Dear Campus Community, 

On May 4th, as we ended last academic year, I shared a campus-wide email to articulate our financial realities and the work that has been done and remains ahead of us as we continue to navigate a difficult landscape. As was my intention in that note, I am committed to more deeply engaging and informing our faculty and staff of the context and factors that guide our institutional decisions. This commitment is supported by the Board and shared by the Provost and every single member of the senior leadership team. We all believe that our work is made better through input and alignment across our entire community. 

The Provost’s ongoing work has offered many engagements with the faculty and academic affairs staff including learning sessions around the budget and key projects like Blue Dot. Her new and frequently updated website details changes in Academic Affairs staffing and structures, all while providing opportunities for questions and input. On June 17th, the Provost led an information session for Academic Affairs leaders including the Provost’s Cabinet, Assistant and Associate Deans, Academic Department Chairs, Center Directors, UAS leadership, and FSBC where nearly 150 attendees explored current financial realities and critical questions together. These meetings will continue over the course of the coming academic year. 

Additionally, every university division has taken substantive steps to redirect funding toward our institutional priorities. This process relied heavily on staff voices, and I am incredibly grateful to the leaders and team members guiding these important decisions. Our work in stewardship is collective and each of us has a vital role to play. Our chapter at GVSU may be one with unique pressures and headwinds but we have built an incredible foundation that allows us to steward our institution well while not taking the difficult steps some other Michigan universities have had to take to address budget deficits and enrollment declines.  

Unfortunately, Michigan has dropped to 42nd out of 50 states for investment in our public universities, and this year continues that decline. This creates a monumental challenge in meeting a balanced budget for universities and keeping education affordable for families.

Early this morning, the legislature passed and the Governor is expected to sign this year’s state budget. I am disappointed by the absence of meaningful and necessary investments in higher education in this budget. Over the past few decades, Michigan has continuously and without regard to politics, essentially abandoned its priority in funding for universities. In addition, the current methodology harms Grand Valley, and other younger and growing universities, lacking any connection to the size of our student body or the outcomes achieved, both of which provide an outsized positive impact on our state. The budget signed today nets only a one time 1% increase in base funding for Grand Valley State University and continues our state allocation at less per student funding compared to most other state universities who receive in some cases twice as much. This means that one of our primary budget inputs falls well behind the reality of basic inflation, critical investments in our people and infrastructure.  

We have worked hard and in partnership with other public universities to advocate for the appropriate investments but believe we are one of many victims of a highly partisan and disappointing budget cycle. We will continue to push what is not only a critical issue for Grand Valley but one that deeply affects our citizens and our state.  

On July 10th, the GVSU Board of Trustees will consider and pass a budget that must now take the state’s allocation into account. That budget will also project essentially flat enrollment for the coming year, with mounting pressure as universities compete in the state for a declining population of college goers. To achieve even a flat enrollment will require all of us to remain responsive to students who today have more choices and many late breaking opportunities.  

I remain optimistic that we have all done the necessary work to protect our university today, invest in our future relevance, and build a budget that considers and cares for our people. It holds affordability and student success among our highest priorities. It also holds a contingency as many unknowns remain in front of us. I want to thank every division and department across the university who has rolled up their sleeves and done the important work of stewardship. 

While I wish this message contained better news about the state budget process and its investment in higher education, I remain committed to engagement and transparency as we navigate these challenges together for our learners and our beloved GVSU. 

Thank you for all you do for Grand Valley State University. 

Philly

Philomena Mantella, PhD
President
Grand Valley State University