News
Retirement Tribute: Professor Michelle Miller-Adams
April 15, 2024
After 18 years as a faculty member of Grand Valley’s Political Science department, Dr. Michelle Miller-Adams is retiring. Professor Miller-Adams joined the Political Science department in 2006 after teaching at a small liberal arts college previously.
While at Grand Valley, Professor Miller-Adams was well loved among students, and the sections she taught were always in high demand. She was known for the connections she fostered with her students and has said that teaching and supporting her students has been the highlight of her career. In 2023, Professor Miller-Adams received the Student Award for Faculty Excellence, awarded by the GVSU Student Senate, for her commitment to her students. She had previously also won a Pew Teaching Excellence Award from the Provost.
Professor Miller-Adams is an accomplished scholar of public policy, economy, and community development. She has devoted much of her research addressing tuition-free college through promise programs and worked with the Upjohn Institute in Kalamazoo. Her work includes several books on the subject, her most recent being The Path to Free College: In Pursuit of Access, Equity, and Prosperity, which serves as an analysis of the promise program movement.
After retirement, Professor Miller-Adams plans to continue her research, focusing on disabled adults and how they navigate employment and independence. Inspired by her own daughter’s journey through adulthood, she hopes to help other parents and disabled adults. She will also continue her work at the Upjohn Institute as a researcher and consultant on tuition-free college programs.
During her time at Grand Valley, Professor Miller-Adams has left a positive impact on students and faculty alike. The Political Science department would like to congratulate Professor Miller-Adams on her retirement and thank her for her many contributions to the University.
Written by Sarah Pullins