Grand Valley State University’s work in education equity is seeing the spotlight, snagging two awards for Inspiring Programs in STEM from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.
The school’s consortium, working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Hispanic-Service Institutions (HSI), is named in the September issue, alongside GVSU’s pathway to Master’s degree partnership with Fort Valley State University.
The latter was announced in April, as an agreement that allows FVSU students to earn a master's degree in a STEM discipline from GVSU in as little as five years. Paul Plotkowski, dean of the Padnos College of Engineering and Computing at GVSU, said two students from FVSU, in Georgia, enrolled at Grand Valley in the spring/summer semester and six more students are expected this academic year.
"This collaboration truly leverages the strengths of FVSU and GVSU to provide students with unique educational and career opportunities," Plotkowski said. "While initially designed around the engineering fields, the program has already broadened to include students in other STEM disciplines."
FVSU joined Grand Valley as founding members of the "GVSU-HBCU/HSI Consortium", which is designed to expand the range of fields students who attend HBCU’s or HIS’s can consider as career options. B. Donta Truss, vice president for Enrollment Development and Educational Outreach at GVSU, says the consortium is a way to create a collaborative relationship with HBCUs and HSIs across the nation.
"We want to help elevate their work with these great students by leveraging our robust academic portfolio and providing opportunities, seamlessly, to ensure learners graduate with their desired credentials while maintaining their connectivity to the HBCU/HSI," Truss said.
GVSU joins 78 other national institutions that will be awarded in Insight Into Diversity's September issue.
