This premier scholarship, named after MSU’s first president, Joseph R. Williams and first lady Sarah L. Williams, is the university’s first full-ride scholarship also to provide an experiential learning opportunity for awardees. The scholarship became available to 30 qualifying first-year undergraduate students starting in the fall 2025 semester.
Contact: Dave Weatherspoon, Vice Provost of Enrollment and Academic Strategic Planning
This expansion of the Spartan Tuition Advantage, called the Native American Tuition Advantage Program, allows students from anywhere in the United States or Canada who meet tribal affiliation criteria to qualify to attend MSU at in-state tuition levels and potentially qualify for free tuition under the Spartan Tuition Advantage program. The program aims to eliminate financial barriers and increase enrollment among historically underrepresented Native American students, addressing a key concern of Michigan’s tribal nations.
Contact: Dave Weatherspoon, Vice Provost of Enrollment and Academic Strategic Planning
Michigan State is committed to being a transfer-friendly university, and students who transfer into MSU graduate at very high rates. An agreement with Lansing Community College renewed and expanded our commitment to Envision Green, which smooths the pathway for LCC students to transfer to MSU. At our Transfer Student Success Center, staff and faculty are working to expand credit for prior learning and accelerate transfer credit evaluation as we create equitable pathways to bachelor’s degree completion for transfer students.
Contact: Portia Watkins, Deputy Director for Transitions and Transfer Student Success
This program is designed to support Lansing-area students at Michigan State University. With a focus on inclusion, mentorship and academic excellence, LSS provides resources to help Scholars transition to college, build community and prepare for meaningful careers — while helping MSU achieve an 86% graduation rate and strengthen ties with the Lansing community.
Contact: Cece Sumpter, Program Director and Jared Stratz, Assistant Program Director
The planning process for MSU’s First-Gen Center is well underway with an anticipated full opening in the fall of 2027 on the first floor of the Hannah Administration Building. Building on our designation as a First-Gen Forward Institution, the First-Gen Center will offer career and academic advising, peer mentorship, academic coaching, success workshops and essential resources including tutoring, an essential needs pantry and emergency grants. It will also provide guidance for navigating campus systems, engage families through orientation and outreach and foster a strong sense of belonging for first-generation Spartans. By normalizing and celebrating the first-gen experience, the center will play a vital role in ensuring every Spartan’s persistence, success and graduation.
Contacts: Christina Bridges, Strategic Retention Manager, Office of Undergraduate Education and Heather Shea, Director of Pathway Programs, Office of Undergraduate Education
Michigan State University is transforming its general education curriculum to better prepare students for the evolving workforce, emphasizing vertical learning, experiential education and undergraduate research. Today’s students challenge us to offer an education that will best prepare them to meet current and future workforce needs. To that end, a committee of our world-class faculty and administrative units and leaders will lead this development of a modern general education curriculum following a thorough review. Visit the committee’s timeline to learn more about next steps.
Contact: Laura Lee McIntyre, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
To reinforce MSU’s ability to prepare students for the current and future workforce, President Guskiewicz in 2025 appointed a group of Michigan leaders and executives to the Green and White Council. Such allies offer an extraordinary wealth of talent and knowledge to advise on how MSU can continue to deliver academic programming that reflects the evolving Michigan job and economic landscape.
Contacts: Harold Balk, Senior Advisor to the President for Strategy and Operational Excellence, Michael Zeig, Chief of Staff, Office of the President and Sanjay Gupta, Dean Emeritus and Eli & Edythe L. Broad Endowed Professor
The series focuses on bringing thinkers and doers to our campus in an atmosphere of civil discourse across differences to help our students learn to better navigate a world of diverse beliefs and viewpoints.
Contact: Michael Zeig, Chief of Staff, Office of the President
To establish MSU as a global hub for ethical thinking and decision-making, MSU is developing an MSU Ethics Institute to evaluate and address institutional ethics and practices beyond the classroom through research, study, pedagogy and the advancement of community-engaged activities. MSU's annual ethics symposia laid the institute's strong foundation.
Contact: Bree E. Holtz, Director of the Ethics Institute and Associate Professor, Department of Advertising and Public Relations
The 1855 Professorships program, named for the year MSU was founded, has recruited its first cohort of scholars who are taking bold strides to address some of society’s most pressing challenges to make advances in the most vulnerable communities. Created by the Office of the Provost, the program brings together 10 faculty members with one purpose: advancing MSU’s public land-grant mission and strategic priorities while elevating the university’s academic and research excellence. In its next round, nine professorships have been awarded across colleges, and those colleges will strive to recruit the best and brightest faculty to fill the 1855 positions. It is expected that the new cohort will be hired and in place for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Contact: Ashley Green, Chief of Staff, Office of the Provost
MSU is committed to collaboratively working toward a campus culture free from discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct and relationship violence. The input of students, faculty and staff is necessary to inform important work on these issues across the campus community.
MSU’s Know More Campus Survey, administered in 2019, 2022 and 2025, focuses on the culture, perceptions and policies associated with sexual misconduct among undergraduate students, graduate/professional students, faculty and staff. The survey results are crucial for continuing the positive transformation of the culture related to sexual misconduct at MSU and have guided prevention programming, policy development and resource provision on campus.
Contact: Carrie Moylan, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
The Preventing Pass the Harasser workgroup works to recommend improved transparent hiring practices and pending policy changes regarding employees or applicants with a history of sexual misconduct.
Contact: Melissa Sortman, Assistant Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs
Launched in 2015 to recruit 100 new faculty in new and expanding research areas, the Global Impact Initiative, or GII, is an institutional success now in its second phase. An additional 20 faculty positions were added in disciplines such as space electronics, computational biology and health services research. This long-term investment will help reach our goal of $1 billion in annual research expenditures by 2030, as outlined in MSU’s strategic plan.
Contact: Doug Gage, Vice President for Research and Innovation
To meet the university’s needs as a next-generation organization, we will optimize our to deliver superior performance, enhance efficiency and elevate customer satisfaction. Guided by a continuous improvement framework and supported by the implementation of an innovation lab, our priorities will include financial stewardship, process improvement, stakeholder experience, employee engagement and development and social responsibility.
Contact: Vennie Gore, Executive Vice President for Administration
Meeting grand challenges means renewing Michigan State’s commitment and legacy of learning from the communities we serve. The semiannual Spartan Bus Tour carries administrators and faculty members to meet residents, partners, business leaders and legislators in towns and communities our students call home.
Contacts: Dave Brewer, Co-Director, Office for Resource and Support Coordination and Natalie Moser, Co-Director, Office for Resource and Support Coordination
This long-term enrollment strategy and roadmap for success helps MSU optimize undergraduate and graduate enrollment to best deliver on its mission of access and student success and meet the needs of Michigan employers.
Contacts: Lisa Frace, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and Dave Weatherspoon, Vice Provost of Enrollment and Academic Strategic Planning
The One Health Council will advise the President and our leadership team on how we could bring One Team, One Health to life, as well as evaluate, further explore and consider three bold ideas:
Contacts: Norm Hubbard, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences and Kimberly Dodd, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine
MSU in 2025 launched its most ambitious comprehensive fundraising campaign to date. The university’s $4 billion “Uncommon Will, Far Better World” campaign aims to cultivate lasting change by focusing on three key ambitions:
Contact: Kim Tobin, Vice President of University Advancement