Lakers Ready

Division of Academic Affairs

October 28, 2024

Lakers Ready is sent by the Office of the Provost
to faculty and staff within the Division of Academic Affairs

In this issue of Lakers Ready:

A Note from the Provost

Dear Colleagues:

As the November 5th election approaches, we are pleased to share this joint message from the Provost, the Chair of Faculty Governance, and the President of Student Senate, emphasizing the importance of civic participation across our campus community. Voting in national, state, and local elections is a powerful way to shape our shared future, and we encourage everyone to help foster an environment that supports engagement.

The Student Senate requests your flexibility on Election Day to support students participating in the election. When possible, please avoid scheduling major exams or presentations. Students have been advised to communicate with you if their voting plans may impact their coursework.

Please remind students to make a plan to vote, whether through early in-person voting from October 26 to November 3 or by returning absentee ballots on time. Students can also register to vote at their GVSU address through Election Day, with voter vans running from the Kirkhof Center to polling locations for Allendale and Georgetown voters from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Thank you for fostering a culture of engagement. For more voting information, visit michigan.gov/vote. Information is included below about GVSU’s voting release time for staff.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Drake, Acting Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Courtney Karasinski, Chair, University Academic Senate/Executive Committee of the Senate
Quinten Proctor, Student Senate President

Updates

GVSU believes it is good practice to allow employees to take paid time off to vote if there isn't enough time for the employee to vote outside of working hours. In preparation for the upcoming election on November 5, please review GVSU’s voting release time guidelines.

Voting Reminders:

LIFT student evaluation surveys will be available to students during the last two weeks of the semester. To encourage high response rates, instructors are expected to set aside 15 minutes of class time for students to complete the surveys. More information about the LIFT system, including short videos that can be shown in class, can be found at www.gvsu.edu/lift. Please note that units that want to modify formative or open-ended items on the LIFT forms must have approval from the LIFT Management Committee before making changes.

Examination Week this semester is December 7-14. As outlined in Shared Governance Policies (SG 3.04.F), instructors are expected to provide a culminating experience for each course during Examination Week. This experience should occur at the special time scheduled during Examination week, which can be found on the Registrar's site (any exceptions must be approved by the appropriate academic dean). Final examinations should be given during the scheduled exam time unless that time is being used for another activity, such as presentations. By administering final examinations during Examination Week rather than the last week of classes, students are provided with the opportunity to better prepare, which will support student success. Additionally, the university counts class time during exam week as part of the contact hours for the course, and this is reported to our accreditors.

Commencement is scheduled December 7, at 4 p.m., Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. If you plan to attend and process, complete the RSVP form on the Commencement website to receive additional information and your parking permit.

As faculty prepare their syllabi for winter semester, there are policy matters to keep in mind:

Ensuring that syllabi clearly describes the professor's expectations of students is important. For example, including additional expectations about course schedule or format changes, revised technology requirements, or adoption of new learning materials may be necessary. The Pew FTLC website offers information on Syllabus Design as well as Syllabus Statement Examples.

As course syllabi are being prepared for the coming semester, we have received many questions about generative AI policies and guidance. Acknowledging that there is no one-size-fits-all instructional approach, it is up to instructors to craft their own syllabus statements and assignment guidelines, clarifying whether student use of generative AI tools is (a) prohibited, (b) allowable with prior permission, (c) allowable with acknowledgment, or (d) freely permitted with no acknowledgment. While additional guidance will be forthcoming during this academic year, the following examples and resources provide models and can guide course use:

Sample syllabi language:

Related GVSU policies and resources:

The Brooks College seeks an experienced teacher and visionary leader to administer and direct the SWS program. The mission of the SWS program is to enable students to write effectively for multiple purposes and audiences through specific instruction in Supplemental Writing Skills courses and the integration of writing across the whole curriculum. Visit the SWS website for the complete job description.

Each February during the Faculty Awards Convocation, excellent faculty are honored for a range of accomplishments: teaching, scholarship, service to the institution and community, and mentoring students. The nomination deadline for these awards is November 1. See the Office of the Provost website to learn more about the criteria and nomination processes.

The “GVSU Art Gallery” is becoming the “GVSU Art Museum.” The GVSU Art Museum is led by Nathan Kemler, Director of Galleries and Collections, and he writes, “The transition to the GVSU Art Museum aligns with our commitment to enhancing the visibility, impact, and academic rigor of our cultural resources. The term museum better communicates the breadth and depth of our collections, educational initiatives, and community outreach efforts. It also underscores our dedication to preserving and promoting the cultural heritage and artistic achievements represented within our collection.”

All GVSU faculty and staff are required to complete cybersecurity training by October 31. The purpose of this initiative is to support and raise awareness of ways in which the university and personal data may be targeted by cyberattacks. The training, which lasts approximately 15 minutes, can be accessed by visiting your Okta Dashboard and finding the KnowBe4 application. If you do not see the KnowBe4 application, you can search for it.

Information Technology invites you to join feedback sessions to raise awareness and provide insights on the Workday Student Project at GVSU. These sessions will help IT better understand the needs as they develop the project. In-person sessions will take place on November 7 and 8 at both the Allendale and Grand Rapids (Pew) campuses. Virtual sessions will be held on November 11 and 13. Learn more about these sessions on Workday. 

Engaged Scholarship

Congratulations to Linda Chamberlain, Director of the Technology Commercialization Office, Robert Smart, Vice Provost for Research Administration, and Ed Aboufadel, Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, on their recent award from the National Science Foundation’s Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC) program. With this grant of $399,922 over three years, GVSU will create a dedicated, professionally staffed “Front Door” for University engagement with Industry. The GVSU Front Door will be a one-stop portal for identification, cultivation, and implementation of industry-academia partnerships and projects. The program will develop an intuitive technology platform to serve as entry point providing access, match making, contracting, and project management services. This clear and focused engagement channel for industry partners will report through GVSU’s Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence (Research Administration), thus facilitating a comprehensive connection to colleges across the university and assuring research compliance.

Congratulations to Tammy Shreiner, Associate Professor of History, and Bradford Dykes, Associate Professor of Statistics, on their $71,869 award from the Library of Congress. They built classroom materials which present students with a stripped-down version of a data visualization based on primary sources, and then teachers slowly reveal one visual element at a time, allowing students to process and discuss. They will expand their website with additional classroom-ready resources for teachers, and an asynchronous professional learning opportunity.

David Clark, Associate Professor of Mathematics, and Robert Talbert, Professor of Mathematics, published Grading for Growth. Alternative grading methods support student growth through engaging in feedback loops and directly link grades to demonstrated learning. This practical book gives advice and examples of how to use alternative grading in a huge variety of contexts. Click here to learn more about this book. 

Events

Join colleagues on November 9, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, Pew Grand Rapids Campus, for a special keynote address by Nadine Strossen, former ACLU President and NYU Law professor emerita, as she explores the challenges and importance of free speech in modern democracy. Strossen's talk, generously sponsored by Voices for Liberty, is part of the Reacting to the Past conference at GVSU, co-sponsored by the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Modern Languages and Literature Department, and many others.

Women make up nearly 80% of PK12 educators but only 24% of superintendent positions. While we are seeing an increase in female students in leadership programs, there are unique obstacles in this journey. Hosted by the College of Education and Community Innovation, join to hear lessons learned and identify themes and strategies of accomplishment panelists on November 12, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, Pew Grand Rapids Campus. Click here to RSVP.

GVSU's Teach-In is an annual event created to improve campus climate and foster a sense of belonging for all Lakers. Teams of students, faculty, and staff collaborate to present engaging and interactive sessions that bring awareness to a variety of challenging issues related to social justice and liberation. This year opens with a keynote presentation exploring the contemporary landscape of higher education by renowned scholar Charles H.F. Davis III and closes with a student reflection panel. The Teach-In will take place on November 13 on the Pew Campus and November 14 on the Allendale Campus. Visit the Teach-In website to learn more.

Elevating the voices, perspectives, values, and commitments of today's students, the 11th Annual Civil Discourse Symposium invites student speakers to share their views about pressing social issues and their ideas about solutions. The symposium takes place on November 21, 6:00-8:30 p.m., Seidman Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus. Goals of this symposium include listening deeply to student perspectives and honoring intergenerational dialogue as our country works toward healing its post-election divisions. Bring your class! INT 100/201; HNR 201 approved.

Alumni Relations and President Mantella are hosting Toast to the Class of 2024 on December 2, 6:30-7:30 p.m., L.V. Eberhard Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus, a celebration for students graduating this semester. Toast includes brief remarks, giveaways, and a champagne toast. All attendees will receive a gift of a commemorative Laker for a Lifetime champagne flute as gift. Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to participate. Please encourage students to attend.

Please help us create a culture of assessment. GVSU's Assessment Conference is on January 10, 8:30 - 12:30 p.m., Eberhard Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus. This collaboration between the Office of the Provost and the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center is a great way to share and learn about assessment practices from colleagues focused on curricular and co-curricular assessment, but also program assessment. We have it all! Please RSVP to reserve your spot today!
*Call for proposals coming soon.

Important Dates and Links

Previously Shared Events
10/29 - Graphic Liberation: Image Making and Political Movements, a presentation by Josh MacPhee - 6:30 p.m., Louis Armstrong Theatre, Haas Center for the Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
10/29 - Creative Wellness Workshop - 11:00 a.m., via Zoom
10/29 - Innovation Open House - 2:30 p.m., 3015 Zumberge Hall, futureEDlab, Allendale Campus
10/30 - Graphic Liberation: A Conversation About Culture as a Tool of Transformation - 1:30 p.m., Louis Armstrong Theatre, Haas Center for the Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
11/2 - Cook Carillon Tower Homecoming Concert - 11:30 a.m., Carillon Tower, Allendale Campus
11/6 - Inside the Walls: Examining the Impact of the Arts - 5:30 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
11/6 - First-Generation Luncheon - 12:00 p.m., 2204 Kirkhof Center, Allendale Campus
11/9 - Nadine Strossen Keynote at Reacting to the Past Conference - 5:00 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
11/13 - Teach-In - Pew Campus
11/14 - Teach-In - Allendale Campus
11/21 - Gen Z Voices: If We Were President - 6:00 p.m., Seidman Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
12/2 - Toast to the Class of 2024 - 6:30 p.m., L.V. Eberhard Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
12/5 - Cook Carillon Tower Holiday Concert - 2:30 p.m., Carillon Tower,
Allendale Campus
1/10 - GVSU Assessment Conference - 8:30 a.m., Eberhard Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Every Wednesday through October - SAP Farm Stand - 10:00 a.m., Carillon Tower, Allendale Campus

Dates
11/27-12/1 - Thanksgiving Recess
12/7 - Commencement
12/7-14 - Examination Week

Links
Lakers Ready - repository of this newsletter and a link to submit content
Laker Family Network - repository of the monthly newsletter sent by the Division of Student Affairs to GVSU parents/supporters

Lakers Ready will be distributed on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month.