Photos: Dr. Luke Galen on “The Roots of Morality”

Yesterday, Dr. Luke Galen (Associate Professor of Psychology at Grand Valley State University) presented to a capacity crowd at the Applied Technology Center Auditorium on “The Roots of Morality: Does Religion Play a Role or is the Tail Wagging the Dog?”

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The presentation considered the root of morality and pro-social behavior. Are we kind and considerate of others because religion creates a set of rules and “commandments” or are these behaviors a natural result of our evolutionary need to live in community? Dr. Galen also discussed why humans construct religions and how religion can create prejudicial beliefs and behaviors.

Photos: Preschool Field Day – Elementary Games & Rhythms Class

On Wednesday March 30, the children from the Bear Room had a Field Day with Jodi Kuyt’s Elementary Games and Rhythms Class (WE 157). The college students led the group of 4 and 5 year old children in several games including Simon Says, Sharks and Minnows as well as Follow the Leader. In addition to that, the students also taught the children some specific skills such as dribbling and shooting a basketball, hitting a ball that was tossed to them as well as one that was sitting on a tee. We had a great time and were very tired after all of the exercise.

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GRCC in the News: 3/31/11

Folias Tango Quartet performing at Hope
The Holland Sentinel | Posted Mar 30, 2011 @ 02:56 PM

Holland, MI — The Folias Tango Quartet will perform at Hope College at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music. [… Andrew] Bergeron is instructor of guitar and music theory at Grand Rapids Community College and Aquinas College. He is a founding performer and composer with the Grand Rapids Guitar Quartet. (More)

Delta College president: ‘We do not want to take away from K-12 funding’
Published: Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 2:40 PM | Brandon Howell | The Bay City Times

FRANKENLUST TWP. — Delta College President Jean Goodnow said she welcomes the support Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed budget would provide to community colleges throughout Michigan. […] Grand Rapids Community College, Lansing Community College, Macomb Community College and Oakland Community College receive more than $20 million in state funding. (More)

2011 Race and Ethnicity Conference

Presenting the 2011 Race and Ethnicity Conference, put on by GRCC’s Social Science Department (all events in Calkins Science Center Auditorium unless otherwise noted).

Monday, April 4th

Monstrous Women and Bestial Men: Exhibitions, Human Zoos, and the Imperial Gaze
3:15-4:45 p.m.
Professor Susan Williams, GRCC

Tuesday, April 5th

The Relationship Between Poverty and Academic Success
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Professor Cedric Williams, GRCC

Thoughts on Race and Ethnicity Through the Mirror of American Literature
1:15-2:45 p.m.
Professor David Tower., GRCC

A Discussion on Diversity and Equality
3:15-4:45 p.m.
Professor Yan Bai, GRCC

Wednesday, April 6th

Giving Up the Ghost: Confronting American Cultural Genocide in the post-Civil War Era
9:30-11:00 a.m.
Professor Mike Light, GRCC

The Impact of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments on Higher Education: A Story of Interdisciplinarity
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Ric Underhile, Associate Dean, GRCC

Ethnic and Secretarian Tensions Within Israel
3:15-4:45 p.m.
Professor Keith St. Clair, GRCC

Thursday, April 7th

Ethnicity, Settlement, Conflict and Reconciliation in Central Asia: A Geographical Perspective
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
G.T.U. Special Guest Speaker: Professor Leon Yacher, Southern Connecticut State University

Where the Water Meets the Sky: Women’s Lives in a Remote African Village
Panel Discussion and Film Viewing: G.T.U. Students
3:15-4:45 p.m.
Megan Hornyak and April Kibby (GRCC) and Professor Mike DeVivo (GRCC)

Discussion of The Warmth of Other Suns
7:30-9:00 p.m. (Spectrum Theater)
KEYNOTE: Professor Isabel Wilkerson, NY Times Best-Selling Author and Pulitizer Prize Winner
Discussion followed by reception and book signing from
9:00-10:00 p.m. (open to the public)

All Events are sponsored by the GRCC Social Sciences Department, the International Geographical Honor Society, and Grand Rapids

Community College. Special thanks to the Gilda Gely, Ph.D (Provost: GRCC), Patti Trepkowski (Associate Provost: GRCC), and GRCC Diversity Learning Center. All events are free and open to the public.

Learn to Prepare 400 Calorie Meals

If you are looking to monitor your calorie intake, here’s something for you. Marco Trimble, WE Team member, put together a meal planner of 400 calorie meals based on the book, 400 Calorie Fix by Liz Vaccariello. So if you are a calorie counter, there are some great suggestions to help you limit the number of calories you consume in a day. NOTE: These meal suggestions are based on calorie count only. Some of the fast food suggestions may contain higher levels of sodium and fat.

400 Calorie Meals (.pdf)

This information is brought to you by your GRCC WE Team as they strive to provide employees with a variety of health and wellness options.

Upcoming Learning Opportunities to Support the Transition to PeopleSoft 9

In order to support the upcoming PeopleSoft upgrade, open lab will be held for employees who use PeopleSoft to provide opportunities to interact with our PeopleSoft experts. Please use this opportunity to learn more about the upgrade to PeopleSoft 9.0 and how it affects various functions of your work. These open labs will be held in 351 Main and occur on the following dates/times:

• Friday, April 8, 9-11 am
• Wednesday, April 13, 2-4 pm
• Friday, April 15, 9-11 am
• Monday, April 18, 1-3 pm

Seeking Success Stories From GRCC Graduates

The Communications Department is looking for success stories from students graduating next month.  These students may be featured on the college home page. Just need the following information:

• Student name:
• Age: (optional)
• Previous: (work or high school)
• Program studied at GRCC:
• Next move: (college name and area of study) or (position taken, company name)
• Student photo also needed

Please send your suggestions to vhudson@grcc.edu before April 1.

GRCC in the News: 3/30/11

Muskegon Community College drops baseball doubleheader against Grand Rapids Community College
Published: Tuesday, March 29, 2011, 9:32 PM | David Tomczak | Muskegon Chronicle

Rival Grand Rapids Community College spoiled the Western Conference home baseball opener for Muskegon Community College on Tuesday. The Jayhawks (16-8, 0-2) fell in the doubleheader to the Raiders, 9-8 and 4-2. (More)

New GRCC Website Goes Live 4/15/11

New GRCC Website will GO LIVE on April 15, 2011.  Preview the new site here (http://cms.grcc.edu).

Important Note: To access the Online Center (Faculty and Staff) you will click on Online Center Login. This replaces the boxes that were on the Homepage previously

Salute to Women Reception Today (3/29/11)

All are cordially invited to celebrate Grand Rapids Community College’s annual Salute to Women in honor of Women’s History Month Today (Tuesday, March 29, 2011) 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. in the GRCC Applied Technology Center Banquet Rooms. Award presentations begin at 2:00 p.m.

Art & Bev’s Weekly Specials Week of 3/28/11

Art & Bev’s Weekly Specials Week of 3/28/11:

Tuesday

Chicken and Smoked Gouda wrap $3.50
Broccoli Cheese or Home made Chili $2.00

Wednesday

French Dip $5.00
Soup- Chicken Wild Rice or Fire roasted Vegetable $2.00

Thursday

Pasta Bar returns for the next four weeks! $5.00
Sloppy Joe with fries $4.00
Soup: French Onion or Chicken Noodle $2.00

Friday

Veggie Delight wrap with fries $5.00
Soups: Tomato Herb or Cream of Mushroom $2.00

Art & Bev’s Bistro is Open Tuesday-Friday 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Go4Life: Everyday Exercises

This program is from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institute of Health. We are all aging — some of us have just been at it longer.  Click here for free information & resources on exercise and physical activity. If you don’t want to get this for yourself just yet, get it for your parents or grandparents and sneak a peek when they aren’t looking — after all, wellness should be a family affair.

This information is brought to you by your GRCC WE Team.

“Sweetest Swing” a Home Run With Critics

There’s still time to see the Actors’ Theatre production of “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball” – directed by GRCC’s own Michelle Urbane, running Thurs – Sat at 8 p.m. at the Spectrum Theater (Click Here for Tickets).

The play has pulled in great reviews, like this one from the Grand Rapids Press:

Ensemble cast gives ‘Sweetest Swing in Baseball’ enough energy for extra innings
Published: Friday, March 25, 2011, 7:47 AM  | Sue Merrell | The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS — Sometimes it’s not how you play the game — or even if you enjoy playing — but only whether you’re a winner.  And Thursday night at Actors’ Theatre, “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball” pulled it out in the end to leave the audience of about 175 on its feet and cheering. At first, the script seemed pretty far out in left field, but once it started connecting, it hit one homer after another.  (More)

miBUG Meeting & GVSU Symposium on Teaching & Technology Recap

On Friday, March 18th the following GRCC staff and faculty had the opportunity to attend the Michigan Blackboard Users Group (miBUG) Conference and GVSU Teaching with Technology Symposium:

Anna Clark; Brent Spitler; Eric J. Kunnen; Garret Brand; Grace Schwanda; Kevin O’Halla; Lisa Gloege; Mursalata Muhammad; Szymon Machajewski; and Tony VanderArk

The miBUG event brought over 80 attendees across the state from over 28 institutions. There was an opening session keynote on the new features in Blackboard 9.1 along with 2 sets of breakout sessions.

GRCC Professors Garry Brand and Mursalata Muhammad from GRCC presented on the following topics: “Using Tools that Students Use” and “Partnerships Through the Using Blackboard Technology”

miBUG attendees were also invited to the GVSU Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium. The symposium provided over 27 ePoster sessions on a wide array of topics and a keynote by Dr. Punya Mishra on “Creative Teaching with Technology, what does it take?” Dr. Mishra also referred to the TPACK model which has to do with the intersection between content, pedagogy, and technology. Eric Kunnen blogged about the TPACK model as it relates to Blackboard tools in this post “Applying the Blackboard LMS to TPACK“ here.

Libuse Binder: “Ten Ways to Change the World in Your 20s” (4/4/11-4/5/11)

National sustainability author and speaker, Libuse Binder, will will speak at GRCC on Monday, April 4 from 2-3PM in the Multipurpose Room, and Tuesday, April 5 from 10-11AM in the ATC, room 118/120. In addition, there will also be a keynote presentation on Monday, April 4 from 6-8 at the GVSU Cook DeWitt Center. This event will also feature a panel discussion including GRCC and GVSU students.

More information:  http://www.tenways.org/ | Printable Flyer