Student Speeches

Listen to audio recordings of student speeches

  • Ronald Bridge, Bowen Field House Dedicatory Address, 1955
    On the behalf of the students of Michigan State Normal College, student body President Ronald Bridge thanks the parties responsible for the planning and construction of Bowen Field House.
  • Harold Sponberg, Address to Fall Faculty Conference, 1972
    Harold Sponberg served as Eastern Michigan University president from 1965 to 1974. In this address at the 1972 Fall Faculty Conference, Sponberg begins with a humorous synopsis of the duties of administrators, deans, and secretaries, before moving on to express his view that good decision making on the part of teachers depends primarily on insight, and the ability to recognize the different ways in which students learn. Sponberg also announces the appointment of a committee to investigate the differences in pay, workload, and hiring between men and women at EMU.
  • Leonard Posey, Inaugural Luncheon Address, 1976
    Leonard Posey was elected as the first African American Student Body President of Eastern Michigan University in 1975. During his presidency, Posey caught flack from several minority student groups who charged that he was unfair in allocating the $18,000 in student assessment fees. He drew the fire of administrators who thought he was too critical of the controversial inauguration plans for University President James Brickley. In this address, Posey welcomes newly-elected EMU President James Brickley to his new post, and also sheds light on the late student unrest on campus, and the need for a university president to be adaptable to changing societal norms.
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