Spotlights
Faculty and Staff Successes, February 2014
February 03, 2014
Craig Benjamin, Associate Professor of History, Honors College, began a two-year term as president of the World History Association.
Jeremiah Cataldo, Assistant Professor of History, Honors College, gave presentations, “Zechariah’s ‘Death Instinct’ and the Formation of an Early Monotheistic Community” and “Antagonized Utopia in Ezra-Nehemiah,” at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
Kelly Clark, Visiting Professor of Religious Studies, was invited to contribute to Big Questions Online. You can read his contribution "Is Atheism Rational?".
Lindsay Ellis, Director of the Lake Michigan Writing Project, and Robert Rozema from the English Department, wrote a book, Early Career English Teachers in Action: Learning from Experience, Developing Expertise, published by Routledge that collects narratives written by 12 graduates of the secondary English education program.
Carol Griffin, Director of General Education, and Wendy Burns-Ardolino, Associate Professor of Liberal Studies, wrote an article that was published in the fall 2013 edition of Peer Review, entitled “Designing and Implementing an Integrative, Collaborative, Problem-Solving-Based General Education Capstone.”
Sarah King, Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies, wrote an article, “Context Matters: Studying Indigenous Religions in North America,” published in Religion Compass.
Elena Lioubimtseva, Director of Environmental Studies and Associate Professor of Geography and Planning, was recognized at the February 14 Board of Trustees meeting for joining a group of experts to examine the impacts of climate change on international food trade.
Eric Packer, Director of Workforce Development for the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies, serves as the Chair of the Ottawa County MI WORKS Education and Youth Council.
Rachel Peterson, Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies, received the Burch, Jacobs & Moore Diversity Teaching Excellence Award.
Kate Stoetzner, Director of International Student and Scholar Services for the Padnos International Center, received the Laker of the Year award.
Ayana Weekley, Assistant Professor of Women and Gender Studies, received the Pew Teaching Excellence Award.
Judy Whipps, Professor of Liberal Studies, gave a presentation on Emily Green Balch for a symposium titled “Peace and the Environment: A Symposium Exploring the Legacy and Insights of Six Nobel Peace Prize Laureate” at Simon Frazer University.
Jonathan White, Professor of Honors and Executive Director of Grand Valley's Homeland Defense Initiative, was interviewed by several media outlets for stories about the threat of terrorism at the Sochi Winter Olympics.