After nearly three years of construction, the centerpiece of Grand Valley State University's $60 million downtown campus expansion will be dedicated this Friday. The 256,000-square foot Richard M. DeVos Center, which opened for classes on August 28, more than doubles the size of the Grand Rapids campus facilities.
The new DeVos Center adds opportunities both for Grand Rapids and for students in the region, especially working professionals. Its focus on graduate studies and professional development gives Grand Rapids a powerful resource for competing in the knowledge-driven economy.
All of Grand Valley's graduate programs are now centered on the Grand Rapids campus. The 15 accredited master's degree programs include Business Administration, Taxation, Nursing and Business Administration, Nursing, Criminal Justice, Education, Communication, Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies, Occupational Therapy, Health Sciences, Public Administration, and Social Work.
Graduate students have the full resources of the University available to them in Grand Rapids, from career services and academic advising to Internet access and library research. The campus' location in the heart of Grand Rapids brings students close to community resources like businesses, hospitals, and government agencies for internships and research.
Good-looking and Smart
The new center is a bright, beautiful addition to the city with the look of a European village complete with a 151-foot bell tower. Brick, stone and glass buildings wrap around a large outdoor formal courtyard, creating the sense of a village square.
The careful attention to art and architecture continues on the building's interior. The Gordon Gallery of Alten Paintings on the main level houses a collection of paintings by Grand Rapids artist Mathias Alten. Nearly 400 other art works are on display throughout the rest of the DeVos Center.
Elegant areas for meeting and entertaining include the Amway Board Room and the 230-seat Loosemore Auditorium. The Meijer Regency Room offers space for formal meetings, and features a stone fireplace, leaded-glass windows, and a view of the Nancy Lubbers garden. The University Club is a casual, cozy venue. It is patterned after the old Lumber Baron Bar in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, and uses the donated original furniture from the bar.
Form follows function, and the DeVos Center is first and foremost a place for students. The new complex adds 263 faculty and staff offices, two lecture halls, seven computer-equipped classrooms, three live video classrooms, and 18 general use classrooms. The Center also houses a graduate research library, student support services, an international trade center, student project and study areas, a bookstore, and a food court.
The Steelcase Library within the Center brings a full-fledged graduate-level reference library to the campus. It uses an automated book retrieval system found at only two other libraries in the country, including the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Up to 250,000 books can be accessed via robotic technology that locates and delivers the requested volumes. The Library also houses the 40,000-volume law library of the Grand Rapids Bar Association.
The Van Andel Global Trade Center, on the first floor of the DeVos Center, offers seminars and workshops to local businesses that want to break into new markets. It includes an electronic reference room for international trade information, a showcase area for local products marketed internationally, and provides a place for networking.
The entire DeVos Center is a plug-and-play setting with high-speed, 24/7 connections to the Internet available on caf¿ tables, in quiet break-out areas, in study carrels, and even on countertops near the cafeteria. Classrooms, the Plaza area, and the Student Project area are equipped with computers. Students can pick up e-mail or surf the Internet everywhere.
Who's Who on Campus
The construction of the new facilities is the result of the public-private partnership that has marked the tremendous development throughout Grand Rapids. The State of Michigan allocated $38 million, while donors from throughout the community contributed the rest of the funds to help build, furnish, and equip the facilities.
The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation stepped forward with the largest private gift, $7.75 million. The new main complex is named the Richard M. DeVos Center to honor the gift.
Grants from the Jay and Betty Van Andel Foundation, the Frey Foundation, the Lacks Family, the Grand Rapids Foundation, the Charles W. Loosemore Foundation and the Sebastian Foundation also played a significant role in building the facility.
