The story
Influenced by similar academies in Europe, the Michigan Legislature founded the Michigan State Normal School in 1849 with its campus in Ypsilanti. There was a significant contest among municipalities across Michigan to become the home of the state's first normal school. These other contending villages and towns included Niles, Jackson, and Marshall. The school officially opened its doors for classes on March 29, 1853, with 122 enrolled students. American normal schools were intended to be institutions to improve the quality of the burgeoning common school system by producing qualified teachers.
Adonijah Welch, a University of Michigan graduate, served as the Normal School's first principal. He later became the first president of Iowa State Agricultural College, now Iowa State University. The university's Georgian Revival-style Welch Hall bears his name. Constructed in 1895, Welch Hall is the second-oldest surviving building on the university's campus and an Eastern Michigan University Historic District contributing property.
In 1899, the school became the Michigan State Normal College when it developed the first four-year curriculum for a normal school in the nation. The Normal College began the twentieth-century as Michigan's premier teacher-preparatory school. The school continued through World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II, and continued to expand further. In 1956, under President Eugene Elliott, the school officially became Eastern Michigan College. This was mostly due to the expansion of the school's programs and increased enrollment following the Second World War.
In 1959 the school became a university, gaining the title Eastern Michigan University after establishing the Graduate School (graduate classes had been offered for two decades, since 1939). Between 1959 and 1980 the College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, College of Business, College of Health and Human Services, and College of Technology (now GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology) were formally organized and established. In the early 1970s, international student exchange schemes were organized, including one with Coventry College of Education (later part of the University of Warwick) in Britain. In 2005, the Honors Program officially became the Eastern Michigan University Honors College.
More recently, extended programs were added, such as Continuing Education (which includes EMU Online), the Centers for Corporate Training, the World College, and numerous community-focused institutes. Most programs are undergraduate or master's level, although the university has doctoral programs in Educational Leadership, Technology, and Psychology.
Prior to Michigan's 1963 State Constitution, Eastern Michigan University was governed by Michigan's elected State Board of Education. Since the ratification of the 1963 constitution, EMU has been governed by an eight-member Board of Regents. These regents are appointed by the Governor of Michigan with the advice and consent of the Michigan Senate, and serve eight-year terms. The regents, in turn, elect the president of the university.
Laura Dickinson murder
On December 15, 2006, EMU student Laura Dickinson's body was found in her dorm room at Hill Hall. EMU issued a statement the next day that foul play was not suspected, but EMU student Orange Amir Taylor III was arrested February 23, 2007 and charged with her rape and murder. Many Eastern Michigan students were especially skeptical of their university's compliance with the law because of this delay. According to police reports, the investigation was regarded as a homicide; however, this was denied and only officially announced on the day of Taylor's arrest. His arrest happened to be the first day students could not withdraw from classes and housing for a full refund. A subsequent investigation by Detroit law firm Butzel Long found that EMU had violated the Clery Act by not notifying students and named Vice President of Student Affairs, Jim Vick, as the main source of the cover-up.
The nationally reported scandal resulted in the firing of President John A. Fallon by the Board of Regents. He was notified of the unanimous vote of the Board to fire him by a letter sent to his home on July 15, 2007. At a special meeting called by the Board of Regents on Monday, July 16, 2007, the separation of President John Fallon was officially announced along with the separation of Jim Vick, Vice President for Student Affairs and Cindy Hall, Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police. A letter of discipline was placed in University Counsel Kenneth McKanders' file. It was also announced that Donald Loppnow, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, would be appointed Executive Vice President and in this role serve as Acting President until an Interim President is selected.
Read the full text
The Department of Education report relating to the Clery Act violations has been released to the public. It states, "Several findings of noncompliance were discovered during the review which the Department [of Education] considers to be serious violations of the Clery Act." The result of this report has yet to be seen. EMU released the executive summary of its response to the DOE report on July 27, 2007. In June 2008, the university announced that it had agreed to pay a fine of $350,000 for the violations of the Clery Act.
On December 13, 2007, EMU settled with the family and estate of Laura Dickinson for $2.5 million.
On April 7, 2008, a jury convicted Orange Taylor III of first-degree murder, assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, home invasion, and theft charges. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on May 7, 2008.
From Wikipedia’s article on Eastern Michigan University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5