The Eastern Michigan University Forensics team placed second in the nation in the National Championship Tournament of the National Forensics Association. EMU student Gavin Millard, a sophomore majoring in Public Relations, was named national champion in dramatic interpretation, becoming Eastern's first national champion in this category. 

EMU Forensics entered 94 performances in the national competition, which occurred at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, on April 13-17. The team beat universities such as Rice University, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Chicago, and Northwestern University.

"I am so happy for the students and coaches on our team," said Dennis O'Grady, interim director of Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts. "To finish second in the nation is quite an accomplishment and is a result of their incredible talent, determination, and hard work."

Senior Honors student Jacklyn Staffeld has been awarded a 2023 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, which is valued at approximately $147,000 over three years. She will use the fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience at Baylor University.

In addition to being a member of the Honors College, Staffeld is a first-generation student in the McNair Scholars Program. Her work has been published in the McNair Research Journal and she has presented it in multiple venues.

"Research is a beautiful thing that gives us so much knowledge and so many opportunities to improve the lives of people. I love research and I know that I want to continue pursuing research for the rest of my life. However, as a young and aspiring scientist, I recognize that there is a long path ahead of me before I can make it to my destination. Graduate school is a huge battle in itself and finding funding to support yourself during it can be challenging. For this reason, I applied to the NSF GRFP in the hope of receiving support in my graduate journey," said Staffeld.

Three CAS students have received Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships for the 2023-24 academic year, along with a fourth scholar from the College of Education. The four EMU awardees are:

• Ian Cook (BA, Language, Literature, & Writing, 2021; MA, TESOL, 2023) - English Teaching Assistantship: Spain

• Valentyna Stadnik (BA, German Language and Literature, 2022) - English Teaching Assistantship: Germany

• Jacob Lanczki (BA, Language and International Careers (German), 2019) - English Teaching Assistantship: Germany

• Sara Plohetski (MA, Education, expected 2025) - English Teaching Assistantship: Thailand

"This is an EMU record for the number of student Fulbright Finalists in a given year," said Dr. Carla Damiano, professor of German and Fulbright Program Advisor. "Any experience abroad can be life changing, but once you have become a select member of the Fulbright family, exciting opportunities open up to you for years to come – especially for those with plans to embark on graduate studies, or those who plan to begin their careers once the grant period has ended. Students return from their Fulbright year full of confidence and pride, they see themselves and the world through a different lens, and have learned respect for other cultures, languages, and ways of doing things. Fulbright’s core mission is to promote intercultural understanding.  Fulbright ETAs have optimal opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture, the people, and the customs of their host countries."

Professional Geology student Anne Shepherd presented findings from her undergraduate research at the North-Central Section Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Grand Rapids, MI on May 5. Anne's work, "Limited Applications of Schmidt Hammer Exposure-age Dating in the Great Lakes Region," demonstrates the challenges in using Schmidt Hammer exposure-age dating, a commonly-used method for estimating the timing of ice retreat from formerly ice-covered areas of the world, in the Great Lakes region. Anne will be continuing her work through an EMU Undergraduate Research Stimulus Program award in Summer 2023. She is mentored in her work by Assistant Professor Eric W. Portenga in the Department of Geography and Geology.

Professor Dan Bonenberger's (G&G) preservation students conducted field and archival research and recorded several places related to Detroit's civil rights heritage over the past year. They spent two weekends in April working to help preserve the Malcolm X House on Detroit’s east side, where Malcolm X lived in 1953. At the end of that year, the charismatic leader was sent by the Nation of Islam to revitalize the New York, Philadelphia, and Boston temples. From there he rose to become one of the most important and controversial figures in American history. The house on Keystone Street (near Mound and Seven Mile), is perhaps the best surviving place associated with Malcolm X at this pivotal point in his life. In connection with his brother Wilfred Little’s house in Inkster, and other civil rights places in and around Detroit, it provides a profound opportunity to expand public understanding of the past.

Unfortunately, the Keystone house suffered a fire during the pandemic, and thus is extremely endangered. The work of the EMU preservation team provides the preliminary data needed to promote awareness and begin raising support for its complete restoration and eventual designation as a National Historic Landmark. The team produced field sketches and photographs, identified hardware, tile, fixtures, and other materials remaining from the 1950s, noted the most significant conservation issues, and created a digital SfM scan of the interior and exterior with digital recording specialist Greg Bensinger of VeryGood Virtual. 

The work is part of a larger effort by EMU’s Preservation Studies (formerly Historic Preservation) program to teach its students how to identify, record, preserve and interpret common landscapes, houses, living spaces, and stories of the working class and other marginalized people. As Bonenberger seeks to facilitate the restoration of the Malcolm X House, he and his fellow Preservation faculty and students are engaged in advocating for the preservation and interpretation of other places associated with Black heritage and civil rights, particularly on Detroit’s east side. Among these, the Sarah Elizabeth Ray House, Ossian Sweet House, and Gladys Mitchell Sweet House are connected to landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Remarkably, like the Malcolm X House and despite their significance, all face an uncertain future due to various threats. The situation of the Gladys Mitchell Sweet House is most precarious. Despite evidence of the national significance of the Gladys Mitchell Sweet House produced by HP students this spring, the Detroit Land Bank recently put house the back on its demolition list. Much work remains to be done.

History alumna Kelly Gilbert Haas (BA, Secondary Education Social Studies, 2006) has been chosen the Huron Valley Schools Teacher of the Year for the middle school level. Haas teaches 6th grade Social Studies and 8th grade ELA, and is the Web Leadership and National Junior Honor Society co-sponsor at Oak Valley Middle School. Oak Valley Principal Shawn Durso says, "Oak Valley Middle School would not be what it is today without Mrs. Haas. She sets high expectations for her students and herself. She is an innovator who is truly dedicated to provide the best to our staff, students and families."

Thanks to the support of the Provost's office and giving by private donors, the College has been able to schedule two weeks of residency by the Formosa Quartet, McAndless Scholars for 2023-24. The Formosa Quartet will be at EMU January 14-20 and March 31-April 6, 2024. Having the Formosa Quartet on campus twice in the winter 2024 semester will enhance opportunities for instructors to integrate the McAndless workshops and concerts into classes, and for the EMU community to engage with the Quartet's "American Mirror Project," which examines the assumptions and perceptions found within American culture through the lens of music and performing arts. 

"The project revolves around two primary questions: What is 'America' and how would you mirror or respond to 'America' in your creative practice,” said Deborah Pae, Formosa Quartet cellist and Associate Professor of Cello in the School of Music and Dance. "By nature, such an examination is deeply inclusive of every voice in America. Through thought-provoking and dynamic musical performances, this project is an opportunity for the Formosa Quartet to showcase our evolving reflections on these questions while creating a platform to mirror others and their communities and the places where these performances happen."

On April 20 EMU began construction on the $7.5 million Windgate Arts Complex. Part of the School of Art and Design, the 24,000-square-foot facility will house studios for sculpture, ceramics, furniture design, digital fabrication, 3D design, and metalsmithing.

"The Windgate Foundation and EMU matching grant, along with the initial matching grant, will allow our students and faculty the opportunity to work in one unified 3D Arts Complex," said Sandra Murchison, Art and Design School Director. "It has been a genuine thrill to see this dream evolve into reality for the School of Art and Design and the EMU community."

University officials hope the complex enhances partnerships across Washtenaw County, including organizations such as the Riverside Arts Center. Potential statewide partnerships include Michigan teachers participating in a summer institute led by EMU art faculty, officials said.

The amazing and inspiring life of the Rev. H. P. Jacobs (1825-1899), EMU's first Black employee and the father of EMU's first Black students, was a focus of EMU's 2023 MLK Academic Programs Conference. A session investigating one of the most significant figures in EMU history featured this expert panel:

• Robert Walker, Former Mayor of Vicksburg, Mississippi; Alumnus and former Professor of History, Jackson State University

• Matt Siegfried, Historian, Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition; Alumnus in History and Historic Preservation, Eastern Michigan University

• Lynne Settles, Teacher, Ypsilanti High School

• Anthony Webster, TRIO SSS Program Director, Eastern Michigan University; Alumnus, Jackson State University and Eastern Michigan University