Faculty and staff sketches

September 2, 2025 (Volume 49, Number 1)

parent with Grand Valley Dad t-shirt on helps student with belongings in parking lot with SUVs with trunks open, belongings on the ground

Area media outlets covered move-in on the Valley Campus.

Photo Credit: Macayla Cramer

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
GVSU's Public Relations Students Society of America (PRSSA) chapter received the National Gold Key Award for the 15th time in 16 years. The award is presented to chapters that excel at providing programming and relationship-building opportunities for students. Three alumni (Ana Zapata, Tina Duoibes and Alexia Frazzitta) were named Gold Key award recipients. Awards will be presented in October at the Public Relations Society of America ICON conference.

Jenny Hall-Jones, vice president for Student Affairs, was interviewed by multiple media outlets for stories about first-year students moving on campus.

Eric Snyder, professor of biology, was interviewed by MLive for a story about finding freshwater mussels in Plaster Creek.

Shannon Owen, director of Northern Michigan Region, was nominated as a Northern Michigan Leader and profiled in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Paul Bylsma, assistant professor of educational leadership and counseling, was interviewed by WalletHub for a story about strategic priorities and funding structures at community colleges.

Sketches
Scott Stabler, professor of history, and alumni Justin Sheldon and Timothy J. McKeeby wrote a chapter, "Reconstruction's Accomplishment: Black Education and the Rise of the Civil Rights Movement," for a book, Teaching Emancipation and Reconstruction, 1861-1876.

Laker Food Co.'s EatWell series was recognized by the National Association of College & University Dining with a silver award in the Wellness and Nutrition Program of the Year competition.

Eric Harvey, associate professor of journalism, broadcasting and digital media, wrote an article, "Work Songs: Tiny Desk Concerts Reimagine Music Video and Public Radio," published by Flow.

Kin Ma, associate professor of geography and sustainable planning; Wil Rankinen, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders; and GVSU graduate Avery Koan gave a presentation, "U.S. Mental Maps of Michiganders: Comparing Lower/Upper Peninsula Regional Mapping perceptions of the U.S. South Region," at the National American Association of Geographers conference in Detroit.

Jonathan Wessell, adjunct faculty of geography and sustainable planning, gave a presentation, "The Kellogg Tree Project: Using Service Learning and Field Research with Geospatial Technologies," at the National American Association of Geographers conference in Detroit.