Gerard Venema earned an A.B. in mathematics from Calvin College and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. After completing his education he spent two years in a postdoctoral position at the University of Texas at Austin and another two years as a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. He then returned to his alma mater, Calvin College, and has been a faculty member there ever since. While on the Calvin College faculty he has also held visiting faculty positions at the University of Tennessee, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University. He spent two years as Program Director for Topology, Geometry, and Foundations in the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation.

Venema is a member of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America. He served for ten years as an Associate Editor of the American Mathematical Monthly and currently sits on the editorial board of MAA FOCUS. Venema has served the Michigan Section of the MAA as chair and is the 2013 recipient of the section's distinguished service award. He currently holds the position of MAA Associate Secretary and is a member of the Association's Board of Governors.