Faculty, students and staff at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids on Friday sent a letter to the university’s Board of Trustees expressing concerns about the financial decisions made at the university, writing that they see the university “drifting away from our decades-long tradition of student-centered stewardship.”
“We are all concerned because the university budget relies so heavily on tuition, and we do not expect state funding to increase,” the letter continues. “Every dollar spent on high-profile initiatives, no matter how desirable, is a dollar that comes from somewhere else whether that be from students in their tuition or from the faculty and staff who support them.”
Geology professor Figen Mekik, who has written commentaries for the Advance, said that the letter had garnered signatures from 232 members of the Grand Valley community including 151 faculty members, and 81 students and staff…