All faculty/staff communications from University email accounts should reflect the University’s brand. To keep our brand identity strong and consistent, and to enhance credibility for our faculty and staff who communicate via email, all emails created by University employees and delivered via the University’s email system should feature email signature blocks consistent with this policy.

An email signature block is text and other University information appended to the end of an email in order to identify the sender and facilitate further contact. Official University email signature blocks establish credibility for our faculty and staff by clearly identifying them and their roles at the University. The official signature block provides contact information for the employee and points email recipients to the University website, a key source of information about the University.

All emails using a University account should have signature blocks consistent with the University brand. The following items are permissible but not required:

- Employee’s name

- Employee’s official University title(s)

- Employee’s department or office name

- Gender pronouns

- Grand Valley State University

- University’s website address, www.gvsu.edu 

- Department or Program website

- University or departmental trademarks or logos

- the University’s general address or employee’s University address

- Employee’s department and/or office telephone number, and fax number

- Employee’s mobile phone number

- Employee’s campus email address

- Social media account addresses used solely for advancing scholarly or professional pursuits

- Other University related information may be added such as departmental mission statement, and a link to University created social media account(s)

- A confidentiality statement is permitted for use below the email signature on all outgoing emails, such as:

The content of this email is confidential and intended only for the recipient(s) specified. If you received this message by mistake, please reply so the sender can correct the error, and then delete this email immediately. Do NOT forward it to a third party without the written consent of the sender.

Employees may not add to their official email signature block any personal information, including links to personal websites or social media accounts that are not used solely for scholarly or professional pursuits related to their position at the University. Except for messages of and concerning the University no mottos, symbols, quotations, taglines or other statements may be added to the email signature block, as these may be misunderstood as representing the University’s official positions, values or views.

All faculty and staff shall comply with this policy by creating an approved email signature block and using it consistently when communicating via their University email accounts. Should there be noncompliance to this policy, the individual’s supervisor and/or vice president will enforce compliance through appropriate means.