MSU President prepares to tour the State

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Michigan State University’s new president is preparing to tour the state.

This is the first ever Spartan bus tour and the people involved say it will highlight all of the ways the university is engaged across Michigan. MSU’s Vice Provost of University outreach and engagement, Dr. Kwesi Brookins, said this new tradition will strengthen the MSU community.

“I think everybody will both enjoy it and be appreciative of the opportunity,” Dr. Brookins said.

MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz will spend the start of the week touring the west side of the State. He will be joined by a group of around 50 administrators and faculty. They will stop at different MSU locations to make connections and see what people have been working on.

“This is an opportunity for two way communication, two way dialogue,” Dr. Brookins said.

Dr. Brookins will be on the bus and he gave a sneak peak at some of the stops.

“Our first stop will be up in Mount Pleasant, then we work our way up northwest to traverse city, and then down the coast of lake Michigan,” Dr. Brookins said.

Another stop the bus will take is near Kalamazoo at the Kellogg Biological Station, MSU’s largest off site campus. KBS’s Interim Associate Director, Christine Sprunger said staff and faculty research biology, agriculture, and ecology, with the goal of better understanding ecosystems and how they connect to society.

“It’s super exciting to be able to showcase the national and global impact of research communication and outreach that takes place here at KBS,” Sprunger said.

When the bus arrives the team is excited to show President Guskiewicz two long term trials they’ve been working on and highlight the education they bring to the general public. Sprunger shared what she hopes he takes away from the stop at KBS.

“That he gets a chance to see another part of MSU that is off campus an hour and 15 minutes away but we are just as engaged and part of the MSU community,” Sprunger said.

The bus leaves Monday and will return on Wednesday. Organizers say this is the first of many bus tours and they want to see every part of Michigan.

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