2019-2020 Annual Report
A Message from the Dean
We will never forget the 2019-20 academic year. What started out mostly like any other GVSU year, with the additional excitement of a new university president, ended in a global pandemic and a shuttered campus. Many of us are still grappling with the feelings we experienced in the midst of that past year, even as we are just days away from the start of the 2020-21 academic year. These feelings are in so many ways that of grief: grief at the sudden loss of the familiar, the loss of the life or health of loved ones, the loss of milestones that would’ve been celebrated with grand gatherings. Many of our memories of the 2019-20 year will be forever shaded by this grief, and that is simply our reality.
Yet there were surprises and moments of delight that we will carry forward with our recollections of COVID year. For Brooks, there are plenty of these, and the links shared here are worth commemorating. Awards for colleagues and programs. New faculty hiring in the midst of budget contractions. A popular and impactful new LEADS program. Brooks College has much to celebrate from the 2019-20 academic year, and you have much to be proud of. Thank you all for your efforts to make this celebration possible.
Mark
Mark Schaub, Interim Dean of Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies
Interdisciplinary Innovation
Brooks College Plays Key Role in New Accelerated Degree Program
Brooks College faculty members played a key role in developing the curriculum of Grand Valley's new accelerated degree program for adult learners. The program, known as LEADS (Lifelong Educational Attainment for Determined Students), is one of President Philomena V. Mantella's signature initiatives.
On February 12, 2020, with Michigan's governor on campus, President Mantella announced the LEADS program that will help adults complete their bachelor’s degrees and enhance the state’s productivity. Mantella said the online degree program helps working adults break down the barriers to their career success, while providing them with a certificate in one of four high-demand specialties.
The program answers Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s call for more Michigan residents to finish their degrees, Mantella said. “GVSU, born of a community’s understanding that a local university is a powerful economic engine, understands the need to embrace what is ‘next’ now,” Mantella said. “Now is the time to keep prosperity inclusive and our state competitive. We are proud to lead.”
Mantella said the 19-month program allows students to shape their degrees in integrative studies while, at the same time, earning a certificate in leadership, applied data analytics, project management or global communication.
Environmental and Sustainability Studies is Fastest Growing Major at GVSU
Brooks College's newest major, Environmental and Sustainability Studies (ENS), launched in Fall 2019. Today, the program is home to 130 majors and 100 minors, making it the fastest-growing major on campus. Kelly Parker, former ENS director and professor of philosophy and integrative studies, said its growth indicates that students have been eager to devote their studies to the environment, with the goal of finding jobs in the profession.
One of those students, Bailey Glazier, said ENS students have created their own community where their ideas can be heard. “There’s definitely a sense of common purpose and understanding of what we all share, and our beliefs of the environment,” he said. “You have to try to take into account many people’s ideas and understand where people are coming from so that you can make an inclusive community for everyone.”
Glazier works at Grand Valley's Sustainable Agriculture Project, where he preps the fields, plants seeds, and maintains the plants as they grow. After earning a bachelor's degree in April, he wants to pursue a master's degree and has career plans to audit business practices on sustainability standards and help companies minimize their environmental impact. Glazier said he is thankful that there is a program dedicated to learning about his passion.
GVSU Named a Green College for 10 Consecutive Years
For the tenth year in a row, Grand Valley State University has been named one of the country's most environmentally responsible colleges by The Princeton Review.
The university is included in the 2019 edition of The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges.
The guide profiles higher education institutions in the U.S. that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability based on academic offerings and career preparation for students, as well as campus practices, initiatives and activities. Grand Valley has been included in the guidebook every year since the first issue was published in 2010.
This latest recognition reflects Grand Valley's commitment to sustainability. In August, Grand Valley was again named a top performer and received gold status by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Learn more about the Office of Sustainability Practices at gvsu.edu/sustainability.
Engaged Global Citizens
The Padnos International Center Wins National Awards for Increasing Study Abroad Diversity
Diversity Abroad announced the Padnos International Center (PIC) received the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion in International Education award. Diversity Abroad is a California-based consortium of educational institutions, government, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to fostering inclusive excellence in global education.
Michael Vrooman, PIC interim chief international officer, said collaborations with campus partners and recruitment efforts have been essential to spreading awareness of study abroad programs to students of color, student-athletes, and other students from underrepresented groups. "We want all students to believe that study abroad is possible for them," Vrooman said. "Our marketing and recruitment efforts reflect the widest possible range of student experiences and our staff members involve students in the process of developing our outreach strategy."
Last year, a group of 11 TRIO students traveled to Chile for a two-week program at the Universidad del Bío-Bío. A $25,000 grant from the MetLife Foundation lowered the program's cost for participants. Angelica Ellis, who is majoring in integrative studies, was among those 11 students. A native of Detroit, Ellis said she was ready to "step out of her comfort zone" after a friend traveled to Namibia, Africa. "She talked about her trip constantly. When you hear from someone you know well how life-changing it was for her, it helped my decision to study abroad," Ellis said.
Global Café Brings Together International, Domestic Students
Global Café, a new initiative on campus to encourage globalization, offers a cozy space for international and domestic students to share their experiences about travel, language and culture. The student organization Bringing Together the World, Padnos International Center, and Lilia Hauenstein, a senior at Grand Valley, made this idea come to life after Hauenstein experienced an event called “global lounge” while she was studying abroad in Japan.
“It was basically a space for international, foreign exchange and domestic students to interact, share passion for travel and exchange languages and culture,” Hauenstein said. “I was impacted by that, and have been able to contact people from all over the world. Grand Valley really needs something like this.”
Jowei Yek, a member of Bringing Together the World, said the goal of Global Café is to increase cultural competency on campus. “We want to make this space a resource for everyone to come and better understand various cultures,” Yek said. “This year is really about proving that this space is worth it, so we can provide this space continuously to students who need it.”
Brooks College Rededicates Peace Pole
Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies celebrated the 10th anniversary of the installation of the Peace Pole September 20, 2020, one day before the International Day of Peace.
The pole, located on the west side of Lake Ontario Hall, is engraved with the phrase, "May peace prevail on Earth" in eight different languages: English, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi and Bode'wadmi.
During the anniversary celebration, student, faculty and staff representatives of each language proclaimed the statement while standing next to the pole. The Bode'wadmi language was not spoken. We honor the People of the Three Fires: The Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi people whose people are indigenous to the lands and who care for it always.
Mark Shaub, interim dean of Brooks College, told those in attendance, the Peace Pole reminds the campus community of the university's mission toward peace.
"The fact that you’re all here standing together in solidarity shows us this ideal is not dead at Grand Valley, it’s not dead at the Padnos International Center and it’s not dead at Brooks College,” Shaub said. “Today we will reaffirm that by proclaiming in these eight languages, representing thousands of languages around the world, that we’re working toward it.”
Student Athletes Study Abroad in Spain
TRIO Students Study Abroad in Chile
Community Connection
Sustainable Agriculture Project Donates 600 Pounds of Produce to Communities Impacted by COVID-19
This summer, the Sustainable Agriculture Project harvested and donated 600 pounds of produce to the Community Food Club and Heartside Gleaning Initiative to support communities impacted by COVID-19. Margaux Sellnau, interim farm manager, spent much of the summer managing the farm alone due to the stay-at-home order. Once the order was lifted, faculty and staff were permitted to volunteer following a COVID-19 Safety and Procedure Plan. Faculty and staff volunteer shifts are currently scheduled on Thursdays from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 - 3:30 p.m. Students will be able to volunteer once face-to-face classes resume.
For more information and to sign-up for a volunteer shift, visit gvsu.edu/sap.
Civil Discourse Hosts 6th Annual Symposium, Announces 4th Endowed Professor
On November 19, 2019, Grand Valley faculty, staff, students, and community members participated in the 6th Annual Padnos/Sarosik Civil Discourse Symposium titled, Civil Discourse Café: Complicated Conversations. Elizabeth Arnold, associate professor of anthropology and the current Padnos/Sarosik endowed professor of civil discourse, focused the event around storytelling as a means of building rapport and empathy. Four storytellers shared stories and represented a variety of perspectives. Attendees were invited to practice civil discourse in roundtable discussions which were facilitated by student hosts.
During the event, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, assistant professor of journalism, was introduced as the new Padnos/Sarosik Endowed Professor of Civil Discourse. Jeff is the fourth professor in this role following Lisa Perhamus, Jack Mangala, and Elizabeth Arnold. Housed within the Brook College of Interdisciplinary Studies, the Padnos/Sarosik Endowed Professorship of Civil Discourse was founded in 2013 through a generous gift from longtime university supporters, Shelley Padnos and Carol Sarosik with the mission to prepare GVSU students to be leaders in advancing respectful, informed dialogue around vital social issues in their communities.
Learn more at gvsu.edu/civildiscourse.
Collecting Stories of Muskegon Synagogue Members
In the 1970s, the B’nai Israel Synagogue in Muskegon counted more than 120 families as members. Its roster has since dwindled to about 40 families due to deaths, relocations, and attrition.
Marilyn Preston, associate professor of integrative studies and member of B’nai Israel, secured several grants to capture the oral histories of the synagogues' members. The histories will be showcased in an exhibition, L’dor V’dor, at Muskegon's Lakeshore Museum Center. "L’dor V’dor" is a Jewish term meaning "generation to generation."
The project, though, will yield more than a public exhibition and an archival piece for the synagogue. Through the process of interviewing members, at least one student from Preston's class has found a spiritual home.
Joel Hill, a senior majoring in integrative studies, took Preston's religion class last fall with the intent of learning more about Judaism. Like others in his class, Hill traveled to Muskegon several times for interviews. "They made me feel like a part of the family," said Hill, who lives in Muskegon. "It was part of our class to come and do these interviews, and then I just continued to worship there."
Integrative Learning and Advising Organizes Coat Drive to Support Students
The Brooks College Office of Integrative Learning and Advising organized a coat drive to collect and distribute new and gently used coats to Grand Valley students. Integrative Learning and Advising collaborated with students and staff from the Movement Sciences Department and students from the Iota Tau Alpha Athletic Training Club to place donation boxes across campus.
Since 2019, 200 coats have been collected and 165 coats have been distributed to students, including one coat for a child. In recognition of its efforts, the Office of Integrative Learning and Advising received a 2019 Sustainability Champions Award.
Integrative Learning and Advising also manages a Laptop Recycling Project. Since the creation of the program, 29 computers have been distributed to students. Three computers were given to students during the last week of March 2020 before the transition to online learning.
Awards and Recognition
Integrative Studies Senior Wins Outstanding Student Award
Domonique Palmer, integrative studies and honors senior, received a Glenn A. Niemeyer Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student. Domonique's degree emphasis is Social Impact for Urban Youth, and her studies and co-curricular activities have focused on historically marginalized youth and college retention. She has worked as a resident assistant, an intern for Pathways to College, a TRIO mentor, and helped with orientations for Black Excellence and Laker Familia.
Domonique said transitioning to Grand Valley from her Detroit high school, University Prep Academy, was difficult but she utilized many university resources and created many professional relationships. She hopes to do the same for other first-generation students after graduation and said she will pursue taking an entry-level job focused on college access and retention at one of Michigan's public universities.
Domonique said, "The liberal education that GVSU provides is intended for us to cultivate critical thinking skills and shape our society. Therefore, this award represents my transformation greatly! Thank you, everyone, who has had a part in helping me get to this point and nominating me!”
Faculty Scholarship Showcase
On February 25, 2020, about 40 students, faculty, and staff
gathered to hear six faculty members present their research:
- Tracy Flemming, associate professor of area and global studies; his sabbatical project, "Travel and the Pan African Imagination."
- Kelly Parker, professor of philosophy; his book, Pragmatist and American Philosophical Perspectives on Resilience, published by Lexington.
- Brent Smith, associate professor of religious studies; his book, Religious Studies and the Goal of Interdisciplinarity, published by Routledge.
- Peter Wampler, associate professor of geology and faculty-in-residence in honors; his sabbatical research in Haiti.
- Joel Wendland-Liu, associate professor of integrative and intercultural studies; his sabbatical project, "Racial Formation in West Michigan."
- Deana Wiebel, professor of religious studies and anthropology; her sabbatical project on the manifestation of religion at NASA.
University Awards of Excellence
Distinguished Contribution to a Discipline Award
Craig Benjamin, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Frederik Meijer Honors College
Joined Grand Valley State University in 2003
Craig Benjamin is an influential and talented historian whose work on world history is at the cutting edge of the field. He has a long list of important contributions to the area of his expertise, including the fields of ancient central Asian history, ancient world history, and big history. Since arriving at Grand Valley, he has published three books, edited three volumes, and written 27 peer-reviewed articles. His research productivity is matched by an enthusiasm to collaborate with others and to make world history relevant to both scholars and students. Benjamin’s approach is recognized for the way it reaches across disciplines and raises important and controversial questions about the future possibilities for the human species during the next century and beyond. He is admired worldwide for his acute intelligence, rigorous scholarship, extraordinary energy, and commitment to education and teaching.
Internationalization Award
Anne Caillaud, Ph.D.
Interim Chair of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures
Joined Grand Valley State University in 1990
Anne Caillaud has served in numerous roles to advance international education and the global learning mission at Grand Valley for 29 years. During this time, she has been involved in developing and leading several faculty-led programs to France, and she has served as an advisor to study abroad students, to students pursuing internship opportunities abroad, and to the French Club. She also has served as a mentor for the Padnos International Center’s Fit the Mitt program. Caillaud has traveled abroad to international program sites to evaluate their suitability for study abroad opportunities for our students and has played key roles on university-wide committees such as the International Affairs Advisory Committee and the Internationalization Taskforce.
Pew Awards of Excellence
Pew Teaching with Technology Award
Denise Goerisch, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Integrative, Religious, and Intercultural Studies
Joined Grand Valley State University in 2016
Denise Goerisch teaches students to engage technology, digital tools, and social media to understand complex systems of power and marginalization. Her focus on social change enhances students’ technological skills and digital literacy, enabling them to disseminate ideas innovatively. As one colleague notes, “What drives her choice of digital teaching tools or platforms is rooted in a deeply reflective pedagogy that prioritizes inclusive and engaged student learning. At each stage of development, her work models how faculty can deepen specific dimensions of their pedagogy while also adapting to different technological tools and platforms.”
Faculty and Staff Awards
Steeve Buckridge, professor of area and global studies and history, was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Namibia.
Aaron Eddens, assistant professor of area and global studies, won the 2019 Ralph Henry Gabriel Dissertation Prize from the American Studies Association. Aaron's dissertation, "Climate-Smart’ Seeds: Race, Science, and Security in the Global Green Revolution," was selected for bringing a "sharp analysis of race into conversation with science and food studies."
Cáel Keegan, assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies, won the 2019 Trans/Gender-Variant Caucus Paper Award. The National Women's Studies Association selected Cáel's paper, "Getting Disciplined: What’s Trans* About Queer Studies Now?" The 2019 Trans/Gender-Variant Caucus Paper Award recognizes and supports the work of scholars working in the emergent field of Trans Studies, broadly conceived.
Meg Marshall, Honors Academic and Enrichment Advisor, won the 2020 Service to Community Award from the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center. The Service to Community Award honors an individual who demonstrates an exceptional commitment to improving the lives of LGBTQIA+ people. The recipient of this award has made a substantial contribution toward advancing the interests, health, and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Service Awards
20-Year Award Recipients:
- Majd Al-Mallah, Area and Global Studies
- Kurt Ellenberger, Meijer Honors College
- Karen Gipson, Brooks College Dean's Office
- Rebecca Hambleton, Padnos International Center
- Vandana Pednekar-Magal, Area and Global Studies
- Mark Schaub, Brooks College Dean's Office
10-Year Award Recipients:
- Elizabeth Arnold, Padnos/Sarosik Civil Discourse
- Gamal Gasim, Area and Global Studies
- Azfar Hussain, Integrative Studies
- Yan Liang, Area and Global Studies
Student Awards
Jessica Fillmore, Marketing in Honors, was one of five seniors across the university to receive the Thomas M. Seykoya Award for Outstanding Contribution.
Domonique Palmer, Integrative Studies in Honors, won a Glenn A. Niemeyer Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student. Domonique's degree emphasis is Social Impact for Urban Youth, and her studies and co-curricular activities have focused on historically marginalized youth and college retention. Domonique has worked as a resident assistant, an intern for Pathways to College, a TRIO mentor, and helped with orientations for Black Excellence and Laker Familia.
Matt Smith, Nursing in Honors, also won a Glenn A. Niemeyer Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student. A graduate of Grandville High School, Matt said he chose nursing as a major "because there is no better way to positively impact a person's life. Whether you're caring for patients in their own homes or in the hospital, you're part of a health care team that is improving the quality of life for many people."
Stella Molde, Public and Nonprofit Administration major and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor, was awarded the 2020-2021 Jean Enright Scholarship.
Excellence-in-a-Discipline Award Winners:
- Leah Anderson, Environmental and Sustainability Studies
- Sarah Brown, Global Studies and Social Impact
- Jarod Collier, Frederik Meijer Honors College
- Brooklynn Lipponen, Integrative Studies
- Miranda Bryan, Religious Studies
- Brynn Wilfong, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
- Yeram Leonard, Social Innovation (M.A.)
Integrative, Religious, and Intercultural Studies (IRIS) Outstanding Thesis Awards Winners:
- Ivy Baillie won the 2020 Stanley Krohmer Senior Project Award for her project, "Identity and Amateur Literature."
- Ben Scott-Brandt received the 2019 Wendy J. Wenner Thesis Award for his thesis, "Functions of Behavior in Secular Student Communities."
- Kate Millet received the 2019 Stanley Krohmer Senior Project Award for her thesis, "Mindfulness Curriculum."
- Amanda Niswander won the 2020 Wendy J. Wenner Thesis Award for her thesis, "Building Communities for Restorative Justice."
Recognition
Jae Basilière, assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies, was quoted in The Chronicle of Higher Education article, "How an Idiosyncratic Role-Playing Game Became a Popular Teaching Tool," about role-playing games in the classroom.
Jae Basiliere, Lisa Perhamus, Justin Pettibone, and Andrew Schlewitz all presented at the seventh annual Teach-In: Power, Privilege, and Difficult Dialogues.
Craig Benjamin, professor of history, Meijer Honors College, co-edited a book, The Routledge Companion to Big History, published by Rutledge.
Jeremiah Cataldo, associate professor of history, Honors College, edited a book, Imagined Worlds and Constructed Identities in the Hebrew Bible, published by T&T Clark/Bloomsbury. Cataldo also wrote a chapter, "Biblical Strategies for Reinterpreting Crises with Outsiders," published in the book Imagined Worlds and Constructed Identities in the Hebrew Bible and three online articles, "Religion in Israel and Religion in the Bible," "Prejudice in the Bible," and "Reading Haggai-Zechariah as a Political Text," published by Pointofview.
David Coffey, director of the Design Thinking Academy (DTA), facilitated two design thinking workshops for business leaders at a Michigan Small Business Development Center’s conference in May. Four DTA students, Abigail Cooper, Drew Craven, Kayla Lett, and Amanda Moy, assisted with the workshops.
Youssef Darwich, former farm manager and educator, was featured in the WWMT Channel 3 story, "GVSU donating food from educational farm to those in need during COVID-19 pandemic."
Danielle DeMuth, associate professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies, gave a presentation, "The Miserable Life of We Too are Drifting and The Well of Loneliness: Reception and the 20th Century Lesbian Novel," at the Midwest Modern Language Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
Kurt Ellenberger, professor of music in honors, wrote an article, "The Touch Of Your Lips: The Colors Of Jazz Piano," published on the website All About Jazz.
Gamal Gasim, professor of area and global studies, was interviewed for an Al Jazerra article, "Analysis: The divergent Saudi-UAE strategies in Yemen." Gamal was also interviewed for a GVNext article about the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Roger Gilles, director of the Frederik Meijer Honors College, published an article, "1890s Women's Bicycle Racing: Forgotten, but Why?" in Sport History Review.
Denise Goerisch, assistant professor of integrative studies, wrote a chapter, "Doing Less with Less: Faculty Care Work in Times of Precarity," for a book, Intersectionality and Higher Education: Identity and Inequality on College Campuses; and wrote an article, "Operation Thin Mint: Popular Geopolitics of Care and Post 9/11 Girlhood," published in Young Nordic Journal of Youth Research.
Denise Goerisch, assistant professor of integrative studies; Jae Basiliere, assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies; Kimberly McKee, associate professor of integrative studies; with three other colleagues were co-authors of an article, "Mentoring With: Reimagining Mentoring across the University," published in Gender, Place, & Culture.
Yumi Jakobcic, director of the Office of Sustainability Practices, co-authored a paper with Patricia Stokowski, "The Role of Regional Park Districts in Strengthening Community Relationships" that was published in The Journal of Parks and Recreation Administration.
Patrick Johnson, director of the Writing Center, contributed to an article, "Consultants in the Classroom: Pilot Study Assessing Multidisciplinary Center Collaboration," published in Communication Centers Journal.
Cáel Keegan, assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies, was interviewed by TIME for his story, "For the Trans Community, Snapchat's 'Gender-Swapping' Filter Is Complicated." Cáel was a panelist on, “Diversity in Film,” at the Annual Chaz and Roger Ebert Symposium in Urbana, Illinois. Cáel also gave a talk, “Transgender Studies, or How to Do Things with Trans*,” at the Gender and Women’s Studies Program and College of Media at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Alissa Lane, Outreach Coordinator in the Padnos International Center, has been selected as the next Communication Coordinator for the NAFSA Association of International Educators, Region V.
Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, Padnos/Sarosik Endowed Professor of Civil Discourse and assistant professor of multimedia journalism, published an opinion piece in the Detroit Free Press titled, "My students show resilience, heart during coronavirus crisis."
The Kutsche Office of Local History was featured in an article by The Holland Sentinel about the exhibit, "Contemporary Stories of Summer," which was developed in partnership with the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center and Saugatuck High School.
Jack Mangala, professor of area and global studies, was invited to participate in a policy dialogue on the implementation of the UN Global Compact for Migration at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. Jack edited and contributed two chapters to, The Politics of Challenging Presidential Term Limits in Africa, published by Palgrave Macmillan. Jack also authored a report on diaspora engagement policy and circular migration for the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration 2020 Annual Report.
Anthony Meyer, visiting professor of religious and integrative studies, gave a presentation, "Going Abroad with Your God(s): Graeco-Roman interpretation and Jewish Tradition," at the Travel Experiences in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Traditions (3rd-century BCE - 8th-century CE) Conference at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Kelly Parker, former director of environmental and sustainability studies and professor of philosophy, co-edited a book, "Pragmatist and American Philosophical Perspectives on Resilience," published by Lexington. Kelly also wrote the introduction and contributed a chapter to the book. Kelly was also a panelist for a debate, "Change Happens. Now What? Debating the Green New Deal," hosted by the Hauenstein Center.
Vandana Pednekar-Magal, professor of multimedia journalism and chair of area and global studies, gave a keynote address, “Diaspora and Identity in the Digital Age: Cultural Communities and the Nation," at Media and Culture conference at Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. She also gave presentations, “Globalism and Nationalism: Spatial Experience,” at Global Studies conference in Krakow, Poland; and “Love Across Frontiers: Reinventing Family in the Digital Age,” at the International Association for Media and Communication Research Conference in Madrid, Spain.
Andrea Riley-Mukavetz, assistant professor of integrative studies, was interviewed for an NPR story about how Thanksgiving is taught in our schools.
Andrea Riley-Mukavetz, assistant professor of integrative, and Melanie Shell-Weiss, chair and associate professor of IRIS, provided training and evaluation of PBS/WGVU's Shaping Narratives television series.
Mark Schaub, interim dean of Brooks College, was featured in an MLive article about Grand Valley's study abroad program and the inaugural TRIO study abroad trip to Chile.
Benjamin Scott-Brandt, integrative studies student in the Meijer Honors College, was published on The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity for his short film, "Finding Sacred Spaces."
Margaux Sellnau, environmental and sustainability studies alumna and interim farm manager and educator, and a team of four other college students were awarded second place and a cash prize of $10,000 at the 2020 Wege Prize competition.
Simeon Shama, a junior in fashion design and business at Grand Valley State University, is the 2020 recipient of Athena Study Abroad’s prestigious $8,000 Michele Iavagnilio Charitable Service Scholarship. Simeon will study with Athena this spring at Lorenzo de’ Medici (LdM) in Florence, Italy.
Semester in Grand Rapids was featured in an article by The Grand Rapids Business Journal highlighting the student showcase event on August 6, 2020. The Semester in Grand Rapids was also selected to present at President Philomena V. Mantella's Investiture Student Showcase on November 15, 2019. Students Delaney McDonald and Rian Berry shared stories from their experience with the program.
Brent Smith, associate professor of religious studies, wrote a book Religious Studies and the Goal of Interdisciplinarity, published by Routledge.
Jerry Stinnett, director of Supplemental Writing Skills, gave a talk, "What Will Students Transfer: Supporting the Use of Writing Beyond FYC," at Saginaw Valley State University.
Peter Wampler, faculty-in-residence in the Meijer Honors College, co-chaired a session, "Improving Scientific Literacy and Dispelling Misconceptions about Wicked Water Resource Problems," and gave a presentation, "Challenges and Cultural Complications of Teaching About Clean Water in Haiti," at the annual Geological Society of America Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Peter also co-chaired a session, “Improving Scientific Literacy and Dispelling Misconceptions about Wicked Water Resource Problems,” and gave a presentation, "Challenges and Cultural Complications of Teaching About Clean Water in Haiti,” at the annual Geological Society of America Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
Deana Weibel, professor of anthropology and religious studies, was approved as member national for the board of directors of the Explorers Club, an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society.
Karen Zivi, associate professor of political science, Honors College, wrote an article, "Hiding in Public or Going with the Flow: Human Rights, Human Dignity, and the Movement for Menstrual Equity," published in Human Rights Quarterly.