In 2026, Michigan State University will play a major role in one of the biggest sporting events in the world by teaming up with The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA. The FIFA World Cup 26 tournament will be held from June 8 to July 3. MSU will be supplying the turfgrass that will be installed in 16 cities spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico (involving different climates and elevations) for 104 game play matches. For over 70 years, MSU’s world-renowned tur...
Oct 01, 2024•29 min•Season 3Ep. 196
The presidential election is right around the corner and Michigan is going to play a crucial role in the election results. For MSU Today’s 2024 Election Spotlight Series , I’m talking with MSU researchers and experts who can discuss all things elections and politics. Each guest brings a unique perspective on research and work they’re doing that relates to the 2024 Election. For this episode, my guests are Richard Sadler, associate professor in the Departments of Public Health and Family Medicine...
Sep 30, 2024•25 min•Season 3Ep. 195
The investiture of Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D. was held on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in the Cobb Great Hall at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts. Presidential investitures are typically held in a leader’s first year in office to publicly and formally “vest” them with the authority of the office and acknowledge, introduce and celebrate the new leader. Investitures also represent continuity, connecting universities’ present with their past and allowing new lea...
Sep 29, 2024•13 min•Season 3Ep. 194
The State of the State podcast from MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research ( IPPSR ) is a monthly round up of policy and research for the state of Michigan hosted by institute director Matt Grossmann, associate director Arnold Weinfeld, and economist Charles Ballard. This month, the group analyzes the impact of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut. Then, Matt moves from the co-host microphone to the guest microphone to tell Arnold and Charley about his new book Polarized By Deg...
Sep 20, 2024•30 min•Season 3Ep. 193
In the inaugural episode of Kevin’s Conversations, Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz talks with Hall of Fame Spartan Basketball Coach Tom Izzo. Tom tells Kevin about the value of grind week and the team’s recent trip to Spain. And he tells the president about taking his team “back home” to Northern Michigan University for a game. They talk about the changing world of college athletics and challenges and opportunities on the academic side of the house. Kevin tells Tom why he wa...
Sep 19, 2024•28 min•Season 3Ep. 192
Kimberly Dodd is the new dean of Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine ( CVM ). Dean Dodd talks about research and practice strengths of the college and shares some of her short- and long-term goals for CVM. And she describes challenges and opportunities ahead for the college and higher education. Conversation Highlights : (0:21) – How long have you been at MSU, and what first attracted you here? (2:01) – Tell us more about MSU’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory ( VDL ). (3:...
Sep 17, 2024•10 min•Season 3Ep. 191
A recently published study found that one in five U.S. adults who die by suicide spent at least one night in jail in the year prior to their death. Rapidly and efficiently providing prevention, screening and outreach resources for this group is critical to reducing adult suicides nationwide. And counties could save money and keep more people out of jail by improving access to community-based mental health and substance use disorder services. Jennifer Johnson is founding chair of the Charles Stew...
Sep 16, 2024•28 min•Season 3Ep. 190
David Souder is the new dean of MSU’s Eli Broad College of Business . Souder shares his background and research interests. And he tells why he was attracted to leading the college. He talks about research and curriculum strengths of the Broad College, shares some of his short- and long-term goals for the college and describes challenges and opportunities along the way while pursuing those goals. He discusses the evolving job market for Broad graduates, too. Conversation Highlights : (0:18) – Wha...
Sep 12, 2024•29 min•Season 3Ep. 189
The presidential election is right around the corner and Michigan is going to play a crucial role in the election results. For MSU Today’s 2024 Election Spotlight Series , I sit down with MSU researchers and experts who can discuss all things elections and politics. Each guest brings a unique perspective on research and work they are doing that relates to the 2024 Election. For this episode, we chat with Dustin Carnahan, an associate professor in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences ab...
Sep 06, 2024•18 min•Season 3Ep. 188
The Michigan State University College of Law is home to eight law clinics, each specializing in a public service area of the law that provides professional legal counsel to the most vulnerable people in society. Each clinic is directed by licensed attorneys who are members of the MSU Law faculty and staffed by law students who gain critical hands-on research and litigation experience. The clinics provide pro bono legal services and have won important cases for clients across the country. MSU Law...
Sep 05, 2024•20 min•Season 3Ep. 187
The NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative launched in 2022. The league-wide program aims to increase and diversify the pipeline of students interested in pursuing careers in sports medicine and, over time, help to diversify NFL club medical staffs. Students from 21 medical schools were matched with NFL clubs across the league for one-month clinical rotations focused on primary care sports medicine and/or orthopedic surgery. The rotations provide students with the opportunity to le...
Sep 02, 2024•12 min•Season 3Ep. 186
The presidential election is right around the corner and Michigan is going to play a crucial role in the election results. For MSU Today’s 2024 Election Spotlight Series, I’m talking with MSU researchers and experts who can discuss all things elections and politics. Each guest brings a unique perspective on research and work they are doing that relates to the 2024 election. To kickoff this series, I’m joined by Dante Chinni, director of the American Communities Project ( ACP ) at Michigan State ...
Aug 27, 2024•24 min•Season 3Ep. 185
Kyle Melinn is editor and co-owner of the Michigan Information and Research Service ( MIRS ). He joins Matt Grossmann and Arnold Weinfeld on this episode of the State of the State podcast to talk about the coming election, especially the recent primary in Michigan and how the upcoming general election may shake out in terms of control of the Michigan House of Representatives. State of the State is the monthly round up of policy and research for the state of Michigan from MSU’s Institute for Publ...
Aug 23, 2024•28 min•Season 3Ep. 184
As the university physician at Michigan State, Michael Brown advises the president and other leaders on major health policy and programs that impact life on campus or on study abroad trips. He is also chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the MSU College of Human Medicine. Here, Brown provides the latest guidance on two viruses that are making news - COVID and Monkeypox, or Mpox. Conversation Highlights : (0:36) – Describe your role as university physician. (1:59) – Where are we with ...
Aug 21, 2024•24 min•Season 3Ep. 183
Farha Abbasi is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Michigan State University and core faculty member of the Muslim Studies Program. And she’s a Crain’s Detroit Business Health Care Hero for 2024. As Ryan Kelly wrote for Crain’s, “Dr. Abbasi is working through fear, politics and stigma to treat mental health in Michigan’s Muslim, minority and LGBTQ+ communities, while navigating geopolitical events.” Conversation Highlights : (0:35) – Dr. Abbasi on the honor from Cr...
Aug 09, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 182
Heidi Hennink-Kaminski is the new dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University. She details her background and research interests and talks about curriculum and research strengths of the college. She tells why she wants to lead the country’s first college of communication and shares some of her short- and long-term goals for the college. The dean describes challenges and opportunities along the way in pursuing those goals, and she analyzes the job market th...
Aug 02, 2024•33 min•Season 3Ep. 181
Former Spartan quarterback Bill Burke has written a book titled Victory Outside The Arena: How Athletes Can Go From Isolated To Inspired Once The Applause Begins To Fade . Burke talks about why he chose to attend MSU and reflects on his favorite memories leading the Spartans. He describes what he learned from Nick Saban and talks about what motivated him to write the book. He also shares his thoughts on the tumultuous world of college football. Conversation Highlights : (0:44) – What attracted y...
Aug 02, 2024•15 min•Season 3Ep. 180
Michigan State University Professor and Olympian Kelly Salchow MacArthur is once again part of the Olympics , this time leading a community art project. Through the Olympian Artists program , Salchow MacArthur participated in a workshop series creating mixed-media collages with children from two community centers in Paris, France. Her workshop series, from Oct. 23 to 28, 2023, was the first community project in the Olympian Artists program leading up to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 . The Olympia...
Jul 09, 2024•24 min•Season 3Ep. 179
Michigan State University researchers have discovered that honeybees can detect biomarkers or chemical concentrations associated with lung cancer in human breath. The researchers have also shown that the honeybees can distinguish between different lung cancer cell types using only the ‘smell’ of the cell cultures. These findings could be used as a model for developing new tests to diagnose lung cancer early. Leading the research is Debajit Saha , an assistant professor in the College of Engineer...
Jun 27, 2024•16 min•Season 3Ep. 178
MSU Strategic Plan 2030: Empowering Excellence, Advancing Equity and Expanding Impact identifies goals within six key themes: student success, staff and faculty success, discovery; creativity, and innovation for excellence and global impact; sustainable health; stewardship and sustainability; and diverse, equity, and inclusion. On this edition of MSU Today, we'll be focusing on the discovery, creativity, and innovation for excellence and global impact theme of the plan. Vice President for Strate...
Jun 21, 2024•30 min•Season 3Ep. 177
Scientists, community members, students, officials and more mark a pivotal moment as work begins on the 335,000-square-foot research facility Hundreds of community members gathered on June 17 to recognize the start of construction on the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences Research Center in the New Center neighborhood. Work on the $335 million research facility—a hallmark of the 30-year partnership between the two Michigan institutions—officially began in late May. The...
Jun 17, 2024•19 min•Season 3Ep. 173
MSU Com Art Sci alumni Mike Valenti and Rico Beard host the top show on the top radio station in Detroit. It’s The Valenti Show with Rico on 97.1 The Ticket. Valenti earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2002. Beard earned a bachelor’s in telecommunication in 1993 and a master’s in telecommunication and urban studies in 1997. Mike and Rico talk about what attracted them to MSU and how their MSU experiences impacted them. They discuss the evolving worlds of radio and college athletics. They...
Jun 15, 2024•35 min•Season 3Ep. 176
Michigan State University is racing into the future by participating in the Indy Autonomous Challenge , which officially launched in 2019 and brings together academic institutions and public-private partnerships to challenge university students from across the globe to invent and test a new generation of automated vehicle software to operate fully autonomous race cars. Discussing MSU’s role in the challenge in this episode of MSU Today are MSU Mobility Director Judd Herzer and Daniel Morris , as...
Jun 10, 2024•22 min•Season 3Ep. 175
State of the State is the monthly roundup of policy and research for the state of Michigan from MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research ( IPPSR ). Arnold Weinfeld is the associate director for the institute. Charley Ballard is an economist at MSU. This month’s guest is Kimberly Dodd , a veterinarian and virologist with extensive expertise in emerging infectious diseases. She is currently the director of the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, or VDL , one of the country's premier...
Jun 07, 2024•29 min•Season 3Ep. 174
The Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health focuses on population health from its home base – the College of Human Medicine’s Flint campus. Being embedded in the Flint community allows the faculty and researchers to understand the assets and needs of the community while studying Flint’s most pressing public health issues. Spartans work side-by-side with community partners and health care providers in a community-identified and community-participatory public health focus model. Jennifer ...
May 28, 2024•59 min•Season 3Ep. 172
New endowed fund to foster next generation of women’s health leaders To close the gap between women’s health research and other scientific disciplines, Ward and Mari Walstrom of Harbor Springs have made a $1 million gift to bolster education and research in the MSU College of Human Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology . The Walstrom Family Endowed Women’s Health Research Fund is creating an early-career training program to increase the number of scientists and...
May 17, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 171
Teresa Mastin is vice provost and associate vice president for faculty and academic staff affairs at MSU. She joins Bill Beekman, vice president for strategic initiatives, to discuss progress on the implementation of the faculty and staff success theme of the MSU 2030 strategic plan . Conversation Highlights : (1:03) – Mastin on her background, career path, and what excites her about her role. (15:11) – What are the difference between tenure-track faculty and fixed-term faculty? How are their is...
May 15, 2024•35 min•Season 3Ep. 170
Matt Grossmann , Charley Ballard, and Arnold Weinfeld from Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research ( IPPSR ) discuss the latest in Michigan and national politics, policy, and the economy on the State of the State podcast, a monthly round up of policy and research for the state of Michigan. Peter Berg joins the conversation to talk about the UAW’s recent victory in unionizing a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee and its implications moving forward. Berg is a profess...
May 10, 2024•31 min•Season 3Ep. 169
Rodney Whitaker , University Distinguished Professor of Jazz Bass and director of Jazz Studies in the Michigan State University College of Music , is among the class of new members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . With this honor , he joins the ranks of artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders of one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. Conversation Highlights : (0:28) – How does this honor feel? (1:17) – When and how did you fall in love with music? It s...
May 09, 2024•12 min•Season 3Ep. 168
Darien Harris is Spartan Athletics’ assistant athletic director for business development and NIL strategy. He provides leadership for Michigan State Athletics’ award-winning NIL program, EverGreen. Harris is expanding his role and focusing on engagement and collaboration with local and statewide businesses and national brands to help student-athletes develop brand identity strategies to enhance their presence across various social media platforms. A 2015 Journalism graduate and graduate of Eli B...
May 07, 2024•22 min•Season 3Ep. 167
