Faculty and staff sketches

In the News

Campus mourns death of retiree

Jane Ellen Swanson, retired professor of social work, died April 23, 2019. She was 76.

Swanson worked at Grand Valley from 1989-2007. Funeral services were held May 1 in Traverse City; click here to read the obituary. 

Sketches

Gerry Simons, professor of economics, was interviewed by WalletHub for a story about international credit cards.

Danielle DeMuth, associate professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies, gave a presentation, "From The New Masses to Redbook: Gale Wilhelm, the Lesbian, and the Middle Class Woman in Wartime," at the Northeast Modern Language Association Conference in Washington, D.C. 

Deana Weibel, professor of anthropology and religious studies, gave an invited presentation, "Whatever You Do, Do as if for God and Not for Man: Integration, Compartmentalization, and the Role of Religiosity in Space Work," at the Vatican Observatory in Vatican City. 

Loren Rullman, vice provost for Student Affairs and dean of students, gave presentations on the efficacy of student employment, the link between the academic mission and college union philosophy, and on student engagement and learning outcomes at the Association of College Unions International Conference in Indianapolis.

Jeremiah Cataldo, associate professor of history, honors college, wrote articles, "The Origin of Judeo-Christian Monotheism," and "Reading Lamentations through the Lens of Trauma Theory," both published in Point of View Publishing.  

Adriana Almanza, assistant director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, was named Young Hispanic Professional of the Year by the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Elizabeth Chase, special projects coordinator for student success and retention, Dean of Students Office, was among three recipients to receive a professional scholarship to attend the Great Lakes Regional Student Success Conference in Detroit. 

Anthropology faculty members Russell Rhoads and Michael Wroblewski gave a presentation, "Refugee Assistance and Post-Resettlement: Connecting Community Services," at the Society for Applied Anthropology Conference in Portland, Oregon. Rhoads was a co-author of a chapter, "Safeguarding Community Livelihoods in Uganda: Analysis of a Country Framework for Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation," in the book Routledge Studies in Development, Mobilities and Migration Series.