CPB Community Service Grant (CSG) Compliance - WGVU

As a Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Community Service Grant (CSG) recipient, Grand Valley State University and WGVU present this information and documentation to ensure transparency in business matters to the public.

Contact WGVU
(616) 331-6666
301 Fulton St W. Grand Rapids, MI 49504

WGVU Station Management

General Manager: Jim Rademaker (rademakj@gvsu.edu)

Assistant General Manager of Business & Information: Megan Davey (daveymeg@gvsu.edu)

News and Public Affairs Director: Patrick Center (centerp@gvsu.edu)

Grants Manager: Steve Chappell (chappels@gvsu.edu)

Director of Content: Phil Lane (lanep@gvsu.edu)

Development Manager: Aaron Turner (turneraa@gvsu.edu)

Director of Engineering: David Oliver (oliverd@gvsu.edu)

Promotions Manager/Designer: Vance Orr III (orrv@gvsu.edu)

WGVU Governing Board (GVSU Board of Trustees)

WGVU-AM, FM, and TV are licensed to the Board of Trustees of Grand Valley State University. For additional information please visit: https://www.gvsu.edu/boardoftrustees/

Mikyia S. Aaron (term expires 2028)
Noreen K. Myers (term expires 2028)
Victor M. Cardenas – term ends 2022
Randall S. Damstra – term ends 2024
Elizabeth C. Emmitt – term ends 2026
Susan M. Jandernoa – term ends 2026
Megan S. Rydecki – term ends 2022
Kate Pew Wolters – term expires 2024

Community Advisory Board

WGVU-AM, FM, and TV are owned and operated by a state university and therefore are not required to have a Community Advisory Board.

Open Meetings Policy

WGVU-AM, FM, and TV are licensed to the Board of Trustees of Grand Valley State University. The Trustees comprise the governing body for WGVU. The GVSU Board of Trustees meets several times per year. Please visit https://www.gvsu.edu/boardoftrustees/meeting.htm for details on the Board of Trustees meeting dates.

2023 Meetings

All Board meetings are action meetings and begin at 11:00 a.m. unless otherwise indicated.

2023

Friday, November 3, 2023
8:00 AM Committee Meetings
11:00 AM Board of Trustees Formal Session
Kirkhof Center, Room 2204
Allendale Campus

Friday, June 23, 2023
8:00 AM Committee Meetings
11:00 AM Board of Trustees Formal Session
Kirkhof Center, Room 2204
Allendale Campus

Friday, April 28, 2023
8:00 AM Committee Meetings
11:00 AM Board of Trustees Formal Session
L. William Seidman Center
Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus

Friday, February 24, 2023
8:00 AM Committee Meetings
11:00 AM Board of Trustees Formal Session
L. William Seidman Center
Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus

These meeting dates will be publicized on both the WGVU website and the Grand Valley State University website.

When an agenda item specifically related to WGVU is on the docket, notice will be placed on the WGVU website.

Financial Reporting Requirements

WGVU makes the annual Audited Financial Statements and Annual Financial Reports submitted to CPB available to the public, both online at the station's website, and in paper along with the station's FCC Public File in the main office: 301 Fulton St W Grand Rapids MI 49504.

WGVU adheres to a discrete accounting system, which allows the grantor and auditor to track funds discretely within the accounting system.

WGVU Audited Financial Statements (Year ended 6/30/2022)
WGVU-TV Annual Financial Report (Year ended 6/30/2022)
WGVU-FM Annual Financial Report (Year ended 6/30/2022)

Diversity Statement

WGVU Public Media, a service of Grand Valley State University, believes a diverse workforce, management team, governing body, and donor base contribute greatly to our knowledge and understanding of West Michigan’s diverse communities. Our mission is to deliver content and services that will help us attract, grow, and engage audiences and to help them to achieve their full potential. WGVU recognizes the importance of representation in media and strives to be an organization that allows the people of our community to see themselves reflected in the programming that we provide. The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 states that “it is in the public interest to encourage the development of programming that involves creative risks and that addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences, particularly children and minorities” and we take that responsibility as a public service organization seriously.

WGVU Public Media will continue to explore new opportunities for achieving and promoting this diversity and to monitor and evaluate our success. WGVU Public Media will work to meet or exceed the standards of federal and state law, Grand Valley State University’s Equal Employment Opportunity Policy, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Diversity Eligibility Criteria.

As a joint licensee and departmental unit of Grand Valley State University, WGVU adheres to all policies as outlined by the GVSU Board of Trustees, including the Board’s commitment to inclusion and equity, which you can read more about here: https://www.gvsu.edu/inclusion/.

The University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution, consistent with its obligations as a federal contractor. It encourages diversity and provides equal opportunity in education, employment, all its programs, and the use of its facilities. It is committed to protecting the constitutional and statutory civil rights of persons connected with the University.

Members of the University community, including students, employees, faculty, staff, administrators, Board members, consultants, vendors, others engaged to do business with the University, candidates for employment or admissions, and visitors or guests have the right to be free from acts of harassment and discrimination, including sexual misconduct, as defined by this policy. In accordance with applicable federal and state law and this policy, acts of discrimination or harassment by members of the campus community are prohibited if they discriminate or harass on the basis of age, color, disability, familial status, height, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex/gender (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, veteran or active duty military status or weight. This includes inappropriate limitation of, access to, or participation in educational, employment, athletic, social, cultural, or other university programs and activities. The University will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Limitations are lawful if they are: directly related to a legitimate university purpose, required by law, or lawfully required by a grant or contract between the university and the state or federal government. For the purposes of this policy, sex-/gender-based harassment includes sexual misconduct, sexual assault, interpersonal or relationship violence, and stalking.

As outlined in WGVU’s 2020 – 2025 Strategic Plan, the station is acting over the next three years to better reflect our community across platforms through our staffing, content, partnerships, and the audiences we reach. Although we reflect the demographics of the geographic area that we serve, WGVU’s staff currently does not reflect the level of diversity that we would hope to have as a public media organization. As of December 31, 2021, our full-time staff is comprised of 12% Black, Indigenous and People of Color (four out of thirty-four staff members), our management team is 11% Black (one out of nine managers). We have not diversified our staff in the past two to three years, however, we have pursued productions that increase the number of programs by diverse producers. The Board of Trustees of Grand Valley State University is comprised of 37.5% Black, Indigenous and People of Color (three out of eight trustees). We endeavor to recruit from a broad pool of candidates enabling us to hire and promote individuals with a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, personal experiences and characteristics, and talents that reasonably reflect the diverse needs and interests of the communities served by WGVU Public Media.

Over the coming year, WGVU plans to distribute books with funds raised from our Giving Tuesday initiative to Title One designated schools. We are also working with Harrison Park Elementary on a “Cool School” program that will engage Pre-K through 8th grade students throughout the course of the school year. Our Inclusion Reporter and Video Production Specialist are working on new frameworks for content production that will allow us to reach an expanded audience and to connect with communities that have historically been underrepresented in media. We will continue to post available positions to a diverse range of organizations and audiences to ensure that our candidate pool reflects the area that we serve. Employees will commit to attending a minimum of one IDEA focused training per year, while the organization commits to offering at least two all-staff training opportunities to allow employees to operate from the same tool kit.

The University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution, consistent with its obligations as a federal contractor. It encourages diversity and provides equal opportunity in education, employment, all its programs, and the use of its facilities. It is committed to protecting the constitutional and statutory civil rights of persons connected with the University.

For WGVU at GVSU, DEI is defined as:

DIVERSITY refers to the presence of differences and a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences in culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, age, class, religion and spirituality, geographic and international, and more. Diversity, in all its forms, is at the heart of Grand Valley’s mission to provide a liberal education that will help shape lives, professions, and societies. Diversity is affirmed and celebrated at GVSU and in the community as a necessary intellectual asset and institutional resource. Grand Valley believes it has a responsibility to serve all members of our community through a coordinated equity and inclusion strategy
EQUITY refers to the guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for students, faculty, and staff at every stage of education and career development. Grand Valley acknowledges that there are historically underserved and underrepresented populations. Every effort is made to identify and eliminate barriers preventing their full participation.
INCLUSION refers to GVSU’s support for the success and engagement of all students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors in creating a healthy and affirming climate. Inclusion is “the active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity — in people, in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect — in ways that increase one’s awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within value systems and institutions” (Association of American Colleges and Universities, AAC&U). Inclusion establishes an environment in which all individuals and communities are able to thrive in authentic ways. Moreover, an inclusive and welcoming climate embraces differences so that all people can fully participate in the university’s opportunities. Grand Valley is committed to the advancement of inclusion — the act of creating environments where individuals feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued.

WGVU Public Media Diversity Goals

Provide opportunities for underserved communities in our coverage area to engage with WGVU by expanding into geographic areas that we have not previously focused on
Engage with partner organizations and minority/underrepresented communities to provide content that is of/for/by those who are marginalized
Work with intentionality to build diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts into the general operating budget through a variety of funding sources to demonstrate WGVU’s commitment to this area
When posting available positions, commit to ensuring that diverse organizations and audiences are targeted to allow for a diverse candidate pool both through official job postings and sharing of open positions within a diverse network of community partners
All full-time employees will attend at least one diversity, equity, and inclusion training per year

As outlined in WGVU’s 2020 – 2025 Strategic Plan, the station is taking action over the next four years to better reflect our community across platforms through our staffing, content, partnerships, and the audiences we reach. WGVU’s staff currently does not reflect the level of diversity that we would hope to have as a public media organization. Our full-time staff is comprised of 12% minorities, our management team is 13% minority. We have not diversified our staff in the past two to three years, however, we have pursued productions that increase the number of programs by diverse producers.

Our partnership with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation enables WGVU to further its work around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our specific Kellogg funded activities under our Mutually Inclusive and Shaping Narratives initiatives provide a voice to those typically left out of the conversation, and puts a spotlight on equity issues impacting marginalized communities. WGVU is addressing its goals through the work of our inclusion reporter, and by building community capacity in partnership with area leaders of color creating content with and for their communities. This content is then used to encourage change-based conversations. Future work includes radio reporting, a monthly WGVU television program, the production of digital content, and extensive community engagement activities. This work also influences WGVU’s ongoing efforts to ensure an inclusive work environment, and helps us build trust, and more authentic, reciprocal relationships with underrepresented communities.

Annual Diversity Reports

WGVU publishes a yearly Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) report detailing the hiring and outreach practices during the preceding year. It is available under the ‘Public File' section on the website at wgvu.org.

EEO Requirements

All personnel hiring is handled with the Human Resources division of Grand Valley State University, which exercises its own EEO policy. Further, WGVU will comply with the hiring and reporting practices as required by FCC regulations. Yearly EEO reports are posted on the station's website at https://www.wgvu.org/about/public-files/.

Station Activity Documents

In addition, these documents are available for viewing with the FCC Public File:

Local Content and Services Report

WGVU Local Content and Services Report 2021

Donor Lists

Donor lists will not be sold, rented, loaned, traded, or otherwise transferred to outside parties. WGVU will periodically remind contributors or donors of this privacy policy.