Annual Pie Smackdown: A Tasteful Success

The second annual COIS Pie Smackdown was hosted by Dr. Ed Baum at his home in Holland. Entries from Dean Wenner, Catherine Frerichs, Noreen Savage and Ed Baum were put through a rigorous taste analysis using the highest scientific standards of the day. Judges Julia Mason and Steve Glass awarded Noreen Savage with the overall victory. It was noted that all entries were of exceptional quality (as was the lemonade).

We await your entry next year!

Honors College/Music professor listed with top Jazz Musicians

Honors College associate professor Kurt Ellenberger was included in a major publishing houses survey of 200 influential jazz musicians from all over the world, including people like Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner, Lee Ritenour, Arturo Sandival, and George Benson. Kurt will be doing a book signing session at the Detroit Jazz Festival next summer, as well as other events around the country.

In addition, Kurt's CD- Utaké "The Name of the Wind" received very strong reviews: "Ütaké is Ellenbergers project with the phenomenal shakuhachi virtuoso Rob Foster and the great percussionist Ric Troll. The music they create together on The Name of the Wind is a finely spun blend of world and jazz idioms. It is distinct, delicate, discreet  and slightly dissolute."

Kathleen Underwood Wins Research Award

Dr. Kathleen Underwood, associate professor of History and Director of the Women and Gender Studies program, received a John Topham and Susan Redd Butler Faculty Research Award from the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University to support her research about women teachers in the late 19th and early 20th century American West.

Liberal Studies Students on the Front Line of Climate Change

When the United Nations hosts a round of climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark in December, the youth voice will be heard loud and clear, thanks in part to Grand Valley State University student Danielle Ostafinski.

Ostafinski has been appointed a youth delegate for the Will Steger Foundation's Expedition Copenhagen to represent the youth of the Midwest. She is majoring in Liberal Studies with a Sustainable Community Development emphasis and a minor in Environmental Studies and Nonprofit Management.

Ostafinski will use her experience as an organizer to involve high school students in activities to the understand international climate change talks. She will be presenting to and working with high school students throughout Michigan with the goal of engaging as many students as possible and providing them with the necessary tools to be effective leaders in their communities.

Ostafinski said she believes it is important to equip students with leadership skills so they can be educated individuals who can actively participate in the decision-making process that concerns their future and the future of the world.

The delegation is representing the voice of the youth from the Midwest on an international level and pressuring the negotiators to create a bold, binding and progressive policy in Copenhagen, Ostafinski said.

The Will Steger Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging youth in civic engagement focusing on the issue of climate change. Ostafinski connected with the foundation when she worked as an intern for the Sustainable Community Development Initiative and helped plan the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition's ReGeneration conference hosted by Grand Valley,

These experiences gave me the opportunities I needed to enhance my communication, organizing and public speaking skills, as well as, get me in contact with various media outlets, Ostafinski said.

One of Ostafinski's biggest goals of her experience with Expedition Copenhagen is to make sure that the youth voice of the Midwest is heard loud and clear by the entire world.

Also, it is important to be an educated and engaged citizen in your country, as well as globally. To be able to recognize that we are all global citizens is to be an agent of positive change, Ostafinski said.

New Honors College Building

Grand Valley State University's Honors College (within the College of Interdisciplinary Studies) opened its new home in the Niemeyer Learning and Living Center on the Allendale Campus. The building recently received LEED Silver certification by the US Green Building Council.
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Noreen Savage earns Toastmasters Award

Noreen Savage, Administrative Assistant in the CoIS Dean's office, joined Toastmasters in 2006, and has been an active member in Toastmasters GVSU Club# 4380, currently serving as VP Membership. She previously served as Secretary and VP Public Relations, and was responsible for creating GVSU's Toastmasters website.

Having recently earned the Advanced Toastmasters Bronze Award, Noreen is quick to point out that one of the greatest tools that Toastmasters provides is the gift of evaluation. "It is amazing to watch all of our members become better speakers and leaders through the sharing of honest and friendly feedback," she said.

The Toastmasters GVSU Club# 4380 meets on the Allendale campus every Wednesday at noon. It is open to all faculty, staff, students and community. For more information, please visit www.gvsu.edu/toastmasters.

Study Abroad Program Ranked 10th in the Nation

The number of Grand Valley State University students who study abroad continues to grow, pushing the university into the top 10 in terms of student participation.

Grand Valley is ranked 10th among U.S. master's degree-granting institutions for total number of study abroad students, according to the Institute of International Education in New York. IIE issues an annual Open Doors report that tracks international education. For reporting year 2006-07, the latest statistics available, Grand Valley had 600 students study abroad. Elon University in North Carolina was ranked first, with 1,063 students.

In the 2007 Open Doors report, from the 2005-06 academic year, Grand Valley was ranked 12th, with 499 students who studied abroad.

Mark Schaub, executive director of Grand Valley's Padnos International Center, said while the increase is encouraging, he is more pleased with the number of students who participate in semester-long or longer programs. In March, the IIE recognized the Padnos International Center with a best practices award for its innovation in encouraging long-term and independent study programs.

"When students go abroad for five or six months, or longer, they are on their own and can enjoy a richer, broader cultural experience," Schaub said.

For 2006-07, 85 Grand Valley students spent at least a semester abroad. The previous year, 71 students participated in long-term study programs.

Regardless of program length, the top destinations remain the same for Grand Valley students: Spain, Italy, Great Britain and Australia.
By Michele Coffill

Sustainable Community Development Initiative Adds New COT

Andrea Marz is the new office coordinator for the Sustainable Community Development Initiative. Previously, Andrea worked as an account manager for a private association firm in Grand Rapids, helping various association groups and non-profit organizations by providing administrative support, strategic planning and event coordination services.
Andrea is passionate about the environment, which led her to pursue a degree in Sustainability at GVSU. Andrea acquired the values, skills and principles of applied sustainability when she and her fellow classmates developed and participated in a recycling service learning project in the southwest area of the City of Grand Rapids. They went door to door enrolling residents in the citys free recycling program. To ensure the sustainability of the project, the students partnered with GVSU's TRiO Upward Bound students from Central and Union High Schools. Together with the TRiO students, they were able to enroll 200 new households in the city's free recycling program.
When not working or in class, Andrea enjoys spending time with her husband, Dave, and their two adopted greyhounds, Neeko and Seven. She is also a green smoothie aficionado who embraces a vegan lifestyle.

Three COIS faculty receive Service Learning Awards

Faculty members were honored as Presidential Service Learning Scholars during a reception on November 11 in the Kirkhof Center.


COIS faculty Melissa Baker-Boosamra (Liberal Studies), Kevin den Dulk (Honors College, and Julia Mason (Woman and Gender Studies) were among the faculty honored.

Faculty members are nominated by their department chairs and chosen for incorporating service learning into their current curriculum.

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