Office of Sponsored Programs

Office of Sponsored Programs Staff

Christine Chamberlain
Director of Office of Sponsored Programs

Christine Chamberlain has over 25 years of diverse and extensive administrative experience in federal grants, contracts, and program management. She began her career at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D. C. working in the Architecture + Environmental Arts Program as a grants program specialist. She was responsible for not only reviewing grant applications, but chaired the peer review panels in her area of responsibility. After moving to the Pacific Northwest she continued her government service with the U. S. Department of Energy as a contracts specialist and the manager of their small business contracting program. She then transitioned from being a federal employee to the federal contractor world as the manager responsible for establishing and implementing the program management systems for a $200 million regulatory-driven nuclear environmental cleanup program. She then later went on to serve as the program manager responsible for the cost, schedule and management planning and control of a $50M construction/infrastructure improvement program. Ms. Chamberlain served as the principal liaison between the U. S. Department of Energy (Washington State) management and a citizens' advisory board for all issues pertaining to the development of its federal budget and contracting strategies.

Christine was appointed by the Governor of Washington State to the Washington State Arts Commission and served as the chair of its Grants Committee and the Governor’s Arts Award committee. Her volunteer work also included leadership positions on arts group boards of trustees, president of the local chapter of Soroptimist International, an organization devoted to advancing educational opportunities for women across the globe, and other community activities. She has received awards for superior performance from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the U. S. Department of Energy. She received her B.A. from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Ms. Chamberlain is a native of Lansing, Michigan and has two sons, Benjamin and Charlie.

chambech@gvsu.edu
311C DeVos Center
616-331-6868

Shirley Dilworth
Office of Sponsored Programs Administration Assistant

Shirley Dilworth is one of those people who seems to know almost everyone who walks through the doors of GVSU--students and employees alike. Everyone knows her, too. In her 20+ years at GVSU, she has seen many students come and go, and many employees change and grow in their roles here at the university.

Shirley began in 1983 as a temp in Facilities Management. Three months later, she signed on as a permanent employee in the Development Department at WGVU, where she worked for many years.

More recently, Shirley worked in Pew Campus Student Services & Admissions, where she provided an invaluable service to students and staff.

Luckily, the GSGA office was able to "steal" her from Student Services/Admissions to serve in a dual role as Office Coordinator for both Graduate Studies & Grants Administration and the Autism Education Center. A short while later, Shirley began working strictly on the Grants side of Graduate Studies. She attended intensive training on Sponsored Project Administration at a National Council of University Research Administrators workshop and is rapidly becoming an expert on project administration.

Besides her duties at GVSU, Shirley is an active volunteer in her community and serves whenever there is a need for a reading or basic computer use tutor.

When not studying for a life enriching class, she enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with husband, Bobby. She is Mom to sons Curtis and Christopher, and is a very enthusiastic "granny" to granddaughters Alyzia and Erica, and grandsons Christopher II, Kobe, and Devon. Shirley is a graduate of Grand Valley State University.

dilworts@gvsu.edu
321C DeVos Center
616-331-6812

Beverly Dickinson
Grants and Contracts Specialist

Beverly Dickinson joined the Office of Sponsored Programs in July 2008 as a Grants and Contracts Specialist. Beverly has had over twenty years experience with grants, both writing and administering, in university and local government settings. Beverly received her BA in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Michigan State University. She began working with grants in 1986 while as a graduate assistant with the MSU School of Criminal Justice. She worked at MSU (both as graduate assistant and then grant coordinator) for nine years before relocating to the Grand Rapids area in 1995. Beverly worked as the Grants Coordinator with the Kent County Office of Community Corrections. She then worked for nine years as the Grants Analyst for the Grand Rapids Police Department.

She has recently completed the Society of Research Administrators International National Institutes of Health Grants Management Certificate Program. She is working on the requirements to become a Certified Research Administrator.

Beverly currently resides in Rockford with her husband and three children. Her older daughter currently attends GVSU and is majoring in Biology while working at the Women’s Center. The younger two children attend Rockford High School. Both are actively involved with Scouting and the Team America Rocket Challenge. Her son is also in crew, while her daughter is the vice-president of the Gay Straight Alliance. Beverly’s husband Rob serves as Assistant Scout Master with their son’s Boy Scout Troop and is president of the Muskegon Michigan Area Rocket (MMAR) group. Beverly is a Girl Scout leader for their daughter and the former director for the Rockford Neighborhood Girl Scouts Service Unit. All three children have written and submitted grant proposals and have received funding.

dickinbe@gvsu.edu
309C DeVos Center
616-331-6834

Casey Thelenwood
Grants and Contracts Specialist

Casey Thelenwood started working with the Office of Sponsored Programs as a Graduate Assistant in 2010 and remained with the office as a Grants and Contracts Specialist after completing her M.Ed. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Grand Valley. Before coming to Grand Valley, Casey received a B.A. in Education from the University of Michigan. Casey has several years of diverse university-level work experience, beginning with her work for different departments at the University of Michigan during her undergraduate career. When not working at OSP, Casey teaches English to adult learners who have recently arrived in the United States. In her free time she loves to read, travel, and spend time with her husband.

thelecas@gvsu.edu

315.2C DeVos Center

616-331-7237

Andrew Kienitz

Graduate Assistant

Andrew Kienitz is the Graduate Assistant for the Office of Sponsored Programs. Andrew began working at OSP in 2008, when it was still the Grants Development and Administration Office, while working toward an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences. He is currently in Graduate School as a full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) student. Thinking about writing a grant but don't know how to find potential funding sources? You can contact him with requests for or questions about a grant search, which is a tool for new and veteran PIs to assist in finding funding for a project.

kienitan@gvsu.edu

321C DeVos Center

616-331-6826