Lakers Ready

Division of Academic Affairs

September 23, 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,

Last week, I had the pleasure of honoring our outstanding faculty at a reception recognizing important career milestones during the 2023-2024 academic year. Faculty members received accolades for achieving tenure, tenure and promotion, and promotion to full professor. These achievements reflect their expertise, dedication, and the significant impact they have on Grand Valley, our students, and their disciplines.

For a complete list of those who received tenure and/or promotion and for photos of the event, please visit the Office of the Provost website. Let’s take a moment to congratulate our colleagues on their remarkable accomplishments and continue to support one another as we move forward together.

Additionally, last week I had the opportunity to participate in Tech Week GR. The weeklong event brought together GVSU leadership and business executives to showcase innovative projects from faculty, staff, and students at the Eberhard Center, which will soon house the Blue Dot Ecosystem. Tech Week GR highlighted Grand Valley's commitment to addressing the needs of the Grand Rapids community and its economy.

Dean Kessentini of the College of Computing highlighted our dedication to fostering education and preparing the next generation of leaders in the digital age across all academic fields. It was energizing to see the connection between academia and industry grow stronger.

For more details, I encourage you to read the article on GVNext.

Best, 

Jen

Acting Provost Jen Drake addresses faculty who achieved a career milestone during the 2023-2024 academic year.

College of Computing Dean Marouane Kessentini speaks with visitors during GVSU's "The Blue Dot Experience," event as part of Tech Week GR.

Updates

This semester, Fall Break is scheduled for October 20-22, which includes a Monday and Tuesday. As you build out your course and departmental calendars, please keep the following in mind. Although Fall Break days are not university holidays, they are comparable to Spring Break in that classes are not held and other activities outside of teaching are suspended. As such, there should be no faculty meetings held during Fall Break. In terms of courses, no assignments may be due, and no quizzes, tests or exams may be administered, except for the limited programs that have received an exemption from Fall Break.

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.

Resources from The Nuts and Bolts of Curriculum Review Zoom session are now available. Thank you for your active engagement and dedication to improving our curriculum. If you have any questions or ideas to share, please reach out to Felix Ngassa, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Public Safety is seeking two faculty members to join the Public Safety Liaison Committee, an oversight committee required by state law. The primary function of the Committee is to consider grievances by persons with issues related to the Department of Public Safety and its personnel. The Committee includes a minimum of two students, two faculty members, and two staff members. The committee meets twice a year; the next meeting is on November 12 at 10:00 a.m. Contact Senior Associate Vice President, Ed Aboufadel (aboufade@gvsu.edu) if you are interested in serving.

Grand Valley has enhanced its GVSUAlert! system to provide immediate steps to take in the event of a critical incident on campus, sent directly to the community's phones. In the event of an active threat on campus GVSU students, faculty and staff will receive a GVSUAlert! that will warn them of the threat and provide a link to the active threat protocol website. Users will receive fast and helpful information quickly by following quick prompts about their location in relation to the threat. Learn more about the GVSUAlert! Active Threat Protocol by watching this short video.

The Library Research Center is partnering with the Office of Civic Engagement to encourage student voting.

1. Research consultants will help students find their sample ballots and nonpartisan candidate information. Appointments and drop-ins to the Knowledge Market are welcome.

2. The Center will have bookmarks with voter tips and nonpartisan resources.

3. Students voting absentee can still post their social media selfies with the "I voted" buttons and photo backdrop wall in the Knowledge Market.

Engaged Scholarship

GVSU Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives department has been awarded $25,000 through the Library of Michigan's Improving Access to Information grant program. The "Transcribing Young Lords" project will transcribe 100 oral history videos from the Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection, which documents the history of a Puerto Rican community and civil rights organization in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s. The videos can be streamed online in the library's Digital Collections.

Congratulations to Sofia Karampagia, Associate Professor of Physics, on her National Science Foundation (NSF) Research for Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) award of $178,480, for a three-year project in nuclear structure theory and nuclear astrophysics. GVSU undergraduate students supported by the project will be trained as the next generation of scientists, engaging in cutting-edge research opportunities, developing code, drafting scientific manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals, and presenting their work at national conferences.

Tom Mulder, Adjunct Faculty of Writing, published Grand Rapids Walking Tours Kids Can Lead. Whether interested in art, nature, history, mystery, parks, or snacks, kids will find something to impress and inform their friends and family as they guide these eight downtown Grand Rapids tours. Each tour includes talking points, tips, and suggestions for kids to lead. Click here to learn more about this book.

Events

This event celebrates Kate Levy's time as the Padnos Artist-in-Residence for 2023-2024 with a reception and exhibition of her artistic research. This event takes place on September 23, 2:00-4:00 p.m., Padnos Student Gallery, Calder Art Center, Allendale Campus. At the event the Department of Visual and Media Arts will also welcome incoming Padnos Artist-in-Residence Katya Grokhovsky for the year 2024-2025.

This event on October 9, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m., Pere Marquette Room, Kirkhof Center, Allendale Campus, celebrates Katya Grokhovsky's arrival as the 2024-2025 Padnos Artist in Residence within the Department of Visual and Media Arts. During this public event, Katya will share images of her artwork and discuss what motivates her artistic practice. She will also share her anticipated trajectory during her time here at Grand Valley in residence.

Laker Con will be held at the Mary Idema Pew Library on the Allendale Campus, September 27-29. Laker Con is a three-day comics convention that celebrates comics literacy, the scholarly merits of sequential storytelling, and exalting the entertainment arts. Laker Con 2024 will feature special guests, panels, workshops, a cosplay contest, an artists' market, games, and activities for the whole family!

Join the Art Gallery for food, music, art and fun! The official A Single Thread: Being Latinx in West Michigan / Un Solo Hijo: Ser Latine en Oeste Michigan reception coincides with the GVSU Arts Celebration on September 26, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 1121 Performing Arts Center, Haas Center for Performing Arts Gallery, Allendale Campus. Connect with the artists represented in the exhibition and the guest curator, Steff Rosalez.

On September 30, 6:30-7:30 p.m., 2240 Kirkhof Center, Allendale Campus, guest curator Steff Rosalez will guide a conversation titled No Singular Story: Latinx Artists in Conversation among Latinx artists from the exhibition as well as from the GVSU community. Together they will explore what it means to be a Latinx artist, share their stories and artwork, and offer insights based on their individual experiences.

The Communication Studies major is showing the film The Truman Show on October 1, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., 154 Lake Superior Hall, Allendale Campus. The event is free and open to all students, faculty, staff, and guests. If you like, stay after to discuss reality TV, truth, surveillance, authenticity, and image-culture. The Communication Studies major is one of four majors in the School of Communications. No registration required. Contact Dr. Valerie Peterson if you have any questions.

The GVSU Career Center is excited to announce the Fall Career and Internship Fair, which will be held October 9, 1:00-5:00 p.m., DeVos Place Convention Center, Grand Rapids. 230 employers will be in attendance hiring across majors and industries. All students and alumni are invited to attend. Please direct students to the preparation website to learn more, and encourage them to attend this important event.

The GVSU Public Safety team and the Faculty Facilities Planning Advisory Committee invite the campus community to join them on the annual fall semester Campus Safety Night Walks. The Night Walk allows the Public Safety team and members of the civilian campus community to see GVSU's campuses through each other's eyes, supporting better understanding of Public Safety's role at GVSU and developing connections between officers and the community they serve. Register online.

In the continued effort to support the health and safety of our Laker Community, the University Counseling Center will be hosting Campus-wide Mental Health Screenings Days on October 10 and February 20. For complete times and locations, visit the Mental Health Screen Days website.

Important Dates and Links

Previously Shared Events 
9/23 - Kate Levy Art Exhibition and Reception - 2:00 p.m., Padnos Student Gallery, Calder Art Center, Allendale Campus
9/26 - A Single Thread: Being Latinx in West Michigan - 4:30 p.m., 1121 Performing Arts Center, Haas Center for Performing Arts Gallery, Allendale Campus
9/27-29 - Laker Con - Mary Idema Pew Library, Allendale Campus
9/30 - No Singular Story: Latinx Artists in Conversation - 6:30 p.m., 2240 Kirkhof Center, Allendale Campus
10/3 - Gene Therapy and Molecular Imaging: A Marriage made in Vivo - 5:00 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
10/3 - Allendale Safety Night Walk - 7:15 p.m., Service Building, Allendale Campus
10/4 - Non-Invasive, Real-Time Tracking of AAV Gene Therapy via MR Imaging - 1:00 p.m., Pere Marquette Room, Kirkhof Center, Allendale Campus
10/8 - Pew Safety Night Walk - 7:15 p.m., 107C DeVos, Grand Rapids Pew Campus
10/9 - Career and Internship Fair - 1:00 p.m., DeVos Place Convention Center, Grand Rapids
10/9 - Katya Grokhovsky Welcome Event and Artist Talk - 2:00 p.m., Pere Marquette Room, Kirkhof Center, Allendale Campus
10/10 - Mental Health Screening Day - Various times and locations
10/10 - Health Hill Safety Night Walk - 7:15 p.m., 102 DCIH, Grand Rapids Health Campus
Every Wednesday through October - SAP Farm Stand - 10:00 a.m., Carillon Tower, Allendale Campus

Dates
10/7-11 - Mid-term Evaluations
10/20-22 - Fall Break
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.