Shirley Verrett Award Ceremony & Concert to honor UM Professor George Shirley
Award Ceremony, February 4, 2016
This event will feature a performance by acclaimed opera singer, Marcia Porter (cousin and former student of Shirley Verrett). A reception honoring Mr. Shirley will take place in the lobby immediately following the program from 6:00 pm until 6:30pm.

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Free Shuttle Service: To avoid the problem of finding parking on North Campus, a Golden Limousine shuttle will leave Central Campus at 4:30 pm from the front of Hill Auditorium. The shuttle will return at 6:30 pm following the reception.
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![]() The Shirley Verrett Award
The Shirley Verrett Award was established in honor of the late University of Michigan James Earl Jones Distinguished University Professor of Voice, Shirley Verrett, a teacher who “would have walked the world over for her students.” An internationally acclaimed opera singer who performed over 40 roles all over the world during the course of her illustrious four-decade career, Ms. Verrett was one of the pioneering leaders in the generation of black singers after Marian Anderson’s historical Metropolitan Opera debut in 1955. The Shirley Verrett Award was established in 2011 by the University of Michigan Office of the Senior Vice Provost and is administered by the Women of Color in the Academy Project (WOCAP) at the Center for the Education of Women (CEW).
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Eastern Michigan University ‘Skate Night’
Mon Feb 15, 2016

Campus Life Roller Rink
From 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Eastern Michigan University
Student Center – Ballroom
345 Student Center, 900 Oakwood Dr.,
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
734.487.3045
Cost: Free
Open to the public
Have a skate date on our very own roller rink at the Student Center! This event is free. Skates are provided.
Teju Cole, New York Times Magazine Photography Critic and Author, Will Give A Reading At Eastern Michigan University

Teju Cole
TEJU COLE is a writer, art historian, and photographer. He is the Distinguished Writer in Residence at Bard College and photography critic of the New York Times Magazine.
He was born in the US in 1975 to Nigerian parents, and raised in Nigeria. He currently lives in Brooklyn. He is the author of two books, a novella, Every Day is for the Thief, named a book of the year by the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, NPR, and the Telegraph, and shortlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award, and a novel, Open City, which also featured on numerous book of the year lists, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the New York City Book Award for Fiction, the Rosenthal Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Internationaler Literaturpreis, and was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the New York Public Library Young Lions Award, and the Ondaatje Prize of the Royal Society of Literature.
Teju Cole has contributed to the New York Times, the New Yorker, Qarrtsiluni, the Financial Times, the Atlantic, Granta, Aperture, Transition, A Public Space, the New Inquiry, and several other magazines. He is currently at work on a book-length non-fiction narrative of Lagos, and is engaged in curatorial projects. His photography has been exhibited in India and the US, published in a number of journals, and will be the subject of a solo exhibition in Italy. He has lectured widely, from the Harvard Graduate School of Design to Twitter Headquarters, and gave the 2014 Kenan Distinguished Lecture in Ethics at Duke University. He was awarded the 2015 Windham Campbell Prize for Fiction. http://www.tejucole.com
Teju Cole will be reading a selection from one of his writings and hosting a Q&A session.
Wed Mar 9, 2016
7:00 PM
Student Center Auditorium
Cost: Free
Open to the public
345 Student Center, 900 Oakwood Dr., Ypsilanti, MI 48197
734.487.3045
“The Political Scene According To Michael Steele”

Michael Steele-Former Republican National Committee Chair
Michael Steele, author, writer and political analyst, was the first African American Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He was also the first black politician elected to statewide office in Maryland where he served as Lieutenant Governor. Currently he is “President and CEO of The Steele Group, a company he started in 1999. The Steele Group works with institutional and individual clients to design overall business development, investor, networking, and communications strategies.” http://steeleforum.com/index.php?biography
“Michael Steele’s experiences as Maryland’s lieutenant governor, as a candidate for the U.S. Senate and as a Republican Party leader make him an excellent guide on the fast-paced world of politics.
He is a political analyst at MSNBC.” Gregg Costanzo, Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Tue Feb 2, 2016
7:00 PM
Student Center – Auditorium
Cost: Free
Open to the public
Contact:
- Gregg Costanzo
- Phone: 734.487.3045
- Email: gcostanz@emich.edu
Additional Information:
NAAPID at Night
Join us for a Special 20th Anniversary Celebration of NAAPID: National African American Parent Involvement Day….at Night.
February 8, 2016 – 6 P.M.
Ypsilanti Community Middle School Auditorium
235 Spencer Lane, Ypsilanti, Michigan 48198
Featuring Keynote Speaker: Ayinde Jean Baptiste Gifted orator, writer, and strategist, Ayinde Jean Baptiste gained national attention as a 12-year old speaker at the 1995 Million Man March. His speech was the motivating factor for Joseph Dulin to launch National African American Parent Involvement Day. At 14-years old, Ayinde was invited to and spoke at Pioneer H.S. for the 1998 NAAPID kickoff event. Now, 18 years later he returns as the keynote speaker for “NAAPID at Night” to reflect, remind, and renew the call to action. You won’t want to miss this 20th anniversary of NAPPID and hear Mr. Baptiste’s spellbinding message of truth and hope.
There will be a student talent showcase and a reception following to meet Mr. Baptiste. Light refreshments will be served.
Dance Class with Camille A. Brown Dancers

You Can Dance UMS Series
You Can Dance Series: Camille A. Brown
Saturday, February 13th
2:00pm
YMCA
400 W. Washington Street, Ann Arbor 48103
Join dancers from Camille A. Brown’s dance company for an exploration of the company’s movement style. No dance training or experience necessary, and all levels, ages 13 and up, are welcome. Free, but first come, first served until studio reaches capacity. Sign-Up begins at 1:15pm at the Y Welcome Desk. – See more at: http://ums.org/performance/you-can-dance-camille-a-brown/#.dpuf
UMS Night Class: “Constructing Identity Together” with Camille A. Brown Dancers
UMS Night Class: “Constructing Identity Together”
U-M Alumni Center
200 Fletcher
Ann Arbor
7:00-8:30 pm

Black Girl-Linguistic Play
This season, the “UMS Night School” is hosting discussions on the themes of identity and performance. “These 90-minute sessions combine conversation, interactive exercises, and lectures with genre experts to draw you in…” ums
Conversation starter questions include: How do artists’ personal identities help shape their work. Does the identity of an audience member influence what they see on stage?
This class is free, with no pre-registration required. Just drop in and meet classmates with a similar interest.