With the major reorganization of the Academic Affairs Division at GVSU in 2004, a new and innovative college was born among the 8 colleges that emerged: the “College of University-Wide Interdisciplinary Initiatives.”

Known that first year as CUII (pronounced Q-E), it was comprised of a handful of academic units, a “college within a college” in the form of the Meijer Honors College, and a wide range of university-level initiatives, programs, and offices.

Among those units were the Pew Faculty Teaching & Learning Center, Continuing Education, the Padnos International Center, and the Center for Scholarly & Creative Excellence. The college changed its name to “University College” in Fall 2004 but then switched to the College of Interdisciplinary Studies the following year.

In May 2010, the College of Interdisciplinary Studies was named the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies in honor of the family of Jim and Donna Brooks of Holland.  The Brooks family have been strong supporters of Grand Valley State University for many years.  Donna served on the Board of Trustees for 16 years and twice as the Board Chair.  Since 2008, both Donna and Jim have served as co-chairs of the Grand Valley Foundation and have been leaders in several successful development campaigns.

The vision and programs of the Brooks College share with the Brooks Family a belief in the importance of international education and cross-cultural understanding, innovation and relevancy in the curriculum, regional collaboration, community development, and application of sustainability best practices.

The college has set as it goals developing an innovative, integrative interdisciplinary curriculum, providing high-quality international education for our students,supporting the university in becoming a model of sustainable practice, and developing strong connections with our surrounding communities throughout our courses and programming.