Nearly 1,000 Grand Valley State University students will
participate in the December commencement ceremony on Saturday,
December 10, at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
Dorothy A. Johnson, former member of Grand Valley’s Board of
Trustees and president emeritus of the Council of Michigan
Foundations, will give the commencement address. Johnson will receive
an honorary doctorate of humane letters; her speech is “An Important
FOUR Letter Word.”
A longtime supporter of Grand Valley, Johnson was a member of
the university’s Board of Trustees from 1995-2010 and served as chair
from 2001-2004. She currently serves as a trustee of the W.K. Kellogg
Foundation, and co-chairs a national Learning to Give Initiative, in
addition to serving on the boards of Princeton Theological Seminary
and the Grand Rapids Symphony. U.S. Presidents Clinton and Bush
appointed Johnson to the board of the Corporation for National and
Community Service and the Grand Rapids Economic Club recognized her
with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Grand Valley’s Johnson
Center for Philanthropy was renamed in honor of Johnson and her
distinguished career in 1999.
Grand Valley Commencement Ceremony
Saturday, December 10,
10 a.m.
Van Andel Arena, downtown Grand Rapids
The
ceremony will live stream online at www.gvsu.edu/commencement.
The Alumni Association will present two awards during the
ceremony. Felix Ngassa, professor of chemistry, will receive the
Outstanding Educator Award and Michelle Troseth, executive vice
president and chief professional practice officer for Clinical
Practice Model Resource Center, will receive the Distinguished Alumna Award.
Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag
#GVLakergrad.
MEDIA NOTE: Skybox 101B has been reserved for media. The box offers
a mult box and an elevated, unobstructed view of the podium and
platform. For more information, contact Grand Valley’s News and
Information Services Department at (616) 331-2221.
NOTABLE STUDENT
During the ceremony, Megan Seirz will
follow in her mother’s footsteps and graduate from Grand Valley. She
will receive a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in elementary
education.
Seirz received an associate’s degree in art
from Grand Rapids Community College before she enrolled at Grand
Valley in 2008. She is a member of the Youth Enrichment Scholarship
Program, a program through the Grand Rapids Community Foundation that
awards children of low-income households scholarships to participate
in extracurricular activities and provides financial support when they
attend college. She has worked at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum
since 2004. She said she enjoys working with children and hopes to
find a job with an organization that helps victims of human trafficking.
