Faculty and staff sketches

October 25, 2022 (Volume 46, Number 5)

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In the News

Michelle Miller-Adams, professor of political science, wrote an op-ed, "Michigan College Scholarships are Good. We Can Still Do Better," for Bridge Michigan.

City of Grand Haven hires alumna as city manager

Ashley Latsch, ’17, ’19, was recently selected by the Grand Haven City Council to become the next city manager. 

The Grand Haven City Council voted unanimously to hire Latsch at its October 3 meeting and approved her three-year contract at its October 18 meeting. 

Latsch has had a quick rise to the city manager position since joining the town’s administration as an intern fewer than five years ago. Latsch earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 and a master’s degree in public administration in 2019. 

After her internship, she was hired as assistant to former City Manager Patrick McGinnis in 2019 and then became assistant city manager two years later. When McGinnis accepted the city manager position in Portage, Latsch was named the interim city manager. 

Sketches

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. 

Grand Valley's Interprofessional Simulation Center hosted 90 people for the CAE Regional Human Patient Simulation Network conference October 24-25. Simulation Center staff members Kathrine Branch and Mark Reinink gave presentations. Provost Fatma Mili gave the welcome address.

Sean Woznicki, assistant professor of water resources, gave a presentation, “Water Scarcity in the Serbian Danube: Agricultural Land Use and Irrigation,” at the South-Central European Regional International Network (SCERIN) annual meeting. SCERIN is a NASA-affiliated collaborative organization focusing on remote sensing of ecosystem change.

Annis Water Resources Institute faculty members Al Steinman and Carl Ruetz received a $41,000 contract from the Muskegon County Water Resources Commissioner's Office to monitor the sediment and fish communities in the Mona Lake celery flats in anticipation of eventual restoration.

Amber Dierking, liaison librarian, was a co-author of a chapter, "Beyond Individualism: Self-advocacy and Mentorship in LIS Graduate Student Employment," for a book, Learning in Action: Designing Successful Graduate Student Work Experience in Academic Libraries, published by the Association for College & Research Libraries Press.

Daniel Vainner, associate registrar, was a co-author of a chapter, "How Money and Markets Are Driving the U.S. Response to COVID-19: Do Not Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste," for a book, Higher Education and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-National Perspectives on the Challenges and Management of Higher Education in Crisis Times, published by Brill.

Beth Macauley, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders, gave an invited workshop, "Speech-Language Pathology Incorporating Horses for Persons Recovering from Addiction," for CARAE Santa Cruz, an equine-assisted therapy program, and Casa Luha, an addiction recovery program, in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Cara Cadena, head of collections and digital scholarship for University Libraries, gave a keynote presentation, "Authentic Leadership," at the Grand Rapids Women Leaders Summit. She was also a panelist for a session, "Transitioning to the New Normal. Your Team after COVID."

Adeline M. Borti, assistant professor of English education, and others gave a presentation, "Year Three of a Professional Literacy Learning Collaborative: Exploring How Community Members Positioned Themselves & Others," at the Positioning Theory Conference in Buffalo, New York.

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Faculty & Staff Sketches