It seemed fitting that Eva Menefee was texting a student when she was named this year’s winner of MEA’s Jim Davenport Award, which recognizes a member for significant service to higher education statewide and nationally.

An academic advisor at Lansing Community College (LCC) for 31 years, Menefee is passionate about guiding young people to find their personal pathway and success in college and beyond. From the start, she has also devoted herself to serving in numerous union roles.

“Regardless of what role she was fulfilling, Eva has always been a vocal leader, has pushed organizations, leaders and their members to do more and better,” said Alec Thomson, a professor at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, who presented the award at last week’s MEA Higher Education Conference.

“Her advocacy has created an outsized impact on the lives of her colleagues, union brothers and sisters, and students,” said Thomson, who is president of the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) representing higher education members of NEA.

The award came as a “huge surprise,” Menefee told the conference crowd after becoming startled by the announcement and putting down her phone to come to the podium. “Build our bench. Keep it going. We cannot let this stop because there’s so much work to be done.

“Thank you so much; I am forever touched.”

Menefee has said as a first-generation college student, she initially wanted to be an accountant, but a bad experience with an advisor changed her direction. “He said, ‘People like you don’t become accountants.’

“I thought, You mean people like me who are Native? People like me because I’m a woman? People like me that are first-generation college students? What does that mean? I never asked him. I walked over to the college of education and found a home.”

After graduating with a teaching degree, she worked for a decade at Michigan State University in admissions and advising before switching to LCC where she felt better able to help her local community, she said in a 2022 interview.

“I do my best advising in the aisles at Meijer, or in the check-out lanes, where I see students everywhere. That’s my passion. I love helping students learn and find their path.”

After joining the union, Menefee was convinced to attend a local meeting with the promise of a free dinner, she quipped in her acceptance speech. Next she was invited to a region meeting by another member of MEA’s Michigan Association of Higher Education (MAHE).

“What’d he say? They had free dinner. Yes, there is a theme.”

Menefee would go on to serve as local secretary and president, MAHE Executive Committee member, MEA and NEA Representative Assembly delegate, local bargainer and chief bargainer, and member of the MEA Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

She belongs to the MEA Social Justice Committee, serves as secretary for the 3-1G Caucus striving for minority representation within MEA, and is active in the Michigan Democratic Party, including as bookkeeper for the Anishinaabek Caucus — the state’s first Native American caucus.

Menefee credits union mentoring and training for helping her realize her leadership potential. She has paid it forward by presenting at MEA and NEA conferences and leadership summits, said Marcia Mackey, a Central Michigan University professor and award nominator.

“As Eva looks to the future and her upcoming retirement, her focus remains on ‘building the bench,’” Mackey, who is MAHE president, wrote in the nomination. “She works to bring the newer and younger employees into the union. For those in the union, she strives to further their engagement and prepare them for leadership roles.”

With her Oct. 31 retirement looming, Menefee plans to spend more time working on the Native American food truck and catering business that she and her husband have owned and operated for 40 years, Anishnabe Meejim.

But she will miss the union, she said. “I’ve always loved being involved and having friends from all over the state and all over the country. We hold each other up. The union shows us what our power is and where our strength is when we come together — and that’s what we need to do.”

In other conference action, keynote speaker Susan Nogan — NEA senior research analyst — presented on “Blueprints for Reform: The Far Right’s Agenda for Higher Education,” framing current political and legislative attacks on higher education as part of a coordinated, well-funded plan to concentrate power among a select few in society.

To achieve the goal, a network of think tanks, advocacy groups and media outlets is promoting policies to limit student access to higher education, limit content taught, control faculty and deploy corporate business practices in university governance, Nogan said.

The response must be to organize, she concluded. “We need you to stay strong. We need you to stand together. We need you to take action.”

The annual one-day conference was held at MEA Headquarters around the theme of “Innovation with Intention: Mindfulness, Work, and Collective Voice in Higher Education.”

Presenters delivered trainings on bargaining, organizing, team-building, using artificial intelligence, higher education finance, stress management and self-care. The conference concluded with breakout sessions designed for in-depth conversation on current issues.

Check out MEA’s Center for Leadership & Learning at cll.mea.org for information on all our conferences and to access MEA’s online learning platform, MEA LearnCenter. And watch your email for At the Center updates with the latest offerings and training opportunities.