Newsletter Date: June 2012
Communication, Media & Theatre Arts
Alumni Chapter Newsletter
Two Department Icons Are Stepping Down
Dennis came to campus
as a freshman in 1963 and
except for the me
earning his Masters
degree at Michigan, he
never le . He became a
coach for the forensics
team in 1967 and then
Dennis Steps
ascended to director in
1970; a role he kept un l
Down as
During that me
Department Head 1981.
EMU became THE
forensics powerhouse of
“You’re the Best.”
the country winning
“Thanks for all you do.”
mul ple na onal
Two phrases that many of championships and
us have heard from
dozens of individual tles.
Department Head Dennis A look at the Hall of Fame
Beagen over the years.
in Quirk a ests to the
Alas, we won’t be hearing incredible
them as o en in the
accomplishments of our
future. Dennis stepped
alumni that Dennis led to
down June 30th.
success.
In 1981 Dennis took over
the reigns of the
department. He is only
the third department
head we have had in our
nearly 50 year history.
Dennis followed John
Sa ler, who created the
department, and Tom
Murray. In fact, Dennis’
31 years of leadership are
a modern‐day EMU
record. Some research
indicates that there may
have been only one
person in EMU’s en re
history who served longer
and that person served
many genera ons ago.
The university, too, will
During his tenure, Dennis miss Dennis. It is arguable
helped CMTA to become that no single person has
had the impact on EMU
one of the largest
departments on campus that Dennis has had. His
as our class offerings grew hand has touched
projects, events and
more innova ve and
decisions that are
numerous, a rac ng
significant and
thousands of students.
The department ‘vibe’
numerous. He has served
that existed when some
as Associate Provost and
of us were students in the Director of Con nuing
1960s con nues today,
Educa on. He has been
which is both remarkable involved with numerous
and a ributable to Dennis nego a on processes
and his ability to bring out with numerous bargaining
the best in people. We all units, including those with
appreciate the posi ve
the crea on of the full
reinforcement that
me lecturer’s union.
Dennis uses and treasure Dennis also served the
notes that conclude with alumni as a member of
his trademark “You are
the EMU Alumni
the best!”
Associa on Board of
1
Directors for three
years.
Dennis is perhaps most
legendary for his work
in suppor ng the
university through
fundraising and
scholarships. During
his tenure, over 20
scholarships have been
created and
administered by
Dennis. The most
recent include the
Koste and McDaniel
Drama and Theatre for
the Young scholarship
and the McCracken
and Warren
Undergraduate
Symposium
scholarship; both
created within the past
year and both
supported with
thousands of dollars in
contribu ons.
His desire to help
students beyond our
department is also
legendary as Dennis
has directed the
development of the
longest‐running
Undergraduate
Symposium in the
United States, having
just concluded our
32nd Symposium. We
are the model for the
country and it is due to
his leadership. With
his leadership, and the
astute management of
the event by our
alumnus Wendy Kivi,
over $1,000,000 has
been raised to support
the event and the
students who
par cipate.
Yes...$1,000,000! It’s
an absolutely amazing
legacy.
Dennis said recently
that he is most proud
of the scholarships he
helped create and
fund, the crea on of
the Sponberg Theatre
with Ken Stevens and
the Quirk Renova on
project. Further, he is
enormously proud of
the department for
our tradi onal
Gradua on Recep ons
each year and the
crea on of EMU’s
largest alumni chapter
seven years ago.
A er taking the fall
semester off, Dennis
plans to return to his
teaching roots in the
winter semester of
2013. He will certainly
be welcomed back as
the fine teacher and
colleague that he has
always been.
Dennis and his
wonderful wife
Charline plan to spend
more me tending to
their lovely yard, being
suppor ve
grandparents and
traveling.
Not being one for the
limelight, Dennis may
well have stopped
reading by this point.
But we’re glad you
didn’t. He is one
amazing person. Truly
Kathy Stacey Name Interim Department Head We’re happy to report that long‐
me faculty member and alumna
Kathy Stacey has been named
Interim Department Head. Kathy
earned two degrees at EMU and
has her PhD from Wayne State.
She teaches gender
communica on, family
communica on, interviewing,
research and works with students
in their capstone class prior to
gradua on. Kathy has also
mentored graduate assistants,
many of whom now teach in the
department. She has been the
recipient of the Alumni Teaching
Award, Ronald Collins Faculty
Excellence for Service Award, the
Faculty Gold Medallion Award and
the Ins tu onal Values Award for
Service. Kathy also worked with
and directed the Office of
a once‐in‐a‐life me
Academic
Service‐Learning. She
man whom we are all
helped
secure more than
fortunate to know.
$3,000,000 to advance the
Please take a moment
pedagogy
of academic service‐
to let him know that at
learning
on
EMU’s
campus, across
dbeagen@emich.edu
the state, na on and
or 124 Quirk Building,
interna
onally. Her research areas
EMU, Ypsilan , MI
of interest in addi on to academic
48197.
service‐learning are foster care/
We are all be er
adop on issues as well as
people because of
communica on within educa onal
you, Dennis. Thanks
systems.
for all you’ve done!
All of us who know Kathy know
that she will do a terrific job in her
new role. She is commi ed to
keeping the great CMTA ‘vibe’
alive. Congratula ons and best
wishes Kathy!
YOU truly are
“THE BEST!”
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Two Department Icons Are Stepping Down (Cont.)
Sally mentored students
as director of Graduate
Assistants for many years,
inspiring countless alumni
to be excellent teachers
themselves. Some of
those students now teach
in our department here.
Sally McCracken Hits the Road! No really, she does! In
her snazzy new Ford
pickup truck, hauling a
large third wheel RV.
Look out campgrounds
around America...here she
comes!
Sally Rose McCracken
came to EMU, fresh with
her PhD in
Communica on from
Wayne State back in the
late 1960s. In over 40
years of teaching, Sally
not only taught us how to
communicate be er, she
was an outstanding
prac oner and mentor.
During her tenure, Sally
mo vated students to
excellence through her
knowledge, experience,
keen insight and wit. Her
experience as a stand‐up
comic during her school
years surely helped
cap vate students.
She also assisted the
university in mul ple
roles, including
fundraising and leading
the professors’ union.
Having built such a strong
reputa on, Sally was in
demand as a consultant to
those who do
nego a ons and manage
conflict. Further, she
taught communica on
skills to public service
employees, such as police
and firefighters.
Sally has received
numerous
commenda ons and
awards, including the
EMU Alumni Associa on’s
Teaching Excellence
Award just a few years
back.
department for four
decades.
September. Sally plans to
con nue to do some
teaching of weekend
Sally and her life partner classes. And of course,
Be e Warren were
she and Be e plan to do a
recently feted at an event lot of traveling in that
in Sponberg where people shiny new RV. Just watch
told stories of the
out if you see her trying to
enormous impact she had back that rig into a
on their lives. At that
campground near you!
me, the McCracken and
Warren Scholarship was
You can drop Sally a note
announced. It will go to
at smccracke@emich.edu
students who par cipate or at 124 Quirk Building,
in the Undergraduate
EMU, Ypsilan , MI 48197.
Symposium on an
You made us be er
alterna ng year basis; one people, Sally Rose! We
year to a CMTA student,
love you and thank you
one year to a
for that. We wish you all
Mathema cs student. A the best.
gallery of pictures from
the event is at h p://
If you would like to honor
gallery.me.com/
Dennis and Sally, a
dona on to their
patrickbarryjr#101135.
scholarships would help
Sally and Be e will remain support their legacy far
into the future. You can
living in Ypsilan and
already plan to con nue
do so by contac ng the
hos ng the staff and
EMU Founda on, (734)
faculty social that kicks off 487‐0250 or at
each school year in
www.emufounda on.org
Flamboyant to the end,
Sally is well known for her
love of lively colors,
par cularly red.
With a ready smile and a
warm embrace, she has
been an enormous
presence in our
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Alumni News
CMTA Alumni Are Honored by EMU CMTA alumni Beth Doane and
Robert Powers were both recently
honored as outstanding alumni by
the EMU Alumni Associa on. The
51st annual ceremony was
conducted May 12 at EMU’s Eagle
Crest facility. Beth and Rob were
two of the seven outstanding EMU
alumni honored at the event.
Well over 200 people learned of
the amazing work Beth has done in
the eight short years a er she le CMTA at EMU. Beth
founded Andira Interna onal as a fashion import and
distribu on company shortly a er gradua ng in 2004.
Her vision was to bring eco‐friendly European brands to
the U.S. She created Rain Tees as a 100 percent organic
line of apparel for women and children. Rain Tees is the
first and only brand to feature children’s artwork on
apparel. Her founda on has provided school supplies
for for children in 11 countries. Further, it has planted
more than 12,000 trees in an effort to support
reforesta on programs for their local communi es.
Beth is passionate about what she does, which she
demonstrated recently by speaking at the TEDx event
recently hosted by CMTA in the Sponberg Theatre. You
can witness her presenta on at h p://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8o5BmkB8‐8
For all she has done, Beth was recognized as the
Outstanding Young Alumna for 2012. Congratula ons
to Beth for her amazing accomplishments and the
limitless future that she has!
Robert Powers has had more me to
build his body of work. And build it
well he has! A graduate of our
department specializing in
Telecommunica on in 1988, Rob has
worked his way to being the number
one sports broadcaster at the ABC
affiliate in the largest market in the
country: New York.
At a recent talk he gave to a packed room in Quirk, Rob
told of his experiences in broadcas ng since he le
EMU. He emphasized to students that it is a long and
challenging journey, but an exci ng and rewarding one
as well. Rob worked in small markets at first, then
worked his way to Indianapolis and Toledo where he
con nued to hone his skills. He made it to the Big Apple
as weekend sports anchor in 2009 and then became the
lead anchor of the evening newscasts in January, 2011.
Rob has won four Emmy awards and has been named
the New York State Broadcasters Associa on First Place
Winner three mes. Among his other awards, Rob is
delighted that he has an autographed hot dog bun on
display at the legendary Tony Packo’s in Toledo! How
many of us can say that?!
Rob’s volunteer work includes community service for
ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edi on and the
Muscular Dystrophy Associa on. He has mentored
many young broadcasters who are now employed
around the country including Cleveland, Detroit, Toledo
and Washington. One of his mentorees recently landed
a job at ESPN. You can see Rob’s friendly, humble,
down‐to‐earth manner in his presenta on to our
students on May 11 by looking at a segment of his talk:
h p://www.emich.edu/video/video_subset.php?
m=166_0_234
Rob and his wife have two children and live in New
Jersey. When people ask Rob where he went to school ‐
‐ expec ng to hear a ‘big name’ communica on school
like Syracuse or Northwestern ‐‐ he proudly tells them
that he went to EMU and that it offered him everything
he needed to be successful in life.
We’re proud of CMTA at
EMU, too, Rob. Thanks for
spreading the good word to
the the country.
Congratula ons and best
wishes for many more years
of successful broadcas ng,
Rob.
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CMTA Department Happenings
New Books from Our Alumni CMTA alumni John Capecci and Tami Spry have just published books in their areas of exper se:
communica on and performance studies. Take a look!
Tami Spry’s new text,
Body, Paper, Stage.
Wri ng and Performing
Auto ethnography, well
represents the
exper se Tami has
gained in performance
studies since her
gradua on with from EMU in ’82 and ’87. Tami
writes that “ there is no doubt that the BS and
MA I received from Eastern's CMTA Department
was the founda on and genesis of this book. The
faculty at CMTA as well as my me in
performance studies, theatre produc ons, and
forensics engendered in me the crea vity and
discipline needed in wri ng and performing. I
also learned how to have a good deal of fun while
working hard!” Tami completed her PhD at
Southern Illinois in 1991 and is currently
professor of performance studies at St. Cloud
State University in Minnesota.
Her text can be ordered at www.amazon.com
Just type in ‘Tami Spry.’
John Capecci was a member of
our championship forensics
teams and spent me in
performance studies at EMU (as
well as in “almost every corner of
Quirk”). A er leaving EMU in
1981, John earned his MA at
North Carolina and his PhD at
Southern Illinois. John now works in the world of
communica on where he writes, speaks and
consults. His company, Capecci
Communica ons, is located in Minneapolis. For
the last 15 years his work has focused on
advocacy communica on.
John’s book, Living Proof, demonstrates how to
use stories in speaking as an advocate for a cause.
It is wri en with his friend and colleague Tim
Burke. John writes, “while Living Proof draws
upon 20+ years of work Tim and I have done
together, for me, it truly had its start in the halls
of Quirk and in my undergraduate educa on. It
began in Interpreta on/Performance Studies and
in Communica on Studies and Drama/Theatre for
the Young, on the main stage, at performance
fes vals and on the forensics bus. It was an
educa on that taught us the importance of using
our heads and our hearts, and that
communica on and performance truly can create
change.”
John’s book has been very posi vely
reviewed as a “book of remarkable
merit” and can be obtained at
www.livingproofadvocacy.com
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CMTA Department Happenings
Forensics Team Concludes Another Successful Season! It never gets old, winning the MISL State
Championship. With a large and
experienced con ngent, the Forensics
team won yet another championship. The
team placed first with over triple the
points of runner‐up Michigan. In fact, the
team won 9 of the 11 individual events
and had 32 compe tors in the top 6.
Further domina ng the event, the team
took both first and second in the oratory
division, sending both to the Na onal
Championship in Boston in April. The
debate team, coached by former team
director Ray Quiel, placed third.
Championship with a 6th place finish. This
fine finish comes on the heels of an earlier
12th place finish at the American Forensics
Associa on Na onal Championship.
Notable here is that the team only sent 6
compe tors to the AFA event.
A highlight of the NFA tournament was
Karen Yelverton’s 6th place finish in
poetry. Evan Mann ‐‐ winner of the the
Michigan MISL championships
Sweepstakes award ‐‐ finished 3rd in the
AFA tournament in Informa ve Speaking.
While the team loses some outstanding
compe tors to gradua on, the core of a
successful team returns causing the
coaches and compe tors to be very
excited about the 2012‐13 campaign.
Congratula ons to Director Nick
Romerhausen, Coaches Amy Johnson
and Michael Marion, and the many,
Con nuing its string of three decades of
many volunteer coaches who
Top 10 na onal finishes, the team recently perennially contribute to our program’s
returned home from the Na onal
outstanding success, year‐in, year‐out.
Forensics Associa on Na onal
In Memoriam
We are saddened to learn that CMTA alumnus Rodney ‘Hot Rod’ Ferguson died at the age of 50 on
March 25, 2012 due to complica ons from Sickle Cell Anemia. Rodney a ended EMU from 1979‐83
and graduated with a degree in Telecommunica ons and Film. He was a well‐known TV News
Photojournalist at Fox 2 Detroit since 1989. Rodney was a past president of the Associa on for Black
Communicators. Fox 2 hosted a fundraiser in honor of Rodney and his Fox colleague Wendell Burke
on June 23rd with the intent to raise funds to create a scholarship at EMU, where both men
graduated, in honor of their dedica on to serve their community and mentor future journalists. We
extend our condolences to the family and friends of Rodney and his friend and colleague Wendell.
6
Honors and Congratula ons
Congratula ons Dr. Romerhausen and Dr. Sulfridge
Two of our CMTA alumni who teach in the department recently earned their
Doctorate of Philosophy degrees. Both degrees are in communica on and from
Wayne State University.
Nick Romerhausen defended his disserta on, tled “Interna onal Student
Naviga on Through U.S. Colleges and Universi es: An Autoethnographic
Analysis of Discourse.”
“An Ethnographic Analysis of Adolescent Sexual Minority
Website Usage: Exploring No on of Informa on Seeking
And Sexual Iden ty Development” is the tle of Rocky M.
Sulfridge’s disserta on.
Congratula ons to Nick and Rocky for this outstanding personal and professional
accomplishment!
Dr. Jack Kay provided the keynote
address to the Michigan Early and Mid‐
dle College Associa on Conference on
March 16th, speaking on the educa onal
revolu on in pre‐K through college
educa on.
Jack’s comments on the Hutaree mili a
trial were covered in the Sunday, April 1,
2012 Washington Times and on ABC Radio News earlier in
the week: h p://m.washington mes.com/news/2012/
apr/1/lawyers‐find‐flaws‐in‐mili a‐case/
Dr. Donald Ritzenhein presented
a paper on “Civility and Incivility
in Labor‐Management Rela ons”
at the Communica on and Social
Ac on Conference at Central
Michigan University.
Civility was the theme of this
year’s conference, and other presenters focused on
civility in the classroom, in delibera ve discussions, in
online interac ons and in poli cal communica on.
Congratula ons Pat!
Pat Barry has been named Honors College
Teacher of the year!
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Honors & Congratula ons
Congratula ons Meriah!
Congratula ons Gerald!
Meriah Sage was selected by the College of
Educa on’s Excep onal Student Meghann
Ginestet as an exemplary faculty member to
be celebrated at the College of Educa on’s
2012 Celebra on of Excellence Convoca on on
March 29, 2012.
Gerald Pesta’s short film, The Olympian, has been
accepted to five film fes vals, including the
Athens Interna onal Film and Video Fes val,
Humboldt , Florida , Ferndale , and Uptown Film
Fes vals ‐where it received a nomina on for Best
Experimental Film.
Congratula ons to all the CMTA faculty and students that par cipated in the 2012 Undergraduate Symposium! Oral presentations at the Undergraduate
Symposium included:
Geoff Hammill sponsored Michael Vaughn
 The New American Dream: Finding Modern Day Indi-
vidualism within Contemporary Media
Sam Shen sponsored Brittany Joyce Galloway
 Glass Ceiling: Female Leadership within the Do-
Dennis Patrick sponsored Ashley Zlatopolsky
 The Distortion of an American Dream: A Look at
main of Athletic Administration
Detroit’s Portrayal in the Media
John Cooper sponsored Shanna Gilkeson
 Fan Fiction, Copyright, and the Liabilities and Ben-
Design Expo exhibits included:
efits of Legal Ambiguity
Dennis Patrick sponsored Monika Howard
 Women on Top: Investigating Negotiation
Melanie Schuessler sponsored Haley Cavanaugh
be-
tween Genders — Dyads or Dichotomies?
Geoff Hammill sponsored Jeffrey Robert Howlett
 Twin Peaks as a Reflection of American Culture
Ken Stevens sponsored Marissa A. Kurtzhals
 This is Your Theatre: Marketing Field Research for
EMU Theatre
Nick Romerhausen and Michael Marion sponsored
Patrick Anthony Seick
 Cutting Class from the Classroom: A Critical Anal-
ysis of the Hidden Curriculum in United States
Education
 Dead Man’s Cell Phone Costumes
Jeromy Hopgood sponsored Emily Clarkson
 Lighting Design: Dead Man’s Cell Phone
Ken Stevens sponsored Emily Clarkson
 It’s Your Theatre
Melanie Schuessler sponsored Sarah Donnellon
 Purple Cocktail Dress
Jeromy Hopgood sponsored Kylie Hoey
 A Technician Design
Jeromy Hopgood sponsored Dustin Miller
 Digital Sound Design Portfolio
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ETV is now on YouTube. Visit our new channel at ET‐
VATEMU! h p://www.youtube.com/user/ETVatEMU?
feature=watch
ETV programming is a stable of weekly, bi‐weekly and one‐
off shows produced by student volunteers. Our goal is to
keep the Eastern Community in touch with itself through
public service, informa onal, and sports & entertainment
programming.
ETV programming originates from CTAA 165 TV Lab and showcases select projects from CTAT 332
and 333. ETV programming can also be found on Campus Cable Channel 18 and on ITUNES
U h p://www.emich.edu/itunesu/
Currently featured on ETVATEMU are interviews with our own Henry Aldridge, Melanie Schuessler,
and Megan Gore. Also check out Eastern Weekly hosted by students Orlando Bailey and Angela
Reilly as well as EMAG hosted by Evan Mann.
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! h p://www.facebook.com/#!/EasternTV.
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
9