Brooks College 2013-2014 Annual Report
A Message from Dean Anne L. Hiskes
Welcome readers one and all to the 2013-2014 Annual Report of Brooks College.
As I review highlights from the 2013-2014 academic year, I am once again impressed by the excellence of our programs, faculty and staff members, and students and by the ever-increasing impact of Brooks College across the university, West Michigan, and the world. As you will see throughout this annual report, we are true to our mission of connecting diverse communities and cultivating innovative learning.
In addition to stories and pictures of people and events in Brooks College, this year we include data to demonstrate just how well Brooks College connects diverse communities. For example, in “Brooks College by the Numbers,” we include charts showing that the percentages of students in a Brooks College major or minor who are students of color, “nontraditional” students over the age of 23, or first-generation students are significantly higher than the comparative percentages across the GVSU undergraduate student body. Another section describes how enrollments in the Intercultural Training Certificate program continue to grow, thus preparing an increasing number of students with the skills to work and live in the increasingly diverse communities of West Michigan. In “Reframing the World,” you will learn that, thanks to the good work of the Padnos International Center and faculty and staff members across the university, GVSU ranked fifth nationally among similar institutions for the number of students participating in a study or service learning abroad program and tied for number one in terms of the number of faculty members who were named Fulbright Scholars.
But, of course, the college’s true impact cannot be captured merely by numbers. The college’s true impact resides in the lives of all those students who have been affected by Brooks College programs and services and in the lifetime impact of these students on their communities. Their stories inspire and energize us — the faculty and staff members of Brooks College — to continue building on the innovations and successes described in this annual report.
Sincerely,
Anne L. Hiskes, Dean
Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies
