Since its inception, the Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival has created strong linkages between Festival's programs and the higher education mission of the University. A major way in which Festival accomplishes this each year is by bringing nationally and internationally acclaimed scholars, directors, writers and actors to campus where they can interact with students and the public in workshops, performances, and scholarly presentations.

Distinguished visitors to the Festival over the years have included such luminaries as John Russell Brown of Great Britain's National Theatre, Barbara Gaines of the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Tina Packer from Shakespeare and Company in Massachusetts, John Andrews of the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, David Bevington of the University of Chicago, and numerous others.

These men and women are in residence for the major part of a week. They visit General Education and Theatre classes, attend performances and speak informally afterwards with the cast and crew. They also make formal presentations to the campus and local community on the Allendale and Grand Rapids campuses on some of the latest ideas in Shakespeare production, scholarship and staging.