In This Issue

December 2025 – Dean’s message

Default settings are not neutral. They often reflect the coded gaze—the preferences of those who have the power to choose what subjects to focus on.

                                                                               --Joy Buolamwini, Unmasking AI

 

As the semester nears its end, I’ve once again had the opportunity to read and hear the recorded presentations by capstone students in Brooks College’s six degree programs. And once again, I’m newly inspired by our students. I’m inspired by all of our students, but the adult learners in in particular: the locations and time zones from which they’re presenting, the unique combinations of professional and personal passions driving their research projects. A couple of examples from the current term include a deep dive on condominium zoning laws, reclamation of Native American stereotypes in athletic mascots, burnout by medical professionals, and countless social justice issues like poverty, homelessness and income disparity. Some of these students are among the dozens who will make their way Saturday evening to process across the stage in Van Andel Arena.

Joy Buolamwini writes of the dangers of default understandings by those who code, or now those who generate AI prompts to do the coding. Those defaults often (usually?) overlook populations, particularly if those populations are marginalized. Similarly, so many conversations in higher education are also constrained by bias—bias towards envisioning undergraduate students as being in their late teens. The default settings for higher education must of course be questioned so that they consider adult learners. Working professionals and family providers in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond. Folks zooming in from the breakrooms of casinos or hair salons or perched in shimmying cabs at idle at snowy truck stops. These students are not neutral, they are all in on their educational futures. Let’s continue to keep them part of our conversations and default settings.

The Area and Global Studies program hosted Global Horizons week in November where they held a number of events which highlighted their academic programs and allowed students to experience diverse cultures and reflect how global events and issues can impact  local communities.

Global Horizons week kicked off with East Asian Studies' popular Cultural Meanings of Food event. Faculty shared dishes from their cultural heritage with students. A variety of countries and cultures were represented, including German cheese spaetzle brought by Regina Koehler, Hungarian chicken paprikas and legenyfogo cookies brought by Zsuzsanna Palmer, Japanese mochi and tangyuan brought by Haixia Liu, and Zimbabwean collard greens in organic peanut butter brought by Sienna Mavima. Each faculty member explained the cultural history of their dish, how it is prepared, and any special memories they have of the dish growing up. Dr. Meghan Cai, the program coordinator for the East Asian Studies program, was excited to be able to give students a taste of global cultures in an interactive event with GVSU faculty.

Dr. Jennifer Drake, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at GVSU, sat down with REL 100 students to discuss her experience as a Religious Studies major during her undergraduate years. Provost Drake graduated with a Religious Studies degree from Brown University, and shared with students the skills that she learned during her undergraduate experience that she has carried with her into her professional career, including communication, cultural sensitivity, the ability to interact with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, navigating cultural differences in the workplace, and strong reading and writing abilities. While Religious Studies can complement any academic program, Provost Drake suggested that students going into professional fields that involve working with diverse communities, such as education, healthcare, or social work, can greatly benefit from studying world religions. From healthcare offices to higher education administration, Religious Studies continues to be a valuable program for boosting students interpersonal skills and cultural competency

The fall 2025 sustainability showcase offered opportunities both in person and online for students to share and engage with the many research projects, assessments and designs they created as a part of various ENS courses. The showcase also offered opportunities for students to network with faculty and sustainability focused student organizations. 

Kurt Ellenberger, a long time professor of Music in the Frederik Meijer Honors College is retiring at the close of this Fall 25 semester. Kurt is a pianist, composer, and author whose work includes music for a wide range of ensembles.

On behalf of the students, faculty, and staff of the Brooks College, we thank Dr. Ellenberger for his years of service and support for our students and programs. We salute him for the many students he has positively impacted over the decades, and wish him a wonderful and healthy retirement!

On November 5th, Michiganders gathered at Grand Valley State University for "Michigan Listens," a Talking Together initiative that sought to spotlight the range of geographies; ideologies; identities; life experiences; and vocations that make up our state.

Michigan Listens was sponsored by the Talking Together: Strengthening Our Communities Through Conversation team (Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse; Kaufman Interfaith Institute; Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies; and GVU Public Media) and was supported by GVSU’s Office of the President. MI Listens was a collaboration between GVSU and Boise State University. 

You can learn more about the Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse or watch the full recording of Michigan Listens HERE 

Evolving the Strategic plan

Earlier this year, the Reach Higher Collaborative Leadership Network engaged with groups across the university to gather thoughts and feedback on challenges and opportunities.
More than 7,500 people provided 30,000+ comments and insights, which were used to identify the top themes and trends from throughout our GVSU community. Throughout the summer, all comments were synthesized, and the network worked together to make meaning of them, creating a common data set for continued planning and guidance.

Where are we now?

The insights are being used to enhance our university commitments and divisional and cross-divisional planning. Strategic planning continues this fall, with the new plan launching in early 2026. Afterward, the insights will shape our strategic priorities as we collaboratively determine the steps to implement the plan. Read more about Reach Higher Together.

Since 2024, A large team of people across campus have been building the foundation for Workday Student, the system that will replace Banner. Understanding the reasons behind such a major change is important. This website is available to explain some of the reasons behind the transition and some of the key reasons include:

Banner is no longer a sustainable solution for the future because it requires extensive on-site maintenance, relies on custom fixes to address product gaps, and has limited integration with other systems.

Students, faculty, and staff will all benefit from improved efficiency and streamlined processes. One key example is that Workday brings together functions that were previously spread across multiple systems.

Here’s a quick look at the project timeline: 

Jan-Sept 2026: Testing will begin and conclude with a mock semester to help the university prepare for the transition to Workday Student.

Oct 2026 – Summer 2027: Training and activities launch across the university, with certain areas beginning to use Workday Student for select processes. 

Fall 2027: Full implementation of Workday Student at GVSU. 

As we move into the new year, we’ll keep you informed about the project, ways it will impact you, and how you can engage. If you have any questions, you can reach out to one of the Brooks College Project Team Members: Arnie VandeBrake, Robyn Toth, Jennifer Jameslyn, Kate VanDerKolk, or Julia Mason.

Kella Elswick and Reilly McKay ‘25, two environmental and sustainability studies students used their summer internships at the Sustainable Agriculture project to organize a program for Native elders and students to unite and learn from one another. Read the full GVNext article HERE !

Jennie Golaszewski will be graduating this month with a degree in environmental sustainability and a minor in geospatial technology. She thanks Brooks staff members Brian Trager and Isak Davis in her commencement story. Read the full GVNext article HERE!

When our students graduate, they don’t just leave with a diploma, they leave with direction.

We’ll be highlighting all of the programs and centers across Brooks College over the next few months and we look forward to sharing our student and faculty successes with you.

Torri Blue, an Integrative Studies Alumni, exemplifies how the Integrative Studies degree provides access for adult learners to complete their degree. When asked why she chose this degree she said “When I applied for the LEADS program, the reason was at first strictly pragmatic: I was a new mother, new to Grand Rapids, and newly diagnosed autistic. Having a self-directed, fully online program was the most accessible pathway for me. But when I started to see what the Integrative Studies major really demanded from me... I absolutely fell in love with interdisciplinary research"

In Integrative Studies, students and faculty work together to create unique areas of focus that are customized to them, helping meet personal and professional goals.
 
Investing in interdisciplinary education isn’t just good for students, it’s good for the future.

December 6th- Commencement

December 6th - 13th- Examinations

December 13th- Semester ends

December 16th- Grades due by NOON

January 12th- Classes begin

January 19th- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day recess

March 8 - 15- Spring break

April 25- Classes end

April 25 - May 2- Examinations

May 1st- Commencement

May 5th- Grades due

Note: partial term courses have different tuition and refund deadlines. View additional deadlines in the course index. 

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