Monthly Archives: May 2008

EMU men’s sports win fourth Reese trophy

Posted on May 30, 2008 by | Leave a comment

From a press release email sent around by Ward Mullens the other day:

The MAC announced Wednesday night (May 28) that EMU had captured the Reese Trophy which is awarded annually to the top overall men’s athletic program in the league.

and…

Eastern, which had won the Reese Trophy three previous times (1987-88, 1990-91, 1995-96), added its fourth overall men’s all-sports title this season. EMU also followed up last year’s record-breaking eight overall men’s and women’s MAC championships with four league regular-season titles and one MAC Tournament crown in 2007-08.

“Eastern Michigan University has one of the most comprehensive athletic programs in the Mid-American Conference, therefore, it takes a tremendous amount of time, effort and hard work to accomplish such a feat as winning the Reese Trophy,” EMU director of athletics Dr. Derrick Gragg said.  “I commend our coaches and student-athletes for this outstanding achievement.”

Congrats to all the student-athlete types!

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Posted in Sports

“Eastern Michigan University decides to keep dorm room closed where Laura Dickinson was slain”

Posted on May 29, 2008 by | 3 Comments

I suppose this makes sense: From the AANews, “Eastern Michigan University decides to keep dorm room closed where Laura Dickinson was slain.” Here’s a quote I thought was kind of interesting:

A renovated Hill Hall will reopen this fall, but Fitzgerald said he and other EMU officials decided not to open Room 518 because the memory of Dickinson’s death is too fresh.

“I think probably that wound is a little open, I guess. We chose not to” open it, he said.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do for a year from now. I think we’re going to have to talk about it.”

But the room was used earlier this month – one of four dorm rooms that displayed furniture during an event for staff and student leaders. In the rooms, potential vendors showcased products that might be used in the building this fall.
Fitzgerald called that a mistake.

The display was scheduled to last four days but was removed from Room 518 after a student leader realized it was Dickinson’s former room, Fitzgerald said.

One of the students quoted in the article said that it might make sense to keep the building closed for a couple of years. That might not be a bad idea either.

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Posted in Buildings and Grounds, Dickinson Murder, In the media...

It’s official: Tom Venner is the dean of CAS

Posted on May 28, 2008 by | 3 Comments

One of my colleagues voiced some surprise that I hadn’t posted the news that it is indeed official that Tom Venner will be the next Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.  I figured everyone already knew this, but what the heck, I’ll post it again.

I did find this kind of interesting though:  according to the official announcement, Venner is the first dean that comes from “the arts” in more than 50 years, and, as another colleague pointed out to me today, he’s the first one that has been from the humanities in general in a long long time.

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Posted in Academics, EMU Events

“Ypsilanti boasts trendy, cultural downtown”

Posted on May 28, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Ypsi city council member Bill Nickels wrote a rebuttal to an editorial that ran in the Detroit News a couple weeks ago (and which I talked about/linked to here), “Ypsilanti boasts trendy, cultural downtown.” I don’t know if the adjectives “trendy” and “thriving” are accurate, but I do agree that Ypsi is not nearly as “troubled” a place as is often depicted in the local media. Of course, that depiction in the local media is usually from that quaint town to the west and not from that truly scrappy and occasionally troubled city to the east.

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Posted in EMU President Search, In the media..., Ypsilanti

What about those banners?

Posted on May 28, 2008 by | 5 Comments

It’s been awfully quiet around here lately.  This is what spring/summer brings to the campus, not to mention that it’s been a bit of a “slow news” cycle around here.  Plus I’ve been awfully busy with my pesky day job of teaching and conference going and the like.

Anyway, I walked into my office today and I was thinking a bit about those hard to miss EMU “Education First” banners that are all over campus and town.  I think they are quite nice, a great addition to a very good marketing/imaging campaign about campus.

But I have to say it is a little weird to see the pictures of the buildings on those banners next to the actual buildings.  For example, I looked at the banner picture of an “ideal” and properly lit (presumably photo-shopped) of Pray-Harrold just as I was entering the gloomy cave “reality” of the building itself.  There’s something Platonic there I am sure.

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Posted in Buildings and Grounds, EMU Branding

“EMU 1, Gov: Zippo”

Posted on May 26, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Tim Skubick has some interesting observations about the EMU Presidential search on his blog, Skoop’s Blog, “EMU-1 Gov: Zippo.” Here’s a passage:

By going public with her endorsement of Flanagan, the governor put the board in a box. If they voted for him, it would look like the governor had “pressured” the board to make a decision.

That may have pleased the governor but might have been wrong for the university.

The fact is the EMU faculty wanted nothing to do with Flanagan who had neither a PhD nor any higher education experience to speak of. So from the get go, the governor should have know this was going to be a tough sell.

I think his assessment of the politics of all this are probably pretty accurate, and he goes on to say that “insiders” on the BoR were offended at the governor’s office strong-arm tactics. But it’s a little strong to say that the faculty wanted “nothing to do with Flanagan.” He was my first choice personally, and the voting/results reported from the faculty and union sessions suggested that the top two (maybe top three) candidates were pretty close. Interesting reading.

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Posted in EMU President Search, State Government

Yet another topic to discuss: “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower”

Posted on May 24, 2008 by | 5 Comments

I’m still away at the Computers and Writing Conference at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA.  There have been no R.E.M. sightings so far, but the conference has been quite good.

Anyway, another topic to discuss:  a frequent EMUTalk.org reader suggested I post a link to this article from The Atlantic Monthly, “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower” by the anonymous Professor X.  It is a piece in which he is lamenting the sad state of affairs of his mostly at-risk and under-prepared students in his first year English classes.  There was quite a bit of discussion about this piece on one of the professional mailing lists that I’m on, and the basic conclusion was that Professor X doesn’t really know what he’s doing as a teacher and/or doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

But like I said, discuss amongst yourselves….

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Posted in Academics, Faculty Life, In the media..., Student Life

While I’m away, I will give you a topic: Transparency needed at EMU

Posted on May 22, 2008 by | Leave a comment

I’m actually on the road this week to a conference in Georgia, so posting from me and comment approval will be a bit slower. But here’s something I am sure folks will want to read and contemplate: from the Ann Arbor Business Review (who knew there was such a thing?) and via Mlive.com, “In Our Opinion: Transparency needed at EMU.” Basically more advice for Martin, which might be boiled down to “tell the truth.”

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Posted in EMU President, In the media...

Drew Barrymore in Ypsi?

Posted on May 20, 2008 by | 3 Comments

This is not the usual fare for EMUTalk.org, but I heard a rumor from some fellow grade school parents/friends (and also read about it here) that Drew Barrymore was in downtown Ypsilanti today, supposedly scouting the location for a movie about roller derby girls (possibly this one, Whip It!) Any Drew sightings?

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Posted in Ypsilanti

Besides setting “a new tone,” what else should Martin do?

Posted on May 20, 2008 by | 3 Comments

Even though I subscribe to and actually read this past weekend the paper version of the Ann Arbor News, I missed this editorial suggesting that incoming EMU President Susan Martin ought to set a new tone– here’s a link to it. On the whole, I agree with the points this editorial makes, but this line kind of made me snicker: “Any leader of a public university needs to embrace the institution’s economic role. EMU, with its close ties to the financially struggling Ypsilanti, can make a huge difference in that city’s future.” Riiiight, Ypsi is struggling, especially relative to the thriving and obviously far superior kingdom of Ann Arbor. Never mind that business about Pfiizer packing up its tent and leaving, Borders warming up the bus to get out of town/out of business, real estate prices falling, etc.

I agree with the editorial in that hiring Martin has prompted a “collective sigh of relief” on campus, but sooner than later, she is actually going to have to do something. So, in the spirit of unsolicited advice that often characterizes EMUTalk.org, what do you think Martin should actually start to do as EMU’s president?

Here’s a few thoughts I have, based largely on the notes I took during the presentations from all of the candidates:
Continue reading →

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Posted in EMU President, EMU President Search