Newsletter Date: July 2013
Communication, Media & Theatre Arts
Alumni Chapter Newsletter
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 Rutherford, Suzie Staley‐Schlo and
Annmarie Simonson
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.
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.
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
1
ScoƩ Reynolds Comes Home 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 Reynolds, ’95, came back Sco was kind enough to spend
to EMU in late April of this year several hours with CMTA
as an honored guest in both
students, friends and faculty
Quirk and the Convoca on
talking about his wri ng
Center. While he didn’t find his experiences and how he made it
way easily around a renovated from Ypsilan to the glitz and
and reconfigured campus he
glamor of California.
hasn’t seen for quite a while, he
did find his way into the minds In both his talk in Quirk and his
and hearts of many students,
speech in the filled Convoca on
friends, faculty and alumni.
Center, Sco talked about the
steps he took, the breaks he got,
Sco was chosen as the
and the hard work he did to
Commencement speaker at this become successful in his
year’s morning celebra on on
television career. In his talk and
April 28. He was chosen as an
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!
2
CMTA Alumni Serve on the EMU FoundaƟon
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.
Molly Luempert‐Coy
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
United States as
well as foreign
na ons.
Four CMTA
alumni are
currently on the Bud Schimmelpfenneg
Founda on
Board of Trustees. Most
In addi on to fundraising
recently elected is Molly
exclusively on behalf of EMU,
Luempert‐Coy (’91). Brenda
the EMU Founda on manages
Alten (’88) came on the Board in
the endowed assets of the
University. Through investments 2007. Bud Schimmelpfenneg
and fundraising, the endowment (’68) is an emeritus member
who has served the Founda on
had a market value of $51.4
for many years. In addi on,
million as of June 30, 2012.
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.
Patrick Barry Jr.
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
Brenda (Dempsey) Alten
Dale Heydlauff
3
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.
4
Alumni Updates 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.
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.
5
Alumni Updates 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?
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’.”
6
Alumni Updates 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.
ALUMNI CONNECTION
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
7
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!
Dr. Doris Fields
Ray Quiel
Dr. Chris ne Tanner
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.
8
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 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.”
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 9
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.
10
CMTA Department News Professors Kindred and Rich are Recognized
Dr. Jeanne e Kindred
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!
Dr. Anita Rich
2013‐14 EMU Theatre Season Preview FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
THE GRAVEDIGGER: A FRANKENSTEIN PLAY
Directed by Pirooz Aghssa
Directed by Joseph Ze elmaier
THE SHAPE OF THINGS
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER
Directed by Terry Heck‐Seibert
Directed by Chris ne Tanner
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
SYLVIA
Directed by Meriah Sage
Directed by Ken Stevens
11
2013 EMU Theatre Season Concludes The Curtain Comes Down on Another Season of EMU Theatre 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:
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
h p://www.emich.edu/
audience of all ages. Learn video/index.php?
more about the play:
id=P262_recent
h p://www.youtube.com/
watch?
v=uWHqlCWL6bo&feature
=youtu.be
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!
12
CMTA Department News Professor Henry Aldridge Re res 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
For someone who wanted to learned not only in the
classroom, but also on trips
quietly slip away when he
around the country and
re red, Professor Henry
Europe.
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.
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
Those who know Henry will students. In fact, he was
tell you about his love of film nominated by many of his
and his willingness to share 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.
13
CMTA Department News 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!
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.
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.”
The top finisher for EMU was
junior Patrick Seick who placed
2nd in A er Dinner Speaking,
14