Lakers Ready

Division of Academic Affairs

September 8, 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

Colleagues, 

Last week I introduced the Academic Affairs Strategic Framework website, where you can explore the draft vision, strategic priorities, and proposed moves and actions. I’d like to encourage you to join the upcoming Academic Affairs Strategic Planning Forums. These sessions are our opportunity to shape the framework together, a plan that builds on our strengths, blends liberal education with career-focused preparation, and positions us to meet the future with confidence and creativity. Dates for the forums are noted below. 

Every voice matters. Whether you spend your days in classrooms, labs, studios, offices, clinical and field sites, or any of the many spaces where you contribute, the work you do every day inspires this framework. The forums are an opportunity to share your insights, ask questions, and help refine a vision that will guide our shared priorities for years to come. 

I hope you’ll join me at one or more of the sessions! Bring your perspective, your ideas, and your hopes for our students, faculty and staff. Together, we’ll create a plan that not only reflects who we are, but also who we aspire to become. 

With appreciation, 

Jen  

Provost Drake recently shared the Strategic Framework website with the Division of Academic Affairs. On this site you will find the draft vision, strategic priorities, and proposed moves and actions. Your voices are essential as we refine the framework and move toward implementation. Between now and October 15, you can participate in any of the following ways:

Campus Forums
We will host seven open forums across our Valley and City campuses and via Zoom. Please complete the RSVP form to join as many sessions as you wish. Participants are encouraged to pre-read the Strategic Framework.

Individual Feedback

If you prefer to respond independently or anonymously, use the Individual Feedback Form on the AASF website.

College/Unit Group Session
Deans or unit heads may convene a group discussion and submit a single summary using the College or Unit Feedback Form. You may also contact AVP Lancaster for guidance in facilitating conversations and to submit group feedback.

Updates

Earlier this year, the University Academic Senate supported the report and recommendations from the Taskforce on Admissions Standards. Building on that important work, Provost Drake and Vice President Truss invite faculty and staff to apply for two opportunities to be involved in the University’s admissions process. 

Opportunity #1 – Holistic Admissions Committee 

Two tenured faculty members will be appointed to serve on this committee. We are seeking faculty members with experience analyzing student success data and teaching first-year students. The committee reviews student applications based on the holistic review rubric. The committee will also recommend updates to the evaluation rubric and annually review student success data from Institutional Analysis for students admitted under the holistic process. 

Opportunity #2 – Holistic Review Study Team 

A team of faculty and staff with expertise in admissions processes, analyzing student success data, or data science will be appointed to study the success of students admitted through Holistic Review from 2020 to 2025.  

How to Apply 

Applications will be accepted until 5 PM on Friday, September 12 via this web form. Provost Drake and Vice President Truss will review all submissions and make appointments by the end of September. Those appointed to these groups will begin their service in October. 

If you have any questions, please contact AVP Aaron Lowen. 

Congratulations to our Academic Affairs 11 colleagues who are Presidential Fellows this year. In alphabetical order: Annie Bélanger, Vijay Bhuse, Kyle Brink, Chris Cirefice, Merritt Delano-Taylor, Paul Hillman, Laila McCloud, Karyn Rabourn, Darien Ripple, Tammy Shreiner, and Richard Vallery. They will be working closely with the Vice-Provosts and AVPs to advance areas of strategic importance for our division. Learn more about them and their focus areas.

Beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year, professional development funds for each regular faculty member will increase from $900 to $1200. The additional funds will be distributed to the deans’ administration accounts this week and they will allocate the additional funds to the department professional development designations.

Several years ago, the Office of the Provost agreed to a request from faculty governance to provide an annual report on faculty reassigned time. The latest report, for the 2024-2025 academic year, was published this summer and is available on the Office of the Provost website. Older reports also are available.

Information Technology, in collaboration with Academic Affairs and stakeholders across campus, will conduct a routine assessment of the university’s productivity toolsets - Microsoft 365 (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. on Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint) and Google Workspace (e.g. Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.) - beginning this fall and continuing through the academic year. This assessment will include listening sessions to gather input from shared governance partners, faculty, staff, and students. This effort is part of standard due diligence and enterprise contract review.

There are no proposed changes to product or service offerings at this time. Faculty, staff, and students will continue to have access to both platforms as they do today. If any changes were to occur, they would follow a lengthy, transparent process with coordinated communication and support. More information will be shared in the IT newsletter on September 17.

Steelcase Library re-opened to the public on August 25. Patrons accessing materials and study will see little change to that experience. Some changes to expect:

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

Congratulations to Bopi Biddanda, Professor of Water Resources, for securing a $46,900 award from the Great Lakes Observing System for the Muskegon Lake Observatory project. This award will allow Biddanda to upgrade the Observatory with multiple sensors for tracking the changing water quality in Muskegon Lake, and enable open data sharing of high-frequency water quality information via GVSU and GLOS websites.

Donald Zinman, Professor of Political Science, authored America's First Wartime Election: James Madison, DeWitt Clinton, and the War of 1812. Professor Zinman has produced the first ever book on the presidential election of 1812, which was the first American national election conducted in wartime. The election campaign of 1812 revealed that some of the same lessons of American politics were just as applicable then as they are today. Click here to learn more about this book.

Policies & Classroom Quiz

Question: On the Policies site, SLT policy 6.23 was added in August. What new signage at building entrances is connected to this policy?

Question: On the GV Classrooms site (search classrooms on gvsu.edu), what is special about the MAN 123 classroom?

Events

The Faculty Teaching and Learning Center has been working on a series of events for faculty related to digital literacy. This academic year, FTLC is offering Digital Literacy Fridays. Join on Fridays from 11:00-12:00 p.m., rotating among the Valley Campus, the City Campus, and Zoom, to learn from colleagues, share ideas and resources, and generally find community around digital approaches to teaching and learning. 

The Arnold C. Ott Lectureship in Chemistry will host a fall lecture and seminar with Dr. Hope Jahren from the Norwegian Academy for Science and Letters.

Learn more about these events on the Department of Chemistry website.

Have you ever wondered how the curriculum review process at GVSU works? Are you familiar with the procedures and policies for curriculum development and review? For a deeper dive into the nuts and bolts of curriculum review, join on September 15, 2:00-3:00 p.m., via Zoom. Representatives from five university governance committees (FSBC, GC, GEC, OEMC, and UCC) will explain their role in the curriculum review and approval process. This will be an interactive session. Everyone is welcome. Please RSVP to receive the Zoom link.

Muskegon Community College will host a free public science event on September 16, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m., to launch the John Bartley Science Museum's 2025-2026 exhibit: Climate & Ecosystems. The exhibit was funded in part by a collaborative NSF grant with GVSU. Learn more on the Muskegon Community College website.

On September 17, 4:00-6:00 p.m., 1121 Performing Arts Center, Valley Campus, experience the power of art and technology in "Stories Reimagined: Narrative Art in the Digital Age". In our new age of rapidly developing technology, how are artists using these new media in their processes, and how can we enhance already existing artwork? Enjoy food and beverages during the reception, experiment with AI-generated art, and see familiar works from the GVSU art collection in a new way.

Encourage your students to start their adventure at the Study Abroad Fair - the Padnos International Center's biggest event of the year on September 17, 10:00-3:00 p.m., 2250 Kirkhof Center, Valley Campus. At this event, students are able to browse programs, talk to students that have studied abroad, and meet international students and program directors. Get answers to questions about scholarships, academics, programs and more.

The Workday Student Project Team is hosting a campus-wide project update on September 24, 3:00-4:30 p.m., Seidman Forum, L. William Seidman Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus, or attend virtually via Zoom. Topics to be covered include recent activity highlights from Workday Student project leads and a look ahead to the final Design Workset. Come to learn, ask questions and more.

In Case You Missed It

8/25 - August Updates & Events from PEC
8/26 - Join Us! Tech Week Grand Rapids: Tech Talks
8/26 - Laker Club Talk with Dean Bayo Ogundipe + Opportunity to Nominate Speakers
8/28 - Faculty Teaching and Learning Center, Late August Newsletter
9/3 - Our New Cohort of Faculty and Staff Presidential Fellows
9/4 - Reminder: Tech Week Grand Rapids: Tech Talks

Important Dates and Links

Previously Shared Events
9/9 - Laker Club Talk: Bayo Ogundipe, Dean, Padnos College of Engineering, 4:00 p.m., Laker Club, Valley Campus
9/15 - The Nuts and Bolts of Curriculum Review, 2:00 p.m., via Zoom
9/16 - Tech Talks: Health and Technology, 5:00 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center Pew Grand Rapids Campus
9/16 - John Bartley Science Museum's 2025-2026 exhibit: Climate & Ecosystems, 5:30 p.m., 221 South Quarterline Road, Muskegon
9/17 - Study Aboard Fair, 10:00 a.m., 2250 Kirkhof Center, Valley Campus
9/17 - Stories Reimagined: Narrative Art in the Digital Age, 4:00 p.m., 1121 Performing Arts Center, Valley Campus
9/18 - Tech Talks: AI & Human-Centered Design, 5:00 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center Pew Grand Rapids Campus
9/24 - Workday Student September Project Update Event, 3:00 p.m., Seidman Forum, L. William Seidman Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus, or via Zoom
10/2 - GV Technology Summit, 12:00 p.m., 102-104 DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health, Health Campus

Dates
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.