Meyers, a 2010 graduate from Grand Valley with a bachelor¿s degree in public and nonprofit administration, works for AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service program designed specifically to fight poverty.

Meyers, a Novi native, said that a survey conducted by the USDA in 2009 stated that an estimated 15 percent of U.S. households are considered food insecure. ¿Food insecurity is the lack of basic nutritional needs in order to sustain oneself for a period,¿ said Meyers. ¿A person would be deemed food insecure if they are unsure of how they are going to obtain their next meal, or their next week¿s meals.¿

Meyers works for AmeriCorps VISTA through Schoolcraft College and the Michigan Campus Compact, which links members with building sustainable programs from universities with the surrounding communities. After hearing that Michigan State University and Delta College had successful food pantry programs for the community, she wanted to do the same thing for Detroit area residents. The food pantry, located in a former storage room on campus, will be managed by Meyers along with the help of honor students and the Student Activities office.

Meyers said that they are working on creating a community garden on a plot of land at Schoolcraft College that will provide sustainable food, as well as become an educational tool to inspire other urban garden projects in Metro Detroit.

¿Detroit is my home,¿ said Meyers. ¿I¿m lucky to be able to use the skills I learned at Grand Valley to help improve the place I love.¿

The Lake Express high-speed ferry will host a special event on May 5 to benefit AWRI.

.

Join Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI) and the Lake Express

as we celebrate one of our most precious resources – water!

 

"Lakers on Lake Michigan" May 5, 2012 Lake Express Muskegon Terminal 1918 Lakeshore Drive, Muskegon, MI

This family-friendly event includes special excursions on the Lake Express, fun activities, and information on how AWRI and the Lake Express promote Muskegon's Blue Water Economy.  Optional behind-the-scenes ferry tours and opportunities to meet members of the ship’s crew are also available.



Members of the Lakeside District, Lake Express’ neighborhood, as well as staff from the Muskegon County Convention and Visitors Bureau will be on hand to assist with the festivities of the day.



Come and meet Grand Valley State University’s mascot “Louie the Laker” and kids can even have their face painted for free!



Food and beverages will be available for purchase at the event.



All proceeds from this event will benefit AWRI’s mission to integrate research, education, and outreach to enhance and preserve freshwater resources.



Timeline of events:

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Open house in terminal, ship tours - $2 suggested donation per person. 

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Ticketed excursion on Lake Express

12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Open house in terminal

1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Tours of Lake Express Ferry - $2 suggested donation per person

1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Ticketed excursion on Lake Express

To purchase tickets, visit: www.lake-express.com/event

Read more!

• 
  Muskegon Chronicle article


• 
  Official press release


• 
  Event flyer

In an historic vote, the support staff at Grand Valley State University voted overwhelmingly to join the rest of the university¿s employees in a wage freeze, giving up a raise scheduled for October 1, the last year of a three-year contract.

The university¿s Clerical, Office, and Technical Association, represented by the MEA, voted to ratify the tentative agreement union leaders had reached with Grand Valley¿s administration. The COTA represents 353 employees at Grand Valley; 263 members voted; 240 voted for the contract, 22 voted against it, and one person abstained.

¿I have never been more proud to be a member of COTA,¿ Coreen Pelton, chair of the bargaining committee for the union said. ¿I think this vote showed such a generosity of spirit, and people looking beyond their immediate needs to support our students. This vote was an honorable moment.¿

Pelton said that in the end, members voted for the change because they want to support the university and the students, a message the students have already received.

¿It¿s incredible to attend a university that has employees who are willing to sacrifice financially to benefit students,¿ Student Senate President Jarrett Martus said. ¿This is another confirmation that Grand Valley is a unique university.¿

COTA was the only bargaining unit on campus in the position of being in the middle of a contract when the pay freeze for other employees was implemented. Had they not voted to open the contract and make this change, the university would have been obligated to pay the 3 percent raise. In an unprecented move at Grand Valley, and perhaps in the state, the membership voted to join their colleagues in a university-wide pay freeze, giving up the scheduled increase.

¿I¿ve been doing this for 12 years and I¿ve never asked a unit to open its contract before it expired,¿ Maggie McCrystal, director of Staff Relations said. ¿Not only did these members vote to open it, they gave back a raise and accepted a freeze. These employees show us that they believe in the university and its mission to educate and take care of students. This is an incredible day.¿

The original agreement would have expired September 30, 2011. The new agreement ratified September 21 initiates the wage freeze for the current year, calls for a 2 percent raise in October 2011, with increases in 2012 and 2013 contingent upon what is happening with other employees at the university.

COTA also joins the rest of the university¿s staff in paying more for medical benefits beginning January 2011. The freeze and the changes in the medical plan are all part of Grand Valley¿s commitment to being accountable and good stewards of resources.

Grand Valley received silver status after completing the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), a self-assessment system developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS is designed to help gauge the progress of colleges and universities toward sustainability in all sectors.

Grand Valley is the second higher education institution and first public university in Michigan to complete STARS. In 2008, Grand Valley was selected as one of 90 universities in the U.S. to participate in the pilot phase of the STARS rating system. Campuses earn credits in four categories: operations, education, administration and innovation.

¿This could quite possibly be the biggest collaborative effort we have had on campus,¿ said Norman Christopher, director of the Sustainable Community Development Initiative (SCDI) at Grand Valley. ¿It was a self-assessment, so in order for the report to be a success, we had to obtain participation from all aspects of the university.¿

Of the 250 schools that participated nationwide, Grand Valley¿s average score was higher than the national score. The assessment included 1,000 questions and compared campus operations from 2005 to 2010. Bart Bartels, project manager for SCDI, said Grand Valley scored high in diversity and affordability, coordination and planning, and human resources. In the sub-category of promotion, the university scored well in water conservation, grounds and dining services.

¿This is a rating, not a ranking,¿ said Ester Burns, development coordinator for SCDI. ¿It fosters collaboration with other schools and allows us to take a look at areas where we¿re doing well and areas that need improvement.¿

President Thomas J. Haas said: ¿This trip we are on is so important. Sustainability is an integral part of our mission, and we¿re just getting started. We will continue to instill the importance of being sustainable in all our students and encourage them to apply what they¿ve learned to their communities.¿

The full report can be viewed by searching ¿Grand Valley¿ at www.stars.aashe.org/institutions.

Colton is a 1998 graduate from Grand Valley¿s School of Communications, in film and video production with an emphasis in animation. He received the 2010 Emmy Award for best ¿Individual Achievement in Animation.¿

The award is for Colton¿s storyboard work on the ¿Pie Song¿ sequence in the ¿Road to the Multiverse,¿ episode of ¿Family Guy,¿ that originally aired on September 27, 2009.

Colton started out as a lip sync artist on ¿South Park¿ and has worked on various television shows including the ¿Powerpuff Girls,¿ ¿Mucha Lucha,¿ ¿Invader Zim,¿ ¿Dilbert,¿ and ¿3-South.¿ Colton was also included in the 2005 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour) as assistant director for the ¿Family Guy¿ episode ¿North by North Quahog.¿

Though he lives in Los Angeles, Colton has returned to Grand Valley several times to describe his work as a storyboard and layout artist to students in the same program he graduated from. Professor Deanna Morse shows Colton¿s demo reel in animation classes every year.

¿Greg took advantage of each assignment in his classes, and worked his projects to make solid portfolio material,¿ said Morse. ¿He had a quirky sense of humor, great energy for his work, and is a very talented cartoonist. As a student, he already had a cadre of characters that he had designed. I¿m not surprised at his successes.¿

Colton said he doesn¿t want to become complacent, ¿so I¿m going to keep pushing myself and my crew to make things look great on each and every episode.¿

Scott Hadley, '94 and '07, and Dave Asselin, '07, met as graduate students at Grand Valley. After earning clinical doctorates in physical therapy, the pair opened a new holistic clinic that mends their backgrounds and philosophies.

Hadley and Asselin were among the university's first physical therapy majors to earn doctorates. After graduating in 2007 they worked at an area clinic, then joined forces in 2009 to open PT 360, which focuses on a new approach to physical therapy.

Before enrolling in the DPT program, Hadley was a tenure-track professor of anatomy at Grand Valley and Asselin worked as a Certified Public Accountant. As colleagues at the same Grand Rapids-area clinic, they found success with research-driven experimentation of a new physical therapy philosophy and decided to start a joint venture.

Their unique blend of training, knowledge and experiences combined to make PT 360, located in Grand Rapids' Eastown Business District, a reality.

The therapists practice neuromuscular manipulative therapy. NMT is a holistic form of hands-on physical therapy that restores the natural balance of nerves, muscles, and joints by focusing on the body's stretch reflexes. They said their practice differs from traditional practices because it concentrates on reactivating and realigning all of the body's muscles rather than more site-specific manipulation or exercise-based therapies.

Asselin said the clinic is flourishing. "We are teaching improved health and that transcends any economic conditions," he said. "We are bridging the gap for people who want a non-surgical, non-medicative means to alleviate pain."

Four months after opening and well ahead of growth projections, the co-owners were able to hire a full-time therapist, Adam Fujita, after he received a DPT from Grand Valley.

"Our mission is to promote health and wellness in the community through holistic physical therapy services," said Hadley. "We wanted to be part of our community and felt that Eastown was a good fit for our holistic approach. We've seen a lot of business growth from our neighbors."

Fujita added, "Our approach gives us the tools to address the route of pain rather than just masking its symptoms."

The innovative therapists are pleased to have been among the first doctoral graduates from GVSU. "Grand Valley has a diverse group of knowledgeable and experienced faculty within the department, many who are considered gurus in their respective fields," said Hadley. "It is a solid overall program that gave us the foundation upon which we have built our advanced skills."

To learn more about the clinic, visit www.pt360.net.

Some 80 percent of Grand Valley students receive some form of financial aid. There are six scholarships devoted to studying abroad, including the Barbara H. Padnos Scholarship, Mark A. and Elizabeth C. Murray International Travel Fund, the Seidman College of Business International Business Student Development Fund, the Ambassador Secchia International Studies Scholarship, Fred A. Bell Business Scholarship, and the McFadden Picciuaca International Child Welfare Scholarship.

¿Truthfully, I didn¿t see myself doing anything else,¿ he said. ¿It¿s something I¿ve worked toward all through high school. I didn¿t change majors at all in college. Everything I did, I knew I was trying to get into medical school.¿

Now, that dream is even closer to reality. This fall, Gordon will enter the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in East Lansing on a full Air Force scholarship. Shortly after graduation, Gordon was sworn in as a second lieutenant in the Air Force, and after he graduates from medical school, he will spend four years on active duty and another four on active reserve.

¿I am very excited about it,¿ Gordon said. ¿The military was on my mind for a long while. When I was trying to decide which undergraduate university to go to, if it weren¿t for the scholarships that Grand Valley offered me, I would have gone into a ROTC program. Because I got enough scholarships I needed to pay for my undergraduate work, I didn¿t need to do that.¿

When Gordon was looking at universities, he considered several Big 10 schools, including Michigan State University, University of Michigan and Northwestern. He applied to all of them, but ultimately he chose Grand Valley State University.

¿Grand Valley suited me best,¿ Gordon said. ¿Grand Valley feels like home to me. It is very focused, and that¿s something that really appealed to me.¿

The results show that it was a good fit. Gordon graduated cum laude in April 2010 with a degree in biomedical science and a chemistry minor. He was also a part of the Meijer Honors College program.

Gordon said he found much support at Grand Valley. He cited one of his chemistry professors, Felix Ngassa, as a key mentor, and he found the Honors College experience transformative.

¿I think the Honors College prepared me better than anything else,¿ Gordon said. ¿My major was all hard science, whereas the Honors College really helped shape me beyond remembering facts and regurgitating them. They took the way I saw things and helped me assimilate everything in a much larger picture than what I was learning my hard science.¿

While at Grand Valley, Gordon studied abroad in Ghana, and for his Honors College senior project, he developed an annotated bibliography of potential readings into the history and culture of Ghana for the college¿s service learning initiative.

Gordon looks back fondly on his Grand Valley experience.

¿I don¿t want to leave this place. I have had way too much fun here, made to so many good friends and memories that is much harder to leave here than I thought it would be,¿ he said.

"Grand Valley knows how to stretch a dollar better than probably any public university anywhere," Huizenga said.

Founded 1995, National Heritage Academies has grown from one school to a national leader serving over 32,000 students in 53 schools across five states. Founded on the pillars of rigorous academics, a moral focused environment, academic excellence and individual student responsibility, NHA schools are impacting the lives of students in measurable ways.

NHA continues to partner with communities to open new schools with a vision to better educate more children. National Heritage was listed in Inc. magazine¿s ¿500 Fastest Growing Private Companies,¿ four different times.

Huizenga¿s interest in reforming education and creating models for measuring success has involved him in national organizations, serving on the boards of the National Council of Education Providers and the Education Industry Association. Huizenga¿s efforts have been recognized with awards from various organizations, such as the Education Industry Association.

Through the years, Huizenga has been recognized for his accomplishments in business as well as his leadership in school reform and his worldwide philanthropy. He has been recognized with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, Grand Valley State University¿s Charter School Pioneer Award, Michigan Association of Public School Academies¿ Leadership Award, the Michigan School Board Leaders Association¿s Visionary Award, and The Education Industry Association¿s James P. Boyle Award. Mr. Huizenga earned a bachelor¿s degree in economics from Hope College in Holland, Michigan and a Master¿s of Business Administration from Michigan State University.

When Ryan Phillips graduated from Grand Valley State University¿s School of Engineering in 2007, he was already setting up his own company in Grand Rapids. That company, Magnum Engineering, just saw its third consecutive year of doubling in size.

Phillips accomplished that growth, in part, by being flexible. His original focus was on loudspeaker development, but troubles in the economy made that a difficult area to pursue.

¿In an economic downturn, that is really an area that goes away first,¿ Phillips said. ¿We shifted to where the money was.¿

The money, he found, was in new product development. Magnum Engineering works with companies and individuals to develop new products from concept to completion.

¿We work with a lot of individuals,¿ Phillips said. ¿We will work with individuals who have an idea but with no engineering experience. It¿s ma and pa with their good idea, and we help them get it to market the quickest and best way possible.¿

In 2008, the revenue generated from new products Magnum Engineering developed and manufactured brought more than $500,000 in new business to West Michigan; that amount topped $1 million in 2009.

¿That¿s how we measure our success -- how much business we and our clients have brought to West Michigan,¿ Phillips said. ¿All of the jobs that we have created and economic wealth that we have brought to the area are new jobs. They¿re not being taken away from anyplace else in the country.¿

Magnum Engineering is housed in a 28th Street facility that holds manufacturing equipment that Phillips purchased from Rockford Acoustic Designs. That company closed its manufacturing operations in Grand Rapids in May 2007, ending a 60-year history of producing loudspeakers in Grand Rapids. Phillips performed six terms of co-op work at Rockford doing loudspeaker design for car audio under the Rockford-Fosgate name.

Phillips graduated from Grand Valley with degrees in three disciplines: electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and product design and manufacturing engineering. It is rare for a student to complete degrees in two disciplines¿three is unheard of. And he continues to turn to Grand Valley for expertise.

¿All of our employees come from Grand Valley,¿ Phillips said. ¿They¿re the only ones who have the correct skills. We would accept somebody else, we just haven¿t found anybody with the right skill set.¿

Justin graduated in May with a bachelor¿s degree in computing and information systems. The Monday following graduation, he began working at a Grand Rapids computer software company.

¿Our experience with Grand Valley was everything a parent could hope for,¿ Lisa Kulesza said. The Kuleszas¿ middle child, Jennifer, is currently a sophomore at Grand Valley majoring in health professions.

Kulesza said her family was impressed with Grand Valley from their initial visit. ¿During Justin¿s tour, one of the counselors arranged for him to talk with someone from the computer department about what classes and programs were offered,¿ she said.

Lisa and Greg Kulesza serve on Grand Valley¿s Family Association Advisory Committee. The association connects parents and families of students to Grand Valley by offering communications, volunteer activities and resources.

¿Everyone at Grand Valley has made us feel so welcome as parents, every step of the way from orientation to Family Weekend. It¿s been a great experience,¿ Kulesza said.

AUDIO CLIPS

• Lisa Kulesza says she promotes Grand Valley to friends and those thinking about attending [AUDIO]
  
• She says Grand Valley's housing is the best -- clean and safe [AUDIO]
  
• She says son just graduated and got a job and will continue studies in grad school at Grand Valley [AUDIO]

Greg and Lisa Kulesza are pictured with their son, Justin, a 2010 Grand Valley graduate. The Kuleszas serve as parent ambassadors through Grand Valley's Family Association.