Audiences: current students, admitted students, employees, current and admitted student parents, alums and BOT
Dear Spartans and friends,
Next week’s long holiday weekend invites our campus community to reconnect with family and friends, catch up on studies and take a breath before the big push to prepare for final exams. I’ve appreciated hearing from many of our MSU students, faculty and staff members, as well as parents and dedicated alums, who take the time to read my monthly community letter. I am thankful for each of you in our global Spartan community, and I love hearing what Michigan State has meant to you and your families. That feeling grows on me during my frequent runs across the spectacular campus we have all come to enjoy, and I share some thoughts in this video.
As we approach the end of fall semester and another calendar year, I reflect on the uncharted territory that our university and the higher education community are currently navigating. I remain grateful to lead and serve this inclusive campus community, where access, opportunity and excellence are prioritized and equity is central to our mission.
These past months have been demanding for many of our community members. I want to especially recognize and appreciate the grace, perseverance and commitment of our students during a time of shifting expectations and heightened public attention to higher education.
Spartans care — from the student resident assistants and intercultural aides in our welcoming residential halls to our alums giving back to their alma mater. Many of us will dig a little deeper during the nationwide Giving Tuesday event on Dec. 2, and there are plenty of worthy MSU groups and programs to consider. And many campus departments and offices, including mine, are coming together to support our students and neighbors facing food insecurity.
The well-being of our campus community is a major priority, and we are proud to have earned recognition with a Best and Brightest in Wellness award, highlighting a legacy that began in 1893 when we established one of the nation’s first on-campus health services.
Research impact
Spartans’ concern for others also motivates our most impactful research and innovation, illustrated by this story about how one MSU researcher is helping children overcome chronic pain. It’s a story that once again highlights the importance of federal-university research partnerships.
It’s also a glimpse into the dedication and excellence of Michigan State’s world-class faculty. Eight of our faculty members were recently named among the world’s most-cited researchers among their peers, from microeconomics to microbial ecology to computer and mechanical engineering. Congratulations to these amazing researchers and to the departments and colleges they represent!
Dream school, green school
Selecting a college can be stressful — my spouse Amy and I have been there, too, with our kids. So, it was great to see Michigan State included among America’s “new dream schools” by higher education writer Jeffrey Selingo. In his newest book, “Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right for You,” Selingo lists 75 schools that might not claim the prestige of blue-blood institutions, but that deliver exceptional value through their accessibility, student experiences and outcomes. MSU Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Mark Largent recently offered an illuminating review of the book.
While rankings shouldn’t be the sole driver of an enrollment decision, they can still be useful for highlighting institutional characteristics. Michigan State’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, for example, has earned us another accolade. The latest Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges ranks MSU among the top 50 colleges in the country. From our campus operations and culture to more than 800 courses incorporating sustainability, we are preparing Spartans to lead society’s responses to local and global sustainability challenges.
One Team, One Health
Nearly one in five Spartan undergraduates arrive at MSU intending to pursue careers in health and medicine, through programs currently offered across at least eight different colleges. These programs, along with our two medical colleges and our nursing and veterinary colleges, give Michigan State a unique mix of paths across the areas of human, animal and environmental health.
Since June 2024, we’ve been actively exploring ways to better align MSU’s health-related programs to strengthen collaboration across our curriculum, interprofessional education, clinical care and biomedical research. The One Health Council, announced in April 2025, has been specifically exploring three bold ideas: creating a unified College of Medicine, a One Health Research Network and a College of Health Sciences.
These would be major organizational changes that require thorough study. The One Health Council has engaged with over 3,500 faculty, staff, students and alums across campus and the state over the past year, and has just closed its campuswide survey, which gathered nearly 6,000 responses. This feedback will be incorporated into the council’s report, which will likely be submitted to me by the end of November.
I want to thank everyone who took the time to make their voices heard in surveys or in-person sessions and give a shout-out to all those who contributed their time and expertise to the One Health Council and its four task forces. I look forward to the next steps and anticipate announcing any organizational decisions regarding these bold ideas next spring.
Honoring veterans
Having recently expanded Veterans Day to Veterans Week with numerous events on our campus, I want to end by mentioning MSU’s support for our military veterans through our Center for Veterans and Military-Affiliated Students and other programs. We’re also proud to be recognized as a “gold status” college by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. I was honored to join the final leg into campus of this year’s Alex’s Great State Race with Army ROTC units from the University of Michigan and MSU. Leading up to our rivalry football games each year, the cadets join forces to run between Ann Arbor and East Lansing to raise funds and promote disability awareness. So, thank you, participants!
I’m grateful for the opportunity to reconnect, rest and recharge next weekend and hope you can too. Go Green!
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D.
(pronounced GUS-ka-wits)
President
John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor
Department of Kinesiology