May 19, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 17)
Seated on the DeVos Center stage during an April 15 event are, from left, President Philomena V. Mantella, and former presidents Thomas Haas, Mark Murray and Arend "Don" Lubbers.
Photo Credit: Kendra Stanley-Mills
President Philomena V. Mantella wrote an op-ed for Bridge Michigan about higher education stewardship and its generational impact on universities.
Mantella cited Grand Valley's uniqueness of having three past presidents living in West Michigan and creating a long leadership arc for the university. The April 15 event, when she shared the stage with three former presidents, was framed as a conversation about stewardship.
"In an era where leadership is often framed as individual impact, the gathering offered a different model: leadership as continuity, as inheritance, as shared obligation," Mantella wrote in Bridge Magazine.
"Stewardship asks leaders to think beyond a single tenure. It demands decisions that will sustain institutions over decades, not just deliver results in the next news cycle. It requires honoring the foundation built by predecessors while having the courage to adapt for what comes next."
Read Mantella's Bridge Michigan article.
This article was last edited on May 12, 2026 at 1:42 p.m.
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