President's corner

August 6, 2024 (Volume 47, Number 20)

President Mantella in blue jacket with arms crossed in front of three hanging lights

President Philomena V. Mantella

Photo Credit: Kendra Stanley-Mills

For those of you who have been away from campus this summer, welcome back! This is always a fun and busy time as we prepare for and anticipate the new academic year. We are thrilled as we continue to build on our successes. We also ensure our readiness for returning and new colleagues and students who join our vibrant community. We are looking ahead, contemplating the continuity between the final year of Reach Higher 2025 and our aspirations for the future. We remain vigilant about delivering on our mission of a high-quality education, a vibrant student experience, and a deep sense of belonging for all, while maximizing our strong regional impact for our communities.

As you will read in this issue, we welcome Acting Provost Jen Drake and CLAS Interim Dean Donovan Anderson to their new roles. Jen’s record of academic excellence and student empowerment as the dean of CLAS, and previous experience as a provost, will bring galvanizing and strong leadership to the university and Division of Academic Affairs. Donovan’s knowledge, steady hand and experience will ensure that CLAS will continue to shine.

The successes we celebrate at Grand Valley are the result of the entire university community’s commitment to teaching, service and innovation, and our steadfast alignment around our commitments to those we serve. We lead with deep appreciation for the time-tested notion of education as a profound vehicle for knowledge acquisition, growth, mobility and lifetime agility. As an educational institution, full of committed individuals living this notion, we, too, must create a sense of continuity and the agility to adapt and respond to the world around us. This is not a dichotomy but a call for synergy between the profound longstanding power of education and the opportunity to shape it for today and tomorrow.

I look forward to seeing many of you in the next few weeks at one of our college start-up meetings or one of our start-of-the-year events, such as the University Address, Faculty/Staff Picnic and Convocation. These are always great opportunities to connect in the joy of the work we do. Thank you for all that you will do, both in the coming weeks and all semester as we continue our important work.