Lakers Ready

Division of Academic Affairs

August 11, 2025

Lakers Ready is sent by the Office of the Provost
to faculty and staff within the Division of Academic Affairs

In this issue of Lakers Ready:

A Note from the Provost

Dear Colleagues: 

The start of a new academic year is always one of my favorite times on campus. The air is filled with energy and hope—it's a season of fresh ideas, renewed connections and the shared excitement of all that is possible.  

Last week the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center hosted a terrific New Faculty Orientation for all new faculty, including 63 on the tenure track, and the annual Fall Conference on Teaching and Learning is coming up later this week. Whether you are a returning member of our faculty or staff, or joining Grand Valley for the first time, you are part of a community that supports one another, grows together, and works every day to prepare our learners for a lifetime of resilience, impact, and success. 

This fall we will continue the important work of refining the Academic Affairs Strategic Plan together. Over the past year, many of you shared your ideas, expertise, and hopes for our collective future. Over the summer, the Provost’s Cabinet team processed the input gathered to develop a draft framework for Academic Affairs strategic planning. At the upcoming college start-up meetings, I’ll share our framework along with our vision and strategic priorities. The full draft plan will be available during the first week of classes. Your perspectives and feedback during this review period will be vital in ensuring the final plan reflects the strengths, values, and aspirations of our community.  

I anticipate seeing many of you at the Fall Kick-Off events listed below and I look forward to the conversations, collaborations, and moments of discovery that will define this year. Here’s to a fall semester filled with curiosity and connection! 

Best, 

Jen 

Projects and Initiatives Updates

The Integrated Student Success Initiative is a comprehensive approach to enhancing student experiences through coordinated academic policies. Rather than treating institutional policies in isolation, this initiative recognizes how various requirements collectively influence student outcomes. In collaboration with multiple campus departments and student representatives, educational modules were developed to address key policy areas that impact student success. Click on the links below for resources pertaining to upcoming academic events. For questions or additional information about this initiative, please contact Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Felix N. Ngassa.

Video Resources:

As part of the University’s commitment to strengthen the digital literacy skills of all students, eLearning Technologies, in partnership with the Digital Literacy taskforce, is pleased to announce the launch of two new self-paced learning modules. These modules are designed to equip students with essential tech skills and cybersecurity basics to help them navigate academic life successfully at Grand Valley State University.

The modules will be available on August 1st to all faculty and students via a Blackboard site titled “Digital Skills for College Success”, alongside the original Blackboard orientation. The Essential Tech Skills module covers operating systems, file management (types, organization, and naming), productivity tools, and online communication. The Cybersecurity model builds on this knowledge and introduces students to password management tips, multi-factor authentication, and navigating an online presence. 

For each module, students will be able to download a certificate of completion that confirms they have completed the work, making it easy for faculty to integrate the modules into their courses or to recommend them as additional support. 

Contacts:
For technical questions, contact bbadmin@vsu.edu.

Faculty interested in incorporating technical and digital literacy skills into their courses may contact Avery Olearczyk, Digital Literacy Librarian, at olearcza@gvsu.edu. 

Updates

At the end of July, faculty and staff were informed that their 2025-26 salary/compensation merit statements were now available on Workday. A new “SalaryFest” screencast is now available from the Office of the Provost which dives into the details of how salary adjustments are made in the summer. Further information about the process is available from the Faculty Salary and Budget Committee (FSBC), including a discussion of what to do if you have questions about your annual salary adjustment or your overall salary. HR provided useful information for faculty and EAP staff in their July mailing, and a page with historical data on the distribution of salaries and raises is also published by FSBC.

This is a reminder of the “FIXIT” system set up by the Faculty Facilities Planning Advisory Committee (FFPAC) – for faculty to report on facilities or IT matters that need attention, as well as suggest classroom improvements. Several years ago, small brown magnets were placed on white boards in classrooms with information about FIXIT. Last academic year, FFPAC worked with administrators to redesign the magnets, and new blue magnets (and flyers) are being placed in classrooms in time for the first day of class. Please take a moment to find a classroom and review the new design.

Provost Drake has appointed Dr. Erica Hamilton to the newly combined role of Vice Provost for Distributed Learning and Dean of the Graduate School. This decision followed strong support expressed through the Provost’s Cabinet Member Assessment process and through a recent survey of Graduate Program Directors and Graduate Council members. 

In this expanded role, Dr. Hamilton will provide leadership for distributed learning across the university, advancing GVSU’s portfolio of credit-bearing online, low-residency, and hybrid programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She will work closely with the colleges, academic units, the OMNI division, and key partners to ensure these programs are high-quality, scalable, and aligned with GVSU’s mission and strategic enrollment goals. 

As Dean of the Graduate School, she will continue to support program excellence, collaborate with deans and Graduate Program Directors, and steward policies and resources that promote timely completion, inclusive excellence, and strong student outcomes. 

As faculty prepare their syllabi for the fall semester, there are policy matters to keep in mind:

Ensuring that syllabi clearly describes the professor's expectations of student is important. For example, including additional expectations about course schedule or format changes, revised technology requirements, or adoption of new learning materials may be necessary. The Pew FTLC website offers information on Syllabus Design as well as Syllabus Statement Examples.

This semester, Fall Break is scheduled for October 19-21, which includes a Monday and Tuesday. As you build out your course and departmental calendars, please keep the following in mind. Although Fall Break days are not university holidays, they are comparable to Spring Break and Labor Day in that classes are not held and other activities outside of teaching are suspended. As such, there should be no faculty meetings held during Fall Break. In terms of courses, no assignments may be due, and no quizzes, tests or exams may be administered, except for the limited programs that have received an exemption from Fall Break.

Catch up on past Lakers Ready anytime - previous editions are available online. The archives are a great way to revisit announcements, highlights, and helpful resources you may have missed. 

Ongoing updates and resources related to new executive orders, federal memos, and other important federal actions are available on Division of People, Equity, and Culture website. Updates on executive orders impacting federally-funded projects can be found on the Office of Sponsored Programs website.

Engaged Scholarship

Congrats to Larry Wyn, Program Manager in the CLAS Center for Experiential Learning, on a $989,182 grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. This award supports the Michigan STEM (MiSTEM) Network, which advances Michigan's STEM strategic priorities through Computer Science education by supporting regional collaboratives that provide strategic leadership, professional learning, career awareness opportunities, and implementation support aligned with state and federal STEM strategies.

Krista Benson, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, co-authored Reproductive Justice, Adoption, and Foster Care. Understanding practices of family separation and child removal necessitates considering the impacts of globalizing capitalism, colonialism, empire building, and the normalization of systemic racism. This book explores those connections and the political, social, and personal impacts. Click here to learn more about this book.

Policies & Classroom Quiz

Question: SLT policy 3.12 addresses textbook selection by faculty. Who reviews the decision when a faculty member “have or will receive royalties or revenue” for a book they wish to assign to a course?

Question: On the GV Classrooms site (search classrooms on gvsu.edu), find the page for 2010 Seidman. Does this room have a sink? Carpet? Broad availability of power? 

Events

The Pew Campus Staff Appreciation Event that was postponed due to a power outage has been rescheduled for September 3, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m., University Club Room, DeVos Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus. Come enjoy sweet summer treats, good conversations, plenty of laughs, and a little swag as our token of appreciation. RSVP your attendance. 

Join colleagues for these events that mark the kick-off of the 2025-2026 academic year:

In Case You Missed It

Summer Laker Ready Editions
8/7 - Laker Club Talks kick off this fall with Dean Bayo Ogundipe

Important Dates and Links

Previously Shared Events
8/11 - Learn the Library Half-Day Conference - 10:00 a.m., Mary Idema Pew Library, Valley Campus
8/14 - 31st Annual Fall Conference on Teaching and Learning - 8:00 a.m., Eberhard Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
8/20 - Faculty and Staff Fall Kickoff Celebration, 4:00 p.m., L. William Seidman Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
8/22 - University Address - 11:00 a.m., Louis Armstrong Theatre, Haas Center for Performing Arts, Valley Campus
8/24 - College Welcome, 1:00 p.m., Allendale Campus10/2 - GV Technology Summit - 12:00 p.m., 102-104 DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health, Health Campus
9/9 - Laker Club Talk: Bayo Ogundipe, Dean, Padnos College of Engineering, 4:00 p.m., Laker Club, Valley Campus

Dates
8/25 - Classes Begin
8/31-9/1 - Labor Day Recess
10/19-21 - Fall Break
11/26-30 - Thanksgiving Recess
12/6-13 - Exam Week
12/6 - Commencement
12/16 - Grades Due by 12:00 p.m.

Links
Lakers Ready - repository of this newsletter and a link to submit content
Laker Family Network - repository of the monthly newsletter sent by the Division of Student Affairs to GVSU parents/supporters

Lakers Ready will be distributed on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month.