From the President - Spring 2021
Dear Spartans...
I know many of us eagerly anticipate a return to our prepandemic lives. I personally believe that broad public participation in vaccination is essential to continuing our progress, and I have been delighted with MSU’s direct participation in community and campus vaccination programs.
You can be proud, as I am, of how the university addressed student and employee safety in the past year while supporting our institutional momentum. I am eagerly looking forward to a fall semester with more students, faculty and staff on campus.
I’m also pleased we could offer undergraduates and graduate- professional students in-person graduation ceremonies at more than 50 events held outdoors this spring. We honored 9,000 undergraduate and graduate degree earners.
This year, more than 140 students were recognized with spring 2021 Board of Trustees Awards. The award is given to graduating seniors with the highest scholastic average, a 4.0 GPA. It has been a year of many student honors, with MSU students awarded prestigious Beinecke, Gates Cambridge, Marshall, Mitchell and Truman scholarships, and two students earning Goldwater Scholarships.
For the seventh consecutive year, MSU was named a top producer of both Fulbright scholars and Fulbright students in the United States. These programs support academic exchanges with more than 150 countries.
Also winning honors this year was WKAR, named Michigan Public Television Station of the Year by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters for the ninth time in 10 years. And our student-run radio and media organization, Impact 89FM, earned College Radio Station of the Year honors for the 17th time.
This season remains a busy one for MSU as we work to complete and begin to release three key strategic plans. The first, examining relationship violence and sexual misconduct, was released in April. Our diversity, equity and inclusion planning and institutional strategic planning continue at this writing, as our campus community works to turn our vision and values into action.
I was privileged to get to know alumnus, entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad before his passing April 30, and all our hearts have been with Edythe and the Broad family. He personified excellence from the classroom to the boardroom and, in his engagement, he embodied what it means to be a Spartan.
I have greatly enjoyed my Zoom conversations with alumni and getting to know so many of you during the past year, and I am grateful for your continued interest and support.
And although our spacious, beautiful campus has remained open to all visitors who observe our safety protocols, I hope this fall you will feel comfortable and as welcome as always to cheer on our teams, enjoy activities and gather again on the banks of the Red Cedar.
Until then, I hope you enjoy a safe and joyful summer. Go Green!
Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D.
PRESIDENT, MSU
