Grand Valley State University (GVSU) is growing and diversifying West Michigan’s talent pool with help from local businesses and its partner network of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
GVSU announced its early plans for a pipeline consortium with HBCUs in April of 2021. The goal was to create education pathways and a pipeline to expand West Michigan’s workforce.
Since then, it’s established partnerships with four historically Black institutions (Fort Valley State, Savannah State, Saint Augustine's and Alabama State universities) and has launched students into employment fellowships with local businesses.
“Socially, a lot of companies and organizations are trying to diversify…I feel like it’s great because everywhere in industry and tech, wherever it may be they’re partnering into these diverse populations," Jourdan Watson said.
Watson is a graduate from Fort Valley State University, an HBCU out of Georgia, and is pursuing his master's in electrical engineering at GVSU.
Along with his studies, Watson is working part time at West Michigan distributor, Gordon Food Service. The paid fellowship is part of Grand Valley's Industry Sponsored Graduate Fellowships, where participating companies sponsor students, covering the cost of tuition.
“With that there’s a trade off to where once I do graduate that I work for the company as well," Watson explained.
In a statement, B. Donta Truss, Vice President of Development and Education Outreach said the fellowship is a natural fit with the pipeline consortium.
"It really creates value for all three parties: students, the sponsoring companies and the university," Truss said. "This is why we started the pipeline consortium and I appreciate these companies investing in our students," Truss said.
