Monthly email delivered to MSU employees, current and admitted students, parents, alums and donors
Dear Spartans and friends,
You might know that I have a “one team” maxim when it comes to leadership here at Michigan State. It’s an approach I adopted when I played sports in my youth, and through my years in higher education leadership, I have found it to be just as powerful. Teamwork — collaboration and partnership — multiplies individuals’ strengths through what I like to call synergy unleashed.
Spartan men’s basketball Head Coach Tom Izzo takes teamwork to a whole different level. Earlier this month, he and the team thrilled us with a come-from-behind road win, representing his 354th conference win, surpassing former Indiana Head Coach Bobby Knight’s Big Ten win record. Our men’s basketball program is making an exciting run to March Madness.
While we applaud Coach Izzo’s achievement, this is also an opportunity to celebrate his positive impact on Spartan athletics and Michigan State over the past three decades. A proud Spartan for life, he is a nationally respected program leader who supports his players, the university and our community in many ways. He is a mentor to many of our coaches, and I look forward to watching as exciting seasons unfold for our other athletic programs, including ice hockey, gymnastics and women’s basketball. Congratulations, coach. Your dedication inspires all of us!
Partnerships spurring excellence
Maximizing Michigan State’s impact as a talent activator for the state and nation is a high priority for me. I was excited earlier this month to announce former Bank of America executive and MSU alum Matt Elliott and Broad College of Business Dean Emeritus and Professor Sanjay Gupta as the leaders of our new Green and White Council. I enjoyed talking with Matt and Sanjay about this initiative on the MSU Today podcast with host Russ White.
Partnerships are also vitally important in supporting the teaching, research and outreach service we conduct at Michigan State. I’m thinking here about the endowments established by donors to support department chairs and professors. Earlier this week, I enjoyed congratulating those stepping into endowed positions at our endowed faculty investiture. Almost a year ago, this annual ceremony was my first speaking event as president of Michigan State and remains a vivid memory.
Not only do endowed faculty positions offer secure and prestigious positions to attract and retain top scholars, but they also represent the engagement of Spartans and friends in Michigan State’s world-class education and discovery. I am grateful for the generosity of these benefactors making a positive impact on generations of Spartans and for the dedication and talent of those selected to occupy these positions.
And as we celebrate our entry into the fifth year of our 30-year partnership agreement with Henry Ford Health, HFH and MSU researchers are joining forces to develop new approaches to address diseases, including highly lethal pancreatic cancer. Assistant Professor Jennifer Klomp and her husband, Jeff, are both MSU researchers working with HFH senior researcher Howard Crawford, who has formed a team to battle this disease as a research community.
One Spartan community, one team
I mentioned in my January community letter that I’d keep you apprised of our work responding to federal pronouncements impacting our operations — especially as they relate to our students and MSU’s world-class research. You can reference informational resources on our 2025 Federal Transition web page.
Research program funding is of particular concern, given the broad scope of these federal proposals. We are continuing to work with peer university associations and Michigan’s congressional delegation to ensure that, as a public institution serving public interests, we are responding effectively. That includes helping federal policymakers and the public appreciate MSU’s legacy of impactful research and our stewardship of taxpayer investments in critical areas. You can get a quick glimpse of the impact of some of Michigan State’s world-changing discoveries here.
I understand the anxiety felt by many. Please know that we will continue pursuing our three-part mission of education, research and outreach while standing by our core values, including supporting inclusiveness and belonging across our university community.
Our global Spartan community represents a team more than half a million strong, with unlimited potential to make a positive difference in this state and beyond. In the weeks ahead, I’m looking forward to sharing opportunities for each of us to step up to demonstrate our shared uncommon will to make a far better world.
Go Green!
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D.
(GUS-ka-wits)
President
Professor, Department of Kinesiology
