A unique collaboration between Eastern Michigan University (EMU) and the Ann Arbor Police Department (AAPD) is using theater to enhance officer training in crisis intervention. The partnership draws on expertise from EMU’s School of Social Work and School of Communication, Media & Theatre Arts' program in Applied Drama and Theatre for the Young to bring realism and empathy into scenario-based instruction. The effort is part of a broader ongoing initiative by the School of Social Work

"For over 10 years, the School of Social Work has been doing community partnerships across [Washtenaw County], placing social work interns in programs with formerly incarcerated folks all across the spectrum," says EMU social work professor Barbara Walters. "When we reached out to AAPD, we really just hoped that they thought the partnership would be relevant to their needs, and from there we built a new partnership with them."

Walters connected with AAPD Community Engagement Officer Kasey Whitford, who had been wanting to implement new crisis intervention training (CIT) programs at AAPD. While Walters had initially planned to send a social work intern to work with Whitford at AAPD, she also wanted to approach the project in a more unique way to ensure future trainings would be effective and a worthwhile investment on AAPD’s part.

"I’d had an idea to start a mental health unit or team to train officers how to properly respond to those in crisis," Whitford says.

When Whitford shared that idea with Walters, she saw an opportunity to partner with Jessica "Decky" Alexander, EMU professor of applied drama and theatre and director of Engage@EMU. Alexander saw an opportunity to involve her applied drama and theater graduate students, whose work aims to "engage the imagination, challenge and inspire ideas, and support learning for youth and communities," according to the program’s website.

"It was really just good timing, a good partnership, and good people," Alexander says.

While developing project ideas with her graduate students for the 2024-2025 academic year, Alexander says she knew almost immediately which students would be perfect to work with Whitford and the AAPD. Recent EMU graduate Dan Johnson and current EMU grad student Adam Weisman not only had experience in theater, but they also work as Standardized Patients – individuals who "have been trained to accurately portray a specific patient role, assess clinical skills, and provide constructive feedback about a student's performance" in medical settings, according to a definition from Michigan Medicine. Both Johnson and Weisman felt that that working with AAPD was perfectly suited to their experience.

"I’m a theater person, and I like figuring out ways I can use what I do to help advance justice and empathy while taking care of others," Johnson says. "A project like this is right up my alley."

"There’s a lot of room for growth in this program, and a lot of room for simulation work in all careers," Weisman says. "When you have trained actors as part of that training, it can reflect real life in ways that people don’t expect."

Johnson and Weisman worked alongside Whitford, using previous crisis intervention presentations she made and studying materials from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), to edit existing hypothetical crisis scenarios for AAPD officers. Johnson says these scenarios occasionally represented individuals going through crisis "unkindly or stereotypically." He says the best way to teach others is by giving them materials that are "more humanized" to better reflect situations the officers may encounter. 

"When you’re dealing with these kinds of scenarios, the goal is to portray real people. It isn’t helpful from a training standpoint to play a stereotype," Johnson says. "We never want to be dishonest or disrespectful when dealing with people, so we tried to bring in a level of empathy and respect to the performance."

An unexpected outcome of the partnership was a shift in Johnson and Weisman’s opinions on police work and the officers performing it. Weisman says seeing officers adjust and improvise in real time during the training gave him "a new respect" for their work. Johnson left the experience with a reignited passion for trying to bring about change within institutions that have not always approached their work with an empathetic social work lens, and a recognition that doing so takes time and effort.

Read the full Concentrate article.

The Eastern Echo was named on May 8 as the 2024 College Publication of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. The College Better Newspaper Contest winners were presented at the 2025 MPA Convention at the Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

The overall award is given to the publication that earns the most accumulated points in all editorial categories of the newspaper contest. This is the second year in a row The Echo has received the honor.

The Eastern Echo also won awards in several other categories: news story, investigative story, sports feature, news column, sports column, feature photo, writer, front page design, and non-front page design.

Plumbing issues cloud fall move-in by Alex Kreps - 2nd place, news story

Reuse and Resell: Generation Z's bargain hunt drives thrift store market sales by Noah Cimaroli - 3rd place, investigative reporting

EMU football’s Brian Dooley surrenders his own athletic scholarship for walk-on Zack Conti by Blake McQueary - 2nd place, sports news/feature

EMU basketball court’s new name honors record-holding leader by Blake McQueary - 3rd place, sports news/feature

Opinion: 3 local queer artists to follow this Pride Month and beyond by Madison Cantrell - 2nd place, column, review or blog, news

From Canada to Campus: Callum Robinson's Journey of Triumph in Transforming EMU Track's Future by Elena Davis - 2nd place, column, review or blog, sports

The Great Vannzee; the story of EMU Sports' superfan and celebrity by Blake McQueary - 3rd place, column, review or blog, sports

Ameera Salman, 1st place, best writer

Aaron Hughes, 3rd place, best writer

Read the full Eastern Echo article here.

College of Arts & Sciences student Trinity Perkins has been named a Ford Motor Company Fund John Dingell Fellow and selected to participate in the Summer 2025 session of The Washington Center’s (TWC) Academic Internship Program. The opportunity is made possible through EMU’s affiliation with The Washington Center, established in Fall 2024.

Trinity will attend the program tuition-free, thanks to funding from the Ford Motor Company Fund, which created the fellowship to honor the legacy of the late Congressman John Dingell. The fellowship supports students pursuing public service and policy careers and aims to expand access to civic and government leadership experiences for students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Perkins is a rising senior, and will depart for Washington, D.C., on May 28 and return on Aug. 2. Throughout the summer, she will engage in internships, academic seminars, and networking opportunities designed to launch their careers in public service.

Perkins, a criminology and criminal justice major with a public law and government minor, will intern at The Faith and Politics Institute, a nonprofit that fosters bipartisan relationships and ethical leadership through dialogue and reflection.

“I’m happy to represent EMU and the Ford Fund in D.C. this summer,” said Perkins. “This opportunity aligns with my long-term goal of advocating for criminal justice reform, and I’m excited to grow through this experience.”

Read the full EMU Today Article

On June 9, the Department of Africology and African American Studies (AAAS) at Eastern Michigan University received a surprise august visitor in the person of Dr. Rasheed Atwater, an alum who is now serving as an assistant professor at African American and Diaspora Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana. Rasheed obtained his bachelor’s degree and a Graduate Certificate in Africology and African American Studies from EMU before proceeding to higher degree studies, including a Ph.D. from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

Notably, during his undergraduate years at EMU, Rasheed was an outstanding and impactful student leader, besides being a brilliant student. His student leadership record at EMU included his meritorious service as president of the Society of Africology, a networking body of majors, minors, and certificate students of the Department of Africology and African American Studies. His leadership record as president of EMU's Society of Africology remains unparalleled. Department Head Victor Okafor states, "We were indeed very pleased for him to visit us this morning. And we wish him the best in his ongoing academic career as an Africologist."

Eastern Michigan University College of Arts and Sciences is proud to announce that Dr. Kyle Powys Whyte will be the 2025-26 McAndless Distinguished Professor Chair in the Humanities. Professor Whyte will present a series of events on the theme of “Indigenous Peoples and Climate Justice: Rights, Knowledge, and Climate Action” on Eastern’s campus during the Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 semesters.

Dr. Whyte is a faculty member at the University of Michigan where he is the George Willis Pack Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability and University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor. Dr. Whyte teaches in and coordinates the School’s environmental justice graduate specialization. His research on environmental justice addresses moral and political issues facing Indigenous peoples in the areas of climate change, conservation, and cooperative relationships between Indigenous peoples and science institutions. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

As the McAndless Professor, Dr. Whyte will deliver lectures at EMU on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, and Wednesday, February 11, 2026. Both lectures will be free and open to the public. Dr. Whyte will also present a series of workshops for EMU students and faculty, and he will be available to visit classes to speak on such topics as Indigenous sustainability; Indigenous peoples and climate science; Indigenous knowledge and climate change; laws and policies for Indigenous rights advocacy; and Indigenous environmental justice movement building. 

“The vision for the professorship is to foster education and new opportunities on campus for learning about Indigenous peoples’ leadership in the pursuit of climate justice, and spanning interdisciplinary issues in science, law and policy, and the arts and humanities,” said Whyte. “Faculty, students, and other learners who attend and participate in the activities on campus will come away with new knowledge on how Indigenous peoples are shaping environmental advocacy, what visions and movements Indigenous peoples are enacting to foster transformation, and a set basic orientations that will support their improved capacity to collaborate and connect with Indigenous-led organizations and Indigenous governments. A key aspect of the activities will be demonstrating how partnership between the humanities, arts, and STEM is a necessary condition for research and educational advocacy of Indigenous peoples rights and knowledge.”

At the University of Michigan, Dr. Whyte is the founding Faculty Director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, Principal Investigator of the new Environmental Justice + Humanities Hub, Faculty co-Director of the Energy Equity Project, co-Principal Investigator of SEAS’ Global Center for Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Transboundary Waters, Faculty Associate of Native American Studies, affiliate Professor of Philosophy, and Senior Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows. He is the primary author of over 50 publications in refereed journals and books. He is a U.S. Science Envoy and served on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. He continues to serve on the National Academies’ Resilient America Roundtable and as President of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition.

Established in 1986, the McAndless Chair brings a visiting scholar, artist, or writer of national prominence to EMU each year, thanks to a generous bequest from the late M. Thelma McAndless, former Professor of English Language and Literature. 

Instructors interested in inviting Dr. Whyte to visit their classes, or in integrating discussions of Indigenous peoples and climate justice into their classes, are encouraged to contact Dr. John Koolage, Department Head of History and Philosophy, at wkoolage@emich.edu.

This video celebrates the impact of the Windgate Foundation and the incredible opportunities made possible by the Foundation's generous support of the Eastern Michigan University School of Art and Design. Please enjoy this look at the remarkable transformation, renovation, and expansion of our 3D arts spaces within the Windgate Arts Complex.

Eastern Michigan University welcomes you to watch the 45th Annual Undergraduate Symposium recap. This one-day celebration of undergraduate research and creative projects features projects from all five EMU colleges in oral, poster, and expo exhibits. Please visit  the Undergraduate Symposium webpage for more event information.

On Wednesday, May 2, 2018, Eastern Michigan University made the announcement that Dana Heller had been appointed as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. After serving as Dean for seven years, Dana will be retiring from this role and moving forward from Eastern Michigan University. 

In a message to the College of Arts & Sciences community, Dana shares some parting words.

"I've enjoyed many parts of this job, but above all I've enjoyed witnessing the successes of our students. I'm reminded of this at every commencement exercise. Never bet against an EMU student! 

"No academic dean achieves anything alone--we work in teams. That said, I take great pride in having contributed to the establishment of the The Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Institute for Civic Education and the Center for Civil Rights & Social Justice. Both projects, in addition to others that I've been privileged to work on, speak directly to the values that led me to pursue a career in public higher education.  

Dean Heller shared that what she admires most about the College of Arts & Sciences is "the clarity of its mission and dedication to student success. We may not always agree on the best way to get there, and we may not have the resources we'd like, but the College remains bound together by a shared belief in the transformative potential of the arts, humanities, and sciences.  

Thank you for the work you do. Thank you for letting me be a part of it. Stay strong. Eyes forward." 

What are her plans for retirement? "I haven't yet figured that out. And for the moment I'm enjoying not knowing what comes next.  It's an exciting space to be in after 40 years. A dear friend once advised me, 'every 40 years try something new.' So I will."