Eastern Michigan University Archives

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Eastern Michigan University Archives

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Home to the Institutional records of Eastern Michigan University, we are also home to the archives of the AAUG, NCPE and NCPEA to name a few.

10/03/2026

The Archives and oral history center are prepping for Homecoming! On October 17, we will be on the lawn at Rynearson, collecting the stories of alumni. It’s one of our favorite days of the year, and we are revamping the Aerie for the occasion!

09/21/2026

You are invited!

09/17/2026

The Aerie has been in high demand this summer! From the 9/11 Memorial, the COHR team headed for the 75th annual Old Car Show at Greenfield Village to record memories of the show and the vehicles. We’re so fortunate to have been partnering with the Village regularly this summer.

We were stunned into silence, which is rare for this team. The event was massive, with between 800 and 900 pre-1934 autos, and so were the stories. We talked to suffragettes, 70s drag racers, competitive high wheel riders, WWI reenactors from both sides of the conflict. What really struck us was attendees’ intense desire to take anyone for a ride in their cars. We didn’t turn anyone down, as you can see. 35 interviews later, we’re tired, but on to the next event!
See you soon.

09/11/2026

The Aerie was on hand today for the 9/11 memorial ceremony outside Pease Auditorium. We were asked to gather recollections of attendees of their experiences 25 years ago today when the towers came down. Some were in class, some were stuck mid-medical procedure, some were thousands of miles away, watching television in disbelief.

We’d love to hear from you. Please DM if you have a 9/11 story to share. If you weren’t alive yet, we’d love to talk to you about how the legacy of 9/11 has impacted you.

#911

08/18/2026

Oh, and, before we forget, COHR Director Matt Jones traveled to Ireland in June to present at the Oral History Network of Ireland’s annual meeting in Tralee, County Kerry. The only American on the schedule, Matt was there to talk about the EMU Aerie, and the ways we’ve seen oral history change when you integrate oral historians directly into the community at large. It was a success! Despite the locals envisioning the Aerie as a glorified horse trailer (“Hey! Here comes the horse box man! But where is your horse box?!” 😂😂), connections were made, future plans half-baked, and hopeful partnerships cemented, including a rumored trip to build an Aerie for the oral historians of Clare County! A breathtaking trip, all around.

07/10/2026

We had the honor of hosting Ypsi giants George and Judith Goodman in the Archives today. George, being a Roosevelt alum, came to see the fantastic Roosevelt exhibit in Halle Library.

It’s hard to describe the ways I’ve heard George described by all who knew him—he’s a fixture in the minds and memories of most Ypsi lifers, having taught at Roosevelt, served on City Counsel, and his election as Ypsi’s first Black mayor during some of the most tumultuous times in Ypsi history. He’s also a fixture in our oral history collection, and we’ve found that a sure way to make Ypsilantians smile in interviews is to mention George and Judith. We were able to cue up some digitized speeches he gave to the university in 1974 too, eliciting a few chuckles from George. Amazing day. Thanks so much to George and Judith!

06/30/2026

The EMU Center for Oral History Research had a whirlwind weekend recently, recording oral history interviews outside the newest Greenfield Village attraction- the Historic Jakcson Home, relocated from Selma, AL. The home served as a place to rest, meet, strategize, and make critical decisions during the 1965 Selma campaign. We were tasked with interviewing staff, attendees, and civil rights figures about their place in the larger Civil Rights movement, and their connection to racial justice, historic preservation, and the home itself. We also survived a severe thunderstorm, hiding in the basement of one of the historic houses. We were trapped down there with an old timey baseball player too, who you can just glimpse behind another gentleman. It was full immersion, I tell ya. Thanks so much to Lisa, Josh, and everyone else who helped us make our Aerie oral history debut at the Village.

06/12/2026

Where in the world will you find the Aerie next?!?

Any guesses on where we are for the next three days?

04/28/2026

This is .aldanondo. For the last two semesters, senior and soon-to-be Preservation Studies graduate student Olivia has been documenting the experiences of Lincoln Consolidated Schools alums. We’ve gotten such a vivid picture of Ypsilanti proper via our Roosevelt Oral History Project, but we need those vital, rural voices of LCS too! Olivia has traveled to homes, senior centers and one room schoolhouses to conduct these interviews with alums, teachers, custodians, and community members, and last week, she got the chance to showcase the project to EMU heavyweights at the Emerald Celebration! We love it when students take initiative to not only DO the work, but to TALK ABOUT THE WORK too!!
Self-advocacy is high on our priority list here in the Archives and COHR, and Olivia is crushing it.

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Ypsilanti, MI

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https://emich.edu/universityarchives

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