President Philomena V. Mantella and other leaders in the REP4 National Alliance met in Washington, D.C. with the U.S. Department of Education and elected officials from across the country to discuss the roles of REP4 and Grand Valley in innovating higher education.
REP4, which stands for Rapid Education Prototyping for Change, Learners, Community, Equity, is a national alliance founded by GVSU and eight other higher education partners across the country that is designed to empower diverse high school and college students to collaboratively design the future of higher education. A $1 million congressionally supported earmark grant allocated from the U.S. Department of Education has provided crucial support for the alliance to continue its mission of mobilizing learners as learning architects of both their own educational journey and as agents of positive transformations in their institutions. Changemaking builds agility in students and responsiveness of institutions, enhancing higher education’s ability to meet today’s and tomorrow’s needs.
Mantella and GVSU undergraduates met with a variety of elected officials, including U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg, Shri Thanedar and Hillary Scholten. The group also met with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and James Kvaal, Undersecretary of Education, to showcase how REP4 has been uniquely engaging learners and the potential for broad national impact.
