A New Beginning

Dear faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of EMU:

Welcome to the first all-digital issue of Eastern Magazine. While we have always had an online magazine presence, Spring 2021 marks the first time that we are completely digital and won’t be mailing a hard copy version to your homes.

This marks a big change for us. As much as we enjoyed creating a print publication, we are pausing to make sure that we can still bring you compelling EMU stories in a cost-effective way. Eastern Magazine is now easily accessible on your desktop, tablet or mobile devices, and stories are more easily shared on social media platforms. We are exploring ways to bring you content more frequently throughout the year, too, so that you will continually be up to date on everything happening on campus.

The year 2020 brought us many challenges, mostly due to COVID-19, and the fully digital magazine is just one of the ways we have adapted. This issue spotlights other innovative ways that the community banded together in the midst of a pandemic—everything from housing local medical employees on campus in the summer, to assisting with laundry for St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital, to making PPE. While this past year hasn’t been easy, it has been heartwarming to see the true spirit of EMU come alive. Our students have benefitted from the generosity of others, through increased gifts to Swoop’s Pantry and the Student Emergency Fund. We thank you for thinking of them and supporting them during this crucial time.

Thank you, and be safe.

James Smith, Ph.D. President, Eastern Michigan University