Paul Mavima

246C DeVos Center
(616) 331-6579
MavimaP@gvsu.edu

It's more than 8,300 miles from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in Harare, Zimbabwe, to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, but that distance doesn't mean the two institutions don't have anything in common. Perhaps the most notable bond is Grand Valley Assistant Professor Paul Mavima, who not only received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UZ, but also taught there for six years before coming to the United States to study for his doctorate.

Now, after more than 10 years in this country, Professor Mavima is firmly embedded in Grand Valley's School of Public and Nonprofit Administration, teaching organizational theory and management, with a special focus on management capacity enhancement in developing and transitional countries. And thanks to the university's commitment to teaching and its philosophy of making life better for professors through technology and support, he's in no hurry to return to his native land. "Grand Valley makes the job of living here much easier," he said. "I have not felt a single want as far as institutional support is concerned. That commitment gives Grand Valley a real competitive advantage."

His global background also plays into his teaching style. "Students appreciate my international perspective and the personal experiences I bring to the classroom," he said. "It gives them an infusion of perspective they may never have thought about before."

Another trademark of his classes is their academic rigor, especially high-level master's courses. "Professors have a right to demand a lot from graduate students and expect them to be open minded," he said. "These classes provide a forum for genuine dialog between the professor and students and among the students; everyone is learning from everyone else."

His passionate and demanding teaching style does pay off though. "If you can develop an ethic of public service and are willing to apply yourself as much as possible," he said, "your career will be very fulfilling." Their success is also rewarding for him as a teacher. "When students come back at the end of a semester or after a few years and say "Thank you very much for my contribution to their education, or career, or general development as a person, it's very nice."

Professor Mavima earned his Ph.D. in public administration from Florida State University in 1999. He is finishing his first book, Corruption, Sovereignty, and Administrative Reforms in Zimbabwe.

Dr. Mavima provided the following profile information (after just a bit of coercion):

• My favorite place in the world is ... the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe
• My favorite quote is ... "The greatest work of art is to make one's own life a masterpiece" (anonymous).
• To relax, I like to ... spend time with my family. It does not matter what we could be doing: watching TV; pulling weeds from the garden; or playing soccer in the park. I have five great kids who are fun to be around.
• My personal hero is ... Nelson Mandela and my late father Gabriel Tranos Mavima.
• My favorite book is ... Nervous Conditions by a Zimbabwean writer named Tsitsi Dangarembga. The book narrates the experiences of a teenage girl growing up in colonial Zimbabwe.
• The music I enjoy the most is ... I enjoy a variety of music. My collection includes jazz, blues, reggae (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer), hip hop (mainly 2Pac Shakur, Nas and Kanye West), African (Oliver Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo, Hugh Masekela, Kofi Olomide, and the various Zimbabwean youngsters that go by the general name of Chamhembe), and the rock of Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, and Brian Adams.
• My favorite movies are ... The Godfather, Hotel Rwanda and Neria.
• My aspiration for the future is ... to make a contribution, however minimal, to the development of democratic governance in Zimbabwe.