Lakers Ready

Division of Academic Affairs
January 9, 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: Message from the Provost
Faculty Awards Convocation
Scholarship Highlight
Updates
Events
Important Dates and Links

Laker to Laker: Message from the Provost

Dear colleagues,

Welcome back! I hope everyone experienced plenty of deep connections, joy, and rest during the break. My very best wishes to each one of you for a year 2023 full of discoveries, rewards, and a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

In my last message of 2022, I reflected with pride and gratitude on the range of questions our Lakers community began to engage together. As we begin a new year, I cannot think of a better way for us to start the year than by asking Buckminster Fuller’s favorite and recurring question, cited in his book Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth:

“What is the most important thing we can be thinking about right now?”

I love the pithy and elegant way in which this question captures priority, urgency, responsibility, and agency. Among all the things in which we can be investing our intellectual energy, which things are the most deserving of our attention? Which are most deserving of it now? Which things are our responsibility to be thinking about? Underlying this thinking is the fact that we have agency, that our thinking will translate into action and impact on these important things.

I want to leave us all with this question and look forward to creating many opportunities for us to co-articulate the most important target of our thinking and investing our collective assets and passion in them. To begin, here is a webform in which you are invited to enter your suggested answer to the question.

Have a great week and here’s to a great 2023!
Fatma

Tuesday, February 14, 2023 - 4 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 addition to awards listed below, faculty members who have reached milestone anniversaries for their years of contributions to the University also will be recognized.

Awards for Scholarly and Creative Excellence

Distinguished Undergraduate Mentoring Awards
Richard Lord, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Leifa Mayers, Associate Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Distinguished Early-career Scholar Awards
   Danielle DeVasto, Assistant Professor of Writing
   Valerie Good, Assistant Professor of Marketing
   Anna Hammersmith, Assistant Professor of Sociology

Pew Awards for Excellence

Burch, Jacobs & Moore Diversity Teaching Excellence Award
Anne McKay, Assistant Professor of Nursing

Pew Teaching Excellence Award for Adjunct Faculty
Sheri Rogers, Adjunct Instructor of Political Science

Pew Teaching with Technology Award
Richard Vandermolen, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Counseling

Pew Teaching Excellence Awards
   Tess Armstrong, Associate Professor of Movement Science
   Blake Ashby, Associate Professor of Engineering
   David Clark, Associate Professor of Mathematics
   Paul Cook, Associate Professor of Chemistry
   Joseph Fisher, Professor of Teaching and Learning
   Amorak Huey, Associate Professor of Writing
   Mikhila Wildey, Associate Professor of Psychology

Pew Excellence Award for Teaching and Learning Enrichment
Robert Talbert, Professor of Mathematics

University Awards for Excellence

Internationalization Award
Paola Leon, Associate Professor of Social Work

Outstanding Advising and Student Services Award
Tessa Jordan, Associate Professor of Psychology

Outstanding Community Service Award
Priscilla Kimboko, Professor of Community Leadership and Development

Outstanding University Service Award
Tara Cornelius, Professor of Psychology

Distinguished Contribution in a Discipline Award
Kay Losey, Professor of Writing

University Outstanding Teacher Award
Matthew Hart, Associate Professor of Chemistry

Glenn A. Niemeyer Award
Christian Trefftz, Professor of Computing

Scholarship Highlight

Congratulations to Dr. Kristin Renkema, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences, for her $380,000 industry-sponsored research award from Cellsonics, Inc. Dr. Renkema was identified by the company for her deep expertise in immunology and single cell analysis. The research focuses on evaluation of and protocol development for a new single-cell research tool that eliminates enzymatic digestion of tissue. The award also includes funding to support meaningful student research.

Updates

Shared Governance News
Official correspondence about shared governance decisions is available on the Faculty Governance website under the "UAS Recommendations and Provost Responses" button. Recent posts include:

Annual Salary Adjustment - FSBC recommendation
Membership Update - OEMC recommendation
Year Four Assurance Argument for HLC - UAS endorsement
MLK Commemoration Week - UAS endorsement

Ramadan 2023: March 22 - April 21
This year, Ramadan falls within the second half of winter semester. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from pre-dawn to sunset, and it is not unusual to be up past midnight for prayers and then get up early to eat before dawn. Muslim students may approach faculty early in the semester to discuss a religious accommodation for the scheduling of exams and other assessments during Ramadan. Those students should complete the Request for Religious Accommodation Form, which will lead to an email to approve or edit the request.

AP Awards Call for Nominations
Nominate a deserving Administrative Professional (AP) colleague for this year's AP Awards that recognize team and individual accomplishments. Nominations in the following six categories are now open: AP Achievement Award, Commitment to Diversity Award, Commitment to Students Award, Innovation Award, Outstanding Team Project Award, Service to Community Award. To learn more and nominate and AP colleague, visit the AP Awards website. Nominations are due by 5 p.m. on February 17.

University Assessment Committee Update
A subgroup of the University Assessment Committee (UAC) has been working to develop a process which can exempt externally accredited programs (both curricular and co-curricular) from the typical GVAssess assessment process. Beginning winter semester, this group will schedule Zoom meetings with externally accredited units and programs to describe the UAC expectations they need to meet to qualify for the exemption. Please reach out to Dr. Sonia Dalmia by email at dalmias@gvsu.edu with any questions.

GVSU Speech Lab Partners Program
Over the last ten years, the GVSU Speech Lab has provided campus-wide support services to faculty and their students. Beginning Winter 2023, the Speech Lab will begin offering a new service for faculty members that includes additional in-class presentation support. See the GVSU Speech Lab website for more information and to see if your course qualifies for the Speech Lab Partners Program services.

Digital Creator Lab Opens on January 9
University Libraries and Information Technology partnered on a new digital literacy and creation service: the Digital Creator Lab (DCL). Expanding the Knowledge Market to the 2nd floor of the Mary Idema Pew Library, the DCL has lendable hardware and access to creator recording booths. Peer consultants will help with services found at https://www.gvsu.edu/library/km/digital-creator-lab-14.htm. A Grand Opening will occur the first week of class with tours, raffles, games, and prizes for students.

Events

Seminars, Lectures, and Performances

Exhibition Opening with Guest Artist Claire Ashley
Guest Artist Claire Ashley will be installing "Distant Viridian Crush" on campus in the Padnos Student Gallery during the first week of the Winter 2023 semester. There is an opportunity to meet Claire at the Exhibition Opening scheduled on Thursday, January 12, 5 - 7 p.m. The opening will be hosted by a current Visual & Media Arts student, with light refreshments provided. The Padnos Student Gallery is on the lower level of Calder Art Center, with the show open to view January 12 - February 2, 2023.

Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Week Events
A number of events are scheduled during Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Week. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to participate in as many events as their schedule allows.

1/16, 6 p.m. - Community gathering with GRCC and Davenport University, Eddie Glaude Jr, keynote speaker - Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids
1/17, 10 a.m. - Eddie Glaude Jr., MLK keynote speaker - Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center, Allendale Campus
1/18, 4 p.m. - Silent March on Allendale Campus - start in front of Zumberge Hall
1/18, 4:30 p.m. - Jerry Wallace, MLK keynote speaker - Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center, Allendale Campus
1/19, 6 p.m. - Mary Frances Berry, MLK keynote speaker - DeVos Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
1/21 - MLK Day of Service

Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship of Teaching

Pew FTLC Winter Programs
The Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center is accepting registrants in three Winter semester programs: Faculty Learning Communities, Mentoring Groups, and Blackboard Ultra Working Groups: Center Teaching Best Practices During the Bb Ultra Transition. Each bring together small groups of faculty from various disciplines to learn from and with one another over the course of the semester. Links to each can be found on the Pew FTLC homepage.

Important Dates and Links

Previously Shared Events
1/27 - Presidents' Ball 2023
2/14 - Faculty Awards Convocation - 4 p.m. - Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus

Dates
1/9 - Classes begin
1/13 - Last day to Add, Register, or Pay; Credit/No Credit deadline; 100% Tuition refund deadline
1/16 - Martin Luther King Jr Day Recess
2/20-24 - Mid-term Evaluations
3/5-12 - Spring Break
3/10 - Withdraw with a "W" Grade deadline
4/24-29 - Exam Week
4/28-29 - Commencement

Links
Lakers Ready - repository of this weekly newsletter and a link to submit content
A cademic Affairs Campus Health Information - Winter 2023
Laker Family Network - repository of the monthly newsletter sent by the Division of Student Affairs to GVSU parents/supporters

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