TABLE OF CONTENTS

Message from the Director ................................................................ 2 Frederik Meijer Honors College Students ...................................... 3-6 10-year Celebration of the Niemeyer LLC .......................................... 7 The Frederik Meijer Lecture Series ................................................. 8-9 The Naming of the Chamberlain MPR ............................................. 10 The Frederik Meijer Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation .................................................... 11 Honors Scholarship Updates ....................................................... 12-13 The Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships ....................................... 14 Faculty and Staff News ............................................................... 15-16 Student and Alumni News .............................................................. 17 A Look Ahead: Focus on Inclusion .............................................. 18-20

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Message from the Director

During the 2018-19 academic year, the Frederik Meijer Honors College both celebrated the past and took steps toward ensuring a healthy and relevant future. Celebrations included the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Glenn A. Niemeyer Learning and Living Center, two Meijer Lecture Series events featuring panels of Honors College alumni, and the naming of our Multipurpose Room in honor of longtime director Jeff “Dr. J” Chamberlain. These events reminded us of the generous and formative contributions of the students, faculty, and staff who helped to build today’s Honors College, as well as the wonderful accomplishments so many of our graduates have achieved.

Looking toward the future, our Honors Faculty Council and Honors Curriculum and Development Committee, both chaired by Dr. Coeli Fitzpatrick, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Honors Faculty, finished work on a proposal to revise the Honors curriculum beginning in 2020-21. The proposal retains the most distinctive and successful aspects of the current curriculum while emphasizing to an even greater degree the key values of inclusion, interdisciplinarity, campus and community engagement, and project-based learning. Speaking of inclusion, we also formed a task force to focus specifically on issues of inclusion and diversity within the Honors College. We’re eager to learn from the work of the task force and make progress going forward.

What continues to distinguish the Honors community is the level of engagement shown by everyone involved. Honors students are impressively engaged in their studies—they’re interested in a wide range of subjects, they complete reading and writing assignments with care and attention, and they enjoy exchanging ideas with others—and that allows Honors faculty to dig deeper into course material than they typically dare. Engaged faculty dig deep, in part, by making connections, sometimes on the fly, between what’s happening in class and what’s happening in other courses around campus and indeed beyond the university—in politics, in the workplace, and in the culture at large, both here in the US and abroad. Like all university courses, Honors courses are first and foremost about the advertised content of the course description, but ultimately they are about much more than that: they help students develop the skills they need to shape their lives, their professions, and their societies. In a sense, Honors students are simply those who want to make the most of their time at Grand Valley. Our job in Honors is to facilitate that effort.

Last year, Honors students again made the most of the rich and diverse opportunities available here on campus and beyond. That’s what you’ll see in the bulk of this report. There are sections highlighting the celebrations and initiatives mentioned above, the work of our Meijer Endowed Honors Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and some key faculty and staff achievements. But most of what you’ll see focuses on the students themselves—their activities on campus, their awards, their scholarships, and the fellowships they’ve earned with the help of our terrific Meijer Office of Fellowships. They are an impressive bunch of students, and in a time of great uncertainty here in the US and around the globe, they give us a great sense of hope for the future.

Sincerely,

Roger Gilles, Director

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Frederik Meijer Honors College Students

Who we are. The following chart shows the breakdown of the roughly 1,650 student majors in the Honors College.

Retention and graduation. According to our university statisticians, nearly 90% of incoming Honors students remain at Grand Valley through the start of their senior year, compared to about 70% of non-Honors students. And 66% of Honors students graduate within four years, compared to about 37% of non-Honors students. Ultimately, nearly 90% of Honors students graduate within six years, compared to about 64% of non-Honors students. The national average is 60%.

Honors students in the university. Overall Honors enrollment stands at roughly 8% of total undergraduate enrollment. These 8% are extremely well represented as student leaders at the university:

They were 19% of all presenters at Student Scholars Day (151 of 793) They were 32% of all undergraduate outstanding student awards (one award given annually

by each academic program) (28 of 88) They were 36% of all 2018 Phi Kappa Phi freshman honorees (34 of 94) They were 42% of all fellows of the Cook Leadership Academy (31 of 73) They were 44% of all 2018 Phi Kappa Phi initiates (32 of 73)

Math/Science33%

Nursing/Health Professions

15%

Engineering/Computer Science

15%

Business13%

Arts & Humanities13%

Social Sciences/Public Service

11%

Honors Majors

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In 2019, three Honors students received prestigious university-wide awards. Domonique Palmer, a junior majoring in Liberal Studies, was named winner of the Gayle R. Davis First Generation College Student Emerging Leader Award, given to a sophomore or junior who is the first generation in her family to attend college and shows a promising future as a leader. Andrew Freiman, a senior majoring in Cell & Molecular Biology, earned a Thomas M. Seykora Award for Outstanding Contribution to the campus community. And Benjamin Scott-Brandt, a senior majoring in Liberal Studies, was given the university’s most prestigious academic award presented by the university to students: the Glenn A. Niemeyer Award, which celebrates well-rounded individuals with demonstrated excellence both inside and outside the classroom. Honors College award winners. On April 26, 2019, over 500 family members joined about 200 graduating Honors students for our Senior Recognition Ceremony. There we recognized five graduating seniors who produced what the faculty considered to be the top senior projects of the 2019 graduating class: Jonathon Ayers, an English major, completed a research thesis on the topic of gendered violence in relation to the Katherine Dunn novel Geek Love. His mentor for the project was Professor Patrick Prominski of the English department. Emily Gross, who majored in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, conducted a study exploring sonography as a non-invasive first-step detection method to diagnose endometriosis. The supervisor of her project was Professor Tatyana Beaves of the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program. Emily started full-time work this summer at IHA Urgent Care in Ann Arbor.

Emily Ferrera majored in Writing with a minor in Photography. As her senior project, she composed a collection of black and white photographs of tattoos with poetic interpretations of the art. Her mentor for the project was Professor Todd Kaneko of the Writing department.

Ashleigh Harrah, a double major in Cell & Molecular Biology and Biomedical Sciences, conducted a study of microRNA molecules as disease progression biomarkers for Parkinson’s

Domonique Palmer

Emily Ferrera receiving her award from Professor Todd Kaneko.

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disease. She worked on the project with Professor Sok Kean Khoo of the Cell & Molecular Biology department. Ashleigh intends to attend medical school and pursue a career as a psychiatrist or primary care physician.

Cassandra Schuster, an Allied Health Sciences major with a Psychology minor, devoted her senior project to promoting mental wellness on the GVSU campus by organizing an event at a home basketball game as part of the Lakers Listen campaign. Her mentor was Gretchen Goodman of the Athletic Training department. In the fall, Cassandra is enrolling in GVSU’s Physician Assistant Studies program.

Also at the Senior Recognition Ceremony, the Honors College faculty celebrated our two outstanding students of the year.

Julia Ahrns, an Allied Health Sciences major and Biology minor, was presented the Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service. In her time at Grand Valley, Julia served as a resident assistant, an orientation assistant, a student assistant in the Honors College, a teaching assistant in the Honors College, secretary and vice-president for Dance Marathon at GVSU, and a fellow at the Cook Leadership Academy. She conducted a year-long internship with the Division of Inclusion and Equity at GVSU, acting as a liaison between student organizations and the Vice President of Inclusion and Equity, and her Honors senior project involved creating a series of short videos promoting the Honors first-year interdisciplinary sequences. In Fall 2019, Julia will begin pursuing her master’s degree in Higher Education Administration at North Carolina State University.

Julia Clay, a Nursing major, was named Outstanding Senior of 2018-19. During her four years at Grand Valley, Julia excelled in everything she did. Besides compiling a nearly flawless academic record, she was a Phi Kappa Phi freshman honoree, an I Am Grand Valley award recipient,

Julia Ahrns (left) and Julia Clay (right) with their award plaques.

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membership director of the Student Nurses’ Association, and a student assistant in the Honors College, where she earned a reputation for greeting prospective students and representing the program as well as any full-time staff or faculty member. For her senior project, Julia worked with Associate Dean of Nursing Janet Winter to examine and evaluate the Transition Mentorship Program that runs through the GVSU Student Nurses’ Association. In summer 2019, Julia started a position in Tennessee as a registered nurse.

University Innovation Fellowships. Again this year, four Honors students received University Innovation Fellowships through the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school) at Stanford University:

Abigail Cooper—sophomore in Studio Art and Graphic Design Drew Craven—sophomore in Mechanical Engineering Meredith Hinz—sophomore in Product Design & Manufacturing Engineering Amanda Moy—sophomore in Cell & Molecular Biology

The students were sponsored by Dr. Paul Lane of the Marketing department (and teacher of our Design Thinking for Social Product Innovation first-year sequence) and Professor Kathryn Christopher of the School of Engineering (teacher of our Design Thinking junior seminar) and supported by the Honors College. The UIF program empowers 400 students a year from all over the world to become “agents of change” at their schools and helps them develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for the economy of the future. After applying to the program last fall, Abigail, Drew, Meredith, and Amanda completed a six-week online training module. In March they flew to Palo Alto for a four-day meet-up on the Stanford campus with hundreds of other past and current UIFs, with site visits to Google, Microsoft, and other innovative companies. The campus project they’ve developed focuses on spreading the word about design thinking on campus, primarily through the newly formed Social Product Innovation Club.

Innovation Fellows Drew Craven, Amanda Moy, Meredith Hinz, and Abigail Cooper (front row) with

PCEC Dean Plotkowski, Professor Lafferty, Professor Lane, and FMHC Director Gilles (back row).

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10-year Celebration of the Niemeyer LLC

On September 18, 2018, the Honors College celebrated

ten years in our wonderful home, the Glenn A.

Niemeyer Learning and Living Center. Named after our

former provost, this state-of-the-art 450-bed facility also

boasts 16 faculty and staff offices, 2 case rooms, 2 learn-

lab classrooms, a science classroom, a computer

classroom, an industrial kitchen, the Chamberlain

Multipurpose Room, the Seeger Reading Room, and

several conference rooms. President Haas and Provost

Cimitile addressed a crowd of Honors alumni, current

students, and a good number of current and former

GVSU dignitaries, including Dean Anne Hiskes, former

dean and co-founder of the Honors program Mary

Seeger, former dean Wendy Wenner, and of course

Glenn A. Niemeyer himself and his wife Betty.

GVSU’s fourth president, Thomas J. Haas, addressing the gathering for the 10-year celebration.

Glenn Niemeyer and Mary Seeger

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The Frederik Meijer Lecture Series

Twice annually the Honors College hosts a lecture endowed by the Meijer Foundation. The lectures focus on the importance of cross-disciplinary and liberal arts learning to a successful career. Speakers focus on issues of leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship from the perspective of students, faculty, and participants in business throughout the region. For both lectures this year, we

invited a panel of three Honors alumni back to campus to talk about their time in Honors and at GVSU, their career experiences after graduation, and any life or career advice they might have for current students.

Fall 2018 Lecture. On Monday, October 15, we welcomed back to campus three highly successful Honors alumnae: Lisa (Sharp) Patel, who graduated with a degree in Biopsychology in 1989 and later earned a master's degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Wayne State, and now works as Executive Director of Global Regulatory Compliance at Kalsec, a leading global producer of natural flavors, colors, antioxidants, and hop products for the food and beverage industry; Juanita (Flores) Bocanegra, who graduated with a degree in International Relations in 1997 and later earned a J.D. from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and now works as assistant prosecuting attorney with the Ottawa County Prosecutor's Office; and Rachael (Voorhees) Orose, who graduated with a degree in Public and Nonprofit Administration in 2004 and later earned a master's degree in the same field from Syracuse University, and now works as Vice President of Network and Business Development at the Molina Foundation in San Diego.

Rachael Orose talking with students

before the event.

Honors alumnae Rachael Orose, Juanita Bocanegra, and Lisa Patel

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Winter 2019 Lecture. On March 26, 2019, we welcomed back three more outstanding Honors alumni to be our panelists for the Meijer Lecture. Dr. Amy Fletemier graduated in 1993 with a Biomedical Sciences degree and later earned her M.D. at the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State. She currently practices full spectrum family medicine in Marquette, Michigan. Michael Judd graduated in 1999 with a degree in Film & Video and soon moved to Los Angeles, where he has worked as a production assistant, assistant director, writer, and director of a long list of films and television shows, including Seabiscuit, Gran Torino, Evan Almighty, New Girl, and Young Sheldon. Len Van Popering graduated in 1994 with a Management degree and later earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina. He is currently Vice President of Global Brand Management and Innovation for Subway Restaurants, based in Milford, Connecticut.

Panelists and alumni Amy Fletemier, Michael Judd, and Len Van Popering. Honors chair Coeli Fitzpatrick is

at the podium.

Honors alumnus Len Van Popering

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The Naming of the Chamberlain Multipurpose Room

On March 19, 2019, the Honors College welcomed back longtime director Jeff Chamberlain, Dr. J, for a ceremony naming the Multipurpose Room in the Niemeyer Learning & Living Center in his honor. Director Gilles and President Haas offered words of praise and gratitude to Dr. J’s many valuable contributions to GVSU and the Honors College, and both current and former students crowded the room to offer thanks of their own.

Besides adding signage in the hallway leading to the room and installing a portrait of Dr. J along with text describing his major accomplishments, the Honors College presented to Dr. J a handmade statue from Ghana to mark the event.

Portrait Text: Dr. Jeff (“Dr. J”) Chamberlain served as director of the Frederik Meijer Honors College from 2007 to 2017. In his second year, Honors inhabited the new Niemeyer Learning & Living Center, including this room—the “living room” of the building. Over his tenure here, Dr. J’s outreach efforts and personal charisma helped to nearly double the enrollment of the Honors College, from 900 students to over 1,750. The curriculum grew as well, with the addition of a dozen first-year interdisciplinary sequences and the new “Live. Learn. Lead.” course. To Dr. J, living well was as important as learning well, and many of his finest moments—hosting new-student orientations, socializing informally with current students, and congratulating graduating seniors at our senior recognition ceremonies—took place here in the multipurpose room. The room fit him perfectly.

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The Frederik Meijer Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Dr. Linda Chamberlain completed her fourth and final year with the Honors College in 2018-19. In addition to mentoring students in their Senior Projects, supervising student internships, writing letters of support for students applying for scholarships and graduate school, judging business-plan competitions, guest lecturing around campus, and reaching out to community partners of all kinds, Linda maintained an active schedule of teaching, grant writing, and pushing the “Laker Effect” in every way she could.

HNR 313: Design Thinking to Meet Real-World Needs. As in 2017-18, and again at the request of the dean and director, Linda’s classes focused their energies on responding to the report Honors received in April 2017 from the National Collegiate Honors Council. In fall, three student groups addressed the question, “How can we better prepare as Honors College students as we transition to life after GVSU?” And in winter, three groups addressed the question, “How can we as Honors students best contribute to the governance of the Honors College?” All six reports

can be accessed at Scholarworks@GVSU. Type in the search term “Design Portfolio 313” to access these and other reports from Linda’s classes.

Proposal Awards. In June 2018, Linda received sub-award funding ($77,000) as part of the Keller Family Business grant for Project Future State, funded by the city of Grand Rapids. This proposal reconstituted a “design thinking” methodology she’d helped to prototype in the years 2008–2011, aiming to address the impact artificial intelligence could have on workforce development and determine how local leaders can better prepare the region for the Conceptual Age. As co-principal investigator, Linda hired six Honors students as research assistants as well as a full-time graduate assistant.

Academic Papers. Along with Professor Danielle Lake from Liberal Studies and one other colleague, Linda published an article, “Engaging through Design Thinking: Catalyzing Integration, Iteration, Innovation, and Implementation,” in the eJournal of Public Affairs. This was Linda’s second publication during her tenure as Endowed Chair, adding to her “Design Thinking as Research Pedagogy for Undergraduates: Project-Based Learning with Impact,” co-authored with Susan Mendoza, Director of GVSU’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, and published by the Council of Undergraduate Research in Summer 2017.

The Honors College faculty, staff, and students extend our heartfelt thanks to Linda for the energy and commitment she brought to the job over these four years. Thanks to Linda’s efforts, “Design Thinking to Meet Real-World Needs” will continue on as an important course in the Honors curriculum. More generally, Linda’s (and her students’) influence can be seen in our curriculum revision proposal and its emphasis on project-based learning, collaboration, innovation, and other crucial workplace skills.

Dr. Linda Chamberlain

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Honors Scholarship Updates

Many Honors students earn scholarships to attend Grand Valley. All entering students who meet the GPA and ACT/SAT thresholds and who participate in a scholarship competition are eligible for either the Laker Scholarship, the Award for Excellence Scholarship, the Faculty Scholarship, or the Presidential Scholarship—as well as other more narrowly defined scholarships. In addition, we have a handful of Honors-specific scholarships. As you can see here, these Honors-specific scholarships helped some of this year’s graduating seniors accomplish great things.

The Frederik Meijer First Generation Honors College Scholarship

Annette Williams graduated from the Nursing program in April after having completed a study abroad in Israel in 2016 and participating on the Campus Ministry leadership team for two years. For her Honors Senior Project, Annette worked with the Grand Rapids Red Project to teach students how to identify risk factors and respond effectively to opioid overdoses. She plans to work as a registered nurse in the greater Grand Rapids area.

The Arend D. and Nancy Lubbers University Honors

College Scholarship

Grace Maust graduated in April from the Cardiovascular Sonography department, from which she received the Excellence in a Discipline Award in 2019. She was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, the Cardiovascular Sonography Student Organization, and the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography. She received an honorable mention in the GVSU Music department’s concerto competition, and her Honors Senior Project explored the role of music therapy for patients with consciousness disorders. After graduation, she started as a cardiac/vascular sonographer with Metro Health.

Faith Ureel graduated in December with a major in Biology. During her time here, Faith served as a lead writing consultant in the Writing Center, president of the Law Society, officer in the Microbiology Club, member of Phi Kappa Phi, and an All for One scholar. Her Honors Senior Project focused on integrating the needs of science students into the writing center. She plans to attend law school to become a public interest attorney.

The Jonathan and Marcia White Honors College Scholarship

Kilike Steyn graduated in December with a major in International Relations and minors in French and Arabic. She led the piccolo section in the Laker Marching Band and served as a Life Group leader for Campus Ministry. She also studied abroad in Morocco, teaching English to children there. Her Honors Senior Project focused on racial tensions in post-Apartheid South Africa. Kilike plans to attend law school with a concentration in intellectual property.

Grace Maust

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The Ruth Chamberlain Global Issues Scholarship

Amanuel Birhane graduated in April with a major in Biomedical Sciences. During his time here, Amanuel served as a science tutor, volunteered at Bethany Christian Services, and participated as a fellow in the Cook Leadership Academy. His Honors Senior Project focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on society. He plans to attend medical school.

Uyen Pham graduated in April with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Mathematics. She received the Excellence in a Discipline Award in Biochemistry in 2019, and over the summer she conducted research at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. During her time at Grand Valley, Uyen delivered a total of seven poster presentations at scientific conferences, including the “Posters on the Hill” conference in 2018 before members of the US Congress. In Fall 2019, she begins her pursuit of a Ph.D. at Duke University.

Regina Rolando graduated in April with a major in Medical Laboratory Science and a minor in Spanish. She studied abroad in Bilbao, Spain, in 2016. As an officer of the “To Write Love on Her Arms” student organization, she received the Student Life Awards Program of the Year award for bringing poet Neil Hilborn to campus to raise awareness of mental illness. Regina is now back in the metro Detroit area working as a medical laboratory technologist.

Mallory VanRegenmorter graduated in December with a major in Psychology. A member of Phi Kappa Phi, the Pre-Occupational Therapy Club, and Campus Ministry, she interned in Ghana with an organization that focuses on tackling human trafficking and rehabilitating children. Mallory also served as a desk assistant in GVSU Housing and Residence Life. In Fall 2019, she begins in the Master of Science program in Occupational Therapy here at GVSU.

Uyen Pham

Amanuel Birhane

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The Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships

The Meijer Office of Fellowships serves all GVSU students and alumni, not just Honors students. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of our director, Dr. Elizabeth Lambert, GVSU was named a Top Producing Institution for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship program in Michigan. Here we’ve listed only a selection of Honors student awards. For the full list, visit the Office of Fellowships website.

International Awards

Bridging Scholarship. The American Association of Teachers of Japanese offers scholarships to undergraduate students participating in study abroad programs in Japan. This year two Honors students were awarded:

Angel Bista (’20), International Relations. Marlaina Cole (’21), Global Studies and Social Impact.

Critical Language Scholarship. The CLS supports 12-week immersive language programs in Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian/Farsi, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish and Urdu.

Angel Bista (’20), International Relations, to study Japanese. Bethany Mazurek (’19), Chinese Studies and East Asian Studies, studied Korean during

Summer 2018 on the American Councils program in Busan. This year, she was named a Critical Language Scholarship Alumni Ambassador for 2019-21.

Richard Vegh (’20), English and Philosophy, to study Turkish.

Fulbright Award. The Institute of International Education and State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has designated GVSU a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for both the US Student and Scholar Programs. Here are this year’s Honors awardees:

Erika Schmitt (’13) won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to Brazil for the 2018-19 academic year.

Shannon Theis (’18), Spanish Education, ETA to Rioja, Spain.

Gilman Scholarship. With over 150 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholars, GVSU is consistently a top producer nationally. This year’s Honors recipients include:

Anthropology/Biology major Capriana Calavachi (United Kingdom). Mathematics major Chance Colter (South Korea). Computer Science major Jillian Huizenga (Japan). English/Philosophy major Richard Vegh (Peru). Anthropology major Zoe Zaroff (Belize).

Major Domestic Awards

Fatouma Abdoulaye Idrissa (’15), Biomedical Sciences, was awarded a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship. Shea Siwik (’20), Biochemistry, received a $7,500 Goldwater Scholarship—one of two GVSU winners, the first since 2012. Scott St. Louis (’16), History, received a $20,000 Marcus L. Urann Fellowship from Phi Kappa Phi to pursue a master’s degree in information at University of Michigan.

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Faculty and Staff News

Ellen Adams attended the Institute on Project-Based Learning at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, June 18-21, 2019, to gather insights for the proposed Honors curriculum revision. She was joined by Santos Ramos of Integrated Studies and seven faculty from Seidman College. They will report their findings at GVSU’s Faculty Teaching & Learning Conference on August 21. Ellen Adams and Peter Wampler organized and presented the Wandering Seeds exhibit, which ran from September through December in Lake Ontario Hall and celebrated the art and culture of Haiti, where Professor Wampler leads regular Honors study abroad trips. In 2018, Professor Adams joined him, with a special focus on collecting Haitian art. The trip and exhibit were featured in Grand Rapids Magazine in November.

Ed Baum retired from the university in April 2019. He joined the Chemistry faculty in 1983 and moved full-time to Honors in 2007. He is the author of Chemical Property Estimation: Theory and Application (CRC Press) and over 40 peer-reviewed article publications. In Honors, Professor Baum designed and taught HNR 243/244 Human Body in Motion, HNR 246 Chemistry in Perspective, and HNR 313 Cosmology of Poets, among others. Before coming to Grand Valley, Professor Baum served as director of the Northwest Pollution Research Center in Portland, Oregon, and as chief technical advisor for the United National Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in São Paulo, Brazil. Craig Benjamin delivered expert lecture series for five different holiday cruises: a 21-day tour of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for Archaeological Tours in April/May 2018; a 23-day Mediterranean cruise on the SS Azamara in June/July 2018; a 10-day New York Times cruise in the North Atlantic on Holland America’s Zuiderdam in August 2018; an 8-day cruise in the Caribbean on the luxury cruise ship, the Silver Wind, part of the Silversea Fleet; and a 19-day cruise for Archeological Tours called Western China: Relics of the Silk Road, in May/June 2019. Jeremiah Cataldo served as a fellow in the Communities Engaging Difference and Religion (CEDAR) program in July 2018. Eighteen fellows from around the world from various professional, cultural, and religious backgrounds (human rights activists, UN officers, professors, and more) set the groundwork for intercultural engagements that embraced differences as productive rather than sterilize them in an unyielding pursuit of commonality. Professor Cataldo teaches our first-year sequence Alliance & Conflict: World Construction in Religion and Society as well as junior seminars focusing on monotheism and biblical texts.

Ed Baum

Ellen Adams

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Roger Gilles published a book, Women on the Move: The Forgotten Era of Women’s Bicycle Racing, with the University of Nebraska Press in October 2018. In September, he received a State History Award from the Historical Society of Michigan for Best Article in Michigan History magazine for his “Pedaling Beyond the Petticoats: Women Cyclists in the Gilded Age,” which appeared in the March/April 2018 issue of the magazine. Kelly McDonell received a Faculty/Staff Exchange Grant to further develop GVSU’s partnerships with Universidad de Duesto in Bilbao and University Carlos III de Madrid, both in Spain. During the trip, Kelly met with faculty and staff at both universities as well as GVSU students studying there, including Honors students Josie Holohan and Trevor McMahon. In addition, Kelly walked the 729-kilometer Camino Frances!

Amy McFarland, along with Professor Sarah King of Religious Studies, received a $30,000 grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. Their two-year project is titled “Growing Diversity: Exploring Religious Diversity in Plant-Based Food Justice Education.” Jane Toot and her HNR 201 course were featured in December 2018 in a WOOD-TV segment and article, “‘Saging and Aging’ Class Bridges Generation Gap.” Peter Wampler was named co-leader, along with Kate Remlinger of the English department and Travus Burton of the Provost Office, of the Making Waves Initiative, a campus-wide effort to explore and investigate the many ways water impacts our lives. Professor Wampler is also team-teaching a new first-year sequence, Making Waves: Water for a Changing World, along with biologist Eric Snyder and anthropologist Tara Hefferan, beginning in Fall 2019. Peter Wampler and Karen Zivi were each featured on the AAC&U’s “Academic Minute” podcast out of WAMC in New York. Professor Zivi was featured on June 17, 2019, speaking on menstrual activism, and Professor Wampler was featured on June 18, speaking on water treatment in Haiti. Karen Zivi was appointed Interim Director of the Human Rights program in Brooks College, effective summer 2019.

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Student and Alumni News

Juan Paulo (JP) Palacios, a first-year Honors student and Engineering major, received the Youth Award through the César E. Chávez Hispanic Excellence Scholarship and Community Awards Gala on October 25, 2018 in Grand Rapids. He is pictured here flanked by Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, presenter of the award; and Lupe Ramos-Montigny, chairwoman of the Committee to Honors César E. Chávez. Reece Elling (’16) was lead author, along with Geology Professor John Weber, in publishing “Cunapo Conglomerate, Northern Basin and Central Range, Trinidad: Neogene Syn-Contractile or Syn-Transpressional Tectonic Marker Unit – Field and Petrographic Study,” in the American Association of Petroleum Geology Memoir 123. The paper is based on Reece’s Honors Senior Project from Winter 2016.

Christa Fernando, a senior in Biomedical Sciences, was one of 75 students nationwide to receive a study abroad grant of $1,000 from Phi Kappa Phi. She is using the grant to study at the Sacred Heart College in San Ignacio, Belize. Emily Larson (’12), a graduate of the Psychology program, is now a senior advisor leading the school brief at the London office of the Behavioural Insights Team, a multinational firm that informs policy and improves public services. Emily’s focus is on reducing burnout, increasing parental engagement, and using educational technology to reduce teacher workload.

Lindsey Short (’18), a Biomedical Sciences graduate, has continued research begun with Professor Daniel Bergman looking at how pheromones released by crayfish during confrontations with turtles are interpreted by other crayfish. In January 2019, she presented her research at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology conference in Tampa, Florida. Elizabeth “Biz” Stolz (’14) works as an experience insights senior analyst at Disney Parks and Resorts in Orlando, Florida. A mathematics and statistics double-major at GVSU who also served as a mentor in the Honors College and a consultant in the Writing Center, Biz analyzes data from different lines of business at Disney to improve the guest experience.

Christa Fernando

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A Look Ahead: Focus on Inclusion

Led by Professor Coeli Fitzpatrick, Chair of the Honors Faculty, the Honors faculty and staff, along with a number of student representatives, completed a full curriculum revision plan in Winter 2019. Its aim is to retain what works best in the current curriculum—the team-taught first-year sequences, the interdisciplinary focus, the emphasis on active learning, the preparation of students for local and global citizenship—while placing new emphasis on campus and community engagement, project-based learning, and what we’re calling “the I’s”—Inclusion, Integrity, Inquiry, Interdisciplinarity, Innovation, and Internationalization. The 27-credit curriculum is organized around four key words:

Connect

HNR 151/152/153/154. First-year Interdisciplinary Sequence. 12 credits. Topical or theme-based sections, much like our current offerings. All will include WRT 150 and SWS credit, co-curricular activities, and attention to Inclusion, Integrity, Inquiry, Interdisciplinarity, Innovation, and Internationalization.

Engage

HNR 200. Campus/Community Engagement. 3 credits. Students will engage in some form of approved campus or community leadership or service. Possibilities include studying abroad, serving as classroom assistant, serving as faculty research assistant, working as Housing Resident Assistant, leading a student organization, working as a tutor, serving in the Design Thinking Academy, or working with an approved community partner. Approved for-credit experiences outside of Honors may substitute here. Students will choose 1-, 2-, or 3-credit experiences. A Blackboard-based reflection component will be required.

HNR 201. Live. Learn. Lead. 3 credits. This colloquium course will be structured around a series of campus and community lectures, performances, exhibits, or other events. Readings and classroom activities will prepare students to experience each event as fully as possible. Group attendance, follow-up discussion, and written reflections will help students derive meaning from each experience and place it in larger contexts. The aim of the course is to model intelligent participation in public dialogues.

HNR 250 or 251. Project-Based Learning. 3 credits. This course will ask students to learn about an engaging subject by working in groups to produce artifacts (works of art, structures, programs, presentations, etc.) or to otherwise address open-ended topics or issues. PBL courses outside of Honors may substitute here if approved for Honors designation. HNR 251 includes quantitative modes of inquiry.

Deepen

HNR 350 or 351. Integrative Seminar. 3 credits. Topical explorations with interdisciplinary scope. Courses will draw intentionally from the diverse disciplinary knowledge of the students and attend in some way to Inclusion, Integrity, Inquiry, Interdisciplinarity, Innovation, and Internationalization. HNR 351 includes quantitative modes of inquiry.

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HNR 401. Senior Project Proposal. 1 credit. Students will review project possibilities, methodological options, and the proposal process. They will connect their proposed project with their overall experience in Honors and at GVSU, and articulate ways in which the project will create opportunities beyond graduation. As one form of preparation, students attend and reflect on that semester’s senior project showcases. By the end of the course, students will locate a mentor and develop an approved project proposal.

HNR 499. Honors Senior Project. 2 credits. Substantial project sponsored by a faculty mentor. Includes a showcase requirement—through print publication, conference presentation, or Honors-arranged senior showcase presentation.

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In many ways, the word inclusion best captures what we’re trying to accomplish with this revision—and in the program as a whole. First-year sequences cover expansive topics and include multiple disciplinary perspectives. The campus/community engagement requirement ensures that every Honors student will get involved in meaningful ways with others. The colloquium course seeks to include students in the wonderful opportunities available on campus for artistic, civic, and scientific exploration. Small, discussion-based classes on all levels welcome in students and appeal to many learning styles. Faculty routinely include suppressed or otherwise marginalized voices and ideas in their courses. The senior project encourages students to integrate what they’ve learned in their time at Grand Valley and include that in a project that bridges their education and career goals. The Honors community as a whole seeks to be as inclusive as possible. Our learning and living centers are as comfortable and commodious as they come. Our office staff, including our terrific student workers, are well-informed and welcoming, and we continually look for ways to add a personal touch to our interactions with students and their families. On a demographic level, we enjoy an admirable diversity in some ways, but we know we can do better. As the chart on page 3 shows, we have a full range of majors in the Honors College, and that range adds tremendously to the diversity of perspectives in our classes and in our living centers. In terms of ethnicity, however, the Honors College is admittedly less diverse than it needs to be. As of Winter 2019, our roster included nearly 200 students of color—students who clearly add to the richness of the Honors College culture. But they represented just 11.4% of the overall Honors College population:

White89%

Hispanic or Latino4%

Asian or Pacific Islander

3%

Multi-Ethnic3%

African American or Black

1%American Indian or

Alaskan Native0%

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By comparison, the non-Honors student population at Grand Valley, again as of Winter 2019, includes 18% students of color. That percentage also is too low, as we see it, but we have set our sights on it as a short-term goal for the Honors College. By Winter 2024, we aim to pull even with the rest of the university in terms of ethnic diversity.

The Honors Diversity Task Force. Last academic year, then, we established a diversity task force led by Honors Academic and Enrichment Advisor Meg Marshall. The task force includes faculty and staff representatives from the Honors College, Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Admissions, the Division of Inclusion and Equity, and the Dean of Students Office, as well as two full-time Honors students. The first job of the task force is to help the Honors College look inward and explore the complex reasons for its lack of diversity. One possible explanation is that high-achieving students of color are offered better scholarships, sometimes even full-ride scholarships, at other universities. Yet we have hundreds of students of color here at the university who have chosen, for whatever reason, not to apply to Honors. We need to gain a better understanding of the barriers, real and perceived, that prevent ambitious students of color from joining the Honors College, and then we need to develop strategies for reaching out more effectively to those students. At the same time, we know that creating a more diverse community requires a change to the entire culture, so our efforts need to go beyond mere recruitment. We’re hoping that the task force helps steer us in a direction of deeper cultural change.

Our aim is to create an Honors College that all students want to be a part of—one where students of all kinds see themselves represented in their faculty and in the other students around them, and where they have a chance to learn about the context of their own lives within the curriculum. Our curriculum revision, with its emphasis on inclusion, is one way to start. The diversity task force is another way.

However we move forward, we pledge to keep the students firmly at the center of our vision. As this report shows over and over again, the range of our students’ accomplishments is truly stunning, and of course we’ve only scratched the surface of the wonderful things going on here in the Meijer Honors College. Undergirding all these wonderful things is the endorsement and support of the Meijer Foundation, and we are extremely grateful for its patronage. We look forward to continuing the partnership into the future.