been an issue.” Mars agrees with this, and commented that “Professor Tomaš has felt the easiest to collaborate with vs a lot of other professors and teachers I’ve had in my experience. There is no power struggle or feeling of inadequacy if anything she has made me feel a lot more confident and powerful in my teaching.”
Professor Tomaš’ advice to faculty about starting a partnership is to “be explicit to students about opportunities.” She then goes on to say “sometimes we expect students to come and talk to us but I don’t even think most students are aware that this is something they can consider.” Mars agrees with that statement saying “I certainly wouldn't have known anything unless Professor Tomaš had not explicitly talked to me about the various opportunities such as conferences or grant applications.”
They continued with some advice to students. “I feel like I wouldn’t have had nearly enough motivation if it wasn't something that felt very personal and close. I don’t know that I would advise explicitly to pick a topic so close to home just because some of the research I was doing was triggering and upsetting. Just have confidence and feel passionately about what you are doing and remind yourself that it is making an impact.” Professor Tomaš added “what’s the worst thing that can happen if you approach a professor about opportunities? The worst thing that can happen is that they tell you that they do not currently have capacity for extra mentorship, but they are likely to refer you to someone who might be able to help. And more often than not, they will agree to mentor you because you have shown initiative.”
This partnership is important to Mars because “the work that needs to be done on mental health and how it pertains to curriculum, I think is kind of revolutionary and instrumental, and being a part of that feels really good on a grand scale and on a personal scale in my own world it feels really good to participate in something like this.” Professor Tomaš said “the older generation of professors struggle with getting things right when it comes to our communication with non-binary students and I catch myself in class saying things that are problematic for non-binary students but Mars has been so gracious.” Partnership is about learning, and both Mars and Professor Tomaš have learned through the experience.
Mars has learned “I am capable of doing something like this because my academic experience has been tainted by a lot of negativity and lack of confidence and not feeling like I'm smart enough. There was the looming feeling of worthlessness around academia for me, so being able to work with a professor that thinks I’m wonderful and encourages me to be confident, and trust myself.” Professor Tomaš has learned “sometimes if you have an individual who is brilliant but struggling all they need is knowing that you’ll be there to support them.”
Mars’ initiative to bring awareness to student’s mental health is working. Whether teachers start with a check-in or something small, it makes students feel seen. Professor Tomaš is an advocate for students’ wellbeing and she continues to try and understand the process of implementing check-ins and various other wellbeing-enhanced instructional activities. In this case, working together, the two of them are accomplishing more than they could accomplish individually.
Dr. Sarah Ginsberg & Shay Morrison
Published January 15, 2024
Interviewed by Rylin Reynolds
We had the chance to speak with Sarah Ginsberg and Shay Morrison about their student- faculty partnership. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Professor Sarah Ginsberg is in the Department of Special Education and Communication Sciences and Disorders and has been working at the University for 23 years. Shay Morrsion is a graduate student and has been attending Eastern Michigan for 1 ½ years. This is their first semester working together in a partnership.
Ginsberg and Morrison’s partnership consists of them facilitating a Collaborative Course Redesign (CCRD) learning community together, run through the FDC and funded by the College of Education. CCRD has students and faculty work together to create a successful redesign of a course that the faculty has taught previously. “There are 7 student-faculty pairs that we are guiding towards collaborative course redesign.” The student in each pair has previously taken the course and the faculty member will be teaching the course the following semester. In addition to the pairs being a part of the learning community, they are also involved in creating SoTL (scholarship of teaching and learning) research projects for their pairings.
Ginsberg and Morrison have collected data from a focus group with the students and faculty prior to the start of the learning community. Throughout the learning community the pairs completed assignments that “track their progress through their learning about the redesign process and how they approach and complete the process.” At the end of the year in April they will re-conduct focus groups to learn about the shift of thinking and understanding about the redesign process as a collaborative endeavor and the nature of collaboration in higher ed. They will know when their work is complete when “the course is successfully redesigned and when their research is fully disseminated for SoTL.”
This relationship began when Professor Ginsberg reached out to Shay via email, asking if she wanted to work on a project with her and she agreed. Shay was unsure about the process but knew that was something she was interested in doing. “At the beginning I hadn’t had any experience with research or with working in the SoTL field, so I had to read a lot of literature and get up to speed on the things I needed to know.” Shay and Professor Ginsberg would meet once every other week depending on what they needed to get done. They came up with a detailed schedule about the school year and talked about their approach on how to lead the learning community. Professor Ginsberg has never taught other people how to do CCRD, so “this process was really collaborative between Shay and myself. I had the experience and she had all of the knowledge from her reading.”
I asked each of them about the process of starting a partnership at the University. Shay shares her insight on how to start a partnership “as a student you can reach out to a faculty member as long as you are creating agency for yourself and advocating for yourself.” Professor Ginsberg’s advice is to “pick one faculty member each semester and decide that you are going to get to know that person better… informal conversations that may not be goal driven, but just increasing familiarity between the faculty and students.” This is the most important piece of advice for Ginsberg because “by sitting and talking to folks you find out where the common ground is and where common interests might be or where opportunities may lie.” From a faculty perspective, “when opportunities do come up they think oh wait I’ve talked to that student, he or she may be interested in this project, the folks that come and talk to us and started forming relationships with us; those are the people you think of first.”
Sharing power and control in a student- faculty partnership is an important aspect of collaboration. Ginsberg shares some light on this, “people have a very black and white idea of working with students and giving them any power or control over a course. That somehow translates for faculty that they have to relinquish power and control. Collaboration doesn't mean I don't still have control over the course or learning community, I still have an input. I think too often faculty avoid collaboration opportunities or partnership opportunities with students because in their minds it equates with then ‘I won’t have control over anything.’ They have to remember that a partnership or collaboration in higher ed is much like a partnership in the rest of your life, you always navigate what you want to do. It’s about two or more people coming together and asking ‘how should we do this?’”
Professor Ginsberg's most memorable moment is when Shay helped her with a difficult problem. Ginsberg did not know how to approach the problem and Shay came in and said “How about this?”, shared her insight and the problem was solved. Shay's memorable experience was at the beginning of their learning community. “It was really exciting just to see the faculty and students and how excited they were.” This got Shay excited for the learning community knowing that other people were equally as excited.
A piece of advice Shay would give someone wanting to start a partnership is “if you are feeling a little bit intimidated by the fact that you may not have expertise in the content area, don't let that hold you back from reaching out and getting more information. Feel like your experience has value and your potential has value too. This partnership has led to so many more things for me. Once you are a part of something you get involved in a bunch of more things. So just reach out, send an email, set up a coffee date and find out more information.” Ginsberg added “Make connections, make contacts, make relationships.” This goes both ways for students and faculty. The more relationships you make the more opportunities may rise for you.
This partnership is important to Shay because “I never really felt like I had agency in my own education, or in the educational system as a whole, so just being a part of this partnership has allowed me to instill that in myself but in other students and faculty. I also think it’s translated to other areas of my education; I’m not afraid to reach out, if I have questions I’ll get clarification.” This is important for Professor Ginsberg: “hard work is always more fun with really good people. I think a lot of the work the faculty does is really hard. We are doing teaching, research, and service but when you can find people you enjoy doing work with makes a lower level of stress and a higher reward.”
Shay has learned that “that equal collaboration between faculty and students is possible. You can overcome that power dynamic that's traditionally seen in higher education.” Ginsberg has learned that “the opportunity to work collaboratively with students is energizing and reinvigorating to your commitment to the work that we are doing here on this campus.”
These partnerships are mutually beneficial for both the student and faculty. Students being able to collaborate with faculty shows the kind of commitment that the faculty has for the students here at EMU. It makes the students feel involved and opens up many more opportunities for them, like Shay has told us. For the faculty, they are learning the different perspectives students bring to their learning, and keeping their approach to teaching their classes fresh and engaged. As Sarah Ginsberg and Shay Morrison show us here, student-faculty partnerships, when done right, create a win-win situation for both!