Women in Science Career Panel

Women working within the science fields in the West Michigan area will be joining forces to talk at a public group panel.

Hosted by the Association for Women in Science – West Michigan (AWIS-WM), the Women in Science Career Panel will also give attendees the chance to network with both students and professionals in the STEM fields.

Panel members include Dr. Mary Winn, bioinformatics at Van Andel Research Institute; Dr. Amanda Ayala, pediatric physiatrist at Mary Free Bed; LeShell Palmer, radiation therapy at Grand Valley State University; Dr. Figen Mekik, geology at GVSU; Kristen Murphy, architectural acoustics at Acoustics by Design; and Dr. Leah Chase, neurobiology at Hope College.

The event is set to take place from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 10 at the DeVos Center in the Loosemore Auditorium.

You Beautiful Black Women hosts picnic

The Grand Valley State University student organization You Beautiful Black Women will hold its annual Back to School Picnic from noon to 4 p.m. on Sept. 12. The event is held on the lawn near the Performing Arts Center.

Everyone is welcome to attend. The organization will provide free food, prizes, raffles, games and inflatable activities.

YBBW hosts many events throughout the year including the Hair Show, Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner, A Beautiful Week in Color and the Women’s Conference.

For more information, contact [email protected].

One-million-year-old monkey fossil found

A Grand Valley State University professor and alumni student along with an international team of scientists recently uncovered a fossil representing a species of monkey that is more than 1 million years old.

The team of scientists found the one-million-year-old fossil ingrained within a limestone rock. Previous to this, the same team discovered a fossil tibia (shin bone) of an extinct monkey species called the Antillothrix bernensis.

GVSU was represented on the team with the help of Melissa Tallman, assistant professor of biomedical sciences, and 2014 alumna Andrea Morrow.

For more information, contact Tallman at (616) 331-3603 or [email protected].

Economic growth on the decline

Research done by a Grand Valley State University professor shows that economic grown in the West Michigan area slowed significantly during the end of the summer season.

Brian G. Long, director of supply management research in the Seidman College of Business, based his findings on data that was collected during the final two weeks of August.

Long’s research shows that while the economy in West Michigan continues to grow, it is still slower than the data presented in the month of July. Areas of decline include employment, production and purchases.

For more information, contact Long at (269) 323-2359.

Grand Valley named top Midwest university

The U.S. News & World Report chose Grand Valley State University as a top university, recognized for having the best value in the Midwest. In the Best Colleges 2016 publication, GVSU appeared in third place for the “Top Public Regional Universities in the Midwest” category and 14th for “Best Value in the Midwest.”

The university was also awarded 26th in the ” Best Regional University” category and 46th for the “Best in Undergraduate Engineering” programs category. GVSU was chosen because of its high graduation and retention rates, numbers of alumni working in state and ability to keep college tuition relatively low in comparison to other Michigan schools.

For more information about the university’s qualifications, go to www.gvsu.edu/accountability.