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Communication, Media & Theatre Arts

Alumni Chapter Newsletter

Newsletter Date: July 2013

Our Alumni Are Honored 

Con nuing a tradi on of recogni on of our CMTA alumni, three of our graduates were recognized during the 52nd Annual EMU Alumni Associa on Alumni Awards ceremony on May, 11. Not only was this the eighth consecu ve year in which our alumni were celebrated, it was the second me in six years that we had three alumni recognized at the event out of the seven EMU recipients. In all, 24 of our CMTA alumni have been recognized over the years of this pres gious event. This year’s recipients were Suzie Staley‐Schlo (’01, 04), John Rutherford (’95) and Annmarie (Mungo) Simonson (’82). Suzie was recognized in the Outstanding Young Alumna category for her volunteer work and youth advocacy efforts for the past 11 years. She does youth mentoring at The Henry Ford and Wayne‐Westland Schools. Suzie holds two CMTA degrees and is currently working on her Educa onal Leadership Specialist degree at Eastern.

John was recognized in the Alumnus Achievement category for his outstanding career in secondary educa on. He has received numerous awards while teaching wri ng and theater to over 15,000 students at Groves H.S. in Birmingham, Michigan. John is a Hall of Fame member of the Michigan Educa onal Theatre Associa on and most recently was chosen the Crea ve Wri ng Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Council for Teachers of English. Annmarie transferred to EMU in her junior year in order to par cipate on our highly‐successful Forensics team. She was part of two na onal championship teams and won her

own na onal championship in Persuasive Speaking in 1981. Chosen in the Alumna Achievement category, Annmarie’s con nual advocacy for EMU Forensics was noted, as was her success as Vice President of Enterprise Li ga on for USAA insurance. She is rated ‘AV Preeminent;’ the highest ra ng for ethical standards and legal ability. These three outstanding alumni were joined at the celebra on by more than twenty family members and friends from the CMTA department. Annmarie, John and Suzie: our hear elt respect, apprecia on and congratula ons for the people you are and how well you have represented CMTA and EMU for so many years.

John Rutherford, Suzie Staley‐Schlo and

Annmarie Simonson

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Sco Reynolds, ’95, came back to EMU in late April of this year as an honored guest in both Quirk and the Convoca on Center. While he didn’t find his way easily around a renovated and reconfigured campus he hasn’t seen for quite a while, he did find his way into the minds and hearts of many students, friends, faculty and alumni. Sco was chosen as the Commencement speaker at this year’s morning celebra on on April 28. He was chosen as an

alumnus who has succeeded greatly at his cra of television wri ng, having been a writer/producer for the very popular Show me television series Dexter. The day before commencement, Sco was kind enough to spend several hours with CMTA students, friends and faculty talking about his wri ng experiences and how he made it from Ypsilan to the glitz and glamor of California. In both his talk in Quirk and his speech in the filled Convoca on Center, Sco talked about the steps he took, the breaks he got, and the hard work he did to become successful in his television career. In his talk and his speech, Sco provided a

vision of what can be done when someone believes in himself and relentlessly pursues his passion. As such, Sco was prac cal, inspira onal and very engaging. See Sco : h p://www.emich.edu/video/video_subset.php?m=264 Congratula ons on your success, Sco . Come back to campus again soon!

Sco Reynolds Comes Home 

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CMTA Alumni Serve on the EMU Founda on

There is something about CMTA grads that propels them into the world of helping others. We see this all the me when we talk to our alumni. Several of our alumni have been very involved with the EMU Founda on; a very worthy use of their me and skills. The Founda on exists to raise money for the university in order to fund scholarships, support our programs and help

improve the campus. The EMU Founda on was created in 1989 by the EMU Regents, and is governed by an independent Board of Trustees that elects its own officers. All trustees serve as volunteers. In addi on to fundraising exclusively on behalf of EMU, the EMU Founda on manages the endowed assets of the University. Through investments and fundraising, the endowment had a market value of $51.4 million as of June 30, 2012.

Our endowment is composed of more than 650 individual accounts that are invested to produce income, which is distributed to EMU based on a percentage of the 12‐quarter average market value. The EMU Founda on also maintains a database containing approximately 150,000 alumni living in all states across the

United States as well as foreign na ons. Four CMTA alumni are currently on the Founda on Board of Trustees. Most recently elected is Molly Luempert‐Coy (’91). Brenda Alten (’88) came on the Board in 2007. Bud Schimmelpfenneg (’68) is an emeritus member who has served the Founda on for many years. In addi on, Patrick Barry, Jr. (’71, ’73), will serve as the EMU Alumni Associa on’s representa ve on the Board for the next two years. Leaving the Board in June was Dale Heydlauff (’78) who served with dis nc on for many years, including recently as the vice‐chair.

Molly Luempert‐Coy

Brenda (Dempsey) Alten

Bud Schimmelpfenneg

Patrick Barry Jr.

Dale Heydlauff

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Alumni Updates 

Steve Fekete, ’12, has just been accepted to graduate school in Los Angeles. He recently moved there and is looking for connec ons with any EMU/CMTA alumni in the area. If you wish to contact Steve, let us know and we’ll assist.

Dr. Brendan Kelly was recently ap‐pointed the Vice‐President for Ad‐vancement at the University of West Florida where he has been teaching, chairing the department and coaching forensics. Congratula ons, Brendan!

Jahmeel Powers is leaving next month for the Disney College Program where he will be studying and working from September ‐ January.

Dr. Joe Misiewicz is now

President and CEO of the Indiana Broadcasters Associa on. It was a pre y short ‘re rement’ for Joe!

Brenda (Dempsey) Alten, ’88, is currently the Director of Corporate Internal Communica ons for the J.M. Smucker Company in Orrville, Ohio. She has been with Smucker her en re career a er earning her MA from Miami University in 1989. She has held a variety of posi ons that u lize her communica ons background, including recrui ng, sales, marke ng, public rela ons and company spokesperson. Brenda is currently in her sixth year as an EMU Founda ons Board Trustee and assumes the chairmanship of the Trusteeship Commi ee and will be the Vice‐Chair of the Board star ng July 1.

Patrick J. Barry, Jr., ’71, ’73, was elected President‐Elect of the EMU Alumni Associa on in April. Pat will serve for the next six years as president‐elect, then president and then past‐president. Pat has been on the Board for six years during which he chaired the Recogni on and Awards commi ee for the past four years. Pat taught high school speech and English for 33 years and returned home to EMU to teach in the our department eight years ago. He helped found the CMTA Alumni Chapter, the university’s largest chapter, and has chaired it for the past eight years. Pat starts his 43rd year of teaching this fall and con nues to be excited to teach in the department that changed his life.

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John Capecci, Ph.D., is a communica on trainer and writer with over twenty years’ experience coaching, teaching and delivering public presenta ons and communica on training programs, as well as providing crea ve and professional wri ng services to a wide range of clients. With a background in communica on theory, performance and literature, John is co‐author (with Timothy Cage) of Living Proof: Telling Your Story to Make a Difference ‐ Essen al Skills for Advocates and Spokespersons.  This new text was released in March of this year.  (www.livingproofadvocacy.com). He is also co‐editor (with CMTA alumna Irene Ziegler) of a best‐selling series of monologue anthologies for actors and students. He has published essays on the use of personal narra ves for educa on and advocacy (most notably in the areas of HIV educa on and heart disease), presenta on skills training, narra ve technique and popular culture. John has developed and conducted custom training programs for health professionals and advocates, educators, spokespersons, senior execu ves, ar sts and museum professionals, designers, non‐profit leadership, and marke ng/pr agencies. His home base for his consultancy and training work is Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can learn more about John at www.capeccicom.com You can see a clip of John by going to h p://www.amazon.com/John‐Capecci/e/B004GONBDY.

Alumni Updates 

Dennis Cockrum has a co‐starring role in the movie Gangster Squad, which is currently available on DVD. He has a recurring role on the Show me series Shameless as character Terry Milkovich. Earlier this year, Dennis appeared in a Volkswagen commercial that aired on the Super Bowl pre‐game show. Dennis has had a role as a convict on The Mentalist (‘Red and Itchy’ episode) and was an auc oneer on Castle (‘Your Secret’s Safe with Me’ episode). In addi on to all his film and TV work, Dennis is teaching Fundamentals of Ac ng and Ac ng for the Camera at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California where CMTA alumnus Richard Strand is the Theatre Chair.

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Karen Germain worked in Detroit for 10 yeas in automo ve marke ng and strategy a er gradua ng from EMU. She then relocated to London to study and secured her MBA in Interna onal Strategy and Management. She went on to work for a UK government‐backed company focused on energy and climate change. Since that posi on, Karen has moved into a posi on at a London‐based consul ng firm where she leads consul ng prac ces with a focus on energy. Any ex‐pats living in London like to form an alumni chapter?

Alumni Updates 

Dan Mathis remains all ‘green and white’, but has moved his affilia on with those colors to East Lansing, Michigan. Dan received his undergraduate degree from EMU, which included a minor in Communica on. He then pursued his MA in Higher Educa on Administra on from MSU. Upon comple on of that degree, Dan returned to EMU as an Assistant Director of the EMU Alumni Associa on. Shortly a er returning here, he was promoted to Interim Execu ve Director of Alumni Rela ons. Dan served admirably in that role un l January of this year when he le EMU to assume the role of Director of Major Market Engagement at MSU; he leads alumni engagement ac vi es for the west side of Michigan and throughout the Midwest.

Lorraine McKnight, ’95, earned her degree in Communica on and Business and graduated with the knowledge that in order to do the career she really wished, she needed to earn an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, which she did in 1998, here at Eastern. Lorraine worked in sales‐related jobs for 15 years un l she applied for a career counseling posi on here at EMU. She has been helping students in our University Advising & Career Development for 13 years. Lorraine is now a Senior Career Coach and says that “when payday comes around, I think to myself ‘I can’t believe I get paid to do something that I love’.”

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Alumni Updates 

Whether you were an EMU Eagle or Huron, please drop us a line and

let us know what you are doing today! Your CMTA friends and

instructors would love to know!

Send your update to:  cmta_alumni@emich.edu

ALUMNI CONNECTION

Robin No earned his MA in Developmental Drama/Theatre For The Young in 1984. He created The Performing Arts Company, an educa onal and community theatre program within the Gull Lake Community Schools, in 1987. He con nues with the Company today as its Director. He and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters, both of whom are aspiring educators.

Claudia Wier was accepted into the PhD program at Canada’s York University as an interna onal student in the fall, 2012. She earned a pres gious Trillium Scholarship, which pays tui on and $40,000 (Canadian) for each of her four years in the program. She is currently in Venice, Italy, looking in archives for informa on on the 16th century commedia dell’arte actors involved in the commercial opera produc ons there. She also just received an American Society for Theatre Research award to provide funding for her current research in Venice.

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CMTA Department News CMTA Supports the Heart Walk

Several CMTA students, friends, faculty and alumni par cipated in this year’s Washtenaw County Heart Walk in order to raise funds for healthy hearts. The event was held at Washtenaw Community College and was heavily supported by EMU. CMTA walkers were part of the Team College of Arts and Sciences. May 19th dawned bright and crisp and perfect for such an event. EMU dignitaries began the event and were supported by several of our theater students who sang the Na onal Anthem. It was a good day for the walkers, the event, and hopefully, those who will benefit from their interest and dedica on.

Most Valuable Professors Honored by the Men’s Basketball Team!

Congratula ons Jenny Koppera!

She has been selected as the US representa ve to the ASSITEJ Interna onal

Directors’ Seminar in Germany this summer!

The seminar will take place from July 1st‐6th in conjunc on with

TheatreGrueneSosse (www.theatergruenesosse.de) and is designed for

approximately 25 par cipants (20 selected globally & 5 from Germany)

Congratulations Tori!

MFA student and graduate assistant in the Office of Academic Service‐Learning

Tori Tomalia has received

this year's Ron Collins Graduate Assistant Awards. The Ronald W. Collins

Award recognizes exemplary scholarly and/or crea ve ac vity in a graduate

student assistant and is awarded yearly. This year's presenta on was at the

Graduate Research Fair recep on at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 18th.

Dr. Doris Fields Ray Quiel Dr. Chris ne Tanner

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CMTA Department News On Thursday, January 31, Jack Kay served as respondent for the Wayne

State University Humani es Center Marilyn Williamson Endowed

Dis nguished Faculty Fellowship Inaugural Presenta on. He cri qued the

work of English Professor RIchard Marback on "Appeals to uBuntu and the

Ambi on for Jus ce." Jack discussed his own work on uBuntu and his

interviews with South Africa Truth and Reconcilia on Commission members

and cri cs

Jack Kay is publishing a public blog that focuses on poli cal bu ons as a way

of learning about the history and communica on strategies of poli cal

elec on campaigns. Recent entries include "President Obama's Birth

Cer ficate," "Wooden Nickels and LBJ," and "It's a Dog‐Eat‐Dog Campaign:

Romney/Obama 2012." The blog can be visited at h p://

poli calelec onbu ons.com/

Congratula ons Doris! 

Doris is the recipient of the Ronald W. Collins Dis nguished 

Faculty Award for Teaching II 

h p://www.emich.edu/video/video_subset.php?m=259 

Congratula ons Sadaf!

On co‐authoring a paper tled: “Searching, sharing, acting: How audiences assess and respond to social media messages about

hazards.” The paper has been accepted for publica on by the

Interna onal Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters.

Also her paper: “The gendering of mobile technology in South

Asia: Examining how mobile phones are used by women/girls

in rural Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India”, has been accepted

for presenta on at the ICA 2013 conference in London:

“Challenging Communica on Research.”

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  CMTA Department News 

TEDxEMU 2013

Don Ritzenhein presented a talk at the March 15

TEDxEMU event in Quirk Theatre. His talk was

en tled, "Let's design college classrooms for

student learning and not just for teachers

talking". He advocated redesigning standard

classrooms for more flexibility and ac ve

learning.

Congratula ons Phil

Simmons and Ryan Lewis!

Their produc on of A Li le Night Music has

been named “one of the top three musicals

for 2012” by annarbor.com/jennmckee.

Also involved in this produc on were John

Seibert and Leslie Hull, as well as several EMU

Theatre Alums that assisted with design and

running crews.

The Center for the Study of Equality and Human Rights

presented a Pubic Forum Titled "Media & LGBT

Visibility: The Changing Landscape of Representa on

and Equality" on Monday, March 11. The Panel was comprised of:

Garre Glaser (The first out na onal broadcast journalist) Max

Gou ebroze (GLAAD Entertainment Media Strategist), and Dr.

MaryAnn Watson (EMU Media Scholar and CMTA

Professor). For more informa on about the Media Forum,

upcoming events or the Center, please follow us on Facebook

(/CSEHR.emu), Twi er (CSEHR_emu) or visit our web page at

www.emich.edu/equality.

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Professors Kindred and Rich are Recognized CMTA faculty Jeanne e Kindred and Anita Rich were recognized by the EMU Office of Academic Service‐Learning and The Nonprofit Leadership Alliance Program at their year‐end celebra on at the EMU Lake House on April 19. These two organiza ons work to improve the lives of students and community members in the Ypsilan region through volunteer work.

Professor Kindred, a CMTA alumna, was recognized by hosts CMTA professor Decky Alexander and Claudia Petrescu with the AS‐L Community/University Collabora on Award. Professor Rich was presented with the Dale Rice Award for Outstanding AS‐L Community Partnership for her leadership of the Six Figures Playback troupe and their work with the inmates of the Woodland Center Correc onal Facility. Congratula ons to these outstanding women for their work in be ering the lives of others!

CMTA Department News 

Dr. Jeanne e Kindred

Dr. Anita Rich

2013‐14 EMU Theatre Season Preview 

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Directed by Pirooz Aghssa

THE GRAVEDIGGER: A FRANKENSTEIN PLAY

Directed by Joseph Ze elmaier

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER

Directed by Chris ne Tanner

THE SHAPE OF THINGS Directed by Terry Heck‐Seibert

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Directed by Meriah Sage

SYLVIA Directed by Ken Stevens

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2013 EMU Theatre Season Concludes 

Another outstanding sea‐

son of EMU Theatre con‐

cluded in June with Honk!,

directed by Ken Stevens.

This lively musical was

about an op mis c

duckling and his

adventures in the barnyard

and beyond. Based on the

Hans Chris an Andersen’s

The Ugly Duckling, the play

presented a strong,

posi ve message in a

deligh ul manner to an

audience of all ages. Learn

more about the play:

h p://www.youtube.com/

watch?

v=uWHqlCWL6bo&feature

=youtu.be

Just two months before,

Wallace Bridges directed

Wedding Band: A Love/

Hate Story in Black in

White. The play was set in

1918 in South Carolina

where two people are in

love against all odds. Due

to laws prohibi ng

interracial marriage, two

lovers suffer the

consequences from the

community. While

exploring the themes of

racism and violence, this

love story was both

moving and inspiring. You

can see a clip at:

h p://www.emich.edu/

video/index.php?

id=P262_recent

In February, Pirooz Aghssa

began this season by

direc ng Urinetown, a

musical sa re which not

only comments on the

legal system and corporate

mismanagement, but also

the form of the Broadway

musical. It was observant,

hilarious and poignant.

You can see a clip at:

h p://www.emich.edu/

video/index.php?

id=P253_recent

Congratula ons to the pro‐

ducers, directors, actors,

musicians and crew for

another season of

outstanding theatre.

Bravo!

The Curtain Comes Down on Another Season of EMU Theatre 

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CMTA Department News 

For someone who wanted to quietly slip away when he re red, Professor Henry Aldridge went out in quite the grand fashion, much to the admira on and apprecia on by dozens of people who were happy to celebrate such a dis nguished career. On Thursday, May 2, friends, faculty and students gathered at the Michigan Theatre to celebrate Henry’s 39 years of exemplary teaching and service to the university. Stories, funny and serious ‐‐ but all sincere ‐‐ were told by many speakers. Those who know Henry will tell you about his love of film and his willingness to share

it with his thousands of students over nearly four decades of teaching. Students learned to love film because Henry loved film and successfully cul vated that passion in them. They learned not only in the classroom, but also on trips around the country and Europe.

Henry was an ‘old school’ teacher who believed in doing things the right way, including wearing a e and jacket to class. This formality in today’s casual culture did nothing to alienate him from his students. In fact, he was nominated by many of his former students and

received an EMU Alumni Associa on Teaching Excellence Award in 2007. Those who know Henry know of his other passion in life: playing the organ. Henry was instrumental in the refurbishing of the Michigan Theatre and it’s spectacular organ several years ago. Thousands of theatre patrons have enjoyed the theatre, the organ and Henry’s playing for many years. Henry plans to con nue to play long into his re rement. We thank Professor Aldridge for his enormous contribu on to lives of our CMTA and EMU students. Best wishes for many more years of happiness in film and music, Henry.

Professor Henry Aldridge Re res 

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Michael Marion Moves On It will be strange to walk into the Forensics Office and not see the smiling face of Assistant Forensics Team Director Michael Marion next year. It will likely be strange for Michael, as well, because he came to EMU as a student in 2001 and never le . During that me, Michael was a championship forensicator, earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and successfully helped dozens of our students reach their poten al as compe tors. And as a teacher of public speaking in the department, Michael helped hundreds of students overcome their fear of speaking and gain the skills necessary to succeed in life. Michael has taken a posi on with Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital as a supervisor in the grant wri ng program. A new posi on and a new residence are not the only new things in Michael’s life. He just recently announced to the world that he is engaged to be married. We are sad to lose Michael, not only for his skills as a coach and a teacher, but also because we will miss seeing his smiling face. But we are so happy for these posi ve changes in his life. Best wishes, Michael!

CMTA Department News 

Forensics Team Captures 4th Place at Na onals Another season, another Top Ten finish. In a story that never grows old, the 2012‐13 Forensics Team again celebrated a very successful season with it’s highest finish in the last several years at the Na onal Forensics Associa on championship. Traveling to Marshall University, the team took more than 20 compe tors and it paid off with a 4th place team finish. The team had an inkling of good things to come when they took only six team members to the American Forensics Associa on championship a few weeks before and came home with 11th place.

The top finisher for EMU was junior Patrick Seick who placed 2nd in A er Dinner Speaking,

4th in Impromptu and 5th in Extemporaneous Speaking. Patrick’s high finishes alone did not take the team to such a high finish. Many of our forensicators successfully made it to the out‐rounds. You can read more about the details of the event: h p://www.emich.edu/univcomm/releases/release.php?id=1368035440

As they do every year, the team hosted their Forensics Showcase and provided several hundred observers with a sample of the high quality speaking and interpre ng that EMU has been providing for more than four decades. We congratulate all of our Forensics Team members for an outstanding season. We are happy and proud that you are carrying on the “Tradi on of Excellence.”