The Preservation Studies Program is pleased to announce that four of its graduate (M.S.) students have received $20,000 Collins Scholarships awarded to exceptional students enrolled in a full-time Historic Preservation graduate program. This is the second year the Collins Scholarship was bestowed. Last year, the scholarship was limited to students in preservation programs at EMU, Boston University, and Ball State University (Indiana), and two of our students each received $10,000 scholarships. However, this year, the Collins Scholarship, administered by the Marshall (Mich.) Foundation, was open to all preservation students in the U.S. and EMU students received four of five scholarships bestowed nationally. The competition required applicants to submit a cover letter, a resume, a portfolio of work in preservation, references, and an essay.

EMU Preservation Studies students who received this prize for academic year 2024-2025 include:

Ian Tomashik, who is entering his third and final year in Preservation Studies, received his B.A. in History and B.S. in Architecture from the University of Michigan. He currently works at Chronicle Heritage in Dexter (a historic preservation firm) and the City of Detroit’s Preservation Office. Ian is active in historic preservation in his hometown, Dearborn, Michigan as a member of the Dearborn Historical Commission and is a founding member of Preservation Dearborn. Ian remarks: "With help from the Collins Scholarship, I can focus on my studies, take more classes and potentially graduate next spring. Attending EMU has already helped launch my career in historic preservation, and I can't wait to see where my degree takes me next".

Carrie Miller, who is entering her third and final year in Preservation Studies, studied at Bethel University (Indiana), where she studied Humanities, Business Administration (double major), and visual arts. After graduation, she became a project manager for Brethren Disaster Ministries, rebuilding Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Carrie has also worked at Building Arts & Conservation (Saline, MI). Carrie shares: “This scholarship will allow me to make education-focused decisions rather than finance-focused decisions that I’ve had to make in past semesters. I am so grateful to both the Marshall Community Foundation for the generous award and EMU Preservation Studies faculty for their ceaseless encouragement and support.”

Joshua Burns, Jr., who joins the Preservation Studies Program in Fall 2024, earned his B.S. in Urban & Regional Planning from EMU, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2023 with a minor in Geography. Joshua is currently employed as the City Planner for the city of Ypsilanti.  Joshua explains his reasons for entering the EMU Preservation Program: "EMU's Preservation Studies graduate program felt like joining a tight-knit family of preservation enthusiasts. The combination of practical experiences and mentorship within the program will not just strengthen my abilities in preservation and planning, but also equip me with the essential skills to further enhance and preserve our current built environment." 

Melanie Purkis, who is completing her B.A. in History with a minor in Historic Preservation at University of Michigan-Flint is joining us in Preservation Studies in Fall 2024.  After thirty years working in IT in the business sector, Melanie returned to school to pursue her love for preservation. She has been active in gravestone restoration and, this summer, she is working with a company that both preserves headstones and trains others to do so.  Melanie explains the importance of receiving the Collins Scholarship and her dedication to Historic Preservation: “My passion for historic preservation is driven by a belief that our past holds the keys to our future. It is an invitation to explore, learn, and appreciate the unbreakable thread that connects generations, as well as a call to action for all of us to play an active role in safeguarding our shared heritage. The opportunity that this scholarship has given me to study at EMU, in one of the oldest and most recognized historic preservation programs in the country, is an honor that has truly enabled me to pursue this passion and hopefully to someday be remembered as a person integral to preserving our past.” 

Kat Hacanyan, current graduate Student in Preservation Studies and Anthropology alum, has been working on a project that follows the demands that were brought to the administration of Eastern Michigan University in 1969 by the Black Student Association and the occupation of Pierce Hall that followed. These incidents were amplified after the Kent State shootings of 1970, and the project highlights the social impact that followed these events and others across the country. 

Hacanyan was honored to work on the ‘5 Days in May’ oral history project. "When I started working in the archives, I wasn't expecting to be given this project to take on, but it was a nice turn of events," Hacanyan says. "I had seen this project in its very early stages and was able to take it to completion."

Read the full Concentrate article here.

Listen to the WEMU story here. 

The Michigan Dance Council awarded Eastern Michigan University professor Sherry Wilkinson the Dance Educator of the Year in Higher Education award. The Council’s board voted unanimously to award Wilkinson with this prestigious honor.

Wilkinson is honored to receive this recognition, a testament to her longstanding commitment to the dance program. “It is a privilege to receive this award, said Wilkinson. “Each day, I get to share my passion and knowledge with our amazing EMU students, and I love each and every day I am on campus.”

Wilkinson attributes her success to her efforts in modernizing the EMU dance program with the support of her colleagues and administration. 

Read the full EMUToday article here. 

Women’s and Gender Studies part time lecturer Dr. Miriam Furlan Brighente was featured on the podcast Contextualizing Feminist Voices: Teaching with the Global Feminisms Project. “In this episode, Dr. Miriam Furlan Brighente, lecturer in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department at Eastern Michigan University, describes her application of several GFP Lesson Plans in her classroom and how she adjusts them to her own teaching style guided by feminist and Freirian teaching philosophies.” 

Dr. Furlan Brighente is an internationally recognized expert on Paulo Freire and feminist popular education. This podcast demonstrates her application of her research to her teaching in Women’s and Gender Studies.

Norm Tyler, emeritus professor of geography and geology at Eastern Michigan University developed the SmartTours platform in order to establish a way for visitors and residents of Ann Arbor “to be a part of the city’s living history”. Tyler’s own home– the historic Robert S. Wilson House– is a part of this tour. While you can delve into the history of the Tylers' home and many others through SmartTours, he says, the tour series is not just "about buildings in the community. It's about building community”.

Susan Wineberg, friend and neighbor of Tyler, and alum of Eastern Michigan University’s Historic Preservation program, aided in research for historical homes and most recently wrote the narratives for eight of the SmartTours.

Read the full Concentrate article here.

Following nominations submitted by two previous students, Dr. Cara Shillington (Biology) has been selected to receive the 12th annual William Fennel Symposium Faculty Mentor Award.  This honor, in memory of emeritus biology professor Dr. William Fennel, is given to recognize EMU faculty members who provide extraordinary leadership and guidance to undergraduate students in their research experience, including mentorship of the student’s work for the Undergraduate Symposium. 

Dr. Brendan Kelly, who has served as the president of the University of West Georgia since 2020, will become the third president of the Arkansas State University System.  Kelly received his Master of Arts degree in Communication from Eastern Michigan University, where in 2000, he began his academic career as assistant director of forensics and a lecturer in the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts.

Read the full KTLO article here.

If you watched the recent solar eclipse, you likely used special solar filter glasses. But to see this rare astronomical event as it passed over North America in 1878, you needed some serious equipment. Eastern's Sherzer Observatory has an example of one of these rare instruments, made even more special by the man who used it.

In the late 19th century, astronomers were puzzled by the strange orbit of the planet Mercury. Today, we know its odd oblong path is due to the curvature of gravity. But back then, scientists theorized that an undiscovered planet called Vulcan caused the aberration.

To test the theory, a group of prominent scientists traveled to Rawlins, Wyoming Territory, to see if they could spot Vulcan during a total solar eclipse. Thomas Edison, who had become nationally famous for his recently patented phonograph, accompanied the group. He wanted to test his “tasimeter,” a new invention that could detect infrared light and estimate the temperature of remote objects. Edison hoped to measure the heat of the sun's corona as the photosphere was blocked by the moon.

Edison's instrument failed, as it was too sensitive to handle the extreme temperature changes during the eclipse. The scientists also didn't find Vulcan, since it doesn't exist. But the group, including Edison, did view the eclipse through a brass Alvan Clark & Sons refractor telescope borrowed from Eastern (then called Michigan State Normal School).

The telescope has remained with Eastern as a proud possession in the observatory offices since its return. Luckily, it survived a fire at the original observatory in Sherzer Hall in 1989. 

Alvan Clark instruments remain highly sought after by collectors and amateur astronomers. But there are few with the famous provenance of Eastern's example.