I hope everyone is enjoying a great week as we prepare for the end of the semester.  I’m writing to share several updates for this month.  Please see below. Resource: Michigan Community College Association (MCCA) Federal Updates website With so much information about federal-level decisions affecting higher education, one resource that I have found helpful is  MCCA’s Federal Updates page .  MCCA regularly updates the page, which is intended to provide information and resources.  I encourage you to bookmark the link and visit it frequently. Campus safety protocols: Classroom doors and ICE Please remember that College practice–for campus safety–has been to close and lock classroom doors while classes are in session.  I know many faculty and staff members have questions about expectations should ICE agents be on campus.  The protocols announced earlier in the semester are still in place.  They include the following three points: FERPA Compliance : GRCC will not release education records or protected information to ICE or other agencies unless required by law or with a student’s consent. If a search warrant is presented, the General Counsel’s Office and the GRCC Police Department will review the document to ensure its validity before any information is provided. Interactions with ICE : ICE and other law enforcement agencies have the right to be present in public areas on campus. If ICE agents are encountered on campus, staff and students should remain respectful, but are not obligated to respond to questions, provide immigration status information, or provide information that might be incriminating. What to do : If you see ICE or other external law enforcement agents on campus, please contact GRCC Police immediately at 616-234-4910 or from a campus phone x4910. Additionally, please note the following, per Chief Whitman: If ICE or any other law enforcement agency comes to a class, please contact the GRCC Police Department to allow the police to work with the agency. This would serve to ensure that the agency is not given access to areas of campus they are prohibited from. This also serves to avoid placing faculty members in a position where they may feel responsible for interacting with officers or agents from other law enforcement entities.   For further questions, please remember that Chief Whitman is always available to join your department meetings and/or classes to answer questions about campus safety. She can be reached via email at  rwhitman@grcc.edu .   For your students  Student support group - Reflect + Connect Sponsored by our Center for Counseling and Well-Being, Reflect + Connect is an opportunity for students to gather together and gain support from their peers, express concerns, and connect while developing a sense of community in uncertain times.  The support group meets weekly, with drop-in times on Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m. and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in Room 368 of the Student Center.  The next and final scheduled session is tomorrow, April 9.  Melissa Ware and her team are exploring adding additional sessions.  Please remember we offer many options to support students’ mental health and well-being, as outlined  here . About phishing and personal information I want to thank our Information Technology (IT) department for their recent communications and reminders about phishing. When talking with students, please reiterate that GRCC will never contact students to provide their password or one-time passcode (OTP) used for multi-factor authentication (MFA), including via email communication or Google forms. This  IT Knowledge Base article  includes reminders and links to additional information about recognizing phishing and reporting a threat. Update from Information Technology (IT): Request for Proposal (RFP) - Plagiarism and AI detection software Per Jeff VanderVeen, the RFP scoring team, comprised of the following team members: Andrew Rozema, Garry Brand, Laura Kennett, Moss Ingram, Geoff Peck, Paula Gleason-Zeeff, and Nathan Hamilton, have finalized scoring of RFP – Plagiarism and AI Detection Tool. The RFP was awarded to CopyLeaks. This tool will be integrated with Canvas and it is the IT staff’s expectation that this tool will be available to faculty by the end of May (possibly sooner).  I want to thank the scoring team for their time and input into this process, IT for their support, and all who contributed feedback. Nominate a colleague for the Excellence in Education Award! Nominations for the 2025 Excellence in Education awards are now open.  The Excellence in Education Award honors three employees (one full-time faculty, one adjunct faculty, and one staff member) every year for their contributions to the college, higher education, and the community. Committees representing various employee groups select the Excellence in Education award recipients.  Each award recipient receives $1,000.  The Excellence in Education Awards are presented at the August Opening Day by the President.  More information can be found on the Excellence in Education Awards webpage. The deadline for nominations is Friday, May 9. Reminders: Upcoming events  Continued Conversation with ELT There is another opportunity to engage with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) on Thursday, April 10, from 2-3 p.m. in ATC 168.This informal session will build upon the previous conversation and will include: answering questions that were not answered in the last session, a discussion around the climate survey, including an executive summary of the divisional meetings, and actionable steps moving forward. This session will be live-streamed, recorded, and available afterward for anyone unable to attend. Everyone is encouraged to attend, but please know there is no expectation to participate unless you wish to. This is a valuable opportunity to continue the conversation and engage with the ELT.  Access the  live-stream link at: Employee Town Hall . Honors Program Showcase and Recognition Join the GRCC Honors Program in celebrating their outstanding Honors students and their achievements this academic year!  Guests attending the Honors Program Showcase and Recognition Event will be able to interact with Honors students as they share their personal experiences in completing program requirements. As guests enjoy food, they will hear examples of Honors Projects, community engagement, leadership experiences, Capstone projects, and more.  This year’s Honors Program award winners will also be announced.  The event takes place on Tuesday, April 15 from 5-8 p.m. in the Applied Technology Center (ATC), Secchia Piazza and Banquet Rooms. Employee Appreciation & Recognition Luncheon Please join the campus community to take time to celebrate and express gratitude for work well done!  This year’s event will be on Thursday, April 24 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Raider Grille & Terrace of the Student Center. The event begins with lunch and networking and the program will start at 12:30 p.m. Please RSVP by accepting the calendar invite sent previously so that the event hosts can accurately plan for food and beverage quantities. Please reach out to Arika Davis @ arikadavis1@grcc.edu with questions. Commencement This year’s commencement ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 24, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Van Andel Arena.  Announcements and reminders continue to be sent to inform everyone about faculty line-up, volunteer opportunities, directions, and parking information.  Stay tuned for all the details and please send an email to provost@grcc.edu if you have any questions.  I look forward to joining everyone to celebrate our graduates later this month! Events on Campus and GRCC Athletics: Don’t forget to visit the Events Calendar to learn more about all of the great events happening this month. The GRCC Raiders Athletics Calendar has all of the information about our spring baseball, golf, and softball schedules. In closing, while there are many things that are uncertain across our campus and nation at this moment, I know you join me in remaining steadfast in our commitment to supporting our students and each other. I remain grateful for all of you and for our strong GRCC community. I look forward to seeing you in the coming days as we close out the academic year by celebrating many milestones and achievements.  Best wishes and see you soon, Sheila  

You can view a colleagues GRCC extension by hovering over their name in Google Products. When you hover over their name a window will appear showing their GRCC email as well as the assigned extension. If no extension is displayed, it is likely they do not have an assigned extension.  View Phone Extensions in Google For more information and helpful tips, please visit the IT Support Portal or contact the IT Support Desk at x4357.

The GRCC Library and Learning Commons, located on the 5th floor of RJH, is hosting Exam Cram from April 14-23! A great place for students to get their study on!  Students can take advantage of: All the library resources they rely on, plus helpful faculty and staff ready to assist Study tools for checkout, including chargers, calculators and headphones Free snacks, coffee and tea available all week long Chill-out zones with coloring stations and stress relief toys Encourage your students to stop by—whether they need a quiet place to study, a little help or just a snack and a moment to unwind, we’ve got them covered!  

Employees are invited to stop by the Golden Raider Retiree Celebration on Tuesday, April 22 between 1:15 to 1:45 p.m in the Piazza at the ATC to visit with former colleagues.

We are pleased to announce that John VanElst has accepted the position of dean of the School of Workforce Training, effective 4/7/2025. John has worked in Workforce Development at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) for over 20 years, serving most recently as interim dean of Workforce Training after his prior service as associate dean of the School of Workforce Training. John has served as project lead for GRCC’s U.S. DOL Pathways Out of Poverty and three W.K. Kellogg Pathway projects. He is part of a nationally recognized workforce training team that was acknowledged by the evaluation firm, SPR, for outstanding examples of community-based projects that benefit populations that are underserved and employer partners.   John’s experience includes supporting multiple programs that have touched the lives of more than 25,000 community members over the last few years. He is intensely focused on helping people gain in-demand skills for rewarding careers. John is an advocate for the underserved and under-skilled in the West Michigan community and has played a part in bringing over $50 million in grants to the Tassell MTEC since 2010, with much of these resources used to offset education costs to students who may not otherwise be able to attend education and training. Please join us in congratulating John! Thank you to the screening committee: Brian Hadley, Lisa Radak, Jessica Pierce, Lisa Dopke, Megan Connaghan, Diego Roman, and our HR PMA business partner, Aaron Stewart, for their time and consideration of candidates throughout this search process. And, thank you to each of you who provided thoughtful feedback on each candidate who participated in second round in-person interviews. Your input was valuable and informed the decision-making process.

We’re kicking off the search for a brand new Raider mascot that truly reflects the spirit, values and identity of our college. While the name “Raider” will remain, we’re refreshing the look of our mascot to better align with who we are as a community today. This is your chance to be a part of the process and help shape the future of GRCC’s mascot! Why a new mascot? At GRCC, we pride ourselves on our values of dedication, resilience and inclusivity. Our mascot should embody these ideals while also representing the diversity and unity that make our campus special. We believe it’s time to refresh our visual identity, and we want your help in creating a mascot that speaks to students, staff and alumni alike. How to get involved We’re asking all students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and retirees to submit ideas for the new mascot.  This is the first phase of the search, and your suggestions will guide the next steps in the process. So get your creative juices flowing and let’s come together to create something that reflects who we are at GRCC. Submission guidelines Embody GRCC’s values: The mascot should represent perseverance, academic excellence and community. Be creative: Interpret "Raider" in a way that is unique, drawing inspiration from history, culture or even modern ideas. Appeal to everyone: The mascot should be friendly, approachable and have broad appeal to students, staff and alumni Limit of one submission per person.   Please avoid copyrighted ideas or submissions to revive the old Raider Raccoon. Important dates Submissions accepted  April 7 – April 18 Visit  grcc.edu/mascot to submit your idea today!