Grand Valley celebrates new graduates

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Some 2,300 students are expected to participate in Grand Valley State University’s commencement ceremonies on April 25 at Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids. About 3,500 students are eligible to graduate.

Mike Lloyd, longtime editor of the Grand Rapids Press, will be the 10 a.m. commencement speaker; Donna Brooks, former member of Grand Valley’s Board of Trustees, will be the 3 p.m. commencement speaker.

Lloyd, editor of the Grand Rapids Press for 31 years, is a graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism and a charter and current member of the Grand Valley University Foundation board. He is the incoming board chair for Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. He will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree.

Brooks served on Grand Valley’s Board of Trustees from 1993-2009 and during that time served as chair of its Academic and Student Affairs Committee and board chair. She has served as a Grand Valley University Foundation Trustee since 1989. Brooks holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and a master’s degree in nutrition from Michigan State University. She will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

MEDIA NOTE: Skybox 101B has been reserved for media. The box offers a mult box and an elevated, unobstructed view of the podium and platform. For more information, contact Grand Valley's News and Information Services Department at (616) 331-2221.

The morning ceremony includes graduates of the College of Community and Public Service, College of Engineering and Computing, College of Health Professions, Kirkhof College of Nursing and Seidman College of Business.
The afternoon ceremony includes the College of Education, College of Interdisciplinary Studies and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Alumni Awards
The Distinguished Alumna Award recipient is Louisa A. Stark, director of the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah; and the Outstanding Educator is Stephen R. Mattox, associate professor of geology.

Stark earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1979. She said her work as a biology teaching assistant at Grand Valley was the most formative of her career. At the University of Utah, she also serves as clinical professor of science education and associate director of the School of Medicine's Community Engagement Core Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences.

Mattox joined Grand Valley's faculty in 1998; he has served as geology department chair since 2007. Last year he received the Michigan Science Teachers Association Award, as the College Teacher of the Year. He received a bachelor's degree in geology from Indiana University, and master's and doctoral degrees in geology from Northern Illinois University.

Notable Students
• Marissa Lanning and her mom, Jana Lanning, will graduate together. Marissa attended classes on the Allendale Campus while her mom attended classes in Traverse City. Marissa has decided to forego commencement in Grand Rapids, in order to walk with her mom at Traverse City commencement ceremonies April 30, at 6 p.m.

• Students Peter Sauer of Okemos and Nathan Biller of Holland are among the graduates from Seidman College of Business who will begin their careers in the toughest economy in recent memory. Sauer is one of the co-founders of the Seidman Real Estate Group, whose members have purchased more than $3.5 million worth of real estate in the region, most of which is student rental housing. Sauer was the recipient of the Seidman College of Business Service Award — the highest award that Seidman confers. Biller is a former president of the Grand Valley Economics Club who led a team to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's annual "Fed Challenge" contest and brought an impressive array of speakers to campus. Biller was chosen by Seidman faculty for the Wall Street Journal award.