President's corner

January 3, 2024 (Volume 47, Number 9)

President Mantella standing in a black jacket, white shirt in her office

President Philomena V. Mantella

Photo Credit: Amanda Pitts

Welcome back! I hope you and your family enjoyed a relaxing and restful break and you’re energized for our winter semester as we continue to grow and evolve to best serve our learners and community.

The launch of Workday aligns with our constant assessment of continuously looking for ways to improve in everything we do. Workday will empower us all with a streamlined process for our hiring and business needs and will create efficiencies that will enable us to build capacity and continue to grow our university.

I want to publicly thank the team behind this project; they have worked for years to get us to this point. They approached this effort with the same spirit of collaboration and innovation that is fueling all of our positive momentum. While most of us spent the past few weeks on a holiday break, this team remained on task, working through the holidays to make sure everything was in place come January. Congratulations to everyone who has been part of this monumental undertaking.

While Workday is now up and running, we know there will be bumps in the road, as there is with any meaningful change. In addition to launching the new system, the team has assembled a variety of resources and tools that can help navigate the challenges that will arise. I ask us all to be patient and supportive of each other as we learn this new system and that we all remember the long-term benefits we will see.

I’m excited about how Workday improves our lives and excited to get this semester started!

Sincerely,
Philly

Philomena V. Mantella, President
Grand Valley State University