MEETING NOTES
SPNHA EXTERNAL RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
3 October 2012
9:30-11:30 AM
Room 217C DeVos
Attending: Robbins, Borders, Hoffman, Shalett (sub for Moody), Cain
SPNHA WEB SITE & GRADUATE ADMISSION PACKETS
Kelley Senkowski and Gayane Kabalyan, GAs with the Office of Graduate studies, will meet with the
committee to discuss the department web page. They are recommending to drop the “landing page”
(created by institutional marketing). Next week they will have a template for our web site.
Admission materials should be online. A virtual “packet” should be the primary material. Inquiring
students should be directed there. Paper packets should be seen as an alternative.
JOHNSON CENTER
Materials for conference tables should be sent to Emily Walters (walterem@mail.gvsu.edu, 331-7303) at
the Johnson Center. (Note: Keeping Emily stocked with appropriate material should be added to the
responsibilities of the MPNL coordinator.)
Fellowships should be moved from Johnson Center to SPNHA web page.
INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENT RECRUITMENT
From Chris Hendree, associate director of admission:
This fall, there were a record 155 international students starting at Grand Valley but
only 27 international graduate students, which is the lowest number since 2005. One of
my goals this year is to increase the number of international graduate students and I
need your help with this project.
Grand Valley has tremendous graduate programs and I would like to better promote our
strengths to future international grad students. I would like 3 or 4 unique selling points
of your programs. These selling points could include partnerships with private industry,
interesting research from faculty or students or awards that the program has won. I’m
looking for anything that showcases the unique aspects our programs. If you have more
than 4 selling points – that’s great! I will share all the information you give me with
potential students. I plan to use the information your share in PowerPoint
presentations and in email communication with potential students.
Note that 1/3 of these 27 international students are MPA (8) or MHA (1).
In the past five years, 32 international students have earned their MPA or MHA from Grand Valley. These
students have been from Armenia, Argentina, Columbia, Germany, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan,
South Korea, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nepal, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.
Our alumni have found employment with the World Bank, European Commission, United Nations
Population Fund, Center for Social and Economic Research (Warsaw), Child and Youth Finance
International (Amsterdam), Global Movement for Children (Barcelona), Janssen Pharmaceuticals
(Moscow), Polish Embassy to Israel, London Borough of Camden, Marshal Office of the Malopolska
Region (Krakow), Kielce University of Technology, and Cracow University of Economics.
Home to the Kellogg Foundation, the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, and the Arcus Foundation,
West Michigan is an excellent place to study philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. It is recognized as
one of the most generous regions per capita in the United States. West Michigan philanthropists have
pioneered ground-breaking private-public partnerships, a billion dollar public school scholarship
program, a multi-billion dollar medical research institute, and the world's largest art prize. Grand Valley
was one of the first universities to develop graduate education for nonprofit managers.
With over 120 LEED certified buildings, West Michigan is an excellent place to study sustainability. In
2010, Grand Rapids was named the nation’s most sustainable mid-size city by the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. In June 2012, the city received the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Award. Grand Rapids is
home to the nation’s first LEED-certified micro-brewery, featuring a locally sourced, seasonally rotating
menu. Grand Valley has a new certificate program in sustainability for public and nonprofit
organizations.
SPNHA faculty have international teaching experience at the Cracow University of Economics (Poland),
Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Yeungnam University (South Korea), Kielce University of
Technology (Poland), and Macquarie University (Australia).
ANNUAL REPORT
Richard Shalett recommendation was not to do an annual report. They are a lot of work, high cost, and
have a very small audience. Periodic we reports are more practical and effective.