The Department of History was founded in the 1960s along with Grand Valley itself. The Department offers undergraduate major programs in History, Secondary History Education, Secondary and Elementary Group Social Studies, a minor in the History of Science and is an active founding member of the minor in Archaeology. In addition, History faculty teach a significant number of courses in the College of Education, the Honors College, the Comprehensive Science & Arts for Teaching program, Area Studies, Global Studies, International Relations, and Liberal Studies. The Department of History also contributes significantly to the General Education and Supplemental Writing Skills programs at all levels. Furthermore, History faculty lead significant regional centers, such as the Veteran's History Project and the Michigan Council for History Education, and are board members of the Kutsche Office of Local History and other important local and regional organizations. Our strategic plan for 2016-2021 aims to better support our students and faculty, and to enhance and build upon our existing programs.
Mission
The Department of History advances public knowledge and understanding of the past as it informs the present and future. We offer a multidisciplinary approach that combines our global cultural heritage with long-neglected voices, uses a range of tools and perspectives, and provides the knowledge and skills necessary for informed decision making.
Vision
We provide a student-centered program that is committed to excellent teaching, scholarship, and service. Through our commitment to the liberal arts tradition, we help students develop skills of inquiry, reflection, critical analysis, dialogue, and expression. We are dedicated to inspiring all our students - be they our History and Group Social Studies majors or students we encounter in our general education courses - to pursue excellence in their chosen professions and serve the broader local, regional, national, and international communities in which they live.
As a community of scholars, we help to enlarge the state of knowledge in our field through our active engagement in intellectual and creative pursuits. We recognize that active scholarship enriches our teaching and enables to serve students, the university, and the broader community. We bring the historians perspective to courses in the University Honors College and other interdisciplinary programs; we participate actively in preparing teachers of History and Social Studies as well as preparing our majors for further study and careers in a variety of fields. We promote faculty and student participation in national and international inquiry and discourse. We are dedicated to serving the broader West Michigan community through our engagement in local and regional history forums.
Value Statement
We value:
1. Critical historical inquiry that recognizes complexity, multiple explanations of change, and the active role of humans in shaping their histories and their understanding of the past.
2. Diverse, innovative, and effective pedagogical strategies that enable students to gain historical knowledge and analytical skills.
3. A diverse and respectful learning community comprised of faculty, students and staff.
4. Modeling outstanding teaching as we prepare future educators.
5. Teaching history through conversations that are best conducted in small classes with an open-minded, respectful, and questioning spirit.
6. The liberal arts tradition, which encourages open-ended and open-minded inquiry, respectful dialogue, and interdisciplinary research.
7. General Education and embrace an active and vigorous role in the universitys General Education program.
8. Interdisciplinary and collaborative scholarship and teaching.
9. Faculty scholarship, which informs excellent teaching and involve students when possible.
10. Student historical researchin class, in self-directed research projects, and in collaboration with faculty.
11. Faculty and student participation in international and cross-cultural study.
12. Collaboration with the broader community, both academic and non-academic.
Strategic Priorities, outcomes, and key objectives
Strategic Priority Area 1: Actively engage learners at all levels.
Outcome A: Grand Valley's learning environment is personal, challenging, and transformational, supporting excellent academic programs and co-curricular opportunities.
Outcome B: Grand Valley is diverse and inclusive.
Outcome C: Grand Valley has mutually beneficial relationships, partnerships, collaborations, and connections with local, state, national, and world communities.
Outcome E: Grand Valley strategically allocates its fiscal, human, and other institutional resources.
Strategic Priority Area 2: Further develop exceptional personnel.
Outcome B: Grand Valley is diverse and inclusive.
Outcome C: Grand Valley has mutually beneficial relationships, partnerships, collaborations, and connections with local, state, national, and world communities.
Outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.
Strategic Priority Area 3: Ensure the alignment of institutional structures and functions.
Outcome A: Grand Valley's learning environment is personal, challenging, and transformational, supporting excellent academic programs and co-curricular opportunities.
Strategic Priority Area 4: Enhance the institution's image and reputation.
Outcome A: Grand Valley's learning environment is personal, challenging, and transformational, supporting excellent academic programs and co-curricular opportunities.
Outcome C: Grand Valley has mutually beneficial relationships, partnerships, collaborations, and connections with local, state, national, and world communities.
Outcome E: Grand Valley strategically allocates its fiscal, human, and other institutional resources.
