Second provost candidate shares her vision with audience

The provost candidate familiar to many people on campus discussed her vision to recruit more students and faculty of color to Grand Valley.

Jann Joseph, executive vice chancellor at Indiana University South Bend, gave an open presentation January 17 in the Kirkhof Center. She had served as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Grand Valley from 2006-2011. 

She will be available for an open meeting and Q&A session on Wednesday, January 18, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the DeVos Center, Regency Room.

Each of the three candidates was asked to give a presentation on what their vision of Grand Valley would look like in five years. Joseph said one of her goals would be that the university's student population more closely resemble that of West Michigan, with an increased enrollment for students of color. 

She also projected an increase in graduation rates for students of color. "We would have to figure out how to support those students without signaling them out, and how to include their families and communities in their success," she said.

Joseph suggested recruiting more faculty of color happens over time as relationships with graduate schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are nurtured. She said if she wasn't familiar with Grand Valley, she's not sure she would have applied for the provost position.

"It's about creating relationships with people. If I was living in North Carolina and saw an ad for this position, I wouldn't have known how valuable this campus is to the community," she said.

After leaving Grand Valley in 2011, Joseph served as dean of the College of Education at Eastern Michigan University, before her current position at IUSB.

The last candidate, Stephen L. Esquith, will give a public presentation on Thursday, January 19.