A record 10.5 inches of snow fell on Grand Rapids on Saturday, but within a day all GRCC sidewalks, parking areas and plazas were plowed and clear.
Fantastic job by the team members, who worked all weekend to get campus ready for today!
The Teaching, Learning, and Distance Education (TLDE) area is excited to host Learning Day 2023, focusing on GRCC’s Culture of Care. All members of the GRCC community are invited to attend. Please see below for all of the details and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday!
Thursday, January 5, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Ford Fieldhouse or Virtual via Remo
Remo Link: https://live.remo.co/e/learning-day
If you have any questions, please send an email to cte@grcc.edu. Please see below for the planned schedule and visit the Learning Day website for all of the details.
Even if you are attending the sessions virtually from your office/work station, you are welcome to join us for lunch! (Take out containers will be available.)
Learning Day 2023 Schedule
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast and GRCC CARES Resource Fair
9:00 – 9:15 am
Welcome, Dr. Sheila Jones, Associate Provost of Instructional Support & Institutional Planning and Dr. Brian Knetl, Provost & Executive Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs
9:15 – 9:30 a.m.
CARE as a Strategy for Improved Student Success, Dr. Eric Mullen, Dean of Student Success
9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
The Contemporary Student Experience – An Interactive Exploration, Lina Blair, Director of Student Life and Conduct
10:15 – 10:45 a.m.
GRCC Student Perspectives, Video
10:45 – 11:00 a.m.
Break + Networking
11:00 am – 12:00 p.m.
Reflections on Student Needs and Learning: A Panel Discussion
12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Lunch and GRCC CARES Resource Fair
1:15 – 2:00 p.m.
Introducing GRCC Cares: A Network for Student Support, David Lovell, Associate Director, Title III
2:00 – 2:15 p.m.
Break + Networking
2:15 – 3:15 pm
Care Management: A Panel Discussion
3:15 – 4:00 p.m.
Table Discussion and Feedback
4:00 p.m.
Wrap Up, Additional Learning Opportunities, and Next Steps
With the holiday season quickly approaching, many of us will be taking much deserved time off! It is important to remember to update your voicemail greeting letting callers know you will be out of the office!
Instructions on Updating Your Personal Greeting
For more information and helpful tips, please visit the IT Customer Support Portal or contact the IT Customer Support Desk at x4357.
If you have a suggestion or a Technology Tip you think can be useful, you can submit them by emailing techtips@grcc.edu
You are invited to nominate a GRCC retired faculty or administrator for the Emeritus Faculty Award.
This award was established in 1985 to honor those instructors and administrators whose dedication and creativity have left an indelible mark on the lives of students and colleagues at GRCC. During their tenure at GRCC and since their retirement, they have continued to promote GRCC’s “Commitment to Excellence.”
Please submit online nominations by noon on Friday, February 10, 2023. For more information, please visit the Emeritus Award webpage.
When the state government decided to place a specialist on Grand Rapids Community College’s campus to help students connect to outside resources, it turned to Marjri Weller.
As a specialist with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, she’s familiar with state and local sources that help with housing, food and child care. As a GRCC alumna, she’s familiar with the struggles that students face as they work toward a college education.
Start at GRCC and go anywhere. Every former student has a story to tell about how GRCC gave them the education and opportunity to be successful.
“What caught my eye about this new partnership is being able to help students in whatever they need because I was once a student here at GRCC,” she said. “I have always wanted to give back, and this is the best way that I can.”
Weller plans to draw on her GRCC experiences in her new post.
“The staff, professors and counselors were so kind and patient, and they taught me how to navigate through this big world as a young adult,” she said. “I was not familiar with filling out financial aid paperwork or how to go about signing up for the right classes, but it did not matter. They walked me through everything with patience and understanding. There was no judgment; they were so nice, and no matter how small I felt asking them all these questions, the staff kindly assisted and did it with a smile.”
After earning her associate degree in 1999, Weller earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Aquinas College and a master’s degree in communication from Grand Valley State University.
GRCC is the only college in the state to have a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services staff member assigned to it. Weller, who has worked for the state for 12 years, is located on the Student Center’s third floor, where she handles 150 to 200 cases.
“GRCC is where my career and love for people and customer service began,” she said.
Let GRCC help you start your story. The first chapter starts at grcc.edu/apply
Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., an author and Princeton University educator, will provide the keynote address during West Michigan’s commemoration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Glaude’s address is part of the 37th annual community commemoration, a partnership between Davenport University, Grand Rapids Community College, and Grand Valley State University, with support from local sponsors.
“It’s so important to keep Dr. King’s message and legacy in mind as we navigate our difficult times,” GRCC Interim President Juan R. Olivarez said. “Each year we gather to celebrate his life and achievements. But also, we must look at where we are as a community and a nation, reflect on where we need to be and commit to getting there together.”
The 2023 keynote is planned for 6 p.m. Jan. 16 at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain Street NE in Grand Rapids. The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 5 p.m.
“Our nation continues to struggle to embrace equity across so many aspects of our lives,” said Dr. Richard J. Pappas, president of Davenport University. “I am thankful for the collaboration with GRCC and GVSU to hold this important event. We’re gathering to commemorate Dr. King’s life and further an important discussion on how to embrace diversity and inclusion across our campuses, our communities, and our world.”
The event will also introduce area high school scholarship recipients and include short welcomes from college presidents and community leaders.
“As we pause to reflect on Dr. King’s life and the indelible impact he had on history, I hope our students and community members continue to take up the charge for educational access and social justice,” GVSU President Philomena V. Mantella said. “It can be a daunting task, but let’s remember what Dr. King himself said, ‘If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.’”
Glaude is an author, political commentator, public intellectual and passionate educator who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience.
Combining a scholar’s knowledge of history, a political commentator’s take on the latest events, and an activist’s passion for social justice, Glaude challenges all of us to examine our collective American conscience, “not to posit the greatness of America, but to establish the ground upon which to imagine the country anew.”
His writings, including “Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul,” “In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America,” and his most recent, the New York Times bestseller, “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own.”
Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton. He is also on the Morehouse College board of trustees.
He frequently appears in the media, as a columnist for TIME Magazine and as contributor on “Meet the Press” and on MSNBC programs.
Glaude also hosts Princeton’s AAS podcast, a conversation around the field of African American Studies and the Black experience in the 21st century.
He also is a former president of the American Academy of Religion.
Community sponsors for the event include: Corewell Health, Bethany Christian Services, Consumers Energy, Foster Swift, Warner Norcross and Judd, and the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.
Grand Rapids Community College professor Karl Seper has been passionate about chemistry for as long as he can remember. Now he is able to share his passion with GRCC students.
“Students are the best part of GRCC. Students are why GRCC exists. I have found the students at GRCC to be eager to learn, and respectful of their peers and teachers,” Seper said.
Seper teaches in multiple chemistry laboratory classes. He enjoys working hands-on with the students. He is proud of the state-of-the-art technology that the Calkins Science Center provides for students. The facilities have great instrumentation and an attention to safety.
“This makes the laboratory experience one of learning, rather than frustration for the students,” Seper said.
Seper finds excitement in learning new things everyday. He received his bachelors of science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, his doctorate from State University of New York at Albany, and postdoctoral work at Freie Universitat Berlin. Now he teaches at both Calvin University and GRCC, and is the Chief Scientist Formulation QA/QC at Abaco Partners.
Seper is grateful for the many intellectual people he has met in his career. He has traveled the world and met multiple Nobel Prize winners. Seper surrounds himself with people who live by the golden rule. He is motivated by the Rotary International motto “Service Above Self and One Profits Most Who Serves Best”.
More information about chemistry and the physical sciences can be found here.
Three finalists named to fill vacant seat for Grand Rapids Board of Education
12/16/22 WZZM
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Board of Education has announced the three finalists to fill one of their vacant seats after Kristian Grant was elected to be a State-Representative.
Out of a pool of 19 candidates that submitted their applications, the GRBE has chosen their finalists:
Grand Rapids school board selects 3 finalist candidates for vacant seat
12/16/22 MLive
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Grand Rapids Board of Education has selected three finalists for consideration in the search to fill a vacant seat on the school board.
… The finalists are Jordoun Eatman, Vice President of Engagement and Inclusion for Experience Grand Rapids; Travis Steffens, Success Coach at Grand Rapids Community College; and Shanda Vaughn, Recipient Rights Officer for Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services.
12/19/22 WOOD TV
(Candidates for GRPS seat.)
Play and Learn GRCC is hosting Winter Celebration on Wednesday, December 21 from 9 a.m. to noon at the GRCC Phyllis Fratzke Early Childhood Learning Lab, 210 Lyon NE, Grand Rapids.
Come help us celebrate another year of play! We hope you will join us for some wintery fun!
This event is open to faculty, staff and students living in Kent County who have children infant through 5 years old.
GRCC has outstanding faculty and staff members. Help us show students, potential students and community members the quality of the people here at GRCC serving our community by having a current headshot for the website and other uses.
The Communications Department is providing an opportunity for faculty and staff to have free headshots photographed from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 5 – Learning Day – on the third floor of the Student Center in the lounge area.
Without a headshot, the webpage shows a missing photo icon or a RaiderCard photo.
Communications stresses that GRCC provides an affordable education, but more importantly, a quality education. Our expert faculty and dedicated staff members are selling points! Help us highlight your work and attract new students by updating your headshot and web bio.
The Welless Team would like to share some usful hints to use during the holiday season. Click on links for more information!
Start the year off right by making fitness a part of your routine!
Boost your energy and meet new people and get stronger!
GRCC employees have access to free exercise classes – take advantage of this great wellness benefit and join in the fun! Did you know that you can earn up to 5 hours of professional development by engaging in employee wellness?
Winter 2023 semester
January 9 to April 27, 2023
Mondays
5:15-6:00 p.m.
Spin & Sculpt with Kelly
Rm 213 FFH
Tuesdays
12:00-12:45 p.m.
Strength Blast with Lannie
Rm 212 FFH
Wednesdays
12:00-12:45 p.m.
RaiderStrong with Lannie
Rm 212 FFH
Thursdays
12:00-12:45 p.m.
Fitness Fusion with Lannie
RM 212 FFH
Please complete the registration form and waiver and a calendar appointment for the entire semester will be sent for you to allocate that time to your personal wellness!
Think of it as self care time!
Questions or more information, contact angelasalinas@grcc.edu
The daily employee newsletter of Grand Rapids Community College 