The future isn't far off. It's right in front of us. But what's next?

At GVSU it's opportunity and innovation. Next is global, connecting and uniting us. Next is local, shaping the spaces in which we live and work. We are committed to progress. Where minds are free to imagine what could be.

We all face new choices and new challenges as we adapt to an ever-changing world. This is true for every Laker, whether they are 17 or 77. As our student population evolves and expands, so do the knowledge and skills they seek. While many learners come to the university to acquire a four-year undergraduate degree, many others don’t. Instead, they seek business skills, technical certificates and badges, and advanced degrees.

Next is Now embodies GVSU’s commitment to preparing all of its students for whatever comes next: their next promotion, their next role, their next career.

In education today, the pace and depth of change have intensified. To meet this change, and to fulfill our mission, what and how we teach is also changing. What remains is the set of themes that have guided us and helped us grow for five decades:

Passion
As individuals, and as an institution, passion drives us. Lakers are never timid or tepid; we approach all things with both curiosity and urgency. Our passion pushes us to work harder, go further, and to give of our whole selves.

Preparation
We are an institution of higher learning. We prepare our students to do more than simply work. We equip them to understand a changing world, its causes and consequences, and how to shape it for the better.

Progress
There’s always a better way. As Lakers, we seek it, embrace it, and if it doesn’t exist, we will work to create it. We will be an educational leader in the 21st century because we embrace new ways of learning, new technology, and new ideas. We are always looking forward.

Purpose
We aspire to more. We are creating the path from how things are to how things can be. Individually and collectively, we seek to create lasting opportunity, prosperity, and generosity. As Lakers, we believe that we can, and should, make things better.

Partnership
We know that the sum is greater than the parts; that while our backgrounds differ, each of us has much to contribute, and that our best is revealed when we create opportunities for participation and collaboration.

The Next is Now advertising campaign was introduced in February 2020. It is a natural progression of the Laker Effect and carries the principle of Grand Valley being a force for positive change forward to all audiences.