Faculty and staff sketches

International students present Pineapple Awards

Grand Valley's international students have selected the following students, faculty and staff members for Pineapple Awards. The awards, presented annually, recognize a person's hospitality toward international students.  

Students: Jeevan Reddy Gurrala, Kuhelika Mali and Miriam Addo; staff members: Mary L. Nuznov and Taylor Boyd; faculty members: Shabbir Choudhuri, Samhita Rhodes, Nabeeh Kandalaft, Theodore Towse, Jerry Scripps and Dianne Green Smith; community members: John and Amy Anyangu.

In the News

The GVSU Public Health Society received the Student Champions for Climate Justice Award from the American Public Health Association. Students Erin Williams, Jazzmin McGuff, Emily Pokorski, Eilish McGhee and Hava Topolski were honored for a student-hosted podcast series and live panel discussion highlighting health disparities of individuals with disabilities during disasters.

Kimberly McKee, associate professor of integrative, religious and intercultural studies, was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times for a story about how adoptees experience anti-Asian discrimination and multiple other outlets, including KCBS Radio, for a story on trans-racial adoption and microagressions. 

Lynette Keen, office coordinator for Integrative, Religious, and Intercultural Studies, was interviewed by WOOD-TV for a story about her family's efforts to bring an Afghan interpreter and his family to the U.S.

Sketches

Faculty and staff members who have given virtual presentations or had their research published are detailed below. The campus community can self-submit a sketch online for future publication.

Matthew Daley, professor of history, was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to a three-year term to the State Historic Preservation Office Review Board.

Seidman College of Business faculty Vijay Gondhalekar, Joerg Picard and a student wrote an article, "ESG Impact of Michigan and Indiana Right-to-Work Laws," published in Applied Economics Letters.

Jeanine Beasley, professor of occupational science and therapy, gave an invited presentation, "Missed or Mismanaged Hand Conditions," at the American Association of Hand Surgeons Annual Meeting.

Michelle Miller-Adams. professor of political science, wrote two op-eds, "If Free College is the Goal, Start with Community College," published by Politico and "COVID-19 Recovery is the Time for Free College," published by The Hill.

Ingrid Johnson, professor of movement science, gave an invited presentation, "Recruitment and Retention in Health and Physical Education Teacher Education Programs," at the PETE Collaborative. Johnson discussed the same topic in a podcast for the organization. 

Lisa Feurzeig, professor of music, wrote a chapter and served as co-editor of Cambridge Companion to Schubert's Winterreise.

Monica Johnstone, director of CLAS communications and advancement, was interviewed for a story, “Online Guestbook Allows for Engagement, Recognition,” published in the Nonprofit Communications Report 2020. 

Erkmen G. Aslim, assistant professor of economics, was a co-author of an article, "Macroeconomic Effects of Maternity Leave Legislation in Emerging Economies," published in Economic Modelling. Aslim was also interviewed by multiple media outlets for stories about how the Affordable Care Act can keep former prisoners out of prison.

Vinicius Lima, associate professor of visual and media arts, gave a presentation, "Teaching + Service + Research: Challenges Balancing the Three-Legged Stool of Academia During a Global Crisis," at the 109th College Art Association Conference. 

Laurel Westbrook, associate professor of sociology, was a co-author of an article, "Dangerous Data: Seeing Social Surveys through the Sexuality Prism," published in Sexualities. 

Jeremiah Cataldo, associate professor of history, Meijer Honors College, wrote a chapter, "Postcolonial Readings of the Minor Prophets," for a book, Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets; and was a panelist for a session at the the Padnos Public Engagement on Jewish Learning sponsored by the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan.

Janet Vail, research scientist, AWRI, gave a presentation about the research vessel W.G. Jackson during a virtual lab lesson at the Great Lakes Association of Science Ships. Vail was a member of the GLASS planning committee.

Susan Harrington, associate professor of nursing, received the 2021 MPHA Nursing Section Award for Public Health Nursing Education. The award was presented at the virtual Public Health Nursing Conference in April.