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  • MSU leads talent development for an innovation economy with Green and White Council

    MSU leads talent development for an innovation economy with Green and White Council
    Jan 21 2026
    Michigan State University has unveiled the signature initiatives of its specially appointed Green and White Council. The Council was convened by MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz and tasked with bringing forward ideas to strengthen the state’s workforce, connect students to high-quality careers, and accelerate innovation across Michigan’s industries. Launched by Guskiewicz in April, and co-chaired by Matt Elliott and Sanjay Gupta, the Green and White Council comprises more than a dozen prominent leaders, including representatives from Dart Container, Bedrock Detroit, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, ITC Holdings and Carhartt, representing a cross-section of industry and innovation that drive the economy. Conversation Highlights:(1:37) - Before we discuss the signature initiatives, remind us why you thought it was important to pull this group together and what you charged them to do.(2:57) - Why did you select Matt and Sanjay to co-chair the council? And talk about the membership of the council and the variety of backgrounds you wanted to get input from.(4:16) - Why was it important to you to co-chair council and lead this initiative? And talk about the process and collaboration of the council. How did you do your work and go about selecting these three initiatives?(7:15) - Enhancing MSU’s current work to connect education and industry, the members of the Green and White Council used their experience, knowledge and effort, to shape three transformative initiatives: AI-Ready Spartans Career-Connected Spartans Spartan Catalyst Elaborate on the initiatives, and why did you settle on these three?(8:34) – What do you mean by AI-Ready Spartans?(12:00) – What are Career-Connected Spartans?(16:20) – What is a Spartan Catalyst?(21:33) – What are your thoughts on what Matt and Sanjay have been discussing?(23:23) - How do you envision the initiatives being implemented across campus over the coming weeks, months and even years?(27:36) - Will the council disband or will you keep working?(28:34) – Closing thoughts from the group.Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows. Conversation Transcript:Russ White (00:00):Michigan State University has unveiled the signature initiatives of the specially appointed green and white council. The council was convened by MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz and tasked with bringing forward ideas to strengthen the state's workforce, connect students to high quality careers and accelerate innovation across Michigan's industries. Launched by President Guskiewicz in April and co-chaired by Matt Elliot and Sanjay Gupta. The Green and White Council comprises more than a dozen prominent leaders, including representatives from Dart Container, from Bedrock Detroit, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, ITC Holdings and Carhartt representing a cross section of industry and innovation that drive the economy. And President Guskiewicz it’s always great to have you back on the program. Good to see you again.Kevin Guskiewicz (00:51):Good to see you, Russ. Thanks for having me.Russ White (00:52):Sanjay Gupta is the Dean Emeritus, and Eli and Edythe L. Broad endowed professor in MSU's. Eli Broad College of Business. Sanjay, great to have you on again.Sanjay Gupta (01:02):Always good to be with you, Russ. Thank you.Russ White (01:03):And Matt, you’ve got your hands into so many things. I know Bank of America, just tell us how you'd like our audience to know about your background.Matt Elliott (01:10):Well, I'm the former president of Bank of America, Michigan, and now I lead a group of people under the banner of Blue Lake Ideas. And what we do is we consult with companies, boards, and institutions to help them lead through a world of accelerating change.Russ White (01:24):Excellent.Kevin Guskiewicz (01:25):And he's a proud Spartan alum. Russ White (01:26):Kevin, before we discuss the signature initiatives, remind us why you thought it was important to pull this group together and what you charge them to do.Kevin Guskiewicz (01:38):Well, Russ, I've said since I got here about 22 months ago now, that I wanted to be sure that Michigan State was always leading, that we were viewed as the leaders in research, education, service to the state, but also to the nation and the world. And we're going to lead in how we redefine the way in which we can better prepare our graduates for the workforce demands of today and tomorrow, jobs and careers that don't even exist today, that our graduates will be needing to be prepared for over the next three, four decades. So we charged them with gaining a better understanding from industry leaders in about five or six different sectors as to where higher ed is not delivering, it's going to be needed for the future, and I couldn't be happier with where we are. That's sort of one of the initiatives and others really around how we can better connect our graduates to the ...
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    33 min
  • Renovated MSU Museum part of a “vital social infrastructure on campus”

    Renovated MSU Museum part of a “vital social infrastructure on campus”
    Jan 7 2026
    Devon Akmon is the director of the renovated and revitalized MSU Museum.Conversation Highlights:(0:20) – What’s been happening at the renovation and revitalization of the venerable MSU Museum?(1:03) – Was the remodeling something you knew was necessary when you became director in 2021?(1:49) – You found a way to stay open during the renovation.(2:52) – What are you excited about in the renovated MSU Museum?(4:06) – What are some current or future exhibits you’d like to highlight?(5:38) – What are the MSU Museum’s priorities in the Uncommon Will Far Better World campaign?(6:34) – What do you want us to know about the revitalized MSU Museum?(7:14) – What are challenges and opportunities ahead for the MSU Museum and the entire arts industry?Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows. Conversation Transcript:Russ White (00:00):Well, it's great to welcome Devon Akmon back to MSU Today. Devon is the director of the Michigan State University Museum. Devon, welcome back. Thanks for having me on the show. So Devon, the museum has been closed for a while. I'm not sure if you're saying refurbished, modernized. What are you saying has happened to the museum?Devon Akmon (00:21):Certainly a lot has been happening. I would like to call it a renovation.Speaker 1 (00:24):Renovation, I like it.Speaker 2 (00:26):The museum has never been in a building that was purposely built for museums. So where we are today on the Circle was previously the library. So we've been in, the museum has been in that building for about 75 years. And this is the first infrastructural upgrade to the building, meaning heating, cooling, windows, all the things that make a museum flourish and make us excellent at stewardship of the collection.Speaker 1 (00:52):And Devon, did you kind of know when you took over in 2021, we need to renovate? Or was that part of even why you took the job knowing we would renovate? Speaker 2 (01:04):Certainly it was a priority from day one. So we are really proud that the Michigan State University Museum is accredited and less than 5% of museums are. There are 35,000 museums in the nation. Less than 5% are accredited. However, because of the accreditation standards, we were very concerned would we be able to continue with that designation given we didn't have heating and cooling. So from day one at that time, it was Provost Woodruff and Vice Provost Stoddard and I, we discussed this and made it a priority. And with the collective leadership, were able to get that vital support from our board of trustees who agreed this is an investment we need to make here at MSU.Speaker 1 (01:41):But you didn't really close completely, right? You stayed alive in the new MSU Credit Union building. You were there. Talk about how you stayed open and alive.Speaker 2 (01:49):So we've been really working to revitalize the museum. I don't think that most people recognize that the MSU Museum was founded in 1857 with the first incoming class of students here. And I always tell people MSU had two great visions. One, this notion of a land grant, and two, a museum that would help with teaching, learning, public engagement, research. So as we've been rethinking what a museum could be in the 21st century post pandemic, we were making great inroads and we knew that by shutting down for 18 months, we would be at a disadvantage. We wouldn't be able to serve our students and faculty in the community. So with the gracious support of our friends at MSU FCU, they provided us with a space where we had exhibitions and programming and a host of activity happening for about 18 months. We just closed down that gallery last week and now we're eagerly anticipating the reopening of the museum.Speaker 1 (02:40):So Devon, it's renovated. Tell us about what the renovation looks like. What are you excited about? What are some of the changes? Obviously some of the infrastructure, but what are you excited about in the renovated museum?Speaker 2 (02:52):Well, certainly the upgrades, new windows, all these things that will make it a comfortable and stable environment and enable us to do more forward-looking collection stewardship. However, we were able to renovate and upgrade some of the spaces in the museum as well. So the Forest Acres Trust has been phenomenal and they granted us $2 million to reenvision our lower level. So now we have a new immersive lab for faculty and students to engage more closely with our one million objects and specimens in our collection. We have more experiential learning galleries now because of this where we can collaborate with our students and faculty to build exhibitions. It doesn't have to just be the professional staff, but we also have other spaces in the museum for teaching, learning. We've included two new community, what we're calling lounges for students so that they can just drop in and hang out.(
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    8 min
  • Greg and Dawn Williams make historic $401 million commitment to Michigan State University and Spartan Athletics

    Greg and Dawn Williams make historic $401 million commitment to Michigan State University and Spartan Athletics
    Dec 5 2025
    Michigan State University has received a historic $401 million commitment from Greg and Dawn Williams. Made through the university’s “Uncommon Will, Far Better World” campaign and in support of MSU Athletics’ FOR SPARTA initiative, this is the largest single commitment in the history of MSU and one of the largest single amounts in college athletics history. Their generosity will dramatically transform Spartan Athletics and fuel academic excellence across multiple disciplines, reinforcing MSU’s mission to empower students and serve communities across Michigan and beyond.Here is the December 5, 2025, event and press conference announcing the gift.(0:00) – Remarks from MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz (introduced by Matt Larson)(7:01) – Remarks from MSU Vice President for University Advancement Kim Tobin(9:43) – Remarks from MSU Athletic Director J Batt(14:25) - Remarks from Spartans Basketball Coach Tom Izzo(29:33) – Remarks from Greg WilliamsQuestions from the media(47:02) – When and what made you fall in love with MSU, Greg?(49:02) – Greg, can you give us the timeline of making the decision to make this gift?(50:38) – For Greg and Kevin, how did your Pittsburgh backgrounds play into your relationship?(53:26) – How do you want this gift to be commemorated, Greg, and how is Izzo on a lawn mower?(54:58) – For Kevin, how do you decide how to allocate these funds?(56:45) – For J, before and after this gift, where is does this gift put MSU in the landscape of private giving?(57:45) – For J, how much of the gift is going toward upgrades to facilities? Event Transcript:Matt Larson (00:00):Good morning and welcome to a truly historic day for Michigan State University and Spartan Athletics. Please welcome to the stage President Guskiewicz.Kevin Guskiewicz (00:18):Good morning. Good morning and thank you all for joining us here in the Breslin Center. This is the site of so many Spartan triumphs from epic basketball games to joyful graduation ceremonies, and today is a historic day for Michigan State University. It's one of those moments in the life of a university when the horizon suddenly opens wider. As a proudly public leading global research institution, Michigan State is defined not only by our proud legacy and what we've inherited, but by what we dream and build for our future together as one team. When we launched our $4 billion Uncommon Will Far Better World campaign earlier this year, we did something bold. We said out loud that Michigan State was ready to take on the toughest challenges of our time and that we were going to seek what it takes to do it. Facing tough challenges is what we do.(01:30):We are built for this from preparing students for the careers of the 21st century perhaps for jobs and careers that don't even yet exist today to squaring off against complex problems like cancer and the impact of climate change on global food security. These are the challenges that can only be addressed as a team by committed people willing to step in, roll up their sleeves and work together. Greg and Dawn Williams, in fact were one of the first couples that my wife Amy and I met after having accepted the opportunity to become Michigan State University's 22nd president about two years ago. They welcomed us warmly and we appreciate all that they have done for Michigan State University and for the surrounding communities and for us personally. Thank you. Their personal belief in this campaign in the possibilities for Michigan State University has been unwavering. From day one, they saw a vision, a university that leans forward, that pushes boundaries, that meets students where they are and takes them farther than they thought ever possible. That generates ideas that shift industries strengthens communities and shapes lives, and Dawn and Greg have done more, and we are here today to acknowledge and celebrate their vision and their generosity. Today I am proud to announce Michigan State's largest private financial commitment ever. Greg and Dawn Williams are committing $401 million to Michigan State University.(03:35):This is a gift and an investment that will shape the future of our athletic and academic programs for generations to come. Not only is it the largest in our university history, it is one of the largest to any athletic program in the nation and one of the largest to any university in the nation. It reflects Greg and Dawn's belief in what Michigan State stands for, opportunity grit and a shared responsibility to lift one another. And I'm so excited to share this milestone with them. It's not often that we get to celebrate something of this magnitude, something that will support students, faculty, staff, and students, student athletes for generations to come. This gift impacts many areas at Michigan State University and it sets a great example for other donors and supporters that you can be engaged in so many different ways to support Michigan State University, giving ...
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    59 min
  • Meet New Michigan State University Spartans Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald

    Meet New Michigan State University Spartans Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald
    Dec 2 2025
    photo credit: The State NewsMichigan State University introduced new Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald to Spartan Nation at an introductory press conference on December 2 in the Greg and Dawn Williams Lobby of the Tom Izzo Football Building on the MSU campus.Conversation Highlights:(0:00) – Opening remarks from Athletic Director J Batt(3:59) – Remarks from President Kevin Guskiewicz(8:58) – Remarks from Coach Pat FitzgeraldQuestions from the media:(18:05) – How hungry are you to succeed?(19:45) – How are you prepared to handle the changing and evolving landscape of college football?(21:04) – When is the first time you thought about coaching MSU?(22:10) – For J Batt – how early on did you identify Pat as the guy? How quickly will we see his impact on the field?(23:17) – What did you learn from your Northwestern experience and how will that make you a better coach at MSU?(24:30) – What are the resources available to you, and what resources do you need to succeed?(25:25) – What’s your message to MSU students?(26:58) – For Kevin and J – When and how did you decide to change coaches?(29:08) – How important are these next five days for you?(31:35) – What traits will you look for in your coaching staff?(33:26) – When did it click for you that MSU was the place for you?(35:23) – Was it an advantage in a way to be away from the game for awhile?Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows. Conversation Transcript:J Batt (00:00):Well, good afternoon. Good afternoon. Welcome to everyone today, our head coaches that are with us, our donors, our athletic department staff, media members, so glad to see you and many of our special guests in particular. Welcome to the Fitzgerald family. We're so glad you're here. Welcome. It is indeed a great day to be a Spartan. We are excited you're here and ready for a tremendous start to the next chapter of Michigan State Football. Before I get into today's news, I'd like to thank Jonathan Smith for the first class manner in which he represented Michigan State and the professional classy manner. He's handled this transition. We certainly wish him well and his family well and their future endeavors, but as I said, today marks the start of a new era of Michigan State football. Spartan football has a proud history of national championships, big 10 Championships, rose Bowl, CFP appearances and much of that success is recent. (01:08):More importantly, Spartan football is defined by its people, the student athletes and coaches that have built this program and the loyal passionate fan base that fill Spartan Stadium each and every week is with them in mind that I set about making sure we had the right coach to lead our program. Transitions are always difficult and throughout the process I continually focused on what I believe was in the best long-term interest of our programs. I wanted a coach who was a proven winner, a coach of integrity and intensity, someone with a formula for success on the field and a plan of attack in a continually evolving landscape, someone who could effectively and efficiently use the resources they were provided. Fit was also important as we set out on this search. Someone who understands the Big 10 and has relationships through the Midwest, a coach who embodies the values on which our program was built. (02:07):Perhaps most importantly, someone who shares our standard of excellence and aggressively pursues that excellence each and every day. I was looking for someone who would partner as we continue to elevate not just Michigan State football, but our entire athletic department, someone who would share our fundraising vision. Some of you may have seen we launched a $1 billion capital initiative today, so a few renderings of the east side of Spartan Stadium. Pretty excited about that and it certainly gave me chills to see that rendering for the first time and hopefully he did the same for you as we went through this list of criteria. Pat Fitzgerald met every criteria. He's a passionate winner. He understands the Big 10 in college football here in the Midwest. We have a shared vision for building championships and returning this program to its elite level of success. At the same time, we have an obligation as a department to the football program. (03:02):We are fully committed to providing the resources and infrastructure required to compete at the highest lever. Nearly six months ago, almost to the day, I stood in this exact same spot and shared that my vision for reestablishing Michigan State Athletics as a top 10 athletic department. I also spoke about the importance of Michigan State football and what is required for us to reach that goal. To reach that level of success requires alignment at every level. I'd like to publicly thank President Gussy and our board of trustees for their support of our department through this transition and ...
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    38 min
  • Meet Phillip Bahar, new director of MSU’s Broad Art Museum

    Meet Phillip Bahar, new director of MSU’s Broad Art Museum
    Nov 20 2025
    Phillip Bahar is the new director of Michigan State University’s Eil and Edythe Broad Art Musuem.Bahar shares his background and tells why he wants to lead The Broad. He talks about the museum’s evolving mission and shares his short- and long-term goals for The Broad. He discusses challenges and opportunities ahead for The Broad and for the entire arts industry.Conversation Highlights:(0:20) – What’s your background?(1:22) – Is there something unique about a museum in a university setting?(2:03) – Do you have any experience with MSU, the state of Michigan, and/or The Broad?(2:46) – What attracted you to leading The Broad at MSU?(3:39) – What’s the mission of the museum, and what’s your vision for evolving the mission?(4:56) – What are some of your short- and long-term goals for The Broad?(6:15) – What are some of the challenges and opportunities ahead for The Broad and the entire arts industry?(7:05) – What are some current or future exhibits you’d like to put on people’s radars?(8:14) – What are some of the Broad’s priorities in MSU’s Uncommon Will. Far Better World campaign?(9:53) – How would you like faculty, staff, student and the public to interact with the museum?(11:27) – Final thoughts.Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.Conversation Transcript:Speaker 1:On this episode of MSU today, it's great to welcome the new director of the Eli and Edith Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University. Phillip Bahar. Phillip, great to meet you and welcome to the university and the program.Speaker 2:Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be here at MSU and at the Broad,Speaker 1:Could you start, give us a little bit of your background that's led you to MSU?Speaker 2:Sure. I've had my entire career in the arts and museums. I just came from Chicago where I led the Chicago Humanities Festival. We'd put on about a hundred programs a year, artists, authors, journalists, policy makers, other thinkers from across the world, and a lot of academics. So I'm very close to working with the university systems and working with thought leaders in their fields. And before that, I was at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, which is one of the great contemporary art museums in the world. Film Series performing arts series. Really amazing exhibitions in certain ways. Very similar to the Broad, really thinking about the museum as a multidisciplinary space, a space for artists to spread their wings and do new work, but also an opportunity for audiences to really experiencing experience, things that are new and that might change how they think about the world.Speaker 1:And is there something unique about a museum in a university setting?Speaker 2:Absolutely, because MSU has a faculty, they have faculty with such a wide array of experiences and knowledge, and I think that's one of the things that actually makes the broad very special, is that we do a lot of partnerships with faculty. So they bring their research, they bring their areas of inquiry into our space with us, and then we get to play with the collection and with artists to figure out, okay, how can we tell a story that's through the lens of what they're thinking about, but very much true to who we are and to who the collection is and the artists we present.Speaker 1:And do you happen to have any past experience with either MSU, the state of Michigan or maybe the broad itself?Speaker 2:I hadn't had direct experience, but obviously I'd been following the broad from its founding. The Zaha Hadid building was a big deal when it was first built, the first free standing building by that architect in America. And then also the exhibitions over the last 12 years, I've periodically dipped in and seen what's been going on there from afar. There have been a lot of actually Chicago artists that have passed through the Broad. So along the way I've kind of been in Chicago seeing Chicago artists kind of starting to expand their reach and many of them have ended up here. Yeah,Speaker 1:That's cool. So what attracted you to leading the broad here at MSU?Speaker 2:Certainly I think museums are magical spaces, and I think the broad from the exterior to the experience inside is really special. The collection is a historic collection, but we're a very much contemporary institution, and that's what drew me to it. As a museum, we're focusing on issues that really matter to us as individuals as a society today, but we have this lens and this ability to dip into our past while looking at our present. One of the great things I think of the humanities, but certainly of museums is that ability to bring the present to life through a different lens and maybe give you a different perspective on how to think about things or how to see things.Speaker 1:And you've been discussing it, Phillip, but talk a little bit about the mission of the museum and then your vision for ...
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    13 min
  • Selecting, maintaining and properly disposing of a real Christmas tree

    Selecting, maintaining and properly disposing of a real Christmas tree
    Nov 10 2025

    Bert Cregg is a professor of Horticulture and Forestry in Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

    Cregg talks about the Christmas tree industry’s place in Michigan’s economy and says there are plenty of trees available for those who want them this season. He talks about the latest MSU research on Christmas trees and says that climate change is likely already impacting the industry. And he shares his tips for selecting, caring for, and properly disposing of a real tree.

    Conversation Highlights:

    (0:29) - Talk about Michigan's Christmas tree industry and its economic impact in the state.

    (1:27) - What's your background, and how did you originally become interested in studying Christmas trees?

    (2:31) - What are your and MSU's research interests and activities in this area?

    (6:25) - How's the supply this year? Are there plenty of trees to go around for all who want them?

    (8:25) - Is climate change impacting the industry? If so, how?

    (11:30) - Compare and contrast real and artificial trees and their respective impacts on the environment?

    (14:53) - What are your tips for selecting, maintaining, and properly disposing of a real Michigan Christmas tree?

    (20:04) - What is the Michigan Christmas Tree Association?

    Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.
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    23 min
  • MSU Green and White Council addressing state’s biggest challenges

    MSU Green and White Council addressing state’s biggest challenges
    Oct 31 2025

    The Green and White Council at Michigan State University includes some of Michigan’s foremost business and civic leaders coming together to champion bold initiatives that amplify MSU’s role as Michigan’s state university and address the state’s biggest challenges. The Council is one of President Guskiewciz’s signature initiatives.

    Harnessing MSU’s distinctive assets and the unparalleled expertise of its members while focusing on what matters most for Michigan, the Council will:

    • Develop talent for in-demand jobs across the state and equip Spartans with skills of the future.
    • Connect Spartans to great companies and careers in Michigan.
    • Leverage MSU’s cutting-edge research and intellectual property to propel Michigan’s economy.

    One of the members of the council is Ancor CEO Jose Flores.

    Conversation Highlights:

    (0:52) – Meet Jose Flores

    (1:31) – What’s the history and mission of Ancor?

    (2:13) – What made you accept the invitation of President Guskiewicz to join the council?

    (3:08) – Is there a disconnect between higher education and employer needs?

    (3:56) – What are the challenges and opportunities ahead?

    (4:54) – Have you seen some examples of regional or statewide collaborations that have been successful?

    (6:24) – How will we know if the council is successful?

    (6:47) – How do we go about keeping Spartans in Michigan when they graduate?

    (7:57) – How does Ancor go about talent development?

    (9:56) – What should we keep in mind about the Green and White Council and what it’s trying to do?

    Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.
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    12 min
  • MSU Shares and United Way provide a “hand up” for local charities

    MSU Shares and United Way provide a “hand up” for local charities
    Oct 30 2025

    MSU Shares is a fundraising campaign to help local charities provide services to students and residents right in our own community. Donations from faculty, staff and students support charities that serve more than 120,000 people annually in our tri-county region. With the assistance of the United Way, employee volunteers from across campus seek donations from their peers and help spread awareness of this annual campaign.

    Here to discuss MSU Shares are MSU’s Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Bill Beekman and United Way President and CEO for United Way of South Central Michigan Chris Sargent.

    Conversation Highlights:

    (0:15) – Bill introduces Chris. Why is United Way important for our community?

    (2:14) – United Way supports young people who are interested in a college education.

    (5:41) – This is an important time to launch MSU Shares. What are the giving options?

    (9:35) – It’s really easy for MSU employees to give to the United Way through EBS.

    (11:30) – The name of the campaign - MSU Shares - is appropriate.

    Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.
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    16 min