Eastern Michigan University highlights student excellence inside and outside the classroom. Living with autism spectrum disorder, senior Hugh Thorp exemplifies perseverance as he excels academically and trains daily to qualify for the Boston Marathon. With his eyes set on an upcoming marathon in Indianapolis, Thorp continues to break barriers and redefine what it means to pursue one’s dreams.

Originally from Mentor, Ohio, Thorp is studying journalism with a minor in public relations. Thorp was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in 2019, and as a high-functioning individual on the spectrum, he faces challenges with adjusting to new environments, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests. Fortunately, Thorp finds support through EMU’s Disability Resource Center, an office dedicated to enhancing student classroom accessibility. 

“A big part of why I chose to attend EMU was because of the Disability Resource Center,” said Thorp. “It has been easy to get accommodations, and the people there have treated me well. It has shaped my experience at Eastern because I have been able to succeed in all of my classes, whereas that wasn’t always the case.”

Being surrounded by support, Thorp is training for the Consolidated National Security

Corporation Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on Nov. 9. Although he trains year-round, Thorp commits three months to each marathon he enters, regularly consuming over 5,000 calories to practice every day. While Thorp’s ultimate goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon, he hopes to finish under three and a half hours in Indianapolis. A recent Detroit Marathon finish left Thorp’s time at 3 hours, 41 minutes. 

After graduation, Thorp aims to participate in two marathons a year while pursuing a master’s degree in sports management. Ultimately, He hopes to land a job in the sports information industry to combine his love for academia and athletics.

As the marathon approaches, Thorp wants people who share his diagnosis to feel empowered to pursue higher education and reach their goals. “There will be hard times that you may think aren’t fair. There have been assignments that I’ve taken eight to 10 times to figure out, but fighting through those times will reward you the most. Anyone who decides to do it can do it, which goes for everything.”

For more information about the Disability Resource Center, visit the webpage. 

Read the full EMU Today article.

The Michigan Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) held their Annual Meeting in Howell, MI on December 5th, 2024. EMU senior Professional Geology major (hydrogeology concentration) Sydney Davis presented her research poster on groundwater flow at the EMU Fish Lake Environmental Education Center and won first place in the undergraduate poster category. The award included a check for $1,000. This is the second year in a row EMU students have won the top prize at this event. Sydney competed against students from CMU, WMU, and Wayne State Univ. who also presented posters. Several geoscientists at the event stated they were impressed with both the poster content and Sydney's presentation skills.

Summer Research Awards at EMU support Faculty Development in the College of Arts and Sciences. In 2024, Assistant Professor Margeaux Claude's Summer Research Award, Material Development and Sustainability in Ceramics focused on material development at the European Ceramic Work Center (known as EKWC).  This experience was made possible through the combination of a $22,000 external fellowship and an EMU’s Summer Research Award (SRA) $12,000. The impact of these combined awards have “impacted the scope of my career and what I can offer to students at EMU through international partnerships,” says Professor Claude. Through iterative laboratory testing and firing, her goals for the 2024 Summer Research Award were focused around adding value in her field through developing mixtures of fired materials and practice that benefit environmental sustainability. “In the summer of 2024, I developed a stable and lasting eutectic mixture to create a once fired glassy material. In the summer of 2025, I hope to refine that data, and continue testing to have completed publishable results.” 

Claude’s research period also resulted in a public talk, two group exhibitions, and an invitation to publish technical and creative research on the calcium eutectic in a forthcoming book by author, Anton Reijnders. Reijnders is an internationally known artist, former professor, and ceramic expert. Anton Reijnders and the EKWC previously published a primary text - The Ceramic Process, a manual and source of inspiration for ceramic art and design. 

“Publishing eutectic research provides an opportunity I have not yet had in my career, benefitting my scholarly contributions to Ceramic art and design, and new opportunities to share my research in the classroom with the students of EMU. I look forward to the work that lies ahead of me and am grateful for the opportunity to develop my work.” - Margeaux Claude

In addition to this invitation to publish the Summer Research Award generated several outcomes including two group exhibitions, studio visits with international artists and scholars, time to attend and grow my membership in the National Council on the Education of the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Green Learning Community, studio visits with Dr.Wendy Gers, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Princessehof National National Ceramic Museum, (NL), and building a more permanent relationship with the European Ceramic Work Center. 

The European Ceramic Work Center also has cutting edge facilities, expert ceramic advisors, and is a twelve week intensive research period, providing opportunities to dive deep into new creative research. Claude says, “The EKWC functions as an international artist in residence program and a center for technical research. I view it as a think tank of artists, designers, and architects encountering ceramics from very diverse perspectives. Partnership with the EKWC has been a lifelong dream, and one that I did not think was possible so early in my career.”

The outcome of this Summer Research has also propelled other invitations. This fall, Professor Claude was awarded a Witt Short Term Residency at the University of Michigan, sharing her summer research with Ceramics students at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design. She is collaboratively overseeing the Second Annual- STEAM Poster Session at this year's National Council on the Education of Ceramic Arts Conference (2025 Salt Lake City, UT). In the spring of 2025 she will present her work at the Michigan Ceramic Art Association, Michigan Mud Conference, and in the summer of 2026 she will teach a workshop and be an artist in residence at the New York State College of Ceramics.

These achievements provide opportunities for EMU students to engage with the highest level technical research in ceramics, and a vast network of ceramics scholars. As Claude's work grows she is passionate about continuing to provide students with a critical pathway and entry point to placement opportunities after EMU, “In partnering with larger more visible institutions in my field, I hope to help establish EMU as a center for research and creative thought in ceramics.”  

While spiders sometimes incite fear in humans, Eastern Michigan University biology professor Cara Shillington couldn’t be happier studying them up close. Shillington has been working hard on a sabbatical, conducting field research on tarantulas during their mating season in La Junta, Colorado. Through her research, Shillington hopes to change people’s perception of arachnids from creepy creatures to furry friends by educating the public. 

At EMU, Shillington conducts integrated, hands-on research on how animals interact with their environment. Her research analyzes tarantulas’ adaptive functions and sexual variation in their natural habitat. On her sabbatical in La Junta, Shillington works with the Southern Plains Land Trust, an organization dedicated to preserving the plains where tarantulas reside. 

“When you encounter tarantulas, they’re more afraid of you,” said Shillington. “Tarantulas only bite out of fear. This is the only way that they have to protect themselves, and if you don’t put them in a situation where they feel like they have to bite, then there is no reason to fear them.”

Since tarantulas are embedded in the region, La Junta hosts an annual festival celebrating the spiders’ mating season from September through November. During their mating cycle, tarantulas emerge from their burrows across the town. The La Junta Tarantula Festival featured a dedicated tarantula parade during a town-wide celebration. During the festival, Shillington was featured as a guest speaker. 

Shillington’s research has informed other publications in the scientific community. Last year, EMU graduate student Bradley Allendorfer visited La Junta to conduct further study of Shillington’s 2006 publication on the Mexican tarantula species. 

Read the full EMU Today article.

Dr. Chris Gellasch from the EMU Department of Geography and Geology was honored with the Outstanding Educator Award by the Michigan Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) at their Annual Meeting in Howell, MI on December 5th, 2024. Gellasch was recognized for his outstanding efforts both inside and outside the classroom to prepare students for careers in the geosciences. Part of the nomination stated, "Chris encourages his students to excel and continuously improve, and to reach and go beyond their highest goals and ambitions. He is a standard setter when it comes to geoscience education, leadership, guidance, and mentoring. Chris is an outstanding educator and a great asset to the Michigan geology community and to the future growth and sustainability of professional geology."

Professor Dustin London’s drawings were recently featured in exhibitions around the world. During a Winter 2024 Faculty Research Fellowship, Professor London completed a series of colored pencil drawings on washi (Japanese handmade paper) exploring the role of “emptiness” in the construction of pictorial spaces that invite multiple, often paradoxical, interpretations. The drawings prompt one’s imagination to activate the potentiality of untouched areas of paper, and are a continuation of London’s interest in Buddhist concepts of mu (nothingness) and ma (interval in space and time) as they relate to traditional Japanese aesthetics. Professor London’s drawings were included in a solo exhibition at ANEWAL Gallery in Kyoto, Japan, titled The 15th Stone, which refers to the stone garden at Kyoto’s Ryōan-ji temple in which only 14 of its 15 stones are visible from any given point, such that the 15th stone must reside in one’s mind. His work was also recently featured in group exhibitions including Color, at the CICA Museum in Gimpo, South Korea, an online exhibition at I Like Your Work, titled Substance, Peep Space’s Flat File Exhibition in Tarrytown, NY, and will be in an exhibition at Warbling Collective in London, England, titled Nothing More Was Ever Said, starting December 14th. His work will also be in a two-person exhibition, titled Kokon Tōzai (roughly translated as ‘old and new, east and west’), at the Rosemary Duffy Larson Gallery at Broward College near Fort Lauderdale, FL in 2025.

The Public Relations Society of America Detroit Chapter (PRSA Detroit) presented Eastern Michigan University public relations professor Lolita Cummings, APR, with the Best in PRSA Detroit - PR for Good Campaign award. This endorsement comes after being nominated by fellow public relations instructor and EMU employee Gabrielle Burgess-Smith. The awards ceremony was held on Nov. 13 at the Great Lakes Culinary Center, marking the largest PRSA Detroit gathering of the year. “Over the years, I’ve taught my students the most basic definition of public relations is simply doing what’s right,” Cummings said. “It’s a standard I’ve attempted to adhere to personally and professionally. Sometimes, I’ve gotten it right. Other times, I have missed the mark. But this award says others have seen me try.”

Cummings has a career in the public relations industry spanning more than 30 years. The project for which she was awarded focused on a public relations plan for “Enlighten U,” EMU’s official mental health podcast for students. It’s a monthly show where she and her co-host, Melissa Thrasher, discuss mental health topics relating to college students with a rotating cast of students and expert guests each month. Thrasher is EMU’s executive director for media relations and social media.

“Each year, PRSA Detroit has had the opportunity to honor professionals who have demonstrated excellence in public relations while also contributing to community building and promoting ethical and inclusive practices,” said TaQuinda Johnson, who is the first female African-American president of PRSA Detroit, as well as an alum of EMU’s public relations program. “This year, we are continuing our commitment to recognizing excellence within the industry with the launch of our ‘Best in PRSA Detroit’ awards, allowing us to highlight more of the outstanding work being done in our region.”

Kiara Hay, a reporter for WXYZ television, announced the award recipients during the ceremony. PRSA Detroit selected honorees based on their contributions to society and to the organizations they represent. PRSA hosts the annual event to celebrate industry trailblazers, individuals and teams who make an impact in the world of public relations.

To learn more about PRSA Detroit, please visit prsadetroit.org.

Wendy Dorman (BS Biology and Psychology, 2008; MS in Geographic Information Systems, 2017) is determined to map a brighter future for grassland birds. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign doctoral student will use a $150,000 investment from NASA to develop robust maps of grassland habitat across the Midwest and beyond. Her goal is to understand the species-specific habitat factors that matter most to imperiled birds and optimize strategies for their conservation.

Dorman received the prestigious three-year research grant in the Earth Sciences division of the Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) program. The program is designed to identify and support future leaders in STEM fields. Dorman’s project was one of 57 selected, among more than 400 applicants. 

Read the full article here.

Eastern Michigan University recognized the achievements of four distinguished alumni at its 63rd annual Alumni Awards ceremony on Friday, Oct. 18, at the George Gervin GameAbove Center. This year's honorees included three CAS alums:

• La’Shardae Scott BA Communication, 2018 (and MSW 2022) - Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Scott is the president and CEO of the Scott Center for Observation, Treatment, and Transition, a nonprofit she founded in 2022 that assists families and individuals with sickle cell disease in transitioning from pediatric to adult care and focuses on reducing infant mortality in communities of color. Scott, also an instructor at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work, has been recognized for her advocacy, receiving honors such as the Shero of Health Award from the Ohio Commission on Minority Health in 2024. This award honors alumni like Scott, whose early career accomplishments and peer recognition showcase the value of an EMU education. Typically awarded to alumni within 10 years of graduation or under 35, it highlights Scott’s dedication to improving care for vulnerable communities.

• Judy Keenan BS Economics (Labor Studies), 1980 - Distinguished Alumni Award: Keenan, a longtime advocate for labor rights, has advanced workplace equity and safety through her work with the New York District of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, supporting fair treatment for American workers. Reserved for alumni who graduated more than 25 years ago and achieved extraordinary distinction, the Distinguished Alumni Award honors Keenan’s career in advocacy and public service.

• Patrick Barry Jr. BA Speech Communication, 1971; MA Speech Communication, 1973 - Dr. John W. Porter Distinguished Service Award: Barry, a retired educator with over 50 years of experience, was an instructor in EMU's Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts Department and previously taught at several high schools and colleges. He has served as a mentor and volunteer, including roles with the EMU Alumni Association Board and the Heritage Society. Barry received the Dr. John W. Porter Distinguished Service Award, which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to EMU or the EMU Alumni Association, regardless of alumni status. His enduring dedication exemplifies this spirit​.

“This is one of the most special events for our university, where we recognize alumni whose achievements and contributions reflect the excellence and spirit of Eastern Michigan University,” said EMU President James Smith. "Our honorees have made lasting contributions as advocates, ambassadors, volunteers, and advisors, impacting our community in profound ways.”

Read the full EMU Today article.

In January 2025, former EMU history professor Mary Frances Berry will return to the university to deliver the annual Martin Luther King, Junior Luncheon Keynote address. Berry was an Assistant Professor of History at EMU from 1968 to 1970, and her early years at our university demonstrate the ways that she has always intervened for justice at both the top and the bottom. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Berry came of age just as the modern Black freedom struggle was gaining momentum. She traveled to Washington, D.C. to study at Howard University as an undergraduate, and then came to the Midwest to earn a Ph.D. in history and a law degree, both at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 1968, she joined the History faculty as one of EMU’s first Black faculty members, teaching some of the department’s first classes in African American history.

At EMU, Berry broadened the curriculum in African American history while witnessing the history unfolding on campus. As a newly minted Assistant Professor, Berry advised and assisted the student protesters who occupied Pierce Hall in 1969, calling for more racial, social, and gender equity on campus. While she nurtured resistance at the grassroots, she also served as a member of the History Section, responding to Black student demands as a faculty member. 

Berry left EMU in 1970 and went on to hold pioneering administrative roles at the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Colorado, Boulder. In 1987, she joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has made her academic home. She is the author of ten books and is considered a preeminent public intellectual in both African American History and African American Studies.

Although Berry’s storied career began in the 1960s and has never stopped, it was in the 1980s when she gained the most notoriety. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and she became the first chairwoman. When President Ronald Reagan dismissed her from the commission, she sued for her reinstatement, and was later re-appointed by President Bill Clinton. In addition to serving in this federal position, in 1984 she co-founded the Free South Africa movement and was one of three arrested at the South African Embassy in an iconic sit-in movement. This event precipitated national activism against apartheid that spread to 45 cities. That episode—participating in a direct action protest while serving on a federal commission—resembled the delicate position she occupied at EMU years earlier and speaks to her ongoing passion for justice. In 2018, she published her latest book, History Teaches Us to Resist: How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging Times. The CAS community looks forward to learning about Berry’s six-decade career making history and EMU’s role in it.

This past October marked the 30th anniversary of Eastern Michigan University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center (LGBTRC), and staff have been celebrating by reflecting on the center's historical impact on both the EMU and Ypsilanti communities. CAS professors Kate Mehuron and Dennis O'Grady, along with CAS alum and Center Director Emma Weutrich (BS, Theatre, 2009), reflected on how the Center has helped to make EMU a more welcoming and accepting place for LGBTQ+ people.

"No matter how much progress is made nationally, there’s always more work to be done,"  Wuetrich says. "There will always be a stream of folks looking for aid to support them, and it’s important for us to continually find new resources to support students’ life-long journey regarding their identity."

Read the full Concentrate article.

On December 5th, The EMU "Pride of the Peninsula" took to Ford Field as they performed in the halftime break of the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers game. During this show, the band played Malagueña and Swag Surfin' to an audience of almost 64,000 people.

We are thrilled to announce the outstanding accomplishments of the Eastern Michigan University (EMU) Model United Nations (MUN) delegation at the 2024 American Model United Nations (AMUN) conference, held November 23–26 in Chicago. EMU sent 19 students to represent Ukraine and Mozambique at the second most significant MUN conference in the U.S., with over a thousand participants. The EMU delegates were Dhuha Alburkat, Hiba Alkhuzaee, Karizma Avila, Layne Cleveland, Bradan Copeland, Logan Bush, Jacqueline Deinek, Alyssa Engle, Anastasia Frederick, Dale Justice, Greg Konopka, Kaden Kosniewski, Jules Loomis, Brendan Maguire, Chatham McGuire, Ryan Nordbeck, Shawnn Stackable, Yasien Taher, and Alese Weaver. Our delegation earned six prestigious awards:

• Outstanding Delegation Award: Overall Best Delegation (Mozambique) – A testament to the quality and collaboration of the entire delegation.

• Outstanding Delegation Award: GA First Committee (Mozambique)

• Outstanding Delegation Award: GA Plenary (Mozambique)

• Outstanding Delegation Award: Security Council (Mozambique)

• Position Paper Award (Mozambique)

• Position Paper Award (Ukraine)

These achievements highlight the exceptional preparation, dedication, and teamwork of our students. They represent just a sample of the numerous accolades and awards that the EMU delegation has earned over the years at national and international conferences. Through these immersive experiences, participants develop diplomacy, negotiation, and public speaking skills while engaging with peers nationwide.

Brendan Maguire shared, "I had the honor and privilege of representing Eastern Michigan as the Republic of Mozambique on the Security Council at the 2024 AMUN Chicago Conference this year, alongside my partner Greg, with whom I worked closely and without whom I would not have been able to manage this challenging position. As a first-timer at the conference, I will admit that I went in feeling pretty nervous. However, once I got into the swing of things, I realized how much our delegation’s preparation had set me up for success. In class and in club meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we practiced the flow of proceedings in the United Nations. During these sessions, we learned the many rules and procedures at the heart of how the UN functions and gradually became very comfortable speaking in front of one another. Through extensive research and group collaboration, we studied the many aspects of international diplomacy, global issues, and how to strategically compromise with others to achieve shared goals. The United Nations, despite its flaws, remains in my mind one of the best existing organizations the world has to offer—an opinion I did not always hold. From my research and experiences through Model UN, I’ve gained a brief glimpse into the constant hard work and dedication it takes to be a diplomat and the immense challenges involved in striving for a more peaceful world. I highly recommend the experience to anyone who has the opportunity. It is deeply rewarding to not only learn about international relations but also to put that knowledge into practice and experience first-hand the often difficult art of peacemaking. It will undoubtedly expand your understanding of the world and your perception of it for the better. None of us at EMU Model UN would have been able to achieve what we did this year without Dr. Soltani’s constant guidance, and we are all infinitely grateful for his support. Additional thanks to every single person I had the privilege of working with this semester, you guys rock!"

Greg Konopka added, "I joined the Model UN class and club not knowing what to expect. As a commuter, I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to participate in clubs on campus. I participated in MUN my final semester at EMU and I am glad that I did. The preparation, the conference in Chicago, and the camaraderie with fellow students made it the most memorable experience of my college career. I would advise anyone who has an interest in learning how to be a diplomat or how the UN works to give this experience a try."

An empowering quote from bell hooks is printed in a black serif typeface on a brown handbill-size poster card.

The statement from the late author reads, “If we give our children sound self-love, they will be able to deal with whatever life puts before them.”

That motivational proclamation is one of numerous type-driven messages hand-printed on 3,000 vibrant 8-inch-by-6-inch poster cards by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr.

The Detroit printmaker’s renowned letterpress work is featured as part of Random Thoughts on Poster Cards, an exhibit running at Eastern Michigan University through December 14.

“People give me quotes, I read things, and then I just compile a list. And depending on the mood I’m in, I print what I want to,” said Kennedy alongside fellow letterpress printer Gerald Schulze during the exhibit’s November 7 opening reception at EMU’s University Gallery.

“It’s just a matter of someone telling me something, and I’ll say, ‘Oh yeah, that would make a good poster,’ or I’ll read something and think, ‘That would make a good card,’ and then I just print them.”

Kennedy’s extensive collection of colorful poster cards is randomly scattered and affixed to the gallery’s walls from floor to ceiling with nails and paperclips.

Gallery walls are filled with poster cards by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. at EMU.

Gallery walls are filled with poster cards by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. at EMU. Photo by Danny Baskin.

A quick scan of the exhibit from a distance—whether standing in the room or sitting at a bench in the center—shows mosaic-like patterns spread throughout the gallery.

Up close, those patterns reveal individual poster cards inked with quotes, aphorisms, and statements in Lydian, Cooper Black, and other typefaces from notable civil rights heroes, creatives, activists, and indigenous people.

A quote from Frederick Douglass printed on a blue, purple, and green background states, “Once you learn to read, you will forever be free.”

Another quote from Rosa Parks reads, “It is better to protest than to accept injustice,” on a silver and red background.

A Lakota proverb printed on an orange background states, “When a man moves from nature, his heart becomes hard.”

The compelling quotes featured throughout Random Thoughts on Poster Cards range from inspirational to enlightening to witty and include messages about social justice, Black power, race, capitalism, history, politics, nature, and more.

Read the full Pulp article here.

This year’s McAndless Distinguished Professor Chair and head juror Dr. Joey Quiñones received an incredible number of applicants for the Juried Student Exhibition: Marking Place to be held Winter of 2025 in the Student Center University Gallery.

78 submissions were provided from around Michigan, representing graduate and undergraduate students at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Western Michigan University, Central Michigan University, Michigan State University and the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. 38 works will be included in the exhibit.

Join us for the opening reception at the University Gallery on Thursday, January 9, from 4:30 to 7:00 pm. The exhibit runs from January 3 to January 31, 2025.

Director of Galleries Danny Baskin, Dean Dana Heller, Associate Dean Jim Egge, School Director Sandra Murchison, Professor Margeaux Claude, and the Faculty of the School of Art and Design look forward to welcoming students to Eastern and sharing this year's Marking Place Exhibition with students from the region. 

Read more about McAndless Scholar Joey Quiñones, the Marking Place project, and upcoming McAndless events on the McAndless webpage. 

This year, the Department of Women’s & Gender Studies (WGST) was a most visible presence at the National Women’s Studies Association’s (NWSA) annual meeting in Detroit, Michigan in November 2024.  All three WGST faculty members—Beth Currans, Dyann Logwood, and Solange Simões—delivered presentations on wide-ranging subjects, stretching from the right-wing backlash in Brazil to internalized oppression for faculty of color and EMU’s own College in Prison program.  But, two M.A. students also presented their research at NWSA, which is the preeminent academic conference in the interdisciplinary field of Women’s Studies.  

Megan Dilyard delivered a poster presentation entitled, “Masked Performativity: The Autistic Woman's Performance of Gender and Disability.”  Drawing on autoethnography and qualitative analysis, she proposed the theory of “masked performativity,” or the process by which women on the autism spectrum performed the desired traits of both gender and desired disability in order to avoid bullying and isolation.  By crafting a poster, Megan was able to field questions from a range of attendees who stopped by her station and interacted with her research.

Additionally, M.A. student Motunrayo Agboola delivered a paper entitled, “Nigerian Women Care Workers in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan in the United States Context.”  Conducting focus group interviews with Nigerian-born home health care workers in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Motunrayo drew on feminist methodologies to critically examine their experiences.  She highlighted their exploitation and demonstrated that these workers experienced both anti-Black racism and intolerance toward immigrants.  Motunrayo spent over ten minutes fielding audience questions and grappling with the implications of her research.

Sheila Slovis’s interest in music started when she chose the clarinet to begin her musical education during elementary school in southern Michigan. Her music interests and education continued at Coldwater High School. She received the Senior Band award for participating in marching, concert and pep band and for several successful solo and ensemble performances. She continued her musical studies at Eastern Michigan University, majoring in Music. Sheila was a member of the EMU marching and concert bands until her graduation. Prior to her graduation in December 1985, she completed a senior clarinet recital accompanied by her professor. Sheila was a member of the EMU Mu Epsilon-Honorary Music Fraternity.

Following her EMU graduation, Sheila worked as a music teacher for several years at the elementary and middle school levels and taught privately. She later established her music business called Sheila’s Music Studio in Solon, Ohio. Sheila’s was successful teaching piano, clarinet plus other woodwinds, brass and violin to her students that included student performances during recitals. She was a dedicated and productive music teacher who became well known in her community.

Sadly, Sheila passed away in 2023. To honor her memory, her family decided to fund five scholarships in the School of Music and Dance, to help other students achieve their dreams of a career in music.

With the help of the faculty at the School of Music and Dance, five students who play clarinet or piano received scholarships. Sheila’s parents, Ruth and John Sovis, attended a clarinet recital, and presented certificates of the scholarship to the students at a reception following the recital.

The School of Music and Dance is proud to honor Sheila’s memory, and grateful that the family is leaving her legacy through a gift that supports students and music.