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Alida Westman, Oral History Interview, 2019
Matt Jones
Alida Westman served as professor in the Department of Psychology from 1972 until her retirement in 2012. Born in The Hague, Holland, during World War II, and growing up in post-war Europe, Westman learned at an early age that certain cultural landscapes elicit specific reactions in human beings based on past trauma. As a result, the rest of her life was set by the age of four toward perception and research. After immigrating to the United States, Westman attended school in the Pacific Northwest and Cornell University, and landed at Eastern Michigan University as a professor in perception and comprehension studies. A supporter of the American Association of University Professors and member of countless academic committees during her career with EMU, Westman attained Emeritus status when she retired in 2012.
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Allen Myers, EMU Roles and Perspectives Interview, 1972
Robert Hoexter
EMU Roles and Perspectives was taped television program broadcast from the campus of EMU, and produced by Robert Hoexter (1930-1978). Hoexter joined the faculty at the EMU School of Education in 1964, and served as Coordinator of Graduate Advising from 1969-1971. A member of the Faculty Senate from 1973-1976, Hoexter was elected vice-chairman from 1974-1975, and chairman, 1975-1976. In this episode of Roles and Perspectives, Hoexter interviews Allen Myers, then Dean of the College of Education at EMU. Allen Myers came to EMU in 1958, serving as head of the Department of Special Education and Occupational Therapy, and as Dean of the School of Education from 1969-1975, when he returned to the classroom as a faculty member with the Department of Special Education. In this interview, Myers gives historical perspective to the rapidly changing role of EMU in the field of teacher education, calling EMU a “microcosm” of education colleges across the nation. Teacher colleges were moving away from the use of lab schools due to the advanced and sophisticated opportunities available to teachers post-college.
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Andrew Nazzaro, Oral History Interview, 2019
Matt Jones
Dr. Andrew Nazzaro is co-founder and longtime instructor with the Eastern Michigan University Historic Preservation Program. Hired in 1970, Nazzaro and colleague Marshall McLennan worked to develop and design the Historic Preservation Program, receiving funding to initiate courses in 1979. An avid scholar and traveler, Nazzaro also maintained a presence in several African countries, and from 1979 until 1981 served as Chief of Party to Basic Education Development Program in Yemen. Nazzaro received Emeritus status when he retired in 2015.
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Anonymous, Interview, 2023
Elizabeth Allen
In November of 2023, Eastern Michigan University’s LGBT Resource Center hosted an event in collaboration with the University Archives’ Oral History Program during Transgender Awareness Week where students could share their experiences with being part of the LGBT community on and off campus. Here, an EMU student talks about the conflict between the church and LGBTQ issues, finding community as a Black lesbian, and queer prom in Detroit.
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Anthony Derezinsky, Oral History Interview, 2021
Michael Seitter and Matt Jones
Former Michigan State Senator Anthony Derezinsky (b. 1942) joined the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents in 1981 and served in that position until his retirement in 1996. In this interview, Derezinsky recounts his formative years with the University of Michigan Law School and Harvard Law before describing his time with the United States Navy serving with the Judge Advocate General Corps in Vietnam, 1968-1971. As a University Regent, Derezinsky played a vital role in the EMU logo/mascot change, placing the value of fairness above all other considerations. Stating that it "rankled my civil liberties heart" to see students offended by the Huron logo and mascot, and known by fellow regents as "Mr. Gavel," Derezinsky describes the process of learning from other institutions how to go about the changing of a logo/mascot that had become synonymous with school spirit and identity for many alumni and community members. Helping to steer the university through difficult ethical waters, Derezinsky traveled the country with EMU President William Shelton to provide insight to schools considering a change of logo/mascot.
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Anthony Head, Oral History Interview, 2022
Kari Havenaar and Matt Jones
In the Fall of 2022, Matt Jones’s Oral History Techniques class conducted a set of interviews documenting the stories behind the student unrest on Eastern Michigan University’s campus from 1966-1972. Anthony Head was a student at EMU during this time, and became involved with student activism and campus demonstrations after learning about counterculture and left-leaning politics.
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Barbara Borusch, EMU Roles and Perspectives Interview, 1972
Robert Hoexter
EMU Roles and Perspectives was a taped television program broadcast from the campus of EMU, and produced by Robert Hoexter (1930-1978). Hoexter joined the faculty at the EMU School of Education in 1964, and served as Coordinator of Graduate Advising from 1969-1971. A member of the Faculty Senate from 1973-1976, Hoexter was elected vice-chairman from 1974-1975, and chairman, 1975-1976. In this episode of Roles and Perspectives, Hoexter interviews EMU Professor of Education, Barbara Borusch. Hired in 1950, Borusch served in many capacities during her tenure at EMU, teaching Elementary Health Education, Anatomy, Physiology, General Psychology, and more. In this interview, Borusch expresses her support for the “open classroom,” a learning setting in which children map out their own learning trajectory, and the teacher is seen more as a friend and helpmate than a traditional teacher behind a desk. Though some people, familiar with the traditional style of learning may call open classrooms “chaotic,” Bousch explains that they are anything but. The students in open classrooms are self-directed, can work in groups if they choose, and are able to study subjects that they themselves have a genuine interest in.
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Barbara Scheffer, Oral History Interview, 2019
Matt Jones
Barbara Scheffer served with Eastern Michigan University from 1976 until her retirement in 2013. A professor with the EMU School of Nursing, Scheffer went on to serve as the Associate Dean of the College of Health and Human Services. Always a proponent of bridging the gap between university and community, Scheffer led students into Ypsilanti neighborhoods to help community members and gain valuable hands-on experience in the nursing field. Scheffer received Emeritus status when she retired in 2013.
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Barry Simon, Oral History Interview, 2022
Austin Martin and Matt Jones
In the Fall of 2022, Matt Jones’s Oral History Techniques class conducted a set of interviews documenting the stories behind the student unrest on Eastern Michigan University’s campus from 1966-1972. Barry Simon was an EMU student in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a student activist involved in underground newspaper the Second Coming, and eventually arrested during the People's Lounge incident in McKenny Hall on EMU's campus. Simon would later become the student body president.
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Bette Warren, Oral History Interview, 2019
Matt Jones
Dr. Bette Warren served as professor with the Eastern Michigan University Department of Mathematics from 1984 until her retirement in 2012. Aside from her teaching duties Warren served as President of the Faculty Council, Chair of the Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Committee, Chair of the Faculty Council’s Budget and Resource Committee, wrote the math section of the Presidential Scholarship Examination, and served on the undergraduate symposium planning committee at the initiation of that event. Warren was also a bargaining council representative from the EMU chapter of the American Association of University Professors. The reason behind Warren's commitment to education is summed up in her own words: "To have a sound academic program we need a well-educated and informed front line. That front line is faculty.”
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Betty Brown-Chappell and Anarosa Mendoza King, Oral History Interview, 2022
Matt Jones
In the Fall of 2022, the Eastern Michigan University Archives invited emerita Betty Brown-Chappell and alum Anarosa Mendoza King to sit down for an interview together. With lecturer Matt Jones mediating the conversation, the women talked about their careers in social work and what it means to them, their humble beginnings and journeys to EMU, and the importance of good mentors. Brown-Chappell and King reminisce on memories of conferences, Halloween parties, and family gatherings
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Betty Brown-Chappell, February 5, 2019
Matt Jones and Alexis Braun Marks
Before joining the EMU School of Social Work in 1996, Betty Brown-Chappell was already an activist for the poor and oppressed. The author of numerous books and articles, her work has been featured in the New York Times, Ebony Magazine, The Detroit Free Press, the Ann Arbor News, and many other media publications. Having served as Associate Director of the McNair Scholars Program at EMU and as Director of the Honors College, Brown-Chappell was the recipient of the College of Health and Human Service Everett L. Marshall Award for Distinguished Service in 2003 and the 2012 recipient of the MLK Humanitarian Award along with Senator Debbie Stabenow. She has met with General Kofi Annan at the United Nations, served as People to People Ambassador in Eastern Europe, and has testified before the Michigan legislature on social work licensing. Brown-Chappell retired from EMU in 2014.
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Bob Jones, Oral History Interview, 2019
Matt Jones and Alexis Braun Marks
Having spent most of his time, pre-Eastern, in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere, Jones arrived at EMU in the fall of 2003 where he served with the Urban Planning Program in the Department of Geography and Geology until his retirement in 2019.
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Brian Steimel, Oral History Interview, 2019
Matt Jones and Alexis Braun Marks
Brian Steimel was the longtime head of circulation in the Bruce T. Halle Library, retiring in 2019. Receiving his bachelor and master’s degrees at Eastern Michigan, Steimel began his professional career with the EMU library as a reshelver, eventually climbing his way to the circulation desk and monitoring the Halle Library automatic retrieval system. Away from the stacks, however, Brian is an accomplished painter and professional puppeteer having toured extensively with his partner of many years, Raymond Masters.
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Bruce Nelson, Oral History Interview, 1999
Laurence Smith
Bruce Nelson served Eastern Michigan University in a number of roles from 1954 until 1981, serving as Vice President of Instruction for 21 of those years. In this interview, Nelson describes the administrative hierarchy and operations at Eastern Michigan University during his tenure with the school. Nelson profiles several faculty and administration officials while describing their impact on the power and academic structure of EMU. This interview was conducted for the purpose of gathering primary research for Laurence Smith’s book, Eastern Michigan University: A Sesquicentennial Portrait (1999).
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Carl Ebach, Interview, 2021
Matt Jones
On October 9, 2021, students from the EMU Archives and Oral History Program recorded stories of EMU students past and present. Using the EMU Aerie, the Archives’ mobile oral history recording booth, student oral historians captured the formative experiences and perspectives of EMU alums from a variety of campus eras. Here, EMU Athletics superfan Carl Ebach recounts his early life as an orphan and the sense of community he found at EMU sporting events following his service in the US military. Having attended more than 3,500 EMU sporting events, Ebach details his most stirring memories, including the 1987 California Bowl appearance by the EMU football team.
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Carl Pursell, Oral History Interview, 1998
Laurence Smith
Carl Pursell served as Regent of Eastern Michigan University from 1993-1999. This interview details Pursell’s involvement in state and national politics prior to his work at Eastern Michigan University. This interview is distributed over two cassette tapes. This interview was conducted for the purpose of gathering primary research for Laurence Smith’s book, Eastern Michigan University: A Sesquicentennial Portrait (1999).
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Casper Mielke, Interview, 2023
Finn Vincent-Fix
In November of 2023, Eastern Michigan University’s LGBT Resource Center hosted an event in collaboration with the University Archives’ Oral History Program during Transgender Awareness Week where students could share their experiences with being part of the LGBT community on and off campus. EMU student Casper Mielke talks about what brought them to Eastern, plans after graduation, and creating characters as a form of self-care.
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Cheryl Walker, Interview, 2023
Brooke Boyst and Marian Feinberg
On October 7, 2023, students from the EMU Archives and Oral History Program recorded the stories of EMU students past and present. Using the EMU Aerie, the Archives’ mobile oral history recording booth, student oral historians captured the formative experiences and perspectives of EMU alums from a variety of campus eras. Here, alum Cheryl Walker speaks of the lifelong friendships formed at EMU in the late 1970s, her initial, post-graduate teaching experiences, and speculates on a life without attending EMU.
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Christopher Durden, Interview, 2023
Finn Vincent-Fix
In November of 2023, Eastern Michigan University’s LGBT Resource Center hosted an event in collaboration with the University Archives’ Oral History Program during Transgender Awareness Week where students could share their experiences with being part of the LGBT community on and off campus. EMU student Christopher Durden talks about coming out to parents who are supportive, finding LGBTQ friendly spaces on campus, and being your authentic self.
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Chuck Coleman, Oral History Interview, November 13, 2018
Rachel Burns and Matt Jones
Chuck Coleman is a former Eastern Michigan University student activist. Before exiting the university in 1978, Coleman was a member of the Black Student Association, Campus Service Corps, and a student representative of the Office of Minority Affairs. Coleman played an important role for bettering conditions for students of color on campus.
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Courtney McAnuff, July 6, 2018
Matt Jones and Alexis Braun Marks
Courtney McAnuff was Vice President for Enrollment Services at Eastern Michigan University from 1996 until his departure in 2006. Prior to serving as Vice President, McAnuff served EMU in a variety of positions starting in 1980 as Director of Financial Aid. Larry Smith, former Vice President for Student Affairs at EMU said “if Courtney had a fan club, I would be the president.” McAnuff committed himself to many vital undertakings at EMU, both on and off campus, earning McAnuff Emeritus status in 2006.
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Dale Leslie, Interview, 2022
Cassandra Mitchell
On October 1, 2022, students from the EMU Archives and Oral History Program recorded stories of EMU students past and present. Using the EMU Aerie, the Archives’ mobile oral history recording booth, student oral historians captured the formative experiences and perspectives of EMU alums from a variety of campus eras. Here, Dale Leslie (class of 1970) recounts his journey to EMU and pledging to the Theta Chi Fraternity upon arrival. Leslie credits the female to male ratio as one of the drivers of his attending the school, and the quality of instructors he found once on campus. Leslie also speaks of the cultural shifts at play on college campuses on the late 1960s and early 1970s, the evolution of digital film, and the importance of the lifelong friendships made in college.
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Dan Gretzner, Interview, 2023
Brooke Boyst
On October 7, 2023, students from the EMU Archives and Oral History Program recorded the stories of EMU students past and present. Using the EMU Aerie, the Archives’ mobile oral history recording booth, student oral historians captured the formative experiences and perspectives of EMU alums from a variety of campus eras. Here, EMU alum Dan Gretzner (class of 1991) speaks of his introduction to EMU via Sports Information Director Jim Streeter, his newfound love of Earth Science, cultural events during his time on campus, and traveling with the EMU basketball team as an assistant sports writer with the Eastern Echo.
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Darlene Bellers, Interview, 2022
Brooke Boyst
On October 1, 2022, students from the EMU Archives and Oral History Program recorded stories of EMU students past and present. Using the EMU Aerie, the Archives’ mobile oral history recording booth, student oral historians captured the formative experiences and perspectives of EMU alums from a variety of campus eras. Here, Emu faculty member with the Office of Dietetics and Nutrition Darlene Bellers. Bellers, also an alum of EMU, speaks on her first experiences on campus and the nervousness of meeting so many new people at once. Bellers worked for Bob England and Michelle Owens at the Olds-Robb Recreation Center, and was more focused on her life after graduation than participating in many of the college activities available at the time. Bellers says that her dream is to have her children attend EMU as well, making it a true “family affair.”
An initiative that began in 2017, the University Archives has begun to digitize items from the Historical Audio Recordings collection and other collections. We have sorted these recordings into four categories: Lectures and Presentations, Oral Histories, Performances and Speeches.
At present the category of Oral Histories is the only category that we are actively adding to. With support from the Office of the Provost, the University Archives has been interviewing current and emeritus faculty, staff and students on their experiences at Eastern Michigan University.
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