Grand Valley State University - glacurh

Table of Contents
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7-8
9-10
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13-14
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19-20
21-22
23-24
Introduction Letter
Institution Description
National Rankings
Residence Housing Association
RHA Programming
Conference Involvement
NRHH and Student Senate
Student Life
Housing and Residence Life
Campus Dining
New Construction
Athletics and Recreation
Academic Resources
Sustainability
Diversity and Inclusion
Letters of Support
2
Introduction Letter
HEY GLACURH!
It is with the utmost excitement and enthusiasm that we submit to you our bid
for Large School of the Year. The Residence Housing Association and the Grand Valley
State University community has undergone several changes in the past year and we
felt we could not pass up the opportunity to present to you a wonderful University
that continues to challenge itself and others. Anyone who visits our campus
immediately recognizes a distinct atmosphere, one with Laker pride at every turn. It
is this ambiance that attracts students and makes them Lakers for a Lifetime.
Throughout the past year, the GVSU Residence Housing Association has
dedicated itself to upholding the Laker tradition. Striving itself to better the
residential body and the surrounding community, RHA has made great strides to
expand its reach across campus in order to fulfill its mission. With the skills of
passionate captains and a hardworking crew, the Lakers of RHA have endured the
challenges and continue to pursue uncharted waters.
Without further ado, the faculty, staff, and students of Grand Valley State
University present to you our bid for Large School of the Year.
Respectfully,
Lakers for a Lifetime
3
Institutional Description
In 1958, a study by the Michigan Legislature found the need
for a college in the Grand Rapids area, Michigan’s second
largest metropolitan area. Planning began and Grand Valley
State College was established near the Grand River, 12 miles
away from downtown Grand Rapids. Fifty years ago, in 1963,
GVSC admitted its first class of only 225 students. In 1987, the
Michigan Legislature renamed the college to Grand Valley
State University. The 1980s and 1990s saw the addition of the
Pew Campus in downtown Grand Rapids, as well as satellite
campuses in Muskegon, Holland, and Traverse City. Last year
the University expanded yet again by establishing the Detroit
Center adjacent to Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.
Grand Valley continues to grow as we are currently
celebrating 50 years since our first graduating class. With
several construction projects underway, Grand Valley is
setting a precedent as to what a University should be. Grand
Valley has made it a mission to meet the needs of its
expanding and diverse student body, and to provide
resources that will successfully prepare students for the
future.
Fast Facts:
Type: Public Liberal Arts University
Established: 1960
Undergraduates: 21,235
Postgraduates: 3,242
Areas of Study: 200+ (31 graduate programs)
Study Abroad Programs: 4,000
Average Class Size: 27 students
Mascot: Louie the Laker
Alumni: residing in all 50 states, Canada, and 25 other
countries
Campuses: Allendale, MI (1,304 acres); Grand Rapids,
MI (33 acres); Holland, MI.; Muskegon, MI.; Traverse
City, MI.
This year is President Thomas
Haas’ tenth year
4
National Rankings
•Grand Valley was listed as one of America’s top colleges. (Forbes magazine, 2015)
•Grand Valley’s online graduate education program has been named as a “2015 Best Online
Program.” (U.S. News & World Report, 2015)
•Grand Valley's master’s program in medical and bioinformatics received 19th out of the top 25
universities in the nation that offer health care informatics degrees. (MBA Healthcare Management,
2014)
• Grand Valley's School of Engineering was ranked one of the best undergraduate engineering
programs in the country. (U.S. News & World Report, 2015)
•Grand Valley ranked 10th among U.S. master’s degree-granting institutions for total number of
study abroad students. (Institute of International Education, 2014)
•A best regional university in the Midwest, a top public regional university in the Midwest, and an
up-and-coming school in the Midwest. (U.S. News and World Report, 2013)
•Grand Valley's Seidman College of Business’ part-time M.B.A. program was the highest ranked
M.B.A. program in West Michigan. In the state, it is only outranked by University of Michigan. (U.S.
News and World Report, 2013)
•Grand Valley was named one of the Best Universities in the Midwest. (The Princeton Review, 2013)
•Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business was named one of ‘The Best 296
Business Schools’ for 2013. (The Princeton Review, 2012)
•Grand Valley was ranked a top public university in the Midwest. (U.S. News & World Report, 2012)
•“A Military Friendly School” for the fourth consecutive year. (G.I. Jobs magazine, 2012)
•Grand Valley was named one of America’s 100 Best College Buys for the 17th year in a row
(Institutional Research and Evaluation Inc., 2012). Grand Valley has made the list far more times than
any other Michigan institution.
•One of the best universities in the Midwest. (The Princeton Review, 2012)
•One of the country’s greenest universities. (Sierra Club, 2012)
•Named a ‘Green College’ for the third year in a row and listed as one of the country’s most
environmentally responsible colleges. (The Princeton Review, 2012)
5
Residence Housing Association
RHA: At Grand Valley RHA is led by six executive board members and a group of advisers.
This team sets the yearly schedule of events and budget, but this year RHA has made it a
priority to avoid a mid-semester slump in General Assembly participation that seems to
occur every year. We started early to draft a plan that would retain our members through
the year and possibly increase attendance. Thus our Committee break-out sessions were
born. These break-out sessions usually last about 30 minutes and are in the middle of
the meetings. Each member has the choice of what committee they would like to be a
part of to guarantee that they will be interested in the program and be more likely to
return each week. These committees give the members a sense of belonging and place in
RHA.
Community Councils: Community councils are the governing body of their group of
residence halls. They create community events and send a representative to RHA
meetings. These councils can request funding from RHA to assist them with their events.
Grand Valley has 11 Community Councils on campus spread throughout north and south
campus and including under and upperclassmen. The councils are a first step on campus
in making strong leaders by harnessing skills needed to enhance students’ ability to take
charge.
Governmental Structure
Advisers
President
Executive Vice
President
Vice President of
Finance
Vice President of
Marketing
Vice President of
Programming
Communications
Coordinator
Committees
Internal Affairs: Assess RHA by finds ways to improve, enrich membership, and write
legislation.
Housing Affairs: Addresses concerns by residents and improve on-campus living (i.e. policy
changes).
Programming: Plan and execute campus programs under the direction of the Vice President
Programming.
Promotions: Promote RHA and Community Councils under the direction of the Vice President
of Marketing.
6
RHA Programming
Paint the Rock
RHA invited students to sign, or “leave their mark,” on
the Grand Valley rock with the RHA logo. This was the
third year RHA did this program and it was well received
by the students, with over 400 signatures.
Pumpkin Patch Trip
As a new tradition this year
RHA made a trip to a local
pumpkin patch. The
attendees enjoyed a
hayride, corn maze, petting
zoo, apple cider, doughnuts,
and pumpkin picking.
Leadership Retreat
Leaders on campus are invited to an evening of programming and fun. This is designed to be
much like a conference with different programming sessions. Leaders learn how to use
Parliamentary Procedure, how to put on a successful program, how to be more inclusive, and
much more.
Relay for Life
Relay for Life is a 12 hour event
held in our fieldhouse with hourly
activities. This past year the
combined efforts of RHA through
our communities raised a total of
$4,000 to find a cure for cancer.
Cookie Decorating at Family Weekend
RHA handed out 1000 sugar cookies to
little kids and families at the annual
Grand Valley Family Weekend. They
also loved being able to decorate their
cookies with frosting and sprinkles!
President’s Ball Salon
This annual event is hosted in the hours leading up to
the Grand Valley President’s Ball. RHA welcomes
students to get their hair and nails done for free in a
salon-style setting. This event also benefits the
Women’s Center as attendees are asked to donate a
non-perishable food item.
7
Additional RHA Programs
Haunted Halls
An annual program sponsored by RHA and hosted by a community chosen through a bidding
process. Each community develops the plan and the winning community is given a budget and
any other supplies left from prior years. This year, with the theme of “The Rompton Insane
Asylum” a freshmen community is excited to host their first major program. Last year saw our
highest turnout yet with over 1,000 participants, bringing together students from all over
campus.
Drag Show
This is one of the most well received events on campus. The event is free for all students,
but we still ask for a non-perishable food donation to the Women’s Center on campus.
RHA brings in a professional drag show company which includes a GVSU student. This
past Drag Show brought in our largest crowd yet, about 300, with students overflowing
into the halls to get a glimpse. The executive board is looking into larger venues for this
coming year to accommodate all attendees.
8
Conference Involvement
GLACURH (Great Lakes Affiliate of
College and University Residence
Halls)
Grand Valley has experienced an amazing
year with GLACURH since the last GLACURH
conference. Through the resources
GLACURH has offered, we have been able
to grow and become more involved in the
region.
Conferences and Business Meeting
Both this past GLACURH and the current, GVSU has been able to bring full delegations to the
conferences and regional business meetings for the first time in years. In addition, we have been
submitting at least three bids a year, 4-6 programs a conference, has won at least one award a
year and volunteered over 30 hours to the regional philanthropy. One delegate, Kellie Howe,
has even won a top 10 program 2 years running. We are also happy to be hosting Kellie as the
GLACURH Coordinating Officer for Technology this current year.
Communication with Regional Member Schools
GVSU RHA has maintained contact with many of the Michigan GLACURH Universities throughout
the years. This fall we even had the Ferris State RHA President, Kayla Garrett, volunteer to help
at one of our programs. In addition, through the campus tradition of Battle of the Valley's, GVSU
and Saginaw Valley State University maintain a healthy competitive relationship against each
other. We hope to work with more GLACURH schools in the coming year.
9
Conference Involvement
NACURH (National Association of College and
University Residence Halls)
NACURH 2015 was located at North Dakota
State University. We took a larger delegation
than ever in order to bring back the most
information for our evolving RHA. It was a
tremendously beneficial and knowledge
gaining adventure with attending a variety of
programming to better our organization. This
trip was also a bonding experience for our
executive board and advisers as we drove the
17 hours for each direction of the trip and
made many memories along the way.
MORHA (Michigan Organization of
Residence Hall Associations)
In 2014, Grand Valley attended the last
MORHA conference before its
disbandment. It was held at Central
Michigan University and our delegation
was awarded, Best Banner, second place
in Roll Call, and Most Spirited Delegation.
Delegates also took home individual
awards for First Year Experience – Dan
Ziegenfelder – and Executive Board
Member of the Year- Steven Richardson.
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NRHH and Student Senate
NRHH
NRHH is currently in the midst of restructure as this is our second year having
a NRHH at Grand Valley. The focuses of NRHH this year are OTMs and building
membership. They are also putting on a service project for each semester.
This semester was a zero waste football game. NRHH meets once a month to
discuss OTMs, service, and how to recruit members. They are reaching out to
other organizations and clubs to increase numbers. In addition NRHH is
looking for nominations from current members. They want to reach out to
students as much as possible. As our NRHH is so new, we are just this year
starting to submit OTMs. In these first couple months, we have submitted
quite a few OTMs however, we have yet to win one.
Student Senate
As the official student government, Grand Valley State University's Student
Senate works to ensure that the voice of the students is continually heard by
the University. The Student Senate is comprised of 50 students who each
serve on one of seven different committees. These seven committees work
to enhance student life, academics, and the overall student experience at
Grand Valley
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Student Life
Campus Life Night: A great way to
learn about Grand Valley’s 350+ student
organizations. A one-night event filled
with information and freebies from
local businesses and non-profit
organizations, as well as many campus
resources. This event is key to getting
students involved on campus.
I am Grand Valley: A leadership recognition program
for student leaders who are an active part of the
University community. Every year, students, faculty
and staff are asked to nominate students who they
feel display and utilize strong leadership skills that
contribute to the campus and beyond.
Battle of the Valleys: A friendly fundraising
competition organized with rival, Saginaw Valley.
The competition takes place the week of GVSU vs.
SVSU football game and the winning school is
announced during half time. Each university selects
their own local charity and raises money.
Laker Leadership Programs: Provide GVSU
students with training, education, and experiences
which encourage growth as life-long leaders of
integrity. Many different programs and events such
as First Year Leadership Experience, Intermediate
Leaders Institute, Leadership Summit, and
Strengths Based Leadership Seminar and Retreat
are offered.
Intercultural Festival: A week to reflect on diverse
cultures represented at Grand Valley, Intercultural
Festival is a great way to celebrate diversity. The
festival includes displays of fashion, artwork, music,
dance, language, and food from all across the world.
Family Weekend: Students are encouraged to
invite their families to campus for the weekend.
Annual traditions include a pancake breakfast
with the President, golf outings, 5k run/walk,
farmers market, football game, and more.
Homecoming: A week of events instilling
Laker pride in the community. These events
include a homecoming concert, the crowning
of our homecoming regents, a lot of friendly
competitions, and the GVSU football game!
Sibs & Kids: Students are encouraged to invite
their siblings, cousins, nieces & nephews, to
experience GVSU. The weekend includes crafts,
games, swimming, rock climbing, sporting
events, and many other activities for all ages.
President’s Ball: Presidents’ Ball is a favorite
tradition at Grand Valley. The evening includes
a cocktail hour, dinner, and dance located at
the DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids.
Entertainment is provided by various GVSU
student organizations.
Make A Difference Day: Make a Difference Day
is a national day of service and GVSU's
Community Service Learning Center is proud to
provide this as a service opportunity for the
GVSU community for over 15 years! Groups can
participate as a part of the 350+ GVSU students
that will serve local nonprofit agencies all over
the greater Grand Rapids and Allendale area!
This event takes place on a Saturday in October
each year.
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Housing and Residence Life
Traditional-Style
There are three traditional style housing options on
campus. Rooms are shared between two people and
community bathrooms are in each floor. These are
available to freshmen and foster a strong
community atmosphere.
Suit-Style
Suit-style is another housing option
available to freshmen on campus. This
provides a bathroom shared between
two rooms and still offers residents a
friendly community to be a part of.
Apartment-Style
Apartment-style brings a more spacious,
home like feel to the residents. It features
their own bathroom and a shared living
space with a roommate.
29 Residence
Halls
“Living on campus gives you
opportunities and advantages
that can make your college
experience more memorable,
more enjoyable, and more
successful.” –GVSU Housing
6,068 Beds
On Campus Apartments
These options have individual bedrooms, a
large living room area, and full kitchens. The
privacy in these options allow students for a
more comfortable living experience.
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Housing and Residence Life
Living Learning Communities:
•
•
•
•
•
Art Housing
International House
Movement Science House
Women in Science, Engineering, and
Math – WISE
Women’s Leadership House
Housing and Residence Life offers living-learning
communities in a number of our on-campus
apartments. Students living in these buildings have
chosen to expand their education through shared
learning experiences, and each community is built
upon a specific theme, major, or area of interest.
Professional and graduate staff work closely with a
faculty coordinator in these communities to provide
a rich living-learning experience that extends outside
of the classroom (programs, events, field trips,
research, etc.).
Niemeyer Honors College Housing
Honors College housing is an opportunity to live
among other honors students. This simplifies
finding study groups and working on group
projects. It also brings a level of convenience
because these students live in the same building
they attend class.
Grand Valley Greek Housing
Greek Housing at Grand Valley is an altogether
new opportunity. These housing options have
been recently built to better the Greek Life on
campus and reward the hard work these
organizations have accomplished through their
yearly philanthropy and community service.
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Campus Dining
Campus dinning is a high priority at Grand Valley. The facilities have been renovated to serve the most
students possible and provide the best dining experience. Each part of campus has its own options to
offer convenience to all students.
North Campus
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Kleiner: This dining option features a Qdoba and also offers salads, grill
options, a bistro, and a rotating menu.
Fresh/Einstein Bagels: This is the buffet style on campus and provides a
large variety of different meals. A salad bar is also available at all times
with a soup station. Einstein is a coffee and bagel location which is popular
among students with early classes.
Fuel: Combining Papa Johns, Freshens, Bleaker St., and Jump Asian
Express Cuisine this establishment is a great mid-day stop to grab a quick
lunch and study.
Central Campus
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Panda Express: As a new addition to campus this year, Panda Express has
become one of the hottest places to dine at lunch time.
Subway: This is a reliable favorite for much of the Grand Valley population.
This year a new location has doubled its size and allowed more student
access. Grand Valley and Subway have partnered this year to create a meal
plan option with a 6 inch sub instead of being cash only.
Fusion: Another renovated location on campus, Fusion includes pastas,
pizzas, salads, Mexican and traditional American cuisine.
The Marketplace: As a brand new dining option in the new science
building The Marketplace has a Starbucks and Which Wich. The new
sandwich and coffee spot provides a great break in between classes.
South Campus

Connection: The Connection brings together a salad bar, sub sandwiches,
a rotating kitchen menu, a Panini bistro, Java City, and Papa Johns.
Students living on south campus particularly enjoy having a close dining
facility which caters to many different tastes.
15
New Construction
P. Douglas Kindschi Hall
of Science
The 151,720 square-foot, four story
building includes nine classrooms, 15
teaching laboratories, 14 faculty/student
research laboratories, a computational
research lab, study spaces, offices and
conference rooms. It will allow for a
better learning environment and help
expand the science department at Grand
Valley.
Recreation Center Expansion
All together, these expanded areas will add roughly 50,000 square feet to the existing Recreation
Center. Currently, the Recreation Center is 45,000 sq. feet so these expansions will double the
current size. The additions will include 3 new courts, a new spin room/group exercise room, an
improved stretching/functional training space with equipment, men's and women's locker rooms,
a gender neutral locker room, and additional weight room and cardio space with new equipment.
New Housing
This building project will add much needed
resident living space on campus. The project
will feature smaller person to bathroom
ratios than a traditional-style and rooms will
be larger in size as well. Grand Valley is trying
an innovative living arrangement called
cluster, as rooms are situated around
bathrooms and lounge spaces. They will be
built to LEED standards with state-of-art
sustainability practices and will be complete
for the 2016 academic school year.
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Athletics and Recreation
Men’s Sports
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Football
Golf
Swimming & Diving
Tennis
Track & Field
Grand Valley is NCAA Division II
and competes in the Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (GLIAC)
Women’s Sports
Basketball
Cross Country
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming & Diving
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball
Recreational
Clubs
Backpacking Club
Boxing Club
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club
Capoeira Mandinga
Club
Cricket Club
Disk Golf Club
Fencing Club
Indoor Lacrosse Club
Just Tennis! Club
Kung Fu Club
Power Lifting Club
Table Tennis Club
Taekwondo Club
Vertical Earth Club
Yoga Club
Free Facilities
Campus Recreation Center
Intramural Turf Fields/Sand
Volleyball Courts
Kelly Family Sports Center
Climbing Center
Intramurals
Baseball
Bowling
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Roller Hockey
Rowing
Rugby
Soccer
Ultimate Frisbee
Volleyball
Water Polo
Wrestling
Bowling
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Rowing
Rugby
Soccer
Softball
Synchronized
Swimming
Ultimate Frisbee
Volleyball
Water Polo
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Academic Resources
Student Academic Success Center (SASC)
Helping students reach their academic and
personal goals, the SASC offers several learning
skill services to provide the support students
need to be successful. These services include
general learning and study strategies as well as
help in the areas of test taking, note taking,
mind-mapping, time/self-management, stress,
research, procrastination, reading,
concentration, and more.
Mathematics/Statistics Tutoring Center
A place for students in many levels of math
classes to get help. Tutoring is primarily done
by GVSU undergraduates and is free. There are
also tutors available in the Eberhard Center on
the downtown Pew campus.
The LAKER Academic Success Center
Provides advising and academic support services
to over 500 student athletes who are
participating in the 19 NCAA and GLIAC
sanctioned sports.
The Knowledge Market
Peer Consultants work one-on-one or in small
groups to develop research strategies, writing
skills, or polish your presentations. They can
help you develop research questions,
strategies, and focus for completing
assignments. Also, they can help to brainstorm,
organize content, integrate research, polish a
draft, and correctly document source.
Additionally, the Knowledge Market can help
with topic selection, organization, supporting
materials, and most importantly, practicing
speech delivery.
The Science Success Center
Offers academic support for students in the field
of Science. The facilitators are upper-level
students who have mastered content in various
science courses and provide one-on-one as well
as group tutoring.
Career Center
The Career Center offers individual career
advising. A few services include interview
practice, resume assistance, career fairs,
workshops, and information sessions. The
Center also maintains a database of full-time
professional job and internship opportunities.
Language Resource Center (LRC)
A modern learning center rich with media and
resources that will guide students through the
beginning semesters of foreign language studies
and beyond. The LRC offers a computer lab
reserved solely for foreign language homework.
The lab also includes over 2,000 feature-film and
cultural vides in every language offered by the
University.
The Writing Center
Assists students with any writing project. The
center's well-trained peer consultants can help
brainstorm ideas, organize content, integrate
research, polish a draft, and correctly document
sources.
18
Sustainability
There may never be a better time to make a commitment to sustainability, and Grand Valley puts a
large emphasis on creating a sustainable community and world. In addition to the university’s
dedication to being environmentally friendly, fiscally responsible, and involved in the community, its
mission of educating students to shape their lives, their professions, and their societies fuels the core of
sustainability. Through education, Grand Valley aims to make students more mindful, responsible and
passionate individuals who will be mobilized to create a world and society that can be enjoyed by both
the people of today and those of tomorrow.
Food
Farmers Market – Over 20
booths featuring local farmers
and food producers, once a
week from June to October.
Local Produce is used in all
campus dining.
Cage Free Eggs - GVSU is the
first university in Michigan to
commit to using cage free eggs
exclusively.
Fair Trade Products – GVSU
offers fair trade products to
ensure that the workers and
producers of the product are
treated fairly and receive a
Water
living wage.
Reducing Impermeable Surfaces
- Impermeable
surfaces increase water runoff. Grand Valley has made
efforts to decrease impermeable surfaces on its
campuses with green roofs; permeable pavement,
sidewalks, and courtyards, as well as a 9,000 squarefoot rain garden near the Laker Turf Building.
Water Conservation - Water consumption has been
reduced with waterless urinals, reduced-flow shower
heads, low-flush toilets, irrigation rain gauges, and
going tray-less in Campus Dining.
Storm Water Retention Pond - The rain garden next to
the Laker Turf Building feeds into a storm water
retention pond to reduce runoff and erosion of the
ravines. The water is then used to irrigate athletic fields,
which reduces Grand Valley's water costs and its load
on the municipal sewer system.
Composting
Campus Dining composts food waste
and compostable food and beverage
containers in several of its locations.
Efforts so far have reduced the amount
of trash sent to a landfill by about
10,000 pounds each week.
Recycling
Grand Valley recycles paper, cardboard,
plastics, glass, metal, batteries, and
computers. Recycling bins are located
throughout the housing units,
classrooms, student centers, and office
buildings. Over the last five years, GVSU
has doubled its recycling rate. Each
winter, GVSU competes against other
universities nationally in the Recycle
Mania competition to see who can
recycle the most.
Paper Reduction
Duplex printing is the default option in
most computer labs on campus. The
transition to duplex printing saved more
than nine million sheets of paper in its
first year. Paper usage has also been
reduced in the classroom as a result of
the Blackboard website, where students
can obtain class readings or submit
assignments electronically.
19
Sustainability
LEED Certified Buildings
Grand Valley has committed to building
LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) buildings. LEED
buildings use 30 percent less energy, 40
percent less water and 75 percent less
material than regular buildings. Grand Valley
currently has 18 LEED certified buildings
including:
GOLD Level
 Laker Turf Building (2008)
 South Apartments C/D/E (2010)
 Kelly Family Sports Center (2010)
 Seidmen College of Business (2013)
 Mary Idema Pew Library (2013)
Silver Level
 Lake Ontario Hall (2005)
 Mackinac Hall (2008)
 Niemeyer Honors College (2008)
 The Connection (2010)
Pizza Boxes for Compost
GVSU encourages
students to recycle their
pizza boxes which in
turn end up with in our
compost. Last year
Grand Valley collected
enough boxes to stack
3,166 ft. high. That is
over 19,000 pizza boxes,
or 3 Eiffel Towers!
GVSU saves more than $1.1 million
per year by monitoring and
documenting energy consumption
Zero Waste Football Games
Grand Valley’s football games bring in over
15,000 fans. From all those fans and the hard
work of volunteers there was only 1 bag of
trash in the entire stadium. Everything else
was either recycled or composted.
20
Diversity and Inclusion
After a 2005 report indicated that GVSU was less than favorable in terms of diversity and inclusion,
GVSU increased its attention in this area. GVSU created the Division of Inclusion and Equity to make
the community more inclusive for all and launched an Inclusion and Implementation Plan to provide a
rich, inclusive learning and working environment that attracts, retains, and supports a diverse
community.
Among other improvements, GVSU established employee salary review for gender equity,
established International students and faculty recruitment, initiated household member benefits,
started providing services for student veterans, put inclusive advocates on search committees, and
started providing services for nontraditional students.
Organizations
African Student Council
American Sign Language & Culture
Club
Arab Culture Club
Asian Student Union
Black Student Union
Catholic Student Association
CrossBow Music (Celtic fiddling)
Disability Advocates of Grand
Valley
Dutch Student Organization
Exploring World Cultures
Hillel (Jewish)
International Socialist Club
International Students Organization
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Japanese Cultural Association
Kpop Group Evolution
Latino Student Union
Lutheran Campus Ministry
Model Arab League Club
Muslim Students’ Association
Native American Student
Association
Old World Music Club
Out ‘N’ About
Sabrosisimo (Latin Dance)
Saudi Student Club
Students for Special Olympics
Advocacy
Team Against Bias
To Write Love on Her Arms
University Christian Outreach
You Beautiful Black Woman
Areas of Study
African/American Studies
Chinese Studies
East Asian Studies
Latin American Studies
Liberal Studies
Middle East Studies
Russian Studies
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Studies
Women and Gender Studies
Modern Languages & Literature Department programs:
Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish,
Russian, Spanish
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Diversity and Inclusion
Programs
Sexy Accent Night
An annual cultural extravaganza, highlight music, dance, food, clothing and cultural differences from
the countries represented in the GVSU student body. The international students seek to engage with
the domestic students in a dialogue bout differences and similarities among them. This event allows
for exposure, excitement, and education.
Lavender Graduation
An annual cultural celebration that recognizes
LGBTA students’ contributions to the university
and acknowledges their achievements during
their college experience. Students are officially
recognized by the institution for their leadership,
success, and achievement.
Pow Wow
An annual campus event hosted by the Native American Student Association (NASA) where students
gain knowledge and awareness of Native culture and traditions. A traditional Pow Wow is a
community gathering and celebration of Native American culture through ceremony, song, dance,
festival, and socializing. Dancers, drummers, Elders, Veterans, and other honored guests perform and
participate in the celebration. This is the 16th year GVSU has had a Pow Wow and there were
approximately 700 participants at the 2013 Pow Wow.
Services
Disability Support Resources
Promotes the full inclusion of individuals with
disabilities, provides support services and
accommodations, and helps to educate on
disability issues.
Division of Inclusion & Equity
Provides leadership in the development and
implementation of diversity awareness and
intercultural competency for students, faculty,
and staff.
LGBT Resource Center
Works to create an inclusive environment by
providing resources, services, support, education,
and leadership programs related to gender and
sexuality.
Office of Multicultural Affairs
Fosters an appreciation and respect for the
history, tradition, and culture of different ethnic
groups and empowers students to be active and
engaged listeners.
Padnos International Center
Fosters an appreciation and awareness of diverse
cultures, people and ideas, and organizes and
coordinates GVSU’s international programs and
activities.
Women’s Center
Provides meaningful learning about women and
gender, advocates for gender justice through the
education, engagement, and empowerment.
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