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Description

Former Vice President for Marketing and Student Affairs Laurence Smith, worked at Eastern Michigan University from 1975-2000. Smith worked in the capacity of Vice President for University Marketing and Student Affairs where he had overall leadership responsibility for strategic University marketing, communication and media relations, as well as student affairs. Smith played an important role in campus life and served on the EMU Logo Review Committee and Logo Selection Committee. In his interview, Smith describes the state of higher education thirty years ago compared to now; how alumni and community placed value in the institution vs. a symbol; and the selection process for a new logo. Smith speeks in broad strokes about higher education and their role in social justice causes and does not speak to the specifics of the committee's work.

Interview Date

Winter 3-9-2022

Keywords

Eastern michigan university, EMU, Board of Regents, logo, mascot, Huron, insensitive, discrimination, stereotype, fundraising, College of Education, East Carolina State University, University of Michigan, Pinehurst, North Carolina, Memphis State, education, leladership, Kent State, Michigan Civil Rights Commission, faculty strike, Native American, John Burton, athletics, Learning University, Chief Bearskin, Huron Alumni Chapter, integration, segregation, school integration

Permission to Use

Permission to quote from this oral history should be requested from the University Archives (lib_archives@emich.edu).

Streaming Media

Larry Smith, Oral History Interview, 2021

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