Brooks College Mourns Loss of Professor

On March 19, 2014 Brooks College lost beloved professor Milton E. Ford, Ph.D. after a long battle with cancer. During his 40 years as a professor at Grand Valley, Milt touched many peoples’ lives as a cherished mentor, friend, colleague, and champion of social justice and LGBTQ rights. 

Milt first came to GVSU in 1973 in the Department of English, but eventually found his way to the Liberal Studies Department. One of Milt’s biggest professional accomplishments was founding the GVSU LGBT Resource Center. The university has decided to rename the center in honor of Milt. President Thomas J. Haas said, “It is very fitting that the LGBT Resource Center be named in Milt’s honor. Milt was instrumental in creating a positive environment at Grand Valley where people know that inclusion and diversity are valued. Through diversity we become a university.” 

Milt served as faculty advisor to Out ‘N’ About, Grand Valley’s gay/straight student alliance, and as a trainer for the Allies and Advocates program. He was integral in devising the LGBTQ minor in Brooks College, which began in Fall 2013. He earned a doctoral degree in English from Oklahoma State University, and a master’s of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Milt is also an author of three books and recently helped write a chapter for a book, Expanding the Circle: Creating an Inclusive Environment in Higher Education for LGBTQ Students and Studies, which will be published this fall by SUNY Press. 

Milt’s legacy will live on through the numerous lives he impacted and the many advances in diversity and inclusion that he led while working at Grand Valley.

Rose Yoder Retires

Rose Yoder, office manager for the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies, retired after 25 years of service to Grand Valley State University. During her time at the Meijer Campus in Holland, she was an active member of The Green Team, comprised of students, faculty members, and staff members who promoted sustainability and zero waste initiatives on campus. For example, Yoder had the idea to purchase silverware from thrift stores, rather than use plastic silverware. She also volunteered to manage the composting pilot for the kitchenette for the faculty and staff.

Service Awards

40 YEARS
Milt Ford, Liberal Studies
30 YEARS
Ed Baum, Frederik Meijer Honors College
Jonathan White, Frederik Meijer Honors College
25 YEARS
Rose Yoder, Center for Adult and Continuing Studies
10 YEARS
Craig Benjamin, Frederik Meijer Honors College
Patricia Cox, Center for Adult and Continuing Studies
Diane Maodush-Pitzer, Liberal Studies
Julia Mason, Women and Gender Studies
Regina McClinton, Liberal Studies
Judith Palmer, Center for Adult and Continuing Studies
David Potter, Center for Adult and Continuing Studies

Rachel Peterson, assistant professor of Liberal Studies, received the inaugural Burch, Jacobs, and Moore Diversity Teaching Award, which is presented to a professor whose outstanding teaching advances and encourages diversity within the Grand Valley community.

Peterson has been actively involved in redesigning LIB 201: Diversity in the United States and has influenced change in the general education student learning outcomes for U.S. Diversity at GVSU. Wendy Burns-Ardolino, chair of Liberal Studies, points to this work as key to Rachel’s achievements in fostering better awareness of diversity issues and promoting cultural competence across the university.

Kate Stoetzner, director of International Student and Scholar Services in the Padnos International Center, was selected as the 2014 Laker of the Year. It is an honor awarded to a GVSU student, staff member, or community member who embodies all the qualities that a Laker should possess, including commitment to community.

Mark Schaub, chief international officer of the Padnos International Center, explains: “Nobody deserves the Laker of the Year Award more than Kate. The GVSU student body is recognizing the above-and-beyond efforts Kate puts forth for students — international students in particular. This award goes every year to someone who not only cares about students, but also is very effective in her work at supporting student success. This award reflects Kate’s commitment to helping students and her ability to go above and beyond to promote student success.”
 

Ayana Weekley, assistant professor of Women and Gender Studies, received a Pew Teaching Excellence Award. The award recognizes distinguished teachers from across the university. Since coming to Grand Valley in 2010, Weekley has been actively involved with Freshman Academy and the Women’s Leadership House.

Kathleen Underwood, director of the Women and Gender Studies program, notes that Ayana’s breadth of knowledge coupled with her gift for teaching is evident in student evaluations and reports of her teaching from faculty members inside and outside of the college.

Patrick Johnson, assistant director of the Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors, received the AP Commitment to Students Award. This award recognizes an individual AP staff member who shows a commitment to serve as a strong mentor to GVSU students beyond the person’s normal professional responsibilities and regardless of his/her professional role. While only one student letter of support was needed for a nomination, Johnson received six student letters of support. Kay Losey, director of Supplemental Writing Skills, said “Patrick goes well beyond expectations. He takes time to meet with students to discuss their work as well as their long-term aspirations.”

Kathleen Underwood, associate professor of History and director of the Women and Gender Studies (WGS) program, was named Outstanding Advisor for her work with the WGS academic honor society Iota Iota Iota (Triota).

Danielle Meirow, who graduated in April with a double major in WGS and Biomedical Sciences, nominated Underwood. Meirow said Underwood advised her on research projects,
as well as career and educational goals.

“As the advisor for Triota she offered the perfect balance of support and expectation,” Meirow said. “She truly sees her students as a whole person and cares wholeheartedly about their success.”

Underwood also received the Then and NOW Award for Long Term Contributions to Feminism during the National Organization for Women-Grand Rapids Chapter’s annual fundraiser on May 20.

She also was selected by the Student Senate to speak in November at their annual Last Lecture event.

Underwood received the award from NOW-GR President Dani Vilella, a Grand Valley graduate who minored in WGS. Underwood was cited for helping establish the LGBTQ Studies minor and for being a great mentor to students, many who serve as NOW-GR leaders.

She also was selected by the Student Senate to speak in November at their annual Last Lecture event.

Underwood received the award from NOW-GR President Dani Vilella, a Grand Valley graduate who minored in WGS. Underwood was cited for helping establish the LGBTQ Studies minor and for being a great mentor to students, many who serve as NOW-GR leaders.

Scholarship

• Benjamin, Craig, Brown, C., Christian, D. Big History: Between Nothing and Everything. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2013. (Meijer Honors College, History)
• Clark, Kelly. Abraham’s Children: Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict. The book was recently published in Indonesian, Anak-Anak Abraham: Kebebasan dan Toleransi di Abad Konflik Agama. (Meijer Honors College, Religious Studies)
• Goode, James. A History of the Syrian Community in Grand Rapids, 1890-1945: From the Beqaa to the Grand. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2013. (Middle East Studies, History)
• King, Sarah. Fishing in Contested Waters: Place and Community in Burnt Church/Esgenoopetitj. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013. (Liberal Studies)
• Maisel, Sebastian and Eckehard Schulz. Al-Arabiya Al-Mu’asira- Modern Standard Arabic: Textbook Integrating Main Arabic Dialects. Leipzig, Germany: Edition Hamouda, 2013. (Middle East Studies)
• Shan, Patrick. “Local Revolution, Grassroots Mobilization, and Wartime Power Shift to the Rise of Communism.” In Evolution of Power: China’s Struggle, Survival, and Success. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014. (Chinese Studies, History)
• Shell-Weiss, Melanie, director of the Kutsche Office of Local History and a scholar of human migrations, gave a keynote address at the 39th Annual Great Lakes History Conference, entitled Neighborhood History as Activism: A Call to Action. (Liberal Studies)
• Tunstall, Dwayne. Doing Philosophy Personally: Thinking About Metaphysics, Theism, and Antiblack Racism. New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2013. (African/African American Studies, Philosophy)
• White, Jonathan. Terrorism and Homeland Security, 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2013. (Liberal Studies, Meijer Honors College)

Grants

• Kelly Clark received a grant from the John Templeton Foundation for a project titled Rationality and Religious Belief: A Philosophical Investigation of Contemporary Cognitive Science of Religion. (Meijer Honors College, Religious Studies)
• Elena Lioubimtseva received a grant from the Great Lakes Innovative Stewardship Through Education Network (GLISTEN) to support undergraduate research and service learning. (Environmental Studies)
• Joel Wendland was awarded an Early Career Stipend from CSCE for his book project, Space and Bodies in Social Mobility Spaces. (Liberal Studies)
• Judy Whipps received a Presidential FTLC Grant to develop the Accelerated Adult Learner Program in conjunction with the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies. (Liberal Studies)
• The Lake Michigan Writing Project received the 2014-2016 SEED Teacher Leadership Development Grant.

Honors

• Craig Benjamin began a two-year term as president of the World History Association. (Meijer Honors College, History)
• Anne Hiskes was inducted into Iota Iota Iota as an honorary member on Monday, October 7. (Brooks College)
• Danielle Lake won the Jane Addams prize at the annual conference of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy. Lake’s paper is titled Jane Addams and Wicked Problems; Putting the Pragmatist Methods to Use. (Liberal Studies)
• Elena Lioubimtseva was recognized at the February 14 Board of Trustees meeting for joining a group of experts to examine the impacts of climate change on international food trade. (Environmental Studies, Geography)
• Eric Packer serves as the Chair of the Ottawa County MI WORKS Education and Youth Council. (Adult and Continuing Studies)
• Ellen Schendel was chosen as the keynote speaker for the GVSU Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society’s induction ceremony. (Brooks College, Writing)
• Robert Stevenson received the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award presented by the Freshman Academy Program. (African/African American Studies, Liberal Studies)
• Jonathan White was interviewed by several media outlets for stories about the threat of terrorism at the Sochi Winter Olympics. (Homeland Defense Initiative, Meijer Honors College)
• Latin American Studies was awarded “Outstanding Academic Department” from the Omicron Alpha Chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc.
• A story from Wake: Great Lakes Thought and Culture won a Best of the Net 2013 Award from Sundress Publications. This is the second year in a row that Wake has placed in the Best of the Net and the third award in two years.

Leslye Allen joined Area Studies as the new office coordinator. Prior to working in Area Studies, Allen worked for the International Big History Association. In her new role, Allen provides administrative support to Area Studies faculty, manages the department’s budget, and assists with planning events.

Debjani Chakravarty joined the Women and Gender Studies program as an assistant professor. Her scholarly interests are drawn from both the social sciences and humanities and include transnational feminisms, global perspectives on gender, and feminist methodologies. In addition to her strong research and teaching experience in Women and Gender Studies, Chakravarty has a background in journalism and media. In 2010, Chakravarty won the National Women’s Studies Association Women of Color Caucus Award.

Kelly Clark is a senior research fellow at the Kaufman Interfaith Institute at Grand Valley and has joined the Liberal Studies Department as a visiting professor of Religious Studies. Clark is the editor of Abraham’s Children: Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict (Yale University Press, 2012) and co-editor of Evidence and Religious Belief (Oxford University Press, 2011).

Richard Hiskes is a professor of Political Science and holds a joint appointment with the Frederik Meijer Honors College. He comes to GVSU by way of the University of Connecticut, where he served first as associate director and then as the director of undergraduate programs at the University of Connecticut’s Human Rights Institute. In 2010, he was honored with the American Political Science Association’s Best Book in Human Rights Award. At Grand Valley, he will continue to develop courses in human rights.

Tina Lee joined the Center for Adult and Continuing Studies as an office coordinator supporting noncredit programs on the Pew Grand Rapids campus. Lee assists in the implementation of projects, events, and services provided by the office.

Sharon Munski joined the Office of Sustainability Practices as the new office coordinator. Munski is a Grand Valley alumna with a degree in public administration. In her role, Munski provides administrative support, and coordinates sustainability activities and events on campus and in the community.

Marilyn Preston joined the Liberal Studies Department as an assistant professor. Previously a faculty fellow at Colby College in Maine, Preston’s scholarly interests include campus climate for LGBTQ students, sexuality education, and teachers’ identities. She has taught courses across a range of topics, including the sociology of gender, the family, human sexuality, body politics, and qualitative methodology, often lending this expertise to youth and community organizations.

Patrick Fuliang Shan is an associate professor of History whose research and teaching interests are in modern Chinese history. From 2009–2011, he served as the president of Chinese historians in the United States, and he currently serves as editor of “The Chinese Historical Review.” Shan is not new to Grand Valley — he has been a faculty member since 2002 — but beginning in 2013 he served as the new coordinator for the East Asian Studies and Chinese Studies programs within Area Studies.

After working several years in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Courtney Sherwood joined the Kutsche Office of Local History as the new office coordinator. In this role, Sherwood collaborates with the director to implement new initiatives within the program. Each spring, she plans and executes the Annual Local History Roundtable conference. Sherwood also does the layout and editing of the Kutsche Chronicle and all promotional materials for the Kutsche Office.

Donna Tew joined the International Big History Association as the new office coordinator. In her role, Tew plans major conferences for the association and provides administrative support.

Joel Wendland previously served as a visiting assistant professor, but has now taken on a new role as a tenure-track assistant professor in Liberal Studies. An American studies scholar, Wendland’s publications and presentations have focused on the politics of race, class, and gender, as well as Chinese American literature. Prior to graduate school, Wendland served in the U.S. Army; over the past couple of years, he has had the opportunity to mentor veterans here at Grand Valley, specifically through writing workshops.

Jeanne Whitsel joined the General Education Program as the new office coordinator. In this role, Whitsel coordinates faculty assessments and updates the general education handbook and online course catalog. Whitsel also responds to student inquiries about courses and requirements.

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