Chamberlain Named Meijer Endowed Chair

Linda Chamberlain was named the new Frederik Meijer Endowed Honors Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Frederik Meijer Honors College.

She fills the position first held by Bill Holsinger-Robinson. Chamberlain is a familiar face at Grand Valley and in West Michigan’s entrepreneurship circles.

Since 2012, Chamberlain has served as director of the Michigan Accelerator Fund and has been responsible for all aspects of the Grand Rapids-based partnership that contributes to Michigan’s economy by investing in companies such as life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and alternative energy.

At Grand Valley, Chamberlain works for the Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence in the technology commercialization office. In that role, she co-developed a new course centered on design thinking and provides services and resources for faculty research projects.

Chamberlain has served as executive director of Grand Valley’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She also served as senior vice president for Global Forex Trading and executive director of what is now GR Current, a business incubator. Jeffrey Chamberlain, director of the Meijer Honors College, said Chamberlain (no relation) brings a wealth of experience in business, design thinking, and entrepreneurship to the endowed chair position.

“Linda has excellent connections with community partners and will help students get involved with West Michigan businesses and organizations in important experiences that will make a real difference in the world,” he said. As Meijer endowed chair, Chamberlain said she looks forward to working closely with students on individual or class projects. She will co-teach a course, Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs, with Liberal Studies faculty member Danielle Lake.

“I am honored and privileged to assume the endowed chair position at the Meijer Honors College and am looking forward to the opportunity to work with students in both innovation and entrepreneurship,” Chamberlain said.

Kathleen Underwood, Founding Chair of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department, Retires

Kathleen Underwood, director of women, gender, and sexuality studies (WGS), retired at the end of the 2015 winter semester after 17 years of service, but not without being recognized for her contributions to Grand Valley. 

Grand Valley’s Women’s Commission presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Underwood, director of the department, and to JoAnn Wassenaar, associate director of the Women’s Center. It was fitting as Underwood and Wassenaar collaborated on many academic and co-curricular programs. Gretchen Galbraith, associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences, helped present the Lifetime Achievement Award on March 31, 2015.

Galbraith said she was grateful for Underwood’s leadership in expanding what had been women and gender studies from a program to a department, increasing its faculty members, and adding an LGBTQ minor.

Marlene Kowalski-Braun, assistant vice provost for Student Affairs, said Underwood and Wassenaar were responsible for training the next generation of social change agents through the Women’s Community Collaborative class, a partnership between WGS and the Women’s Center.

Participants at the 12th annual EqualiTEA, sponsored by the Women’s Center and the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department, honored Underwood as one of the event founders on March 26, 2014 in the Russel H. Kirkhof Center.

Underwood helped establish the first EqualiTEA, held during Women’s History Month as a nod to the women’s teas of the 19th century, when tea parties often turned to discussions on activism.

She said it was exciting to see so many people in the audience who had attended many EqualiTEAs. “This is a time to celebrate the gains made by women and for women and also to remind us of the work that is left to do,” she said.

A scholarship fund in Underwood’s name has been established, the Kathleen Underwood Endowed S3 Scholarship, and will benefit students in the Student Summer Scholars program.

Underwood served on the governing council of the National Women’s Studies Association and has been involved with several community-based boards, including the West Michigan Women’s Studies Council and the Library Commission for East Grand Rapids. She is past chair of the Coalition for Western Women’s History and serves on the Ray Allen Billington Prize Committee for the Western History Association.

She received the Outstanding University Service Award from Grand Valley in 2012; the Then and NOW Award for Long Term Contributions to Feminism from the National Organization for Women, Grand Rapids Chapter in 2014; and the Milton E. Ford Leadership Award from the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center in 2015.

Janine Fidler of the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies Retires

Janine Fidler, office coordinator for professional development partnerships in the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies, retired after 20 years of service. In her position, Fidler assisted teachers in Michigan school districts and agencies to receive professional teacher certification. Over the years, Fidler became knowledgeable in teacher certification rules and processes, which allowed her to provide excellent customer service to the education community. Outside of work, Fidler was active in her local school district and in the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

New Director of Meijer Office of Fellowships

Elizabeth Lambert has been selected to serve as the new director of the Meijer Office of Fellowships. Lambert comes to Grand Valley from Indiana University, where she served as a senior consultant, proposal trainer, and adviser. She was responsible for developing curriculum and training students and staff in effective grant writing, discipline specific academic writing, and proposal development. She also worked to promote fellowships, internships, and study abroad opportunities while assisting underrepresented students to apply for global initiatives and fellowship programs.

Lambert has extensive experience with fellowships and awards, having helped more than 150 students obtain more than $5 million in fellowships since 2012 and having completed more than a dozen fellowships of her own. “Elizabeth Lambert brings a wealth of experience both in personally applying for — and obtaining — prestigious fellowships, and in helping others to be successful in her advising work at the University of Indiana,” said Jeff Chamberlain, director of the Meijer Honors College. “She is ready and eager to step right in to the role of director, and we are excited to see how our students profit from working with her.” 

Lambert will replace Amanda Cuevas, who served as the office’s founding director for five years.

Owen Named Director of Regional Center in Traverse City

Shannon Owen was named director of Grand Valley’s Traverse City Regional Center. She joined the regional center staff in late January 2015.

Simone Jonaitis, executive director of the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies, said Owen brings with her a wealth of experience.

Owen had served as manager of Northern Michigan Programs for Eastern Michigan University (EMU) and as academic and career advisor for Northwestern Michigan College (NMC). Her job at EMU was housed at NMC’s University Center, where students from eight universities take classes.

“I saw this role as a way to keep me connected to the University Center and it was a good time for me to take all the information I learned at NMC and use it in this position for Grand Valley,” she said.

In her new role, Owen will oversee programs and look for opportunities for new community connections. 

Owen is a member of Traverse City Young Professionals and said she enjoys volunteering in the community and enjoying the area’s winter resources.

Writing Center, SWS Program Strengthen Collaborations to Enhance Student Learning

The Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors and the supplemental writing skills programs, both housed within Brooks College, were reorganized around new staff positions during the 2014-2015 academic year.

After serving for three years as the assistant director of the Fred Meijer Center for Writing, Patrick Johnson was named its new director. The center provides one-to-one and group tutoring support to student writers across the university. The 60 undergraduate writing consultants employed by the center are drawn from across the university and, in addition to facilitating one-to-one tutorials or “consultations,” regularly lead small-group draft review workshops in the first-year writing courses. To help support the work of the center, Melanie Rabine was hired as a part-time coordinator for the writing center. In this role, she will assist Johnson in staff education, data management, and other daily work of the center.

Lindsay Ellis, associate professor of English and director of the Lake Michigan Writing Project, which is a professional development opportunity for K–12 teachers to enhance their knowledge of, and experience with, the teaching of writing, was named director of writing across the curriculum and faculty writing support. In this role, Ellis will provide pedagogical support to faculty members teaching supplemental writing skills at the university, as well as support faculty members as they write their own scholarship. As such, Ellis now supports the teaching of writing at all levels, kindergarten through college.

Johnson and Ellis are working closely to ensure the support offered to faculty members and students around writing are aligned. Programming that demonstrates this commitment to serving all writers on campus includes summertime week long writing retreats for faculty members engaged in writing scholarly articles and creative works; training opportunities for writing consultants with the Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships, so that consultants can assist students who visit the center with drafts of graduate school and fellowship applications; and partnering with the Padnos International Center to ensure international students are prepared to succeed at American styles of writing.

Johnson and Ellis are also committed to ensuring the writing center remains a vibrant learning opportunity for the undergraduates it employs as consultants. Ellis teaches the one-credit academic course that all Writing Center consultants must take to give them the knowledge about writing theory and pedagogy that they need to work effectively with students. She and Johnson both mentor writing consultants who engage in research and development of best practices in writing center work as independent studies, Meijer Honors College thesis projects, or coursework. Every year, a number of consultants who engage in these research projects present their scholarship at regional and national conferences.

Service Awards

30 YEARS
Gordon Alderink, Physical therapy and Frederik Meijer Honors College

20 YEARS
Brian Cole, Center for Adult and Continuing Studies
Sally Vissers, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department

10 YEARS
Jack Mangala, African and African American studies and political science
Zulema Moret, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and Latin American studies

On April 6, Craig Benjamin, professor of history in the Frederik Meijer Honors College and director of the International Big History Association, received the prestigious Glenn A. Niemeyer award in recognition of his “excellence, enthusiasm, and loyalty to teaching, scholarship, and service.”

Benjamin came to Grand Valley after finishing his Ph.D. in ancient history at Macquarie University in Australia in 2003. He is a founding leader of the burgeoning discipline of Big History, bringing the office of the International Big History Association to Grand Valley. A prolific scholar and author, Benjamin has authored, co-authored, or edited seven books, with four currently under contract, and published dozens of articles and book chapters on topics related to the ancient history of Central Asia, world history, and Big History. Since coming to Grand Valley, Benjamin has been recognized for his transformative teaching with special awards from five different student groups. Benjamin is sought-after as a master-teacher by the History Channel and the Teaching Company.

David Eick, associate professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and a faculty-in residence in the Frederik Meijer Honors College, received the Student Award for Faculty Excellence (SAFE) at the 28th annual Presidents’ Ball.

This award is given by the Student Senate to a faculty member who goes above and beyond for their students. The award recipient must be an excellent teacher in and out of the classroom, be engaged with students, and invest in the success of the students. Eick was nominated by student Scott St. Louis, and the nomination was supported by multiple senators.

“I’m so glad and lucky to be at Grand Valley, where scholarship and teaching are valued by the administration, by faculty colleagues, and by students,” said Eick. “Coming as it does from students, this award means a lot to me. We work hard for them; it’s nice when they notice!”

Alissa Lane, outreach coordinator in the Barbara H. Padnos International Center, received the Commitment to Students Award at the annual AP Luncheon on April 16, 2015. This award is given to an individual who is a strong mentor to Grand Valley students beyond the person’s normal professional responsibilities.

Mark Schaub, chief international officer in the Padnos International Center said, “In the two and a half years in which she has served in her position as outreach coordinator, Alissa has made a mark on the campus through her work with students. International students at GVSU single her out as helpful and supportive, and working with them is not in her job description. Simply put, Alissa Lane lives and breathes student engagement and student success.”

On February 5, 2015, Regina McClinton, associate professor of liberal studies and director of the Institute for Intercultural Teaching and Learning, was presented with the Burch, Jacobs, and Moore Diversity Teaching Excellence Award.

McClinton was instrumental in creating and implementing the successful Intercultural Training Certificate. In a letter of support, Wendy Burns-Ardolino, chair of liberal studies, stated that McClinton has “dynamic approaches to advancing and encouraging diversity through active teaching, program and curricular development, and community outreach.”

This is the second time this award has been given, and both times the award was granted to a liberal studies faculty member.

On April 14, 2015, Joel Wendland, assistant professor of liberal studies, received the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Oliver Wilson Freshman Academy program for 2014-2015. Wendland was nominated for this award by the students in the program. Wendland’s dedication to the students and the program have been invaluable in helping students persist and graduate from Grand Valley.

For several years, he has taught a LIB 100 course for Freshman Academy students and serves as a faculty leader of the Freshman Academy Academic Success Institute. Wendland also assisted in securing a donation from the Consumers Energy Foundation to expand the Freshman Academy program to the Student Academic Success Center Degree Completion program.

Scholarship

Craig Benjamin, professor of history in the Frederik Meijer Honors College and director of the International Big History Association, published “‘But from This Time Forth History Becomes a Connected Whole’: State Expansion and the Origins of Universal History” in the Journal of Global History.

Jeremiah Cataldo, assistant professor of history in the Frederik Meijer Honors College, published a chapter, “Memory Trauma in Ezra-Nehemiah,” for the book Methods, Theories, and Imagination: Social Scientific Approaches in Biblical Studies, edited by David Chalcraft and published by Sheffield Phoenix Press. He also published a chapter in The Other: Sociological Perspectives in a Postcolonial Age for Imagining the Other and Constructing Israelite Identity in the Early Second Temple Period, edited by E. Ben Zivi and D. Edelman, and published by Bloomsbury.

Kelly James Clark, visiting professor in the Frederik Meijer Honors College and the Liberal Studies Department, authored Religion and the Science of Origins: Historical and Contemporary Discussions, published by Palgrave/Macmillan. Clark also published two book chapters: one titled “Knowledge and the Objection to Religious Belief from Cognitive Science,” in The Roots of Religion: Exploring the Cognitive Science of Religion, published by Ashgate Publishing Limited, and the other titled “Atheism and Analytic Thinking,” in The Science and Religion Dialogue: Past and Future, published by Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften.

Danielle DeMuth, associate professor in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department, was a special guest editor for the Journal of Lesbian Studies. The special issue focused on the influence and legacy of Barbara Grier.

Affiliate Professor Anne Marie Fauvel and Assistant Professor Danielle Lake, both of the Liberal Studies Department, co-authored “Tackling ‘Wicked’ Food Issues: Applying the Wicked Problems Approach in Higher Education to Promote Healthy Eating Habits in American School Children” in Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal.

Coeli Fitzpatrick, professor of philosophy in the Frederik Meijer Honors College and coordinator of the Middle East studies program, published the two-volume work Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God, which received the 2015 ALA-RUSA Outstanding Reference Source award. She also published “Said Matters: Teaching Edward Said to the Non-Humanities Undergraduate” in a special issue of the journal Critical Race and Whiteness Studies focused on Edward Said, an intellectual, cultural critic, and activist. 

Tracy Flemming, assistant professor of African and African American studies, published the article “Denmark Vesey: An Atlantic Perspective” in The Journal of Pan African Studies.

Gamal Gasim, assistant professor of Middle East studies and political science, published a chapter titled “Explaining Political Activism Before and During Yemeni Spring” in Taking to the Streets: Activism, Arab Uprisings, and Democratization, edited by Lina Khatib and Ellen Lust and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. He also published “Explaining Muslim Americans’ Public Opinions on Salient Issues” in the journal Islam and Christian Muslim Relations. This year, Professor Gasim also has published numerous pieces analyzing political activities in Yemen for Al Jazeera.

Sarah King, assistant professor of liberal studies, published her book Fishing in Contested Waters: Place and Community in Burnt Church/Esgenoôpetitj (University of Toronto Press). She also published a chapter titled “Seeking Relief: The Dispute in Burnt Church/ Esgenoôpetitj” in Blockades or Breakthroughs: Aboriginal People Confront the Canadian State, edited by Yale
Belanger and P. Whitney Lackenbauer and published by McGill-Queens University Press.

Danielle Lake, assistant professor of liberal studies, published “Jane Addams and Wicked Problems: Putting the Pragmatic Method to Use” in the journal The Pluralist. Lake’s presentation based on this article won the Jane Addams Prize for best paper on feminist thought presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy.

Jack Mangala, associate professor of African and African American studies and political science, published the chapter “Barack Obama’s Visits to and Speeches in Egypt and Ghana: New Beginning or False Start?” in the book Assessing President Barack Obama’s Africa Policy and Suggestions for African Leaders, edited by Abdul Karim Bangura and published by University Press of America. Mangala also published “Six Years after Lisbon: The JAES at a Crossroads” in the Bulletin of the African Union Commission.

Julia Mason, associate professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies, published “Mags Bennett — Outlaw Mother” in the book Justified and Philosophy: Shoot First, Think Later, Rod Carveth and Robert Arp, editors.

Amy McFarland, assistant professor of agriculture in the Frederik Meijer Honors College and environmental studies program, published “The Relationship between Parental Attitudes toward Nature and the Amount of Time Children Spend in Outdoor Recreation” in the Journal of Leisure Research. She also published “The Effect of Urban Tree Canopy Cover and Vegetation Levels on Incidence of Stress-related Illnesses in Humans in Metropolitan Statistical Areas of Texas” in the journal HortTechnology.

Kimberly McKee, assistant professor of liberal studies, wrote “Tracing Our Histories: Making Connections between Adoption and Ethnic Studies” for the Gazillion Voices online magazine.

Former coordinator of Latin American studies and Professor of Spanish Zulema Moret’s book of poetry, La Mujer De La Piedra, was published by Artepoetica Press.

Mambo Mupepi, adjunct faculty member in the African and African American studies program, wrote the book British Imperialism in Zimbabwe: Narrating the Organizational Development of the First Chimurenga (1883-1904), published by Cognella Academic Publishing.

Peimin Ni, professor of philosophy, East Asian studies, and Chinese studies, co-edited with Chenyang Li, the book, Moral Cultivation and Confucian Character — Engaging Joel Kupperman, published by State University of New York Press. Ni also published the chapter, “The Philosophy of Confucius,” in the book, Dao Companion to Classical Confucian Philosophy, published by Springer.

Marilyn Preston, assistant professor of liberal studies, co-authored “Traditionally Heterogendered Institutions: Discourses Surrounding LGBTQ College Students,” published in the Journal of LGBT Youth.

Patrick Shan, professor of history and coordinator of the Chinese studies and East Asian studies programs, wrote the book Taming China’s Wilderness: Immigration, Settlement, and the Shaping of the Heilongjiang Frontier, 1900-1931, published by Ashgate.

David Stark, professor of history and coordinator of the Latin American studies program, authored Slave Families and the Hato Economy in Puerto Rico, published by the University Press of Florida. Stark also published “Ties that Bind: Baptismal Sponsorship among Slaves in Eighteenth- Century Puerto Rico” in the journal Slavery and Abolition.

Troy VanKoevering, office coordinator in the Barbara H. Padnos International Center, wrote a story, “The Himalayan,” in the Write Michigan 2015 Anthology, published by Chapbook Press.

Ayana Weekley, assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies, published “Saving Me Through Erasure?: HIV/AIDS and Respectability in Bill Duke’s Cover” in the book Black Female Sexualities, edited by Trimiko Melancon and Joanne M. Braxton and published by Rutgers University Press.

Judy Whipps, professor of liberal studies, published two journal articles: “Local Community: Place-based Pragmatist and Feminist Education” in The Pluralist and “A Pragmatist Reading of Mary Parker Follett’s Integrative Process” in Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society.

Karen Zivi, associate professor of political science in the Frederik Meijer Honors College, published “Performing the Nation: Contesting Same Sex Marriage Rights in the United States” in the Journal of Human Rights.

Awards

Danielle DeMuth, associate professor in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department, received the Solidarity Award at the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center Pride Awards on March 10, 2015.

Coeli Fitzpatrick, professor of philosophy in the Frederik Meijer Honors College and coordinator of the Middle East studies program, earned the 2015 ALA-RUSA Outstanding Reference Source Award for a Book, Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God.

Cael Keegan, assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies and liberal studies, received the FIERCE Award at the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center Pride Awards on March 10, 2015. 

Peimin Ni, professor of philosophy and East Asian studies, received the prestigious Dao Annual Best Essay Award for a journal article titled “Seek and You Will Find It; Let Go and You Will Lose It: Exploring a Confucian Approach to Human Dignity,” published in Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy.

Grants

Marilyn Preston, assistant professor of liberal studies, was awarded the competitive Catalyst Grant-In-Aid award by the GVSU Research and Development Committee for her project entitled Conceptualizations of Sexual Identity During the Transition to Adulthood.

Honors

Leslie Bateman, director of Professional Development Partnerships in the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies, was elected to the Executive Committee of the Michigan Social Work Continuing Education Collaborative on September 25, 2014, and she began her two-year term immediately.

Brian Cole, director of research, development, and assessment in the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies, was elected to serve as the chairperson for the Great Lakes Region of the Association for Continuing Higher Education.

Danielle Lake, assistant professor of liberal studies, was appointed to the Engaged Department Initiative Research Team through the Office for Community Engagement.

Melissa Peraino, director of educational outreach in the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies, was appointed to the Ottawa County Workforce Development Board for a three-year term that began in January 2015.

Karen Zivi, associate professor of political science in the Frederik Meijer Honors College, was selected to attend the Global School on Socio-Economic Rights course, Sexual and Reproductive Rights Litigation, at Harvard University.

Ellen Adams is an assistant professor in the Frederik Meijer Honors College and holds a joint appointment with the GVSU Art Gallery. Adams has taught at Grand Valley since 2011 as an adjunct professor and a visiting professor. Adams specializes in modern, contemporary, and Baroque art, as well as gender studies.

David Eick serves as faculty-in residence in the Frederik Meijer Honors College. Eick is an associate professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and has taught at Grand Valley since 2003. Eick has taught French, Spanish, and honors courses.

Randa Elbih joined the Liberal Studies Department as a visiting professor. Elbih has taught LIB 201: Diversity in the United States courses since Winter 2013. Before coming to GVSU, Elbih taught Perspectives on Sex and Gender in Education at the University of New Mexico. Elbih specializes in Islamic studies.

Lindsay Ellis serves as the new director of Writing Across the Curriculum and Faculty Writing Support. Ellis has taught as an associate professor of English at Grand Valley since 2007 and is also serving as the director of the Lake Michigan Writing Project. Ellis’ research interests include democratic pedagogies and writing education.

Yumiko Jakobcic joined the Office of Sustainability Practices as the campus sustainability coordinator. Jakobcic is a Grand Valley alumna, having received a bachelor’s degree in natural resources management in 2006. Before coming to GVSU, Jakobcic served as the executive director for the Winooski Valley Park District.

Cael Keegan is an assistant professor in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department and holds a joint appointment with liberal studies. Before coming to Grand Valley, Keegan taught as a visiting assistant professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and developed various introductory and seminar courses on queer studies. Keegan specializes in transgender studies, interdisciplinary feminist studies, and disability studies.

Danielle Lake joined the Liberal Studies Department as an assistant professor. Prior to this position, Lake taught as an adjunct, visiting professor, and affiliate faculty member in liberal studies since Fall 2006.

Amy Lené McFarland holds a joint appointment with the Meijer Honors College and environmental studies as an assistant professor. Before coming to Grand Valley, McFarland was a visiting assistant professor of ornamental horticulture at Farmingdale State College and taught courses on soil science and plant propagation.

Kimberly McKee joined the Liberal Studies Department as an assistant professor. In addition to teaching experience in gender studies, McKee’s research interests include transnational adoption and the experiences of Korean American adoptees. McKee’s professional appointments include a position on the Consortium for Faculty Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow and lecturer in gender, women’s, and sexuality studies at Grinnell College.

Louis Moore serves as the coordinator for African and African American studies. Moore is an assistant professor in the History Department at Grand Valley and has taught classes such as The Civil Rights Movement, Perspectives on African American Men,and Sports History.

Kelly Parker serves as the director of environmental studies. Parker is a professor of philosophy, environmental studies, and liberal studies at Grand Valley. Parker currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Melanie Rabine joined the Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors as the writing center coordinator. Rabine has served as a writing consultant and graduate assistant in the center. Rabine specializes in English as a second language (ESL) and has worked with a variety of writers at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Jennifer Cathey joined the General Education Program as the new office coordinator. Before coming to Grand Valley, Cathey taught high school and middle school business and computer courses for 11 years.