The Provost serves as the chief academic officer of the university and oversees the Academic and Student Affairs Division.  The Division fosters a vibrant intellectual community to create and deliver exceptional academic and co-curricular programs and services.  The work of the Division encourages and supports students, faculty and staff toward achievement of their educational and professional goals, through robust planning, assessment and improvement processes.

As chief academic officer, the Provost is responsible for articulation of the university’s vision of academic distinction; the development and administration of academic and student affairs programs; policies relating to instruction, curriculum, student life, and continuing education; faculty and academic staff appointments and performance assessments; and scholarship and community service initiatives among faculty. 

Maria C. Cimitile began her appointment as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs on July 1, 2017.  She is committed to collaborative leadership, shared governance, excellence in teaching, innovative scholarship, strategic planning, high impact learning experiences, and purposeful academic service to the community.

Dr. Cimitile earned her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Memphis, M.A. from Villanova University, and A.B. from the College of the Holy Cross. She joined Grand Valley State University in 1999 as Assistant Professor in Philosophy, received early tenure and promotion in 2004, and full professor in 2016.

Prior to her appointment as Provost, Dr. Cimitile served as Associate Dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with responsibility for assessment and strategic planning, curriculum development, student academic appeals, and diversity initiatives.  She joined the Office of the Provost in 2009 as Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and was promoted to Associate Vice President.  Her work included development and oversight of the university curriculum, program review, academic transfer policies and procures, and assistance with divisional budgeting.

Biography

ACADEMIC YEAR START-UP RESOURCES

Provost Cimitile referenced resources during her remarks at college and University-wide start-up events. Links to the references are available here.

Remarks

Provost Cimitile’s remarks from college and unit start-up meetings are available in a PDF document at this link.

Student Profile Information

Philip Batty, Associate Vice President for Institutional Analysis, provided information on the Profile of Grand Valley Students at the 2018 New Faculty Orientation.  His presentation is available here.

Additional reports:
The Profile of First-Time-In-Any-College (FTIAC) Students is available on the Institutional Analysis website.
The MySuccessCheck: Fall 2017 report is available on the Institutional Analysis website.


Momentum Fund

There are moments in all of our lives when we need some encouragement and help from others in order to keep moving toward our goals.  Students have a variety of needs and some have financial hardships.  The GVSU Momentum Fund has been created to provide support to students who are experiencing financial hardship and not able to pay the final dollars on a tuition balance.  The Momentum Fund will be run through Financial Aid and help students with those final balances allowing them to continue their studies and graduate from Grand Valley with their degrees.  Faculty and staff may support Grand Valley students by making a gift to the Momentum Fund on the University Development website.