On Thursday, Dec. 8, Grand Rapids Community College announced that Valerie Butterfield is going to be the college’s next Student Life Director. Butterfield is the current registrar at GRCC. She plans on making a smooth transition into the role early next year.
“I hope I am able to start the new role around Jan. 15, 2024,” Butterfield said. “That said, I am very excited for this change because I look forward to the opportunity to serve students more directly in their experience on campus – which is why I applied.”
Butterfield has been at GRCC for about seven years and has had previous experience in student services at Henry Ford College before her arrival. She said in a previous interview that being the Student Life Director is “the best job on campus” and will have heavy involvement with students at GRCC.
Butterfield is looking forward to the new role as she has a vision of what the first few actions will be when she takes over in January.
“I have some ideas that I hope I can put into play immediately involving structuring time to connect with students about their experience on campus,” Butterfield said. “I also need to take time to learn everything the Student Life department and student organizations do. This will be a great learning experience so I know how best to support that work.”
Butterfield earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Public Affairs at Wayne State University and finished with a Master’s at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in Public Administration. She also has experience as a Volunteer Coordinator at Summer in the City which involved supervising high school volunteers at work sites.
When asked what should be expected of her, Butterfield noted she is looking to connect with students and create special relationships with them.
“People should expect me to connect with them,” Butterfield said. “I’m looking to build a closer relationship with students and they can look for more information about how (to connect) once I move over to Student Life in January.”
