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Archive 1

Liberal arts university

why take out "liberal arts univeristy"? have any of you read how the university describes itself? read:

"Grand Valley features a rich academic environment focusing on excellent faculty, outstanding students, hands-on research opportunities and nationally ranked graduate programs. Grand Valley offers over 200 areas of study, including 68 undergraduate majors and 25 graduate programs. A LIBERAL ARTS EMPHASIS teaches students critical thinking and problem resolution. Grand Valley's strong academic focus creates a challenging and rewarding educational experience."

From GV's own web site. Get a grip, this is suppose to be real not your opinion of things - this is suppose to be a reference source. This is the origin of gvs"c".

I'm removing the designation "liberal arts university;" can anyone think of a good reason to keep it? GVSU doesn't seem very much like a liberal arts university to me. In fact, I thought "university" and liberal arts ____ were mutually exclusive. Euphoria 21:38, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I agree that "liberal arts university" doesn't make a lot of sense, because too many people go to GVSU without studying any of the usual "liberal arts" subjects for it to be categorised as such. I wouldn't quote the definition in liberal arts college though, as it jumbles together structure, post-grad degrees, size, ownership, etc. when the only thing that really distinguishes "liberal arts" colleges (as a class) from other kinds of post-secondary schools is the subject matter they teach: the liberal arts. But I'll take that up on that page, not here. Tverbeek 22:40, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Actually, the university, at least internally, has billed itself as a "liberal arts university, and with the Theme system many students are indeed required to take classes that may not fit their majors, especially if their majors are in business or "hard science" fields.

I think the trend is just to put Michigan, and assume people either (a) know where Michigan is or (b) can click the link to find out. I would like to take the US bit out, but I'll ask for comments first to be polite. Comments? Euphoria 00:45, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Well, I'm not sure what trend you see. I always try to put "in the U.S. state of state". This was in reaction to people who come along and add a comma-stacked place-name, Michigan, USA. I very much prefer the U.S. state formulation. But the trend I see is for people (usually non-Americans) to stick USA into anything from the U.S. saying something or other about this having an international readership. Actually, I agree with you that if someone doesn't know where Michigan is, they can click the link and find out. But I've come across numerous folks who are insistent on doing whatever they can to de-emphasize the perception of americentric bias. older≠wiser 03:09, Dec 8, 2004 (UTC)
The trend I see is that every college in Category:Universities and colleges in Michigan lacks the "US state" designation, except those edited by you. Euphoria 03:54, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
It's been my experience (as a Michigander who's spent a fair amount of time abroad) that to most non-Americans the word "Michigan" means nothing (i.e. they not only don't know where it is, they don't know what it is). So it comes across a bit like using local terminology (e.g. "the upper west side") with the presumption that anyone would understand it. Suffixing it with the country, or identifying it as a division thereof, is definitely more reader-friendly, like writing "Michoacán, Mexico" or "the Deeside region of Scotland" for the sake of those who have no clue where Michoacán or Deeside is. Tverbeek 04:01, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
A third party, excellent. Alright, then I suppose I'm in favor of keeping the US designation then (or at least not opposed) Euphoria 04:13, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

why remove the liberal arts designation? it is, after all, a LIBERAL ARTS college (at least it was founded as one). The more notable professional schools have only recently grown into what they are today.

I think that the liberal arts designation is to remain. That is one of the distinctives about GVSU, it is both a "university" and a "liberal arts" institution. What is more the university claims the label of liberal arts itself and it is such in its curriculum structure. Mattvm (talk) 23:29, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

I agree. While not a liberal arts college in the purest sense (and what institution is?), GVSU places a considerable emphasis on the liberal arts, and fits the definition and characteristics of a liberal arts institution reasonably well. If there's a better, more accurate description than "liberal arts university" that someone has in mind, then I'd probably support changing it, but until then, it should stay as it is. Lightforce (talk) 04:12, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Pictures

This article needs some pictures because (a) it doesn't have any, and (b) the entire right side is blank. I'll see what I can do about finding some usable ones (or taking them myself), but I wouldn't mind help :) Euphoria 19:35, 9 August 2005 (UTC)

I'll help out with the pictures. I was going to start taking pictures when I returned to campus in a couple of days but it might be a better idea to post pictures taken in the spring. Either way they can be changed whenever.Kuba425 02:04, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
I will take some. Demhem (talk) 18:03, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Disambiguation

Hi - I'm cleaning up links to the Development (disambiguation) page and notice that there's a link to that page in this article under the Community Outreach section. I'm unclear as to which of the other pages on Development would best fit here; could someone edit the link so it points to the most appropriate page? Thanks. Chidom 03:21, 25 July 2006 (UTC) Since I didn't get a response, I'll just delete the link. Thanks.—Chidom talk  06:30, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Dealing with vandalism?

It seems that there is a repeat offender vandalizing this page (from an on-campus IP address, no less). Would a request for protection or semi-protection be warranted? Lightforce 09:48, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Louie the Laker

I happened on the Louie the Laker page, which was heavily vandalized. I reverted it back to the most correct revision, but I also think that a merge is in order - there is just not enough information for its own page, and what information is there could easily be put here. - CosmicPenguin (Talk) 15:37, 22 February 2007 (UTC)


It wasn't vandelized. That's what it originally was when I created it. Check the history. Plus it's true

Uh-huh. I suppose you have sources for all that nonsense? - CosmicPenguin (Talk) 04:25, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Carillons

I'm not sure this is relevant so I've moved it to talk:

===Carillon===

Cook Family Carillon Tower

Grand Valley has two carillons.

  • Beckering Family Carillon (2000): Located in the Pew Campus, adjacent to the Steelcase Library.
  • Cook Carillon (1994): Located on the Main Allendale Campus, near Kirkhof Center and Cook-DeWitt Center. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by RJFJR (talk • contribs) 16:27, 16 May 2007 (UTC).

notable alumni

Proposal: if they aren't notable enough for a wikipedia article then they aren't notable. Propose we delete all entries that don't have a blue link. RJFJR 16:37, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Yep, did this. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 02:04, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Criminal Justice

GVSU has the most outstanding Criminal Justice program with some of the best professors in the industry. Notable professors such as William Crawley and Kathleen Bailey provide an excellent learning environment and are great mentors.

This sounds perhaps a bit too much like a advertisement, and not so much like a encyclopedia. Why should the CJ program get special recognition? I'm sure it's a great program, but unless we want to have a special section on every program, I don't think this section is necessary.--Tjonp 21:18, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

GVSU is not known for their criminal justice program. Grand Valley is currently in cooperation with Ferris State University to improve their program and model it after the nationally recognized program that Ferris is known for. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.36.53.36 (talk • contribs) 03:28, February 27, 2008

Section on Growth of the school

I would like to add a sction which would provide a timeline on how the University has grown over the years. I am planning on including when buildings were built or added on to, the size of the campus population over the years, and the average incomming gpa over the years. I just dont feel that the current article has much on the history of the Universite and I think that adding that information would be a good start. I am going to be over at the school in 2 weeks, and I will obtain the information from the school's administration. As I obtain the information I will post it here for comments on formating and layout. --Cooleymd 01:14, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

Any info yet? Ha.Pdcook (talk) 22:14, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
I added info about enrollment growth. If anyone can find reliable sourcing about when certainly buildings were built, that could be interesting. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 02:04, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

History of the school

It was originally named Grand Valley State Colleges (plural). This reflected that it consisted of four distinct colleges (CAS, WJC, TJC, and College 4). College 4 was so-named because, although Mr. Seidman had agreed to bequeath money to the school upon his death, he hadn't actually died when the school opened, and there was always the risk that he would change his will. After his death, the money appeared, and the name was changed to the Seidman School of Business.

Eventually (I'm not clear on the year), the plural name was dropped in favor of the singular Grand Valley State College. Still later, the school became a University.

Although the school was originally founded as an alternative (quite hippyish) Liberal Arts school, the current institution has completely shed this philosophy and is quite conservative in its orientation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.219.215.86 (talk) 08:30, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

If I have the time, I'll try and stop by the University Archives and see if I can verify the plural in the name and the date it was dropped. As for your comment on GVSU's "liberal arts" image, I think you misunderstand the term. "Liberal arts" concerns curriculum, not politics. Lightforce (talk) 04:03, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Although the above is just my opinion, it comes from firsthand experience there from way back in the early days of Willie J -- I was present at classes and faculty meetings there starting around age 3. I later became the youngest graduate of GVSC (singular) at age 18. There has been quite a shift in the place from back in the heydays: back then it was students dropping acid with the faculty in plywood geodesic domes out in the back parking lots past Lake Michigan hall, crossing the grand river in a giant plastic bubble, building huge "tinkertoy" structures in Woodland Mall out of 4" PVC piping, and painting the giant nipple on the fieldhouse pink. Nowadays it is bible study under the carrilons, and the fieldhouse has had a mastectomy. Calling it a Liberal Arts school only shows a lack of understanding of what the term really means, regardless of what the school's propoganda calls itself. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.231.31.162 (talk) 04:05, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

Student Life

I think that a student life section should be added. Maybe including clubs and housing and putting greek life within it. Demhem (talk) 17:45, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

References

The references section needs to be cleaned up. None of the citations have date they were accessed or any of this information. This is partially my fault when I was citing articles as I did not know how to do this correctly at the time. I am not sure what to do about it however. Demhem (talk) 18:00, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

This seems to be much better now... Demhem (talk) 18:58, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

I've fixed a few of them, but more work needs to be done. Do you know about this wizard? PDCook (talk) 20:15, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Public liberal arts college

Is the university a member of the association of public liberal arts colleges? --71.111.194.50 (talk) 22:24, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

I haven't heard about that association, but I have heard of COPLAC, of which Grand Valley is not a member. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 02:01, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Controversies

The Controversies section is out of control. It's too long and unreferenced. I'm going to trim this way back, so if there is a controversy you want to keep there, make sure it is referenced. PDCook (talk) 04:52, 7 February 2010 (UTC)


I agree. Demhem (talk) 18:32, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

I've added a few references; and have found a few more. I'll be working on this section over the next couple of weeks. I anticipate a reduction in overall size of the controversies section. PDCook (talk) 20:08, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Sustainability

I would like to see a section on sustainability for GVSU. The university has been named one of the greenest colleges in the United States by many different organizations. I was wondering if anyone else agreed that that should be a section/subsection? Or if it is even noteworthy?... GVSU has something like 9 LEED certified buildings now. Demhem (talk) 18:57, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

It's notable if you can find enough significant coverage in reliable sources for it. I'm not 100% sure a separate section is needed; perhaps a mention in the Campuses section would suffice. However, if GVSU is indeed one of the greenest in the country, as you indicate, and you can find multiple articles (outside of GVSU publications), then a separate section or subsection could be warranted. Regards, PDCook (talk) 20:12, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
A new editor added the following:


Sustainability

Grand Valley is known for its sustainability initiatives [1] in the university community and region. Yearly, the university participates and competes in Recyclemania against another university. Campus Dining [2] puts all unused, prepared food in a compost pile, purchases free-range eggs [3], and buys local produce, foods, and dairy when available. Students are able to recycle in every academic, living, and dining building on campus. Students who care about this initiative can join student organizations like Students for Fair Trade or Student Environmental Coalition.

I think it might be OK to include this eventually, but I moved it here until we can find independent sources that actually demonstrate that GVSU is known for such initiatives. I don't believe that citing the Lanthorn and GVSU webpages will suffice here. I'll look into sources myself, but it would be great if anyone else could find some sources. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 18:43, 10 May 2010 (UTC)
A few relevant independent references: [4], [5], [6], [7] P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:02, 8 June 2010 (UTC)

I added a section in the main article about this, but I didn't use any of the above text. I did use many of the references. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 19:40, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

Presidents

I think I'm going to expand the history section, and divide it into subsections. I don't see how "presidents" fits in particularly well. I think it might fit better down in the administration section, so I'll move it there. Revert or discuss if you disagree. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 21:20, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

Controversies section

Although I've spend a fair amount of time cleaning up and finding references for this section, do folks think this section is necessary? A quick look around revealed that the MSU, UofM and Western Michigan articles don't have such a section. Should we ditch it? P. D. Cook Talk to me! 19:50, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

As there have been no objections, I'm going to remove the section. Add it back or discuss if you disagree. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:51, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
Yes, it has been my intention to add the material into appropriate sections (most likely the History section). If anyone else wishes to do that, please do! P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:37, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

New MBA program

[8] P. D. Cook Talk to me! 18:30, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Notable people

I would like to recommend that the notable people section be split into its own article. The list is getting rather long. A paraphrase of alumni with the link to the split page could replace the current list on the main GVSU page. Discuss.Demhem (talk) 16:47, 12 March 2012 (UTC)

I think a List of Grand Valley State University people article would be appropriate. You can create that article if you want; just be sure to follow the guidelines at WP:SPLIT. Otherwise, I can do it in a week or so. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:26, 9 May 2012 (UTC)

 Done P. D. Cook Talk to me! 18:03, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

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Requested changes

Hello all,

I am writing under the guidelines presented in the "Contact Us" section: "If you believe an article about you or your organization is incomplete, inaccurate, or biased, there are several avenues for you to discuss the issue with Wikipedia's editorial community."

I am with Grand Valley State University and noticed that a number of facts and figures need to be updated. Some facts or figures are several years old or there is information contained in such sections as construction projects "Continued growth beyond 50th anniversary" or "Funding and Financial" that does not reflect the current situation.

For that reason, I wanted to request that editors update the article throughout. I am also happy to delineate specific sections that appear to need updating, if that would be helpful. Given how prominent Wikipedia is in research, we are seeking to ensure the information is updated and accurately reflects what is current.

Thank you for your consideration.

GV60 (talk) 20:55, 26 April 2017 (UTC)

@Mackensen: Thank you for adding that tag. I can suggest specific edits/sources. I'll do it in batches so as to not overwhelm.

Here is a source for an update on sustainability, which is mentioned in the second paragraph: <ref><ref>http://www.grbj.com/articles/87428-college-wins-silver-for-learning-and-living-building

In the section entitled "Continued growth beyond 50th anniversary" there are some updates from the projects from 2012 and 2013 mentioned. Here are some sources for those updates: <ref><ref>http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/11/gvsu_breaks_ground_on_new_heal.html <ref><ref>http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/04/gvsu_investing_20m_in_performi.html <ref><ref>http://whtc.com/news/articles/2017/apr/29/gvsu-and-consumers-energy-opens-new-training-center/

Thank you.

GV60 (talk) 20:12, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Experimental drug production

[9] might be worth incorporating some time. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 18:51, 4 March 2011 (UTC)

Discusssed in the Grand_Valley_State_University#GVSU_and_MSU_partnerships section. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 23:57, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Some proposed changes

@Mackensen: Thank you for adding that tag. I can suggest specific edits/sources. I'll do it in batches so as to not overwhelm.

Here is a source for an update on sustainability, which is mentioned in the second paragraph: <ref><ref>http://www.grbj.com/articles/87428-college-wins-silver-for-learning-and-living-building

In the section entitled "Continued growth beyond 50th anniversary" there are some updates from the projects from 2012 and 2013 mentioned. Here are some sources for those updates: <ref><ref>http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/11/gvsu_breaks_ground_on_new_heal.html <ref><ref>http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/04/gvsu_investing_20m_in_performi.html <ref><ref>http://whtc.com/news/articles/2017/apr/29/gvsu-and-consumers-energy-opens-new-training-center/

Thank you.

GV60 (talk) 13:31, 15 May 2017 (UTC)

@Mackensen: Since this user does not know how to ping, I will do it on their behalf. jd22292 (Jalen D. Folf) (talk) 17:18, 2 August 2017 (UTC)

I've made a few additions based on the sources provided. Mackensen (talk) 01:10, 7 August 2017 (UTC)

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Partnership

Does anyone know anything about the MSU-GVSU partnership? Is it worth mentioning? Story here. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 02:22, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

I created the Grand_Valley_State_University#GVSU_and_MSU_partnerships section to cover this. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 23:56, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Rankings

I reworded this beginning of this section, as the statement that GVSU is the 2nd/3rd most selective university in Michigan was not supported by the reference given. I tagged that statement as citation needed. I'm not sure that percentage of applications accepted is a good way to determine the "selectivity" of a school. I'll look into this statistic and see if I can find a source. PDCook (talk) 23:17, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Athletics

GVSU's athletic department is HUGE and very successful for division II and I noticed that other division II schools with smaller athletic departments have their own pages dedicated to their athletics. Plus GV's athletics section is HUGE making me suggest to split it for its own article titled Grand Valley State Lakers.Demhem (talk) 23:07, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

I think that's a good idea. Calebrw (talk) 04:18, 22 November 2009 (UTC)
As do I. Now who wants to actually do it? PDCook (talk) 03:59, 13 December 2009 (UTC)
I'm working on it. Give me a few days. You can see it here and you can leave comments on my talk page if you have any concerns. If there are no objections, I'll complete the split soon. Regards, PDCook (talk) 16:11, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

 Done Please feel free to tinker around with the new page, Grand Valley State Lakers and the Athletics section in the main GVSU article. PDCook (talk) 18:14, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

logo vs seal

An IP editor replaced the logo with the seal, but I revered this change. Review this document. The seal is only for use with permission by the President's ofice. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 16:58, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

We don't work for the university and we don't need their permission. ElKevbo (talk) 17:21, 24 June 2010 (UTC)
True, but the point of showing the logo is so that people viewing this page recognize very quickly that this is the GVSU page. Given that the logo is what appears on virtually all brochures, the website etc, I strongly feel it should be what we display on the Wikipedia article. I went ahead and reverted back to the logo, as the change to the seal should have been discussed first, but I recommend others weigh in on this issue. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 22:23, 24 June 2010 (UTC)
I actually agree with you but the broader consensus is that the university seal is what goes at the top of the infobox. I'll drop a line at WT:UNI to get a few others to weigh in but that's what they're going to say. ElKevbo (talk) 00:37, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
I read through this discussion, but was there really a consensus achieved there? Was there more conversion elsewhere that I missed? I see the arguments for both sides, but I'm not sure if a one-size-fits-all approach is the way to go. Consensus is consensus and I won't go against it at this point, so if the seal is indeed what consensus has demanded, I will revert my reversion. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 02:34, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
The most recent conversation does have a strange title so it may be hard to find. I'd also poke around the talk page for the Template:infobox university as there may be some discussion there, too. And WP:UNIGUIDE. ElKevbo (talk) 02:50, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
I'd say use the seal at the top of the infobox and the logo in the infobox's "logo" parameter. Both identifying marks will be there for readers to recognize, but the more permanent one (the seal) will be at the top. -Mabeenot (talk) 03:09, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
You know, foolish me. I didn't even notice that the logo was at the bottom of the box. I'd personally prefer the most recognizable one (the logo) at the top, but I can live with it being at the bottom of the box. Thanks, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 03:21, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

I was involved in a similar conversation regarding UCSC's infobox several months ago. The conclusions reached there and at this related discussion might prove instructive here. --Dynaflow babble 08:28, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Take a look at this. Its the Wikipedia:College and university article guidelines. It does clearly say that the infobox should have an image of the university seal or coat of arms at the top, and the institutions wordmark at the bottom. Demhem (talk) 17:34, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
Yes I know it says the seal or coat of arms is preferred, but the above-referenced discussions demonstrate that there is certainly some debate about this. For example, the infobox at University of California, Santa Cruz has an unofficial seal at the top and an official UC seal at the bottom. I know project uniformity is usually a good thing, but I would prefer if consensus as to which identifier goes at the top of the infobox was achieved on each article's talk page. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 18:05, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
Yeah I see what your saying. I know not many people recognize the GVSU seal because the university seems to hardly use it in public. The only time i've seen it before was on a rock that had a plaque with the seal on it by Lake Michigan Hall. And I believe that actually said GVSC... However, I do like the uniformity between pages. If you look at MSU, U of M, CMU, WMU etc. they all have their seal on top.Demhem (talk) 19:20, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
The strict preference for a seal is not in any way canon. The widespread belief (which does not necessarily equal consensus) that it is canonical is the continuing legacy of a non-consensus change made to the documentation page of Infobox_university more than two years ago by a sockpuppet whose owner had some serious problems with image policy. The field instruction changed by the sockpuppet persisted until it was finally discovered and reverted in November. Meanwhile, it was copied out verbatim into various places and has taken on a memetic life of its own. (See Template talk:Infobox university/Archive 5#Policy on images in the infobox (a sockpuppet story) for background.) The instructions for the infobox, based on the last true consensus reached on the issue, require a related image, but only prefer a seal or logo. --Dynaflow babble 21:13, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
The instructions for the infobox, as Dynaflow indicated, certainly do not mandate a seal. I think if consensus were truly achieved, those instructions would have been changed to explicitly indicate that the seal is required. My interpretation of all of this is that we should decide on this talk page which identifier goes at the top of the this article's infobox. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:09, 27 June 2010 (UTC)
The most recent discussion at WT:UNI seemed pretty conclusive to me. That no one changed the instructions for the infobox seems minor and petty. ElKevbo (talk) 14:16, 27 June 2010 (UTC)
Given that these discussions are scattered and awkwardly named, I would think the instructions for the infobox would be important, particularly if folks are enforcing this consensus. As someone with only occasional interaction at WT:UNI, I'm frankly quite confused here. You're telling me this reflects a broad consensus and Dynaflow tells me that such a strict preference is "not in any way canon" and that a seal is only "preferred." P. D. Cook Talk to me! 15:54, 27 June 2010 (UTC)
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