For over 60 years, providing value to our students and community has been at the heart of Grand Valley State University. This commitment is more crucial now than ever, and your involvement is vital to this mission. Your advocacy for Grand Valley, active engagement with our students, and generous support create substantial benefits, including scholarships, expanded faculty positions, real-world learning opportunities, and state-of-the-art facilities. These efforts have been pivotal in fostering excellence, and we are so grateful.

To maximize our effectiveness, we need comprehensive collaboration and support, including from the state. This is why we must also work together to advocate for a reevaluation of Michigan’s higher education funding model. The funding formula must recognize growth, performance, and the importance of retaining talent as Michigan aims to become a national leader in economic development. 

The graphic below – derived from a recent Upjohn study on the return on investment in higher education – shows that GVSU ranks in the top 1% of public universities. This outstanding performance should be reflected in the state's funding formula. The model must support our mission to further elevate our state through well-prepared graduates committed to their communities. GVSU delivers on this work with remarkable efficiency and at an affordable cost for our families.

Moving forward, we will be reaching out for your help to amplify our message of value and impact. Together, let’s enhance our state support to ensure GVSU continues to excel. Our state needs more graduates equipped for the knowledge economy, and GVSU can and will deliver.

Thank you for your continued dedication to our beloved university. We are proud of the return on investment we deliver to our students and community, and we are grateful to our philanthropic partners for their invaluable assistance. Your contributions have played a key role in our success story, and we look forward to having you join us as we spread the word and elevate GVSU to even greater heights.

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