One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.

--Malala Yousefzai

Part of the now-declassified recordings from the Nixon Presidential administration was an oval office conversation in which Nixon told National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger to “Never forget that the press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy. The professors are the enemy. Professors are the enemy. Write that on a blackboard 100 times and never forget it.”

Over 52 years later, the fact that the phrase “professors are the enemy” is repeated for emphasis is striking. It’s striking that the statement came not from Stalin or Pol Pot or a stream of others who echoed that sentiment in distant authoritarian lands, but that it came from a democratically elected head of this state.

Education is the foundation for change. Education is the foundation for a better future. And it is essential for a healthy and strong democracy. It’s also a threat to authoritarians and dictators. I know you don’t need this reminder your work is both transformative and—I’m sorry to say—threatening. But please know that we in the Dean’s Office, and our university leadership, stand unified in our mission as educators.

Amidst the snow, frost, and sub zero temperatures, the Sustainability Agriculture Project (SAP) remains an active space on campus according to farm manager, Isak Davis. Isak was hired as farm manager of the SAP in late 2023, after previous farming experience in Rockford, MI and New City Neighbors in Grand Rapids. Isak is particularly drawn to work centered on food justice, and they hope their work with the SAP will have an impact on campus and local communities. 

During colder months, the SAP hosts an abundance of winter crops like turnips, collard greens, kale, scallions, bok choy - many of these come from the same plant!  Winter crops are harvested once a week, and are regularly donated to on campus programs like Replenish, helping students who face food insecurities. Isak emphasized the consistent need for students to have access to fresh produce, especially in the winter, and for the SAP supplies as much as possible. Thanks to the on site hoop houses, raising the indoor temperature substantially through sunlight alone, the crops are able to thrive during our harsh Michigan winters.

Of course, the slower season means ample opportunity for planning ahead, along with the standard spring/summer prep.  There are numerous developments and projects the SAP is preparing for later this year. In the coming months plans include partnering with the Native American Student Association (NASA) to create a sacred medicine garden containing tobacco, cedar, sage & sweetgrass. A slew of new crops including turmeric, ginger, potatoes, and celery, in addition to the development of a seed library available for students to borrow, are a few of the exciting wintering projects!

Collaboration with GVSU’s  Engineering Department is another area of growth, this one not with plants but with waste management on campus.  Isak hopes it will  “close the loop of food waste” by initiating an on campus compost production facility. They say there is a lot of excitement and hope around this project and how it will make Grand Valley a more mindful and sustainable campus. 

To learn more about SAP and its team, click here!

Winter for many can be a time over overconsumption and unsustainable habits, but it doesn't have to be this way! Below is a curated list of tips and tricks on how to stay sustainable in these frigid months, brought to you by Yumiko Jakobcic,
Director of the Office of Sustainability Practices.

Starting this year, Integrative Studies majors will be eligible for the Judy Whipps Award, which was named in honor of Emeritus Faculty member, Dr. Judy Whipps and her long standing legacy of supporting Integrative Studies and adult learners.

The award will be given to the most outstanding practicum project OR internship, and will be presented at  the Integrative Studies Senior Showcase on April 24th 1-3PM at the University Club on the Pew Campus.

Questions? Please reach out to the INT Office (int@gvsu.edu) or Denise Goerisch (goeriscd@gvsu.edu)  for more information.

Integrative Studies faculty member, Dr. Schaefer's most recent publication, "Domestic AI is the New Monstrous-Feminine: Compulsory Roles for Robot-Girls and Mothers in M3GAN (2023)" was featured among other film scholars in Cine-Excess's most recent journal publication. This article aims to explore the continuous obsession with "compulsory motherhood  imperative innocence for girl" within the horror comedy film, M3GAN.

You can read the full article by clicking this link!

40 Years

 Alexander Nesterenko

35 Years

 Shirley Fleischmann • John Klein • Mark Luttenton • Carmen Nochera • Mark Pestana • Michael Schrotenboer • Terri Suess • Daniel Teunis I

30 Years

Michael DeWilde • Polly Diven •Brian Johnson • Philip Lane • Barry Martin •Gabriela Pozzi • Phillip Pyrett • Stephanie Schaertel • Lisa Surman • Xiaojuan Xu

25 Years

 Bogdan Adamczyk • Majd Al-Mallah • Bradley Ambrose • David Austin • Jerry Baltes • Shari Bartz-Smith • Debra Burg • Martin Burg • Jing Chen • Maria Cimitil • Matthew Cooper • Melissa Cunningham • Kurt Ellenberger • John Gabrosek • Luke Galen • Nancy Giardina • Karen Gipson • Scott Grissom • Melanie Grover • Lisa Haynes • Mark Hoffman • Joseph Jacquot • Lori Koste • Barbara Lubic • George Lundskow • Jim McPherson • Todd Meindertsma • Roger Moiles • Mark Muilenburg • Paul Murphy • Mark Richards • Peter Riemersma • Mark Schaub • Daniel Spangler • Thomas Willey

20 Years

 Jen Allard • Rachel Anderson • Melissa Baker-Boosamra • Philip Batty • James Bell • Andrew Boyce • Joshua Brandsen • Tammy Brasic • Frances Cain• Amy Campbell • Shabbir Choudhuri • Katie Clark • Kristin Cooper • Tara Cornelius • Matthew Daley • Mostafa El-Said • Troy Farley • Wolfgang Friedlmeier • Julie Hall • Craig Hammerlind • Charles Hogg • Robert Hollister • Katie Humphrey • Lihong Jiao • Christopher Kierkus • Patricia Kishman Smith • Eric Klingensmith • Jarek Kozal • Maja Krcmar • Zachary Kurmas •  Christopher Lawrence • Hoon Lee • David Linn• Ronald Loeffler • Kay Losey • Richard Luce • Pamela Miller • Mark Minnema • Heidi Nicholson • Jamie Owen-DeSchryver • Nichole Payne • Mitchell Place • Emma Ramey • Wendy Reffeor • Kathy Rice• Robert Rozema • Harold Schnyders • Mark Schwartz • Darrhonda Scott-Jones • Anne Sergeant • Kimberly Shefferly • Shelley Sickrey • Shelly Smith • Sailakshmi Srinivasan • Scott Stabler • Francis Sylvester•  Brandie Tenney • Brian Teunis•  Leah Thomas • John Uglietta • Mary VanPopering • Heather Van Wormer • Tamara Vargo •  Jeroen Wagendorp • Peter Wampler • Paul Weaver

15 Years

 Kathy Agee Salvatore Alaimo • Kevin Alderink • Gordon Andrews • Elizabeth Arnold • Erica Baker-Bringedahl • Edward Barnes • Daniel Barrigear • Brett Bolen • Jo Boon-Shelton • Ranelle Brew  • Rachel Campbell • Nancy Carlson• Brennon Clendening • Vivek Dalela • Kelli Damstra • Kristy Dean • Tamera Defouw • Brian Deyo • Amanda Dillard • David Eaton • Jonathon Engelsma • Mayra Fortes Gonzalez • Gamal Gasim • Joy Gianakura • Beth Gibbs • Christopher Gillespie • Sherri Hall • Elisabeth Hammer • Katie Haynes • Leah Heaton • Dave Huizen • Azfar Hussain • Ingrid Johnson • Cheryl Kotecki•  Angel Kropf • Dave Kurjiaka • Susan Laidlaw-McCreery • Rhonda LeMieux • Yan Liang • Chad Lingwood • Eliza MacDonald • Josita Maouene-Cavin • Astin Martin • John Martin • Hazel McClure • Sean McManus • James McNair • Allison Metz • Ruth Meyering • Wael Mokhtar • Nick Nelson • Amy Norkus • Len O'Kelly • Diana Page • Rachael Passarelli • Thomas Pentecost • Christine Rener • Kelley Rogers•  Medar Serrata • Michele Shannon-Wildt • Sara Simon • Laurie Stickler • Sally Stockdale • Terry Stockton • Timothy Syfert • Agnieszka Szarecka • Lin Tian • Christopher Toth • Scott Truskowski • Erika Van Dyke • Brian Van Farowe • Melba Vélez Ortiz • Anna Walz • Laurel Westbrook • Marc Westrate • Edward Wierzbicki • Shontaye Witcher • M. Woller-Skar • Mingyu Wu • Jason Yancey

10 Years

 Daniel Adrian • Leslye Allen • Christopher Babbitt • Andrea Benefiel • Jana Benjamin • Karl Brakora • Daniel Brophy • Carl Brown • Cara Cadena • Meghan Cai • Colleen Cameron • Breanna Chycinski • David Clark • Sarah Clark • David Crane • Paul Cullen • Amy Dettwiler • Kelli Dykstra • Kellie Fitzgerald • James Ford • Michael Gay • Marilyn Gilbreath • Charles Ham • Erica Hamilton • Kimberly Hendricks • Raymond Higbea • Ryan Hoekstra • Kara Hotaling • Yumiko Jakobcic • Bonnie Jaracz • Libby Jawish • Cheryl Kautz • Brooks Kindel • Nicholus Kopacki • Heather Koster • Diane LaFreniere •  Diana Lawson • James Louis • Rodd Lowell • Nicholas Mallory • Amy McFarland • Kimberly McKee • Justin Melick • Jennifer Moss Hawkins • Samantha Mulder • Bobby Nielsen • Priscilla Nyamai • Vance Orr • Mary Ouellette-Maine • Janna Pacey • Zsuzsanna Palmer • Sally Pelon • Doris Penn • Beth Peterson • Jason Prowant •  Vinicius Rebello Lima • Amanda Reddy • Matt Ruen • Nora Salas • Sean Schafianski • Kristen Schrauben • Christopher Shaffer • Anal Shah • Mona Silva • Robin Spring • Laura Stroik • Guin Thompson • Scott Thorgaard • Catherine Tomek • Melyssa Tsai • Lorie Tuma • Daniel Vainner • Jenna Vainner • Joshua Veazey • Gary Westveer • Michelle Wooddell • Janelle Yahne • Angela Zondervan

The annual Robert Mayberry Lecture, which this year is co-sponsored by Brooks College, will feature award-winning Nigerian journalist, Haruna Mohammed Salisu. His lecture will focus on media freedom and its role in fortifying democracy. 

This event will take place Wednesday, February 19, at 7:00 p.m in the Loosemore Auditorium on GVSU's Pew Campus. Click here for more info!

January Snapshots

Here's a quick collage of this past months events and happenings from the School of Interdisciplinary Studies!

Picture 1: Janelle Malagon discussing the Digital Studies program with a student at the ENS Winter Kick Off Event.

Picture 2:  Director and Assistant Director of the Fred Meijer Center for Writing, Patrick Johnson and Meredith Fedewa, spending time with Brooks faculty, Dan Cope and Daniela Marini at the Winter 2025 Re Start Meeting.

Picture 3: The Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center's newest mural which was completed last month, which commemorates the center's namesake and founder, Dr. Milton E. Ford. 

Picture 4: Brooks colleagues gathering after the Winter 2025 Re Start Meeting.

February 13 - State of the Student Body

February 13 - Writing Religious Wrongs: Breaking Up with Purity Culture

February 15 - Roger That! Conference: Communication and Space

February 18 - Presidents' Day Celebration Lunch featuring Nicole Hemmer

February 19 - The Robert Mayberry Memorial Lecture: Reporting Under Fire

February 20 - Feminism, Backlash, and Popular Culture

February 27 - Padnos Lecture: How Women Changed American Religion - A Jewish Perspective

*New events are posted regularly. Stay up to date on Brooks College events by checking the events calendar on our website.

February  17-21 - Midterm Evaluations

February 25 - Midterm Grades Due from Faculty (1:00 pm)

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