EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Examining the challenges in physicians' end-of-life communication experiences. Assessing the analytical needs of Michigan breweries. A study of grassland ecosystem recovery under an ecological subsidy policy in Inner Mongolia.

Those are just a few of the topics to be studied and researched during a variety of sabbatical leaves Eastern Michigan University faculty members were awarded for the coming academic year.

Sabbatical leaves, which can be one semester at full pay or two semesters at half pay, are granted for special study, research, writing and/or other projects that enrich the activities of individual faculty members; bring prestige to the individual and the University; or provide service for local, state, national or international organizations.

The sabbatical leave projects enable faculty to compete for external grants, and, importantly, the topics they study are later taught in the classroom, which benefits students. 

The awards are part of Eastern’s strategic investment in research that recently moved its ranking from that of a large master’s degree granting university to that of a doctoral university with high research activity in the Carnegie Classification® of Institutions of Higher Education ratings – joining Eastern with only 6 percent of universities nationwide with a doctoral-research categorization.

The University has grown in all areas – research, service, student support – in its external funding portfolio, which includes funds received from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with an overall increase in external funding of 33 percent, from $9 million to $12 million over the last three years.

The two-semester sabbatical leaves also include up to $12,000 in research support, if requested and approved. The University Research and Sabbatical Leave Committee reviews the sabbatical proposals and makes recommendations to the Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs. The EMU Board of Regents approved the leaves at its regular meeting on June 13, 2019.

Eleven two-semester and 17 one-semester leaves were awarded. Faculty members listed twice were awarded in each category, and must choose which one they prefer. The awards are as follows:

One-semester leaves

Tana Bridge, Social Work. "Improving the Handling of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases through Policy Revision, Protocol Development, and Education."

Jason DeMarte, Art & Design. "Arcadia: Subverting Romantic Notions of Nature in a Post Climate Change Environment."

Jill Dieterle, History & Philosophy. "Autonomous Food Choice."

Jessica Elton, Communication, Media & Theatre Arts. "Physicians' End-of-Life Communication Experiences."

Megan Moore, Sociology, Anthropology & Criminology. "Analysis of Human Skeletal Remains from Roman Era Tombs at Antiochia ad Cragum, Southern Turkey: Chapter for an Edited Volume."

Mary-Elizabeth Murphy, History & Philosophy. "Journeys through Jim Crow: African Americans, Interstate Buses, and Black Protest Politics, 1920-1946."

John Palladino, Special Education. "Beyond Compliance: Development and Application of a Cross-Disciplinary Ethical Framework for Special Education Administrative Leadership."

Catherine Peterson, Psychology. "Integrated Psychosocial and Behavioral Health in Allergic Diseases."

Jayakumar Ramanathan, Mathematics & Statistics. "An Open Source Text for Differential Equations."

Brian Sellers, Sociology, Anthropology & Criminology. "The Pre-Crime Society: Crime, Culture, and Control in the Ultramodern Age."

Heather Shouldice, Music & Dance. "Weaving It All Together: A Practical Guide to Applying Gordon's Music Learning Theory in the Elementary General Music Program."

John Marshall Thomsen, Physics and Astronomy. "An Instructor's Guide for Ethical Issues in Physics."

Shiri Vivek, Marketing. "Development of a Faculty-friendly Tool for Self-Assessment of Student Academic Engagement in Diverse Pedagogies, across Class Formats."

Gregg Wilmes, Chemistry. "Assessing the Analytical Needs of Michigan Breweries."

Yichun Xie, Geography & Geology. "Modeling Grassland Ecosystem Recovery under Ecological Subsidy Policy in Inner Mongolia, China."

Mehmet Yaya, Economics. "Women's Empowerment in the U.S. during the Great Recession."

Andrea Zakrajsek, Health Sciences. "Weaving Age into the Fabric of Diversity of Higher Education: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Older Learners in a University Setting and Analyzing Best-Practice Models."

Two-semester leaves

Jessica Elton, Communication, Media & Theatre Arts. "Physicians' End-of-Life Communication Experiences and Training."

Margaret Hanes, Biology. "Exploring Hibiscus throughout the Pacific Ocean."

Chris Hyndman, Art & Design. "Staginess and Full Volume Painting: Artworks for Two Exhibitions."

Kevin Karpiak, Sociology, Anthropology & Criminology. "Police Perceptions of Police/Citizen Interaction in France from 'Charlie Hebdo' to the 'Yellow Vests."'

Thomas Kovacs, Geography & Geology. "A Textbook on Weather and Climate Forecasting that Applies the Scientific Method to Directly Support College General Education Outcomes."

Tierney McCleary, Technology and Professional Services Management. "Casino and Gaming Management Textbook Under Contract."

Ross Nord, Chemistry. "The Development of Models for Studying Reactions of Pollutants on Catalytic Rhodium Surfaces."

Denise Pilato, Technology and Professional Services Management. "Muted Boundaries: Technology, Culture, & the Celebration of Progress of the 1893 Columbian World's Fair."

Ann Rall, Social Work. "Welfare Rights Documentation Project."

Christine Tanner, Communication, Media & Theatre Arts. "Creation of a New Original Cross­ Cultural Theatrical Work Featuring Chinese and US Large-Scale Puppetry."

Mehrnet Yaya, Economics. "Women's Empowerment in the U.S. during the Great Recession."

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 18,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.