Convocation keynote: Faculty model 'strategic hope' for students

February 24, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 12)
Article by Michele Coffill

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Faculty achievements for teaching, research, innovation and service were celebrated February 10 at the annual Faculty Awards Convocation.

University Awards for Excellence were presented, and the Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence and Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center presented awards. A list of award recipients is detailed on the Provost Office website.

In her opening remarks, Provost Jennifer Drake said that the event was bookmarked by musical selections, calling it a "joyful reminder of what it means to gather together." Drake then noted that the Division of Academic Affairs' strategic framework and 2026 action plan were shared earlier this month.

"Our vision for Academic Affairs is simple and powerful: Lead with intention, collaborate with purpose, create a lasting impact for generations to come," she said. "That vision is alive in the work we honor today."

Adrienne Wallace, associate professor of advertising and public relations, was the keynote speaker and recipient of the Distinguished Professor of the Year Award from the Michigan Association of State Universities.

Wallace said the celebration came at a peculiar time for higher education and acknowledged budget pressures, rising student debt and political headwinds. 

She also mentioned the increasing pressures students face, such as working multiple jobs, caring for sick relatives or parenting a new baby. She conceded the urge to rescue them at times but said "sitting with them in the messy middle" is what distinguishes teaching as a profession, rather than a job.

"We honor their growth by sitting with them in that raw, relevant space that grows and takes hold and the light appears in the darkness," she said. "That trust in pedagogy, in that student and in the learning process itself is what this gathering celebrates."

Wallace said many of her Grand Valley colleagues care about their students and understand their challenges. "Rigor and care are not opposing forces; they are interdependent of our work," she said. "Knowing your students well enough to calibrate challenge, encouragement and when to push or pull back, this is not coddling, this is craftsmanship. 

"What makes this possible is Grand Valley's alchemy. This university doesn't tolerate the messy human work of teaching, it requires it."

She said the university's ecosystem is uncommon and needs protecting with "strategic hope."

"As faculty, we model this for our students," Wallace said. "You can critique systems while working from within to change them, you can acknowledge real constraints without letting them become excuses for complacency. That is the education this moment demands for our future leaders."

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