• President Mantella issues statement to the campus community on our actions for racial equity. Read the full statement here. 
• Appoint a campus-wide network of advisors to ensure our full community shapes and commits to this work and that Black faculty, staff, students, and alumni voices are elevated to the highest level of engagement with me and all university senior leaders. (Accountable leads: Dean George Grant, Director of Athletics Keri Becker, and Vice President Jesse Bernal)
• Network of Advisors meeting.

• Convene a Grand Valley Campus Safety task force to review current policing practices and recommend any needed change. (Accountable leads: Vice President Greg Sanial, Vice President Jesse Bernal, Chief Brandon DeHaan)
• Network of Advisors meeting.

• Identify structural changes and opportunities that strengthen accountability across the organization for leadership and supervisors in advancing inclusion and equity, including in our recruitment, evaluation, and promotion processes, campus climate metrics, and their own education. (Accountable leads: Vice President Jesse Bernal, AVP Maureen Walsh)
  • A team has convened to discuss the creation of Inclusion & Equity Officers in colleges and divisions. Additional details will be provided in October 2020.

• We have a special obligation to the City of Grand Rapids which hosts nearly half of the university’s enrollment and many of our public service degree programs. Over the summer, we committed university talent and resources to the City’s development of a new youth employment program – GRow1000 – a commitment to provide paid employment to at least 1,000 Grand Rapids youth ages 15-21 this summer with priority to those neighborhoods and zip codes which have been most heavily impacted by disproportionate outcomes, including COVID-19. President Mantella also waived all financial requirements for Pell-eligible students in the City’s high schools for enrollment in Grand Valley’s new Math Advantage Program for rising high school seniors and college-bound high school graduates. Success in this gateway program will help to improve college readiness and retention which disproportionately impacts our communities of color.

  • Update: See GVNext Story on Summer 2020 Learner Engagement Challenge.

• Network of Advisors meeting.

• Support Student Senate in its development of peer-to-peer learning and other initiatives. (Accountable leads: Vice Provost Loren Rullman & Associate Vice President Marlene Kowalski-Braun)
  • A design thinking exercise is planned for fall 2020 to engage diverse students from across campus to develop a learning module for students that is built by students.
• Expand the university's financial aid program to include a racial equity scholarship in honor of the Black lives that have been lost due to racialized violence. Students that demonstrate a commitment to social justice and racial equity may be eligible. (Accountable leads: Vice President Karen Loth & Associate Vice President Michelle Rhodes)
  • With university support, the Grand Valley's Social Justice Scholarship will be open for applications in October. The first awards will be made for Fall 2021 students.
• Network of Advisors meeting.
  • President Mantella has approved the hiring of a university ombuds for employees. The search will begin in Fall 2020.

• Universal training for all members of our university community to enable each of us to build the necessary understanding, knowledge, and skills for social justice, power, privilege, and anti-racism. 
• Accountable leads: Division of Inclusion and Equity, Human Resources, and the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center

• Finalizing a salary equity study.
• Accountable lead: AVP Maureen Walsh

• Explore ways we can expand education for our students and one another on the forces of systemic racism, with an eye to ensuring every graduate deepens their understanding of social justice and racial equity through a Grand Valley experience.
• Accountable leads: Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and Provost, Dr. Maria Cimitile, University Academic Senate Chair, Dr. Felix Ngassa, University Academic Senate Vice Chair, Dr. Shawn Bultsma

• Embrace the opportunity for the GVSU Police Academy to lead the way in enhancing public safety education with more robust requirements for diversity, inclusion, and de-escalation. Moreover, to assure this kind of culturally- and community-centered public safety education is a part of the systems of support necessary for communities to thrive.
• Accountable leads: Provost Cimitile & Dean Grant

• Develop an even more aggressive program for the recruitment and retention of students of color that will be undergirded by policies that remove barriers to access.
  • In September 2020, Vice President Truss convened a Strategic Enrollment Management Task Force to begin work towards this charge.
• Accountable lead: Vice President B. Donta Truss

• Develop a new strategic enrollment management plan with strategies and initiatives with the bold goal of removing all equity gaps.
  • In September 2020, Vice President Truss convened a Strategic Enrollment Management Task Force to begin work towards this charge.
• Accountable lead: Vice President B. Donta Truss

• Review previous campus climate survey recommendations for necessary updates.
• Convene action teams using the 2019 data for additional recommendations.
  • In September 2020, the University Academic Senate and Division of Inclusion and Equity convened a task force to review the 2019 data.
• Lead: AVP Kathleen VanderVeen

Work begins to inventory all social justice educational programming on campus.

Accountable lead: AVP Kathleen VanderVeen

• Philomena V. Mantella, President
• Jesse M. Bernal, Vice President for Inclusion and Equity & Executive Associate for Presidential Initiatives
• George Grant, Dean, College of Community and Public Service
• Keri Becker, Athletic Director
• Ricky Benavidez, Office of the President

• Maria Cimitile, Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs
• Karen Loth, Vice President for University Development
• Greg Sanial, Vice President for Finance & Administration
• B. Donta Truss, Vice President for Enrollment Development & Educational Outreach
   

• Maureen Walsh, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
• Christine Rener, Pew FTLC and Vice Provost for Instructional Development and Innovation
• Loren Rullman, Vice President & Dean of Students 
• Marlene Kowalski-Braun, Associate Vice President for Inclusion & Student Services
• Michelle Rhodes, Associate Vice President for Financial Aid & Scholarships 
• Kathleen VanderVeen, Associate Vice President for Equity & Compliance 

• Felix Ngassa, Professor of Chemistry & Chair of the University Academic Senate
• Shawn Bultsma, Associate Professor of School Counseling & Vice Chair of the University Academic Senate
• Alisha Davis, Assistant Chair and Allied Health Sciences Program Director & Faculty Co-Chair of the Black Faculty/Staff Association
• Dianne Green-Smith, Professor, Social Work
• Michael Scantlebury, Associate Professor, Hospitality and Tourism Management

• Scott Ayotte, Director of Affirmative Action/EEO & Equity Officer
• Valerie Rhodes-Sorrelle, Vendor Relations Manager, Procurement Services 
• Aliya Armstrong, Director of TRIO-Teacher Preparation Student Support Services 
• Quincy Williams, Undergraduate and Internship Coordinator, School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration 
• Renica Minott, Senior Academic Advisor, CCPS Advising Center 
• Takeelia Garrett, Student Ombuds & Co-Chair, Black Faculty/Staff Association, Staff 
• Koleta Moore, Assistant Dean, Student Engagement Graduate Program Operations, Seidman College of Business 
• Briette Bryant Phillips, Development Officer for Scholarship and Fellowship Giving 
• Anthony Williams, Director, Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution 
• William Washington, Director, TRIO Studentt Support Services 
• Aaron Turner, Development Director, WGVU PBS and NPR 

• Stepha’N Quicksey, Graduate Student 
• Julian Sanders, Undergraduate Student 
• Alex Murarescu, Vice President for Diversity Affairs (Student Senate) 

• DeMario Bell
• Shavon Doyle-Holton