By Brandon Smith
On Thursday, May 18, 2023, the Grand Rapids Community College Faculty Association hosted the second of four provost candidate forums in the Applied Technology Center auditorium, this time featuring Emmanuel Awuah. The faculty association is holding sessions with the top four candidates with the goal of finding a new provost for GRCC.
Awuah, who most recently served as Vice President of Academic Affairs at St. Cloud Technical and Community College, received his Ph.D in Sociology and Urban Studies from Michigan State University, and he also holds a Master’s in Sociology from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
As the crowd gathered in the auditorium, Awuah began his presentation by introducing himself to the audience. Throughout the 20 minute presentation, Awuah stressed the importance of community collaboration, and how he planned on bringing that mindset to GRCC. Grand Rapids Community College.
“I am interested in becoming the provost at this institution… number one: because of the institution itself,” he said. “This institution has been here for more than a hundred years, and the work that it has done impacted the communities it serves… making sure that we provide access for individuals who are seeking secondary education and training.
“Second is the position itself. This is the Chief Academic and Student Affairs Officer of the Institution. Most of the work that we do has to do with teaching and learning, and we provide support services for faculty and for students and staff to make sure that we are able to carry out the mission, the vision, and the (administrative) priorities of this institution.”
His previous experience includes:
- Vice President of Academic Affairs at St. Cloud Technical and Community College.
- Chief Academic Officer at Illinois Central College
- Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs at the College of DuPage.
- Tenured Professor, Coordinator of the Sociology Program, and Chief Diversity Officer at Onondaga Community College.
In addition, Awuah has received a number of accolades including at least two Excellence in Teaching awards and the YWCA Diversity Champion Award.
Throughout his presentation, Awuah spoke about how his history led to a passion for teaching and learning that he believes would make him an ideal candidate for GRCC Provost. In particular, he spoke about four things that his mother taught him he would have to learn at a new place. The “Four L’s:” Look, Listen, Learn, and once he had done the first three, Lead.
In addition, Awuah promised that he would be an advocate for educational freedom and floated the idea of partnering with food banks to guarantee no student goes hungry. Awuah also said that he viewed diversity as crucial to a strong community.
“I want people to think about this: there is ‘community’ in our name. Grand Rapids COMMUNITY College. That word is so important to me… the communities around us who send their brothers, sisters, whoever, family members, to us, they have an expectation that… we will be able to understand.”
Awuah also spoke about looking out for students, and told a story about an electrical engineering student who needed one more course to pass, but didn’t have the money for it. Awuah said that he went to the college president and made sure that the student received the financial aid he needed to finish this final course and complete his degree.
“I’m changing the language a little bit,” Awauh said. “We have been using students who are ‘college ready.’ I’m moving more toward whether we are also ‘student ready.’ Can we turn it around? Are we student ready?”
The next candidate forum is scheduled for May 22 with Steven Erickson, and the last one will be on May 25 with John Fields. A session with Matthew Reed was held May 17.
