On April 8, we celebrated the work and dedication of lecturers at EMU. It was wonderful to see so many of you meet each other and share stories! During the celebration we gave out the second biennial Edna Awards (randomly drawn from among each category's nominees):
Students First Award: Kimberley Barker, Management
Most Uplifting Colleague Award: Olivia Allen, Communication, Media & Theatre Arts
Community Engagement Award: Kat Hacanyan, Halle Library Archives
EMUFT Member Award: Lauren Williams, History & Philosophy
You can find all of the Edna Award nominees below with a short summary highlighting their nominations.
In addition, the following member won a small prize in our EMUFT Bingo raffle:
Andrew Antis, History & Philosophy
The 2025/2026 EMUFT Labor Lives Scholarship has been awarded to Taylor Patton.
Taylor is in her first year of graduate school pursuing a degree in Occupational Therapy. In her essay, she reflected on her family's history with union membership, her experiences as a substitute teacher, and the essential protection and advocacy that unions provide for workers.
Congratulations, Taylor!
The 2026/2027 EMUFT Labor Lives Scholarship has been awarded to Fabiola Garnett Alvarado.
Fabiola is a senior pursuing a degree in Occupational Therapy in the combined BS/MOT program. In her essay, she reflected on her experiences as a first-generation student and small business owner to highlight how vital workplace protections are for dignity, stability, and recovery.
Congratulations, Fabiola!
This year's Distinguished Lecturer Teaching Award winners were celebrated at the Distinguished Faculty & Lecturer Award Celebration during EMU's Week of Excellence. We were thrilled to recognize all the excellent nominees and our two winners again at the Celebration of Lecturers.
Winner of this year's award are:
Darlene Bellers, Dietetics
Kristine Gatchel, English Language and Literature
This year's nominees included:
Samer Alsharif, Construction Management
Kimberley Barker, Management
Natalie Campbell, Teacher Education
Casey Harhold, Special Education & Communication Sciences and Disorders
Thomas Kaspter, Physics & Astronomy
Karen Meserve, Nursing
Lin Nichols, Special Education & Communication Sciences and Disorders
Elizabeth Sikkenga, Management
Eastern Michigan University honored forty-five lecturers for Years of Service Milestones at this year's Employee Annual Service Award Luncheon.
We were delighted to lift up the contributions of these lecturers during our Celebration of Lecturers.
Special congratulations to lecturer Ali Mahdavi for 40 years of service to EMU!