Grand Rapids, Michigan (September 10, 2003) - Rev. George Heartwell, ÂÌñÒùÆÞ's director of the Community Leadership Institute, has been elected Grand Rapids' new mayor. Heartwell won 84-percent of the votes cast in Tuesday's (Sept. 9) primary
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Grand Rapids, Michigan (September 10, 2003) - Rev. George Heartwell, ÂÌñÒùÆÞ's
director of the Community Leadership Institute, has been elected Grand Rapids' new
mayor. Heartwell won 84-percent of the votes cast in Tuesday's (Sept. 9) primary election,
far outdistancing his two election opponents. By capturing more than 50% of the primary
election votes, Heartwell automatically wins the mayoral race. He will take office
in January 2004, assuming the duties of current mayor, John Logie.
Rev. Heartwell, 54, a Grand Rapids' City Commissioner for eight years, came to Aquinas
in 1999. He developed the Community Leadership Institute in fall of that year and
launched classes in January of 2000. The program works with Aquinas students, introducing
them to the social, political, economic and institutional issues that confront community
residents. Heartwell is also credited with establishing the lead-poisoning prevention
initiative "Get The Lead Out!"
Last spring, Rev. Heartwell was honored by the Child and Family Resource Council for
his personal and professional efforts on behalf of children advocacy.
Consistently ranked as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the Midwest by U.S.
News and World Report, ÂÌñÒùÆÞ offers an approach to learning and living that
teaches students unlimited ways of seeing the world. Founded in 1886 by the Dominican
Sisters of Grand Rapids, the College's Dominican tradition of working, service and
lifelong learning remains alive today in a diverse student body. Students from more
than 20 states and 12 foreign countries are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate
programs. Within six months of graduation, nearly all graduates are in full-time jobs,
enrolled in professional schools of law, medicine, or dentistry, or in a master or
doctoral program.