Faculty and staff sketches

September 17, 2024 (Volume 48, Number 2)

under white tent, many people seated at round tables

Participants at the Faculty and Staff Picnic, held at the Seidman Center in August are pictured. GVSU was ranked by Forbes among Michigan's best employers.

Photo Credit: Kendra Stanley-Mills

Faculty and staff members who have given presentations, were recognized for outstanding contributions or had their research published are detailed below. The campus community can submit a sketch online for future publication. 

In the News
Forbes list of best employers

Grand Valley was ranked No. 2 in Michigan among higher education institutions on Forbes' list of the Best Employers by State.Mychal Coleman, associate vice president for Human Resources, said the distinction establishes GVSU's brand as an "employer of choice," while also benefiting current employees. 

"Rankings like this tend to correlate with increased employee engagement and support for leadership development programs, while strengthening retention and confirming the leading Laker culture," Coleman said.

To create the list, Forbes partnered with Statista to survey 160,000 employees working for companies with at least 500 people. Survey participants were asked how likely they were to recommend their employer on a scale of zero to 10.

Elizabeth Flandreau, associate professor of psychology, was interviewed by the Chronicle of Higher Education for a story about adjusting assignments and schedules to accommodate today's students.

Paul Isely, professor of economics and associate dean, Seidman College of Business, was interviewed by NBC News for a story about how the economy in Kent County could influence voters.

Chris Hinsch, associate professor of marketing, was interviewed by MoneyGeek for stories related to anchoring bias and rational choice theory.

Deana Weibel, professor of anthropology, was interviewed by Space.com for a story about the astronauts aboard the Boeing Starliner.

Louis Moore, professor of history, was interviewed by USA Today for a story about WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert being criticized for underplaying racism within the league.

Sketches
Lisa Knapp, associate director of Career Center, received the Michigan Career Educator and Employer Alliance Career Services Professional of the Year Award. The award recognizes professionals who support the alliance, encourage employer development in Michigan and act as a mentor to others.

Patrick M. Colgan, professor of geology, received a project contract, "Analysis of Sediment Samples" for $29,000 to complete lab analyses for the Michigan Geological Survey. This project employs three undergraduate geology students.

Deana Weibel, professor of anthropology, gave a presentation, "The Space Flown Body: How Medical Spaceflight Researchers Manifest the Destiny of Human Biology," at Arizona State University Interplanetary Initiative's Space Intersections Symposium in Washington, D.C.

Sara Alsum-Wassenaar, part-time faculty for visual and media arts, was named artist-in-residence for the Dwelling Place in Grand Rapids and Holland.

Visual and media arts faculty members Sara Alsum-Wassenaar and Hsiao-ping Chen and students Megan Daniels and Jaer Medina gave a presentation, "Out(your)door Learning Experiences: Integrating Place-Based Learning Into the Art Curriculum," at the National Art Education Association Convention.

Bruce Ostrow, professor of biology, was among the authors of an article, "Emx2 Underlies the Development and Evolution of Marsupial Gliding Membranes," published in Nature.

Writing faculty members Danielle DeVasto and Zsuzsanna Palmer were co-authors of an article, "Building Critical AI Literacy in the Business Communication Classroom," published in the Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. 

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Faculty & Staff Sketches

This article was last edited on September 16, 2024 at 11:51 a.m.

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