Category Archives: EMU Branding

Kicking off EMU’s continuous improvement program

Posted on February 16, 2010 by | Leave a comment

CI green making better
My colleague and friend Jessica “Decky” Alexander sent me this yesterday, and I thought it was something good to post here:

Dear EMU Community,

EMU and You. Making it better. Continuously.

What are you making better?  EMU is filled with stories where someone has improved the quality of life, and learning. Tell your story.  Share how you or someone you know is making better the University, the community, students, classmates, colleagues, departments, disciplines, our spaces or places.

Know a colleague or friend who has a story?  Please forward their name and email and we can contact them, or simply forward our site: www.emich.edu/better

The Continuous Story Project is part of EMU’s Continuous Improvement movement and is supported by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability’s  (IEA) Continuous Improvement Program.  You are going to hear more about IEA in the near future, but first we want to hear from you.

We will be using your stories in a variety of ways, (video, in art, in print) none without your permission.  To share your story email us at making.better@emich.edu

You can also check out our webpage: www.emich.edu/better for constant updates and stories  from our EMU community.

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Posted in College Fun, EMU Branding

EMU names Walter Kraft as VP of Communications

Posted on July 14, 2009 by | 3 Comments

Eastern Michigan University names Kraft vice president for communications

Via email from Pam Young:

YPSILANTI – Eastern Michigan University has named Walter Kraft as its new vice president for communications, pending approval by the Board of Regents. The appointment is effective August 10, 2009.

More after the break. To be honest, I don’t know enough about all this to know how I feel about it. I am always a little dubious of people coming into these kinds of positions from the “real world” instead of academia, but I guess I’ll give this person the benefit of doubt.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Administrator Life, EMU Branding

I kinda like a parade (and does anyone want to be in it next year?)

Posted on July 4, 2009 by | 5 Comments

But I didn’t love it this year– and by “it,” I mean the annual July 4 parade. I thought it was a little on the short-side, it featured too many cars with no decoration or indication at all why they were in the parade (perhaps they just got stuck in traffic), and it had too many church groups. As I overheard one person saying, “When did the Fourth of July become a religious holiday?”

A few images:

Right back at ya, Elvis
It’s as if Elvis were posing just for me! (Note the EMU construction in the background.)

Ypsilanti Underwear Shipped Worldwide

Apparently, this was an industry of sorts in Ypsilanti back in the day. Now that the auto industry has cleared out, perhaps we can rise in the underwear business again.

And then there’s this, which I think was about the weirdest float of the day:

This was a float for a church group of some sort, and the theme was Jesus/God as carpenter and also something about “building for the future and our children.” But all I saw was that rather disturbing hammer march scene in Pink Floyd’s The Wall (watch all of this on YouTube or skip ahead to about the 4 minute mark to see what I mean). My guess is that this particular group of church goers missed that movie.

Anyway, not to rehash stuff that came up last year about this time, but once again, there was no EMU presence in the parade– well, no direct presence. I am sure there were many people who are tied to EMU who were in the parade for other organizations/purposes. There are a lot of logistic reasons why the Heritage Day Parade is a little more workable for EMU schedules in terms of things like the band or athletic teams or whatever. Still, it’d be nice if EMU did something more than nothing.

So that got me to thinking: anybody interested in an EMUTalk.org float next year? Or maybe something a little broader than that, like Ypsi bloggers? Maynard, what do you think?

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Posted in College Fun, EMU Branding, EMU Images, EMUtalk.org News, Ypsilanti

EMU to Hold Casting Call for Football Poster and TV Commercial

Posted on June 8, 2009 by | 2 Comments

I got an email about this earlier, but didn’t see it until today, so sorry about the short notice. Basically, here’s a chance to be in an EMU football ad campaign with Ron English. Read below for the details, but if you’re available 10-11 am oops! noon that is– on Thursday, June 11, come on by Rynearson Stadium.
Continue reading →

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Posted in College Fun, EMU Branding, Sports

Go Emus! (Though I have to tell you I’m not crazy about the logo…)

Posted on June 2, 2009 by | 9 Comments

Go Emus!Imagine my joy when I came across this bit of news first thing this morning: “Eastern Michigan University faces controversy over antagonistic logo!” which was posted on PRLog, a “free press release” service.

A quote:

An Eastern Michigan University graduate, who goes only by “Eric”, has created an E.M.U. logo based on the bird of the same name. The eagle is Eastern’s official logo. But now a rival, bird, the Emu, is poised to take flight as Eastern’s unofficial logo.

Eastern’s original logo was a profile of a Huron Brave. When people found that logo offensive to American Indians, the logo was changed to an eagle. “Back then people found the eagle boring,” Eric says. “It was so obvious what fun an Emu would be.”

“Eric” has set up a web site for selling Emu stuff at http://thingsemu.com/

Of course, I admire the effort by Eric in all sorts of ways. But I have to say, that isn’t the logo I have imagined.

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Posted in College Fun, EMU Branding, Emus (the bird)

Dear woman who rudely cut me off in the student center parking lot because “I have to go to work:”

Posted on April 8, 2009 by | 11 Comments

I hope you got my note.

I was the guy pulling into a spot in the EMU Student Center parking lot this afternoon, fair and square, when you cut me off by going the wrong way and took it. My jaw appropriately dropped onto the steering wheel, I pulled up next to you, rolled down the window, and asked “are you serious?!” To which you got out of your car and announced “I have to go to work.”

Hey, we all have our bad days. Lord knows I have mine, and maybe you were having one of yours. I followed you in to see where you were working, but I’ll leave out what door I saw you go into. But I believe you were going to work. I understand. I too was going to work and I too was on a tight schedule, which is why I was parking in the guest lot. I was at the Student Center to meet some of my students and to go to the annual first year writing program’s “celebration of student writing.” But I don’t know, maybe it was more important for you to take the spot I was pulling into for some reason.

I thought what you did was super rude, but I don’t really care that much that you were rude to me. Like I said, I work here too, so being rude to me is not really that big of a deal– well, other than the fact that it’s not a good thing for co-workers to be rude to each other.

No, what I really care about is who you could have been rude to. See, this was in the guest parking lot at the EMU Student Center. I’m pretty sure that most (at least many) of the people who park in the Student Center guest parking lot are guests at EMU, and being rude to guests is never cool.

I mean, what if you had pulled this stunt with someone visiting EMU who was thinking about coming here in the Fall? What if it was a parent? What if it was an alum coming back to visit the new Student Center? What if it was one of the hundreds of people who had come to the ballroom for today’s “celebration of student writing?” Heck, what if it was someone who was interested in donating money to EMU? That wouldn’t be, good would it?

Anyway. No harm this time, but could you do me a favor and think a little more about this sort of thing next time? We’ve got enough image problems at EMU without trying to cut off potential guests to the school just in the name of a parking spot. Thanks for thinking and thanks for reading,

–Steve (aka, sitedad)

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Posted in Administrator Life, Buildings and Grounds, EMU Branding, EMU Events, EMU Fund Raising, EMU Images, Parking, Staff Life, Student Life

Naming the new EMU email system: we can do better, EMUTalk folks!

Posted on August 11, 2008 by | 4 Comments

Like everyone else (I guess?), I received this email today from Pam Young:

“Have Your Say: Help EMU name its new e-mail system”

As announced in May, EMU will introduce a new system for e-mail, calendaring and collaboration beginning in October 2008. The e-mail component will be implemented October 3, with the other components to follow in early 2009. (Complete information is here: www.emich.edu/email)

We would like to create an EMU name and graphic identity for the new system. Please visit this very brief survey to let us know what YOU think about a new name:

http://webstage.emich.edu/email_survey/

First off, I’ve got issues with this “as announced in May” bit.  I might be missing something, but isn’t this the first official notice we’ve seen about when the new email system is going to go online?  In fact, I’m pretty sure that this  July 14 EMUTalk.org post was the first time I had heard anything that looked even remotely official about when this new email system was going to come online.

But no matter.

My real issue here is the naming options available.  I think they are all pretty lame.

Continue reading →

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Posted in EMU Branding, EMU Technology

“Billboard could bring money” (but probably for too cheap a price)

Posted on July 28, 2008 by | 3 Comments

From Sunday’s AANews, “Billboard could bring money to city Council votes to lease space for 60-foot-tall digital sign at Huron exit.” From the story:

The Ypsilanti City Council voted July 15 to lease space to Adams Outdoor Advertising for a 60-foot-tall digital billboard at the Huron Street exit ramp off westbound I-94.

Adams wants to replace the existing sign at no cost to the city – an investment of more than $1 million, the company says. The city would get $35,000 in rent, about $5,000 in taxes and promotional-message time on the billboard.

The sign is currently owned by EMU, which is the connection here.

First off, I remember there being some debate about this topic last year on EMUTalk.org, but I can’t find where/when it was. Maybe I’m misremembering.

But second, the money doesn’t seem to add up to me. I have no idea what it costs to rent a billboard, but considering the prominent location of the current sign/future giant digital billboard, it seems like $35K a year is kind of on the low-end. And what is EMU getting out of this? Granted, the current sign isn’t much in the way of an advertisement, but will this billboard feature EMU ads in the mix of beer and soft drink ads?

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Posted in EMU Branding, EMU Images, 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

Ousted VP Janice Stroh spent $30,000 to refurbish her office, ECHO reports

Posted on April 16, 2008 by | 13 Comments

The lead story in today’s EASTERN ECHO reports that the recently fired Vice President Janice Stroh spent $30,084 to “refurnish and reupholser furniture” in her Welch Hall office.  Wow – she did that even as EMU cut spending on academics and student services.  That thirty grand could have meant something real for EMU students. 

I was in that office several times – once very early in Stroh’s tenure and several times with her predecessor, Steve Holda. It was, in my view, a very nice appointed office, in no need of expensive changes; when I was there to chat with VP Stroh about College Place, it seemed unchanged since Holda had left it, aside from some nice wall decorations.  Little did I know that Stroh had plans….unfortunately, none of them benefited the university.   (Isn’t there supposed to be some way of checking the appropriateness of purchases made by upper administration? Wasn’t that promised to Lansing in the aftermath of the University House fiasco?  Granted, $30K isn’t $6 million, but it’s still money misspent.)

Many of Stroh’s office purchases were made in June 2007, the ECHO reports, which was the same month she orchestrated, with the help of the College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean and associate deans, the elimination of funding for the History graduate assistantships.  That sum of money was about equal to what she spent on her office.

Gosh, didn’t she get the memo?  “Education First.”  Maybe she was still operating on the standard instructions of the Welch Hall gang — “Us First, Education be Damned!” 

The mystery remains why it took nearly a year after her expensive make over of her office to fire her.   What’s most brazen is that she’d whack the academic programs with cuts while engaging in egotistical purchases with public funds. 

Janice M. Stroh – what shameful conduct. 

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Posted in Academics, Budgets, EMU Branding, EMU President