ALLENDALE, Mich. — On Friday, Grand Valley State University inaugurated the school's fifth president, Philomena V. Mantella.
Mantella is the first woman to lead the university.
At the formal ceremony at the GVSU Fieldhouse in Allendale, Mantella announced two new initiatives. One is the Laker Lifetime Learning Account, which will make money available to alumni who are pursuing continuing education at GVSU. This program will begin in the spring.
The other initiative is the establishment of a talent epicenter, where companies, nonprofit organizations, students and entrepreneurs can collaborate on ideas.
Hundreds of people attended the investiture ceremony, including Mantella's husband and her family. Former President Thomas Haas spoke at the event and handed Mantella a baton that was passed to him by former President Mark A. Murray.
In Mantella's address, she gave five commitments to the university: evolving Grand Valley's liberal education foundation, creating an unparalleled educational model, expanding experiential learning, supporting more students at different stages of life, and investing in alumni through the lifetime learning account program.
Mantella assumed the presidency on July 1. Before moving to West Michigan, she spent 18 years at Northeastern University as senior vice president of Enrollment and Student Life and the chief executive officer of the Lifelong Learning Network.
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