CLAS Acts October 2022
Monthly newsletter of the TT faculty of CLAS
A Note from Dean Drake
"She had only to stand in the orchard, to put her hand on a little crab tree and look up at the apples, to make you feel the goodness of planting and tending and harvesting at last."
- Willa Cather
Fall in the Midwest always makes me recollect my years of teaching Willa Cather’s novels in American literature and women writers courses. The drop in temperature we’re feeling is a sure sign that the fall color change can’t be far behind and that GVSU’s homecoming will take place soon.
In CLAS, the autumn harvest comes in the form of bountiful events:
- October 13 brings us Science on Tap at the SpeakEZ Lounge at 8 p.m., where Doug Graham of the Biomedical Sciences Department will host a discussion called “Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases: An Introduction to Neglected Tropical Diseases”.
- On October 14, Ronald Loeffler of the Philosophy Department will give a talk, “Belief as a First-Person Plural Cognitive Attitude and Recognizing Common Ground” in MAK BLL-110 from 3-4:30 p.m.
- The AWRI Seminar Series-"Stress-induced mutagenesis and evolution" features Dr. Susan Rosenberg from the Baylor College of Medicine, and takes place on October 14 at 4 p.m. in the Mary Idema Pew Library, Room 030.
- On October 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Haas Center for Performing Arts, the GV Piano Chamber Series launches FrenchFest (2022-2023), a musical soiree featuring distinguished French composers and performers.
- Your faculty and staff colleagues will provide the 500th free service at the Repair Clinic on October 18 from 6-8 p.m. in Holton Hooker.
As a reminder, the CLAS Weekly Mailing calendar is always your resource for information about events.
Interim Director of the CLAS Center for Experiential Education and Community Engagement Kris Pachla has had a packed schedule of meetings with key university partners, and our CLAS Faculty Fellows are working on the key “shipwrighting” preparations for the CLAS Voyage. I’ve met with Development and begun meeting with current and potential donors to establish our priorities and make the case for our vision. This month I’ll also begin meeting individually with our CLAS Alumni Board members. We’ll continue to keep you informed about the Voyage through the CLAS Weekly Mailing as we progress.
Now that we are settled into the term, and after hearing from our Student Advisory Committee, I’m reminded that students don’t always know about the services available to them, whether that’s the CLAS Tutoring and Reading Center, the Counseling Center, Career Services, or the Repair Clinic. All of these are advertised, but it really helps when faculty mention and explain what is available, especially to first-year students who probably experienced information overload during their orientation. Several Student Advisory Committee members shared that they appreciate it when faculty include a resources section in the course syllabus.
May our students reap what we have sown (or in the case of Repair Clinic, what we’ve sewn). Wishing you a fruitful fall and a happy Halloween.
Jen
Skeletons in their Closet
Heather Gulgin and Krisanne Chapin, both professors in the Movement Science Department, use full-sized skeletons in Kinesiology (MOV 300) to expand student knowledge and skills of the origins, insertions, and actions of major muscles of the body.
The skeletons encourage learning beyond memorizing the descriptions of bony landmarks and relying on two-dimensional images. Students review the bony landmarks related to each muscle and actively translate the words on the page to the physical locations on the skeleton during class. Using multiple methods to practice their knowledge helps students solidify their knowledge.
Heather notes that she uses the skeletons to assess student knowledge during a practical exam. While students report being far more nervous doing this one-on-one assessment, they often share in hindsight that this assessment ensured they knew the material.
Laker Connections: Where students can be truly comfortable as themselves
Laker Connections: Where students can be truly comfortable as themselves
Glenn Valdez is a professor of Behavioral Neuroscience in the Psychology Department. He’s currently setting up some new research protocols and collaborating with a psychology colleague on a research restart after the pandemic, but he also rebooted his connection to students outside of his neuroscience specialty.
Last fall, Connie Dang, formerly of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and now Senior Inclusion & Equity Officer in the Division of Inclusion and Equity, contacted Glenn to see if he would be interested in taking over a role she had initiated with the Asian Student Achievement Program.
As the website explains, “Asian Student Achievement Program, Black Excellence, Black Male Scholars, Laker Familia, and Mno’chigewin: Native Student Success Program are designed to create an environment where students can achieve their full potential at GVSU while being their authentic selves. These programs are a reflection of our values of inclusiveness and diversity and our core mission of student success.”
Glenn explains that the Asian Student Achievement Program is designed for students who identify as Asian but welcomes anyone interested. “It’s a space to be themselves and become involved at the university. That’s key—involvement and identity. Resources for community involvement start at orientation.”
Glenn was already the faculty advisor to the Filipino Student Association so taking on the Asian Student Achievement Program was a matter of contacting relevant affiliation groups, following up, providing cultural resources, participating in the fair, and checking in around midterm time as many student support groups do.
“I often set it up so that Kin Ma (Geography and Sustainable Planning) and I and a grad student in OMA, Mae Rickey, make ourselves available for meetings with students. We also have cultural programming such as the Boba Tea Reception and academic programing such as with the Success Center, the Counselling Center, and the Career Center. Sometimes students have difficulty seeing themselves at the university. We help to show them that you aren’t the only one here and that others have similar lived experiences.”
Students can register on the OMA website. And as Glenn stresses, these Laker Connections groups are open to anyone, not just a person of a particular ethnicity. Interested faculty and staff can reach out to Laker Connections via OMA ([email protected]). Glen notes, “We are always looking for faculty mentors. Most groups have a designated staff member in addition to faculty mentors.”