Congratulations to Dawn Cheikh, adjunct professor of French and Arabic, who was presented with the Excellence in Teaching by an Adjunct Faculty Award at the Adjunct Appreciation Dinner last night. Dawn, a native of Grand Rapids, earned her B.A. in French and Music from Aquinas College, and her M.A. in French from Middlebury College. She has been at GRCC since 2004.
Daily Archives: August 24, 2012
Congratulations to Mike Kidder – Excellence in Education Staff Award Winner for 2012
Grand Rapids Community College bestowed its Excellence in Education Awards at the college’s opening day ceremonies to kick off the 2012-2013 academic year. This year’s awards were presented to education professor Diane Sparks and Secchia Institute for Culinary Education operations manager Mike Kidder.
The award is the college’s highest recognition, and is given annually to one faculty and one staff member for his or her contributions to the college, higher education and the community. Each recipient receives a $1,000 cash award and a matching award goes to the GRCC Foundation in each recipient’s name.
“This award speaks to the quality of the individuals we have working at GRCC, and I am extremely proud of Diane and Mike,” said GRCC president Steven C. Ender. “The nomination process is a stringent one, and the fact that the nominations came from not just their peers, but from a cross-section of individuals from the GRCC community makes it that much more special.”
Among the award criteria categories outlined are respect for people and environment, responsiveness, integrity and diversity.
Kidder is a GRCC alum and has worked at the Secchia Institute since 1991. His nominators described him as “…simply put – a model for excellence,” while another expressed how “No one gets less than his best; every event – and every individual – receives tremendous respect and effort.”
Congratulations to Diane Sparks – Excellence in Education Faculty Award Winner for 2012
Grand Rapids Community College bestowed its Excellence in Education Awards at the college’s opening day ceremonies to kick off the 2012-2013 academic year. This year’s awards were presented to education professor Diane Sparks and Secchia Institute for Culinary Education operations manager Mike Kidder.
The award is the college’s highest recognition, and is given annually to one faculty and one staff member for his or her contributions to the college, higher education and the community. Each recipient receives a $1,000 cash award and a matching award goes to the GRCC Foundation in each recipient’s name.
“This award speaks to the quality of the individuals we have working at GRCC, and I am extremely proud of Diane and Mike,” said GRCC president Steven C. Ender. “The nomination process is a stringent one, and the fact that the nominations came from not just their peers, but from a cross-section of individuals from the GRCC community makes it that much more special.”
Among the award criteria categories outlined are respect for people and environment, responsiveness, integrity and diversity.
Sparks’ career spans 27 years at GRCC, the last 13 of them as an education professor. She also worked in the college’s preschool program, including six as the school’s lab director. Letters in support of her nomination included comments such as, “She encourages feedback from her students and is always willing to implement a new idea or change the way a concept is presented to help students succeed,” and “She helps future teachers understand the importance of including the community in the development of young children.”
Opening Day Fall 2012 Video
In the event you weren’t able to make it to GRCC’s Opening Day event for the Fall 2012 semester, the Media Technologies Department captured it and it’s now available as streaming video:
Also available is the inspiring video about the work we do at Grand Rapids Community College:
Opening Day Food Drive Collects 718 lbs for Student Food Pantry
Thank you to everyone who donated to the Food Pantry yesterday at Opening Day. Your donations will help students and their families this upcoming semester. Due to the generosity, 718 pounds of food was collected!
GRCC in the News – 8/24/12
Former Wyoming Lee High School baseball player Erick Lora makes the cut at GRCC
Don VanderVeen/ADVANCE NEWSPAPERS, August 23, 2012 4:37 p.m.
Wyoming Lee High School graduate Erick Lora has made the baseball team at Grand Rapids Community College. Lora, an outfielder, worked hard on his hitting, fielding and throwing to improve to the point where he caught on with one of the state’s top juco baseball programs. (More)
Tassell M-TEC Donor Thank You (Video)
In honor of the tenth anniversary of the Tassell M-TEC (celebrated this week), it’s a great opportunity to review this video produced to thank the donors who made the facility possible:
The daily employee newsletter of Grand Rapids Community College 