GVSU to celebrate 100,000th graduate

Some 3,000 Grand Valley State University students will participate in commencement ceremonies April 25 at Van Andel Arena. One of those graduates will be the 100,000th to receive a Grand Valley degree. 

Grand Valley will celebrate another record-breaking milestone with more than 5,600 students expected to receive a degree during the 2014-2015 academic year.

Michael Jandernoa, former CEO and current board member of Perrigo Company, is the morning speaker, and Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, is the afternoon speaker. 

Grand Valley Commencement Ceremonies

Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Van Andel Arena, downtown Grand Rapids

The ceremony will be webcast at www.gvsu.edu/commencement

MEDIA NOTE: Skybox 101B is reserved for media. The box offers a mult box and an elevated, unobstructed view of the podium and platform. 

The 10 a.m. ceremony will include the following colleges: Seidman College of Business, College of Community and Public Service, Seymour and Esther Padnos College of Engineering and Computing, College of Health Professions and Kirkhof College of Nursing. The 3 p.m. ceremony will include the following colleges: College of Education, Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Speakers

Jandernoa served as CEO of Perrigo Company from 1998-2000 and chair of the board from 1991-2003. He graduated from the University of Michigan and worked for BDO Seidman as a CPA before joining Perrigo in 1979. He is the founder of Jandernoa Entrepreneurial Mentoring and 42 North Partners.  

Kerger joined PBS as president and CEO in 2006. Under her leadership, PBS has grown its audiences across genres and platforms. She was named to the Women’s Forum in 2005 and was honored in 2012 by national media outlets with a Brand Builder Award. She serves on boards for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. 

Awards and honorary degrees

The Alumni Association will present its Distinguished Alumni Award to Noreen Myers, ’72, a sole practitioner specializing in employment law and the first alumna to be appointed to Grand Valley’s Board of Trustees. The Outstanding Educator Award will be presented to Brad Wallar, associate professor of chemistry. 

David Hecht and Bea Idema will receive honorary degrees. Hecht, a current trustee for the Grand Valley University Foundation, is president of the Charles W. Loosemore Foundation. He has practiced law for more than 50 years. Idema was among the lead donors for the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons at Grand Valley. 

Notable students

A set of triplets will graduate together. Jake, Victoria and Zachary Rinvelt, from Ada, will participate in the morning commencement ceremony together. Their father, Rob Rinvelt, graduated from Grand Valley in 1979. 

Jacob is a finance and international business major; Victoria is a hospitality and tourism management major; and Zachary is an advertising and public relations major. They are available for interviews; contact Jake at (616) 916-8534 or [email protected].