GVSU VP of Development to retire in December

Courtesy Photo / gvsu.edu

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- After 12 years and $200 million in raised funds for the university, Maribeth Wardrop, vice president of Development at Grand Valley State University, will leave her position at the end of the December.

“It’s been a joy,” Wardrop said. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with the donors that I’ve worked with.”

Before retiring, Wardrop will work as a consultant to the new vice president to help ease the transition for two or three years. No replacement has been found yet.

GVSU President Thomas J. Haas praised Wardrop’s contributions to the university.

“When you look around our campuses, you certainly see the generosity of our supporters, but you also see the results of Maribeth’s hard work,” Haas said in a press release. “She assembled an incredible team, and all of us will enjoy the results for many years to come.”

Under Wardrop, faculty and alumni giving has increased dramatically, reaching a gold standard. Currently, more than 51 percent of faculty and staff donate to the university, a level Wardrop described as “unheard of.”

Read the full article at  www.lanthorn.com.

GVBoxCity to give students perspective on homelessness

Courtesy photo / Molly Barnard

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Grand Valley State University’s service and advocacy groups are starting the year off with a bang with GVBoxCity, which will raise awareness of Grand Rapids’ homeless community while also raising funds.

The overnight event, which will be held Sept. 9 and 10, will give students the experience of a night spent without a roof over their heads. BoxCity will kick off at 6 p.m. in the Pere Marquette room with a meal and panel of speakers, which will include a woman who received a house from Habitat for Humanity and a representative from the Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness.

Participants will move outside to the field located between the Performing Arts Center and the Murray-VanSteeland Living Centers for the night at 9 p.m.

Throughout the night, participants will be able to make donations, which will benefit Grand Rapids-area homeless shelters. In addition to monetary donations, students can bring cans that organizations can redeem for deposits or non-perishable food items.

“Experiences like this don’t happen very often at Grand Valley,” said Molly Barnard, president of the GVSU chapter of Amnesty International. “This opportunity will give students the chance to actually experience sleeping outside in a cardboard box for a night, which is better than what some of our community’s homeless has to sleep in.”

Read the full article at www.lanthorn.com.

Student debt on the rise, GV scholarships increase

GVL / Rane Martin

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- For Grand Valley State University junior Jon Garcia, money is a constant source of concern.

Garcia, an English and secondary education major, currently carries $30,000 in student loan debt with at least two years left before he graduates. Each year, he takes out the maximum amount in Stafford loans while his parents help him pay for the remainder. 

“I am poor,” Garcia said of the impact of his student loans. “I’ve never been rolling in money or anything, but now I have negative money. … I’m pretty bad.”

Even paying rent poses a monthly challenge for Garcia, 20, who sometimes gets assistance from his family when funds run low.

Garcia is just one of many students who face significant financial barriers when paying for school. The cost of college has skyrocketed across the state in recent years, leaving today’s college students struggling to make their educational ends meet.

According to data from the Project on Student Debt, Grand Valley State University graduates in 2009 left school with an average debt of more than $24,000, slightly below the state-wide average of $25,458. That year, 70 percent of GVSU graduates carried some student loan debt with them into their professional lives.

Read the full article at www.lanthorn.com.