Faculty/Staff Spotlights
-
March 17, 2025
“One of the most challenging things in our history has been sticking to our guns because we are an atypical instrumentation. But our secret sauce is that Akropolis is a family.”
— Andrew Koeppe, a research technician associate for Michigan Medicine who with Kary Landry, lecturer in SMTD, won a Grammy with their reed quintet
Read more about Akropolis -
March 10, 2025
“The sanctuary has given me space to play with my professional goals and ambitions, and I think I’ve brought some organization and expertise.”
— Liz Swaynie, the stewardship officer for UM-Dearborn who is on the board of Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary, where she serves as fundraising chair
Read more about Liz Swaynie -
February 24, 2025
“Even when I’m busy and think, ‘I can’t fit in a game,’ as soon as I get to the rink, we’re just laughing and having fun.”
— Deb Demski, a clinical research coordinator at the School of Kinesiology who plays forward for Swarm, a senior women’s hockey team
Read more about Deb Demski -
February 17, 2025
“As I move toward retirement, I see life opening up. It might be the perfect time to start performing and singing regularly again.”
— Christina Fields, an administrative assistant at Michigan Medicine who envisions becoming a lounge singer in retirement and also dabbles in beading and jewelry making
Read more about Christina Fields -
February 10, 2025
“As competitive as I am, I was really happy that all three of us solved puzzles during the show, and we all won a nice amount of money.”
— Jennifer Hawkins, division administrator for Infectious Diseases at Michigan Medicine who recently competed on “Wheel of Fortune” and won nearly $24,000 in cash and prizes
Read more about Jennifer Hawkins -
February 3, 2025
“Being at Stamps helped me affirm the fact that I am a maker and an artist because I never would have described myself as an artist before.”
— Sandra Wiley, director of international study programs at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design who has been knitting since she was a child and makes her own clothes
Read more about Sandra Wiley -
January 27, 2025
“Give me an hour and, no matter what body type or level of strength, I’ll make you the life of the party, wedding or bar mitzvah.”
— Elliot Ratzman, a research fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute and a lecturer in LSA who has been breakdancing since junior high school
Read more about Elliot Ratzman -
January 20, 2025
“Now that I have that stability, I can take some time for my art. I can just make it, enjoy the process and put it out there.”
— Kathryn Lavender, a data project manager at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research who turned her watercolor paintings of cats into calendars
Read more about Kathryn Lavender -
January 13, 2025
“It’s really hard to just get out there and train when you haven’t got a goal, which is why I keep competing if I can.”
— Sandra Hunter, the Francie Kraker Goodridge Collegiate Professor of Kinesiology and professor of kinesiology in the School of Kinesiology who competes in aquathlon
Read more about Sandra Hunter -
December 9, 2024
“I like that it’s accessible to children, but it also brings a childlike experience for me that I just get to play and see what happens.”
— Haley Perkins, public programs and engagement officer at the Stamps Gallery who has been a lifelong artist and enjoys elevating the method of gel-plate printing beyond crafting
Read more about Haley Perkins
