Veterans Day Luncheon

Tuesday, November 11, 2025
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Alumni, Community, Faculty, Staff, Students

Grand Valley State University's Office of the President and Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies invite you to join us this Veterans Day as we come together to honor the service and sacrifice of West Michigan and Laker veterans past and present. This year’s program will explore the theme “Why I Served,” highlighting the personal motivations and experiences that inspire service and leadership.

We are honored to welcome Ingrid Tighe, President of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center and a U.S. Army veteran, who will share reflections on her path of service and her continued leadership in Michigan’s business community. The program will conclude with a panel featuring veterans who will share their reflections on their service.

For more information about Laker Vets and veteran resources on campus, visit the Peter Secchia Military and Veterans Resource Center!

Schedule

12:00 p.m. Doors open and lunch available

12:30 p.m. Program begins

1:30 p.m. Program ends

About the Speaker

Ingrid Tighe is the President of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (The Center). Joining the team at the beginning of 2023, Ingrid serves as the official representative of the MEP National Network in Michigan. She is responsible for The Center’s statewide network of five offices, its innovation and growth strategies, and for building and maintaining relationships with Michigan’s industry clients, partners and state and federal governmental stakeholders.

Previously, she served as Director of Economic Development for Oakland County where she led 200 staff members in four divisions focused on business development and international business attraction; community development and planning; and the county’s workforce development and veteran services.

Ingrid attended Vanderbilt University on a four-year R.O.T.C. scholarship and was commissioned as a U.S. Army Signal Corps officer upon graduation. She served from 1998 to 2005 with the 1st Infantry Division in Germany participating in NATO peacekeeping operations in Macedonia and Kosovo and later with the 1st Cavalry Division leading troops from 2004 to 2005 in the combat zone of Baghdad, Iraq. After honorably separating from the Army, Ingrid used the post 9/11 G.I. Bill to obtain her Master of Public Administration from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

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Location Information

Room 215, L.V. Eberhard Center

Contact Information

[email protected]

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This event was added to the calendar by Kahler Sweeney (sweenkah@gvsu.edu) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 and was last updated on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 12:08 p.m.

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