Grand Valley State University Leadership Initiative

The Leadership GVSU Initiative was created to provide Grand Valley students with training, education, and experiences that encourage their growth as life long successful leaders, leaders of integrity, and leaders promoting civic engagement and social change within their professions and communities. Our philosophy of leadership is based on the idea that leadership can be learned and that even experienced leaders can continue to learn new concepts. We also support the notion that leadership is a collaborative group process that is inclusive of all participants and therefore not focused on an individual but instead on the relationship between group members. Our belief is that the outcome of the leadership process is oriented toward positive change, whether within the group or the greater community.

The Leadership Initiative includes experiential programs that help college students develop leadership understanding and skills at various levels. The Odyssey program is for emerging leaders; the Journey program is a capstone experience for seasoned leaders; the Excellence in Leadership Series is a year-round offering of speakers on a variety of topics; the Leadership Summit is an annual regional conference for college student leaders and advisors. The Leadership Initiative also offers an academic course in Leadership Dynamics, as well as supports the activities of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.