The institution's proper name is Grand Valley State University. After the first use of the full name it is appropriate to shorten it to Grand Valley State or Grand Valley. GVSU is only appropriate to shorten in informal contexts, when space is limited, or if Grand Valley has been used so often it becomes distracting. GV should only be used in internal, informal documents.

The process for obtaining registered trademarks and legal rights to university-related terms also requires us to actively monitor usage to guard against losing those trademarks. If you have any questions please contact University Marketing by calling (616) 331-2525 or emailing [email protected]. 

• GVSU®
• Grand Valley State University®
• Grand Valley State®
• GVSU Lakers®
• Grand Valley State University Lakers®
• Grand Valley State Lakers®

The university has additional legal rights in all words, phrases, images, and letters that when used give the appearance of a university connection or endorsement including, but not limited to:

• Grand Valley®
• GV®
• Lakers

If applying any of the above verbiage to items that will be commercially printed or resold, please review our Licensed Vendors requirements.

All printed materials should include the following copyright information:

© [year] Grand Valley State University

Example:
© 2024 Grand Valley State University

It is not permissible to copyright specific departments.

Example:
© 2024 Grand Valley State University University Marketing