The Grand Valley Police Academy honored its 55th graduating class of its basic police academy program on August 20. The ceremony marked the end of the academy's second class trained at the renovated Frederick Meijer Campus in Holland.
Amid the excitement of GVSU's move-in week, 32 recruits — which included four military veterans — their instructors and families packed the Louis Armstrong Theatre in the Haas Center for Performing Arts on the Valley Campus in Allendale to celebrate the completion of the 17-week program.
“You have shown a tremendous amount of resilience for 17 weeks, through long and often difficult days,” said Geoffrey Collard, director of the GVSU Police Academy. “You stuck together as a team and successfully met every single challenge that was placed in front of you.”
The Grand Valley Police Academy remains one of the top academies in Michigan, with 92.6 percent of recruits completing the academy and 99.6 percent securing employment.
“That is directly attributable to the individuals who have been serving the Academy for more than 50 years,” said Collard. “We pride ourselves on continually providing communities throughout West Michigan and across the state with law enforcement professionals who have received the best training.”
The GVSU Police Academy exceeds the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards requirements by offering additional training courses to recruits, including unbiased policing and decision making, individual mental health and well-being, and de-escalation and law enforcement.
“Our program incorporates not only foundational training in policing, but contemporary approaches that are appropriate for the world our cadets will face,” said Sherril Soman, dean of the College of Education and Community Innovation.
