Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The university also features campuses in Grand Rapids and Holland and regional centers in Battle Creek, Detroit, Muskegon, and Traverse City.

GVSU enrolls more than 24,000 students as of fall 2021 from all 83 Michigan counties and dozens of other states and foreign countries. It employs more than 3,000 people, with about 1,780 academic faculty and 1,991 support staff. The university has alumni from 50 U.S. states, Canada, and 25 other countries.

GVSU's NCAA Division II sports teams are the Lakers and they compete in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) in all 19 intercollegiate varsity sports. They have won 20 NCAA Division II National Championships since 2002 in seven different sports.

History

Formation, planning and construction

In 1958 the Michigan Legislature commissioned a study that demonstrated a need for a four-year college in the Grand Rapids area, Michigan's second largest metropolitan region. Local businessman Bill Seidman created a committee to study the report and spearhead the planning and promotion to create such an institution. In the following year the Michigan Legislature established the college. A naming contest was held, and out of 2500 submissions, "Grand Valley State College" was chosen. Private donations, including $350,000 to purchase land and $1,000,000 for construction, were secured from 5,000 individuals, organizations, and business throughout West Michigan. In 1961, the Grand Valley State College Board of Control chose a site in Ottawa County near the Grand River for the new campus, and construction of academic buildings began the following year.

Early years

Grand Valley State College accepted its first class of 225 students in 1963 and held its first graduation of 138 students on June 18, 1967. The middle-late 1960s saw the addition of the first dormitories and construction of new academic buildings, including the Zumberge Library, named for the university's first president, James Zumberge.

In 1969, the ''Grand Valley Lanthorn'' printed an issue containing several vulgarities and obscenities. After complaints from some at Grand Valley State College and the surrounding communities, the Ottawa County, Michigan, sheriff arrested the editor, and the prosecutor closed down the newspaper office. The university, then a co-ed college, sued the sheriff and prosecutor for closing the Lanthorn offices. Eventually, Michigan's Attorney General settled the case out of court, siding with the college because the Lanthorn's content was considered covered by Freedom of Speech.

During the 1970s Grand Valley organized its academic units into several colleges: College of Arts and Sciences, Thomas Jefferson College, William James College, Seidman College of Business, and College IV. Michigan Governor William Milliken signed the law changing the institution's name to Grand Valley State Colleges in 1973. However, the "s" was dropped and the name was reverted to Grand Valley State College in 1983 when the academic programs were reorganized into divisions.

College to comprehensive university

In 1987 the Michigan Legislature passed a law renaming the college to Grand Valley State University. The 1980s and 1990s saw addition of satellite campuses or centers in downtown Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Holland, and Traverse City. In 2004, the university's board reorganized the university structure again into a college system consisting of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Interdisciplinary Studies, College of Community and Public Service, College of Education, College of Health Professions, Kirkhof College of Nursing, Seidman College of Business, and Seymour and Esther Padnos College of Engineering and Computing. Grand Valley completed its first 50 years with a comprehensive campaign that raised almost $100 million from over 17,000 donors, making it the university's largest campaign to date. Money raised during the campaign has helped fund many construction projects on campus, including the Mary Idema Pew Library and the L. William Seidman Center.

Continued growth beyond 50th anniversary

In 2012, GVSU announced several more construction projects and land purchases. Future buildings to be constructed include a new biology laboratory building and an addition and renovation to the Zumberge Library on the Allendale campus. Land purchases in 2012 included property in downtown Grand Rapids adjacent to the medical mile for healthcare program expansion. In 2013, GVSU announced it would add on to Au Sable Hall and construct a building to house the GVSU Laker Store (known as University Bookstore prior to April 2015), with expanded dining facilities.

Campuses and centers

Grand Valley has three campuses: the main campus in Allendale and two satellite campuses in the surrounding area. Smaller centers in Muskegon, Detroit and Traverse City also exist.

The Interurban Transit Partnership operates several ''The Rapid'' bus routes under contract with the university. The public can ride these buses by paying the fare, but rides are free to Grand Valley students, faculty and staff on all Rapid routes with a valid I.D. card.

Allendale campus

The university's main and original campus in Allendale is the site of most of the university's programs. The Allendale campus is composed of 1,322 acres perched above the Grand River next to a system of ravine

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