2012 EMU Press Releases

7/29/2019 2012 EMU Press Releases

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJan. 11, 2012

Contact: Emily [email protected]

734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan to celebrate life and legacy of

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during annual celebration

YPSILANTI Eastern Michigan University will pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and

legacy during the annual MLK President's Luncheon Monday, Jan. 16, 2012.

Lani Guinier, a civil rights attorney and the first tenured African American woman professor atHarvard University Law School, will deliver the keynote before the luncheon starting at 10 a.m.

in the Student Center Ballroom.

The luncheon will start at 11:45 a.m. in the ballroom where there will be a presentation of the

2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Awards. Tickets are $10 for students and $20 for

faculty, staff and other community members.

MLK Day celebrations run Thursday, Jan. 12 through Tuesday, Jan. 17. Events for the

celebration include:

Jan. 12: Storytellers: Health Disparities, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., room 352 of the Student Center

Jan. 13: 11th Annual Color of Drums: When Believing is the Last Resort. Doors open at7 p.m., the show starts at 7:30 p.m. in Pease Auditorium

Jan. 13: MLK Lock-In for EMU Students, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., The Rec/IM

Jan. 14: "H2E" Student Talent Showcase and Scholarship Competition. Doors open at 6p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. in Pease Auditorium.

Jan. 16: MLK Breakfast, 7:45 a.m., room 300 of the Student Center

Jan. 16: Keynote Address, 10 a.m., Student Center Auditorium (with overflow in 310Student Center)

Jan. 16: Close-Up Theater Troupe presentation, 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., Student CenterAuditorium

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Alpha Phi Alpha March: 6-6:30 p.m., departing from the South entrance of the StudentCenter

Jan. 17, 2011: Book discussion of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s book, "The Strength of Love,"5 p.m., Student Center Auditorium

More activities will be added as the celebration draws closer.

Eastern Michigan University has a long and storied tradition of discourse, learning opportunities,

creative expression and community building in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For

more information, visit emich.edu/mlk.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFeb. 20, 2012


734.487.6895

New EMU bus route sees success ininaugural semester, giving

students and staff new parking alternatives

YPSILANTI A new bus route that allows Eastern Michigan University students, faculty andstaff to park at Rynearson Stadium and ride for free to campus served more than 32,000 riders

during its inaugural semester.

The new route, a collaboration between Eastern and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority,

was adopted to help students get to campus more easily without having to pay a parking fee.

Students and others can park their cars in the lot across from Rynearson Stadium, on Hewitt

Road, and then take the bus in without paying to park on campus.

The route, No. 34 in the AATA System schedule, is called the West Campus Shuttle.

Passengers are dropped of at Bowen Field House, Halle Library and the Village Residence Hall.

The new route was created to help ease the cost of parking for students, and offer further

options for commuters, said Walter Kraft, vice president of communications at Eastern. It

underscores our interest in helping students, and were happy with how many people used the

new route.

In addition to the new route, Eastern also introduced a new bus pass for students, faculty and

staff to utilize other AATA routes. More than 500 of the passes, which offer 30-day unlimited-

use, were sold during the fall semester. The passes cost $40, a 30-percent discount off the

standard $58 price.

The new bus route and pass program are part of Easterns efforts to embrace green initiativesand encourage students to drive less and utilize the AATA bus system.

For more information about the Eastern Michigan and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority

bus routes, please visit http://www.theride.org.

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734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan students test economicskills in the final round of the Fed Challenge

YPSILANTI Students from Eastern Michigan Universitys economics department took on the

Federal Reserve as they demonstrated their economic skills during the final round of the Fed

Challenge regional competition in Chicago.

The Fed Challenge requires a team of three to five students to provide a 20 to 30 minute

presentation on the current economic situation, said Raouf Hanna, head of the economics

department. This includes an outlook for future economic activity, and based on this, a

recommendation for monetary policy is made.

Representing Eastern were:

Edward Cruz: an actuarial mathematics major from Manchester, Mich.

Gregory Henry: an honors student majoring in finance and economics, from Parma,Ohio.

Daniel Routley: a pre-law student majoring in economics with a minor in political science,from Big Rapids, Mich.

Peter Torres: an international business major focused on economics with a secondmajor in Japanese Language and Culture. Peter is a graduate of Southgate AndersonHigh School in Southgate, Mich.

Jonathan Williams: a double major in economics and mathematics with a minor in

finance. He is from West Chicago, Ill.

Cullen Poasquesi-Hill served as an alternate. while Christy Okpo and Jeff Kennedy were

involved with competition preparation.

Teams were graded on their knowledge of the Federal Reserve and macroeconomics goals and

theory, their presentation and analysis of key measures of economic activity, and their overall

team performance.


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We finished fourth, however, only six points separated the first and fourth place teams. said

David Crary, an economics professor and the teams coach. Based on what we learned from

this years competition, we expect to have a significant shot at winning next years regional

competition and competing in the national level in Washington DC.

Other Michigan schools that participated in the regional competition were Albion College (this

year

s regional winner), Michigan State University, Grand Valley State University and theUniversity of Michigan.

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734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan professor receives grant to help

with breast cancer awareness in China and Taiwan

Tsu-Win Wu, a nursing professor at Eastern Michigan University, was recently awarded a

$134,552 grant that will help increase breast cancer awareness and screening for women in

China and Taiwan. The Susan G. Komen for a Cure Foundation awarded the grant.

Wus project, Take Care of Yourself and Help Others: Breast Health and Breast Cancer

Screening in China and Taiwan, will use trained lay health advisors to work with women in

underserved areas.

The number of Chinese women with breast cancer has surged by more than 20 percent. The

rates are even higher in major cities, said Wu. The increase is mainly due to Westernized

lifestyles as well as the cultural stigmas associated with cancer and the lack of breast health

knowledge and screening.

Wu will lead a staff from the Healthy Asian Americans Project (HAAP) and use the Lay Health

Advisors (LHA) model to recruit and train medical professionals. The professionals will provide

services to breast cancer survivors and their families as well as enhance coordination and

delivery of breast health and breast cancer services.

During a 2008 sabbatical study, Wu discovered that 61 percent of Chinese women age 45 and

older and 48 percent of Taiwanese women never had a mammogram and/or ultrasound for

breast cancer screening.

Without cancer screening, more women are being diagnosed in the later stages with a 10-year

survival rate of less than 10 percent. Wu said that many women are diagnosed with breast

cancer at the late stages and have to face the illness alone.

The project has great potential for changing the outlook of effective cancer control in China and

Taiwan, said Wu. This project will increase awareness and promote screening among the

general public that increases the prognosis of breast cancer and improves the quality of life.

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734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan mock trial team on track for a successful,

winning season

YPSILANTI Students from Eastern Michigan Universitys mock trial team recently came away

with individual honors at the first annual Great Lakes Mock Trial invitational Tournament, held at

Easterns campus January 28 29.

Eastern students Emily Gillingham, from Pinckney, Mich., Christopher Knight, from West

Bloomfield, Mich., and Daniel Routley, from Ann Arbor, Mich. earned outstanding attorney

awards. Steven Hurbis, from Ann Arbor, and Gillingham won outstanding witness awards.

We did pretty well, said Gillingham, a senior who will be attending Michigan State Universitys

law school next fall. Mock trial has definitely helped prepare me for the future.

Participating in the tournament were 24 teams from 16 schools. Easterns teams placed third

and fifth overall, with records of 6-1-1 and 6-2.

Eastern mock trial students are dedicated to achieving a national ranking this year andattending the national championship round, said Mark Maironis, a professor of political science

and the tournaments director. They are constantly practicing, rehearsing and critiquing. That is

what makes one team better than the others.

The upcoming regional tournament is in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 24 25. If the Eastern teams

do well, they will travel to Hamilton, Ohio for the Opening Round Championship in March.

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734.487.6895

Gently used prom attire being collected

for local students in need

YPSILANTI Eastern Michigan University students are collecting prom dresses and other

formal wear to help students in local schools who are struggling to purchase clothing for their

upcoming proms.

Students Emily Gillingham, Courtney Restau, Susan White and Courtney Williams, from the

womens and gender studies program, are using their capstone seminar course as a community

outreach initiative to help local students in need.

The formal wear will be collected from March 5 through March 9, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the

Student Center across from Chase Bank. A donation box is also located in the Womens

Resource Center in room 356 of the Student Center.

Students will not be charged for the formal wear; instead they will be encouraged to donate

food, personal items and money to womens shelters. After delivery of the formal wear,

volunteers will be available to advise students on hair and makeup.

We are working with students at local schools who may or may not have the best living

situations and wont be able to afford new prom dresses or suits for their proms, said

Gillingham. We want to show these students that they can help others, too, though. We are

enabling them to do something good in return.

For more information, contact Emily Gillingham at [email protected].

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734.487.6895

National leaders to discuss activism in urban education

YPSILANTI - The 2012 Porter Lecture Series at Eastern Michigan University will kick off

Thursday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m., in Pease Auditorium. This years theme is Counternarratives:

Hear the Voices of Civic Activism in Urban Education. The program is presented by the John

W. Porter Distinguished Chair in Urban Education.

The opening program will feature Michelle Fine, professor for the Graduate Center at the City

University of New York (CUNY). Fine will explore critical science in revolting times.

Fine is a pioneer in youth participatory action research and professor of social psychology,

womens studies and urban education at CUNY. Her research includes working with youth and

elders from across different racial, ethnic and social classes to investigate dispossession and

critical resistance.

We hope to begin a discussion that asks hard questions, requires hard thought and demands

hard work, so that we can make a positive difference with our actions in and upon the world,

said Pamela Smith, series chair and professor in Easterns Department of Teacher Education.

Future speakers include:

Derrick Jensen, one of todays most vocal deep green activists and an award-winningauthor of Thought to Exist in the Wild, will speak Thursday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m., inPease Auditorium.

Suzanne Lacy, an internationally known artist, educator and writer, whose work focuseson social themes and urban issues, will speak Thursday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m., in PeaseAuditorium.

The John W. Porter Distinguished Chair in Urban Education is named in honor of John W.

Porter, former Eastern Michigan president and former State of Michigan superintendent of public

instruction. The Porter Lecture Series provides opportunities for students, faculty and the

community to interact with a variety of scholars. For more information, please visit

http://www.emich.edu/coe/porterchair.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 19, 2012


734.487.6895

One of Michigan largest Collegiate Job Fairs to bring

together students, alumni, employers March 23

Graduating seniors and alumni from area Michigan colleges and universities have a valuable

opportunity this month to meet with potential employers at the bi-annual Michigan Collegiate JobFair.

The job fair will be held Friday March 23, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Burton Manor, 27777 Schoolcraft

Rd. in Livonia. There is a $10 registration fee.

This is an excellent opportunity for all Michigan seniors and alumni to met with prospective

employers, said Ebony Jones, a senior corporate relations manager with Eastern Michigan

University. Employers will be looking to hire new graduates and alumni for entry-level

positions.

The fair, which is sponsored by Eastern Michigan University and supported by the MichiganCareer Educator & Employer Alliance (MCEEA), is one of the states largest and longest running

job fair events focusing on liberal arts, business and technology.

There are 134 companies and organizations scheduled to attend the job fair, including: Dow

Corning Corporation, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Quicken Loans, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney,

Valassis Communications, Takata Ramsoft Systems as well as many State of Michigan

departments and government agencies.

Last years fair drew 120 employers as well as more than 680 candidates.

We encourage candidates to dress appropriately and to bring their resumes, portfolios andother relevant information, said Jones.

For more information, call 734.487.0400 or visit http://www.mcjf.org.

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11/26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 11, 2012


734.487.6895

Expert finds school breakfasts can make a difference

YPSILANTI Everyone knows that a healthy breakfast is the best way to start your day off onthe right foot. However, most school-age children arent getting breakfast and Eastern Michigan

University professor Alice Jo Rainville is trying to change that.

Rainville, an expert in nutrition, is concluding case studies on five school districts in the U.S. that

have successfully used the in-school breakfast program. She was awarded a $60,132 grant

from the National Food Service Management Institute Applied Research Division to help with

the research and data collection.

The purpose of this study is to investigate effectiveness of in-classroom breakfast programs

and share the outcomes with school nutrition personnel, school administrators, teachers, school

staff, parents and researchers, said Rainville.

According to Rainvilles research, schools that offer in-classroom breakfast have experienced

dramatic increases in student participation, which leads to increased revenue from the

breakfasts.

Among her findings were:

A high school that served 50 breakfasts daily, led to an increase of 950 schoolbreakfasts per day.

A K-8 elementary school with in-classroom breakfast program earned $70,412 yearly inexcess revenue compared to a similar school that did not offer it ($29,813).

A middle school that began an in-classroom breakfast program in 2011 experienced adrop in disciplinary referrals from 377 in 2010 to 171 in 2011.

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In-classroom breakfast is important because it increases participation in breakfast, which

decreases hunger and helps children focus in the classroom as well as improve school culture

and have a positive impact on student behavior. said Rainville.

Rainville, who started her study in September 2011, has submitted her abstract to the School

Nutrition Association for its national conference this July.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 11, 2012


734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan gerontology professor named

2012 National Public Citizen of the Year by NASW

YPSILANTI Elizabeth Schuster, a professor at Eastern Michigan University, has been named

the 2012 Public Citizen of the Year by the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of

Social Workers.

To receive this recognition at this particular stage of my life is deeply moving, said Schuster. It

has provided me with the opportunity to pause and to reflect on my lifes journey and how it is

that I came to this very special moment. I will treasure this lovely moment for the rest of my life.

Schuster, who holds a doctorate degree in aging, joined Eastern in 1986 as a professor of

gerontology and social work. She has been the director of the gerontology program for 23 years

and the director of the undergraduate social work program for two years. The undergraduate

program is the largest in Michigan, and one of the largest in the country, with more than 700

students.

As an advocate for older adults, Schuster has established several programs to enrich and

improve the quality of life for older adults, including an intergenerational art program known as

the Traveling Young at Art. In addition, she has also created the Elderwise Learning in

Retirementand Elderquestprograms at Eastern, which create educational opportunities and

seek to involve the wisdom and experience of older generations at the University.

Working with older adults is the most rewarding, challenging and life changing work there is,

said Schuster. What other population teaches us how to adapt, how to cope, how to live a life of

dignity, and offers wisdom gleaned from decades of a life well lived?

The mission of the NASW-Michigan is to support, promote and advocate the professional socialwork practice, practitioners and the social work profession, to improve the quality of life for the

people of Michigan.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 4, 2012


734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan to host 2012 TESOL Academy

Eastern Michigan University will play host to a special group of professionals when the 2012

TESOL Academy is held June 22 to 23 at the Student Center. Teachers of English to Speakers

of Other Languages (TESOL) members will participate in intensive hands-on workshops led by

top leaders in the field.

TESOL seeks to advance professional expertise in English language teaching and learning forspeakers of other languages worldwide.

Registration for the conference is available on a first-come, first-served basis and costs $265 for

members and $390 for nonmembers.

Registration cost includes conference materials, refreshments and attendance certification. For

more information or to register please visit the TESOL Academy 2012 website, call

703.836.7864 or email at [email protected].

Easterns world languages program offers a masters degree in TESOL. The program is

committed to preparing individuals to teach English in a variety of local and international

settings. Currently, graduates of the program teach in more than 20 states across America as

well as more than 30 regions and countries across the globe.

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734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan professor elected to board of national

occupational therapy association

Amy Lamb, an assistant professor in the occupational therapy program at Eastern Michigan

University, was elected vice president for the American Occupational Therapy Association

(AOTA).

"I am honored to serve in this capacity," Lamb said. "I look forward to leading the strategic

planning of the Association and mobilizing my professional network to move occupational

therapy forward."

Lamb will serve as vice president through 2015 as an ambassador for occupational therapy

across the United States. She will help to bring awareness to the profession through education

and policy implementation in her new role.

"Our role in wellness and prevention is growing and this is an area I intend to focus a substantial

amount of time to," Lamb said. "Occupational therapists have the ability to teach people how to

age in place, live well with or without chronic conditions and work with people across thelifespan to live healthy lifestyles."

Lamb's interest in her new position was due in large part to the strategic planning duties that

would be involved. She has been involved in strategic planning and implementation throughout

her career - both in professional and volunteering capacities.

Said Lamb: "I have been fortunate to have a wide variety of experiences that have allowed me

to use my strategic planning abilities ranging from the clinic to business ownership and

development to academia."

Lamb has been part of AOTA since 1998 when she became directly impacted by the BalancedBudget Act of 1997. She lost her occupational therapy position because of legislation. As a

volunteer, she worked on advocacy efforts with AOTA staff and her involvement from then on

continued to grow.

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Lamb became the chair of the AOTA Political Action Committee in 2007 and has Region IV

director of the committee since 2005. She is also the chair of the wellness and prevention

subgroup of the presidential health care reform ad hoc committee.

"Service has been a key theme in my career," said Lamb. "I am grateful to good mentors who

saw something in me before I knew it was there and invited me to network, opened doors and

supported me along the way."

Lamb's dedication and passion for occupational therapy have driven her career and have

helped her become the leader and educator she is today, she says. Her leadership in AOTA has

given her insight into the profession that continues to help drive her.

"The next AOTA Vice President confidently lead the effort to answer the questions: where will

occupational therapy go after 2017?" Lamb said. "What an amazing opportunity to serve the

profession and ensure occupational therapy's vitality for future generations."

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734.487.6895

Eastern's Rec/IM club pool opens for Ypsilanti residents

Grab your goggles, Ypsilanti!

Eastern Michigan University is inviting Ypsilanti residents to enjoy the club pool at the Rec/IM

this summer at a discounted rate due to the closing of the city's Rutherford pool. The club pool

will be open to the public until the Rutherford pool is reopened in 2013.

The club pool at the Rec/IM is open Monday to Friday, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday

noon - 4 p.m. Cost will be $2 per person and kids under age of 16 will be required to have an

adult on site with them.

"Because the Rutherford pool closed, Ypsilanti residents had limited opportunities to swim in the

area," said Michelle Owens, an assistant director at the Rec/IM. "The Rec/IM strives to work

with the community and we wanted to be a good neighbor."

Learn to Swim classes are also available, for more information about the Learn to Swim

program, visit the Rec/IMLearn to Swim website.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 17, 2012

Contact: Emily Vontom

[email protected]

734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan Universitys Fashionality to host fifth

annual Fashion Week with promises of bold fashionLights! Camera! Fashion!

The Fifth Annual Fashionality Fashion Week is taking place October 8 11 at Eastern Michigan

University with promises of bigger, better and bolder fashion.

We want to let our presence be known and we want to uplift our campus community, said

Brittni Brown, president of Fashionality. Because of our hard work, dedication and our

supporters, we have brought more fashion and art to Eastern every fall.

This years theme, V, celebrates the hard work and dedication it takes to make fashion week a

success. Fashionality members are students interested in pursuing careers in fashion design,apparel and textile marketing, market, public relations and communications.

We are the first university in the state of Michigan that isnt a school of arts, design or fashion to

host a full fledge week dedicated to fashion, Brown said. Were a collective group of students

and alumni from Eastern that hold a love for all areas of art, not just fashion. We create our

fashion week to appeal to a wider audience every year.

This years events include:

Monday, Oct. 8: Miss Fashionality Pageant, 7:30 p.m., Student Center Auditorium

Tuesday, Oct. 9: Designer Showcase, 7 p.m., Student Center Ballroom B

Wednesday, Oct. 10: Masquerade Celebration, 7 p.m., Student Center room 300.Guests are encouraged to wear masks and semi-formal attire is required.

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Thursday, Oct. 11: V: The Runway Experience runway show, 8 p.m. in the StudentCenter ballroom. Nearly 60 men and women will model at the show. Tickets can bepurchased at the Eastern Michigan ticket box office or emutix.com. Tickets are $5 and

proceeds go to the Lupus Foundation of America (Michigan and Ohio Chapters).

This year is exciting because we have worked so hard the past four years to give fashion, art

and design a bigger name at Eastern, said Brown. For five years we have helped people

develop passions for things they now love. We have been planning for six months to give

people a chance to see that hard work does pay off, even for the love of fashion.

For more information, visit www.fashionalityemu.com or contact Brittni Brown at

[email protected] or 734.383.4285.

Fashionalitys mission is to inspire, motivate and stimulate a pattern of success in the creative

minds of students at Eastern Michigan University through all aspects of the world of fashion,while promoting academics, healthy living, confidence and self-awareness in the community.

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Sept. 17, 2012

Contact: Emily Vontom

[email protected]

734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan German program to celebrate

Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales during annual

German-American Day celebration, Oct. 1

The Department of World Languages at Eastern Michigan University will be hosting its 8th

Annual German-American Day on Monday, Oct. 1 from 4 to 7:30 p.m. in the Student Center.

Easterns celebration is one of many across the nation that will celebrate National German

Week October 1 7.

German-American Day was established as a way to celebrate and honor the 300th anniversary

of German-American immigration and culture in the United States, said Margrit Zinggeler, a

professor of German at Eastern. Easterns celebration is a platform for recognizing the many

contributions of Germans to the modern world.

This years theme, The Grimms Are In: Celebrating 200 Years of the Brothers Grimm FairyTales and their American Adaptations, will be the focus of German-American Day.

Since it is the Bicentennial of the first publication of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales this year,

the German program is collaborating with Halle Library, Zinggeler said. We will have an exhibit

on the Brothers Grimms publications that have been translated into over 160 languages.

In 1812, brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first collection of the Kinder- und

Hausmrchen (Childrens Household Tales), simply known as the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales.

The Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs introduced America to Grimms fairy tales

in 1937. American culture and the entertainment industry have been inspired by the stories eversince.

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There will be many activities during the celebration, including:

An opportunity to Skype with Dr. Sascha Feuchert, Easterns first honorary professorfrom the Justus Liebig University in Giessen (where Eastern students attend during theirstudy abroad experience).

Why are the Grimms In? presentation by Professor Margrit Zinggeler.

What is German Magic in Business? keynote presentation by Fred Hoffman, honoraryconsul of Germany.

Story telling with Eastern students studying German. The event will include games andprizes.

An authentic German fairy tale dinner that includes German baked potatoes with greensauce, German roasted chicken, Rapunzel salad, German bread, apple cider, applestrudel with vanilla sauce and coffee.

Our students and professors have organized a unique, interdisciplinary celebration, said

Zinggeler. This is always a very student-centered event.

The event is open to the public. For more information or to reserve a seat, please contact

Margrit Zinggeler at [email protected].

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOct. 3, 2012


734.487.6895

EMU guest scholar to discuss

1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in March 1911 was one of the deadliest industrial fires in

New York history. The fire killed 146 mostly Jewish girls and young women.

Pamela Nadell, a leading scholar of Jewish-American history, will explore the societal issuesthat arose from the fire during her presentation, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: Out of

Tragedy Comes Social Justice, Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Student Center ballroom.

The aftermath saw a coalition of men and women, from different backgrounds, classes, parties

and religions come together to change the way that American corporations do business.

Nadells lecture will explore the serious questions being asked about womens rights, ethnic

assimilation, the role of trade unions, and the function of social activism during this years

election cycle.

Nadell is the Patrick Clendenen Chair in Womens and Gender History at American University

and the 2010 recipient of the Lee Max Friedman Award from the American Jewish Historical

Society for distinguished service to the profession.

The lecture is made possible by the Association for Jewish Studies Distinguished Lectureship

Program. For more information, please contact [email protected].

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENov. 9, 2012


734.487.6895

Eastern Michigan University receives

National Endowment for the Arts

award for Open Book project

Eastern Michigan University has received its first National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) award

in more than 25 years.

Art professors Leslie Atzmon and Ryan Molloy were awarded $35,000 for their two-year projectto edit and design an exhibition catalog and run a series of experimental artists book workshops

that address the increasing concern about the future of the book.

This grant is an essential component of seeing the project through its infancy and into a stage

in which it becomes self-sustainable, Atzmon said. We want it to become a yearly summer

institute that produces novel thinking and visual work.

The project is a continuation of their 2010 Open Bookproject, and will feature essays on the

history and future of books as well as group discussions, and workshops at the Easterns Jean

Noble Parsons Center near Traverse City, Mich.

We will use funds to run two experimental book design workshops and to design, publish and

distribute an art-book quality book, said Atzmon. The book will be a catalog of Open Book, an

exhibition that Ryan and I co-curated in 2010, plus the pieces produced in our workshops and

seven scholarly essays on the history and future of the book.

The purpose of the project is to challenge the simplistic notion that mass produced traditional

books are rendered irrelevant and ultimately extinct by mass-reproduced digital books, says

Atzmon.

The exhibition and work of the participants in the workshop really pushes the boundaries of

what can be considered a book, whether physical or digital, said Molloy. The relationship to the

digital (book) is more symbolic than before.

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The first of two workshops was held in summer 2012 and the projects from the workshop were

exhibited in fall 2012. The second of two workshops will be held in summer 2012 with the

projects on display in the EMU Ford Gallery during fall 2013. To learn more about the Open

Bookproject, please visit http://www.openbookproject.com.

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Nov. 12, 2012

Contact: Debra Johnson

[email protected]

Emily Vontom

[email protected]

734.487.6895

EMU professor receives

Michigan Green Chemistry Governor's Award for 2012

A professor at Eastern Michigan University who developed sustainable alternatives within the

polymer and coating industries was recognized for his innovations during the Michigan Green

Chemistry and Engineering Conference, held October 26 in Detroit.

Vijay Mannari, a professor in the College of Technology at Eastern, was presented with the

Michigan Green Chemistry Governor's Award for 2012 (Governor's Award) for his research on

"Sustainable and advanced coatings materials based on soybean oil." Mannari was selected

from more than 50 nominations. The award was within the academic category.

"Professor Mannari showed that his technology provides a number of environmental benefits

compared to existing alternatives, according to the principles of green chemistry," said

Christopher Affeldt, pollution prevention program analyst at the Michigan Department of

Environmental Quality. "The technology can be used widely, including here in Michigan."

On behalf of Governor Rick Snyder, Dan Wyant, director of the Department of Environment

Quality (DEQ), presented the award to Mannari. The award is given annually by the Governor of

Michigan to promote excellence in innovation, economic development and public health risk

reduction by businesses and institutions.

"I am very honored to have received the Governor's Award and would like to acknowledge thecollaborative efforts of my entire research team at Eastern's Coating Research Institute," said

Mannari. "The award acknowledges the institute as an innovation leader."

The Governor's Award was established in 2009 by the Michigan Green Chemistry Roundtable to

recognize innovations in green chemistry as important milestones in celebrating Michigan's

success.

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Over the past several years, Mannari and his research group have developed soybean, oil-

based innovative materials that can replace petroleum-based coatings used in many industrial

polymers and coating products.

They are working with several leading companies within the polymer and coating industries to

help commercialize and bring these safer and sustainable products to consumers.

Development of sustainable materials from renewable resources is very important not only for

reducing our dependence on petroleum, but also for reducing our carbon footprint, said

Mannari.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Michigan Initiative for Innovation

and Entrepreneurship have funded the soy-based coatings research at Easterns Coatings

Research Institute. Mannari anticipates another grant from the USDA for $490,000 in the near

future.

I look forward to receiving our new grant that will further the development of more innovative

sustainable materials and create opportunities for students and preparing them for future

challenges, Mannari said.

For more information, please go to Easterns Coatings Research Institute homepage. For a

more detailed technical description about Mannaris work, go to Governors Award Winners

2012.

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Documents

2012 EMU Press Releases