Eastern Michigan University's Communications, Media and Theatre Arts department is set to celebrate decades of storytelling, artistry and alumni accomplishments through its upcoming Coming Home Celebration: The Story Continues event.
Pam Cardell, who currently serves as EMU Theatre's assistant managing director, is the event's main coordinator. According to Cardell, the event originally started as an opportunity for donors to the program to see where the money was being used to improve student experience, as well as a fundraising opportunity for the department. However, after some workshopping, the event instead became an opportunity for staff and students to show off all things related to CMTA at EMU.
"Our donors and alumni could come back home to CMTA, and really just spend time together and celebrate the things they loved about CMTA while they were here," Cardell said.
Alongside donors, students and alumni, the event is also set to celebrate the department as a whole. CMTA falls under the College of Arts and Sciences, which is set to see a full reorganization, expected to take place sometime in early 2027, after first being proposed in 2021.
The reorganization, which plans to redistribute funding among the college and shuffle departments, will not eliminate any current majors offered, but it still leaves some questions unanswered for various CAS departments.
The CMTA Coming Home event will feature a storytelling section near the beginning of the program. Throughout the event, attendees can expect speeches from faculty, alumni and administration.
"If you look at all of the components of CMTA, the thing that connects them all is story. Everybody in some way, shape, or form is telling stories and sharing stories within CMTA," Cardell said.
The performance hour will also feature musical performances, department announcements, and the awarding of an honorary degree to one of the program's alumni.
"It really is just a wild collection of a lot of different things, much like how CMTA is. It's a lot of different things coming together," Cardell said.
Also in attendance will be newly appointed EMU President Brendan Kelly, as well as Sally Young. Each year, a student in the CMTA program is awarded the Sally Young scholarship, whose work after graduating from EMU earned her an Emmy in 2014 for Outstanding Comedy Series and several Emmy nominations afterwards during her time as a producer on the sitcom "Modern Family."
Cardell said she hopes that the event will also be an opportunity for networking between current students and alumni. She encourages students to attend the event.
CMTA's Coming Home Celebration is set to take place May 16, 2026, from 6:30-11 p.m. While the event's performances and speeches will primarily take place in the Legacy Theatre, attendees can expect the chance to explore galleries throughout nearly all of the Judy Sturgis Hill building, located on the east side of campus near Pray-Harrold and the Alexander Music Building.
Tickets are set at $25 per person and can be purchased online on the EMU Foundation's website.
For more information, attendees can visit CMTA's website for event details and updates. The website also allows supporters of the program to make donations to specific sectors of CMTA.
