The new vice president for Inclusion and Equity said his first priorities are to listen and learn from community members on campus and in the area.

Jesse M. Bernal began his tenure at Grand Valley in late February. He said his time since then has been spent meeting faculty and staff members, and students.

“It is important that I get to know more about the opportunities and challenges in our community, and better understand the experiences and perceptions of all members of our diverse university,” he said. “I also want to recognize and learn from the long-standing diversity champions at Grand Valley and in West Michigan who have led equity and inclusion work for decades.”

He said the mission of the Division of Inclusion and Equity is to provide a rich, inclusive learning and working environment that attracts, retains and supports a diverse campus community.

“The next phase of these efforts includes working to ensure equity is embedded across the campus and ingrained in all of our functions and decision-making,” he said.

One goal this year, Bernal said, is to continue to support Grand Valley in further developing its strategic priority to advance equity and inclusion work on campus. “This will require many robust conversations to better understand opportunities on campus,” he said.

Bernal had served as director of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion at Santa Clara University in California, and previously was the diversity coordinator for the University of California system.

Eighty percent of Grand Rapids residents say they would give the city a grade of “A” or “B” as a place to live, according to the results of a survey and study by Grand Valley’s Johnson Center for Philanthropy.

However, the new research shows that differences in race, geography and socioeconomic status account for wide disparities in how respondents rank the city on many factors.

“A” ratings vary from 20 percent from residents of the city’s southwest side to 36 percent on the northeast side, and from 14 percent for Hispanic/Latino residents, to 17 percent of black residents, and 36 percent of white (non-Hispanic) residents.

These insights and many more are drawn from the 2014 VoiceGR survey that researchers at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy’s Community Research Institute conducted last fall, seeking input from residents about the city, safety, work, health care, economy, ability to meet basic needs and more.

The Johnson Center research indicates that while the city thrives as a whole, there is a critical need to address disparities between subgroups of the population. Results show that different demographic, geographic and socioeconomic groups have very different experiences within the same city.

Full results from the report are available online at VoiceGR.com.

A group of students created a device that allows a child with type I spinal muscular atrophy to move and be independent. SMA is a genetic muscle disorder that causes extreme weakness and affects 1 in 6,000 births.

The Play and Mobility Device was designed and built to give 16-month-old Lylah Gritter the ability to become mobile by controlling a joystick attached to a device she sits in. Lylah’s mother, Holly Gritter, said her daughter is gaining an independence that she’s never had before.

“She was terrified of the device at first because she’s never been able to control anything,” Holly said, “but you could see it quickly clicking with her and she realized she has this freedom.”

The project is funded through a five-year, $180,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for students and faculty members to create specialized devices for people with disabilities.

“Lylah is very verbal and smart, but has no ability to move herself,” said Lisa Kenyon, associate professor of physical therapy, who, along with a group of students majoring in physical therapy, is working with Lylah to use the device.

The creators are engineering students Brandon Johnson, Kevin Yahne, Tyler Kramer and Dustin Martin. Yahne said this third and current prototype includes improvements such as easier access for Lylah to control the joystick with her hand, and a longer-lasting battery.

A Ford Motor Company ad produced by seven students from the School of Communications can now be viewed online by audiences around the globe.

The video is a byproduct of a 2014 competition that pitted Grand Valley’s team against students from Calvin College and Compass College for Cinematic Arts. The challenge, presented by Ford’s advertising agency Team Detroit, was to develop and produce online videos showcasing inspirational stories about people or organizations in Michigan. Grand Valley’s team won the competition in December and was awarded the opportunity to continue working with Team Detroit to expand and improve their video project.

Grand Valley’s video highlights Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, an organization dedicated to fighting global warming by cloning the world’s largest and most iconic trees. View the video at www.gvsu.edu/s/S4.

After winning the competition, Ian Kast, the project’s director of photography and a senior majoring in film and video production, traveled to California with Team Detroit and Archangel Ancient Tree Archive founder David Milarch to collect additional footage of monumental Redwood trees for the video.

Throughout January and February, the entire Grand Valley team assembled in Detroit to finalize the post-production process with Team Detroit. Lindsey VanDenBoom, senior advertising and public relations major, said seeing the team’s final video posted along side a plethora of other videos spotlighting Ford’s current Go Further campaign created an extraordinary feeling.

Robert P. George and Cornel West talked about faith, love, truth, honesty, virtue and power during a presentation before a packed house at the Eberhard Center April 2 at the American Conversations season finale, hosted by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies.

West, an outspoken liberal thinker and Princeton professor, presented alongside Robert P. George, who is also a Princeton professor and a noted Catholic conservative who was once called “America’s most influential conservative” by the New York Times.

The pair has been working together for 13 years despite having diametrically opposed views on specific aspects of issues that touch on socioeconomics, race, ethnicity, faith and more. They teach together and present at events around the globe, but are always sure to keep an open mind to their counterpart’s best ideas.

“We’re just a couple of broken vessels who share a common commitment to the pursuit of truth and common wisdom,” George said.

George said the Hauenstein Center’s mission of engaging extraordinary conversations, rather than encouraging “groupthink” is critical in higher education and the United States today.

Both parties expressed their respect and understanding of the other throughout the event.

“I don’t see him first and foremost as a conservative thinker and conservative philosopher, I see him as my brother, my friend and someone who has a right to be wrong,” West said jokingly about George. “Not wrong about everything, as we have a common bond in Christianity that we share. We have a whole lot in common and we’re concerned about this experiment in democracy called the U.S.A.”

George stressed the importance of having a civil discussion on difficult topics rather than seeking to win arguments against people who hold different views.

Thanks to a collaborative effort from three campus departments, several first-generation students earned scholarships to purchase passports, the first step to studying abroad.

The Padnos International Center, Educational Support Program and the Oliver Wilson Freshman Academy Program teamed to provide passport scholarships to three students during the February 24 Passport Fair.

Alissa Lane, outreach coordinator for PIC, said the idea came from a national conference.

“It might seem like a small amount, but it’s a good driver to get students interested in studying abroad,” Lane said.

To apply for a scholarship, students were required to attend a Study Abroad Fair, write an essay and attend an advising session. The three recipients are Zoie Williams, who would like to go to Australia or South Africa and shadow a veterinarian; Nina Hatter, who would like to study fashion in Italy or France; and Angel Williams, who would like to study in China.

Linda Chamberlain was named the new Frederik Meijer Endowed Honors Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

She fills the position first held by Bill Holsinger-Robinson. Chamberlain is a familiar face at Grand Valley and in West Michigan’s entrepreneurship circles. Since 2012, Chamberlain has
served as director of the Michigan Accelerator Fund and has been responsible for all aspects of the Grand Rapids-based partnership that contributes to Michigan’s economy by investing in companies such as life sciences, advanced manufacturing and alternative energy.

At Grand Valley, Chamberlain worked for the Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence in the technology commercialization office. Chamberlain has served as executive director of Grand Valley’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She also served as senior vice president for Global Forex Trading, and executive director of what is now GR Current, a business incubator.

Local business leader and entrepreneur Keith Brophy has been named state executive director of the Michigan Small Business Development Center, which is housed in the Seidman College of Business. He succeeds Carol Lopucki, who served as state director for 14 years before retiring in December.

Brophy has served on the MI-SBDC advisory board for many years. He launched his first business, Sagestone Consulting, with assistance from the SBDC.

Brophy has served as CEO of Ideomed, a care-team connected mobile health company; president of Business Development at NuSoft Solutions; and CEO/co-founder of Sagestone Consulting.

About 200 people are expected to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Grand Valley’s College Student Affairs Leadership program during a weekend reunion set for June 12-13.

The graduate program in the College of Education prepares students for jobs at colleges and universities in a variety of areas such as student life, housing, advising, career services and multicultural affairs.

Bart Merkle, vice provost for student affairs and dean of students, began researching a student affairs program when he arrived at Grand Valley in 1984. Merkle and others worked to develop a curriculum with support from the College of Education. The first cohort started in 1995. The program is a blend of classroom theory and real-world experience; it also emphasizes a cultural immersion component.

The reunion includes a golf outing, dinner and campus tour. See more details or register at www.gvsu.edu/csal.