Eastern Michigan University
October 23, 2023
Academic and Student Affairs
Provost Briefing
Institutional Priority #1
Promote Student Engagement and Success
Join the EMUSO as the annual, family-friendly Halloween Pops Concert returns!! This year, the concert will feature music from The Greatest Showman and The Dark Knight among other classical favorites. Bring the whole family...costumes are encouraged.
Cost: $$8.00 for adults; $5 for students 6-17 years old; children 5 and under are free
LBC Approved: Yes
Questions? Contact Chad Hutchinson
Institutional Priority #2
High Performing Academic Programs & Quality Research
Jessica Dietz (left) and Hannah Thuemmel with poster featuring art by Thuemmel, courtesy of CAS Newsletter
Art and Design Students Exhibit Work at the State Capitol
Three EMU students had their artwork displayed at Michigan’s annual Art in the Legislature display. Katherine Bullock, Jessica Dietz, and Hannah Thuemmel each had two pieces displayed, totaling six pieces among the many others displayed.
- Katherine Bullock is a sophomore majoring in printmaking. She is a resident of Detroit.
- Jessica Dietz is in the final year of the Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art, specializing in Photography. She is from Clawson, Mich.
- Hannah Thuemmel graduated earlier this year with a double major in Math and Art. Her hometowns are Ypsilanti and Port Austin.
See all six pieces as well as their descriptions on EMU Today.
Left to Right, Top to Bottom: “Improbable House” Katherine Bullock, “Transition” Hannah Thuemmel, “Pipes” Jessica Dietz, “A Blending of Worlds” Thuemmel
Michigan Historical Review awards two EMU students best graduate student papers in Michigan
Kyle Whitman
Carly Scarbrough
Every year, the Michigan Historical Review awards a prize to the best graduate student paper in Michigan. The winner receives $1000 and has their article published in the MHR. This year, EMU History MA student Kyle Whitman won the prize with his essay "'Indians just fish because it is their right to fish': Michigan Native Americans and the Battle for Fishing Rights." Whitman’s paper focuses on the American Indian Movement in Michigan and how the state’s tribes used fishing rights as a way to further their sovereignty.
EMU History MA student Carly Scarbrough came in second with her paper "'We Don't Go Anywhere': The Lives of Washtenaw Women during the Reign of the Ypsilanti Ripper." Scarbrough’s paper examines the role that gender and the sexual revolution played in the murders committed by John Norman Collins between 1967 and 1969. She is working to revise and resubmit her paper for publication.
Congratulations to both Kyle and Carly--and many thanks to Professor Mary-Elizabeth Murphy as both papers came out of her class HIST 601: Researching U.S. History.
Institutional Priority #3
Service and Engagement
Anne Shepherd and Jenna Thompson making observations of Roundtop Hill and the Sideling Hill Syncline on I-68 in Maryland.
Geology Students Survey the Appalachians
Students in the ESSC 466W Global Tectonics class spent Sept. 28-Oct. 1 exploring the rocks of the Appalachians in West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. ESSC 466W serves as the writing intensive, capstone course for EMU Geology majors. Students record notes and structural measurements in field books while learning about the tectonic evolution and variations in style of deformation in different regions of a mountain belt. Geology faculty Dr. Christine Clark and Dr. Hannah Blatchford led the trip.
Read more stories on the CAS Newsletter.
Upcoming Programs
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/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: The Student Center
Date/Time: Friday, December 1 / 8am-3:30pm
While faculty are clearly the content experts regarding what they teach, students have a unique perspective on their own learning. As such, when we consider how to most effectively teach and support students, it behooves us to listen to the learners, so we can learn from them and their expertise. This conference, hosted by the Faculty Development Center, will “Flip the Script” to empower the learners to become the teachers, and the teachers to become the learners. It offers all of us an opportunity to straddle both worlds, and to grow through that opportunity. Please join us! We invite you to gather with your fellow faculty members and attend this amazing opportunity for as much time as you are able!
Upcoming Proposals
Due Date: Monday, November 7
The eFellows program supports faculty and full-time lecturers in obtaining the resources needed to successfully pilot innovative technology-based projects that enhance student-focused instruction in courses and curriculum. The overall outcome of this program is to improve and enhance student learning and the scholarship of teaching through the integration of appropriate technology. The eFellows program is available through the collaboration between the Bruce K. Nelson Faculty Development Center, Faculty Senate, and the Division of IT. The program funding and coordination is administered by the Faculty Development Center.
Due Date: Friday, November 3 by 5pm
Many students at our school face hardships that can make it difficult to succeed in the classroom. At the FDC, we believe that if we make small adjustments to our teaching aimed at helping students build their strength and confidence, we will be able to focus more time on teaching course material. To this end, the Bruce K. Nelson Faculty Development Center and the Dean of Students Office, with support from the Department of Recreation and Intramurals (Rec/IM) and E|Dining, are pleased to offer mini-grants of up to $250 to support faculty, lecturers, and graduate teaching fellows who are interested in introducing practices that focus on supporting student wellness.
Due Date: Tuesday, November 14 by 5pm
Each semester, we seek proposals for sustained learning communities or seminars, or for a more involved series of workshops, or for hosting a significant one-time event (such as bringing in a prominent speaker). We award up to $5000 per program, which can include an honorarium for a facilitator or speaker, honoraria for participants, supplies, travel expenses, etc. This funding can enable you to make a meaningful commitment of time and resources, enabling participants to learn together, develop new skills, collaborate, and innovate.
Eligibility: All faculty, lecturers, and staff are eligible to submit a Program Request Form. Past recipients of this award are ineligible to be funded in two consecutive application cycles. Preference will be given to new proposals as opposed to those repeating past programs. Significant modifications of past programs will be treated as if they were new programs.
Institutional Priority #4
Institutional Effectiveness
Welcome Dr. Rui Chen to the EMU School of Engineering
We are very excited to welcome Dr. Rui Chen to the School of Engineering. Dr. Chen received her Ph. D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech and started at EMU this Fall 2023 as a tenure-track assistant professor.
Dr. Chen brings a unique set of expertise to the program in addition to adding to the diversity of our campus. She is planning to establish a rigorous research program in the area of flexible sensors/soft robotics. She also plans to use advanced 3D printers to develop materials and parts for her intended products and devices.
Very recently, Dr. Chen received a Fall 2023 James H. Brickley Faculty Professional Development and Innovation Award that will provide a kick-start to her innovative and important research.
Dr. Rui Chen
Rachelle Marshall
Welcome Rachelle Marshall as Administrative Secretary
The Department of Teacher Education is thrilled to have Rachelle Marshall join their team as the new Administrative Secretary. While she is not new to EMU, she is new to the department and they are very grateful for her expertise, compassion, and excellent problem-solving skills.
Rachelle is an EMU alum and current Ph.D. candidate who has served as a secretary at the university since 2014. When she is not working, reading, or writing, Rachelle enjoys playing soccer, doing photography, and exploring nature.
Prepared by: Andi Pontiff & Karen Peacock
734.487.3200
Office of the Provost
Academic and Student Affairs