Faculty and staff sketches

January 24, 2023 (Volume 46, Number 10)

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

The acclaimed GVSU New Music Ensemble was included in a recent round of grant announcements from the National Endowment for the Arts. It is the fifth time the ensemble has received an NEA grant. As with the other NEA grants, this year's $10,000 award will fund more commissions and a tour of new national parks this summer, said Bill Ryan, director of the New Music Ensemble.

The national parks tours are a key feature of the ensemble, which has a core group of six players on instruments. A seventh student serves as a sound engineer.

Ryan commissions composers to create music that reflects a feature of a national park that inspires the artist. Ensemble players work with the composer in rehearsals, then travel to the parks to perform the specially commissioned piece for that location as well as others. The ensemble has played at parks across the country. This summer the ensemble will travel to Oregon and Northern California, Ryan said. 

The parks and the commissioned composers are:

  • Crater Lake National Park in Oregon; composer Viet Cuong
  • Lassen Volcanic National Park in California; composer Jad Abumrad
  • Redwood National Park in California; composer Molly Herron

 

WGVU Public Media interviewed several faculty and staff members for stories leading to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Week. Bobby Springer, associate director of Veterans Upward Bound, was interviewed with keynote speaker Jerry Wallace; Melissa Baker-Boosamra, associate director of Student Life-Civic Engagement, Lisa Perhamus, director of the GVSU Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse, and student Michael King were interviewed about the Day of Service and Solidarity. Springer was also interviewed by WXMI-TV.

Rick Rediske, professor of water resources, was interviewed by MLive in his capacity as co-chair of the Wolverine Community Advisory Group for a story about Wolverine Worldwide pushing back cleanup of its former tannery in Rockford.

Gregg Dimkoff, professor of finance, was interviewed by WalletHub for a story about car insurance rates.

Chasity Bailey-Fakhoury, associate professor and program coordinator for Literacy, Educational Foundations and Technology, was interviewed by the Michigan Advance for a story about the Ottawa County Board of Commission and its decision to dismantle the county's DEI department.

Sketches

Christian Glupker, clinical affiliate of economics, completed the Economic Impact of the Victoria Regional Airport in Victoria, Texas.

William Neal, professor emeritus of geology, was a co-author of articles, “Not All that Glitters is Gold: Can the Real Scenic Value of the Colombian Caribbean Coast be Restored,” published in the journal of Ocean and Coastal Management and “Are sediment textural parameters an ‘influencer’ of microplastics presence in beach environments?” published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Anthony Spencer, assistant professor of communications, was a co-author of an article, "Understanding Trump's Proposed Border Wall," published in Social Media & Agenda Melding. Spencer also gave presentations, "COVID-19 and Government Trust: A Spiral of Silence Analysis in South America" and "Pandemic Migration: The Role of Media to and from Latin America," at the National Communication Association Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Charles Hogg, senior affiliate of philosophy, gave a presentation, "Post-COVID Social Recovery," at the Front Porch Republic Conference in Grove City, Pennsylvania.

John Weber, professor of geology, was an author of an article, "Geothermometric Constraints on the Thermal Architecture, Metamorphism, and Exhumation of the Northern Range, Trinidad," published in the Journal of Metamorphic Geology.

John Kilbourne, professor of movement science, gave a presentation, "Less Talk More Action: UN Goals in the Arctic, Tools and Games Workshop," at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Matthew Roberts, senior instructional design specialist and adjunct professor of political science, gave presentations, "When Learners Get In the Way of Learning" and "Destination Unknown: Practicing Effective Pedagogy in Unfamiliar Surroundings," at the Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching in Traverse City.

Corey Anton, professor of communications, gave a keynote address, "Apprehending the Elusive and Ambiguous," at the New York State Communication Association Conference. 

Charlyn Partridge, assistant professor of water resources, gave a presentation, "Microplastics and Microbiomes: Impacts of Weathered Microplastic Ingestion on Fathead Minnows," at Daemen College in Amherst, New York. 

Annis Water Resources Institute faculty members Carl Ruetz and Jim McNair gave a presentation, "Remote Site Incubators: Recommendations for Managers," at the Wild Trout Symposium in West Yellowstone, Montana.

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Faculty & Staff Sketches

This article was last edited on January 23, 2023 at 8:59 a.m.

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