Audiences: current students, admitted students, employees, current and admitted student parents, alums and BOT
Dear Spartans and friends,
Our busy campus today is poised for a much-anticipated pause for spring break next week. I hope all our students manage to rest, recharge and return prepared for the last push toward final exams and, for many, graduation.
MSU excellence
As I look ahead toward our commencement season, it was gratifying to see MSU’s excellence and the value we provide our students and families endorsed once again, this time in a list of the world’s top universities. The rankings, placing Michigan State at No. 85 globally, are based on academic capacity and performance, innovation and economic impact and global engagement. We rank No. 36 among United States institutions and No. 14 among our public university peers. It really affirms our commitment to delivering an accessible, world-class education.
It’s our people who make MSU excellent, and I am delighted to congratulate pediatrician and Associate Dean for Public Health Dr. Mona Hanna for her second inclusion on the TIME100 Most Influential People in Health list. She is the founder of Rx Kids, the nation’s first community-wide maternal and infant cash prescription program. The program now extends to more than two dozen Michigan communities, and I was honored to join her and our partners in Detroit this month to help launch the program’s recent expansion there.
MSU’s excellence extends to our physical surroundings, as well. As one who continues to delight in the beauty of our campus, I’m very proud of the recognition our Landscape Services department earned from the Professional Grounds Management Society. The Green Star Gold Award is conferred for outstanding performance in turf management, landscape design and maintenance, safety, efficiency and sustainability. Congratulations and thanks to all those keeping our campus grounds safe and beautiful.
Excellence is reflected not only in what we do, but also in how we do things. Earlier this month, the MSU Ethics Institute organized our university’s second annual Ethics Week, bringing our community together to explore ethics in higher education and public life. The week featured 30 events with topics ranging from artificial intelligence and digital literacy to health care, entrepreneurship and inclusion. I was pleased to join several university colleagues for a panel discussion on how ethics help shape our leadership, decision-making and institutional culture. Thank you to the students, faculty, staff and community members who produced or participated in our events. This work continues to guide our efforts on campus, strengthening ethical decision-making and deepening engagement around how our shared values take shape at MSU.
Speaking of values we embrace as an institution, I’m excited to host the inaugural event of our Presidential Speaker Series on the evening of March 17 at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts. There, three government and higher education leaders will explore with me the role of higher education in civil discourse. Tickets are still available on the event web page, and the program is free of charge.
Innovation and discovery
I’ve often written in these spaces about the importance of university research to our society’s health, well-being and prosperity. So, it was a pleasure to join colleagues, lawmakers and area officials to celebrate the inauguration of the K500 Chip Testing Facility at our Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. It’s the latest evolution in MSU’s decades-long leadership in nuclear science, expanding the nation’s capacity to test advanced microelectronics for radiation effects in applications including spaceflight, defense, wireless communications and autonomous systems.
That’s not all that’s new. The National Nuclear Security Administration recently announced a new grant-funded Focused Investigatory Center at MSU focused on fusion energy. Spartan faculty, students and postdoctoral students will work alongside U.S. Department of Energy and partner university researchers, building research expertise in data science and scientific computing.
It’s momentum such as this that brought Michigan State in the past year close to a major strategic goal and research milestone. In fiscal 2025, MSU reported $992 million in research expenditures, a 6.5% increase and new university record. This achievement brought us closer to our goal of $1 billion in annual research spending and is even more impressive considering federal research program cuts and other challenges over the past year. I couldn’t be prouder of everyone who contributes to this work, and credit goes to our world-class researchers and our Office of Research and Innovation.
Advancement update
We took another bold step forward earlier this month as construction began on the Leinweber Center for Engineering and Digital Innovation. Fueled by extraordinary philanthropic leadership — including the Leinweber Foundation’s $50 million naming gift, the largest facility gift in our history, and the Spalding family’s $10 million investment — this center will bring together six colleges to collaborate in emerging fields and prepare our students for the careers and challenges of tomorrow.
That spirit of forward momentum continued with Jay and Jill Craig’s transformative $26.25 million commitment to advance high-impact academic programs, experiential learning and student services while also establishing endowed funds that will offer flexible, long-term resources to meet evolving opportunities and priorities.
In less than a year since the public launch of our Uncommon Will, Far Better World campaign, we have surpassed $1.8 billion — equaling the total of our previous campaign in half the time. Our collective momentum is building, as visionary partners invest with confidence and conviction in our students, our facilities and our future.
Anybody can make a difference-making investment in MSU. March 10 is Give Green Day, and I encourage you to consider supporting current and future Spartans on this day of global Spartan generosity. Together, we are not simply meeting this moment — we are building what comes next and shaping a far better world.
Go Green!
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D.
(pronounced GUS-ka-wits)
President
John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor
Department of Kinesiology
