DigitalCommons@EMU

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  Augusta “Gussie” Harris, Farewell Address to Elton Rynearson and Lloyd Olds, 1963

  Augusta "Gussie" Harris

  Graduating from Michigan State Normal College in 1926, Gussie Harris taught physical education for three years until returning to MSNC in 1929, where she held a variety of important positions for the next 39 years. Harris earned numerous awards for her service to the field of physical education. In this short, informal speech, Harris presents Lloyd Olds and Elton Rynearson with scholarships in their names, each awarding the amount of $400 to selected students. Harris recites a short poem, describing the scholarships, and the affection that EMU has for both retiring men.

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  Senator Jerome Hart, Commencement Address, 1963

  Jerome Hart

  Jerome T. Hart was a Democratic member of the Michigan Senate from 1965 through 1990. He served on the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee from 1959 through 1963 and was an alternate delegate to the 1964 Democratic National Convention. He was also an executive assistant to the state treasurer. In this commencement address, Hart focuses on the American Civil Rights Movement and the role of graduates in the struggle for racial equality. Hart tells graduates that they cannot afford to simply pay attention to the actions of politicians in regards to Civil Rights; person-to-person interactions must also change if a cultural shift is to take place.

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  United States Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Address to NTEC, Somalia, 1968

  Hubert Humphrey

  Hubert Humphrey served as 38th United States Vice President to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965-1969. This address occurred during Humphrey’s extended tour of Africa in 1968, and was given to the faculty and students of the National Teachers Education Center - an institution which employed many Eastern Michigan University faculty as supervisors and consultants. In this address, Humphrey expounds upon the importance of a well-rounded education, stating that the purpose of education was the emancipation from fear and suspicion.

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  Charles W. Hunt, Centennial Address, 1949

  Charles Hunt

  Charles W. Hunt served effectively in many capacities at State University College at Oneonta, and in this address, given at the 1949 Michigan State Normal College Centennial Celebration, Hunt states that the influence of MSNC has been felt around the world by virtue of the training given teachers at the college. In a democratic culture, says Hunt, normal colleges like MSNC are vital instruments in the furthering of knowledge and growth of all citizens.

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  Egbert Isbell, Introduction to the First Annual Conference on College and University Archives, 1968

  Egbert Isbell

  Egbert Isbell served as professor of history, and administrator at Eastern MichiganUniversity from 1937-1967. Presiding over the lunch portion of the First Annual Conference on College and University Archives, Isbell welcomes all participants, and pays tribute to President Harold Sponberg for not only looking forward to the future of EMU, but also to the institution’s past.

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  John Munson, Inauguration of Eugene B. Elliott, 1949

  Munson John

  John Munson was President of Michigan State Normal College 1933-1948. In this address, Munson welcomes incoming president Eugene B. Elliott and delivers an inventory of distinguished MSNC alumni. Munson speaks of the evidence of MSNC’s global influence when naming former students and faculty who have gone on to important global positions.

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  Robert F. Kennedy, Campaign Rally Speech, 1966

  Robert Kennedy

  In 1966, Robert F. Kennedy visited Eastern Michigan University and delivered an address from the steps of Pease Auditorium. Kennedy began by rallying support for Congressman Wes Vivian, gubernatorial candidate Zolton Ferency, and G. Mennen Williams, poking fun at Williams’ wardrobe in the process. Kennedy next compares the voting record of Republican United States Congressmen to that of the Democratic vote, pointing out the shortcomings of several Republican voting records on issues such as an federal education act, Medicare, and the draft lottery, which he says should apply equally to everyone regardless of background or economic status. Embedded in Kennedy’s speech are humorous anecdotes and self-defacing quips.

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  Olga Madar, Address from the Inauguration of President James Brickley, 1975

  Olga Madar

  Olga M. Madar (May 17, 1915 – May 16, 1996) was the first woman to serve on the United Auto Workers (UAW) International Executive Board. In 1938, she graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in physical education. In 1941, she joined the UAW Local 50 while working at Ford’s Willow Run bomber plant. According to Doug Fraser, former UAW president, Madar “was a trailblazer in the struggle for equal rights,” fighting to end racial discrimination and a champion of women’s rights. In this address prior to the inauguration of university president James Brickley, Madar details her attempt to navigate the “confusing” socio-political landscape of the 1970’s, and the role of minorities and women within that landscape. Madar condemns the gender wage gap, and lauds EMU for its placement of value on the education of women. Madar also addresses the possible threat to universities like EMU by a steadily growing number of community colleges, expressing her view that large universities need to begin paying more attention to low-income community members. A Q&A session follows the speech.

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  George Marshall, Address at the George Marshall Recognition Dinner, 1967

  George Marshall

  George Marshall served as track coach for Eastern Michigan University for 35 years, from 1928 to 1967. In that time, his teams won 14 Interstate Intercollegiate Conference titles and the NAIA national cross country title. This audio recording from an appreciation dinner in Marshall’s honor captures Marshall responding to the accolades of the evening. Recalling stories from his time as track and field coach, and revisiting many of the lessons learned in his years with the track team, Marshall is humble and humorous in this address.

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  Helen Milliken, Address to Eastern Michigan University, Friends of the Library, 1974

  Helen Milliken

  Helen Wallbank Milliken (December 4, 1922 – November 16, 2012) was an American women's rights activist, environmentalist, and former First Lady of Michigan. Milliken, the longest serving First Lady in Michigan's history, served from 1969 to 1983 during the tenure of her husband, former Michigan Governor William Milliken. Milliken was known for her activism on behalf of many causes throughout her life. She was one of Michigan's leading proponents of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the United StatesConstitution during the 1970s. In this address the Friends of the Eastern Michigan University Library, Millien expresses her sense of value for the arts in Michigan, exemplified by the art project she spearheaded - the Art Train. Art Train was a traveling art exhibit of all mediums, intended to appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds.

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  Haydn Morgan, Tribute to Frederick Alexander, 1960

  Haydn Morgan

  The Frederick Alexander Memorial organ was built and installed in Pease Auditorium in 1960. During the dedication ceremony of the organ, Eastern Michigan University Music Director Haydn Morgan paid tribute to Frederick Alexander, longtime Michigan State Normal College music director, and namesake of the new o

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  Thomas J. Murray, Address at the Dedication of University Library, 1967

  Thomas Murray

  Thomas J. Murray served for 33 years at Eastern Michigan University in a variety of roles, most notably as head of the Department of Communication and Theater Arts. In this humorous address from 1967, Murray dedicates the new University Library by reading a fictional agreement to be signed by both faculty members and Librarians. This agreement highlights many of the complaints that faculty and librarians have about each other, and has the room in stitches.

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  Bruce K. Nelson, Address to Faculty Senate, 1971

  Bruce Nelson

  Bruce K. Nelson served as Eastern Michigan University Vice President for Instruction for 21 years, from 1954 to 1975. In this address, Nelson emphasizes the idea that the teachings of higher education change with the underlying cultural currents of society. Nelson stresses that without continuous, institutional change, teachers will become victims of their own success.

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  Bruce Nelson, Address to New Faculty, 1972

  Bruce Nelson

  Bruce Nelson joined the faculty of Eastern Michigan University in 1954, gradually working his way to Vice President of Instruction, a position he held until 1975, when he returned to his professorship. Nelson retired from EMU in 1981. In this address, Nelson greets new faculty members with a summary of where EMU has been, and where it hopes to go in the future. Introduced by Dr. Robert Silver, whom Nelson describes as a “gentleman and a scholar,” Nelson explains how the culture of any university is affected by, and representative of, the greater culture surrounding the university. In the greater surrounding culture of the late 1960s and early 1970s, says Nelson, many new and seemingly unfortunate characteristics have become more visible: drug use, violence, racism, and feelings of disillusionment brought on by the ongoing war in Vietnam. These cultural characteristics helped to bring on the late unrest at EMU, and laid the foundations for the recent student demonstrations at the university. However, Nelson argues that these students are only doing what the faculty of the institution have always asked of students: to relate the lessons of the university to the greater world. Instead of holding the university back, Nelson posits that the actions taken by the student demonstrators assisted in the forward movement of EMU.

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  Stephen Nisbet, Bowen Field House Dedicatory Address, 1955

  Stephen Nisbet

  A member of the Michigan State Board of Education, Stephen Nisbet uses an analogy of Babe Ruth to illustrate the importance of teamwork whether on the baseball diamond or when building a new building on the campus of Michigan State Normal College. State government, the local community, and the college itself are the team players involved in building the new Bowen Field House. Without that group effort, Nisbet says, the porject would not have come to fruition.

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  Lloyd Olds, Farewell Address, 1963

  Lloyd Olds

  Born in Ypsilanti in 1892, Lloyd Olds received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State Normal College, and later a Doctor of Public Health from University of Michigan. He returned to serve for 42 years as coach, athletic director, and head of intramurals. In this informal address at a retirement event honoring Olds and Elton Rynearson, Olds reminisces about past professors and athletes of Eastern Michigan University, and gives suggestions as to the forward direction of the University.

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  Henry J. Owens, Induction into Ordre des Palmes Academique, 1968

  Henry Owens

  Head of Foreign Languages Department Henry J. Owens receives an award from the French Cultural Councillor for services rendered to French culture in the United States. With this award, Owens was made Officier of the Ordre des Palmes Academique.

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  Leonard Posey, Inaugural Luncheon Address, 1976

  Leonard Posey

  Leonard Posey was elected as the first African American Student Body President of Eastern Michigan University in 1975. During his presidency, Posey caught flack from several minority student groups who charged that he was unfair in allocating the $18,000 in student assessment fees. He drew the fire of administrators who thought he was too critical of the controversial inauguration plans for University President James Brickley. In this address, Posey welcomes newly-elected EMU President James Brickley to his new post, and also sheds light on the late student unrest on campus, and the need for a university president to be adaptable to changing societal norms.

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  Elliot Richardson, Commencement Address, 1974

  Elliot Richardson

  Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920 – December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S. Attorney General, he was a prominent figure in the Watergate Scandal, and resigned rather than obey President Nixon's order to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox. In this address, Richardson warns the graduates of Eastern Michigan University against being “mastered by change,” and instead encourages them to “be in charge of change,” and to resist the prevailing sense of cynicism felt in the late 60’s and early 70’s. At the conclusion of the ceremony, several people are awarded honorary degrees by President Sponberg, including new Detroit Mayor, Coleman Young.

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  Fred Rogers, Commencement Address, 1973

  Fred Rogers

  Fred Rogers was an American television personality, musician, puppeteer, writer, producer, and Presbyterian minister. Rogers was famous for creating, hosting, and composing the theme music for the educational preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001), which featured his kind-hearted, grandfatherly personality, and directness to his audiences. In this address to the graduating class of 1973, Rogers stresses his view that education is individually varied according to the student doing the learning; different student characteristics necessitate a diverse array of teaching methods. Rogers says that though the road to discovering one’s true self may be long, it is also worth the wait, especially with the help of intuitive and creative teachers. Rogers performs two of his own compositions, “Truth and Freedom,” and “There Are Many Ways to Say I Love You” during the presentation.

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  Lenore Romney, Address to Women's Faculty Club, 1965

  Lenore Romney

  Lenore LaFount Romney (November 9, 1908 – July 7, 1998) was an American actress and political figure. The wife of businessman and politician George W. Romney, she was First Lady of Michigan from 1963 to 1969. She was the Republican Party nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1970 from Michigan. In this address to the Eastern Michigan University Faculty Women’s Club, Romney encourages listeners to begin to look inward for the resources to improve their lives, rather than depending on federal government programs to improve them. Romney argues that by being involved and informed on the current political issues, one can then vote responsibly, as well as pass that information down to their children.

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  Arthur G. Ruthven, Inauguration of Eugene B. Elliott, 1949

  Alexander Ruthven

  Zoologist and President of the University of Michigan, Arthur Ruthven was selected to speak at the inauguration of Michigan State Normal College President, Eugene B. Elliott. In this address, Ruthven speaks of the important place of MSNC in the post-World War II nation and world, while also emphasizing the need for regional studies and national defense training.

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  Elton Rynearson, Farewell Address, 1963

  Elton Rynearson

  Elton Rynearson attended Michigan State Normal College from 1910-1914, and later, as a coach, led MSNC athletics to the most successful years in the history of Eastern Michigan University. In this informal farewell speech given at a retirement party for Rynearson and Lloyd Olds in 1963, Rynearson looks back over his time at EMU, sharing anecdotes of the influential professors and coaches of the school, during his time as a student and coach.

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  Professor John Sattler, Eulogy for John F. Kennedy, 1963

  John Sattler

  Eastern Michigan University Speech professor John Sattler eulogizes slain president John F. Kennedy. Recalling his professional achievements in this emotional address, and detailing the difficulties of the office of President of the United States, Sattler remarks upon how well suited Kennedy was to the highest office in the world.

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  Mildred Beatty Smith, Address at the Dedication of University Library, 1967

  Mildred Beatty Smith

  Mildred Beatty Smith served on the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents for 10 years before leaving to serve as Director of Elementary Education in the Flint public schools. In this dedicatory address for the new University Library, Smith remarks that the strength of libraries is not in the buildings themselves, but rather in the ideas that the buildings contain. When students begin to value libraries for this reason, Smith says, that will be the real return on the investment.