By Dottie Barnes
The Student Services Building on Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus will be named for President Emeritus Arend D. “Don” Lubbers and Nancy Lubbers on August 24.
Don Lubbers served as Grand Valley’s president for more than three decades with his wife, Nancy, at his side. The couple have continued to serve and impact students and the university through their counsel, actions and personal support.
A dedication ceremony for the Arend and Nancy Lubbers Student Services Center will take place Friday, Aug, 24, at 2 p.m. on the Allendale Campus.
Event speakers include President Thomas J. Haas; Lynn Blue, vice president for Enrollment Development; Rachel Jenkin, Student Senate president; and Don and Nancy Lubbers.
Recently, the couple created the Don and Nancy Lubbers Opportunity Scholarship, which helps attract students with high academic achievement from working families who do not qualify for other government aid. The scholarship aims to widen the pathway to graduation without burdensome debt.
Don and Nancy came to West Michigan in 1969 when Don was elected Grand Valley’s second president. Before coming to Grand Valley, he had already distinguished himself by becoming the nation’s youngest college president at age 29, when he served as the president of Central College in Pella, Iowa. When he stepped down as president of Grand Valley in 2001, he had the longest tenure of any university president in the country at 32 years.
During the couple’s tenure at Grand Valley, the university experienced tremendous growth. They led the way for the creation of the Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus, the Meijer Holland Campus, the Traverse City Regional Center, the Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute in Muskegon and the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences on the Medical Mile in downtown Grand Rapids.
The pair was instrumental in initiating and growing Grand Valley’s nationally recognized study abroad program and the university’s expansive art collection, as well as academic programs such as engineering, nursing, health professions and business.
The Lubbers Student Services Center houses several departments including Admissions, Financial Aid, Dean of Students Office, and Registrar’s Office, as well as a newly added reception area called the Laker Experience Suite that will be used to meet with prospective students and their families.
