University announces first-ever comprehensive campaign

The largest initiative in Grand Valley history, the “Shaping our Future” campaign, was announced at a university dinner event for donors held at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids on June 10. More than 1,200 guests were on hand to hear the details of the campaign that targets seven areas at the university.

“Shaping our Future” co-chairs, Jim and Donna Brooks (also a trustee) and Dan and Pamella DeVos, also announced that Grand Valley has already raised more than half of the $50 million goal through private gifts.

This critical initiative seeks funding for multiple capital and endowment priorities at Grand Valley.

“Our top priority continues to be a new library, but this will not be the kind of library most of us are used to,” said Grand Valley President Thomas J. Haas. “We need to replace the library that was built in Allendale to serve a couple thousand students with a new kind of library for the information age. It will serve our 24,000 students looking for tools they’ll need to build their own futures and contribute to the overall economy of the region.”

The Learning and Information Commons proposed for the Allendale Campus will cost $70 million, with $30 million coming from private funds and the remaining $40 million being sought from state appropriations.

Co-chair and successful business entrepreneur Dan DeVos said this facility will benefit Grand Valley students and in turn the region and the state. “This entire community will benefit from the kind of leading-edge learning center that will create new experiences for Grand Valley students,” said DeVos. “I know the kind of forward thinking and environments needed to attract top talent to the area.”

Pamella DeVos, also a successful entrepreneur, shares the passion for the health of the area. “This comprehensive campaign at Grand Valley addresses many of the items that act like magnets for bright young people who are the future of our state,” said DeVos.

In addition to the Learning and Information Commons, the $50 million campaign targets funds for student scholarships, faculty chairs and academic support, endowments for the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies and the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, along with support for the Movement Sciences and Indoor Recreation Building and the John C. Kennedy Hall of Engineering in Grand Rapids.

“Grand Valley is at a pivotal point in its history,” said campaign co-chair and business and philanthropic leader Jim Brooks. “Research is clear that the most prosperous regions in this country have vibrant and thriving universities. Grand Valley is ours and we must support its efforts to educate our future leaders.”

Long-time Board of Trustee member Donna Brooks knows the inner workings of Grand Valley quite well. “Grand Valley is one of the state’s economic engines,” she said. “This is a regional asset that must be unleashed. We are working on this campaign because we believe in Grand Valley and the opportunities it provides for all of us. We want to help shape the future.”

Jim and Donna Brooks are vice chairs of the Grand Valley University Foundation, which will play a leading role in the campaign. Richard and Helen DeVos are honorary co-chairs of the effort.

Donna Brooks noted that 100 percent of the board has given to the project. The board hopes to reach the $50 million goal by Grand Valley’s 50th anniversary in 2010.

For more information on “Shaping our Future,” the campaign for Grand Valley State University, visit www.gvsu.edu/shapingourfuture .