GRCC In the News, 3-31-17

Vikings sign three players, including veteran combine standout TE Nick Truesdell

March 30, 2017; ESPN

The NFL is a league for long shots and the Minnesota Vikings just signed three.

… The 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end (Nick Truesdell) was signed last year by the Indianapolis Colts in late July, but did not make the team. He has also had tryouts with the Packers and Bengals since finishing college at Grand Rapids Community College in 2013. Truesdell has played for a number of indoor football teams, including the Colorado Axemen, Bemidji Ice and Portland Steel.

Phi Theta Kappa holds induction ceremony

The Phi Theta Kappa chapter at GRCC, Alpha Upsilon Kappa, held its Induction Ceremony on March 28th, 2017, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., where 21 new members were inducted in person. This year along, 96 students joined PTK, and the chapter has reached five star status again. Dr. Ender was the keynote speaker and was inducted as an honorary member of our chapter. The executive board and advisors will attend the national convention, Catalyst, next week where Dr. Ender will be awarded the Michael Bennett Lifetime Achievement award. PTK is currently seeking applications for open executive board positions. Interested students should be directed to contact Erin Busscher at ebusscher@grcc.edu.

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Instrumental Ensembles Concert on April 4

GRCC’s Wind Ensemble, Jazz Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Jazz Combo will perform in an Instrumental Ensembles Concert at 7:30 p.m. April 4 at St. Cecilia Music Center.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors.

 

GRCC In the News, 3-30-17

GRCC opens new nursing assistant training facility

March 29, 2017; WZZM

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – Grand Rapids Community College has opened a new facility to train it’s nursing students.

Report: Giants offer tight end Nick Truesdell a contract

March 30, 2017; giantswire.usatoday.com

Earlier this week, the NFL revitalized its veteran combine idea and held a Pro Players Combine in Phoenix, Arizona. Hundreds of non-vested veterans seeking an NFL contract were in attendance, and at least one caught the eye of the New York Giants.

… (Nick) Truesdell, who played college football at the University of Cincinnati before transferring to Grand Rapids Community College, went undrafted in 2013. He’s since bounced around from team to team and league to league, playing for six different teams in the AFL and IFL before signing with the Colts for two days last season. He also spent time in Green Bay Packers camp.

Nominations sought for Excellence in Education Awards

Do you know of a faculty or staff member at GRCC who has gone above and beyond their role at the College, in the Community or in higher education?  If so, consider nominating them for the Excellence in Education Award.  The Excellence in Education Award was established in 1989 to honor an individual Grand Rapids Community College employee. In 2000, the award was expanded to provide recognition in the form of a staff award, and a separate full-time faculty award. In 2010, an additional award was added for an exemplary adjunct faculty member.

There is a cash award of $1,000 for full-time faculty who have taught at GRCC for at least 5 years, and for adjunct faculty who have taught at least 2 years, with a $750 cash award. Staff members also receive a cash award of $1,000.

Anyone can nominate!

Staff: http://www.grcc.edu/humanresources/recognition/staffexcellenceineducationaward

*Faculty: http://grcc.edu/provost/excellenceineducationawards/fulltimefacultyawardnominationprocess

*Adjunct: http://grcc.edu/provost/excellenceineducationawards/adjunctfacultyawardnominationprocess

*Please note that the form for and criteria for full-time and adjuncts have changed a bit in the past few years, so be sure to read the guidelines carefully

Questions?

Faculty & Adjunct: Call Deb Dewent (234-3921) or Kate Byerwalter (234-4405).

Staff: Call Nicole Dekker (234-3848).

Preschool hosts training session on hands-on exploration

GRCC’s Phyllis Fratzke Early Childhood Learning Laboratory provides free monthly training sessions for in-home child-care providers.

From 6:30-8 p.m. April 11, the topic will be “Hands-On Exploration for Young Children.” You will leave with a “cookbook” of activities that you can do with ingredients that you probably have around the house. This will include a “make-and-take” activity — so come ready to get messy!

RSVPs are appreciated, but not required; contact Kathleen Neumann at (616) 234-4004 or kathleenneumann@grcc.edu.

Applications for Van & Marinus Swets Travel Award due April 19

 

The Van & Marinus Swets Travel Award Opportunity for GRCC Employees (nonstudent employees

 

DEADLINE: Wednesday, April 19, 2017

This travel award is for fun, enjoyment, and relaxation.  It is not intended to supplement any faculty, staff or administrator’s professional development travel funds.  A cash award of up to $400 will be given to any full- or part-time GRCC employee who completes the following requirements and has his or her essay judged the best to fulfill the employee’s intention to relax, enjoy and have fun.

Requirements:

• Submit an essay (500 words or less) telling how you intend to use the

cash award for fun, enjoyment, relaxation.  The more unusual, the better!

• Essays will not be judged on spelling, writing style, organization, usage or grammar.

• Steps for turning in your application for the Van Marinus Swets Travel Award

1. Do not put your name on the essay.
2. Write your GRCC employee ID number in the upper right corner of the first page of your essay.
3. Attach an envelope to your essay containing the following:
4.   On the outside of the envelope, write your GRCC employee ID number.
5.   Inside the sealed envelope, place your business card or contact information.
6. Send you application to Mary Reed in the GRCC Foundation Office.
7. Submit your application by 5:00pm on Wednesday, April 19th.

• All award winners will be notified by Thursday, April 27th

For more information, you may contact Mary Reed at (616)234-3930 or mreed@grcc.edu

GRCC, Holland Home hold ribbon-cutting for CNA training lab

GRCC and Holland Home held a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 29 to open the training lab for a new Certified Nursing Assistant program.

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GRCC In the News, 3-29-17

Kent ISD Launch U: Giving students a bright future

March 28, 2017; WOTV

WYOMING, Mich. (WOTV) — Austin Bonter is a machine build apprentice with specialty manufacturer AutoMatrix in Wyoming. It’s his job to transfer designs from paper to a computer and make a workable machine.

… Kent Intermediate School District, Grand Rapids Community College and several local manufacturers are partnering on the program to get high school students interested in an industry that many declared dead on arrival just a few years ago.

Grand Rapids Community College job fair continues Wednesday

March 28, 2017; WZZM

GRAND RAPIDS – A two-day job fair continues at Grand rapids Community College on Wednesday.  It started today at their main building on Bostwick in downtown Grand Rapids.

GRandJazzFest announces 2017 dates

March 28, 2017; therapidian.org

One of Michigan’s most popular free jazz festivals returns this summer for a sixth year to downtown Grand Rapids. GRandJazzFest presented by DTE Energy Foundation takes to the Rosa Parks Circle stage in the heart of downtown this Aug. 19 and 20.

… GRandJazzFest 2016 received distinction as a Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. Signature Event along with two other festivals, ArtPrize and LaughFest. In addition to DTE Energy Foundation, the City of Grand Rapids, and GRAM, sponsors for the 2017 event to date include GR and Jazz, IntentPR, Gilmore Collection, Hilger Hammond, Amway Hotel Corporation, Experience Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Community College, Swift Printing, Corporate Live, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Matt Huizenga Video Production, Meijer, Steelcase, Rockford Construction, Kitchen67 and MoxieMen. Sponsorship opportunities are available at http://grandjazzfest.org/sponsors/. “We are so grateful to all of our sponsors for their support we could not do it without them,” Sundstrom said. “We’re seeking additional sponsors to help us bring a full weekend of FREE, family-friendly live jazz performances to West Michigan!”

Michigan’s Best Colleges for 2017 Determined by LearnHowToBecome.org

March 28, 2017; bizwireexpress.com (press release site)

LearnHowToBecome.org, a leading resource provider for higher education and career information, has released its list of Michigan’s best colleges and universities for 2017. Of the 48 four-year schools that made the list, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan Technological University, Albion College, Calvin College and Alma College were the top five institutions. 27 two-year schools were also included, with Lansing Community College, Washtenaw Community College, Delta College, Henry Ford Community College and Kellogg Community College in the top five. A full list of schools is included below.

… Best Two-Year Colleges in Michigan for 2017 include:

… Grand Rapids Community College

(This press release was reprinted on several other sites.)

 

 

Karen Culcasi talks about Syrian refugee crisis

On March 28, a lecture at the ATC auditorium on the Syrian refugee crisis was delivered by Dr. Karen Culcasi, associate professor of geography at West Virginia University. As one of only 43 Visiting Geographical Scientists listed by the American Association of Geographers and the International Geographical Honor Society, Dr. Culcasi spoke on the challenges faced by Syrian women in Jordan who had been forced to flee their native country because of war. Sharing stories of their experiences, she captivated 140 students, faculty, and members of the local community attending her talk, which was filmed by GRCC Media Technologies and will soon be broadcast on GRCCtv. Dr. Culcasi also was interviewed for GRCC’s “Conversation with a Geographer” oral history series, which was filmed by Media Technologies as well.

Raider Grille hosts Grand Rapids Drive giveaway

Come to the Raider Grille on Wednesday, March 29, for a chance to win Grand Rapids Drive tickets for this Friday’s game. One lucky winner will receive four tickets, and two others will receive two tickets. Along with the basketball tickets, we will be giving away 12 packs of Coke products, Monster energy drinks, and other great prizes. Come check it out!

Reminder about shipment addresses

A friendly reminder: All shipments for GRCC’s Main Campus and DeVos Campus should be delivered to the Shipping and Receiving department at:

151 Fountain NE

Grand Rapids, MI  49503

Please do not provide individual building addresses for your shipments. All shipments should be directed to Shipping & Receiving  for the Main and DeVos campuses. If an exception is required, please contact Tom Vos at x3764.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Former student Duy Duong-Tran to lead Mathematics Seminar

The Grand Rapids Community College Mathematics Department is pleased to announce that it will host its next Mathematics Seminar on Wednesday, April 5, 3:00-4:00 PM in 103 Cook.  Our speaker will be former GRCC mathematics student Duy Duong-Tran.  His topic is Community Structure in Networks.  The title and abstract may be found below.

Community structures have been studied by sociologists since the 1930s.  Mathematicians got involved in the 1950s, and tremendous growth in the use of social media has made this a popular area of mathematical study.  Parts of this talk may require knowledge of non-elementary mathematics, but, as always, everyone is invited to attend.

Pop and cookies will be served at 2:45 PM.

 Community Structure in Networks

The past two decades have witnessed tremendous growth in complex network analysis, as social and biological interactions, and the world-wide web, can be modeled in this framework. In this talk, we will survey different methodological approaches used to analyze community (cluster) structure in complex networks. We will also look at classical bi-section (two-cluster) network models and apply algebraic Eigen decomposition to analyze such networks.

GRCC In the News, 3-28-17

Ready to deepen relationships

March 27, 2017; Grand Haven Tribune

Six months into his role as pastor of St. Patrick-St. Anthony Catholic Parish in Grand Haven, Father Chuck Schwartz said he feels stronger than ever that this is the path he was supposed to be on.

… A graduate of Grand Rapids City High, Schwartz took a couple years off school before getting an associates degree from Grand Rapids Community College.

Tiny Desk Contestant Diana Gameros: ‘How Can I Dissolve Borders?’

March 26, 2017; NPR

Earlier this year, NPR Music held the third installment of the Tiny Desk Contest, our annual search for a talented, unsigned musician to play a Tiny Desk concert here at NPR headquarters. More than 6,000 bands and artists entered, and many (including this year’s winner, Tank and the Bangas) were new to the Contest. But we also saw a number of familiar faces some of whom have been with us since the beginning.

Diana Gameros is one of those three-time entrants. After submitting videos in 2015 and 2016, the 35-year-old singer-songwriter filmed this year’s entry on a cold morning, as dawn broke over the San Francisco Bay. As she sings, the camera zooms out to reveal a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

(This article doesn’t mention it, but Diana Gameros is a former GRCC student.)

John Morton has what it takes to turn Jets offense around

March 29, 2017; The Jet Press

Offensive coordinator John Morton has done it all in the NFL and on the college level. From his beginnings as a wide receiver for Grand Rapids Community College to Western Michigan to the NFL, CFL, and overseas, Morton has been on a mission. Have no doubt Morton has what it takes to turn the offense around for the New York Jets.

Jackson College softball team walks off twice in one week

March 27, 2017; MLive

JACKSON — The spring sports season is still young but the excitement has already been high for the Jackson College softball team.

… Jackson College is now 7-8-1 on the season as it gets set for its double-header on Tuesday March 28 against Grand Rapids Community College.

Mid Michigan Community College men’s basketball makes strides in first year as NJCAA Division II program

March 27, 2017; The Morning Sun (Mount Pleasant)

With athletics in general, expecting the unexpected is always a good bit of advice.

… The previous three years as an NJCAA Division III program, the Lakers won their region by defeating Lorain Community College to qualify for districts. But the move to Division II provided a new set of challenges during the MCCAA campaign and into the postseason, which saw MMCC square off March 7 versus Grand Rapids Community College in a District 9 showdown to open the NJCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament.

SCHOLARfest raises record total

On Thursday, March 23, the GRCC Foundation held SCHOLARfest at DeVos Place, honoring Dr. Steven Ender and his wife, Karen.  The event was a tremendous success, with the largest guest attendance and the largest amount raised for a SCHOLARfest event to date! Total revenue brought in was $313,500!  Proceeds from this event will support student scholarships – with a portion of these proceeds permanently endowing a scholarship in the names of Dr. Steven and Karen Ender, ensuring that their legacy of student success will forever be part of GRCC!  If you would like to view the video from the event, here’s the video link, https://youtu.be/NPRthLJyRJ0

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