Department News

Workshops for history teachers

Memorial for Professor Browne

Michigan authors host readings

Departments select new chairs

 

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CMU faculty host workshops for K-12 history teachers

CMU faculty members and K-12 teachers are working together to develop innovative lesson plans and professional development opportunities for history instructors.

Combining intensive classroom instruction with field visits to significant historic sites, the grant-funded workshops conducted by CMU faculty members aim to help K-12 teachers gain a deeper understanding of the American and Michigan history courses they teach.

History department chairperson Timothy Hall says the program’s thematic instruction model and hands-on field experiences help teachers examine history from new perspectives.

“We use historical events and topics in Michigan and the Great Lakes as a lens through which teachers can gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of events and processes in U.S. history,” said Hall. “Our goal is to help teachers not only learn the facts of history but also gain an understanding of history as a method of disciplined inquiry into the past.”

During this summer’s workshop, “The Anishinabeg of Michigan and the Great Lakes,” participants learned about Native American history by examining and analyzing textbooks and other primary materials and taking a three-day trip to Fort Michilimackinac.

“While at the fort, the teachers met with individuals who use archeology to conduct research,” said Hall. “They had an opportunity to ask questions about historic archeology and also helped screen dirt at an authentic archeological dig.”

Tim Hall (far right), history department chairperson, and Renay Scott (second from right), Teacher Education and Professional Development chairperson, watch as two teachers and an archeologist screen sand at an archeological dig at Fort Michilimackinac during a summer workshop for K-12 history teachers.

The project is funded through two overlapping grants from the state of Michigan and the federal Teaching American History Grant program.

Hall and CMU history professor Timothy O’Neil partnered with Renay Scott, CMU’s Teacher Education and Professional Development chairperson, to secure the state grant to strengthen the teaching of American history among K-12 teachers in the Alpena area. That grant funded the project from 2003 to 2005. This year, along with history assistant professors Jennifer Green and Ben Ramirez, they were awarded the federal grant to extend and enhance the Alpena project through the summer of 2007.

The K-12 teachers draw upon their experiences at the summer workshops to produce lesson and unit plans that they will classroom test with their students during the following school year. The CMU faculty members hold follow-up visits with the teachers throughout the year and host a spring workshop with all of the participants to evaluate and review the effectiveness of the lessons.

The project also addresses the need to develop effective learning opportunities for teachers.

“We are creating a better professional development model that incorporates a stronger emphasis on content for teachers with some of the latest developments in best history education practice,” said Hall. “Our innovative model leads the participants into a deeper knowledge of the content by incorporating methodologies that provide modeling and practice for the teachers.”

The program is conducted through the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District, which is the fiscal agent for the federal grant. The K-12 teachers participating in the workshops are from Alpena and surrounding districts. They attend classroom instruction in Alpena and make field visits to landmarks and communities associated with the materials they are learning.

Last year’s workshop, “Michigan in the Great West,” examined Michigan’s role in migration to and the economic and political development of the American West. Next year, teachers will examine mining and migration in Michigan and visit historic sites in the Keweenaw Peninsula.

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CMU bids farewell to professor emeritus Bill Browne

The CMU community said goodbye to a respected friend, colleague, and mentor during a heartfelt memorial service for political science professor emeritus William P. Browne in June.

Browne passed away on April 18 at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston after a 12-year battle with chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Guests swapped stories about Bill’s playful humor, his professional contributions to CMU, and his love for cooking, fishing, baseball, and caring for stray dogs.

Political science professor Delbert Ringquist, who began teaching at CMU with Browne in August 1971, recounted how Bill’s enthusiasm and dedication forever changed the face of the political science department.

“Without his care and attention, the department might never have established the master’s in public administration program, which he developed in the mid-1970s,” said Ringquist. “He also was instrumental in establishing an internship program that placed students in locales from Washington, D.C. to Lansing and communities throughout Michigan and around the country.”

“He treated students with respect and encouraged their achievements and successes. He was a constant mentor to students, and they knew they had a friend in Dr. Browne,” said Ringquist.

Many of these former students attended the service and shared fond memories of Browne.

“Bill had faith in me before I even had faith in me,” said Amy Stone, ’81, who, with assistance from Browne, became the first CMU student to be a presidential intern. She remained in Washington, D.C., after graduation and is now the CEO of Thriving Organizations Co.

Jeffrey Weber, ’91, a high school teacher who drove from Chicago that morning to attend the service, said he tries to model his teaching style after Bill’s.

“Each day, I try to remember what I learned from Dr. Browne.”

Other students expressed gratitude for the personalized guidance they received from Browne.

“I owe my career in city management to him,” said Jack Duso, ’77, an assistant city manager in Midland.

Duso remained close to Browne and his family over the years and was the co-moderator of the memorial service along with Ben Bifoss, ’75, former Manistee city manager.

Browne is survived by his wife, Linda, his sister, Suzanne Browne Miller, his mother-in-law, Doris Thomas, and nine brothers and sisters-in-law. The memorial service and luncheon were held at CMU on June 10 in the Townsend Kiva.

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Michigan authors host readings

Several local authors had an opportunity to showcase their talents this spring when the English department hosted a series of readings by Michigan writers.

The series began with CMU journalism professor John Palen, who read from his new book of poetry, Open Communion: New and Selected Poems, on March 23.

English professor Anne Alton and research assistant James Esamagidi presented “Creating the Eternal Child: The Many Faces of Peter Pan” on March 29. They described their work on Alton’s new edition of Peter Pan, which will include several early versions of the story that led to the classic people know and love.

CMU English professor Anne Alton presents “Creating the Eternal Child: The Many Faces of Peter Pan” as part of a series of readings by Michigan authors.

Shakespeare scholar Grace Tiffany hosted a reading of her work on April 6. Tiffany, a literature professor at Western Michigan University, has written the novels Her Father Had a Daughter, based on the life of Shakespeare’s daughter, Judith, and WILL: A Novel, based on the life of Shakespeare.

Essayist Kathleen Stocking wrapped up the series with a reading on April 12. Stocking is the author of Lake Country: A Series of Journeys and Letters from Leelanau: Essays of People and Places. She has been compared to E.B. White and Garrison Keillor.

All of the readings were sponsored by the Great Lakes Faculty Forum of CMU’s Department of English Language and Literature.

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Departments select new chairs

Two CHSBS departments selected new department chairs for the upcoming academic year.

Marcy Taylor will replace outgoing chair Steve Holder in the English department, and Hajime Otani will replace outgoing chair Gary Dunbar in the psychology department.

Department chairs oversee administrative, academic, personnel, and student activities within their departments.

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