By Rachel Melville

The atmosphere for the State of Schools address was one filled with hope, acknowledgement and gratitude as Board of Education (BOE) President Senita Laneer called attendees to their seats. All were treated to a performance of “Colors” and the Pledge of Allegiance by the Ottawa Hills High School JROTC. President Laneer then took time to acknowledge members of the BOE, elected official clergy, parents, students, faculty (past and present), tax payers and members of the community to stand and be given a warm round of applause saying, “ You are all very important to GRPS. You all should be applauded.”
 

Calvin history professor Young Kim has landed a prestigious Fulbright Research Grant to study in Cyprus during the 2012 academic year. Kim will be studying an expert in heresies: Epiphanius--a  church father born in Palestine--and will write a book about his life and work.

"He wrote this large manual that described the beliefs, practices and refutations of 80 heresies," Kim said. The work is called the "Panarion," Greek for "Medicine Chest," and it cautions against, among many others, the Manichaeans, the Origenists, various 'Gnostic' sects and the different derivations of non-Nicene theology.

"However, the "Panarion" tells us in many ways more about the author than it does about the heresies he describes … ," said Kim. "It embodies in written form his self-constructed public persona--as the defender of orthodoxy, the scourge of heretics."

Davenport University students earned 26 first place awards at the 40th annual Business Professionals of America (BPA) Post-Secondary State Leadership Conference, creating a new record for victories by one university at the state competition. Fifty-five students from Davenport’s Grand Rapids, Holland and Kalamazoo campuses competed in 48 events at the competition, held at Northwood University in Midland on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. 

“Davenport University students have dominated this competition for years,” said Dr. Linda Rinker, Executive Vice President for Academics and Provost for Davenport University.  “Results like this against top competition from across Michigan are a testimony to the fact that our students are learning what they need to succeed in the workplace and get where the world is going.”