Mantella featured on Changing Higher Ed podcast showcasing innovation at Grand Valley

President Philomena V. Mantella was a recent guest on the podcast Changing Higher Ed, hosted by Drumm McNaughton, in an episode titled "Beyond Ideas: Implementing Innovative Structures in Higher Education."

In this discussion, Mantella shared her innovative strategies that allow Grand Valley to serve students, employers and the community. The discussion covered practical methods to adopt a student-centric approach, taking innovative ideas past ideation and into execution, and building community partnerships to benefit Michigan employers while preparing students for a modern world. 

“(Grand Valley) has always been at the intersection of high-quality teaching and learning and embraces the opportunity to work with the community to develop the economy,” Mantella noted while highlighting programs designed to give students the tools necessary to meet the needs of a 21st-century workforce, including K-12 Connect , Corewell Health Nurse Scholars Program and Laker Accelerated Talent Link .

Mantella highlighted REP4 as a program intentionally designed to give students agency over their educational experience while also benefiting educators and employers, saying that “Students have ideas, foresight, concerns and fears that, if they surface them, give us incredible insights into where we need to spend time and energy.”