Lakers Ready

Division of Academic Affairs
December 4, 2023

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

Laker to Laker
Updates
Engaged Scholarship
Events
Important Dates and Links

Laker to Laker

Dear Colleagues,

As the Fall semester concludes, I want to express my deepest gratitude to each of you for the important work you do every day, for your wealth of knowledge, and for your positive and caring attitude. I see you every day working tirelessly to ensure that all Lakers feel welcome and supported, and that their dreams are wholeheartedly and actively embraced.

This weekend we will celebrate Commencement and honor our newest graduates! I look forward to seeing many of you at the ceremony sharing the excitement of this momentous occasion in the lives of our students and their families.

We will take a break from publishing Lakers Ready for the reminder of the semester. We will resume publication again on January 8, 2024, the first day of Winter classes. It has been a pleasure and an honor working with all of you. My very best wishes to you and your families for a restful and peaceful holiday break filled with moments of joy and rejuvenation.

With my highest regards and deepest gratitude

Fatma

Updates

Workday Activity Suspension Dates
Workday launches on January 3, 2024. Please note that all faculty and staff must complete the “Getting Started with Workday for All Employees” training course prior to December 22. Self-paced and instructor-led options are available. Also, please note that certain activities will be temporarily suspended to allow for the transition to Workday to occur. The list of “Workday Super Users” for each college is available, if you have questions.

Engaged Scholarship

USDA Grant
Congratulations to Chelsea Duball, Assistant Professor of Biology, for her $150,000 award from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Dr. Duball will perform wetland soil surveys to investigate the relationships between dynamic soil properties and ecosystem functions in wetlands impacted by land uses. This work will inform land use management efforts and will also build collaborations between natural resource managers, researchers, and landowners to improve wetland conservation efforts.

Identity Investments: Middle-class Responses to Precarious Privilege in Neoliberal Chile
Joel Stillerman, Professor of Sociology, published a book this year titled: Identity Investments: Middle-class Responses to Precarious Privilege in Neoliberal Chile. This book examines cultural and ideological differences across groups within Chile's middle classes. Its findings, based on qualitative data, contrast with much work on the "global middle class's" economic growth to examine cultural and political conflicts during Chile's post-dictatorship era. Click here to learn more about this book.

Events

Save the Date
Thursday, February 15, 2024 - 4:00 p.m.
Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center
Pew Grand Rapids Campus

Join your Grand Valley colleagues in a ceremony to celebrate this year's university-wide awards for outstanding faculty achievements in teaching, scholarship, and service. Faculty members who have reached milestone anniversaries for their years of contributions to the University will also be recognized. Award recipients will be announced in January.

Philosophy Colloquium Series
The Philosophy department will host a presentation by Professor Peimin Ni titled, "From Hannah Arendt’s ‘banality of evil’ to the Confucian idea of ‘banality of good’" on December 8, 3:00-4:15 p.m., BLL-110 Mackinac Hall, Allendale Campus. To learn more about this event, visit the Philosophy website.

Important Dates and Links

Previously Shared Events
12/6 - Bb Roadmap/Feedback Opportunity - 1:00 p.m., 2266 Kirkhof Center, Allendale Campus
12/8 - Graduate School Citation Awards - 5:00 p.m., 215 Eberhard Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
12/8 - Philosophy Colloquium Series - 3:00 p.m., BLL-110 Mackinac Hall, Allendale Campus
2/15 - Faculty Awards Convocation - 4:00 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus

Dates
12/9 - Commencement - 3:00 p.m., Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids
12/9-16 - Exam week

Links
Lakers Ready - repository of this weekly 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

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