Attracting and activating talent for
Michigan and the world
The value of a Michigan State degree and the appeal of the Spartan student experience earned endorsement again this fall from the most important sources: our students and families.
Once again, we are the top choice of Michigan high school graduates and many others from around the world. Our total enrollment this semester reached 51,838 students, our second-highest enrollment ever behind last year’s record.
Undergraduate enrollment was especially strong at 41,415, nearly 200 students above last year’s count. And as we meet Spartans from around the world in this issue, our international enrollment remains strong. Our students this year come from 139 countries as well as every state and all 83 Michigan counties.
Here’s a snapshot of top student enrollment markers by region:
• Top three counties in Michigan: Oakland, Wayne and Macomb
• Top three states outside Michigan: Illinois, California and Ohio
• Top three countries outside the USA: China, India and South Korea
Here on campus, we helped start the new academic year by reopening lovely Campbell Hall after a year of renovations to the 1939 building, including safety, accessibility, efficiency and student engagement upgrades. It now serves as a residential center of activity for Honors College students, ready to help fulfill MSU’s mission for its next 86 years and beyond.
Our work attracting and activating talent across Michigan and beyond continues gathering momentum, some details of which I shared with the university community in my State of the University address Sept. 30. Our efforts are paced by our programs supporting student access and success.
We welcomed the inaugural cohorts of Williams Scholarship students and Lansing Spartan Scholars, for example. These are programs I announced at my presidential investiture a year ago to help recruit top students from around the world and from within our home community. And planning for MSU’s First-Gen Center, offering a variety of supports for those who are the first in their family to attend college, is well underway with an anticipated full opening next fall.
Another leadership initiative unveiled last year, a faculty-led review of the university’s general education curriculum, is underway to ensure our graduates are provided a thoroughly contemporary education fit for the opportunities of the 21st century.
And to reinforce our ability to prepare students for careers that could extend into the 2070s, I appointed an impressive slate of Michigan executives and civic leaders to the Green and White Council to champion bold initiatives that amplify MSU’s capacity toaddress the state’s biggest challenges. The council is charged with advising us as we develop talent for in-demand and future jobs, connect Spartans to great Michigan companies and careers, and leverage our cutting-edge research and intellectual property to propel the state’s economy.
I hope you, too, consider yourself a valued member of the Michigan State team. Thank you for your continued support of this proudly public, leading global research university — truly “Michigan’s state university.”
Go Green!
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D.
PRESIDENT
PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF KINESIOLOGY