Eastern Michigan University
October 11, 2023
Academic and Student Affairs
Provost Briefing
Institutional Priority #1
Promote Student Engagement and Success
Student teacher Interviews:
improving student teacher placement and success
This year, EMU’s College of Education started Student Teacher Interview, a research-proven strategy for student teacher success! The purpose of the interview is to ensure the most thoughtful placement for student teaching assignments so that students will have successful and meaningful experiences while student teaching.
Ninety students who voluntarily participated in the interview had prepared to answer the questions Sandy Kreger, the Coordinator of Clinical Experiences, had sent out before the interview and came to the interview with the mindset that this would be similar to a real job interview. The experience allowed them to both update their teaching application and preferences, as well as switch their mindsets from students to professional teachers.
Sandy Kreger interviewing soon-to-be student teachers
Students who participated had many positive comments about the process:
“This program really helped me to feel supported and heard not as just another student, but as me, Kristen. I think it helped get me a lot more excited about student teaching knowing that the advisors do not just want me to check off another box, but to gain an experience that will help me be successful as an educator.”
“This interview and getting to talk with Sandy was so helpful for me to actually understand what is going on. Communication is key so it was wonderful to get to talk with Sandy rather than feeling out of the loop when it comes to the most important semester of my college experience.”
“The student teaching interview made me comfortable and confident to enter into my placement. It reinforced the sentiment that the College of Education wants me to succeed as much as I do.”
Represent your department in Winter 2023 Commencement
Show your department pride! Consider participating in the upcoming Winter 2023 Commencement. Participation is a simple yet powerful way to show your support and celebrate the Winter graduates. Simply dress in your department regalia and attend the event.
Contact your department by Wednesday, November 1 to order your regalia for the event. Winter Commencement is on Sunday, December 17 at 9:30am.
Institutional Priority #2
High Performing Academic Programs & Quality Research
Spring 2023 Laboratory for Credential Innovation (LCI)
As part of its ProEMU initiative, Professional Programs & Training (PPAT) worked with Engage@EMU and the University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) to design, develop and facilitate the Spring 2023 Laboratory for Credential Innovation, a five-week hybrid program to engage EMU faculty and staff in exploring the landscape of alternative credentials and supporting them in aligning their non-degree program idea with educational and industry best practices. Designed as a learning community, the program included asynchronous activities in Canvas, opportunities for peer review and feedback, and weekly live sessions for further learning/processing/discussion. The final program deliverable was a comprehensive proposal for an alternative credential in the participant's area of expertise.
Program goals included (1) increasing internal visibility on non-degree credentials in higher education and at EMU specifically, (2) engaging faculty and staff in a badge-worthy interactive learning experience that would build awareness and competencies related to non-degree credentials as well as having them earn a digital credential in the process, and (3) generating new non-degree program ideas to explore and evaluate for development in FY2024.
Fifteen EMU faculty and staff members earned Credential Innovation Fellow digital badges by actively participating in the Spring 2023 Laboratory including:
- April Calkovsky, University Advising and Career Development Center,
- Devika Dibya Choudhuri, Leadership & Counseling,
- Kimberly Dixon-Ferrell, Teacher Education,
- Marisol Garrido-Gutierrez, World Languages
- Anna Gersh, Engage@EMU,
- Imandeep Grewal, Teacher Education,
- Kevin Karpiak, Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology,
- Wendy Lawrence, Leadership & Counseling,
- Vijay Mannari, Engineering,
- Maisha Ostergren, English,
- Meriah Sage, Communication, Media & Theatre Arts,
- Herman Tang, Engineering,
- Zuzana Tomas, World Languages,
- Mark Whitters, History & Philosophy,
- Diana Wong, Management;
Other impacts and results included eleven (11) new non-degree program proposals and additional exploratory collaborations were submitted for FY2024 review and development consideration; ·Participants raised many great questions which, as they are answered, will help PPAT and the University make decisions and clarify processes that have not been defined. An example of this is PPAT and Engage working with EMU Legal Affairs to clarify intellectual property / copyright concerns raised by participants during the class and develop, document and communicate a Copyright Ownership and License Agreement for non-credit program development; PPAT developed a draft new program review and development process and proposal evaluation criteria and rubric; Several participants expressed an interest in being part of a guiding coalition to explore, articulate and propose an updated credential architecture at the University.
Please contact Elizabeth (Beth) Stoner at estoner@emich.edu to learn more about the ProEMU initiative, Professional Programs & Training, or future offerings of the Laboratory for Credential Innovation.
EMU Awarded six-year renewals for three state of michigan KCP initiative grants
The Student Success and Academic Support Services and the College of Education’s Pathways for Future Educators are excited to announce that EMU has been awarded six-year renewals for three State of Michigan Martin Luther King, Jr. - César Chávez - Rosa Parks (KCP) Initiative grants:
For more information about student support programs visit the Holman Success Center.
The Holman Success Center (4S and MICUP)
Porter Building, home of the College of Education (MHED)
EMU Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi Celebrates 50 years
The EMU Chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 18, 2023. Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective multidisciplinary collegiate honor society, with over 1.5 million members worldwide. Invitations are extended each year to the top 7.5% of second-semester juniors and top 10% of seniors and graduate students in each college, as well as faculty, staff, and administrators whose work has been recognized as embodying the society’s motto, “Let the love of learning rule humanity.”
Since its founding, the EMU Chapter has inducted more than 5,500 members. It was named a Phi Kappa Phi Circle of Excellence Gold Chapter for 2019-2020 and 2021-2022, and a Circle of Excellence Silver Chapter for 2020-2021. Its members have secured a total of eight prestigious national level fellowships (most recently in 2021 and 2023) and several of the society’s smaller “Love of Learning” awards that are designed to help fund post-baccalaureate professional development. Additionally, each year the chapter awards local scholarships at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The EMU Chapter is always looking for faculty and staff who would like to help manage the chapter to ensure its success for the next 50 years. Please reach out to chapter president Bill Marino (wmarino1@emich.edu) with any questions or to express interest.
Institutional Priority #3
Service and Engagement
EMU Career Closet Asks for Donations
Since the beginning of this Fall semester the EMU Career Closet has had 114 shoppers. While the success of the Career Closet is fantastic news, it also means certain sizes and styles of clothing are running short. The Career Closet is asking for monetary donations to supplement these popular/rare sizes.
To donate, visit their crowdfunding campaign page.
The EMU Career Closet is now located at 215 Mckenny Hall and is open to walk-ins Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: 109 B Halle
Date/Time: Friday, November 17 / 8:30am - 3:30pm
Faculty, full-time lecturers, and part-time lecturers who are teaching or on leave during Fall 2023 are invited to join this workshop.
Consider joining our International Virtual Global Learning Workshop. Facilitated by Solange Simoes and Shiri Vivek, this workshop will provide instructors with tools and strategies for developing collaborative virtual global learning modules for their courses. As part of the workshop, participants will design a virtual global learning component to an existing assignment or create a new assignment to their current course content and pedagogical practices. Participants who complete the workshop will receive $100 for the development of a module and identification of a plan for implementation of the module.
Applications are due by Wednesday, November 1, 5 pm.
Location: 109 B Halle or on Zoom
Date/Time: Friday, October 20 / 11am
Please join us for this session, hosted by Eric Hemenway, Director of Repatriation, Archives and Records for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, that will help educators weave in native history into the classroom, with examples of primary sources, topics and historical events that have significant native participation. The focus will be on the Anishnaabek of Michigan. Eric Hemenway, an Anishinaabe/Odawa, is Director of Repatriation, Archives, and Records for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians of Waganakising—The Land of the Crooked Tree—located in the northwest portion of the lower peninsula of Michigan. He has a lifelong involvement in researching Odawa history.
Location: 109B Halle and on Zoom
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 18 / 9:30-11am
Neurodiverse students are increasingly enrolling in our college, but they continue to face barriers and challenges on campus. Join us for a seminar that focuses on inclusive resources to meet a wide range of needs in relation to neurodiversity- Autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and other cognitive and emotional differences in the university setting. This seminar will be facilitated by Dr. Sally Burton-Hoyle, who has developed both graduate and undergraduate programs in Autism Spectrum Disorders at Eastern Michigan University. She also founded the College Supports Program at EMU. Click here for our website with more information.
Location: 109 B Halle or on Zoom
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 25 / 12:30-1:30pm
Eastern Michigan University provides multiple resources to LGBTQIA+ students and community members. While these are extremely helpful, we also believe that faculty need to grow their knowledge on LGBTQIA+ issues to make their classroom inclusive to all. Join our new coordinator of the LGBT Resource Center, Emma Wuetrich, for discussion on LGBTQIA+ topics on our campus and for a light soup lunch. This will be a roundtable to dialogue about our queer students and what allyship looks like in and outside the classroom.
If you are unable to attend, but would like to receive updates on future events of similar nature, please still complete the registration form to let us know.
Location: 109 B Halle
Date/Times:
- Thursday, October 12 / 3:30pm - Information session (Also on Zoom)
- Monday, October 23 / 3:30pm - Workshop #1
- Thursday, October 26 / 3:30pm - Workshop #2
Are grant proposal rejections getting you down? Ninety percent of faculty who come to these sessions receive the award, because they get up-to-date information on writing a successful proposal and get important feedback on how their proposals will be reviewed by a general academic audience. Join Alexis Braun Marks and Natalie Dove in this workshop aimed at informing participants on the application process and strategies for writing a proposal, and providing feedback on current applications!
Summer Research Awards are Due on October 31st, 2023
Engage@emu grants over $10k for community-based learning projects
Engage@EMU, through the AS-L program, has just granted over $10,000 for Community-Based Learning projects that will be completed by May 2024. Eight faculty members will lead projects in various disciplines that will enrich students' EMU experience and help the surrounding community.
The projects include:
In a Different Key - Movie Screening & Community Discussion
A collaborative Ypsilanti-EMU screening of the movie In a Different Key: A True Story of Love, Autism, and the Fight to Belong on the EMU campus. A town-hall-style discussion will be facilitated following the screening of the movie. The film is an inspiring and candid portrayal of autism that sparks honest conversations and promotes understanding. At its heart, it is a story about the importance of community and belonging.
Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement in Ypsilanti
Via the optional Fall ‘23 course CRM 431 Policing in Society, students will have the opportunity to work alongside a faculty member conducting a community-engaged research project in Ypsilanti funded by the National Science Foundation. Students will attend public meetings of Ypsilanti's Police Advisory Committee (YPAC) and then discuss projects that can mobilize their observations to serve articulated community challenges.
Celebrating Linguistic Diversity: Learning and Building Community
A series of events designed to raise awareness and facilitate conversation about linguistic diversity. The series will provide opportunities to create and strengthen ties between students, staff, and faculty from diverse disciplines and members of the broader community. The project will also spotlight the documentary Signing Black in America in a screening and discussion event.
Building Capacity for Place-Based Education at Eastern Michigan University
Undergraduate students and teacher mentors in surrounding school districts have been funded to participate in Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative's Place-Based Education conference in Grand Rapids, Nov. 9-11. Attendance will enable teachers who are entering the field to build their professional networks, increase their sense of efficacy in using AS-L and PBE approaches, and learn from other practitioners across the state and nation.
Engaging Detroit’s East Side to Preserve Civil Rights Heritage
EMU preservation students have been working over the past two years to identify, designate, and preserve places related to Black civil rights heritage on Detroit’s east side, including homes associated with Sarah Elizabeth Ray, Gladys Mitchell Sweet, and Malcolm X. This project would help the program to engage with community organizations and individuals, such as the Detroit Black Historic Sites Committee and historically Black east side neighborhoods.
Integrating Wellbeing in an Afterschool Program for English Learners
Over the years, the TESOL program offered a traditional afterschool program at Estabrook Elementary funded by a Federal grant. The project was so successful that even after the grant closed, YCS found resources to pay for buses and the EL (English Language) teacher supervising the program. Through this grant, TESOL will be able to offer this program in collaboration with Growing Hope in an attempt to increase the wellbeing of the participating ELs and preservice teachers.
"Enlighten U" Podcast
Enlighten U is a polished and professional conversational video podcast recorded monthly on EMU’s campus. Limited to 30-40 minutes, it is hosted by Public Relations Professor Lolita Cummings and Exec. Director of Media Relations and Social Media Melissa Thrasher. Cummings and Thrasher host a changing EMU mental health guest professional and a changing EMU guest student or alum. The grant will provide the podcast with a regular student intern.
ESL Open Tutoring
As an Academic-Service Learning course, TSLN325W integrates community service with academic learning to enrich students' learning experiences and enhance academic learning outcomes while addressing the critical needs of English language learners (ELLs) in the local community. In partnership with Washtenaw Literacy, this course will provide three-hour ESL Open Tutoring training to prepare students for community engagement.
TJ Combs (left), Raven Wood (third from left), Anya Fuller (second from right), Mya Snyder (right)
EMU MAGIC Stars Attend Annual Fostering Futures Scholarship Dinner
Three EMU MAGIC Star Students, TJ Combs, Anya Fuller, and Mya Snyder attended the Annual Fostering Futures Scholarship Dinner. This year it was held on Thursday, Sept 21 at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Students had to submit a picture and a testimonial about how MAGIC and receiving the Fostering Futures scholarship has helped them in their college journey. These three students were recognized during the event with their names listed on the presentation Power Point and in the program booklet.
TJ Combs, Mya Snyder, and Anya Fuller
The Annual Fostering Futures Scholarship Dinner promotes the Fostering Futures Scholarship (FFS), a trust fund that provides scholarships to students who have experienced foster care in Michigan on or after age 13. Since 2012, fundraising efforts have totaled over $1,300,000; all of which were awarded as scholarships in the year they were raised.
The students were able to experience a mixer, have a full course meal, and hear a speech from the Keynote speaker, Brenda Lawrence (Former U.S. Congresswoman). They also were able to meet Carolyn Clifford (WXYZ-TV).
Anya Fuller and Mya Snyder
EMU’s Mentorship, Access, and Guidance in College (MAGIC) program goals dovetail with the goals of FFS. MAGIC is a campus-based support program helps students who have experienced foster care graduate from college, by removing barriers that interfere with academic success and the process of becoming an interdependent adult.
For more information about MAGIC, visit their FAQ or contact MAGIC Success Coach Raven Wood.
Institutional Priority #4
Institutional Effectiveness
Two CHHS Faculty Speak at the Michigan House of Representatives
Dr. Christina Topolewski
Dr. Annemarie Kelly
On September 19th, CHHS faculty Dr. Christina Topolewski and Dr. Annemarie Kelly testified before the Michigan House of Representatives Committee in support for a new state law to protect vulnerable adults in Michigan’s adult foster care facilities against abuse.
Kelly and Marsack-Topolewski spoke in support of House Bill 4841, which seeks to create enhanced standards to protect the health and well-being of adults living in foster care facilities. If passed into law, the bill will create more detailed protections against caregiver abuse, improve employee training standards, and foster transparency in processing reports of abuse. The bill also protects against retaliation for whistleblowers who speak up about abuse concerns.
Read the full story on EMU Today
Join the Student Mental Health Taskforce: Building a Community of Caring
President Jim Smith and Provost Rhonda Longworth are pleased to announce the formation of a joint taskforce with the Faculty Senate focused on student mental health: Building a Community of Caring. This task force will be partnering with The JED Foundation and will be led by Dr. Ron Flowers from the Department of Leadership and Counsel.
The Faculty Senate has issued a call for faculty membership and will begin its work winter semester. Focusing on student mental health and wellness is important for the social, educational, and financial well-being of our students, our campus community, and the broader society.
For more information visit the FDC website or contact Dr. Ron Flowers.
Dr. Ann Blakeslee Published in Writing Beyond the University
Dr. Ann Blakeslee has contributed to Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning’s open access book Writing Beyond the University: Preparing Lifelong Learners for Lifewide Writing. The collection introduces higher education faculty, staff, and administrators to research on how all members of a campus community can prepare learners to be effective writers beyond the university, in personal, professional, and civic contexts.
Dr. Blakeslee’s chapter, “Navigating Workplace Writing as a New Professional: The Roles of Workplace Environment, Writerly Identity, and Mentoring and Support,” is a meaningful, high-quality contribution to this edited collection, which explores how colleges and universities can prepare students to write in personal, professional, and civic contexts across their lifetime.
Dr. Blakeslee also participated in the Center’s 2019-2021 research seminar on writing beyond the university, contributing to international, multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary research on lifelong and lifewide writing.
Dr. Ann Blakeslee
Dr. Kimberly J. Brown
Kimberly Brown Appointed New Director of McNair Scholars Program
The Honors college and McNair Scholars are excited to announce that Dr. Kimberly J. Brown has been named as the new director for the McNair Scholars Program at EMU. While Dr. Brown is new to the director position, she has worked in the program in various capacities for the past 15 years, and is also a three-time EMU alumna and Ypsilanti native.
Known for her passionate dedication to the scholars in the McNair program, Dr. Brown will spearhead this federally-funded program designed to assist students in their journey through higher education. The McNair Scholars program supports 36 EMU students ranging from first-generation to low-income or from backgrounds underrepresented in higher education.
The McNair Scholars Program is currently recruiting sophomores and juniors for the 2023-24 academic year. Students who are interested in learning more and faculty who wish to nominate a student can contact Dr. Brown at kbrown4@emich.edu.
Dr. Zuzana Tomaš Selected as MITESOL 2022's Best Session
The MITESOL Board is proud to submit "Effective pedagogy for newcomers: Toward an access-asset approach", a workshop session by Dr. Zuzana Tomaš, for the TESOL 2024 Best of Affiliates sessions. Dr. Tomaš' session at MITESOL 2022 received wide acclaim from members.
We'll be sure to update you before March on whether the session is being recognized by TESOL International as a Best of Affiliates!
Dr. Zuzana Tomaš is an alumna of Matej Bel University and a Professor of ESL/TESOL at Eastern Michigan University where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in TESOL and ESL and facilitates the Academic Service-Learning (AS-L) seminar for faculty fellows. Dr. Tomaš is also a Fulbright scholar who has presented her work in numerous national and international conferences and conducted teacher professional development workshops in eight countries. Dr. Tomaš’ scholarly interests are in multilingual literacy pedagogy, service-learning, global citizenship, and teacher education. She is a co-author of three books and numerous articles and book chapters on these topics.
Dr. Zuzana Tomaš
Prepared by: Andi Pontiff & Karen Peacock
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Academic and Student Affairs