Scholarworks@GVSU

Underneath the Arches was Grand Valley State\u27s faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1963 to 1971. It was a precursor to the Forum

Grand Valley State College

Grand Valley State University
ScholarWorks@GVSU
Underneath the Arches, 1963-1971 University Archives
7-19-1963
Underneath the Arches, no. 06, July 19, 1963
Grand Valley State College
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/underneaththearches
Part of the Archival Science Commons, Education Commons, and the History Commons
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Underneath the Arches, 1963-1971 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact
scholarworks@gvsu.edu.
Recommended Citation
Grand Valley State College, "Underneath the Arches, no. 06, July 19, 1963" (1963). Underneath the Arches, 1963-1971. 6.
http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/underneaththearches/6
-~RAND VALLEY STATE COLLEGE 
UNDERNEATH 
THE ARCHES 
• 
No. 6 July 19, 1963 
SURPRISES! -- Although "the Arches" is designed to keep you informed of 
what's going on at GVSC, you'll have to come and find out for yourself what's 
in store at the FREE FOR ALL on August 10. Just keep in mind that this party 
for the pioneer class is strictly for fun. So ... don't miss it. 
PROGRESS REPORT -- Invitation to bid on the construction of Lake Huron 
Hall, the third academic building of the Great Lakes complex, will go out 
July 25 ... bids will be opened August 15 ... and construction will start at 
the end of August. 
Final landscaping plans for the Great Lakes complex have been approved 
bids to be opened also on August 15. The plantings ... pathways ... de-
corative walls ... and especially the outdoor lighting ... will be some of the 
most dramatic and beautiful of any college in the country. 
GRAND VALLEY LEADS -- THE U.S. FOLLOWS -- Our idea of 
a decentralized campus connected by an audio-visual system is the essential 
part of the plan for a new state college in California at San Jose. At the Uni-
versity of Chicago the administration is discussing the idea of organizing the 
college into small , independent units within the larger university ... another 
GVSC trademark. We can't honestly say these ideas were adopted from our 
example .•. we can say that GVSC is the first to put into action several ideas 
which are being considered with approval elsewhere in the United States. And 
from half way around the world in Pakistan comes a request for more information 
about our unique carrels. 
HOW MANY BOOKS MAKE A LIBRARY?-- GVSC 
intends to have 10,000 volumes by opening day ... more than 
9,000 have already been purchased or donated. As each book 
is cataloged it is packed away into a carton, all set for moving 
to its first quarter's quarters in Lake Michigan Hall. During 
the Thanksgiving break , the library will be moved to its home 
on the second floor of Lake Superior Hall near the study carrels . 
WATCH FOR -- a student health and accident insurance plan ... 
information to be inclosed with the next issue of Underneath the Arches. 
We want to give you advance notice that a very complete coverage will 
be available at a low premium. 
MEET HELEN WONG -- Born in Canton, China, our assistant catalog 
librarian graduated from the National Sun Yat-sen University before coming 
to the United States by way of Hong Kong. She received an M.A. in library 
science from the U of M, where she was Chinese cataloger at their Asia 
library before signing on with GVSC. She has three daughters, Mimi, the 
oldest, will be a member of our pioneer class. Her choeng-san adds a 
cosmopolitan touch to our campus. 
OUR WANDERING SCHOLARS -- Miss Lauberte and Dr. Van der 
Velde, of the modern language department, are spending the summer in 
Europe ... perhaps to brush up on languages at the source? Dr. Rus, 
professor of English, is teaching at Northern Michigan University at 
Marquette. Philip Clampitt received his Ph.D. from the State University of 
Iowa, where he is teaching summer school. Another new Ph.D. is Marvin 
De Vries, who is engaged in research at the University of Michigan this 
summer. Our own music man, Arthur Hills, is teaching at the University of 
Wisconsin, after a stint of conducting at the National Music Camp at Inter-
lochen. Dr. Tevebaugh is back from a Canadian vacation. Donald Hall 
is working with Dow Chemical Company as research chemist. John Frederick 
is teaching at the U of M Flint campus. 
The shepherd of this flock, associate dean George Potter, is planning to 
attend the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, Ont. The whole group will con-
vene Sept. 9 on campus, to put the finishing touches on the first year's 
course plans, and to coordinate plans for the full four-year program, prior 
to the publication of our next catalog early in 1964. 
LISTEN •.. LISTEN •.. LISTEN -- Our "Interesting People" series con-
tinues on WJBL-FM on Wednesdays at 8 p. m. and on WOOD at 12:05 Sunday 
noon. Coming up are interviews with Chuck Irwin, on GVSC sports plans, 
with Dr. Glenn Niemeyer, assistant professor of history and political science 
... and with our own interviewer, Bill Dempsey, in the guest spot. 
• 
• 


English

Underneath the Arches, no. 06, July 19, 1963

Grand Valley State University
ScholarWorks@GVSU
Underneath the Arches, 1963-1971 University Archives
4-3-1963
Underneath the Arches, no. 02, April 03, 1963
Grand Valley State College
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/underneaththearches
Part of the Archival Science Commons, Education Commons, and the History Commons
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Underneath the Arches, 1963-1971 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact
scholarworks@gvsu.edu.
Recommended Citation
Grand Valley State College, "Underneath the Arches, no. 02, April 03, 1963" (1963). Underneath the Arches, 1963-1971. 2.
http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/underneaththearches/2
~HAN1) VALLEY STATE COLLEGE UNDERNEATH THE ARCHES 
-
-
No. 2 April 3 , 19 6 3 
A WORD OF EXP LAN AT ION If our title on the masthead sounds vaguely familiar 
it is because "Underneath the Arches" is an old song which is still very popular in 
England (where it was the theme song for a pair of comedians) and is revived from time 
to time in this country. While the lyrics are wildly inappropriate for a college -- they 
tell the story of a homeless bum who has no place to sleep but the cobblestones beneath 
a bridge -- we thought the title significant because our buildings have as their dominant 
feature a series of narrow arches rising from the ground to the roof. Since college songs 
borrow tunes freely , perhaps someday we will use the melody and supply our own words. 
Any suggestions? 
VITAL STATISTICS 
Accepted students -- 181 
Days until college opens - - 177 
Books in the library -- 7, 000+ 
Available scholarships -- 40 including new ones not previously an-
nounced . . . from the Wyoming Park Rotary Club, open to a Wyoming Park graduate, 
Alice M. Barnes Memorial Scholarships to Kentwood graduates, Grand Rapids Civitan 
Club, four from the Kent Medical Foundation . 
MEET BILL DEMPSEY GVSC director of audio-visual development Bill Dempsey 
has been a speech teacher, a USO entertainer, and i:l TV producer. In this last field, 
he produced shows involving statesmen and sportsmen, show business celebrities, 
and college professors. He comes to us from Pittsburgh, where he headed the edu-
cational TV stations. On three occasions, Bill spent a month in Europe studying TV 
and can tell you the virtures and drawbacks of state-controlled mass 
communication in comparison with our own commercial system. When 
your tape recorder goes out of whack or your hi-fi becomes low-fi , Bill 
can fix it. At GVSC he's in charge of the A-V system that will extend 
throughout the campus ., supplementing the printed word with films, 
closed circuit TV, tape recordings, and record playing facilities. 
PIONEER CLASS Grand Valley's program of liberal education is 
attracting students with a variety of career interests. One student 
hopes to enter the diplomatic service , another plans to work in the 
aero-space industry as a research physicist, several students are 
planning a period of service with the Peace Corps or the United 
Nations, and many are interested in teaching careers at the elementary, 
high school, and college levels. One thing is certain, the Pioneer 
Class of G.V.S.C. will make its marks in many different professions, occupations,and 
activities. 
A review of hobby interests of students already admitted reveals a 
wide range of interests. Many are interested in music -:- from Beethoven to Stan Getz. 
There is a lively interest in dramatics and journalism. Every kind of sport is re-
presented ... from skiing to sky diving. Even cricket has its supporters! 
ACROSS TH E NAT IO N The word about GVSC is getting around . . . in the March 
Overview, a national magazine for educational executives, there is a feature story on 
Space for Individual Learning, which traces the idea of a student carrel to its most 
modern design right here at GVSC .•. Educational Facilities Laboratories, Inc. who 
granted us carrel planning money, published the results in'a booklet ... a letter to 
the editor of the Saturday Review from vice president Philip Buchen on our campus plan 
got good play. 
WE' RE SORRY The wrong time was given for our Project '63 TV show in March .•. 
Channel 13 changed the time because of a Con-con special show ... and forgot to let 
us know. 
LEND AN EAR A series of 5 minute interviews with "Interesting People at GVSC" 
is featured on WJBL-FM, Holland, at 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, and on WOOD, Grand 
Rapids, at 12: 05 noon on Sundays. Many of our staff have visited or lived in countries 
all over the world, and their impressions make fascinating listening. 
FACULTY COMING UP Four new members of the faculty will be appointed at 
the Board of Control meeting in April. Their subject areas are Zoology, Political 
Science, English, and Music. 
NEW-CON Adoption of Michigan's new Constitution brings constitutional status to 
G. V. S. C. See Article VIII, Section 4. 
CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR 
April 21 -- Project '63,Channel 13 Meet three faculty members ... 3:30 p.m. 
April 22 -- GVSC night in Fremont ... Foundation Building ..• 7:30 p. m. 
April 25 -- GVSC night at Creston High School .•. Grand Rapids ... 7:30 p.m. 
These meetings are open to the public and will provide progress reports on the college. 
-
-
-


Underneath the Arches, no. 02, April 03, 1963

Grand Valley State University
ScholarWorks@GVSU
Underneath the Arches, 1963-1971 University Archives
5-3-1963
Underneath the Arches, no. 03, May 03, 1963
Grand Valley State College
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/underneaththearches
Part of the Archival Science Commons, Education Commons, and the History Commons
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Underneath the Arches, 1963-1971 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact
scholarworks@gvsu.edu.
Recommended Citation
Grand Valley State College, "Underneath the Arches, no. 03, May 03, 1963" (1963). Underneath the Arches, 1963-1971. 3.
http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/underneaththearches/3
·rtAJ\JD VALLEY STATE COLLEGE UNDERNEATH THE ARCHES 
-
-
No. 3 May3,1963 
MONEY FROM LANSING The appropriations bill for GVSC has passed the 
senate and the house in Lansing ... is due to be signed by Gov. Romney this week. 
GVSC receives $558,372 for operation and administration ... $720,000 for start of 
construction of the third academic building ... $150,000 for utilities and site de-
velopment ... $25,000 for planning a central utilities plant and distribution system 
to serve the heating needs of all buildings on campus. A bouquet to our 8-county 
legislators who helped to get these bills passed, and to Frank Beadle (R. St. Clair) 
chairman of the senate appropriations committee, and to Arnell Engstrom (R. Traverse 
City) chairman of the house ways and means committee. 
AT T EN TI O N F RE S H M E N B O Y S A beauty queen will be a member of the 
pioneer class ... Marcia Darin of Grandville High School was recently judged 
Miss Grandville Jaycee for 1963 ... and will represent Grandville in the Miss 
Michigan contest next year. 
FROM THE SHADOW OF THE ROCKIES •.. comes our first out-of-
_ ____; __ ____;;;;_....;;;.;;;......;;....____;~c...;_-=-...;;;......;...c.___...;;;_;;;____;;;;_;;;_;;;-=---;;...;...;;:;.......='-=..;;._--= 
state student. He is Garry Gene Clark of Colorado Springs, Col. , who attends 
Wasson High School. A three-letter man, Gary lists cross-country as one of his 
sports, and may be one of those around whom GVSC' s cross-country team will be 
built. 
JOBS ON CAMPUS The first student employee at GVSC has recently been 
hired to assist in the library. Richard Haisma, Union High School student and 
member of the pioneer class, commutes to campus after school ... his classes 
are over early in the afternoon ... and works three hours daily. 
George Hundley, assistant to the president for student affairs, 
says there will be a limited number of student jobs available 
during the summer and after college opens in the fall. Those 
interested should write him. 
MEET GEORGE POTTER Our man from Oxford, the 
assistant to the president for academic affairs, is George T. 
Potter, who came to GVSC by way uf Calgary, Canada. While 
at Oxford George rowed in intra-mural crew races and so will 
serve as advisor to the GVSC rowing program. A man of many 
talents, George took up skiing while in Canada, once operated 
a radio repair shop, and can ad-lib in front of camera or micro-
phone with unruffled aplomb. George and his wife are living 
across the river from the campus, and their household includes 
two sons, a daughter and a basset hound. 
OUR OARS With the arrival of two shells on campus, our rowing program is off 
to a good start. Purchased with donated funds, the 8-oar and 4-oar racing shells -1 
are being stored in a barn serving as temporary boathouse and will be launched when 
college opens. Funds to purchase other equipment are; being pledged, to the amount 
of $15,000, by friends of GVSC. 
HERE COME THE FACULTY ... to their first meeting as a group with GVSC 
staff ... on May 3rd and 4th .•. to discuss organization of courses ... hear a pro-
gress report on college developments .•. become acquainted with the area ... and 
plan a summer reading program. This reading program will include three or four books 
of unusual interest, not necessarily related to specific subjects but chosen for their 
high quality of form and content and as a basis for discussion when college convenes. 
0 UR STUDENTS TELL US Every student is asked to write a short paragraph 
on his application for admission, stating the reasons he wishes to attend GVSC. Here 
are some typical remarks from our pioneer class: 
"It is a new college where I feel the teachers and I will be working 
together for the first time" ... "It offers what I want - a liberal arts 
education which will permit an emphasis on mathematics" •.. "It is 
my desire to attend Grand Valley to help make its traditions and to 
become part of its heritage. I wish to help build a fine reputation 
for Grand Valley" ..• "The financial advantages of attending GVSC. 
are, of course, very appealing, and so is the pioneering challenge 
which will confront the first group of freshmen" ... "It will be a col-
lege ·interested in each individual student" ... "because of its fresh 
new approach in the tutorial method" ..• "It will enable me to use my 
own initiative" ... "I would like very much to give the college all I 
can to make it a great college" ... "My job since I graduated in June 
has been working at a gas station. Often I meet the people who did 
not want or get an opportunity to go to college. Seeing these people 
day after day makes me realize the importance of a college education. 
My financial position wouldn't permit me to go away to school, but I 
have made up my mind to obtain a college degree so that I may give 
my family a decent and happy life later on." 
CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR 
May 9 - Grand Valley College Night at Greenville •.. Lecture Study Hall, Greenville 
High School, 8 p.m. 
May 2 2 - Grand Valley College Night, Ea st Grand Rapids High School Library, 8 p. m. 
Wednesday nights at 8 p.m., WJBL-FM, and Sunday afternoons at 12:05 p.m. WOOD, 
''Interesting People at Grand Valley State College." During the next few weeks the -
5-minute programs will feature interviews with our incoming faculty members. 


Underneath the Arches, no. 03, May 03, 1963

A compilation of press releases for the year 1962 submitted by University Communications (formerly News & Information Services) to news agencies concerning the people, places, and events related to Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley State University

GVSU Press Releases, 1962

Published by the Grand Valley State College Board of Control in February 1962, prior to the start of construction, as a promotional piece.https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/reports/1006/thumbnail.jp

Grand Valley State University
ScholarWorks@GVSU
Grand Valley Reports and Histories University Archives
1962
The Story Behind This Door
Grand Valley State College
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/reports
Part of the Archival Science Commons, Education Commons, and the History Commons
This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Grand
Valley Reports and Histories by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact scholarworks@gvsu.edu.
Recommended Citation
Grand Valley State College, "The Story Behind This Door" (1962). Grand Valley Reports and Histories. 7.
http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/reports/7

Grand Valley State College 
Board of Control 
L. William Seidman, Chairman - - - Grand Rapids 
James M. Copeland - - - - - - • - Manistee 
Edward J. Frey · - - - - Grand Rapids 
Icie Macy Hoobler, Ph.D. -
William A. Kirkpatrick -
Grace Olsen Kistler - -
Arnold C. Ott, Ph.D. 
Kenneth W. Robinson -
Dale· Stafford 
Office of Administration 
- - Ann Arbor 
- Kalamazoo 
- Grand Haven 
- - Muskegon 
- Grand Rapids 
Greenville 
201 Michigan Ave. N.W. 
Grand Rapids 1, Michigan 
Campus at the Grand River and West M-50 
the story behind the door 
A door may allow you easily to enter a room or it 
may block your way as surely as a wall, but the door 
in this picture unmistakably invites you to come in. No 
one need even touch it to get in, because it hangs in 
open air with space on either side for a person to pass. 
This door tells callers that Grand Valley State College 
is open for business, not the business of educating stu-
dents as yet, but the business of planning for the day in 
the fall of 1963 when its first students will begin their 
studies at this new college. 
The campus site is 740 acres of farming land at west 
M-50 and the Grand River, seven miles from the city 
limits of Grand Rapids. There the land rises high above 
the west river bank, and the bluff overlooking the river 
divides into deep, wooded ravines which reach back for 
long distances into the site. Tops of trees protruding 
from the ravines border the narrow plateaus where the 
buildings will be. 
Construction of the first building will start in the 
summer of 1962 and will have a completion date of July, 
1963. Then the doors on the campus will give the same 
welcome to students as the door in the cover picture 
now gives to all who would read more of the story be-
hind it. But first ... 
PRELIMINARY CAMPUS PLAN 
51 
l. ENTRANCES 
2. MAIN DRIVE AND PARKING AREA 
3. ACAD1EMIC AREAS 
4. ACADEMIC CORE 
5. SERVICE AND UTILITIES CENTER 
6. A TH LET IC AREA 
7. WOODED RAVINES 
8. FIRST BUILDINGS 
I-· 
Ill 
w 
ti 
... 
'(I 
ct 
the story .be/ ore the door 
Most colleges started in modern times are offshoots of 
existing institutions, subject to their policies and tradi-
tions, but such is not the case of Grand Valley. It was 
organized as an independent state supported school with 
a governing board of its own. 
The idea for a new college in this area began with a 
study of higher education in Michigan made by Dr. 
John Dale Russell, who said that, instead of greatly ex-
panding existing institutions, a new college should be 
formed, and the most likely location was Grand Rapids. 
Kent county and the seven counties surrounding it, 
Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo 
and Ottawa, will have by 1965 a college-age population 
exceeding 50,000 beyond a fair commuting distance from 
any other state college. Further studies by Dr. John X. 
Jamrich indicated that many of these prospective stu-
dents could not afford to attend a college away from 
home, but, if facilities were available to them within 
commuting distance, the cost of a higher education 
would be within their reach. 
Through the efforts of a citizens' committee and state 
legislators from this area, a bill was passed during the 
session of 1960 authorizing the establishment of Grand 
Valley College. With the appointment of a nine-member 
board of control by the governor, the new ini;titution 
had its birth on October 17, 1960, when the board held 
its initial meeting. 
A condition of the bill was that the hoard of control 
first acquire a suitable site and raise a million dollars in 
capital assets through donations. This condition was 
speedily met by a generous response to a volunteer fund 
drive. The site which is near Allendale in Ottawa Coun-
ty was then selected, and the state legislature in 1961 
appropriated the first state funds for the operation of 
the college. On July 1, 1961, the offices of administra-
tion were opened. 
Though the college is still too young to have a student 
body, it is planning for its adulthood and the students 
it will have. To those students, their school counselors, 
and their families, and to all who are interested in the 
progress and prospects of Grand Valley, this booklet 
introduces the plans being made behind the door which 
opened this story. 
plans for the college schedule 
Time for learning need have no calendar, but school 
time must be organized. Grand Valley will schedule its 
operations according to a system of 12-week quarters, 
beginning in the fall of 1963 and continuing: 
a winter quarter from January into March 
a spring quarter from April into June 
a summer quarter from July into September 
a fall quarter from October into December 
In each quarter full-time students will take three courses. 
After the initial class has started, high school grad-
uates, beginning in 1964, may enter either at the sum-
mer or the fall term, and the same will be true for 
junior college graduates beginning in 1965. Once stu-
dents have entered, they may remain enrolled the year 
around until they have earned their bachelor's degrees 
within three years instead of the usual four. To serve 
the objectives of a steady year-round use of the campus, 
the college will try to have students who want to inter-
rupt their attendance do so during different quarter-
terms and not only in the summer. 
Daily and weekly schedules of instruction will be 
planned to serve the maximum. number of students and 
to make the most intensive use possible of the campus 
facilities. Class time will probably occupy no more than 
a third of the student's academic hours. The greater 
emphasis will be on independent study. Each learning 
center will provide students with ample, well-designed 
spaces for individual and group study. Meals will be 
served at the college common rooms. For needed diver-
sion, students will have opportumtles to participate m 
sports and clubs and to enjoy the social and cultural 
activities which belong to a well-rounded collegiate ex-
perience. 
Public economic considerations dictate that state-
provided educational facilities be used intensively to 
serve the ever-increasing number of students. A year-
round full program of instruction can serve 25 per cent 
more students with the same facilities than a program 
which stops for three months every summer. Increased 
daily and weekly hours can have a similar effect. 
Whether a student attends Grand Valley on a year-
round basis so that he may enter graduate work or start 
his career as early as possible, or he elects to take a 
quarter each year away from campus, he should expect 
his college education to achieve a momentum which will 
carry far beyond graduation. If this college could write 
its diplomas in disappearing ink, that would be one 
way of letting its students know what it means to call 
the end of formal education a "commencement". 
M-~o 
N 
~o rssa 
MINUTE'S BSSS8& 
60 
/tf/NUTE:S 
plans for the college program 
The purpose of a college program is to put values on 
the different functions which a college may fulfill. The 
functions on which Grand Valley will place the greatest 
value are to occur in its academic centers of learning. 
The first building will constitute a learning center for a 
group of 240 to 480 students, and as enrollments increase, 
new centers will be organized on the same basis. There 
students will receive instruction through lectures, demon-
strations, and discussions, aided by audio-video presenta-
tions. There also students will do the greater part of 
their studying at sound-protected desks reserved for them. 
A combination of study and instructional spaces in one 
building, along with offices of the instructors, will readily 
permit increasing emphasis on independent study by the 
students under the guidance of the faculty. 
Grand Valley intends to retain the virtues of a small 
college, even as it expands and acquires the advantages 
of greater size. Each learning center will function as a 
small college where a limited number of students will 
be assigned for most of their studies in each quarter--
term. Thus, each student may have a close identity 
with a small faculty-student group. At the same time 
the college will plan for the benefits of becoming large, 
by providing science laboratories and a main library to 
serve the college as a whole, though in the earlier years 
these facilities will have to be established temporarily 
on a limited scale in the other academic buildings. 
All learning centers will be joined in a common com-
munications system, so that students in all of them can 
share in the teaching of the most highly qualified faculty 
members or distinguished visitors. All students and staff 
together may take an all-college course in a subject of 
wide interest from an outstanding authority who has 
been invited to spend a term on campus. 
Physical fitness will be as surely an object of the 
program as good grounding in academic subjects .. Every-
one will participate in some program of exernses or 
intramural athletics, so that all may attain the level of 
physical fitness essential to good health. 
Although each student will make his "office" on cam-
pus in a single learning center for most of his academic 
work, he will make liberal use of other campus areas as 
he moves for his other activities into the library, the 
labs, the athletic fields, or the common rooms. The 
college will be a lively place where students will share 
a variety of rewarding experiences both within and 
beyond its academic walls. 
plans for the curricttlum 
In making its curriculum, a college lists its entries in 
the race of education to keep up with the expansion 
of human knowledge and with the many tasks modern 
society asks of its educated people. 
Grand Valley believes that the race should not be 
run by having a long list of courses, in the conviction 
that no college can successfully spread its teaching to 
encompass all of knowledge or many of the varied spe-
cialities useful in our modern world. The board of 
control has recorded its decision to emphasize those 
courses commonly associated with liberal education: the 
humanities and the arts, the physical and the social 
sciences. Grand Valley believes that a student educated 
in the methods and content of basic disciplines will 
advance further in his life work by having acquired 
the techniques of study and investigation which will 
enable him to continue his learning and apply himself 
well to any task he undertakes. 
As extensive as the subject matter of even the basic 
disciplines may be, it will not be covered by trying to 
include everything under a few general survey courses. 
Instead, areas of each subject will be selected for just 
the typical and intensive experience they offer. Gaps 
left between the contents of different courses may be 
bridged by a system of examinations asking students to 
correlate what they have learned in separate disciplines. 
Students will be allowed to concentrate on subjects of 
major interest, but some experience within each of a 
variety of fields for study will be required. 
Fundamental planning and imagination freely applied 
will go into developing the curriculum of this new 
college. As yet, the specific courses have not been de-
lineated, nor have the areas of professional training. A 
further bulletin will provide this information well be-
fore admissions applications are invited. 
plans for adnzission of sfttdents 
Applications for admission to Grand Valley's first 
freshman class will be accepted beginning in the fall of 
1962. Probably this first class, starting in the fall of 
1963, will be limted to 240, and the following year an 
equal number will be admitted. The first junior class 
in 1965 will be larger, to accommodate transfers from 
the area's junior colleges, and the later classes will be 
greater as the facilities of the college expand. 
The small size of the early classes does not imply 
member will be drawn only from the "top ten per cent" 
of their high school graduating classes. This college is 
established to serve a broader public need for educating 
many young people who have the motivation and the 
creative power to gain appreciable benefits from the 
work leading to an A.B. degree. 
Students will be expected to have a genuine convic-
tion that they will find at Grand Valley an education 
w~ich will fit their desires and needs. Academic prepar-
at10n should include a minimum of three and preferably 
four years of English, and a well-rounded selection of 
other academic subjects. Reading and writing skills 
must be adequate for students to do college work. 
Achievement and aptitude tests may be required. The 
college will be searching for able surprises - students 
with a talent for creativity who give promise of rising 
to the challenge of an imaginative college program. 
Grand Valley will also screen applicants to determine 
that they meet minimum health standards and that 
they have the character necessary to be honorable and 
mature members of the college community. 
Accreditation of the college will be established as soon 
as pos~ibl~ under prescribed ~rocedures of the accrediting 
orgamzat10n. In the meantime, students who desire to 
do so may transfer to other state institutions on a pro-
visional basis, and may enter with advanced standing 
colleges in other parts of the country after passing a 
qualifying examination. 
The people of the state of Michigan through taxes 
will bear most of the cost of building and operating 
this college. As in other state-supported colleges, tuition 
will cover probably no more than one-fourth of the 
operating costs alone. The tuition and fees at Grand 
Valley, if kept in line with prevailing state practice, will 
be between $70 and $93 each quarter-term for a student 
who is a qualified resident of the state. To the extent 
possible, loans or scholarships will be arranged for 
those who need help. 
A student at Grand Valley in the time required to 
earn his degree will be able to save a substantial part of 
the usual costs by living at home and commuting to the 
campus, even after allowing for meals on campus and 
transportation expense. 
High school students presently in the classes of 1963 
who are desirous of making their plans for college, if 
they think of Grand Valley, may wonder what it will be 
like to be one of its pioneer students. A better intro-
duction for them to the experience it will be must await 
the conclusion of more definite plans as the day of open-
ing nears. Even the plans described in this booklet may 
be modified before that day. But the students to whom 
these preliminary plans appeal may see that these un-
certainties are natural to pioneering and essential to 
the excitement of it, and in particular, to the excite-
ment of being in the very first class of a new college just 
opening its doors. 
Published February, 1962 


The Story Behind This Door

A compilation of press releases for the year 1961 submitted by University Communications (formerly News & Information Services) to news agencies concerning the people, places, and events related to Grand Valley State University

GVSU Press Releases, 1961

House Resolution No. 28 of the 1959 Michigan legislature created a committee to study the need for a four-year state-supported college in the Grand Rapids area. The committee submitted its findings and recommendations to the 1960 Legislature in a report entitled  A New College: A report to the Legislative and Citizens committees on the eight-county study of higher education needs in Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newago and Ottawa Counties  by John X. Jamrich, Director of the Survey, December 1959.https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/reports/1004/thumbnail.jp

Grand Valley State University

Not a member yet

Underneath the Arches, no. 06, July 19, 1963

Underneath the Arches, no. 02, April 03, 1963

Underneath the Arches, no. 03, May 03, 1963

GVSU Press Releases, 1962

The Story Behind This Door

GVSU Press Releases, 1961

A New College

19,004

24,297