Grand Valley student first to receive Gordon Art Fellowship

A new fellowship at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, provided by George and Barbara Gordon, gives a Grand Valley State University student a unique learning experience this summer.

The Gordons decided to fund an arts fellowship after they visited the institute for the Biological Field Station's 5th Anniversary. The Gordon Art Fellowship provides a stipend to an undergraduate art student and a faculty mentor to conduct a two-dimensional visual art project at the institute.

Rachel Kauff is the first recipient of the fellowship. An art and design major with an emphasis in printmaking, Kauff is from Arlington Heights, Ill., and is entering her senior year at Grand Valley. She will be able to spend 10 weeks this summer at the institute, completing a series of art projects inspired by the natural areas. Her faculty mentor is Brett Colley, a printmaker and assistant professor in Grand Valley's Department of Art & Design.

The Gordon's strong commitment to the arts and Grand Valley have previously included gifts to double the size of the George and Barbara Gordon Art Gallery on the university's Pew Grand Rapids Campus, which features the work of renowned Michigan painter Mathias J. Alten.

The institute, an environmental education center located near Hastings, Mich., is one of the few independently operated biological field stations in the country. It is not associated with one particular college or university, but rather, a consortium of 13 schools from Michigan and Indiana. Two other Grand Valley students, Adrienne Gibson of Canton and Lauren Villalobos of Grand Rapids, were awarded Undergraduate Research Grants for the Environment at the institute, to conduct their aquatic research this summer.