GVSU Expert: A Q&A on the future of research and innovation

What is your vision for the future of research and innovation at GVSU? 

GVSU has long been committed to the teacher-scholar model for faculty and the learner-scholar model for students. From my perspective, there is a unique culture at Grand Valley that stems from those commitments. My vision for the future of research and innovation is to double down on these models and help advance them, so GVSU continues to be the place where faculty and students strike a healthy balance between being a teacher/learner and a scholar.   

Some of the most interesting discoveries happen at the intersection of disciplines. What can GVSU do to encourage that kind of collaboration? 

You are correct: the intersections are typically where the most interesting discoveries exist. I would expand your statement beyond the intersection of disciplines to include the intersections of ages, backgrounds and experiences. This is why the teacher-scholar model is so interesting, especially when interdisciplinary teams are working together.  

First, I need to acknowledge that GVSU already has a solid foundation of cross-disciplinary work. The biggest opportunity I see for expansion focuses on the simple principle of putting smart people in the room together. I want to create more events that celebrate ongoing projects and challenge teams of people to solve complex problems that can’t be solved by a single discipline.  

What role should a university play in helping move those discoveries and ideas beyond the campus? 

This is an easy one; my answer is direct. GVSU should play a direct role in moving discoveries and ideas beyond campus. GVSU plays a significant role across our region, not just for educating the next generation of thinkers and leaders, but for generating novel ideas and solutions that address big problems. 

Our wider community includes K-12 schools and community colleges, government (local, state and federal), industry and nonprofits, and every single GVSU faculty, staff and student comes from, and is part of, these other communities. It is my strong belief that the more synergy that exists between GVSU and our partners the better, so we can address problems and create solutions that are community focused.  

Is there a discovery, project or moment in your career that continues to influence how you think about research? 

Yes, it was my first research experience. It’s important to know that I was a first-generation college kid, with close friends who were not in science. I was an undergraduate zoology major at Michigan State University and talked with a professor about science careers. He said I should run my own research project. In my mind, “research” either meant a classroom laboratory assignment, where there was a clear right answer, or a term paper where I had to summarize or synthesize other people’s thoughts and ideas. When he explained that a scientific research project doesn’t have an answer yet, because no one has ever asked it before, I thought he was messing with me. My brain couldn’t even comprehend it. That’s when he gave me a pile of scientific studies to read. It quickly became clear the project ideas we discussed had not been asked — and it hit me like a bolt of lightning. I’ve been a researcher ever since.  

What makes this an especially important or exciting moment for research/innovation at GVSU? 

I believe GVSU is at an inflection point when it comes to research/innovation. The campus-wide efforts that went into the Strategic Plan to Augment Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity (SPARCA) clearly highlighted two things, in my opinion: 1) The sheer amount of engagement and output in research and innovation has been increasing for well over a decade; and 2) this trajectory is continuing upward, especially with new hires, across all colleges.  

This growth in research and innovation has been organic, which is exciting. I see more and more faculty, staff and students excited about their scholarship, which makes my job more about finding resources and removing impediments than convincing people that scholarship is important.