Faculty and staff sketches

September 30, 2025 (Volume 49, Number 3)

one person standing at podium, three people, including President Mantella, are seated at table

Philomena V. Mantella, center, shakes hands with Steven Triezenberg, interim president with Grand Rapids Community College, after the signing of the Grand Rapids Promise Zone scholarship expansion September 22. The event was held in GRCC’s Winser-Bottrall Applied Technology Center. Ashlee Mishler, Grand Rapids Promise Zone Authority Director, is pictured at left.

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
President Philomena V. Mantella was interviewed by WOOD-TV and other outlets for a story about the Grand Rapids Promise Zone expanding to make it easier for students to move from community college to a four-year degree.

Christian Glupkar, senior clinical affiliate faculty of economics, was interviewed by WOOD-TV for a story about the economic activity generated in Grand Rapids by ArtPrize visitors.

Sketches
Karen Mushong, controller, was selected by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) to participate in the Emerging Leaders Program for finance and business staff at NACUBO-member colleges and universities.

Karrie Erwin was named Aramark’s General Manager of the Year for the Midwest Region.

Adrienne Wallace, associate professor of advertising and public relations, was elected to the Marketing Management Association (MMA) Board of Directors. She serves a three-year term as the teaching innovation competition coordinator for MMA.

Ari Mokdad, affiliate faculty of interdisciplinary studies, received the Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Creativity from the Essere Artists Residency in Tuscany, Italy. More than 20 global artists will be working through the fall in multiple mediums and genres.

Educational Leadership and Counseling faculty members Catherine Meyer-Looze and Richard Vandermolen were co-authors of an article, "Instructional Leader Partnerships: Superintendent Impact," published in the School Leadership Review.

Paul Cornish, associate professor of political science, wrote an article, "Maritain and King on Personalism, Human Rights, and Constitutional Democracy," published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture.

Virginia Peterson, professor of geology, and four GVSU alumni were co-authors of an article, "B-Type Olivine Fabrics Within the Cumulate Buck Creek Ultramafic Body Emplaced During Southern Appalachian Taconic Subduction," published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

Lisa Feurzeig, professor of music, wrote a study on operetta performance, "The Rebirth of Satire in Revivals of European Operettas," published in the Element Series by Cambridge University Press.