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GVSU Peace and Justice Activist Scholarship

The Grand Valley Statue University Peace and Justice Activist Scholarship was founded on the belief in the power of students to utilize their education to evoke social, economic, and political justice.

In 1947, The Truman Commission on Higher Education “selected from among the principle goals for higher education, those which should come first in our time. They are to bring to all people of the Nation:

• Education for a fuller realization of democracy in every phase of living.
• Education directly and explicitly for international understanding and cooperation.
• Education for the application of creative imagination and trained intelligence to the solution of social problems and to the administration of public affairs.” Truman Commission on Higher Education, Higher Education for Democracy: A Report of the President’s Commission on Higher Education, vol. 1, Establishing the Goals (New York, 1947).

Entering the Cold War Era, the Commission believed that higher education held the promise of peace, collaboration, and global cooperation.

Established in 1987, the scholarship is awarded to students who have intentionally combined their classroom learning with practical experiences to focus on justice and peace issues in their home communities or abroad.  The scholarship is awarded by a faculty committee whose decisions and rationale are guided by the qualifications of the student applicants and the intent of the award.

Grand Valley State University is grateful to Mr. Paul Hoffman, the founder and first contributor to the GVSU Peace and Justice Activist Scholarship, formerly known as the GVSU Peace and Justice Award. The Peace and Justice Activist Scholarship was made possible by a donation from Grand Rapids businessman Paul Hoffman. Hoffman, a friend of the faculty who taught the “War in the Nuclear Age” course, got the idea through discussions with the faculty. He decided to express his concern for the future by expanding awareness with the scholarship. Hoffman established similar scholarships at Calvin College, Aquinas, and Grand Rapids Community College.

Further contributions can be made to the Award by contributing to the GVSU Foundation with a notation for inclusion in the GVSU Peace and Justice Activist Scholarship. (View past Peace and Justice Award recipients.)

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