Dr. Velvie Green has served as the Provost/Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) in Michigan since Fall 2003. GRCC is a large urban campus, located in beautiful downtown Grand Rapids. It serves more than 14,000 credit seeking students enrolled in over 1,600 liberal arts and occupational courses, and approximately 8,000 learners enrolled in non-credit learning activities. After spending the first five years of her career as a secondary business teacher, she assumed a full-time faculty position at GRCC. She spent 15.5 years in that position during which time she also served five years as the Business Division Chair—overseeing 15 full-time faculty, 35 adjunct faculty and all academic activities for one of the largest divisions at the college. In 1998, she moved into community college administration as an Assistant Dean and in 1999 became the Associate Provost/Dean for the School of Workforce Development.
Dr. Green earned her PhD in Higher Education Administration from Michigan State University. She also holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and a Master of Arts degree in Business Education, both from Western Michigan University. She has been a presenter at several conferences, including Innovations 2003, Symposium on the Recruitment & Retention of Students of Color, American Council of Education—Educating All of One Nation, and Michigan Technological University. She also serves as a Consultant-Evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.
She currently serves on the Board of Goodwill Industries and the Board of the World Affairs Council, and she serves on the Executive Committee of the Michigan Community Colleges Chief Academic Officers. She is also a life member of both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women, Inc. She has been recognized by the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce as an ATHENA Award nominee, the YWCA with the Tribute to Women of Achievement Award, and Grand Rapids Community College with the Salute to Women Award.
Dr. Green has been passionate about the mission of the community college for most of her career. Whether individuals seek transfer preparation, vocational-technical education, continuing education, professional development, and/or college-preparation courses, the community college provides the opportunity for all individuals to achieve their greatest potential. She believes the community college is best equipped to meet the varied learning needs of our society and is best prepared to contribute to the economic vitality of its community.
As president of Glendale Community College, she would work hard to remain connected to both internal and external stakeholders in an effort to ensure GCC is positioned as a primary education and training provider, is situated to respond to the ever-changing needs of the business community and is considered a critical partner in economic development efforts within the Maricopa community. She hopes for an opportunity to serve Glendale Community College, Western Maricopa County and Maricopa County Community College District as the next president of Glendale Community College.
