News Briefs 07/10

GV launches new policies website

A new website featuring the policies of Grand Valley State University was launched Thursday, June 1, by the Division of Legal, Compliance and Risk Management.

The website is being called the “authoritative location” of all of the university policies approved by the Board of Trustees. It contains policies that were originally found in separate locations for students, faculty, staff, the president’s cabinet, contractors and vendors, and campus visitors.

Tom Butcher, the vice president and general counsel at GVSU, was behind the planning for the website. He said that with the consolidation, navigation is easier for users, who can now just search through all of the policies using key words.

The website can be reached at www.gvsu.edu/policies.

GV places fourth in NSAC competition in New Orleans

Out of eight teams in the nation competing in the National Student Advertising Competition, Grand Valley State University’s team has taken fourth place and has received a highly coveted award for best use of marketing research.

GVSU’s marketing team moved onto the finals after winning the regional competition in May. The task for this year’s team was to develop a fully fleshed-out marketing strategy for Tai Pei frozen foods.

This year was the first GVSU has been able to make it to the final round of the NSAC, and faculty advisor Robin Spring said the team was extremely humbled by being fourth in the nation for their marketing strategy.

“It was just really exciting and a thrilling day for everybody,” Spring said. “To be able to go to nationals and be in the top eight is phenomenal.”

CLAS associate dean leaves for St. Joseph University in Pennsylvania

Shaily Menon, the associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will be exiting Grand Valley State University and taking a job at Saint Joseph University in Pennsylvania as a dean of the College of Arts and Sciences starting Tuesday, August 1.

Menon has been serving as an associate dean of CLAS since June 2011 and originally joined GVSU in the department of biology and natural resources management in 1998.

The dean of CLAS, Fred Antczak, said Menon was on the search committee for his position 13 years ago, and he has been a close friend of hers ever since. He said Menon handled her position with grace and contributed to the positive and productive culture of CLAS.

“She has served CLAS with distinction, but that seems such a general word for someone whose work was so dependably specific and personal,” Antczak said. “I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to work with her, and I’ll look forward to hearing about her challenges and accomplishments as she digs into her next chapter.”

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre to feature ‘Hairspray,’ ‘The Neverending Story’

The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre is featuring two plays through the end of the summer: “Hairspray Jr.” and “The Neverending Story,” which will start Friday, July 28, and run through Sunday, August 6.

The classic Tony-award-winning musical “Hairspray” is a reimagining of the 1998 movie by John Waters. The musical features 1960s-style aesthetics, characters and music.

“The Neverending Story” takes inspiration from the 1979 novel and 1984 film, where a young boy, who is traumatized by his mother’s death and harassment from bullies at school, is transported to a magical land inside of a story book called “The Neverending story.”

Tickets for both productions are priced from $10 to $16. The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre is giving away free tickets for “The Neverending Story” in a contest online for anyone who leaves a comment on Facebook or their main webpage talking about their experiences at the theatre. More information can be found at www.grct.org.