Presidents’ Ball Tickets on Sale

The 20/20 desk is now selling tickets for the Grand Valley State University Presidents’ Ball that takes place on Friday, Feb. 6 at the DeVos Place.

The ball is a Grand Gatsby-themed party with dinner, dancing and a special awards ceremony for Grand Rapids mayor George Heartwell and GVSU faculty and staff.

Students can expect buses to be running all night between Allendale and  downtown Grand Rapids. Dinner will be served at 6:15 p.m. followed by dancing from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Tickets for the dance alone cost $15 dollars while dinner and the dance cost $30.

For more information, go to www.gvsu.edu/presidentsball.

GVSU Celebrates Retiring Artist

Artist Ed Wong-Ligda will celebrate his retirement from Grand Valley State University by sharing his artistic techniques and presenting an exhibit showcasing some of his work.

Titled “An Artist’s Process: Ed Wong-Ligda on Creating His Work,” the event will take place from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 28 in the Art Gallery at the Performing Arts Center.

Wong-Ligda is known for his work on GVSU’s Art and Design Department as well as for his professional painting career spanning multiple decades.

Wong-Ligda, who is now GVSU’s illustration coordinator, will retire from his position in April.

For more information, go to www.gvsu.edu/artgallery.

Fewer Small Businesses Providing Healthcare

Research conducted by Grand Valley State University professor Leslie Muller shows there is a diminishing number of small businesses offering employees health insurance due to the new Affordable Care Act.

The study was done on small businesses with fewer than 50 employers in West and Southwest Michigan.

Results concluded that just 25 percent of small businesses that originally offered health insurance have intentions to continue with this practice in 2015 and 2016.

In addition to this, small businesses who have or who are thinking of cutting back on hiring comprise 46 percent of the study.

For more information on the study, contact Dottie Barnes at (616) 331-2221.

Final Two Candidates for VPIE Give Presentations

The final two candidates in contention for the position of Grand Valley State University vice president of Inclusion and Equity have now given their presentations for consideration.

John Fitzgerald Gates, president and CEO of Campus Diversity Agenda and principal of Criticality Management Consulting in New York City, gave the second of the three presentations.

Fitzgerald said if he was to be hired, he would build diversity on campus with the help of his nontraditional approach to diversity and inclusion.

Jesse M. Bernal, director of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion at Santa Clara University in California, gave the final presentation.

Bernal said the university could become a new model for equality through the employment of color or women senior managers as well as for the treatment of LGBT students in Michigan.

For more information on the candidates, go to www.gvsu.edu/vpiesearch.htm.