Experiential Learning
CLAS Center for Experiential Learning
CLAS Center for Experiential Learning (CCEL) launched in 2022 to provide support to the strategic direction of the college.
Enquiries about CLAS accredited/certified programs can be directed to the coordinators/directors listed below. For programs that have websites with regularly updated information, links are provided:
Art History (B.A.) - Sigrid Danielson or Kirsten Strom
Athletic Training (M.S.) - Shari Bartz-Smith
Chemistry (B.S.) - Deborah Herrington
Music (B.A., B.M.E., B.M.) - Danny Phipps
Visual and Media Arts
- Film and Video Production (B.A., B.S.) – Kim Roberts or Suzanne Zack
- Photography (B.A., B.S.) – Anthony Thompson
- Studio Art - Graphic Design (B.F.A.) - Vinicius Lima (see also https://www.gvsu.edu/vma/graphic-design-internship-172.htm)
*Information about teacher assisting and student teaching can be found at [coming soon]
Contacts and links for other CLAS programs with experiential learning components are:
Biomedical Sciences – Deb Burg or Daniel Bergman
Cell and Molecular Biology – Mark Staves
Classics Department – Melissa Morison
CLAS Academic Advising Center – Julie Amon-Mattox
English Department – Ashley Shannon
Geography and Sustainable Planning – Amanda Reader
Geology Department – Figen Mekik
History Department – Matthew Daley
Mathematics Department – Robert Talbert
Movement Science Department – Heather Peddie
Music, Theatre and Dance – Beth Gibbs
Philosophy Department – Jeff Byrnes
Political Science Department – Darren Walhof
Psychology Department – Mary Bower Russa
Regional Math and Science Center – Kristofer Pachla
Robert B. Annis Water Resource Institute – Heidi Feldpausch
School of Communications (https://www.gvsu.edu/soc/internship-general-information-94.htm)
- Advertising & Public Relations - Adrienne Wallace; Yasmin Gopal as of August 15, 2022
- Communication Studies - Lin Tian
- Health Communication - Lorie Jager
- Multimedia Journalism - James Ford
Statistics – Paul Stephenson
Visual and Media Arts
- Ceramics – Hoon Lee
- Jewelry & Metalsmithing - Renee Zettle-Sterling
- Painting - Jill Eggers
- Printmaking - Brett Colley
- Sculpture - Norwood Viviano
- Visual Studies - Paul Wittenbraker or Dulcee Boehm
Writing Department – Christopher Toth
Spotlight on AWRI
Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute's (AWRI) is a multidisciplinary research organization within GVSU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, with a mission to integrate research, education, and outreach to enhance and preserve freshwater resources. The Water Resources Outreach Education Program delivers hands-on, investigative education about water to the public, with special emphasis on youth. Our floating learning laboratories connect people in west Michigan with local water resources through experiential learning about water quality, aquatic food webs, and human impacts on water resources.
Participants aboard an educational cruise serve as freshwater scientists, collecting data and observations about the water bodies through which they sail. Since 1986, over 185,000 students (fourth grade through adults) have experienced hands-on science on Lake Michigan and adjoining waters through these programs. Offered onboard GVSU's research and education vessels D.J. Angus (docked in Grand Haven) and W.G. Jackson (docked in Muskegon), the program serves school groups as well as other organizations. Both vessels are used for AWRI research projects as well as the outreach program.