Michigan State University 2008 President's Report

Milestones

January 2008
The Peace Corps ranked Michigan State University the fifth largest overall producer of volunteers, with 2,101 MSU alumni serving in the program since its inception in 1961—a milestone that represents MSU’s growing international presence. Learn more»
MSU rolled out its campuswide environmental stewardship initiative—Be Spartan Green—which includes 26 recommendations for reducing the university’s environmental footprint. Learn more»
February 2008
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development and Michigan State University announced a $1.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to MSU to bolster Africa’s biosafety capacity expertise while safeguarding consumers and the environment. Learn more»
Michigan State University and the University of Iowa agreed to a partnership involving the transaction of carbon credits through the Chicago Climate Exchange—North America’s only greenhouse gas emission registry, reduction, and trading system. Learn more»
March 2008
The latest edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Graduate Schools” ranked a number of MSU graduate programs among the nation’s top 10, including a No. 1 ranking for industrial and organizational psychology and No. 2 rankings for nuclear physics and supply chain/logistics. Learn more»
For the 14th year in a row, U.S. News & World Report ranked MSU’s graduate programs in elementary and secondary education No. 1 in the United States. Five programs in the College of Education were ranked among the nation’s top 10 graduate programs. Learn more»
April 2008
MSU student Catherine Nezich of Marquette, Michigan, received a 2008 Goldwater Scholarship—the premier undergraduate award in the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering. MSU’s outstanding history of students earning prestigious national and international scholarships includes a record of Rhodes Scholars that has led the Big Ten for more than 25 years. Learn more»
A new era for medical education began with the groundbreaking for the Secchia Center, a state-of-the-art facility that will serve as the West Michigan home of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Learn more»
May 2008
Responding to another projected shortage of professionals in the health industry, Michigan State launched a new program in public health—a collaboration of several colleges and units— that enables students to pursue a master’s degree in public health. Learn more»
The Michigan State University Federal Credit Union announced a $2.5 million gift to MSU’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts to help fund the new Institute for Arts & Creativity, which will provide participatory learning programs at the center and throughout the state for audiences of all ages. Learn more»
June 2008
MSU physicians worked with General Electric Company to bring the first magnetic resonance imager to Malawi. The MRI will enable physicians to assess malaria damage in children and diagnose a wide range of illnesses in order to provide lifesaving treatment. Learn more»
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency honored two MSU professors with a Green Chemistry Award for research that has resulted in an environmentally friendly method for the manufacturing of important chemical building blocks—a significant innovation in pollution prevention in the United States. Learn more»
Kenneth Waltzer, director of MSU’s Jewish Studies Program, was among a select group of scholars from North America, Europe, and Israel chosen to be the first to examine and study records from the Holocaust at the newly opened Red Cross International Tracing Service Archives in Bad Arolsen, Germany. Learn more»
July 2008
MSU helped celebrate the 90th birthday of former South African President Nelson Mandela at the Nelson Mandela National Museum in Mthatha, South Africa, with the opening of an interactive exhibit designed to honor human rights heroes Mandela and the late Rosa Parks. Learn more»
August 2008
The university’s renowned turf scientists built a portable athletic turfgrass field in the Beijing National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, for the 2008 Olympics in China. Learn more»
Michigan State’s exceptional undergraduate learning opportunities—the fast-growing study abroad, student volunteer, and residential college programs—were touted as national leaders in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of “America’s Best Colleges.” Learn more»
The Timothy and Bernadette Marquez Foundation committed $7 million to the Michigan State University College of Nursing to help fund a nursing addition to MSU’s Life Science Building in order to advance the field of nursing education and practice. Learn more»
The National Wildlife Federation, one of the world’s foremost conservation organizations, honored MSU for its sustainability efforts. MSU was one of the top five campuses in the nation for the greatest number of “exemplary programs.” Learn more»
MSU Dubai moved to its new home in the Dubai International Academic City and welcomed its inaugural class. MSU is the first major North American university to establish a presence in Dubai. Learn more»
September 2008
Nine-time Grammy Award–winning jazz musician Wynton Marsalis was commissioned by the MSU College of Music and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to create a new piece of music that celebrates Michigan. Learn more»
A crowd of some 20,000 gathered on the MSU campus to listen to then-U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama speak as part of a Change We Need rally. Learn more»
October 2008
MSU secured $57 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to expand its role in the largest research project ever to study children’s health and the causes of autism, cerebral palsy, and asthma. Learn more»
With $16.5 million in funding from the U.S. Children’s Bureau, MSU formed the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute to reform the workforce and develop a more stable and skilled field of social workers who help abused and neglected children and their families. Learn more»
November 2008
For the fourth year in a row, MSU led the nation in study abroad participation among public universities in the United States, according to the Open Doors 2008 report. In addition, MSU was ranked among the top 10 U.S. public universities for total international student enrollment. Learn more»
University Distinguished Professor Yong Zhao created the first online game to teach the world about Chinese culture and language, helping to meet the growing hunger for knowledge about China. Learn more»
December 2008
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science named Michigan State University as the site for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. The proposed new $550 million facility will enable top researchers from around the world to address leading-edge questions in nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics and is expected to bring significant economic activity to Michigan. Learn more»
January 2009
IBM selected MSU to host a global application development center on the MSU campus—the first of its kind for the company in the United States—that will leverage the university’s business, technical, and international resources. Learn more»
The Skillman Foundation of Detroit selected MSU’s College of Education to reestablish and operate its Good Schools Resource Center with the help of a two-year, nearly $2 million grant. Dozens of Detroit schools striving to improve student achievement have received support from Michigan State’s distinguished pool of education researchers. Learn more»

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