LAKERS MOVE TO 8-0 AT HOME, WIN AT NORTHWOOD SEE A7
Lanthorn All in the family G R A N D VA L L EY
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GV FANS PACK GEORGETOWN FOR SPARTAN WEEKEND SEE A7
SIBS N KIDS VISIT CAMPUS FOR A LOOK INTO COLLEGE LIFE SEE A3
GV THEATRE STUDENTS PERFORM ‘COMPANY’ MUSICAL SEE A6
MONDAY, JA NUA RY 26
BY GABRIELLA PATTI GPATTI@LANTHORN.COM
arcia Haas may be the lesser-known half of Grand Valley State University’s presidential couple, but she more than holds her own with her great achievements and big heart. The first lady spoke on Jan. 22 for “Her Story,” a series that gives the community a chance to listen to the authentic stories of women in leadership positions at GVSU. Kristen Evans, co-chair of the GVSU’s Women’s Commission, said this is the program’s 13th year, and Haas is one of over 40 women who have spoken over the years. With the help of her husband and her daughter, Haas came up with her life’s acronym: H.U.G.S. – “hearts united growing stronger.” “Each of us is the whole of many parts; these parts are the experiences and people that have impacted us on our life journey,” Haas said. “These are the hugs of life. I would like to focus on the people who have loved and supported me.” Marcia said the main focus of her life is her family, friends and colleagues who have energized and stretched her to be a better person. Haas choked back tears as she spoke about her “Grammy,” one of the many influences in her life. Last year, Haas said she found a letter from her grandmother to her mother, written just days after Marcia was born. It was a reflection on her arrival. “Throughout my life I have always
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JOURNEY TO LEADERSHIP: Marcia Haas, first lady at Grand Valley State University, speaks on campus for
the “Her Story” series, which invites women in leadership positions at GVSU to share their stories.
felt loved, but this totally spelled it out,” Haas said. “It was a gift to me to have been born with such love.” Marcia said that from a young age she has always been adventurous and willing to try something new. This attitude is reflected in her life’s journey. As a girl, Haas participated in Sunday school, girl scouts, dance and piano. In high school, she was a class officer, reporter for the newspaper, a
member of band and a cheerleader. In high school, a teacher encouraged her to take part in the Branch County Beauty and Talent Pageant, which provided scholarship money. Haas was crowned Miss Branch County. She said this teacher “most likely changed my life.” Through it all, she said she would never forget the feeling of H.U.G.S. she would have after a long day.
“My parents’ strength of character and high moral values built the foundation for my love of God and country,” Haas said. “Experiences too numerous to mention formed my zest for life.” She said in her family, college was an expectation, so she attended Albion College. After that, she competed SEE HER STORY ON A2
Inclusion and Equity assesses sexual misconduct policy BY DREW HOWARD ASSISTANTNEWS@LANTHORN.COM
s awareness grows and more accounts of sexual misconduct are reported at Grand Valley State University, the Office of Inclusion and Equity reflected on some of the key changes enacted in the new interim sexual misconduct policy that was established in November of 2014 and the importance of raising attention to such incidents on campus. Dwight Hamilton, GVSU Title IX officer, said reasons for the increase in reports on campus could be due to heightened awareness, training of staff and students as well as the publishing of the new interim sexual misconduct policy. “The biggest difference in this policy is that it really pulls out the investigation, adjudication and discipline for sexual misconduct, which we have defined as sexual assault, dating domestic violence and stalking, outside of the general student code of conduct,” Hamilton said. The incorporation of a Title IX investigator is new to the process, Hamilton said. In the investigation process of a sexual misconduct incident, the victim/survivor and the accused both have separate interviews with the investigator where they have the opportunity to introduce any information that is relevant to the investigation, Hamilton said. “Before the (investigator) issues a finding, there will be a summary of the evidence received throughout the investigation and both the victim/survivor and the accused have access to that and will have the opportunity to respond,” Hamilton said. “Once that finding is made, it is taken to the conduct office. If there is a finding of a violation of the sexual mis-
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STREAMLINING PROCESSES: Grand Valley State University professor Danielle Leek speaks to her capstone class. The university is currently
working on revising the professor evaluation process to make it simpler to administer and more universal across classes and departments.
Professor evaluation updates in progress BY DUANE EMERY DEMERY@LANTHORN.COM
tudent evaluations of teachers are an important tool both inside and outside of the classroom. Professors nationwide use them to hear students’ voices to improve their classes, as well as evaluate themselves and their peers in annual reviews. Grand Valley State University faculty recently voted on a proposal that would make the teacher evaluation process streamlined with a universal system. Currently, “every unit has their own form or process,” said Christine Rener, the director of the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center. Rener said teacher evaluations are either paperbased or online, depending on the course. For the future program, all evaluations will be online. Rener said the advantage of paper evaluations is that participation is high because they are given right in class. However, quality feedback is the aim of evaluations, and an online format can be more approachable. “It’s simpler to administer and feedback is given very quickly,” Rener said. Streamlining the evaluation system is supposed to make them easier for teachers and students to understand. “We saw that it is hard to promote participa-
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tion when there are different forms and processes for each class,” Rener said. “The new system will have four universal questions on each evaluation that will be paired with other questions from one of twelve different forms to create a system that is highly researched to give good feedback. Part of the planning of the new system “We saw that it is involves figuring out which of the hard to promote 12 question forms will best go with participation particular classes.” when there are Rener said part of the solution different forms and processes for is to encourage class time for oneach class.” line evaluations, either on school computers or moCHRISTINE RENER bile devices. LEARNING CENTER In addition, a marketing campaign including short videos and an informational website is being developed to encourage participation. “There are a few students serving on the implication committee working on communication with students to help them understand what the form is for and how to give construc-
tive feedback,” Rener said. Ellen Schendel, a GVSU professor in the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, said she spends a significant amount of time looking at how to structure her classes to give students the best understanding of the material and assignments, and student comments help her understand their needs. “I find the written comments students make are useful about specifics of assignments or projects I give,” Schendel said. Schendel believes students are more likely to express themselves more thoughtfully with online evaluations, but she still thinks it has downsides. “Most of my evaluations are online,” she said. “Because it’s typing, I think students write more. What I worry about online evaluations is if you ask students to fill them out outside of class, they won’t.” GVSU sophomore Natalie Joaquin said the effort she puts into filling out evaluations depends on whether it is offline or on. “I rush through if it’s in class just to get out,” she said. “I do fill out the written parts but usually in one to two sentences. Habits such as that are why an all-online system could be an improvement, as many professors see written comments as the most valuable part of the evaluations.” The new evaluation system is still in the planning stage. It is not yet clear when the system will launch, but the earliest is next fall.
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