April 14, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 15)
Sanjivan Manoharan, associate professor of mechanical engineering, was named a MASU Distinguished Professor of the Year.
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
Sanjivan Manoharan, associate
professor of mechanical engineering, was one of three faculty members
in the state named a 2026 Michigan Distinguished Professor of the
Year. The award is presented annually by the Michigan Association of
State Universities.
Read
more in the GVNext article.
Keri Becker, director of Athletics, was interviewed by WKAR Public Media for a story about women who have careers in high school or collegiate athletics.
GVSU and Muskegon Community College recently announced articulation agreements for the following College of Computing bachelor's degree programs: information technology, cybersecurity and computer science.
Andrew Kalafut, professor of information sciences and technologies and director of the Institute of Cybersecurity Education & Research, was interviewed by WGVU Public Media for a story about a cyberattack that disrupted Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids.
Deana Weibel, professor of anthropology, wrote a guest commentary, "Let's Recognize Historic Moon Flight by Grand Rapids Native Christina Koch," for Bridge Michigan. Weibel, an expert in the human and cultural dimensions of space exploration, was also interviewed by several media outlets about the Artemis II launch.
Darren Walhof, professor and chair of political science, was interviewed by GRCC's Collegiate for a story about President Trump's executive order about birthright citizenship and that U.S. Supreme Court case.
Sketches
Jackeline Iseler, associate professor of
nursing, was named the new president of the National Association of
Clinical Nurse Specialists, the nation’s leading voice on the CNS
profession. The Kirkhof College of Nursing will launch a new graduate
track for Clinical Nurse Specialists next fall.
Paul Fink, assistant professor of computing, received two grants totaling $708,265 from the National Institutes of Health for "Project MultiNav: A Gamified Multisensory Training and Navigation System for Blind and Visually Impaired People" and "Visionway Accessibility Aware Path Selection for Wayfinding."
Adrienne Wallace, associate professor of advertising and public relations, wrote a chapter, "Generative AI Oversight: Who will Watch the Watchers?" for a book, Provoking Generative AI Futures Merging Theory and Praxis, published by Routledge.
Sarah Johnson, assistant professor of biology, received a $3,793 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Coastal Program, via the Superior Rivers Watershed Association, for a project, "Seed Bank Assay for Fish Creek Estuary."
Todd Williams, professor of psychology, and GVSU graduate Jamie DeLeeuw were authors of an article, "Professional Dog Trainers’ Perspectives on Training Methods: Ethical and Evidentiary Insights," published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Carl Ruetz, professor of water resources, received a $21,775 grant from the Manistee County Community Foundation for a project that will test both the success of the Arctic Grayling in Michigan and the effectiveness of the method of eDNA techniques for this work.
Whitt Kilburn, associate professor of political science, wrote a book, Introduction to Political Analysis in R, published by Routledge.
Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, associate professor of journalism, broadcasting, and digital media, is the founder and executive director of the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ), which received the People's Choice Innovation Award at the Africa Media Festival for "Election Watch," an AI-based tool that detects election-related misinformation. CCIJ also learned that Democracy Deferred, the investigation into the 2023 Nigerian elections, was named as one of 2025's top investigations in sub-Saharan Africa by the Global Investigative Journalism Network.
This article was last edited on April 14, 2026 at 8:30 a.m.
Deana Weibel gave a presentation at The Explorers Club in New York, drawing from her upcoming book, "The Ultraview Effect," about the profound impact that looking into deep space has on those who have traveled to space.
March 31, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 14)
Susan Mendoza was selected to participate in the American Association of Colleges and Universities' New Leadership Academy Fellows Program.
March 17, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 13)
President Philomena V. Mantella and Dean Marouane Kessentini joined U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten at a news conference announcing GVSU’s new West Michigan Trustworthy AI Consortium.
February 24, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 12)
