Two EMU History Graduates To Receive Alumni Awards
Maj. Gen. William Henderson, BS History 1964, and Amalie Nash, MA Social Science 2003, will be honored at Eastern Michigan University’s 58th annual Alumni Awards. Henderson will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award and Nash will receive the Alumni Achievement Award.
After receiving his degree from EMU, Maj. Gen. Henderson was commissioned by the U.S. Marine Corps at the height of the Vietnam War. He was assigned to the 3rd Marine Air Wing in Chui Lai, South Vietnam in 1967. From Oct., 1968 to May, 1969, he flew 125 combat missions over South Vietnam, Laos and North Vietnam. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1970, he joined the Michigan Air National Guard, where he was eventually promoted to Major General, and worked for General Motors as a professional corporate pilot, chief pilot and director of flight operations for nearly 30 years. He retired from GM in 2003. Maj. Gen. Henderson resides in Ypsilanti, MI, with his spouse, Francine Henderson, who is also an EMU alumna.
Amalie Nash is the executive editor for local news for the USA TODAY Network, which encompasses 109 local newsrooms across the country and one in Guam. She also coordinates political coverage for the network in conjunction with the USA TODAY politics team, which has taken her from the Iowa caucuses to the political conventions to USA TODAY on Election Night.
Prior to that, she was the executive editor of The Des Moines Register, where she was heavily involved in fights for public access and spearheaded innovation in the newsroom, such as “Harvest of Change,” the company’s first virtual reality project. She joined Gannett, parent company of USA TODAY, as an editor at the Detroit Free Press in 2011. Her earlier career included serving as the news director for AnnArbor.com, assistant metro editor at the Ann Arbor News and teaching stints at Eastern Michigan University.