Dear faculty and staff,

Happy October! I want to begin this month with a thank you to the 855 faculty, staff, alumni, and family members participating in Walktober this year. I hope you’re finding a little time to step away, breathe deeply, and take in the beauty of fall on our campuses and in our communities.

This month marks an important milestone for the People, Equity, and Culture division. A few weeks ago, we celebrated our second anniversary as a division, as well as my second anniversary serving as vice president of PEC. When I reflect on these past two years, I’m filled with gratitude for the progress we've made and for the relationships we have built along the way. PEC was created to bring people-focused work together in a way that better serves our university community, and that work continues to evolve because of the people who engage with us, challenge us, partner with us, and help us see what is possible. Thank you to everyone who has been part of that journey, and to the many of you I’ve had the opportunity to know and connect with personally.

As we enter year three, I'm excited to share that Candace Phenix has been appointed as the Executive Director for Human Resources, effective October 19. Candace has been serving as the Interim Executive Director for Human Resources since May, in addition to her role in the Office of the General Counsel. Drawing on her past experience with Liberty Mutual and her trusted work at GVSU, she has brought steady leadership and clarity to the role. I’m grateful for the way she has stepped forward during this transition, and I’m confident that her knowledge, dedication, and deep understanding of our university community will serve the HR team and broader GVSU community well.

The strength of our community continues to be reflected in the ways we make space to learn from and celebrate one another. Today, October 15, we are partnering with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to close out Hispanic Heritage Month with Flores y Cultura: A Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Inspired in part by Colombia’s Feria de las Flores (Festival of Flowers), the celebration will highlight the diversity within Hispanic and Latine/Latinx American cultures. I hope you'll stop by to help create a collective GVSU silleta (floral display), enjoy a salsa dancing lesson (1 p.m.), and connect over popular Colombian street foods and snacks.

Earlier this week, we honored Indigenous Peoples’ Day. As I shared on LinkedIn, this day calls for supporting Indigenous students, faculty, and staff, building meaningful relationships, and ensuring that Indigenous voices, experiences, and perspectives are valued and heard.

As we launched the annual Mandatory Reporter Training through the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, I understand it may feel like there are multiple trainings happening at once. Recently, we collected an inventory of mandatory trainings that occur across our campus community. As part of our strategic plan, we are working on how we can better distribute these requirements throughout the academic and calendar year. While it's important we complete these trainings to ensure we are equipped to support our campus community, we also want to be intentional about how we can make learning opportunities more manageable.

Looking to November, I'm excited about the 14th Annual GVSU Teach-In: Lifelong Learning Toward Educational Equity and Action (November 10-11, 2026). This year, the committee expanded outreach to ensure all members of our campus community see themselves as participants in the learning, with a direct connection to the "Educational Equity and Well-Being" and "Lifelong Learning" commitments within Reach Higher Together. Keep scrolling through the events section to learn more about the Teach-In!

Finally, as we approach the November election, I want to encourage you all to use your right to vote. In collaboration with the Office of General Counsel, a new political engagement resource is available, which was shared in a recent post on The Hub.

Thank you again for your continued engagement. I look forward to the opportunity to partner with all in year three!

Sincerely,

Robert Shorty, Ph.D.
Vice President for People, Equity, and Culture,
Chief People and Inclusion & Equity Officer

The Great Lakes tribal nations were instrumental in the eventual creation of the United States, through decades of warfare. From the French and Indian War to the War of 1812, Anishnaabek forces from Michigan fought a series of wars to protect their rights and homelands. Attend the talk at 11 a.m., hosted by Eric Hemenway, to learn more, followed by a light lunch at noon.

Sponsored by the Kutsche Office of Local History.

Join the Educational Foundations faculty for a A City Within A City screening, a documentary exploring the Black freedom struggle in Grand Rapids. Because this is a community feedback screening, you get to help filmmakers shape the film before its final completion! Learn more about this screening.

Co-sponsored by School of Social Work and Kutsche Office of Local History.

Bring your lunch and join colleagues for an interactive workshop exploring the role of humor and joy in the workplace. We’ll look at what research tells us about laughter, stress reduction, psychological safety, and team effectiveness, and examine how appropriate humor and positive emotions can strengthen relationships and workplace culture. Register for Lunch, Laugh, Lead.

Things We Imagined - Black Futurity and Academic Life, is a powerful documentary that explores the journeys, aspirations, and lived experiences of Black faculty in higher education. Learn more and RSVP for Things We Imagined by October 20.

An open mic and spoken-word evening honoring National Coming Out Day, with space for queer and trans students to share their voices, stories, poetry, and creativity.

Join The Center for Health and Well-being: Victim & Survivor Advocacy & GVSU's Violence Prevention Taskforce this Domestic Violence Awareness Month by participating in the Purple Strides Virtual 5K on October 30! Run, walk, roll, or move anytime, anywhere as we raise funds to benefit survivors in our community. 

Green Zone Training at GVSU is a professional development program designed for faculty and staff to strengthen their understanding of the experiences of student veterans and military-connected students. The training highlights the transition from military service to higher education, explores the challenges and strengths veterans bring to campus, and introduces the university and community resources available to support them. Learn more and register for Green Zone Training.

TheGVSU Teach-In: Lifelong Learning toward Educational Equity and Action is a campus-wide, student-centered learning experience dedicated to advancing educational equity across the university. Bringing together students, faculty, and staff, the Teach-In creates opportunities to explore how educational equity shapes teaching, learning, research, and practice across disciplines, including technology, healthcare, engineering, business, the arts, and beyond.

Join experts from Starr Commonwealth for a practical, interactive session exploring how trauma can influence workplace interactions, conflict, communication, and employee engagement. Register for this leadership roundtable.

Our annual free clothing pop-up and gender-affirming workshop event returns with clothing, resources, and opportunities to explore and affirm gender expression in community. Learn more about Wear the Rainbow.

Our bodies are constantly receiving messages about how they should look, move, perform, and take up space. Even self-care and wellness can become another set of expectations about what we should be doing to be healthy, productive, or worthy. This interactive session invites participants to challenge those messages and explore a more inclusive approach to caring for ourselves and our bodies. Learn more and register for Every Body Belongs.

Workday will be temporarily unavailable, including for time entry, at the following times during the week leading up to go-live:

This means you will not be able to enter time during these periods. Please plan accordingly if you or any team members are working and 

As some aspects of Workday Student become active in Workday this month, some faculty, staff, and student employees may notice changes to how certain Workday profiles are accessed.

Currently, all employees, including student employees, have a worker (employee) profile. With Workday Student, anyone who is a current or former student, including employees with a student record, will also have a student profile. This includes employees who have applied to or attended GVSU since 2018. 

Beginning as early as Oct. 26, 2026: When an employee (who has a student profile) or student employee clicks "View Profile," they will be taken to their student profile by default. This does not affect employee access, information, or job-related functions. Employees can switch back to their worker profile as outlined in Accessing Student Employee and Student Profiles in Workday. 

Employees may also change their default profile to their Worker profile. See the step-by-step instructions in Setting Your Default Profile in Workday. 

What will not change: When searching for an employee in Workday, the worker profile will continue to appear in search results. 

Thank you to the 23 teams who transformed their office spaces and competed in the office decorating contest for GV Homecoming, and congratulations to this year's winners!

Valley Campus Winner: Office of Student Support and Belonging (Theme: Game Plan for Success)

City Campus Winner: CECI Dean's Office (Theme: Vintage Valley)

Regional Location Winner: Traverse City Regional Center (Theme: Northern Lakers Are…)

Wondering what the round icons are throughout the newsletter? The icons identify which dimension of wellness an event or activity relates to the most! Review the dimensions of wellness "key" to discover which dimension each icon represents.