Stewards of a university: Four presidents reflect on six decades of Grand Valley

Lubbers detailed the early days of challenges with state appropriations, which brought familiar nods from the other three panelists on stage. He said he took the advice of hiring a lobby firm in Lansing, while also getting the attention of a young upstart in Michigan's Congressional delegation: Gerald Ford, who served as U.S. representative for nearly 25 years.

"I asked Gerry Ford, our representative, 'Why don't you get us more money for your district?'" said Lubbers. "Within three weeks, we had $500,000." That funding helped Grand Valley secure a license for WGVU Public Media and bring public television and radio to Michigan's second-largest region.

Haas, who continues to teach leadership classes, said his challenge centered around the word "shape" in the university's mission statement.

"Shape is powerful, not in terms of developing and not building, but shaping students' lives, that's a noble calling," Haas said. "It's shaping people, processes and property." Under Haas' leadership, a total of 2.3 million square feet of physical space was added to GVSU's campuses.