Grand Valley State University’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) has seen significant changes in recent years. Some University community members are raising concerns about the growing number of vice president positions, in addition to the hiring of candidates from a corporate background, as compared to coming from within GVSU’s ranks or higher-education more broadly.
The SLT consists of the president, provost and vice presidents. The Board of Trustees (BOT) hires the president and the University hires the vice presidents. In recent years, an additional amount of vice presidents have been hired, with some having little to no faculty experience at a university.
In President Philomena Mantella’s first year at the University, there were seven vice president positions, now there are 10.
One new vice presidential role came from a split between the duties of provost and vice president of Academic and Student Affairs. In 2022, Jenny Hall-Jones was hired as vice president of Student Affairs, while Fatma Mili was hired as former provost and vice president of Academic Affairs.
Another role was created in 2020 when Miloš Topić was hired as vice president for Information Technology and Chief Digital Officer.
The final new position is vice president and chief executive of Omni, which began following the program’s creation in 2024. The spot was filled by Kara Van Dam, who previously served as vice provost for Graduate and Lifetime Learning.
Mantella said in a statement to the Lanthorn that Omni was created for adult learners to achieve the University’s goal of “lifelong learning” and educational equity. She said the new vice president position was created for Omni to respond to the “growing importance” of the goal.
“I chose to elevate this role to ensure the University has the focus, coordination and external engagement needed to expand these opportunities,” Mantella said. “Kara Van Dam brings vast experience and skill to scaling for a global online audience serving adult learners and veterans.”
The initial aim was for Omni to reach 50,000 people within five years. It is currently unclear how many people Omni has reached. Earlier this month, a group of faculty members delivered an open letter to the BOT, which listed Omni as a chief concern.
Similarly, some faculty members are expressing concerns over administrators coming from corporate backgrounds instead of having experience working at GVSU or other universities.
One such example is Vice President of the Division of People, Equity and Culture (PEC), Robert Shorty. PEC oversees human resources, which Shorty has experience in from the private sector. Shorty’s LinkedIn shows that he worked in HR for Target from 2008-2010, McDonald’s from 2010-2016, Starbucks from 2016-2019 and Nike from 2019-2024. Shorty has a bachelors degree in sociology, masters degree in social work and a Ph.D. in organization development.
“While my recent chapters in the corporate sector are often the most visible, I actually began my career as a social worker,” Shorty explained.
Earlier this year, the University cut a retiree healthcare benefit, upsetting some members of faculty that felt proper governing bodies were not consulted prior to the decision. The cut was announced by the University’s HR. Paul Fishback, a retired 32-year mathematics professor, was depending on the healthcare plan for leukemia treatment.
“It’s not like he (Shorty) has been completely out of education, but the types of things he’s doing now, like management, that’s more of something that’s done in the private sector, where things are very different,” Fishback said. “What’s happened here is there’s an endemic of an ongoing problem of the University making decisions without adequate faculty input.”
While Fishback is concerned by Shorty’s experience in the corporate sector, Shorty sees working at a University as a return to his early career in the nonprofit sphere. His first listing on LinkedIn details his experience with The Baby Fold, a nonprofit based in Normal, Illinois dedicated to the wellbeing of children and families. Shorty worked for The Baby Fold from 2004-2008 as a residential treatment specialist/care assistant.
“Because of that foundation, I don’t view the University as a corporation,” Shorty said. “I was incredibly excited to return to my nonprofit roots when I joined Grand Valley. I do believe that experience in large, complex organizations provides me with additional insight and experience that benefits GVSU.”
A similar example is Vice President, Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer Stacie Behler, who worked as a Meijer executive for 20 years before coming to GVSU. Behler also served as a law clerk for the Fishman Group and an attorney for Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge.
The SLT is not without University work experience. Five of the 10 vice presidents worked in a university before coming to GVSU. Hall-Jones, Miloš Topić, Donta Truss and Van Dam all had university administrative experience prior to working at the University. However, only Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jennifer Drake worked as a professor in a university before joining the SLT.
Van Dam is the only current vice president that worked at GVSU before joining the SLT. All other current vice presidents were hired from outside of the University.
Multiple former SLT members were employed by the University long before they were promoted into administrative positions. This contrasts with the current composition of the SLT. Greg Sanial, the vice president fro Finance and Administration, was hired in 2018 and is the only vice president who has been in the SLT longer than President Philomena Mantella, who was hired in 2019.
One notable former SLT member was Vice President for Enrollment Development Lynn “Chick” Blue, who was hired in 1968, eight years after Grand Valley State College was founded. Blue’s first position at Grand Valley was as a clerk, and she was promoted to vice president in 2015. After 52 years of working at the University, Blue retired, with the Blue Connection being named after her in 2018.
Another notable former member of the SLT is Matthew McLogan, who served as vice president for University Relations for almost 35 years.
Matt Boelkins, a 28-year mathematics professor who raised concerns about SLT raises at the October 2025 BOT meeting, feels it’s important that SLT members have deep-rooted experience at the institution.
“People who work in an institution for a long time, it’s easier for them to have the institution’s best interest at heart, rather than people who have only been here for a year or two,” Boelkins said. “I will stipulate that there’s a bunch of senior leaders of the University who, in their own way, are trying to do the best they can for Grand Valley, but they seem uninterested in the perspective of people who have worked here for a long time.”
Fishback agrees with Boelkins.
“Theres a lacking of people at the top who have the institutional memory, which is important,” Fishback said.
