GV named top-five finalist in community service challenge

Grand Valley State University has been named a top-five finalist by the Presidential Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge for its leaders’ commitment to community service and civic engagement.

As a part of the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the challenge included more than 500 campuses from 24 countries spanning six continents.

GVSU was recognized by the federal government for exceptional interfaith community service during the 2013-14 season. The winner of the Presidential Award for Interfaith Community Service will be announced later this fall.

For more information, call the Kaufman Interfaith Institute at (616) 331-5702.

GV Shakespeare Festival

More than 6,000 people are expected to turn out for the 22nd annual Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival, which runs from Oct. 2 to Nov. 7.

The Shakespeare Festival at Grand Valley State University is known to be the largest and longest running one within Michigan.

Events at the festival include a Renaissance Fair and Greenshow, a presentation of the play “Witty Fools and Foolish Wits,” as well as a public discussion of Shakespeare’s classic “All’s Well That Ends Well,” with guest scholar-in-residence Grant Mudge.

All events are scheduled to take place on GVSU’s Allendale Campus.

For more information, go to www.gvsu.edu/shakes or call (616) 331-2300.

“Stories at the Heart of Communication”

The fifth annual James W. Carey Memorial Lecture at Grand Valley State University will focus on how some of the biggest and most controversial news stories of the past year are also able to connect all different types of people.

Helen Sterk, head of the department of communications and professor at Western Kentucky University, will give a presentation called “Stories at the Heart of Communication.”

More specifically, Sterk’s presentation will explain how communication based on respect and empathy has the ability to advance society further.

The presentation will take place at 7 p.m. on Sept. 22 in the Loosemore Auditorium at the DeVos Center on the PewCampus.

The Haitian Massacre and its Legacy

A special presentation by Professor Edward Paulino will focus on the 1937 Haitian massacre and the social movement that followed on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

“Bearing Witness to the 1937 Haitian Massacre and its Legacy” is presented by Latin American Studies and African/African American Studies and co-sponsored by Modern Languages and Literatures .

Paulino, assistant professor at City University of New York, will explain how the social movement following the Haitian massacre began through a diplomatic letter, the death of an activist, as well as the use of the internet.

The presentation will take place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22 in the Cook-DeWitt Center located on Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus.

For more information, contact Area Studies at (616) 331-8110 or at [email protected].