Educators honored College of Education Convocation

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Valley State University's College of Education will honor area educators during its convocation ceremonies scheduled for Friday, April 25, at 7 p.m. at DeVos Performance Hall which is connected to DeVos Place on Monroe St., in downtown Grand Rapids.

More than 400 graduates are expected to participate. The ceremony is a precursor to Grand Valley’s Commencement Ceremonies scheduled for April 26 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.

KEITH HESCHE, Outstanding Educator
During convocation, Keith Hesche will receive an award for Outstanding Educator. Hesche graduated from Grand Valley in 1989 with a bachelor’s in social science and elementary education. He received a master’s in educational leadership from Western Michigan University. A product of a one-room country school, Hesche graduated from Ionia High School. He farmed for five years and then spent 12 years in the grocery business. He has taught for 19 years for Ionia Public Schools. He has been involved in numerous curriculum committees, especially in math and social studies.

JOHN Q. ADAMS , Outstanding Alumni Leader
John Adams, a professor of Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Illinois University, earned a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1975 from Grand Valley. He earned his master’s at Indiana University and a doctorate from the University of Illinois. Adams is a five-time recipient of the Western Illinois University “Faculty Excellence Award.” In 2002, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Illinois’ College of Education. In 2005, he was selected as WIU’s College of Education and Human Services “Teacher of the Year.”

JAYMES PYNE , Glenn A. Niemeyer Award
Jaymes Pyne is the 2008 recipient of the graduate student Glenn A. Niemeyer Award. The Niemeyer Awards are the most prestigious academic awards presented by Grand Valley. Pyne is a graduate student completing his master’s degree in school counseling. He received his undergraduate degree in history and English literature at Aquinas College, along with a teaching certification. While completing graduate coursework at Grand Valley, Pyne worked as a graduate assistant in the Community Outreach office where he assisted editing and writing for Colleagues magazine, conducted research and grant-seeking for school counseling, and contributed to a paper that led to proposed legislation in the state government reforming educational law.

For more information, contact Forrest Clift at (616) 331-6230, or News and Information Services at (616) 331-2221.