What's Happening in Community Engagement

Spring 2021

Civic Learning Network Survey

In light of national events, a group of faculty and staff have come together in response to the Provost's charge to consolidate and make more visible the formidable resources Grand Valley State University has to advance civic learning. This interest form is short, but will help us do three things:

Create an accessible network of people working to enhance civic learning and educate agents for democracy.
Help us create a website that is a visible and dynamic hub for such activity.
Identify faculty and staff involved in aspects of civic learning for possible "TED Talks" to foreground their work in this area.

Please help us build a structure to advance civic learning at GVSU by completing the survey below.

Complete the Survey

Laker Vaccination Highlights

As of May 25th, 78% of faculty and staff have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Nearly 4,000 students have reported on their self-assessment that they have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Grand Valley nursing and physician assistant studies students are helping to combat COVID-19 by administering vaccinations in Kent and Ottawa counties.

GVSU COVID-19 Dashboard

Community Spotlight: Wastewater Testing

Shortly after the establishment of our COVID-wastewater testing lab, part of a state-wide pilot study, it became clear that the Kent County Health Department needed help in processing and running all of their samples. One of our GVSU graduate students, Alisha Babu, took on that task and with the help of the two faculty directors of the lab, extracted all of the samples and drove them to the KCHD and analyzed the samples on their equipment and uploaded the data to the state-wide site. This twice-weekly routine has continued throughout the Winter semester. The success of the pilot has led directly to KCHD collaborating with the Cell and Molecular Biology department on a 2-year project and a $2.5 million grant as well as new projects.

For information, please contact Sheila Blackman (blackmas@gvsu.edu) and Pei-Lan Tsou (tsoup@gvsu.edu), the Cell and Molecular Biology faculty directors of our Health and Environmental Monitoring lab in CHS.

Upcoming Events

Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Conference

The 2021 Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement conference brings together faculty, student affairs professionals, students, senior campus administrators, and community partners. Together we will ensure that students graduate from our colleges and universities, both public and private, prepared to be the informed, engaged citizens our communities and our democracy need.

This year's event will take place on the following dates:

June 2, 3, and 4, 2021
June 9, 10, and 11, 2021

Participants will have opportunities to network and develop their civic-minded thinking and practices through engaging plenary sessions, informative general interest sessions, interactive workshops, and roundtable discussions.

Click here for more information

Information about funding for this conference can be found on the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center website.

sHaPe Camp

sHaPe (Summer Health Activities and Professions Exploration) is a one-week day camp introduction to the health professions for boys and girls currently in 7th and 8th grades. Students participate in activities that provide hands-on exposure to a variety of health professions including physical therapy, medical lab science, sports medicine, and more!

Click here for more information

Click for more community engagement events

If this email was forwarded to you, click the button below to get on the list.

1 Campus Drive
3090 James H. Zumberge Hall
Allendale, MI 49401

Unsubscribe from future emails.