Center for Student Research and Scholarly Engagement

The Center for Student Research and Scholarly Engagement is located in 230 Mary Idema Pew Library, atop the stairs on the second floor. Contact us or come see us today to schedule a meeting, inquire about getting involved in research and/or applying for fellowships, or give us an update about your success.

Full Time Staff

Faculty fellows

Grad Assistants & student Staff

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Director, Center for Student Research and Scholarly Engagement
Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship
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Dr. Susan Mendoza is the founding director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS). She earned her PhD at Western Michigan University, Master of Arts at Michigan State University, and two Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science and anthropology from Michigan State University with specializations in African Studies and International Development. Dr. Mendoza was also selected as a King, Parks Chavez Faculty Fellow in 2012. Prior to her role with OURS, Dr. Mendoza has held multiple roles at GVSU, Kalamazoo College, and Michigan State University in integrative learning, career development, academic advising, residence life, and internationalizing student life. As a practitioner, Dr. Mendoza focuses on employing innovative programmatic design networks as a mechanism to build equity for students across disciplines and social identities. Dr. Mendoza's current research focuses on the intersection of disciplinary epistemology, high impact interventions, mentorship, and student agency.

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Associate Director, Center for Student Research and Scholarly Engagement
Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships
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Brenda is an experienced academic administrator and faculty member, with a focus in recent years on international education and international students. She has most recently administered a very active study abroad program, promoting off-campus study, volunteer opportunities and internships, curricular offerings and programs supporting internationalization and globalized perspectives upon complex issues; she has also directed a Peace Corps Prep program and looks forward to encouraging students to explore Peace Corps as well as the many other national fellowship possibilities available to them. Dr. Tooley received her PhD from the University of Notre Dame in 1991. Her training and scholarship initially focused on eighteenth-century British literature and literary theory; her teaching and publication work has been primarily on eighteenth-century satire and novels, Gothic novels, and utopian/dystopian literature, and more recently on the use of English as creative medium by young writers within the former Eastern bloc. She is also a published poet who loves cats, opera, jazz and country music, books of many sorts, long walks, and gardening.

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Center for Student Research and Scholarly Engagement Assistant
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Minh Tran joined the Center for Student Research and Scholarly Engagement in 2023. He previously worked as a Records Assistant - Auditor when he joined Grand Valley 5 years ago and currently works with Dr. Mendoza on organizing CSRCE programs, managing budgets, and assisting students, among other roles. Minh earned his BS in Case Management at Davenport University and MED at Grand Valley in Adult and Higher Education. He enjoys vacationing, spending time with family, video games, building PCs, basketball, tennis, ping pong and all things Michigan and Detroit sports. He doesn't have any pets, unless you count his son's two fishes, Ninja and Dusty.

OURS Faculty Fellow
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Professor Hammersmith's areas of specialization are aging, health, parent's relationships with their adult children, caregiving, as well as union dissolution and formation in later life. At GVSU, Professor Hammersmith mentors students in many disciplines (e.g., Sociology, BMS, Movement Science, and Nursing) on all types of social science research projects including students' own independent research, faculty led work, as well as Honor's Projects.

OURS Faculty Fellow
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Dr. Glenn Valdez received his BA in Psychology from Tufts University and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, where he conducted research in the Department of Neuropharmacology at the Scripps Research Institute. He completed his post-doctoral training in the Division of Behavioral Biology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Valdez is currently a Behavioral Neuroscience Professor and Assistant Chair of the Psychology Department. His research focuses on the neurobiological factors associated with psychiatric disorders, especially depression, anxiety, and addiction, and he considers mentoring undergraduate students in research to be one of the most fulfilling aspects of his career.

OURS Faculty Fellow
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Dr. Rachel Powers received her BS in Chemistry from Michigan State University. After working in industry for two years, she returned to graduate school and received her PhD in Biochemistry and Structural Biology from Northwestern University. She completed her post-doctoral training at Michigan State University. Dr. Powers is currently a biochemistry professor in the chemistry department at Grand Valley State University where she also mentors undergraduate students in her research. Projects in the lab focus on overcoming antibiotic resistance by understanding the structure/function relationships of beta-lactamase enzymes.

Hope to see you soon!

OURS Faculty Fellow
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Dr. Brad Wallar received his BS in biology at the University of Michigan-Flint and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics at the University of Minnesota. He performed cancer research at the Van Andel Institute for the next few years. His research involved studying certain proteins involved in cellular movement and the “skeleton” of the cell. He continued that research in his laboratory at GVSU. For the last 13 years, Dr. Wallar's lab has focused on the structure and function of specific enzymes (beta-lactamases) involved in the important field of antibiotic resistance. Dr Wallar has mentored dozens of undergraduate students in their chosen career paths.

OURS Faculty Fellow

Graduate Assistant

Brooke earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of New Orleans and is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health at Grand Valley State University. She aspires to a career in health promotion, with a passion for improving access to care and advancing health equity. Outside of her studies, Brooke enjoys exploring new scenery and practicing self-care.

Graduate Assistant 

Alexandria received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Grand Valley.  She is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work here at Grand Valley and aspires to become a therapist in private practice.  As a certified yoga and horseback riding instructor, her dream is to offer a holistic approach to health involving psychotherapy, yoga, and equine therapy.  Alexandria enjoys live theater, classical piano, nature, and deep conversations.  

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Student Assistant

Andy is a freshman majoring in Secondary Education English, and minoring in Women and Gender Studies. They want to teach upper high school English and LGBTQ studies in the future. They enjoy singing, listening to music, reading, doing nails, and hanging out with friends in their free time!

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Student Assistant

Heather is a sophomore at Grand Valley majoring in Biology. She intends to pursue a career in veterinary medicine or surgery after graduation. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, gaming, and practicing her alto saxophone.

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Student Assistant

Kylie is a sophomore at Grand Valley State University majoring in Nursing with the intent of becoming a Midwife. Kylie is a proud Oliver Wilson Scholar. She enjoys reading romance books, playing video games, as well as going swing dancing downtown Grand Rapids. A fun fact about Kylie is she can recite word for word the full movie of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.