James H. Brickley was born November 15, 1928 in Flint, Michigan and received both his bachelors and law degrees from the University of Detroit, and master's degree from the University of New York.
Brickley served as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and as Lieutenant Governor of Michigan from 1971-1974 and again from 1979 to 1982. Brickley was appointed University President at EMU in 1975 and held the position until 1979. In 1982 Brickley was appointed to replace retiring justice Mary S. Coleman on the Michigan Supreme Court and remained on the bench until 1999 when he was replaced by US Attorney Stephen Markman.
James Brickley died in 2001. His daughter Kathleen Brickley, also an attorney, was appointed in 2011 circuit court judge in Van Buren County by Governor Rick Snyder.
Dr. Anthony Evans, originally from Arkansas, joined EMU as the administrative assistant to President Brickley in 1975. Evans graduated from East Texas Baptist College in 1959 with a degree in History and English Literature; a MA in US History and Political Science from the University of Hawaii in 1961; and PhD in US History and Political Science from the University of California Berkley in 1966. After graduating from UC Berkley, Evans took a number of position in higher education between 1966 and 1970 including Officer of Special Project at the University of Iowa and Title I grants State Administrator for the University of Maryland. For the next five years, Evans would work with the Peace Corp program as a program officer, in program planning and as the director of the Planning Office.
Evans was promoted to the position of vice president and executive assistant to the president in 1976 and then to executive vice president in 1977. Evans oversaw planning and budget development, institutional research, university computing and research development and grants administration. In August of 1978, President Brickley was asked to run for political office and granted a leave of absence by the Board of Regents and they asked Evans to serve as acting president. When John Porter assumed the role of University President, he asked Evans to move into the position of Provost and Vice President for academic affairs. Evans held this position before accepting the position of President for the California State College, San Bernardino in 1983.
Anthony and his wife Lois Evans, a retired mathematics teacher, established the James H. Brickley Endowment for Faculty Professional Development and Innovation in 2016 to support the scholarship and innovation of EMU faculty.
John W. Porter was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on August 13, 1931. He was the youngest son of James R. of Tennessee and Ola Mae of North Carolina. Porter graduated from Central High School in 1949 earning National Honor Society Recognition and all sport honors. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Albion College (1953), a Master of Arts degree in Counseling and Guidance (1957) and a Ph.D. in Higher Education (1962) both from Michigan State University. Porter and his wife Lois raised nine children, five boys and four girls.
Dr. Porter began his professional career as a teacher in the Albion and Lansing school systems before joining the Michigan Department of Education. At 26, he was the youngest person and the first black professional employed in the Michigan Department of Education. In 1969 at the age of 38, Porter was unanimously elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction by the Michigan State Board of Education and became the first black State School Superintendent in the United States, since reconstruction.
In 1979, Dr. Porter was appointed the seventeenth President of Eastern Michigan University. During his first year of administration, Dr. Porter unveiled an ambitious plan entitled "A Decade of Advancement", a phrase which has come to describe Dr. Porter's legacy to Eastern. Accomplishments include establishing the College of Technology, record growth in enrollment, strengthening of academics, construction of Olds Student Recreation Center and the creation and construction of the College of Business in downtown Ypsilanti. Porter also presided over a resurgence in college athletics at EMU. In 1987, the football team won the Mid American Conference championship and the California Bowl. Porter also create the University's first doctorate, in educational leadership.
Porter retired from the University in 1989, and joined the newly created national Board for Professional Teaching Standards and shortly thereafter agreed to become the general Superintendent of the Detroit Schools. The Detroit Quality Education Plan was developed, two millage campaigns were launched in an effort to stabilize and improve the urban school system over a two-year period. In 1991, Dr. Porter formed the Center for Educational Improvement as an adjunct to the Urban Education Alliance, Inc. In 1992, Dr. Porter was inducted into the Michigan Educational Hall of Fame with the following tribute "Advocate of world class standards, spokesperson for National educational goals, champion of urban education, pacesetter in school improvement and student achievement, supporter of vocational rehabilitation, standard-setter in staff retraining, innovator in accountability, legendary in higher learning, and unparalleled in state and national education".
In 1999, the John W. Porter Distinguished Chair in Urban Education was endowed for over $1.5M at Eastern Michigan University. In October, 1999, the University named and dedicated the new John W. Porter College of Education Building as a lasting tribute to Dr. Porter's many contributions to the field of education. In September, 2001, Dr. Porter was inducted into the Albion College Athletic Hall of Fame. In October 2006, Dr. Porter released the publication of his most recent book entitled, Educational Leadership for the 21st Century. During that same month, Dr. Porter became the recipient of the first-ever Detroit Public Television John W. Porter Leadership Award.
John W. Porter died at age 80, June 2012.
William E. Shelton was born in Tennessee and earned his bachelor and master degrees from the University of Memphis. His doctorate in Higher Education was conferred from the University of Mississippi. He worked at Henderson State University as Vice President for University Services, and at Kent State University as Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
Shelton served as the President of Eastern Michigan University for over 10 years from 1989-2000. He resigned at the March 16, 1999 Board of Regents meeting stating, "I believe it is now time to begin the transition process to new leadership at Eastern Michigan University." During his time tenure, the University gained financial stability; added to the facilities on campus including Halle Library, Pond and Lake House, Physical Plant,
Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology building, and the Everett L. Marshall building; and put in place plans for continued development.
After departing from EMU in June 2000, Shelton went on to hold leadership positions at East Carolina University and the Ironwood Consulting Group.