James K. Winkler Jr., senior staff athletic trainer,
was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the Michigan Athletic
Trainer Board. His term began in June and will end in 2025.
Richard Gross, who graduated with a master's degree
in engineering, received the 2021 Distinguished Thesis Award from the
Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools for his thesis, “Algorithm
for Geodetic Positioning Based on Angle-Of-Arrival of Automatic
Dependent Surveillance-Broadcasts” Gross is the first GVSU student to
earn the award.
Grand Valley was among 66 institutions selected to
participate in the Association of American Colleges and Universities
Institute on Open Educational Resources in late July. The institute
was sponsored by the Pew Faculty Teaching Learning Center and
University Libraries, with additional funding from the Accelerating
OER Innovation Fund program. Matt Ruen, scholarly
communications outreach coordinator, said Grand Valley was the only
institution to have a student, Faith Kidd, Student
Senate vice president for educational affairs, participate. Other
faculty and staff members who participated were Bobbie Biby,
Patty Stow Bolea, Séverine Collignon, Amber Dierking, Courtney
Karasinski, Justin Melick, Steve Schlicker and
William Washington.
Sketches
Faculty and staff members who have given virtual presentations or had
their research published are detailed below. The campus community can
submit a sketch via email to [email protected].
Annis Water Resources Institute faculty members Sarah
Hamsher, James N. McNair, Sean Woznicki and graduate
student Emily Neuman gave a presentation, “Using a
Random Forest Algorithm to Predict Suitable Habitat for Starry
Stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa),” at the 2021 virtual Northeast Algal Symposium.
Engineering faculty members Lindsay
Corneal and Wendy Reffeor were named
fellows in the third cohort of the IAspire Leadership Academy, a
leadership program aimed at helping STEM faculty from underrepresented
backgrounds ascend to leadership roles at colleges and universities.
Carl Ruetz, associate professor of water resources,
gave the keynote address, “Connectivity and Movement of Fishes
Inhabiting Lake Michigan Drowned River Mouths,” at the annual meeting
of the Mississippi River Research Consortium.
Sean Woznicki, assistant professor of water
resources, gave an invited lecture, “Mapping Floodplains, Wetlands,
and Agricultural Runoff: A Geospatial Perspective for Preserving
Freshwater Resources,” at BioSense Institute, University of Novi Sad, Serbia.
Jennifer Fortuna, assistant professor of occupational
science and therapy, wrote three articles published in the Open Journal of
Occupational Therapy; Fortuna gave presentations, "A Survey
of Universal Design Principles at Museums," at the Georgia
Association of Museums Annual Conference, and "Exploring
Associations Between Health Literacy and Visual Impairment in Older
Adults with Age-Related Macular Degeneration," at the American
Occupational Therapy Association Inspire Conference.
Bob Swieringa, assistant professor of communication
studies, wrote an article, "The ASIFA Prize Laureates: 35 Years
Honoring Contributors to Independent Animated Film," published in
ASIFA Magazine: The International Film Journal and gave an invited
presentation, "The ASIFA Prize Laureates," at the Annecy
International Animation Film Festival.
Ross Sherman, associate professor of movement
science, gave a presentation, "Heat Stress, Hydration and
Cooling," to three shifts of the Grand Rapids Fire Department as
part of the Safety Stand Down event.
Leanne Kang gave a presentation about research and oral histories of former GRPS students, staff and faculty at a community event. The project was funded by the Kutsche Office of Local History.
Motivational speaker Darrell "Coach D" Andrews spoke to hundreds of GEAR UP students; a sociology professor received a Distinguished Scholarly Publication award for his book.