Item is a cream and teal circular button. The front is a circular plate that reads "Michigan State Normal School-1849 Michigan State Normal College-1899 Eastern Michigan College-1956 EMU 1959." To the right of the text is the former Eastern Michigan University Huron mascot. The back is silver with a straight needle fastener system.
Image is available upon request.
Item is a green circular button. The front is a circular plate that reads "Proud to be part of the EMU family Eastern Michigan University" in white font. There is an arrow to the left of the word "family." The back is silver in color with a straight needle fastener.
Item is a white and green circular button. The front is a circular plate that reads "Proud to be part of the EMU family! Eastern Michigan University" in white font on top of a green circular background. The back is silver with straight needle fastener system.
Item is a black circular button. The front is a circular plate that reads "PROUD to be part of the EMU family Eastern Michigan University" in white. The edge of the circular plate reads "Made in Mexico." The back is silver with a straight needle fastener system. The year 2004 is written in permanent marker beneath the needle.
Item is a white and green circular button. The front is a circular plate that reads "Eastern Michigan University Go Green!" with a green flag and the letter "E" in the background. The back is silver with a straight needle fastener system
Item is a green and golden lapel pin made of two components. The first component is a rectangular plate. The front of the plate reads "EMU." The back of the plate has a straight needle. There is a small heart symbol on the back of the plate which is likely a company logo. The second component is a circular pinching fastener system.
Item is a green and golden lapel pin made of two components. The first component is a rectangular plate. The front reads "Eastern Michigan University." A depiction of an eagle can be seen above the word Eastern. The back of the plate has a straight needle. The second component is a circular pinching fastener system.
Item is a green and pewter lapel pin made of three components. The first component is a ribbon shaped plate. The front reads "Eastern Michigan University." In the center of the plate is a depiction of a bald eagle. The back has two straight needles. The back reads "623 Made in USA." The second and third components are golden circular pinching fasteners. The second component reads "BALLOU REC.D." The third compent reads "Made in USA."
Item is a golden circular lapel pin made of two components. The first component is a plate. The front reads "Eastern Michigan University 1849." The seal of the state of Michigan is in the center of the front. The second component is a circular spring fastener system.
Item is a silver lapel pin made of two components. The first component is a rectangular plate. The front of the plate is embossed with the letters "EMU" in a serif font. The back of the first component is embossed with letter "a" which is likely a logo and the word "CHINA." The second component is a circular pinching fastener system.
Item is golden lapel pin made of two components. The first component is a plate made up of the letters "EMU" in a sans serif font. On the back there is a straight needle that comes out of the letter M. The second component is a circular pinching fastener system . The front of the fastener reads "BALLOU REC.D."
Item is a golden lapel pin made of two components. The first component is a rectangluar plate that reads "EMU". On the back there is a straight needle. The second component is a circular fasterner pinching system.
Item is a golden lapel pen made of two components. The first component is a plate is made of the letters "EMU." On the back, a straight needle comes out of the M. The second component is a circular fastener spring system.
Item is a golden lapel pen made of two components. The first component is a plate is made of the letters "EMU." On the back, a straight needle comes out of the M. The second compenet is a circular fastener system.
Item is a white circular button. The front reads "DON'T SQUELCH WELCH." The back is silver in color with a straight needle fastener system. The words " Badge-A-Minit Desalle, Ill.61301" are embossed below the needle.
Item is a green and golden lapel pin. The first component is a square lapel pin. The front reads "Eastern Michigan University Bands 100 Years 1894-1994." The back of the first component has a straight needle. The second component is a circular fastener that reads "Made in USA."
Item is a gold lapel pin that is made of two complements. The first is a oval shaped plate. The front has four icons: a irregular shaped depiction of the sun, a heart symbol, an imprint of a hand, and the United Way logo, with the words "United Way" directly underneath. The back of the first component has a straight needle. The words "Proudly Made in USA" are embossed underneath the needle. The second component is a circular fastener system
Item is a gold lapel pin that is made of three components. The first component is a metal lapel pin made of up the letters EHS with straight pins attached to the "E" and "S". The second and third components are circular fasteners.
Item is a white circular button. The front reads "EMU" written in Hebrew in green font. The back is silver in color with a silver needle fastener system.
Item is a white circular button. The front of the button reads "I care. Awareness Prevention Sexual Assault Sponsored by the Campus Peer Program, Eastern Michigan University." The back is silver with a silver needle fastener system.
Item is a green circular button. The front of button reads "From girls to Women A Celebration of Women's History Eastern Michigan University." The back of the button is silver with a gold needle fastener system.
Item is white circular button. The front of the button reads "EMU March 25 is coming Don't miss out!" in green font. The back is silver with a straight needle fastener system.
Item is a white circular button. The front of the button reads "Customer Service Awareness Week EMU thanks YOU!" The back is silver with a straight needle fastener system. The back of the button reads "Badge A Minit 1-800-223-4103."
Item is a silver circular button. The front of the button reads "WE CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE AT EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY." The back is silver with a straight needle for fastening.
Item is a white circular button. The front of the button reads "I heart Alpha Xi Delta." The heart is expressed with a heart symbol. Alpha, Xi, and Delta are written using the Greek alphabet. The back is silver in color with a straight needle for fastening.
Item is a green and golden lapel pin that is made of two components. The first component is a circular plate. The front reads Eastern Michigan University Ambassador Society around the perimeter. The center is an embossing of the Michigan flag. The second component in a golden circular fastener.
Item is a green, white and golden lapel pin that is made of two components. The first component is a circular plate. The front reads Eastern Michigan University around the perimeter. The center has the abbreviation ASL. The back has a straight needle. The second component is a golden circular fastener.
Item is a white circular button. The front of the button reads "HUMANITARIAN DAY JAN. 12" with the text wrapping around the perimeter of the button. The back of the button is silver in color. The back of the button contains a straight needle for fastening.
Item is a yellow circular button. The front of the button reads "2nd Annual All Campus All EMU Party October 28" in black font. The back of the button is silver with a straight needle parallel to the button casing.
Item is a small golden pin made of three components. The first is a octagonal plate with the abbrevation on the front. On the back is straight needle to attach to clothing. The second component is a fine chain. The third component is a letter N with another needle on the back.
Item is a small golden pin made of three connecting parts. The first is a shield with the abbrevation ZTA on the front. On the back of the shield is a two part fastening system. This shield connects to fine chain. The final part of the pin is a letter A with a small needle on the back.
Work on the Walter O. Briggs Field began almost immediately after $150,000 was donated by Walter O. Briggs, a native of Ypsilanti and owner of the Detroit Tigers. Workmen revamped the ball diamond, erected two new grandstands, and added modern football bleachers to replace wooden stands on Alumni Field. Two wings were constructed which included on the west wing, lockers, showers, property rooms, and offices. Quarters are provided for men for both home and visiting teams, the accommodations were the same for both. The east wing contained a 50 x 110 foot practice room with a dirt floor. The roof was high enough for pole vaulters to not become tangled in the girders. Indoor practice would take place primarily in the winter months for track and field events. The entrance gates faced Forest Avenue, and also included ticket-selling windows and turnstiles. Also featured was a 3,000 person baseball grandstand which was covered to protect spectators from rain and overhead sun rays. The stands faced directly west. The revamping of the baseball diamond resulted in the construction of a ball park with home plate 370 feet from the left field fence at the foul line. Right and center field fences were about 300 feet from home plate. Construction was directed by the Barton-Marlow Company under the supervision of Walter O. Briggs. The improvements were fully funded by Mr. Briggs, whose gift of $150,000 was announced by his son Walter O. Briggs, Jr. at the Michigan Centennial Dinner which was held at McKenny Hall, January 8, 1937. Approximately, 3,000 people attended the baseball game dedication of Briggs Field on May 6, 1938, when Michigan State Normal College played the University of Michigan. The Huron's played their final season at Briggs Field in 1968, as Rynearson Stadium was completed the next year. The football and baseball fields were razed in 1972 to make space for new campus buildings.
The Ypsilanti Water Tower was designed by William R. Coats and constructed as a part of an elaborate city waterworks project that began in 1889. Located on the highest point in Ypsilanti, the tower was completed in 1890. It is 147 feet high and has an 85-foot base constructed of Joliet limestone. The substructure walls taper from a thickness of forty inches at the bottom to twenty-four inches at the top. The reservoir holds a 250,000 gallon steel tank. To protect themselves from injury the builders made three stone crosses; one is visible over the west door. The Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority has operated and maintained the structure since 1974. In 1975, this tower was designated by the American Water Works Association as an American Water Landmark. It was restored in 1976. Day laborers constructed this water tower which was completed in 1890 at a cost of $21,435.63. The tower and the city waterworks supplied 471 customers in the first year. An ordinance passed on April 14, 1898, established a yearly rate schedule. Rates were based on the number of faucets in use, the type of business that customers operated and the livestock they owned. A residence with one tap was charged $5.00; a private bathtub cost an extra $2.00. Saloon keepers paid $7.00 for one faucet, $3.00 for each additional faucet and $1.00 for each billiard table. Each cow a person owned cost $1.00. People who failed to pay their bill were subject to a $50.00 fine and ninety days in the county jail. Until 1956, this structure was the only water tower in the Ypsilanti water system. The Ypsilanti Water Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Structures October 26, 1981, listed on the state register in September 1988 and a state historic marker was erected in August of 1989.
The facility is located on Westview Drive, off Huron River Drive, at the northeast corner of Rynearson Stadium. The building allows EMU's collegiate athletic teams and the Ypsilanti community to continue playing and practicing despite inclement weather. The facility is available to EMU's collegiate teams as well as intramural, club teams, and local sports leagues. The facility is 410 feet long, 210 feet wide, and stands 75 feet tall. Also included are a welcome center and convertible space that can be configured for a football field, an international soccer field, or four youth soccer fields.
Originally, this gable front Queen Anne home at 415 Perrin Street was used as the Health Cottage for ailing students. When the new health clinic opened the health cottage became a co-ed practice house where students were able to try their hand at home making. Under the direction of Miss Eula May Underbrink, associate professor in the Home Economics Department, students spent a semester living in (and caring for) the house . A group of six women resided in the home each semester, and the home duties were divided amongst the girls. With each woman fulfilling two weeks of service under each division. As an article in the Normal News (now the Eastern Echo) dated December 14, 1941 described: "The housekeeper is in charge of the lower floor and acts as the host at table, with the assistant housekeeper in charge of the upper floors and the bed-making duties. No one chances to offend the cook, for with her lies the control of the girls' appetites, and before a cook graduates from her position she must have successfully baked cakes, pies and yeast bread. The unpopular task tasks of washing dishes and making salads go to the assistant cook. To the hostess goes the cares and worries of shopping, keeping accounts, entertaining, and inviting for guest night once a week. The one remaining position is with the waitress who waits at table, dries dishes and does the ironing." The building was demolished in 1973.
Built in 1963, the EMU's Children's Institute was originally an elementary school adjacent to the EMU Campus; EMU purchased the school from city of Ypsilanti in 2009 for $2.2 million.
The EMU Children's Institute offers early childhood education for the children of EMU students, faculty, staff and surrounding communities. The Institute serves approximately 150 children ages 18 months to six years old. Originally, the building was known as Elizabeth Fletcher Elementary School housing grades Kindergarten through 5th.
For many years the building was also home to EMU's Autism Collaborative Center (ACC), which provided support to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families. It provided assessment, intervention and referral services including but not limited to speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, academic support, sibling support groups, social groups, and parent support groups. The ACC is now permanently closed.
Eastern's enrollment grew rapidly in the post-World War II years, resulting in high demand for campus housing. Construction plans called for four buildings surrounding a central dining facility. When completed, the new housing would contain space for approximately 1,200 students in the center of campus. The new housing was originally intended for women, and builders hoped to complete the complex by 1958. Downing opened first in 1957, followed by Buell in 1958, then Wise and Best opened in the 1960s. Wise was able to house 322 students and included meeting rooms, laundry facilities, and recreational areas. Wise Hall received an $11.5 million renovation in 2016, receiving necessary modern updates including installation of A/C units and Wi-Fi. Wise still serves as a residence hall for undergraduate students.
Additionally, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood Scholars Programs are housed in Wise. These programs are designed to increase retention and graduation rates for students identifying as people of color. Through collaborative university partnerships, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood Scholars programs guide students in their transition to college by providing an extended orientation, a residential community, designated courses, mentorship and workshops.
Westview is located about two miles west of campus next to Rynearson Stadium and the George Gervin GameAbove Center where many University athletic events take place. The original structure was built in the townhouse style, and offered 71 one-bedroom units and 71 two-bedroom units. The original Westview apartments were demolished in the summer of 2022 as apart of the "Welcome Home" initiative to improve on-campus housing. The new Westview opened for new residence Fall 2024. In addition to offering one and two-bedroom apartments like the old building, the new Westview also has studio and four-bedroom apartments available for students.
Warner is located within the Olds/Robb Rec/IM complex, and is largely utilized as office and classroom space for the Physical Education Department. Until 2017, Warner was the home of the EMU Gymnastics program, and the Eagles used the facility for practice and meets, including the 2002 and 2008 Michigan Classic. The Eagles took home third place honors both years, recording a team score of 192.650 in 2002, and a 192.625 in 2008. Warner Gymnasium was also the annual home of the Eagle Invitational, which the Eagles have won every year since 2006.
This residence hall was originally constructed in 1968, and was renovated in 2023 to include central A/C, updated bathrooms, and study and lounge areas.
The Village provides quality, affordable, housing for Eastern Michigan University's growing student population while creating a unique environment that supports the demands of the academic community. A total of 276 beds were added with the project. Each of the six housing units is three stories in height, with four apartments per floor. Each apartment unit houses four students, with two bathrooms, a kitchenette, and study space. The layout was developed to help students adapt to independent living, while at the same time promoting group interaction. The Community Building provides a central location for large gatherings, including a lounge and auxiliary study space.
The University House, built in 2001; serves as the President's residence and as a location for events pertaining to university functions. The multi-functional facility featured 6,500 square feet for entertaining and 3,500 square feet for residential living. The construction cost for the University House was $6 million, which caused controversy as it was $1.6 million over-budget. The controversy led to the termination of President Kirkpatrick, who, along with his wife Pamela, made many detailed decisions that inflated the cost of the home. The Kirkpatrick's also charged $34,465 worth of home-furnishings to university credit cards, in addition to their change orders which exceeded $130,000.
After almost fifty years of service, the greenhouse at Hover Laboratory had become too old and antiquated for further use, leading the university to build a new one. Changes in design and location of the proper contract caused repeated delays in the building. At last, plans called for a 1,158 square foot building comprised of three separate, climate controlled, rooms. Funding for the greenhouse was provided in part by a $365,565 grant from the National Science Foundation. EMU pledged an additional $222,000. The rest of the money came from donations and fundraisers assisted by the University's development office.
The three major rooms in the greenhouse each serve a different purpose. The first is called the Research Room, where plants are grown for research, classes, and sales purposes. The second room, the Propagation Room, is where various types of plants are sold with prices ranging from $1-$20. The third room, the Conservatory, is where the majority of the plants are houses, and students are able to come in to relax and study. The Conservatory was originally designed as a plant library for professors to borrow plants for use in labs and lectures.
Since November 6, 2006, the Student Center has been the hub of activity at EMU. In April 2007, it was voted the "Best Place to Hang between Classes" by Eastern Echo readers. The building offers meeting, conference and banquet spaces; an auditorium; eatery; bookstore; bank; wireless internet access; a 24/7 computer lab; two art galleries and houses offices for student government and student life.
Strong Hall was planned to replace Sherzer as the home of science on campus. With rapidly expanding enrollment in the post-World War II period, the college needed more classroom space and better science equipment. The new science building was constructed for $1,500,000 on the site of the old powerhouse. When the building was opened in 1957, only half of the original plan had yet been implemented. The lecture and laboratory wing, which stands today, contained nine labs each for chemistry and physics plus ten additional labs for faculty research. Five large lecture halls, offices, and nine classrooms completed the building. The plan called for a planetarium wing and a classroom wing to be built at a later date. Strong Hall's design placed most of the classrooms and laboratories in the central core of the building. Rooms in the central core did not have windows were all artificially lighted and air-conditioned. The core was designed to maintain uniform environmental conditions regardless of Michigan's changing weather conditions. Regardless of the intentions of this windowless design, the building was known as the campus eyesore and most people felt as though the building was cramped, stuffy, and generally unwelcoming. As a result, between 2017 and 2019 Strong Hall received a much needed $40 million renovation that emphasized natural lighting and open inviting spaces. This was the largest renovation project in EMUs history, as the building had hardly been touched since it was originally constructed. Today Strong Hall is the home of the Geography and Geology Department.
The Student Christian Association (SCA) was organized in 1853, the same year EMU opened. Over the next forty years, the SCA continued to grow and by 1892, its members were looking for a building of their own. The students asked local philanthropist Mary Anne Starkweather for financial assistance. Mrs. Starkweather had planned to donate $10,000 to the Michigan State Normal School (MSNS) for a new science facility in her will; however, following the appeal of the SCA, she offered to provide the funds to erect a building for them. The MSNS was the first teachers college in the United States to have a building designated for religious activities. Starkweather Hall, as it came to be known, was fully outfitted for the students. The first floor contained rooms for receptions or dining, a dressing room, a library, and a few classrooms. These rooms were separated by rolling partitions that could be opened to enlarge the space. A kitchen was also installed so that students could cook meals for the dining area. Upstairs, plans called for a large assembly room and a keeper's room rented to a student who looked after the building. All of the hardware was custom made for the building. Today original doorknobs remain in certain parts of the building, bearing the in initials of the Student Christian Association (SCA). The building housed the Honors College until December 2015. Starkweather is the oldest remaining on-campus and is currently (2024) not utilized by EMU in any capacity.
Located in the Judy Sturgis Hill Building, the Legacy-Sponberg Theatres are the main home for the theatrical arts on campus.
The Legacy Theatre is the larger of the two mainstage houses. The 36' x 58' stage, fronted with a 35' x 20' proscenium arch, is the 327-seat home for faculty-directed mainstage productions. Legacy's stage boasts an additional 11' deep forestage apron, which includes a lift that can be lowered for use as an orchestra pit. The fly loft grid extends the full width and depth of the stage, housing a counterweight system of 31 line sets. The costume shop is located in the basement of the Legacy Theatre.
The 202-seat Sponberg Theatre is the more intimate of the two mainstage houses. It is located just beyond the Judy Strugis-Hill building's main lobby. It offers a 18' x 40' modified thrust stage. Part of the stage can be removed to accommodate a small band. A system of catwalks allows access to areas over the stage and the auditorium for effects and lighting.
Snow Health Center replaced the old building in the context of a rapidly expanding university. The building cost $750,000 and was financed through funds the University borrowed against student fees. Architects designed it to facilitate the practice of preventative medicine on campus. Snow Health Center contained three times the number of beds as the old health center. In normal circumstances, it could house 30 patients in quarters on the third floor but it had space for up to 150 in a disaster situation. A brightly colored abstract mosaic decorates the entryway of the otherwise sober International style exterior. In 1958, the school held a competition in which it invited fine and industrial arts faculty to present ideas for a mosaic. The winning mosaic decorates the wall outside the main entrance to the health center and adds color to the stark international style building.
After 60 years in operation, Snow Health Center officially closed on November 1, 2019. The same year, a private health center, IHA Health Center @ EMU, opened on November 4th.
The Smart Physical Plant houses offices, the grounds, custodial, carpentry, plumbing, welding and electrical offices and a warehouse for delivery and storage.
Sill Hall was designed to house the Fine and Industrial Arts programs in the high style of the 1960s. It cost approximately $1.5 million dollars to complete. The two-story wing designed for the Fine Arts Department included classrooms, studios, and offices. The one-story wing housed industrial arts classrooms including a variety of shop facilities and offices. In 2021, Sill Hall underwent a $40 million renovation in order to accommodate the expansion of engineering programs in the College of Engineering and Technology. In this renovation, Sill was also expanded by 16,000 square feet to support numerous collaborative lab spaces for the engineering programs.
This building was named for Dr. William H. Sherzer, professor of geology and head of Department of Natural Sciences (1892-1932), and construction was finished in 1903. According to legend, Dr. Sherzer sketched a plan for the new Natural Science Building on the back of an envelope based on the science buildings he saw when he studied in Germany. Sherzer Hall is one of four buildings that comprise the Eastern Michigan University Historic District, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Sherzer has survived two separate fires, a small one in 1973 that caused $10,000 in damages, and another in 1989 that nearly burned the building to the ground. The building was reconstructed in just eighteen months, and Quinn Evans Architects and EMU received recognition for reproducing the masonry techniques used in the original structure. Many scientific specimens and artifacts connected with the school’s early history were destroyed in the fires.
Sherzer was originally utilized as a Natural Sciences building, and while it does not hold many science classes today, it maintains its connection to the sciences with its rooftop observatory. The Sherzer Observatory was established in 1878, and moved from the top of Pierce Hall to the Sherzer building in 1903. In 1997, a radio telescope was installed on the roof to collect radio waves created by celestial objects. The observatory has been connecting the EMU community to the cosmos for over 100 years, and remains an important and popular fixture on campus.
This residence hall was constructed in 1966, and named after Professor John Sellers who was the head of the Department of Chemistry between 1958 and 1964. Sellers is open to both first year and upperclass students, and was renovated in 2024 to provide modern amenities to student residents.
Nicknamed “The Factory”, the stadium was constructed in 1969 to replace Briggs Field as the home of Football and Track at EMU. The first game played in Rynearson Stadium happened on Sept. 27, 1969, when EMU upset the University of Akron, 10-3. Despite having seating for 30,200 people, Rynearson has never reached capacity. The largest attendance for an EMU football game occurred on November 28, 2008 when 26,188 fans watched EMU beat Central Michigan University 56-52.
In the winter of 2014, the football team was challenged to an outdoor practice on the snow-covered Rynearson Stadium field rather than the warm confines of their indoor practice facility. Throughout each drill of the bitter cold practice, Head Coach Chris Creighton delivered the message that EMU Football has the will to compete against "anyone, anytime and anywhere" even on a parking lot covered with broken glass." Inspired by his team's toughness and commitment that day, Creighton's idea of an "EMU Gray" field was born and soon shared with administrators. Rynearson’s turf was then replaced with gray FieldTurf, which made EMU the third Division I school to have a non-traditional field color.
Continuing its legacy as a teacher training school, in 1924 the Michigan State Normal College had Roosevelt High School constructed on campus to serve as a laboratory school where student teachers gained experience teaching real students. When the school opened in 1925, it provided instruction for grades 7-12. Roosevelt opened during a time when high school education was becoming more common in the United States. Speaking at a conference culminating in the dedication of Roosevelt High School, Dr. Charles Judd stated that, "In 1890 one out of ten American young people were in high school. By 1926 there were one out of three boys and girls in secondary schools." By 1930, 400 students were already attending Roosevelt, and the decision was made to make the laboratory school K-12. 1930 was also the year the school was officially named Roosevelt School, after Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States.
When it opened, Roosevelt School was exceptionally designed. Like nearby Pease Auditorium, architects designed the exterior of brick and terracotta but they used a modified Georgian Revival idiom. Inside, the building contained all the amenities of a modern high school. The north wing contained the high school offices, clinic rooms and a library. The first floor of the west wing housed a 430-seat auditorium that included a stage, orchestra pit, projection booth, and restrooms. The ground floor had a swimming pool, shower room, locker rooms, cafeteria, and labs for home economics and natural and physical science departments were located on the ground floor. Upstairs on the second floor, the Junior High School had classrooms, while the Senior High School had classrooms on the third floor.
The library, located in the north wing, opened in 1926. It housed 2,000 volumes and could seat approximately 85 students. The upper parts of the walls were painted white while the lower walls were of greenish-brown stained woodwork. Roosevelt did not have an easy time remaining open. It was first threatened with closure in 1929, but it weathered the threat and continued to grow for the next two decades. During the 1950s, however, education trends began to shift away from university maintained laboratory schools. Roosevelt was again threatened with closure; it survived, but time was running out. In 1966, the Educational Appropriation Act (Public Act 285) passed the state congress. It required that Roosevelt School be completely phased out by June 1969. Roosevelt School's use as a university high school had come to an end, as had the tradition of university laboratory schools. One student, saddened by the closure of the school, published this eulogy in the Rough Rider, Roosevelt School student newspaper: "Since it must go, let it go out in a style typical of Roosevelt, with dignity. The school is dead. Long live the school."
Currently, Roosevelt is used for classroom space, and also houses the ROTC program.
The Michigan State Normal College established the Special Education Department in 1915 and was originally housed in Welch Hall. The department received a building of their own in 1938 with a donation of $350,000 was made by the Horace H. and Mary A. Rackham fund to commemorate the work of Charles M. Elliot in the area of Special Education. Rackham was the first facility in the nation built specifically for teacher training in special education.
Horace Rackham, the lawyer who drew up the contract that incorporated Ford Motor Company, had died leaving a fortune of $12 million dollars from Ford stock. Following his death in 1933, his will directed that the trustees of his fortune use the money to "promote the health welfare, happiness, education, training, and development of men, women, and children, particularly the sick, aged, young, erring, poor, crippled, helpless, handicapped, unfortunate, and underprivileged regardless of race, color, religion or station." The new building met the criteria set by Rackham's will, and contained impressive facilities for the study and practice of special education. The new building not only housed the Special Education Department, but also a Laboratory School where teachers learned techniques for educating students with disabilities. Student teachers taught classes for the deaf and hard of hearing, blind and partially-sighted, cognitively impaired, and physically handicapped. The building also contained a speech and hearing clinic.
The Rackham school could accommodate more than two hundred children. A dormitory attached to the building could house twenty-four students as well as a housemother, and was open to students who lived too far for the daily commute. The ground floor contained six classrooms as well as a gymnasium and auditorium. Separate recreation rooms for boys and girls, laundry room and incinerator were also located on the ground floor. The first floor housed classrooms for the deaf, physiotherapy and orthopedic therapy rooms, office space, and a clinic. The building also included a lunchroom that could house all two hundred pupils.
The laboratory school closed in June 1982 because of Michigan's mandatory special education act that delegated administrative responsibilities for special education programs to local school districts. The Special Education department, however, continued to use the building for classroom space. Today, most of the Special Education classes are housed in the Porter College of Education. Rackham was home to the Children's Center until 2011 when it underwent renovations, and now houses the recently established physician assistant program, whose inaugural courses were held in May 2014.
This building was originally constructed as the Quirk Dramatic Arts Building was named for Daniel L. Quirk, Jr., a member of one of the founding families of Ypsilanti, and also a philanthropist who not only supported EMU but also was patron of the little Theater movement in Ypsilanti. When it opened, newspapers called Quirk Dramatic Arts Building the "most modern building of its kind." The theater was originally built for the Department of English and Speech and included a theater with seating for 400, classrooms, television and radio studios, and an outdoor amphitheater.
In 2021, Quirk was renamed as the Judy Sturgis Hill building in honor of the late Emeritus Professor of Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts, Dr. Judy Sturgis Hill. The theatre's located in the Hill building were also renamed from the Quirk-Sponberg Theatre to the Legacy-Sponberg Theatres.
In 1948, seventy year old President John Munson was looking to retire. The State Board of Education asked the long-time president of Normal College to begin plans for the building of a new president's house for the campus. President Munson had boarded at the Huron Hotel throughout his presidency. His predecessor, President Charles McKenny, had lived in the Post Mansion, located where King Hall now stands. McKenny died in office leaving his widow without a home of her own except the president's house on campus. Munson allowed Mrs. McKenny to remain in the house until her passing in 1939. Following Mrs. McKenny's death, President Munson decided that the location of the Old Post Mansion, situated in the heart of campus, would be better used for residence halls. The Post Mansion was demolished and the residence halls of King and Goodison were built. The school board elected to build the new house on an old farm site adjacent to Jones Residence Hall. Prior to the completion of the new house, incoming university President Eugene Elliot and his family were unable to settle in Ypsilanti due to lack of housing. President Elliot lived in an apartment in the Business and Finance Building for a brief period of time while the new house was being completed. the new house was completed in 1949, and Mrs. Elliot had asked that a garden be cut in the backyard to provide flowers for university functions. The large house contained 4,850 square feet with an attached breeze-way and garage.
When it opened in 1969, Pray-Harrold was one of the largest classroom buildings in the United States. It had been built with an appropriation from the State Legislature for $5.6 million. The exterior was designed to match the architecture of the University Library and other buildings around the center of campus. The seven-story building accommodated 4,500 students each hour in its 75 classrooms and four lecture halls. Fully air-conditioned, the structure provided office space for 407 faculty members. Functionally, the building was designed with the most heavily used areas, the classrooms and lecture halls, on the first four floors while the offices were located on the top three floors. Today, the building remains devoted to classroom and office space, housing the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of African American Studies, Department of Computer Science, Department of Economics, Department of English Language and Literature, Department of History and Philosophy, Institute for Diversity and Business Services, Department of Mathematics, Department of Political Science, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology.
In May of 1967, the new library building, five times the size of the former Clyde Ford Library, opened on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. Built with a combination of federal and state funds for the cost of $2.68 million, it contained 133,500 square feet of space for collections, services and study. By the late 1980s the student body was asking for a new library to be built. Once the Bruce T. Halle Library was opened in 1998, the old library building was remodeled to house the College of Education and was renamed the John W. Porter building for Dr. Porter who had a distinguished career as a teacher and administrator in the K-12 schools of Michigan before becoming the Michigan State Superintendent of Schools, and then President of Eastern Michigan University from 1979-1988. The renovated building was designed to provide a variety of teaching/learning environments, including extensive technology capability, for the preparation of school personnel and professionals in related areas. The College of Education's move to the renovated building created a new environment for students in the disciplines of Teacher Education, Special Education and Leadership and Counseling. The John W. Porter Building was reopened on October 8th 1999. The total cost of renovation was $13.8 million.
Hill, Hoyt and Pittman halls were constructed in 1969 to house ever-growing numbers of students at the university. The University funded the $6.25 million project through the sale of self-liquidating bonds. These 11-story structures stand taller than anything on or near campus except the city water tower. Designers built the residence halls to house a total of 1,404 across the three dormitories. Hill and Hoyt were originally dedicated to women while men lived in Pittman. Like many of the other dormitories on campus, the buildings surround a courtyard. The fourth side of the court is closed by the Conference Center which contains Dining Commons #3.
President Eugene B. Elliott constructed Pine Grove Apartments as part of his expansion plans. The apartments were reserved for married housing, housing that would appeal to GIs with families returning from the Korean War (1950-1953). Pine Grove #1 opened with thirty-six completely furnished apartments earmarked for married students. A one-bedroom apartment cost $60 a month and a two-bedroom apartment cost $70 a month. Furnishings included a Youngstown kitchen in dawn yellow and meridian blue with a gas range and an electric refrigerator. A living room, bedroom, bathroom, and heating unit were all included in individual units.
Pierce Hall replaced Boone Hall as the central administrative headquarters for the university when it was constructed in 1948. Pierce Hall was completed in 1948 as part of President John M. Munson's building campaign. Munson, oversaw the building of 13 buildings on campus during his tenure from 1933-1948. Pierce was among the last buildings to be completed before Munson left the presidency in 1948. Pierce Hall was dedicated as part of the centennial celebrations of the Normal College in 1949.
Even the name fits with this retrospective theme. Pierce Hall commemorates John D. Pierce who was the first State Superintendent of Public Instruction (1836-1841). The design of Pierce Hall was a modern interpretation of the Old Main Building. Though very different in design, the building retained certain nostalgic features including the large bell tower that dominates the facade. The residents of Ypsilanti donated money to construct the 120-foot tower, in the tradition of Old Main. In June 1950 the school installed the Alumni Memorial Chimes, donated by the alumni and dedicated to those who died in World War II.
Pierce served as the administrative building on campus until those services were moved to Welch Hall in the late 1980s. Pierce now houses several different student support services, including Swoops Food Pantry which provides free food to students in need.
Music has held an important place at Eastern Michigan for over one hundred years. In 1881, Michigan State Normal School established the Normal Conservatory of Music; the program grew rapidly and by the beginning of the twentieth century was in need of further facilities. The new auditorium was constructed in 1914. Originally, the building was named after John D. Pierce, but in 1915 was renamed Pease Auditorium after Frederic H. Pease, who served the Normal between 1858-1909 as a Professor of Music and the Director of the Normal Conservatory once it was established.
Frederick Alexander, a Professor of Music in the first decades of the twentieth century, had hoped to have an organ installed when the auditorium opened in 1915. Due to lack of funds, the school could not afford to place an organ in Pease, so, upon his death, Alexander donated $85,000, for the university to build a new organ. Erich Goldschmidt, EMU Professor of Organ (1955-1978) designed and voiced, or tuned, the Frederic Alexander Memorial Organ for its home on the stage of Pease Auditorium. It took Goldschmidt an entire year to tune the pipes properly in his workshop, located in the basement of Pease. Its first performance took place in 1960. The organ was restored between 1993 and 1999.
Pease has been renovated on several occasions, but received its most extensive remodel between 1993-94 so the building could be brought up to code, and made accessible for people with physical disabilities. Performances are still held in Pease Auditorium to this day, and comfortably seats 1,700 people.
Beginning in 1911, the Board authorized a Business Education Degree at the Michigan State Normal School. By 1929 the school offered a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. The College of Business (COB) moved to its current location in 1991. Today, the COB serves approximately 3,400 students. The COB offers thirteen majors and minors and five graduate degrees, and thirteen graduate certificate programs. The COB was initially located south of the main campus closer to downtown Ypsilanti, but returned to the main campus in 2019. At one point, students were able to take a shuttle from the main campus to the COB one way in under five minutes.
When graduates from Eastern Michigan University gather and reminisce about teachers and coaches who influenced their lives, one of the first names to be mentioned is that of Lloyd Olds. Olds taught at Eastern Michigan University from 1921 to 1963. Recollections and stories of Olds usually revolve around his career as a track coach and director of the intramural program.
Olds-Robb Student Recreational/Intramural Complex was first named for Lloyd W. Olds. Student tuition and bond sales paid for the $16.5 million construction of the building. When it was built, the building contained the largest indoor swimming pool in the state, pool depth varied from 3 to 17 feet. The old varsity pool was converted into a club pool with a sauna facility connected. Today, the building serves about 500,000 people each year and offers swimming, racquetball, volleyball, basketball, aerobics, billiards, table tennis, free weights, and other fitness machines. On the third floor is a gymnasium able to accommodate four basketball courts or twelve volleyball or badminton courts. Viewers can see it from the fourth floor track that runs around the perimeter of the room.
The Old Post Mansion was built by Dr. Lewis H. Jones between 1899 and 1909. Dr. Jones purchased the property around 1900, from Samuel Post, a Detroit soup manufacturer. Dr. Jones lived in the home until the property was purchased by the state in 1915 to serve as the president's house. Dr. Charles McKenny, President 1912-1933, was the first and only president to reside in the home. McKenny died while in office, leaving his widow with out a home of her own. Incoming President John M. Munson, allowed Mrs. McKenny to remain in the house for the rest of her life. Munson chose to live in the Huron Hotel. Following Mrs. McKenny's death in 1939, Munson decided that the location of the president's house would be better used for residence halls, due to its central location.
Originally used for all administrative functions until Boone Hall was built, also provided classroom and library space. The original building was a brick structure three stories high, with a recessed front door and an ornamented cornice. All windows feature simple upper and lower pediments. The first floor provided a room for the model school, one for the department of Physics and Chemistry, a small reception room and library. The second floor features were the recitation rooms and the main school room. One large room and a number of smaller rooms were on the third floor.
Named after EMU Hall of Fame Coach Ron Oesterike, Oestrike Stadium was constructed in 1971, the year following Eastern Michigan's NAIA Collegiate National Championship and four years before its back-to-back NCAA Worlds Series appearances. Improvements to the stadium have been ongoing since 1988 to ensure it is always up to excellent playing standards. On October 6, 2008, musician Bruce Springsteen performed here in support of Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. To this day, Oestrike Stadium remains the home of the EMU Eagles baseball team.
Munson Residence Hall was built during the construction campaign of President John M. Munson. The new building was intended to be the men's residence hall and named for President Munson. Munson contained 200 student rooms when it was built and the adjacent residence hall, Brown, contained 250. In 1943, Munson began to house soldiers in the Army Specialized Training Program. These 300 soldiers, selected from camps around the nation, collected at Michigan State Normal College to form Company H of the 3651st Unit of the A.S.T.P. At Normal these soldiers were given basic academic training, called Basic I, which would allow them to enter more advanced leadership roles in the military. Munson was demolished in 2024, and is set to be turned into green space.
Michigan State Normal College was the first teachers' college with a social center. In 1924, President Charles McKenny proposed the idea of a Union to student leaders. That year the Alumni Association set out to raise $500,000. For the first time the university funded a building campaign by soliciting money from alumni. Later on, money was pledged by the Student Council and by faculty. By 1928, the school had pledges for $350,000, unfortunately due to the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the following Great Depression, the school had only collected $130,000 in cash by 1930. Construction began in 1931 with less expensive, plan. Difficulties in paying bonds on the building lead the state to take control in 1937, drawing the cost of the debts from the student programming fees. The building was named for Charles M. McKenny, President of EMU 1912-1933 and the man who first proposed the idea of a student union. During the housing crunch of the 1950s, the third floor and basement of McKenny became student housing, dorm rooms were set up for those who worked in the student union.
Today, McKenny houses a wide variety of resources, such as classrooms, transfer admissions, and the University Advising and Career Development Center, or UACDC. The UACDC provides resume building, mock interviews, job and interview placement assistance, and advising for all of our students in the Exploratory major. McKenny is also home to our on campus Chick-fil-A.
Architects designed the new building for the College of Health and Human Services to be environmentally friendly. Tables are made of soybeans, newspapers, and wooden pallets. Chairs and fabrics are made from recycled pop bottles; floors from straw cork, recycled tires and bamboo; ceiling tiles inhibit harmful molds; and low-odor, solvent-free paints help ensure air quality. Following the principles of universal design, the building has wider doors and adjustable desks among other modifications to ensure that everyone, regardless of age, size or disability can be comfortable in the building. The building was funded by state and university matching funds, including a donation from Professor Emeritus Everett L. Marshall.
The pond and Lake house were constructed as part of an 11-acre, $1.5 million project to create an outdoor recreation area connected to the Olds-Robb center. The man-made pond is six feet deep, and intended for year-round enjoyment. In the winter, the pond was designed to be used as an outdoor ice skating rink. The Lake house provides a place for students to relax. The outdoor complex, of which the pond and Lake house are a part, also includes volleyball courts, running trails, and a picnic area with horseshoe pits. The project also featured an 800-seat amphitheater. Based on student requests for a safe outdoor area for jogging at night, the designers lighted the one-mile long jogging trail.
