Grand Valley State University (commonly referred to as GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public liberal arts university located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1960, and its main campus is situated on 1,270 acres (5.1 km2) approximately 12 miles (19 km) west of Grand Rapids. Classes are also offered at the university's growing Pew Campus in Downtown Grand Rapids, Meijer Campus in Holland, and through centers at Muskegon and Traverse City established in cooperation with local community colleges.
GVSU is a comprehensive coeducational university serving more than 24,654 students as of fall 2012, from all 83 Michigan counties and dozens of other states and foreign countries. It is one of America's 100 largest universities in terms of enrollment and employs more than 2,000 people with about 864 regular full-time faculty and 1,170 support staff. The university currently has alumni residing in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, and 25 countries around the world. For the 2010-2011 academic year, GVSU was recognized as a top producer of Fulbright Scholars for Master's institutions by the Chronicle of Higher Education. GVSU has also been noted for its sustainability efforts, ranking as high as 16th in the world for environment-friendly university management by GreenMetric World University Ranking in 2011.
GVSU's NCAA Division II sports teams are called the Lakers. They compete in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) in all 19 intercollegiate varsity sports and have won the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Directors' Cup for NCAA Division II every year from 2004 to 2011 after finishing second in 2002 and 2003.
Read more about Grand Valley State University: History, Campuses, University Libraries, Athletics, Student Life, Community Outreach, Notable People, In Popular Culture
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)