Dear Spartans and friends,
As one of the nation’s top public research universities, Michigan State advances discoveries that make life better for all of us, from lifesaving cancer treatments to breakthroughs that impact the food on your table, your family’s health, and technologies that make our world safer. Much of this work is made possible through strong partnerships with the federal government.
MSU leaders have been spending significant time lately advocating for this partnership, which is critically important to maintaining the nation’s powerful discovery and innovation ecosystem. Last week, I joined other MSU leaders in Washington, D.C., and between us, we attended 23 meetings with congressional offices to provide information and advocate for our students and programs.
To help sustain this momentum, Michigan State has launched a new resource: Research for You — a website that shows how Spartan research impacts daily life and how you can advocate for continued federal investment in MSU research. Remember that your voice plays a vital role in advancing the research that improves lives and in preparing the next generation of scientists, educators, engineers and leaders who will shape our future.
We continue to monitor, assess and respond to issues created by executive orders and other federal actions. I also want to acknowledge the stress among some students, faculty and staff related to revocation of student visas here and nationwide. We are proud of the contributions our international students make to our campus community, which is why we will do everything possible to support them during these challenging and unprecedented times. We are working through our Office for International Students and Scholars to do so for our visa students as we consult with our peer universities and legal and governmental networks.
Celebrating our students
We’ve entered a season of celebrations once again, with many approaching graduation activities and with student, faculty and staff recognitions in the final weeks of our spring semester.
I’m looking forward to congratulating more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students at graduation ceremonies on May 2 as we celebrate their hard-earned degrees. There, we will commend their collective dedication and individual accomplishments, including the 271 students who achieved perfect 4.0 grades on their way to their degrees.
All our new graduates will leave Michigan State equipped with knowledge and skills, plus values and experiences that will guide them on their journeys in becoming our future leaders, innovators and engaged citizens in their communities and beyond. Together with their degrees, most bring with them hands-on experience through having participated in internships, directed undergraduate research, community-based service-learning or education abroad.
Graduation is the culmination of years of work not only for these accomplished scholars but for the world-class faculty members and academic staff who designed and taught their courses and for the dedicated support staff members and leaders who keep the university moving forward every day. It’s also a great time for Michigan, where approximately two-thirds of Spartans starting their working careers will stay to add their knowledge, talent and energy — prepared for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
I’m also excited to continue a fun graduation tradition I inaugurated last year: climbing the stairs of Beaumont Tower. Watch for photos from this and other activities on my social media, which are linked at the bottom of this email.
Celebrating excellence
I greatly enjoyed another one of our spring traditions recently: surprising the recipient of the President’s Distinguished Teaching Award in one of their classes with news of their selection. I’m an educator who loves the classroom, and this award recognizes faculty members’ roles in the creation of innovative learning environments. Our honoree this year is Dr. Erica Wehrwein, professor of physiology in the College of Natural Science, who is noted for her highly engaged classes.
Dr. Wehrwein was among those we saluted to celebrate some of the best of Michigan State’s scholarship, research, teaching and service at our All-University Awards. Congratulations to all this year’s honorees for their distinguished contributions to the university, our students and our communities locally and around the world.
I also want to congratulate the faculty members recognized as 2024 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society, and it recognizes distinguished individuals as fellows for their contributions to science and the world. Our newest AAAS fellows represent four colleges and work in biological sciences, medical sciences and physics.
Among our high-achieving undergraduate students are five STEM scholars who earned the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, which honors sophomores and juniors who are committed to a research career in STEM fields and show potential for significant future contributions in their disciplines. The group set a university record, giving us now 60 Goldwater Scholars since the award’s inception and continuing to signal the excellence of Michigan State’s scholars, programs and our opportunities for distinction in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
Great Spartans make a great university, and our excellence was again highlighted recently as four graduate programs in the College of Education were ranked first in the nation in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking — including two programs that have topped the rankings for more than 30 years. Nine of the college’s 10 programs are in the top 10 nationwide. Meanwhile, MSU’s community-engaged learning programs ranked No. 1 among public universities.
Best wishes to all in our campus community for completion of a successful semester and for what lies ahead in your studies or work.
Sincerely,
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D.
(pronounced GUS-ka-wits)
President
Professor, Department of Kinesiology