Oral Histories

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  Gary Clark, Oral History Interview, 2021

  Matt Jones

  In 2021, Eastern Michigan University Archives lecturer Matt Jones began documenting the story of Ypsilanti’s Human Rights Ordinance #1279 in an effort to explore the ways in which local queer activism has evolved multi-generationally in Ypsilanti. What began as a refusal of service by a local print shop to a small EMU student group quickly turned into a years-long battle over who was deserving of basic human rights. To the LGBTQ activists and community members documented here, they had always been present in the community: working, paying taxes, painting their houses, mowing their lawns, attending council meetings, and even serving on council. This ordinance battle was about more than just LGBT rights—it was about protecting the human rights of all Ypsilantians. On December 13, 2021, Jones met with long time Ypsilantian, figure-skating coach, and community activist, Gary Clark. Clark became involved with the ordinance efforts very early on, when his partner encountered protestors in Depot Town after Tri-Pride was denied service. From there, they called up their friends, neighbors, and fellow community members and held what would become the first Citizens for Community (C4C) meeting. C4C became the group that took on the fight for the first campaign and initial ordinance passage. With Clark's leadership, community ties, and strong sense-of-self, the campaign was able to effectively advocate for an ordinance and bring more visibility to the LGBT community in Ypsi. He understood the importance of bringing in other communities to support the effort, and even visited the very same churches who strongly opposed the campaigns. In this interview, Clark shares a more in-depth look at C4C's work, the initial drafting of the ordinance, and the shift towards Ypsi Campaign for Equality for the defense.

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  Gary Hawks, Oral History Interview, 1998

  Laurence Smith

  Gary Hawks spent 17 years at eastern Michigan University, starting in 1964 as a supervisor of Accounts Receivable, executive director of University Relations, director of personnel, and as Vice President of University Relations. He was secretary to the Board of Regents from 1970 until retiring in 1981. In this interview, Hawks details his relationships with several University presidents, and also describes the overall growth of the school, from issues of enrollment to the building of physical structures on campus. 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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  Gerald "Skip" Lawver, Oral History Interview, 2022

  Andrew Schneider 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. Gerald "Skip" Lawver was an EMU student who served as an intelligence officer in the US Army, an instructor with the EMU Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), a sergeant with the EMU police force. Skip was a sergeant with EMU during the events that took place near EMU's campus in May of 1970, working to keep things under control.

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  Glenda Kirkland, July 6, 2018

  Matt Jones and Alexis Braun Marks

  Glenda Kirkland was a vocal instructor with the EMU Department of Music and Dance from 1972 until 2009. Kirkland taught many courses in music at EMU and served as the director of the EMU Opera Workshop. She has also given many lectures and recitals with various opera companies and guest performed with luminaries such as William Warfield, Gwyneth Jones, and Luciano Pavarotti. She’s been universally praised for her interpretive skills, her charisma, her prefect breath control and deep respect for the text’s open-hearted naiveté.

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  Glenna Frank Miller & Gregory Peoples

  Matt Jones and Alexis Braun Marks

  Gregory Peoples is a long-time administrator of EMU. He was hired in 1977 to work in the Campus Interact Office until 1980. During the course of his career with EMU, Peoples served as Assistant Director of Admissions, Associate Director of Admissions, Associate Dean of Students and then Dean of Students. In 2004, Peoples became Director of the Office of the Ombuds, an office he created with University Provost Jim Vick. Outside of EMU, Peoples served with the GMI Engineering and Management Institute, and as Director of Enrollment Services at Washtenaw Community College. Peoples retired in 2003.

  Glenna Frank Miller is Emerita Vice President for Student Life at EMU. Beginning her career at EMU in 1974 as a Resident Unit Administrator, she became Resident Life Area Manager and then Director of Campus Life in 1983. Miller is known for her high level of involvement on campus, developing relationships with students and creating educational programs for the empowerment of women. Frank Miller also worked in Campus Life, McKenny Union, and in many McKenny Union Campus Life and Diversity programs. Frank Miller may be best-known for her leading role in the design and construction of the EMU Student Center, opened in 2006. Frank Miller retired in June, 2013.

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  Glenna Frank Miller, Oral History Interview, 2021

  Katrina Finklestein and Matt Jones

  During her more than 40 years with Eastern Michigan University, Emerita Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Glenna Frank Miller served in various capacities and was called a "Human Dynamo" by former Vice President for Student Affairs Laurence Smith for her tireless devotion to the student experience on campus. Serving on the EMU Logo Review Committee and Logo Selection Committee, Frank Miller describes her confidence in newly appointed EMU President William Shelton despite the public backlash from alumni for dropping the EMU Huron, a logo/mascot deemed culturally insensitive by many members of the university community. Adhering to the belief that all community members are harmed by the negative depiction of any one group, Frank Miller details the tension in Board of Regents meetings, the aftermath of the logo and mascot change, and the higher duty of academic institutions to causes of social justice.

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  Gloria Neve, Oral History Interview, 2019

  Matt Jones

  Gloria Neve was a longtime women's basketball and softball coach at EMU, and taught courses ranging from basketball to sailing in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. In this interview, Neve speaks of her rural childhood experience, her first experiences in competitive sport and her journey to EMU in the late 1960s. Neve discusses the implementation of Title IX, and the implications this landmark ruling had for both women's and men's athletics. Neve speaks of the lifelong friendships gained at EMU, and of writing her comprehensive history of women's athletics at EMU.

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  Grant Long, Oral History Interview, 2022

  Matt Jones

  Grant Long played basketball for the EMU Hurons from 1984 until 1988 before going on to a 15-year career in the National Basketball Association. Long speaks here about the decision to come to EMU, the tenacity of EMU recruiters, and the playing style of previous EMU basketball teams. He details the energy of Bowen Field House basketball games, and the game in which he scored 31 points against Bowling Green University. Long also describes the mentorship that took place between older and younger players who were predominantly first-generation college students trying to figure out how to live their new college lives.

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  Greg Fournier, Oral History Interview, 2023

  Katherine Hacanyan

  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. Greg Fournier is a current author and EMU alum who was witness to the student unrest on campus, which was happening at the same time John Norman Collins was committing his crimes. Now, Greg has written about John in his book, "Terror in Ypsilanti."

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  Hamzah Dajani, Oral History Interview, 2024

  Elizabeth Allen

  Hamzah Dajani is an international student from Jordan studying finance and accounting, and he currently serves as the Student Government President at Eastern Michigan University. In this interview, Dajani recounts his experience growing up in Jordan, how he became interested in math and finance, and how he decided to come to EMU. Dajani explains how he got involved in Student Government, his experience as an international student, the difficulties of adjusting to life in the United States, and the struggles of finding a job as a non-US citizen. Dajani describes how Student Government became involved in the Afghan resettlement process, helping move the Afghan families into on-campus housing, talking to the Afghan’s about their experience fleeing to the US, and his own experiences working with refugees prior to the Afghan resettlement.

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  Harley Maxbauer, 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. EMU student Harley Maxbauer talks about transitioning, being involved with the LGBTQ community on campus, and stepping out of your comfort zone.

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  Heather Neff, Oral History Interview, 2018

  Matt Jones and Alexis Braun Marks

  Heather Neff is a highly-decorated professor of African American Literature, Women in Literature, and Poetry and Major Authors. Among a score of achievements, Neff has created the American Writers in Paris Program, has served as Director of the McNair Scholars Program at EMU, and has won numerous awards including the Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence, the Outstanding Faculty Award, and the Teaching Excellence Award.

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  Howard Booth, Oral History Interview, 2019

  Matt Jones

  Dr. Howard Booth taught biology at Eastern Michigan University for forty-six years. An alumni of EMU, Booth was very active in athletics while a student, earning recognition in track and field and gymnastics, as well as joining the cheer team. After a 39-year hiatus from the sport, Booth took up the pole vault at age 61, traveling the world to compete, and winning gold medals in competitions ranging from the National Master's Track and Field Championship in Boston and the World Athletics Championship in Brazil.

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  Hunter Johnstone, 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 Hunter Johnstone talks about the fictional characters who had an impact on them, coming out as bisexual, and addressing biphobia in and out of the LGBTQ community.

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  Irene Allen, Oral History Interview, 2019

  Matt Jones

  Irene Allen is an extremely special person to the EMU Archives. Allen was a professor in the College of Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, from 1968 until her retirement in 2004. She has taught on three continents, presented papers on the topics of literacy and reading and spoken to audiences on six continents. A voracious traveler, Allen has visited all seven continents. Appointed writer and then Chief of Party to the EMU/USAID Swaziland Primary Curriculum Development Project (AID/afr-c-1 172) from 1982-1984, among many other appointments and achievements. Allen here discusses her work on the establishment of the EMU Women's Commission and being one of four women selected by EMU President Harold Sponberg to write the Women's Commission Constitution after a year of research by Anne Thompson concerning inequities between men and women faculty members in salary, rank, teaching assignments, etc., for equal work and degrees. Irene Allen has been an ardent supporter of the EMU Oral History Program since its inception, and, for that, she has our undying respect and love.

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  Ivy Smith, 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. EMU student Ivy Smith talks about learning about queer identities, gender euphoria, and the LGBTRC's Out on the Lawn event.

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  Jack Minzey, 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 Jack Minzey. Jack Minzey joined the faculty at EMU in 1968. At various times, he served as head of the Department of Leadership and Counseling, acting dean of the College of Education, and director of the Center for Community Education. Minzey also served as president of the National Community Education Association and has won numerous awards, including an Outstanding Service Award from the NCEA. In 1992, Minzey was inducted into the Michigan Education hall of Fame. In this interview, Minzey discusses the concept of community schools, which he championed throughout his career. The ingredients of community education according to Minzey, are as follows: greater usage of public structures for ongoing educational purposes, expanded educational activities for the traditional education population, greater educational relevancy, and equal educational opportunities for all members of the community, regardless of age.

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  James Beasley, November 6, 2018

  Rachel Burns and Matt Jones

  James Beasley graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1977 and was an active member of the Student Senate and other associations on campus. Not on campus for the 1969 takeover of Pierce Hall, Beasley was a member of the next generation of student activists on campus, witness to the implementation of many of the changes demanded by earlier activists.

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  James H. Brickley Oral History Interview, 1998 September 11

  Laurence Smith

  James Brickley served as the sixteenth president of Eastern Michigan University from 1975 to 1978. This interview is an account of his time as president of EMU, the adjustments made by his family in moving to campus, the attitude of the faculty at the time of his arrival, and the changes that Brickley effected once taking office. 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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  James Porter, February 15, 2019

  Matt Jones and Mia Colavito

  Dr. James Porter began his tenure with the Eastern Michigan University Department of Astronomy and Physics in 1968, a particularly tumultuous time for the University. Witness to many student protests and the local law enforcement response to them, Porter shares his perspective on a changing university and the community surrounding it. Porter received Emeritus status when he retired in 2008.

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  James Ratzloff, Interview, 2022

  Connor Ashley

  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, alum Ratzloff (class of 2008) describes his first experiences on campus, including campus orientation with the Women’s Swim Team. Ratzloff also remembers his mentors in the Computer Science Department, notably Gregory Peoples, Benjamin Keller, Judy Sturgis-Hill and Susan Haynes. Ratzloff also praises the university’s belief that a degree should be earned, not freely given once tuition is paid.

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  Jan Kaulins, Oral History Interview, 2022

  Laura Waskiewicz 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. Jan Kaulins was the supreme justice on the student court at EMU during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Jan was involved with the student unrest on campus, and ruled on important cases that were brought to the court, such as the Second Coming trials. He went on to graduate school at the University of Michigan after EMU.

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  Jan Wright, Oral History Interview, 2022

  Matt Jones

  In 2021, Eastern Michigan University Archives lecturer Matt Jones began documenting the story of Ypsilanti’s Human Rights Ordinance #1279 in an effort to explore the ways in which local queer activism has evolved multi-generationally in Ypsilanti. What began as a refusal of service by a local print shop to a small EMU student group quickly turned into a years-long battle over who was deserving of basic human rights. To the LGBTQ activists and community members documented here, they had always been present in the community: working, paying taxes, painting their houses, mowing their lawns, attending council meetings, and even serving on council. This ordinance battle was about more than just LGBT rights—it was about protecting the human rights of all Ypsilantians. On January 18, 2022, Jones talked to community organizer and American Friends Service Committee staff member, Jan Wright. After she became a Quaker in graduate school, Wright spent some time living with fellow Quakers in Ann Arbor, and volunteering for the American Friends Service Committee. She eventually became the local AFSC's LGBT Issues Program Director. Wright and her AFSC colleagues hosted community workshops where people could learn to hold non-hostile communication with LGBT/opposing groups. As both ordinance campaigns utilized the workshops, Wright became more entwined in the cause, and found it necessary to support it. Her work with other community members, activists, and organizers left her with meaningful connections, which she reflects on in this interview. Wright also covers the importance of including the Black community in the ordinance, and working closely with religious groups to increase visibility and support through it all.

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  Jeffery Duncan, February 19, 2019

  Matt Jones and Rachel Burns

  Dr. Jeffery Duncan was professor of English Language and Literature at EMU from 1971 until his retirement in 2012. Awarded the Ronald Collins Distinguished Faculty Award in 2002, Duncan was regarded as one of the most beloved faculty members at the University for his rough and tumble Tulsa upbringing and inventive, innovative teaching methods.

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  Jerry Robbins, January 29, 2019

  Matt Jones and Rachel Burns

  Dr. Jerry Robbins served as Dean of the College of Education at Eastern Michigan University from 1991 until 2004, a period during which the College of Education grew swiftly and sustained its reputation as the largest producer of teachers in the nation. Robbins was awarded the Volunteer Award by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education in 2005, the President’s Award by the Association of Teacher Educators in 1988, and participated in the White House Teacher Preparation Conference and has authored numerous articles and books on education.