Dear Colleagues:

As the semester progresses, I am pleased to share an overview of the strategic planning process for the Division of Academic Affairs along with updates on key projects and initiatives. These efforts reinforce our commitment to delivering a high-quality, dynamic education for our students while fostering an environment where faculty and staff can thrive. As we plan for the future, we also remain dedicated to the excellent work we do every day – engaging students, advancing scholarship, and supporting one another across our campuses.

To keep you informed and engaged, we have added a dedicated section to our Lakers Ready newsletter. This will be our primary tool for sharing announcements, gathering feedback, and fostering deeper involvement in our initiatives. You can expect updates like this at least once each semester as we maintain our commitment to transparency and open communication.

Your insights and participation are essential to our collective success. I encourage you to stay connected, share your perspectives, and be part of shaping the future of Academic Affairs and Grand Valley. Together, we will continue to strengthen our institution and create meaningful opportunities for our students, faculty, and staff.

With gratitude for all you do,

Jen

Jennifer Drake
Acting Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Updates:

Throughout 2025, Grand Valley will be reflecting on the Reach Higher 2025 strategic plan to assess our accomplishments, affirm our commitments, and define our next steps. Within the Division of Academic Affairs, the purpose of this process is to shape our collective future while building on our divisional and institutional strengths. Grounded in our institution’s mission, vision, and values, our strategic planning efforts enable us to share our stories in meaningful ways and focus our efforts on advancing the institution’s continuing commitments: an empowered educational experience, a lifetime of learning, and a culture of educational equity. It is also an opportunity to collectively imagine where we want to be 5, 10, or 20 years from now. This moment calls for collaboration and action to define our path and create a lasting impact on our university community and beyond.

Shared Understanding

Each Dean, Vice Provost, or Assistant/Associate Vice President will establish a process for leading strategic planning in their areas of responsibility, coordinating with any existing process already underway. 

At the heart of this effort is the belief that strategic planning is a shared responsibility. Each of our voices contributes to shaping Grand Valley’s future. Grand Valley’s three commitments--an empowered educational experience, a lifetime of learning, and a culture of educational equity--will continue to guide us. These commitments represent our dedication to providing a transformative education, fostering inclusion, and preparing students for the challenges of today and tomorrow. 

For Academic Affairs, this strategic planning effort is an opportunity to align our goals with these commitments and to imagine additional commitments, while also addressing the unique needs and aspirations of our college, units, and disciplines. The WHY of this work is that WE aim to: 

This proactive planning process is designed to complement and enhance the strategic work already underway in our colleges and units. Through thoughtful engagement, we aim to clarify our shared goals, identify gaps, and explore opportunities for growth and innovation. We encourage you to fully engage in this process, aligning your strategic efforts with the broader university vision while addressing the distinctive challenges and opportunities within your units and programs. Together, we will create a roadmap that builds on our successes, strengthens our collective work, and extends our impact for years to come.

Questions? Contact your Dean, Appointing Officer, or Sean Lancaster, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.

GVSU is a member of the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) for 2023-2026. This is a long-term project at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, focusing on faculty. As part of the collaboration, during Winter 2024, regular and affiliate faculty were asked to participate in COACHE’s Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. 

Since the beginning of the Fall 2024, after COACHE sent the results of the survey to our COACHE Steering Committee, various reports have been shared with GVSU faculty and staff, including the “Preview Report”, the “Full Report” and the “Deans’ Reports”.  All of these reports and related documents, are available on GVSU’s COACHE reporting page. Along with the reports, the Steering Committee held several faculty/staff conversations during the Fall semester about the survey results, and the University Academic Senate (UAS) has also discussed the results multiple times.

This semester, plans are being finalized for facilitated discussions between faculty members and administrators regarding the issues raised in the reports around governance at the university. At the same time, the Steering Committee is developing plans to address other issues found in the findings, including the nature of faculty work.

Questions? Contact the COACHE Steering Committee Co-Chairs:

Ed Aboufadel, Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Krista Benson, Associate Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Studies

Following the approval by the University Academic Senate in Winter 2024 of a university-wide definition of digital literacy, Acting Provost Drake appointed Laurence José, Professor of Writing and Program Director, Digital Studies, and Vinicius Lima, Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Unit Head, Visual and Media Arts, as faculty leaders for an initiative designed to expand and support digital literacy across the curriculum. 

In collaboration with Annie Bélanger (Dean of University Libraries) and Christine Rener (Vice Provost for Instructional Development and Innovation), the group developed a plan to serve as a roadmap for faculty and leadership to collaboratively develop an institutional framework to enhance digital literacy across Grand Valley State University’s curriculum. Goals for the project are to:

Project Thought Partners who will help lead this work include:

Next steps include collaborating with the colleges to create ways for faculty and staff to provide input. This project is supported by Academic Affairs and a direct continuation of the work undertaken by the Blue Dot subcommittee #3, “Catalyzing digital literacy across the university” in Winter 2023. 

Questions? Contact project co-leads:

Laurence José, Professor of Writing and Program Director, Digital Studies
Vinicius Lima, Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Unit Head, Visual and Media Arts

GVSU began working with Gray Decision Intelligence (https://www.graydi.us/) in Summer 2024 to build a comprehensive data platform to help us make more informed decisions about our academic programs and units. The platform will enable us to:

In Fall 2024, we previewed the system through introductory and training events with the Senior Leadership Team, Provost’s Cabinet, Associate Deans, members of ECS/UAS and Faculty Salary and Budget Committee, committee chairs, and unit heads. Quality assurance is ongoing to ensure accurate data is used.

The next edition of Lakers Ready will contain details, videos, and access to the platform for GVSU faculty and staff through a webpage currently being finalized.

Questions? Contact Aaron Lowen, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The initial stages of developing a strategic plan for research, scholarship, and creative activity at GVSU have begun. As the university continues to grow and evolve, it is essential that we create a clear, forward-looking framework that upholds and enhances our teacher-scholar model. The SPARCA (Strategic Plan to Augment Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity) will build on our tradition of integrating research, scholarship, and creative activity into the heart of our mission for learning and discovery.

We are establishing a research advisory consortium composed of faculty, staff, and university leadership. Over the next two months, this group will collaborate to assess strengths and identify opportunities within their respective areas of expertise. The insights gathered will inform GVSU's scholarly priorities and aspirations, which will serve as the foundation for the SPARCA. We will also gather input from faculty and staff through open forums (dates to be announced soon) and online surveys. In addition to updates in Lakers Ready, a SPARCA webpage has been created to provide additional information.

Questions? Contact project co-leads:

Jennifer Moore, Associate Professor of Biology
Jeffrey Potteiger, Interim Dean, College of Health Professions

Student success is a Grand Valley priority, and we share this work across the institution. Over the past two years, more than $7 million has been invested in student success initiatives in multiple Divisions through a combination of general funds, one-time reserves, and grant funding. We have:

Questions? Contact Cathy Buyarski, Vice Provost for Advising and Student Success.