Brian Bowdle, Ph.D., associate professor of Psychology
Meghan Cai, Ph.D., assistant professor of Modern Languages and Literatures
Lauren Keough, Ph.D., assistant professor of Mathematics
Agnieszka Szarecka, Ph.D., associate professor of Cell and Molecular Biology
David Zwart, Ph.D., associate professor of History

CSCE Awards for Scholarly and Creative Excellence

Distinguished Undergraduate Mentoring Award

Martin Burg, Ph.D., professor of Biomedical Sciences

Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award

Sok Kean Khoo, Ph.D., associate professor of Cell and Molecular Biology

Distinguished Early-Career Scholar Award

Laura Hawk, Ph.D., assistant professor of Chemistry

2. Join us in welcoming the new Tutoring Director on Feb. 21

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences welcomes Keigh-Cee Bell as our new Tutoring Director.

Keigh-Cee comes to us from Southwestern Michigan College, where she has spent the past three years as Director and Coordinator of the Carole A. Tate Teaching and Learning Center. Keigh-Cee served as chair of the Academic Intervention Team and co-chair of the Retention and Engagement Committee. She also teaches their first-year success course and has additional teaching experience as an adjunct instructor for both America University in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia Community College.

Keigh-Cee holds a bachelor’s degree in Writing from Southern Illinois University and an MFA in Creative Writing from American University. As Tutoring Director, Keigh-Cee will supervise the Tutoring Center currently located in Kleiner and will collaborate with college and campus tutoring partners to develop, enhance and implement a comprehensive array of tutoring programs and services that are available to all students and that positively impact student retention and success at GVSU.

The search committee received a strong pool of candidates for this position, which speaks positively to the reputation of our current tutoring faculty and staff across campus. The college thanks all those who participated in the search, especially Jackie Rautio, Michelle Redmond, Sarah Clark, Marica Frobish, Emily Kuettke, Fran Cain, Ben Holder, Sofia Karampagia, and Kim Hendricks.

Keigh-Cee will begin on February 21.

3. Climate Change Educations Solutions Network event

The February climate conversation is Thursday, February 3 at 4:30-5:15 p.m. Make sure to mark your calendar and share "Advancing an Environmental Justice - Learning Model" webinar with your networks.

We cannot post a Zoom link online, but you can get it from [email protected].

Special guest: Donele Wilkins, Executive Director, Green Door Initiative and Founder, Detroit Solar Manufacturing.

Leader, visionary, and result oriented Donele Wilkins has been a servant leader in her hometown Detroit for nearly 30 years. First by leading the local movement for environmental justice on the frontlines, and then by expanding to achieve true sustainability for all. Her leadership style motivates many to take their place in a truly transforming movement. Her achievements include helping the State of Michigan develop and adopt an Environmental Justice Policy and conceiving and launching the first Green Jobs Training Program in the city of Detroit which includes Detroit Solar Manufacturing! She is an advocate for citizen involvement in Brownfield Redevelopment as well as other environmental policies, placing environmental stewardship on the agenda of many community leaders and decision makers. As the founder of The Green Door Initiative (GDI), Donele has made sure the organization stands out as a national model for sustainable living through civic engagement for everyone. Education: Baker Community College and Wayne State University, Detroit.

Hosted by Deirdre Courtney, Ph.D. candidate at Western Michigan University and Elena Lioubimtseva, GVSU CCESN.

Faculty  

4. AWRI internships and scholarship

The Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI), located in Muskegon, MI is offering up to 8 undergraduate student internships for summer 2022. The full announcement and criteria for applying for these internships are available at www.gvsu.edu/wri/internships. The deadline for applying is March 9, 2022.

AWRI is also taking applications for a fall semester scholarship for undergraduate juniors, seniors, or graduate students – the Bill & Diana Wipperfurth Student Research Scholarship. Deadline for applying is March 1, 2022.

Unit Heads

5. Let’s highlight your people (from Dir. of CLAS Communication)

My colleagues at University Communications are looking for a variety of people to photograph and feature. The focus of these spotlights is for general recruitment and brand awareness for GVSU. They like to highlight engaged faculty, students and alumni who have or are having great experiences at GVSU and have a positive or engaging story to share. Once completed, these profiles become a free-to-the-unit resource. Please send leads to [email protected] so that I can aggregate them for UCOM.

Thanks,

Monica

Calendars             

6.  Important‌ ‌deadlines      ‌        ‌ ‌ ‌                               

           
Anytime       Faculty can self-submit an item for the FORUM.   [email protected]           ‌ ‌     ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌               
           
Each Day     All members of the GVSU community must fill out the online self-assessment each day they are on campus. (VAT)            
            

Feb. 4       75% tuition refund deadline    

Feb. 7       Nominations for governance committee close  (5 p.m.)  

Feb. 11     Units submit contract renewal materials to the Dean’s Office (CLAS Personnel Committee      

Feb. 11-18 AFF Faculty vote in election for AFAC and CAFAC.  

Feb. 14-21 TT Faculty vote in election for CLAS and University committees  

Feb. 15    Requests to move S22/F22/W23 sections into Active Learning classrooms in MAK should be sent to Mona Silva 

Feb. 18    Units submit tenure and promotion materials to the Dean’s Office (CLAS Personnel Committee)      

Feb. 18     Last date by which unit’s peer review should be complete, considering joint appointment feedback when relevant. (Units may opt for earlier deadlines.)       

Feb. 25 AP Awards nominations are open until February 25 at 5 p.m.

Feb. 25     Units submit promotion only materials (promotion to associate professor if not associated with a tenure decision)      

Feb. 25    The registration process for SSD begins on February 7- February 25, 2022.  

Feb. 28    Mid-term grades due by midnight         

Mar. 1     Annual Schedule goes live in Banner  

Mar. 6 – 13  Spring Break      

Mar. 9      Date by which unit head submits electronic FARs, CVs, and Unit Head Summaries to     Dean’s office.   

Mar. 11  “W” deadline (by 5 p.m.)     

Mar. 15  CLAS Award Nominations due to Dean’s Office (Kristin Winfrey)   

Mar. 15 Spring/Summer Staffing Plans due to the Dean’s Office 

Mar. 21   Open Registration Begins  

Mar. 30  Facilities requests for Summer 22 small projects (minor furniture changes, whiteboards, small department-funded projects) should be sent to George McBane. Prior discussion to establish feasibility, cost, etc. recommended. 

 Apr. 30 Sabbatical Reports deadline for Fall 2021 sabbaticals

7. Upcoming‌ ‌events         ‌ ‌ ‌                               

Feb. 2   Unit Head Meeting via Zoom 

Feb. 3   Blood drive, Holton-Hooker Hall, 11 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.    

Feb. 3   Fulbright U.S. Scholar Information Session, 3 p.m. Zoom. Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships                    

Feb. 8      Faculty Awards Convocation, virtual  

Feb. 16   Unit Head Meeting via Zoom 

Feb. 17   CLAS Faculty Research Colloquium, 3 p.m.       

Feb. 18-19  Sixth annual Roger That! public symposium on space exploration    

Feb. 22     Grand Morsels: Human impacts on the environment – the view from archaeology and the past   

Feb. 23  Repair Clinic (format to be decided depending on Alert Level closer to the event)   

Mar. 2   Unit Head Meeting via Zoom 

Mar. 14   GVSU Arts Celebration Poetry Night.   

Mar. 16   Unit Head Meeting via Zoom 

Mar. 19   2022 Michigan History Day Region 4 

Mar. 29   2022 Mosaic Lecture.  Dr. Mariel Vazquez, professor of Mathematics at UC Davis      

Mar. 29     Grand Morsels: Why fish don’t freeze, how soap works, and more: The Amazing Chemistry of Water  

Mar. 30   Unit Head Meeting via Zoom 

Mar. 31   New Music Ensemble Composition Competition        

Apr. 5      GVSU Arts Celebration Lecture presents: An Evening with Hanif Abdurraqib.      

Apr. 9   Princeton Review free/online virtual exam, MCAT Practice Test (April 9)         

Apr. 9   Princeton Review free/online virtual exam, GRE Practice Test (April 9)         

Apr. 9   Princeton Review free/online virtual exam, DAT Practice Test (April 9)        

Apr. 13  26th Annual Student Scholar Day 

Apr. 13   Unit Head Meeting via Zoom 

Apr. 14 The Arnold C. Ott Lectureship in Chemistry: Microplastics are Here, There, and Everywhere. 5 p.m. reception for 6 p.m. lecture. Grand River Room, KC. 

Apr. 26   Grand Morsels: The Science of Handwashing   

COVID Policy Links

Lakers Together

Attendance policy

Travel Risk Assessment Tool and other travel information

Face Coverings Compliance Protocol (including employee FAQs)

Events guidelines, including ‘Event Matrix’ for different levels

Cancellation/Closure/Remote policy (SLT 6.3) which was updated in 2020 by the Senior Leadership Team.

Reminders

Nominations for Governance Committees—critical acceptance step (by Monday, Feb. 7 at 5 p.m.)

If you have nominated yourself for a governance committee or committees, you must use the TT acceptance form ( AFF form) to complete the nomination process. 

If you receive an email saying you have been nominated by a colleague, you will not appear on the ballot unless you accept the nomination on the TT acceptance form.  (AFF form)

The acceptance form asks for a short statement for the ballot. 

Ballot statements will appear on this election webpage (for TT candidates, for AFF candidates) within about 24 hours of receipt—this is not an automated process, so the webmaster appreciates some grace. 

Faculty Fulbright Information Panel

Thursday, February 3, 2022, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. via Zoom

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program: a brief overview of its purpose and structure, application timeline and evaluation criteria. GVSU faculty will talk about their experience of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar program, sharing tips on writing the application essays, reaching out to potential hosts, and engaging in teaching and/or research as a Fulbright Scholar abroad.