Service in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 2010 · 2016-06-27 · Service Levels in the...

Service in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

2010

Actuary Sciences

Advertising

Ancient Greek

Animation

Annis Water Resources Institute

Anthropology

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Arabic

Archaeology

Art and Design

Art Education

Art History

Athletic Training Education

Autism Center

Biochemistry

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Biomedical Sciences

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Biostatistics Master’s

Biotechnology

Broadcasting

Cell and Molecular Biology

Ceramics

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Chemistry Education

Chinese

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Classics

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Comprehensive Science and Arts

for Teaching

Conservation and Environmental Science

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Dance

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Ecology and Evolution

English

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Environmental Chemistry

Environmental Emphasis in Geology

Exercise Science

Fiction Writing

Film and Video Production

French

Genetics

Geographic Education

Geography and Planning

Geology

Geospatial Information Technology

German

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Health Communication

Health Education

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History

Illustration

Integrated Science

Intercultural Competence and Experience

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Italian

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Jazz

Jewelry/Metalsmithing

Journalism

Language Arts Education

Latin

Latin Education

Linguistics

Literature

Mathematics

Mathematics Education

Microbiology

Modern Languages and Literatures

Movement Science

Music

Music Composition

Music History and Theory

Music Education

Music Performance

Natural Resources Management

Nutrition

Painting

Philosophy

Photography

Physical Education

Physics

Poetry Writing

Political Science

Polish

Predivinity Studies

Prelaw

Premed

Preveterinary Medicine

Printmaking

Professional Science Master’s

Professional Writing

Psychology

Psychology-Special Education

Public Relations

Regional Math and Science Center

Regional Studies

Russian/Russian Studies

Science Education

Sculpture

School of Communications

Social Studies Education

Sociology

Spanish

Sport Leadership

Statistics

Technical Writing

Theatre

Visual Studies

Wildlife Biology

Writing

Service Levels in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

In the academic year 2009-2010, more than 7,500 CLAS students were involved in high-impact

experiences such as service learning and internships for a total of almost 500,000 hours.

Due to these excellent participation levels, Grand Valley State University was named to the

2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction.

The federal government uses the honor roll to recognize a commitment to service and civic

engagement. Only 115 colleges and universities nationwide received the designation of

“distinction.” Institutions were selected for their scope and innovation of service projects,

percentage of student participation incentives for service, and the extent to which the school

offers academic service-learning courses.

Table of Contents

CLAS Mission and Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Dean’s Message: Education in Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Some Highlights of Recent Service in CLAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Music History and Theory

Music Education

Music Performance

Natural Resources Management

Nutrition

Painting

Philosophy

Photography

Physical Education

Physics

Poetry Writing

Political Science

Polish

Predivinity Studies

Prelaw

Premed

Preveterinary Medicine

Printmaking

Professional Science Master’s

Professional Writing

Psychology

Psychology-Special Education

Public Relations

Regional Math and Science Center

Regional Studies

Russian/Russian Studies

Science Education

Sculpture

School of Communications

Social Studies Education

Sociology

Spanish

Sport Leadership

Statistics

Technical Writing

Theatre

Visual Studies

Wildlife Biology

Writing

2 Grand Valley State University Service in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 2010

The College of Liberal Arts and SciencesThe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) is a student-centered and diverse learning

community that engages in critical inquiry, extending knowledge to enrich and enliven individual

and public life. Created in July 2004, CLAS is the largest of Grand Valley’s colleges and offers 50

bachelor degrees (and a growing number of advanced degrees) in the natural and mathematical

sciences, humanities, the fine and performing arts, and the social sciences. GVSU undergraduates

in all fields build the foundation for their major studies in general education courses offered

by our college.

Mission

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is a student-centered and diverse learning community

that engages in critical inquiry, extending knowledge to enrich and enliven individual and

public life.

Vision

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will set a standard of excellence in liberal education.

We will prepare our students to be responsible citizens, productive professionals, and lifelong

learners with a global perspective. We will foster a diverse community of inquiry, discourse,

discovery, expression, and reflection.

DeAn’S MeSSAge

education in Action

In the context of a complex and growing college,

service wears many mantles. It isn’t easy to define

and often merges easily and seamlessly with our

teaching mission and the scholarly and creative

activity fueling that mission. The great amount

and rich variety of service our faculty, staff, and

students give extends the tradition of Grand Valley

being deeply rooted in our community.

The hallmark of service in the College of Liberal

Arts and Sciences is that it has direct and lasting

value for our students. Whether it is taking what

has been learned in the classroom out into the

field to benefit the environment or the community

(often a student’s home community), opportunities

to serve the needs of others domestically or abroad,

or even making Grand Valley a better and stronger

institution, the faculty and staff have designed rich

and varied hands-on experiences in collaboration

with our students. Our students tackle real

problems rather than only hypothetical exercises,

and thereby get to see firsthand how their

knowledge applies to, and changes, the world.

The successful coupling of learning in the

classroom with this experience is a legacy we

inherit from GVSU’s earliest days and founding philosophies: our deeply characterizing belief that an education can be

both liberal and professional. If “the truth of a thing or idea,” as William James put it, is “that which grows out of it,” then

this is education that makes a true difference.

This style of learning becomes for our students more than a line on a resume. In the short term, the research on student

engagement tells us that we run the risk of losing students or missing the opportunity to ignite their passion for learning if

we fail to use high–impact practices such as service learning, internships, and collaborative research with faculty. Students

who engage in such practices experience education in action and in that process further develop habits of mind that we

know make them extraordinarily employable in a whole range of callings in the longer term.

Not only are we engaged energetically in service now, the strategic plan of the university and that of the college overtly

acknowledge the need to bring these experiences to as many of our students as possible, and they support a variety of

efforts and initiatives to satisfy that educational need. Our mission requires a blend of teaching, scholarship, and service.

In a sense, nearly everything that faculty do with their time—teaching, scholarly and creative productivity, and lending their

expertise to the benefit of the greater good—could be seen as integral to a life of service. This confluence is something we

acknowledge, accept, and even encourage because the service of our faculty brings their expertise, passion, and energy to

the challenges that are faced by our students as they learn to shape their lives, their professions, and their societies.

www.gvsu.edu/clas 3

DeAn’S MeSSAge ConTinueD

When we get down to the brass tacks of assessing how effectively we are operating, a more technical sort of description of

service is used. For faculty in CLAS, this service is briefly described as:

Unit, college, and university service includes, but is not limited to, participation in university governance; unit,

college, and university committees; curriculum development; work as an advisor to student organizations; and

carrying out special assignments. Community service and service to the profession involves the engagement

of a faculty member’s professional expertise. Community service includes, but is not limited to, engaging in

community outreach, acting as a board member in a community-based organization, participating in public

service programs, and work as a pro bono consultant on community projects when representing the university.

Service to the profession includes leadership or committee roles in professional organizations.

A longer discussion is contained in our Standards and Criteria for Personnel Evaluation document that was designed and

adopted by the faculty of the college this year.

The level of service from CLAS is staggering, as this report suggests. It isn’t easy to quantify, but some numbers can

suggest the scope of these endeavors. For instance, when last polled, CLAS faculty served on 130 community boards

of types ranging from Interfaith Dialogue to the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, to the John Ball Zoo, to

Public Access Television, to committees working on state educational standards.

Faculty and staff governance is just one type of service, but it gives a telling index of what a high percentage of our

faculty undertake positions of leadership.

•45facultymemberscurrentlyserveonCLAS-electedgovernancecommittees.

•97facultymembersrepresentusonuniversity-electedcommittees(UASandnon-UAS).

•25unitheadsprovidewide-rangingservicetotheirunitsandthecollege.

•13facultyandstaffandfourstudentsservedonourinclusiontaskforce(GrIT)in2009.

•10facultyandstaffservedonawritinggrouptodraftthenewCLASstrategicplan.

•EightstaffmembersserveontheCLASstaffadvisorycommitteeandtwoserveaselected

representatives on AP committees.

•SevenfacultymembersserveonTaskforce500(whichisdiscussingthepotentialof500–levelcourses).

•TwofacultymembersserveontheCLASAlumniBoard.

Even without an exhaustive list and with a little overlap here and there, that’s almost 40 percent of faculty involved in

governance and advisory roles in the last year. And it is gratifying to observe that staff and our alumni also provide many

kinds of service on behalf of the college and the university, in addition to the work of our faculty and students.

While the primary focus of this service is on the future, we are also helping to preserve our past through means as varied

as the Veterans History Project, preservation of historically and culturally significant sites, public lectures, and expert

assistance to local history organizations.

This report is meant to highlight and suggest some of the many ways in which the students, faculty, and staff of CLAS are

making a more vital, sustainable, safe, and engaged community.

Frederick J. Antczak, Ph.D.

Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences


www.gvsu.edu/clas 5

Some Highlights of Recent Service in CLAS

Community and the Environment

Creating NetworksFamed designer Charles eames once said, “eventually everything connects—people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se.” in much this same spirit, the faculty and staff of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences provide the means for making quality connections between people, expertise, and materials to increase understanding, advance research and educational capacities, and promote environmental awareness.

Some examples include:

•JanetVailoftheAnnisWaterResourcesInstitute(AWRI) co-chairs the U.S. EPA Lake Michigan Forum. In this role, she has helped to create a network of people throughout the Lake Michigan basin who can work to implement the Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan to restore the ecological health of Lake Michigan. She also leads the Making Lake Michigan Great tour each summer; the W.G. Jackson vessel calls on different ports and takes passengers out on Lake Michigan, giving them a hands-on learning experience.

•AlSteinman,directoroftheAnnisWaterResources Institute is cofounder of Muskegon Cafe Scientifique (www.muskegoncafescientifique.com). He has helped provide a nonthreatening forum for scientific discussion among nontechnical people in downtown Muskegon. Started in 2003, Cafe Scientifique now has a listserve of more than 150 individuals and has been featured in Nature magazine.

•MichaelLombardo(biology),RobertDeaner(psychology),and Jodee Hunt (biology) spearhead the vital, crossdisciplinary series of lectures and discussions on campus known as Evolution for Everyone.

•AaronPerry,directoroflabsupport,developedthenewCLAS Laboratory and Studio Resource Center website to allow better sharing of lab resources on campus. This network will minimize waste and allow smoother operations of faculty and student research. His work was recognized with the 2010 Administrative Professional Innovation Award.

Life’s most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?Martin Luther King, Jr.

Service learning lends itself well to projects that provide a scientific basis to natural resource stewardship and simultaneously demonstrate to students and their community the value of what they are learning.

•ErikNordmanoftheBiologyDepartmentdevelopedaForest Ecosystem Management course around a service-learning project at Van Zoeren Woods, a 34-acre plot of hardwood forest purchased 10 years ago by Zeeland Township. The township had planned to turn the property into a place where residents could hike or walk their dogs, but needed analysis before moving forward and did not

have the resources to obtain it. In the summer of 2008, Professor Nordman worked with student Melissa Buzzard on an independent study on recreational opportunity analysis. Melissa looked at the recreational opportunities of this primitive environment without paved trails. Their findings were presented to the Zeeland Charter Township Board and as a poster at the National Foresters convention. In winter 2010, the 19 students in Nordman’s course continued the analysis, studying species composition and age distribution of the trees, identifying basswood, maple, beech, and musclewood. Lab instructor Colleen Ortwine-Boes did most of the field and lab work


with the students. In an April 20, 2010 presentation to the township board, recommendations were presented to enable the community to enjoy the area in ways unavailable to them until now. Whatever the township’s budget, the recommendations will help to guide their spending wisely.

•ToddAschenbachisthefacultyadvisorfortheSoilandWater Conservation Society on campus that participates in local conservation projects, including environmental clean-ups, habitat restorations, and similar community service activities.

•JohnKochesoftheAnnisWaterResourcesInstitute is part of a project funded by the Environmental Protection Agency to assist in updating the existing Lower Grand River Watershed Management Plan.

AWRI will also help to assess wetland function and green infrastructure throughout the Lower Grand River Watershed and assist in the development of website resources including interactive mapping capabilities.

•C.“Griff”GriffinoftheBiologyDepartmentis spearheading a project to bring the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness (Huron-Manistee National Forest, Michigan) beyond the minimum levels for wilderness stewardship established in the U.S. Forest Service Chief’s Wilderness Stewardship Challenge. The project was designed to determine visitor use levels and patterns, examine the resource impact caused by campsites, and develop a monitoring plan to cost-effectively maintain the property. The data will be analyzed and results will assist the Huron Manistee National Forest in wilderness management.

Bring the Arts to the CommunityCLAS faculty and students are plentiful sources of artistic knowledge and expression for the enjoyment of audiences on and off campus. in addition to the many publicly accessible performances, festivals, and exhibitions on campus every year, our artists take their talents to the larger community.

Here are just a few examples:

•HoonLeeoftheArtandDesignDepartmentserves as the ceramics program coordinator along with organizing the GVSU Ceramics Faculty Accompanying StudentsAbroadPrograminKorea(April23–May11,2009).WhileinKorea,thestudentsparticipatedinboth

the International Society for Ceramic Art Education and Exchange Symposium, and the 5th World Ceramic Biennale. The itinerary included the Seoul National University of Technology Ceramics Collaborative Project, the Seoul Women’s University Ceramics Forum, and Ceramic Artist Studio and Museum visits.

•PaulWittenbrakeroftheArtandDesignDepartmentstarted the Civic Studio Project in 1999 as a course in public art. Each semester, his students establish a temporary studio in the community and make art that is locally relevant. Studio participants also contribute volunteer service to existing agencies and programs in the vicinity of the project site.

How can I be useful, of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be?

Vincent Van gogh

www.gvsu.edu/clas 7

•AustinBunnoftheWritingDepartmentandShawnTBible of the dance program in the Music Department shared their expertise through performance and talks at the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM). Invited to provide a “dramatized lecture” as part of the museum’s Whistler exhibit, Bunn created a 20-minute, two-person play called The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (a nod to a book of the same title written by Whistler in 1890). Called “fun and flirty” by The Grand Rapids Press, the performance played to a packed house. In July 2010, Shawn T Bible worked with student dancers and professionals on a performance for which he was choreographer, director, tech, and general roustabout. He also provided an informative and fun overview of the history of dance.

•HelenMarlaisoftheMusicDepartmentisan internationally recognized authority in piano pedagogy. She took that expertise and developed an innovative program that merges learning how to teach piano with

providing excellent musical training for young people in the community. In Piano Pedagogy 361 and Piano Pedagogy 371, advanced piano students take on four monitored peer-teaching sessions in addition to their own study. These students are observed as they interact with their 5, 6, or 7-year-old beginner students and are evaluated to ensure that the correct pedagogical techniques are applied and that each young member of the community is receiving the very best musical instruction. The experience culminates in a celebratory recital involving the GVSU students and their young charges as well as parents and other community members.

•StaffordSmithofthephotographyprograminthe School of Communications juried prospective artists who wished to exhibit their work at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA) in Grand Rapids. He also advised on the construction of new galleries and even patched holes in the walls after shows.

Providing Training and Technical AssistanceSometimes service to the campus and larger community is literally a lifesaver. Faculty and students provide valuable instruction and monitoring in areas of high consequence. Some examples are:

•BrianHatzel,chairoftheMovementScienceDepartment,along with his colleagues provided first aid and resuscitation training to lab support and administrative staff so that levels of certification can remain high.

•AzizurMollaoftheAnthropologyDepartmentconducteda student-faculty joint research project, “Student Led Study of Public Health Risks Associated with Indoor Radon Gas in West Michigan.” The study has given the students an opportunity to learn about medical

anthropology, learn related methods to work at the community level, and demonstrate skills to serve the community. Through this work, 500 houses in Michigan have had their radon levels tested. As Molla explains, radon is a tasteless, invisible, and odorless radioactive (and therefore carcinogenic) gas that leeches out of the soil into basements where it can concentrate. A reading of less than 4 pCi/L is desirable. One woman in his study made extensive use of her basement where readings before remediation were at 10 pCi/L.


•PaulKeenlanceoftheBiologyDepartmentiscoordinatorof a whitetail deer census for the City of Grand Haven.

•PatMatthewsoftheBiologyDepartmentisapresenterofin-service programs for local fire departments on a variety

of biological topics including blood-borne and air-borne pathogens, respiratory protection, rescue operations, CPR, and electric automatic defibrillators, as well as other health and safety measures.

ExpandingtheHorizonsofK-12EducatorsTo provide the next generation of teachers with relevant examples in their gVSu classrooms and to refresh the motivation and capacity of teachers working in K-12 education in our community, CLAS faculty and staff regularly work directly with classroom teachers in a variety of ways. Here are a few instances:

•TheRegionalMathandScienceCenter’sFallScienceUpdateisaregional,full-dayconferenceforK-12scienceeducators. The conference provides opportunities for CLAS faculty to reach out to in-service and pre-service science teachers in West Michigan. It also provides a venue for teachers to explore new trends and ideas in science education while enjoying collegiality with other educators. Fall Science Update provides sessions on biology, chemistry, earth science, physical science, and technology content along with teaching strategies and best practices. This conference brings in national experts as keynote speakers and draws up to 400 teachers. In its more than 25 years, the conference has served close to 5,000 in-service and pre-service teachers. This year, 14 faculty gave presentations, some with GVSU students who helped develop the activities that were presented. Twenty GVSU students volunteered to work at the conference. As one attendee put it, “This is a great thing that GVSU does for the community. I’m very impressed!”

•TheClassicsDepartmentmakesoutreacheffortstoareasecondary school teachers, in particular through the summer classics programs. Professor Diane Rayor ran a one-day continuing education outreach program for high school teachers, providing instruction and curriculum on Greek and Roman mythology.

•PhysicsProfessorBradAmbrosecontinuestoserveK-12physics teachers and college/university physics faculty in their efforts to improve and expand physics education at all levels. He was recently nominated and elected to serve as a member of the Executive Board of the Michigan section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (MIAAPT). In the second year of a three-year term he will serve as first vice president by organizing and publicizing the fall 2010 and winter 2011 meetings of MIAAPT.

The following year he will serve as president of the MIAAPT executive board. Professor Ambrose’s work with MIAAPT complements the many workshops and presentations he facilitates locally and nationally.

•PsychologyProfessorAmyCampbellprovidessupporttolocal school districts on improving school discipline and support services for children with challenging behaviors. Last year, she provided numerous in-service presentations to local schools. In addition, she serves as a behavior and literacycoachforKent,Ottawa,andIoniacounties.

•GordonAndrewsoftheHistoryDepartmentisaboardmember for the Michigan Council for History Education. One of his responsibilities as awards chair is to oversee the Jim and Annette McConnell History Educator Awards.

•PamWellsoftheMathematicsDepartmentspenther sabbatical year in five Jenison schools as a district-wide mathematics consultant, working daily with classroom teachers of mathematics. Through modeling, team teaching, development of enrichment activities, and other techniques, Professor Wells was able to engage elementary teachers in effective new practices and even their own pedagogical research.

•ColleenLewisoftheMovementScienceDepartment has developed a community-based recreational and school-based sport program in Grand Rapids and surrounding areas. Approximately 40 preservice physical education students per semester participate in various programs for children and adults with disabilities (2007 to present). These service-learning opportunities are a way for her to continue to teach individuals with disabilities and to teach her students how to be successful with this population as they develop leadership experiences.

•StudentsinEnglish308(TeachingReading:TheNecessary Skills) are heavily involved in service—learning projects for tutoring reading in the public schools. Each student is required to tutor a pupil, administer an informal diagnostic test, and report on outside readings.

www.gvsu.edu/clas 9

The Regional Math and Science Center (RMSC) and all of its science volunteers from CLAS and the College of Engineering and Computing completed their 26th Science Olympiad tournament in March 2010. Teams from our region competed at the state tournament, and all of the teams that went on to nationals (two high schools and two middle schools) were from West Michigan. This event is a strong conduit for CLAS facultyandstafftoprovideservicetoK-12studentsinour region and promote science in the community.

The Science Olympiad is a national interscholastic competition designed to improve the quality of science education, increase student interest in science, and provide recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. Science Olympiad tournaments consist of a series of individual and team events that students prepare for during the year. These challenging and motivational events are well-balanced between the various science disciplines of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, engineering, computers, and technology. There is also a balance between events requiring knowledge of science facts, concepts, processes, skills, and applications.

For the past 26 years, the Grand Valley Math and Science Olympiad (MSO) tournament has been an outreach to middle and high school students in West Michigan. Each year GVSU hosts an average of 80 teams(1,800students,teachers,andparents)fromKentand Ottawa counties. This Grand Valley initiative supports one of the largest MSO regional tournaments in the nation. Students who have participated in the spirit of MSO have developed strengths in problem-solving abilities and critical thinking skills, while gaining a deeper understanding of science. These skills follow them in life, influencing graduate studies and careers in science research, teaching, medicine, and other science-related jobs. In 1998, GVSU hosted a successful National Science Olympiad tournament.

Preparing for a well-organized and challenging tournament at Grand Valley brings together many different university departments. The university contributes support, while staff of the Regional Math and Science Center work diligently to coordinate a tournament that runs smoothly and is fair to all competitors. Grand Valley’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has embraced the tournament and is

dedicated to its success. Faculty and community members work hard to develop the specific events of the tournament. This year alone 83 faculty from the sciences (biology, chemistry, geology, physics, biomedical sciences, AWRI, and cell and molecular biology), mathematics, engineering, computer science, statistics, health professions, education, nursing, art and design, and the library gave their time and expertise to this event. In addition, 185 GVSU students volunteered side-by-side with 192 parents and others on the day of the tournament. The program would not be possible without the hundreds of volunteers, including team coaches, parents, and sponsors who willingly give their time and knowledge. As a result of the work and dedication of all involved, teams from Grand Valley’s tournament have a winning record at both the state and national levels.

The current Region 12 Michigan Science Olympiad leadership team is comprised of Margo Dill, tournament co-director and program coordinator oftheRMSC;KarenMeyers,tournamentco-directorand director of the RMSC; Frederick Antczak, dean oftheCollegeofLiberalArtsandSciences;KathyAgee,scienceprogramcoordinatorofRMSC;andKarenMatchett, from GVSU’s Chemistry Department. DeanAntczak,KathyAgee,andKarenMatchett serve as assistant tournament directors.

Regional Math and Science Center and the Region 12 Michigan Science Olympiad


Bringing Science to a Wider Community

EnrichingK-12Students

Many of the scientists in CLAS venture far from their laboratories and the fieldwork of their own research to take science to the members of the community. Some examples are:

•DouglasFurtonofthePhysicsDepartmenthassharedhisexperience and expertise in astronomy both to the professional research community and with the greater West Michigan community. He is serving on the Scientific Organizing Committee for an international conference on interstellar dust, to be held in Toledo, Ohio in 2010. In more creative work, he has developed a following with readers of the Grand Haven Tribune by writing a regular astronomy/space-science column, and he has expanded his readership by providing a similar monthly column for the regional magazine The Great Lakes Pilot. Professor Furton’s commitment to astronomy education and literacy has extended to conducting community star-watching parties and make-and-take workshops. In his most recent workshop, 35 participants joined him in Grand Haven to assemble, learn how to use, and take home their own Galileoscope, a refracting telescope provided in kit form as part of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy project.

•MelNorthupoftheBiologyDepartmentprovidesdailyreports to the National Weather Service as a cooperative weather observer in the agricultural network. He also provides volunteer services to Blandford Nature Center, Frederik Meijer Gardens, and Howard Christensen Nature Center.

•ErikNordmanoftheBiologyDepartmentisprincipleinvestigator on a study for the West Michigan Wind Assessment, a Michigan Sea Grant-funded project assessing the benefits and challenges of wind energy development in West Michigan’s coastal zone.

•JulieHenderleiteroftheChemistryDepartmentorganizeda workshop at Appletree Christian Learning Center in Otsego that taught summer enrichment science activities to local elementary school children. The inquiry-based activities focused on volcanoes, magnets, and light.

•StephanieSchaerteloftheChemistryDepartmentwastheprogram organizer of Summer Science Camp at Martin LutherKingLeadershipAcademy.Shedevelopedthe curriculum and co-taught a science/math camp for students enrolled in the summer day program.

gVSu has a long history of producing sought-after teachers for schools in Michigan and all over the nation. Through the efforts of our faculty and students, many enrichment programs provide immediate and future benefits to the K-12 children of our area. Among the many examples are:

•NancyMackoftheMathematicsDepartmentvolunteeredweekly as a mathematics teacher in Mrs. Cangelosi’s classroom at Shawmut Hills Elementary School in Grand Rapids. Each week, she was responsible for planning and implementing enrichment/supplemental mathematics lessons for a class of diverse learners. She guided the 4th and 5th grade students in learning about statistics. Students conducted statistical investigations and developed posters about their projects, which they submitted to the Michigan StatisticsPosterCompetitionK-12inMarch2009. The 4th and 5th grade students also explored famous mathematicians from different parts of the world and their contributions to the field of mathematics. The 3rd and 4th grade students engaged in logic games, spatial visualization activities, and other geometry activities.

•SportleadershipfacultyintheMovementScience Department collaborated with the Grand Rapids Public Schools athletics department to actively develop coaching

education programs and worked with the athletic administration to improve their operations. This collaboration will also lead to student service-learning opportunities in the future.

•JasonYanceyoftheModernLanguagesandLiteratures Department had students in his theatre-based Spanish course create puppet shows and tour several elementary schools in the Grand Rapids area. Also in the Modern Languages and Literatures Department, Laura Fox, Zulema Moret, and Sarah Mather worked on separate-but-similar projects in their Spanish courses to have students create original stories in Spanish and read them aloud in local elementary schools.

•CharleneBeckmannoftheMathematicsDepartmentisinvolved in a program called Math in Action. As director and volunteer, she is helping to write 13 grade-level mathematics books to mitigate summer learning loss. Five of the books will be highlighted at sessions during Math in Action and three of the books will be for sale. The profits benefit the Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics Scholarship Endowment Fund. The books are intended for kids to work through over the summer so they do not lose what they learned during the school year.

www.gvsu.edu/clas 11

The books also help students transition into the next grade. Many students at GVSU will have their work published in the volumes entitled, Michigan Mathematics Activity Book Series, Adventures with Mathematics.

•GordonAndrews,SeanO’Neill,andRichardCooleyofthe

History Department have extensive involvement with Teaching American History (TAH) grants in various parts of the state. These grants (some totaling more than $1,000,000) bringuniversityprofessorsandK-12teacherstogetherforcollaborationtopromotehistoricalunderstandinginK-12classrooms. As part of these grants, Professor O’Neill has also recruited history colleagues to take part in summer workshops in area districts.

•TheFieldResearchinEarthScienceHappenings(FRESH)program in the Geology Department takes inner-city middle school students from Grand Rapids out in the field to experiment with science. The FRESH program began in summer 2009 with funding from the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, the Regional Math and Science Center (RMSC), CLAS, and the Geology Department. Last summer FRESH was a 16-day program spread over two months and had 20 students. In summer 2010, with funding from Multicultural Affairs, the RMSC, and the Geology Department, the program enrolled 14 students, most returning students from summer 2009, who spent five days in the program spread over four weeks. Most of the time was spent in the field, but there was also a laboratory component. Professor Steve Mattox said, “Students in the FRESH program not only gained experience doing earth science in the lab and field, but many of the students had experiences new to them, including seeing Lake Michigan and climbing the dunes, riding in a boat, wading in a stream, climbing over logs blocking a trail, hand-pumping water from a well, and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over an open fire. We wanted the students not only to do earth science in the field, but also to become more comfortable in nature, and I think we accomplished that.”

•LindsayEllisoftheEnglishDepartmentorganizedandsupported three weeklong youth writing camps during the summer of 2009 led by area teachers in Belding, Holland, and Grand Rapids.

•GisellaLicarioftheModernLanguagesandLiteraturesDepartment had her students create collaborative projects with Immaculate Heart of Mary, a local elementary school, to promote second languages and cultural acquisition in our community. Based on drawings by 5th graders, Professor Licari’s students produced digital fairy tales, cartoons, and short stories in Italian through a variety of media. Students shared their creations by storytelling to the school with engaging games and riddles.

Sustaining the CommunitySome of the service undertaken by faculty, staff, and students in the college is focused on improving the lives of those facing economic, health, or other challenges and on assisting organizations dedicated to helping them.

•DanRoyer,chairoftheWritingDepartment,builta website for the Heart of West Michigan United Way Volunteer Center (www.volunteercentergr.org).

•DebbieLownoftheBiomedicalSciencesDepartment is conducting community nutrition projects and outreach. With students from her course entitled BMS 404—Community Nutrition, Lown has encouraged the use

of the new free breakfast program at an elementary school inKellogsville.Thestudentsintheclasshaveaprojectatthree different school systems to provide nutrition education. In March 2010, another group of students cooked with parents and children at Bursely school, converting recipes the parents brought to lower fat and salt versions. At the Jenison Public Early Childhood Center, another group presented nutrition information and explained how to make better food choices when shopping at local supermarkets. The students took information from the classroom, assessed their assigned community, determined the nutrition issues of the target population, and developed a program.


•SenezRodriguez-CharbonierofthePsychology Department is providing crisis intervention in Grand Rapids for Spanish-speaking, low-income families based on special referrals from local Hispanic community leaders. Professor Rodriguez-Charbonier also led a training program in Grand Rapids called START NEW Basic Training. This 10-week program of intensive lifestyle change for 30 participants was assisted by a registered nurse and 12 staff members. The program focused on helping community people deal with being overweight or obese and health-related issues via lifestyle changes. The medical supervisor was Neil Goodman, MD.

•JohnKilbourneoftheMovementScienceDepartment conductstheSPARKLEproject(SpinningPhysical andRenewableKineticLivingEnergy).Theproject activities are ongoing and include the development of bicycle generators and storage batteries for use in homes, classrooms, and offices. The project includes an educational PowerPoint presentation and demonstration withaSPARKLEbicyclegeneratorthatsharesthe importance of fitness, health, and renewable energy with young people.

•TheAutismEducationCenteratGVSUisinvolvedinseveral activities with a primary focus on the Statewide Autism Resources and Training (START) project, which provides training and technical assistance to public educators in Michigan who serve students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Through the START project, educators, support professionals, administrators, and families from across the state come together to connect, share, and learn in order to better teach students on the autism spectrum. Principal activities of the START project include training and coaching, collaboration and networking, and resource dissemination. The growing number of students with ASD will enter adulthood looking for greater opportunities in college, competitive work, independent living, and social/leisure activities. It is imperative for universities to welcome and support these young people with ASD as they make this significant life transition. Even now, GVSU has a growing number of students with ASD, particularly Asperger Syndrome, on campus. The Autism Education Center is eager to work with the GVSU community to assist this increasing population of students who may seek guidance as they navigate college life.

•CharlesPazdernikoftheClassicsDepartmentisaboardmember and past president of Telluride Association, Inc., a nonprofit organization that creates and fosters educational communities that teach leadership and service through democratic participation.

•TimPenningoftheadvertising/publicrelationsprogramin the School of Communications helped with the launch of “Rapidian,” a citizen journalism project in Grand Rapids. He continues to participate as the project evolves.

•BarbaraRoosofthefilmandvideoproductionprogramof the School of Communications helped to found the Community Memory Bank, a new nonprofit organization based on the model of the BBC Community Memory/Media Bank.

•Severalfacultymembersprovidedcommentaryinthemedia on the subject of the 2008 election. These included frequent contributions by Dean Frederick J. Antczak (CLAS), KevindenDulk(politicalscience),DanielleWieseLeek(SchoolofCommunications),ErikaKing(politicalscience),and Roger Moiles (political science).

•ProfessorMichaelDeWildeandtheeightstudentsinhisfall 2009 Philosophy 375 class combined traditional classroom discourse with elements of community organizing, urban study, and student teaching. The students offered courses of study in the liberal arts to residents at the Job Core facility in Grand Rapids. At the heart of their inquiry was the question of the value of a liberal arts education in making the world a better place. Students became more familiar with the political and philosophical traditions of the West as well as the manner in which ideas and principles taken from both disciplines have been implemented in our institutions. The seminar allowed them to focus on building collaborative efforts to understand these principles by working with people in the community, not by imposing their own will in the name of “service.” Professor DeWilde has been invited to speak about this project at other universities such as the University of Oregon, Northwestern University, and University of Hawaii.

As far as service goes, it can take the form of a million things. To do service, you don’t have to be a doctor working in the slums for free, or become a social worker. Your position in life and what you do doesn’t matter as much as how you do what you do.

elisabeth Kublar-Ross

often the community looks to our faculty and students to do what it may not have the expertise to do in-house or may not have the funds to commission. Through their service, faculty and students enable local communities to base their decision making on relevant data. Some examples are:

•Statistics311,taughtlastyearbySangoOtieno,conductedand analyzed a survey to gauge citizen interest in and support for public safety departments to meet the needs of citizens in Fruitport Township.

•PeterAndersonoftheClassicsDepartmenthasbeen involved since 2006 in the preparation of a new state teacher certification exam through the Michigan Department of Education and NES Inc. This resulted in GVSU being the major field test site for the new Michigan Teacher Test for Certification in Latin in winter 2009 and took Professor Anderson to Lansing again in the fall for a session to evaluate the field test and set a passing score.

•Since1990,JeroenWagendorp,chairoftheGeographyand Planning Department, has been working with the state of Michigan to increase the capacity for and use by local/state government of Geographic Information Technologies/Systems (GIT/GIS). For the last ten years he has been president of MiCAMP, a public sector geographic information technology service organization. This work has included a new GIS business plan for the state of Michigan.

Faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are often called upon to share their expertise with the other colleges at gVSu through unit-to-unit joint appointments and serving on their governance committees. in this way, the faculty of CLAS contribute to the success of the university more generally. Some examples are:

•SeveralmembersoftheClassicsDepartment,underthe unique unit-to-unit joint appointments framework between classics and the Frederik Meijer Honors College, contribute teaching and service to Meijer Honors College students.

•MichaelDeWildeofthePhilosophyDepartmentservesas the ethics advisor to the new full-time MBA program in the Seidman College of Business and is responsible for devising and proposing all ethics components of the program.

•RobertSmart,professorofchemistry,isalsotheexecutivedirector of the Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence.

•SandraPortkoofthePsychologyDepartmentwroteastudy guide to accompany one of the texts that the GVSU Child and Family Resource Center is using to train the home visitors in their Healthy Start program.

•ManyfacultyareactiveintheGVSUSustainability Initiative, liaison with the university library, the activities of the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center, mentorship of student organizations, and support of the university’s fundraising efforts, to name just a few.

•JenniferStewartoftheSociologyDepartmentwasa reviewer of and participant in the development of a manual and workshop on inclusion in the workplace for the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership.

•JanRobinsonoftheCLASAcademicAdvisingCenteris a member of the Nontraditional Student Advocacy Group. Some of the group’s projects include creating a nontraditional student website, hosting events for Nontraditional Student Week, and gathering data about the Grand Valley experience of nontraditional students through online surveys and focus groups.


Participating in Policy Decisions

Sharing CLAS Expertise with Other Entities at GVSU

Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring your own life.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Through programs housed at gVSu, as Fulbright scholars, and through other kinds of travel awards, CLAS faculty, staff, and students are making the kind of international connections that allow our students to have an increasingly global perspective. For example, 13 faculty members from CLAS were actively involved in Padnos international Center (PiC) programs during the spring and summer terms of 2010. Some of these efforts are:

•PollyDiven,internationalrelationsprogramcoordinatorin the Political Science Department, is the co-recipient of a Department of Education grant (with Mark Schaub of PIC) for Studies in Trans-Atlantic International Relations (STAIR). The grant is an agreement among the international relations program and the Padnos International Center at Grand Valley, Cracow University of Economics in Poland, and the University of Debrecen in Hungary. She coordinates the student and faculty exchanges and is the academic advisor for all STAIR students going abroad from GVSU and coming to GVSU from Hungary and Poland. She helps students from all three institutions write their theses, teaches required courses within the STAIR program, and has been organizing group projects that require Eastern European students to work with students of U.S. foreign policy on class projects.

•PeiminNiofthePhilosophyDepartmentorganized an international symposium at East China Normal University (with GVSU’s East Asian studies/Chinese studies as a co-sponsor), on “Globalization and the Challenge of the Humanities and the Social Sciences,” with collaboration from the Department of History and Philosophy, State University of New York at Old Westbury; Global Scholarly Publications, New York; the Institute of Philosophy, Shanghai Academy of Social Science; and the Department of Philosophy, East China Normal University. He designed the program with a special session for “Student Perspectives.” Four GVSU summer study-abroad students presented their papers at the symposium.

•AmyMaskooftheEnglishDepartmentspecializesin elementary education. Over the past year she has been on assignment as a Fulbright Scholar doing ethnographic research and teaching in Grand Valley’s partner institution, the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. As a participant observer, she does her research, teaches (sometimes in two village schools at once), and finds service opportunities as they present themselves. For instance, one school had been without ceremonial drums for marching for a few years, so she had the drums repaired. At the other school she paid for cement to fix an unsound classroom floor. Through her work as a traditional drumming and dancing culture group’s guest director, she helped wherever needed, including getting school fees for several members of the group, and even arranging for their medical treatment. At the University of Cape Coast, she mentored her teaching assistant both with her teaching and with the writing of her thesis. She initiated a writing project between children at the University of Cape Coast Primary and children at a school in Grand Haven, Michigan. Three classes participate with more than 200 students writing letters.


•MatthewHartoftheChemistryDepartmentservesas co-director of the Student Scholars Day planning committee. Student Scholars Day is held each April to showcase faculty-mentored student work.

•CoeliFitzpatrickofthePhilosophyDepartmentservesonthe Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies (BCOIS) Curriculum Committee, the Honors College Curriculum Committee, the Middle East Studies Executive Committee, and the BCOIS Faculty Council.

Making Friends Internationally

There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.

Woodrow Wilson


•JodeeHuntoftheBiologyDepartment,throughscholarlyreview and extensive trips into areas such as the remote Milaflora region of Nicaragua, has made connections and gathered data that help to undergird her work in support of appropriate eco-tourism. Jodee has developed a bond with members of the faculty of Facultad Regional Multidisciplinaria (FAREM), leading to opportunities such as touring their experimental farm and biological field station and encouragement to develop workshops on experimental design. Jodee calls the increasingly collegial relationship a breakthrough and says, “I feel very optimistic about the future of my collaboration with them and the potential for conducting collaborative research as well as continuing our other projects.”

•RogerEllisofthetheatreprogramintheSchoolof Communications directed a group of seven theatre students presenting a week of Shakespeare performances in Nova Scotia schools.

Faculty of the college are creating opportunities for our students as they help to preserve the past of our communities through their active participation on local boards, providing opportunities for historians to meet, and collection of interviews of historical significance.

•MatthewDaleyoftheHistoryDepartmentisveryactivein the local history scene. He is a member of the Grand Rapids Historical Commission, treasurer of the Grand Rapids Historical Society, and editor of Grand River Valley History. In addition, he serves his department as its internship coordinator and has cultivated contacts with area archives and museums. He also serves as consultant to two archives.

•TheU.S.CongressestablishedtheLibraryofCongressVeterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of our war veterans from WWII to the present. Under the banner GVSU Veterans History Project, the History Department and the university’s library proudly became established as a collecting and archive partner of the Library of Congress in this national project. Under the direction of James Smither of the History Department, students and faculty—together with area schools, partner organizations, and volunteers from the community—are preserving and storing veterans’ stories and experiences. Affiliate Professor Frank Boring

(film and video production program in the School of Communications) is actively engaged in making documentaries from the interviews collected.

•JanBrashleroftheAnthropologyDepartmentwasrecentlycurator of two exhibitions: Enduring Traditions—Ceramics from Southwestern Pueblos and Under Our Feet—Archaeology along the Grand River. She was the guest curator in charge of the overall design and content of the exhibits. Professor Brashler is the current president of the Conference on Michigan Archaeology, a member of the advisorycommitteetotheKutscheCenterforLocal History, and a member of the board of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council.

•TheRegionalHistoryDaycontestwasheldatGrandValley State University’s Allendale Campus. More than 100 students from 14 schools, including one home school, participated in the contest. The History Department also established the Great Lakes History Conference in 1975 to allow faculty from teaching institutions in the Midwest to present their scholarship to colleagues. With special emphasis on fostering collaboration among scholars in Grand Rapids and West Michigan history, academic and nonacademic alike, the conference now attracts faculty, graduate students, public historians, and independent scholars from across the country and the world.

Preserving our History

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.

Alex noble


As part of their commitment to their disciplines, faculty members are often active in professional associations and frequently serve on committees to produce their conferences, edit their publications, and evaluate grant and award applications. A few examples are:

•ChairoftheMathematicsDepartmentEdward Aboufadel has served since 2006 as secretary to the mathematics section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Working with the section’s steering committee, he organizes the mathematics program for the AAAS annual meeting, which occurs each February. These conferences propagate applied mathematics research on topics such as “Mathematics for Investigating Biological Hierarchies,” “Mathematics of Origami: From the Joys of Recreation to the Frontiers of Research,” “New Techniques in the Evaluation and Prediction of Baseball Performance,” and “The Science and Modeling of Hurricanes.” Professor Aboufadel also writes about the AAAS meetings for mathematics publications and handles other administrative tasks.

•CoreyAntonofthecommunicationstudiesprograminthe School of Communications was elected to the editorial board of two journals: Time and Society and The Atlantic Journal of Communication. Additionally he was named a trustee of the board of directors for the Institute of General Semantics (IGS) and then was selected as chair of the publications committee and named series editor for their newly launched IGS book series.

•DeannaMorseofthefilmandvideoproductionprogramin the School of Communications is vice president of the Association Internationale du Film d’Animation (ASIFA International). Morse works with the president, Sayoko Kinoshita,whoisfromJapan.ASIFAwasfoundedin1960in France and has more than 30 chapters around the world. The organization is affiliated with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which encourages international peace and universal respect by promoting collaboration among nations. The goal of ASIFA International is to promote cultural exchange through the art of animation.

•Pei-LanTsouoftheCellandMolecularBiologyDepartmentwas a session chair for the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters (March 2009 - March 2010) as well as a committee member for both Sigma Xi (the Scientific Research Society) and the Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB).

•ChuckNorrisoftheMusicDepartmentservesonthe executive board of the Michigan Music Conference (MMC). The eight-member board oversees the entire fiscal operation of one of the largest state music education conferences in the United States.

I know of no great men except those who have rendered great service to the human race.

Voltaire

Many faculty are involved in providing peer evaluation of teaching, serving on departmental committees responsible for curricular and personnel decisions, mentoring their new colleagues and student organizations, planning departmental events (such as film and lecture series), and other forms of departmental service that enrich the educational experience for our students and provide professional development for the faculty. Similarly, members of the staff serve on committees to strengthen and streamline administrative processes and continually improve the working environment and professional development of all employees. Students, emeriti, and alumni also contribute to the development and assessment of initiatives in CLAS.

Some notable projects undertaken during the 2009-2010 academic year include:

•TheGrad School? series was initiated and developed by Professors Christen Pearson and Rachel Anderson of the

English Department. The series provides a forum for information on what graduate study involves, graduate programs, financial aid, what to look for in a graduate program, and what the application process involves for undergraduate students. It also provides mentoring during the application process, including one-on-one and small group help in writing a letter of purpose and/or an application cover letter. The series has been offered once a semester over the past two years. Grad School? includes a session that explores options for students who choose not to go to graduate school. This component focuses on options available to those students graduating with nonteaching degrees. The detailed information session covers possible types of employment and résumé building, as well as a needs analysis based on students’ goals and interests, helping students identify their strengths and ways to present themselves that will increase their marketability as Grand Valley graduates, especially in challenging economic times.

Serving Professional Organizations and the Disciplines

Improving our Programs and Processes


•CarolineCascinioftheCLASAcademicAdvisingCenterserves on the IT Project Management Team working on Banner implementation and other projects. She is also on the university’s Academic Advising Council and the Second Year Experience Committee.

•ManyfacultyandstaffinCLAShaveundergonetraining as set forth by the Office of Inclusion and Equity to become inclusion advocates or inclusion champions. These members of the faculty and staff help to oversee the process of recruitment and retention of faculty, staff, and students with the goal of bringing the myriad richness of varied cultures, experiences, backgrounds, and circumstances to GVSU. The current inclusion advocates in CLAS at the time of printing are:

Al-Mallah, Majd ................ Modern Languages/Literatures Antczak, Frederick J. .......... CLAS Brashler, Janet ..................... Anthropology Burg, Debra ......................... Biomedical Sciences Castelao-Lawless, Teresa .... Philosopy Gipson,Karen ..................... Physics Jenkins, Virginia (Jinny) ..... Art and Design Johnstone, Monica ............. CLAS Koches,John ........................ Annis Water Resources Institute Mack, Nancy ....................... Mathematics Menon, Shaily .................... Biology

Meyers,Karen ..................... Regional Math and Science Center Munk, Dana ........................ Movement Science Portko, Sandra .................... Psychology Richards, Mark ................... Political Science Schendel, Ellen ................... Writing Smart, Robert ...................... Chemistry Thompson, Anthony .......... School of Communications Underwood,Kathleen ....... History/Women and Gender Studies VandenBerg, Phyllis ........... Philosophy Walker, Rebecca .................. Mathematics Wright, Diane ..................... Modern Languages and Literatures

Inclusion champions have completed a portion of the same training. They are:

Galbraith, Gretchen ........... History Golden, John ...................... Mathematics Joseph, Jann ........................ Biology/CLAS Nesterenko, Alex ................ School of Communications Schutten, Mary ................... Movement Science/CLAS Vigna, Janet ......................... Biology

If you want happiness for a lifetime - help the next generation.

Chinese proverb

Students participating in study abroad, internships, and collaborative research with the faculty receive many benefits from these particularly high-impact experiences. Many CLAS students in majors with an education emphasis participate in teacher training in area schools. During the 2009-2010 academic year, 284 students with majors in CLAS studied abroad, making up about 46 percent of all study abroad students from gVSu. The most popular destination for CLAS majors was Spain with the next most frequent destination being China. internships are increasingly important to our students’ overall development and are built into several programs. Counting curricular and cocurricular activities, CLAS students participated in almost 500,000 hours of high-impact experiences of a wide variety. Some examples are:

•ZulemaMoretoftheModernLanguagesandLiteraturesDepartment runs a program called A Community Always Alive. In her Spanish 322 — Writing and Conversation II course the students’ final project is to interview a Hispanic person who works directly with the Hispanic community. The interview provides information on how any GVSU Spanish student can become involved in the organization. Many internships have started this way.

•NataliaGòmezoftheModernLanguagesandLiteraturesDepartment invites key directors of nonprofit organizations, including Teresa Hendricks, a community attorney who is the director of Michigan Migrant Legal Assistant Project, to her Spanish 313 class. Funded by state grants, local and state bar associations, and other private funds, MMLAP provides advocacy and legal services for current farm workers or those who have settled into surrounding communities within two years. Marc Bohland, vice president of First-Hand Aid, has also been invited to speak about his organization that sends humanitarian groups to deliver aid to the people of Cuba. Both of these speakers promote awareness among the students about Grand Rapids’ Hispanic community.

•TheMovementScienceDepartmenthasdeveloped notable internship experiences in the athletic training education program including New York University’s Harkness Institute for Dance Injuries, the Chicago Cubs, Northwestern University, Wayne State University, the Arizona Diamondbacks, NASA, and Disney’s Wide World of Sports.

High-Impact Experiences for our Students


As a senior political science major, I have consistently learned about the legislative process and read up on current events happening in Washington, D.C. Combining my field of study with my desire to live in the city, I thought an internship in D.C. was the perfect opportunity to get hands-on experience in my field of study and experience a summer in our nation’s capitol. When The Washington Center (TWC) visited Grand Valley last year, I became very interested in the program because of its incorporation of an internship with civic engagement and leadership opportunities. Also, the fact that the program provides housing right in the city eliminated most of the stress of actually making this internship in D.C. a reality for me.

Now that I am in D.C. through TWC, I am interning at a lobbying firm called FBB Federal Relations. The firm lobbies for prominent issues including international trade, energy, and homeland security. Because TWC ensures each intern will perform only 20 percent administrative duties, I have really been able to learn a lot through my internship here so far. I have been conducting research for various clients on emerging policies and legislation. I have gotten the chance to attend and report on congressional hearings, sit in on conference calls, and attend meetings with the lobbyists.

In addition to the internship, students in the TWC program also take a class, attend the Presidential Lecture Series where we hear from panels or distinguished speakers, get involved in the community through civic engagement projects, and meet with members of Congress and/or their staff from your home state. The program is beneficial for students because we are

getting the opportunity to learn and do a great deal more than we would if we came to the city on our own.

I am very appreciative of the opportunities I have had this summer, many of which would not have been possible without TWC. Although it is a lot of work and requires a greater commitment than the typical nine-to-six work day, I believe TWC offers a great program to students who wish to gain hands-on experience in their field of study while enjoying a summer in Washington, D.C.

NotesfromanIntern—KatherineWendtwritesabout her experiences in the nation’s capitol

•PhysicistRichardValleryhasbeeninstrumentalin reinvigorating the GVSU chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS), for which he is faculty advisor, as well as in establishing the Sigma Pi Sigma chapter (the national physics honor society) at GVSU. During each of the past two years he has taken undergraduate physics majors to attend and participate in professional conferences, including national meetings of the American Physical Society and the Undergraduate Research Conference at

Argonne National Lab. Professor Vallery has also actively worked to support physics majors seeking opportunities for Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), as well as those pursuing graduate school.

•Theprofessionalsciencemaster’sprogramhasan intensive scientific business/industry internship component ensuring it is directly tied to the scientific workforce needs of business and industry.

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.

Rabindranath Tagore


School of Communications’ Danielle Wiese Leek knows a thing or two about high-impact practices. Not only did she receive a 2008 Michigan Campus Compact Faculty/Staff Community Service-Learning Award, she is an admitted “debate geek” and even took her own civic participation to local airwaves as WZZM—13’s expert on all things online during the 2009 election season.

Her personal commitment to making the link between communication and civic engagement led her to teach the COM 380 course, Special Topics—Evolution of Communication, which focused on service learning in all its theoretical and practical glory. Not only did her class wrestle with Aristotle, Jane Adams, and W.E.B. DuBois to explore the connection between communication and a vibrant society, they also explored first-hand their own position on what constitutes effective civic engagement here and now.

All 32 students in the class volunteered to run the first Grand Valley State Debate Championship tournament for high school students, which took place February 4,

5, and 6, 2010. One of these students, Tyler Hamersma, a junior in communications studies with a minor in advertising and public relations, noted what a learning experience the class’ involvement was. “Afterward, we reflected on it—that’s the difference between service and learning and just service,” Hamersma said.

What they learned from that experience was applied to projects on behalf of the Community Service Learning Center (CSLC). Teams of students worked to assess the levels of awareness about the center, to promote it, to improve its website, and to create a development plan for the center.

Bunmi Fadase, the Community Service Learning Center coordinator, was enthusiastic about the results. “The work the students did was needed and appreciated. They gave us tangible suggestions and feedback from faculty, staff, and peer institutions. It was constructive and useful for us, and we took it very seriously. Professor Wiese Leek wove service learning into her course so well that the students really get it.”

Service Learning in Theory and Practice

Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or another. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and it will make not only for our own happiness, but that of the world at large.

Mahatma gandhi


The 2010 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences service awards were bestowed on Jim Scott and Ross Reynolds for their lifetime service, Figen Mekik for her annual faculty service, and Jim Visser for his service as an administrative professional. Jim Scott was cited for his contributions to healthy weight management in wrestling that have directly affected the health and safety of thousands of young athletes all over the united States. Ross Reynolds was recognized for many years of consistently high service to many different projects and committees of the Physics Department, the university, and events such as the Science olympiad. Figen Mekik’s tireless efforts for the CLAS Personnel Committee, which protected the rights of all faculty for fair consideration of promotion and tenure, were lauded. Jim Visser’s resourcefulness, enthusiasm, tenacity, and wide-ranging knowledge in the service of students in the art studios, sometimes after hours and even in inclement weather, earned him the respect and gratitude of his colleagues.

Many other faculty and staff performed extraordinarily high levels of service. Some of them are:

•MaryOgdahloftheAnnisWaterResourcesInstitutewasinstrumental in organizing the 2009 annual meeting of the North American Benthological Society, held at the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids. Her work ensured the success of this weeklong meeting that attracted 850 scientists from 20 countries.

•KevinTuttoftheMusicDepartmentdirected,managed,and implemented a complete revision of the music degree programs. This project has required the submission of more than 50 course revisions and dozens of new course proposals.Kevinwrotemanyofthesesubmissionsandwasthe chief editor for all. He saw the drafts through the revision process with the college and the university curriculum committees. His work has also contributed to the mentoring of junior faculty in the department in the many aspects of writing a curriculum proposal or degree revision and has helped to increase the number of music faculty who now have this expertise. He undertook this project while serving as assistant department chair, chair of the Music Curriculum Committee, and vice chair of the CLAS Personnel Committee.

•PatMatthewsoftheBiologyDepartmentexhibitsa wide-ranging and significant commitment to a variety of service activities in her department, at the university, and in the community. She serves as the department’s visiting/affiliate/adjunct committee chair and on the

department’s Student Relations and General Biology committees. Matthews is the department liaison for the Office of Disability Support Services and the Office of Admissions, the department representative for Student Visitation Day, and a faculty fellow and member for Koeze-WeedLivingCenterWomeninScienceand Engineering (WISE) program. She also serves the Network of Women Scientists and Engineers, is the department’s faculty representative for the MCAT preparation course, is on the University Judiciary Committee, Campus Life Committee, and is an evaluator for the Writing 305 junior placement examinations. Matthews is the faculty advisor and scholarship advisor for Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority, and is the on-campus Medical First Responder (MFR) for Allendale Fire Department. In addition, Pat is the Sparta High School liaison for college-bound seniors and has provided in-service presentations on a variety of topics related to biology (medical protocols, blood, airborne pathogens, teratogens, basic anatomy and physiology, CPR, AED, etc.) to local fire departments as well as serving as a firefighter, safety officer, and paramedic for Conklin andKentCityfiredepartments.

•Severalgroupsdraftedandrefined—throughwide consultation—CLAS documents that improved the clarity of vision, transparency of processes, and statement of commitment to shared values of the college. These included:

- The CLAS Faculty Council’s Standards and Criteria for Personnel Evaluation that was discussed in “out of the box” workshops cosponsored with the CLAS Personnel Committee and attended by faculty from all over the college and successfully approved by a vote of the faculty.

- The CLAS Inclusion Plan, which was authored by the volunteer Grassroots Inclusion Taskforce, consisting of faculty, staff, and students, and reviewed by all CLAS advisory groups.

- Under the direction of Associate Dean Mary Schutten, the most recent iteration of the CLAS Strategic Plan was drafted by a committee of faculty members in consultation with the college’s advisory groups.

•CherylBoudreauxoftheSociologyDepartmentservedonthe 2009-2010 women’s studies search committee along with acting as a faculty host for Grand Valley State University Women’s Center Equalitea, and as a member of the LGBT Resource Center advisory committee.

Supporting the Work of the Department, College, and the University

Special thanksto the unit Heads of CLAS, news and information Services, institutional Marketing, the Padnos international Center, and faculty members participating in the use of the

Digital Measures database for their invaluable assistance in the production of this report.

Grand Valley State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. It encourages diversity and provides equal opportunity in education, employment, all of its programs, and the use of its facilities. It is committed to protecting the constitutional and statutory civil rights of persons connected with the university. 9/10.

© 2010 Grand Valley State University

For more information, contact:

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

grand Valley State university

B-4-232 Mackinac Hall

1 Campus Drive

Allendale, Mi 49401-9403

Phone: (616) 331-2495

Fax: (616) 331-3675

e-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.gvsu.edu/clas

Printed on FSC-certified paper manufactured elemental chlorine free and includes a minimum of 10% postconsumer fiber. 100% of the electricity used to manufacture this paper is green-e certified renewable energy. 4233

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