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Michigan State University

Director's Message: A World Without Due

Michigan State University artistic image


As of July 1, 2016, the MSU Alumni Association will eliminate the dues requirement for membership in recognition of what many alumni have been telling us for a long time—dues are a distraction.

Upon graduation, Spartans go forth and invest their time, talent and treasure to make great discoveries, lead exceptional teams and attack the world’s biggest problems. Every Spartan’s mission is to leave the world in better shape than they found it.
At the MSU Alumni Association, our mission is to continue to enrich your life and those of other Spartan alumni and friends. We exist to create an environment of lifelong growth and enlightenment, and to foster a tradition of service to MSU and the local community. This ensures that future generations of Spartans will enjoy the same abundance made possible by those who came before them.

Dues simply don’t fit into this equation. The MSU Alumni Association wants you to have the opportunity to support whatever extraordinary dimension of this great university touches your heart. If you want to direct your philanthropy in our direction, you’ll help us help more Spartans. But the bottom line is this—we are here to enrich lives and you don’t need to pay dues to reap the rewards.

We encourage you to direct your philanthropy toward your college, student programming, the arts, athletics or to support the academic and research excellence that defines MSU as a top-tier educational institution. This will help to sustain and empower the university to prosper in an era when public funding of higher education is increasingly at risk.

In appreciation of the thousands of alumni and friends who became lifelong members of MSUAA and those who already make a minimum annual gift of $100 to the college or program of their choice, MSU recognizes them as Spartan Loyal.
All lifelong members and those who maintain the Spartan Loyal designation with an annual charitable gift of $100 or more will receive printed copies of the quarterly alumni magazine. Our other services and benefits are now available to all Spartans worldwide.

For the most enriching Spartan experience, affirm your connection with the MSU Alumni Association every year by updating or verifying your contact information with us. You’ll be able to take advantage of MSUAA webinars, livestreams, classes and events that promote professional and personal enrichment. You’ll also benefit from a worldwide network of alumni who share their expertise with others and celebrate Spartan successes whenever and wherever they happen.

I invite you to participate in the university’s culture of philanthropy, modeled by past generations of alumni who helped make our Spartan lives possible. Eliminating the dues requirement means your MSU Alumni Association will be better able to focus on activities that enrich our alumni, our great institution and future generations of Spartans. We hope we can inspire you to do the same.?

Author: Paula Davenport

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