Category: Thank You!

Spartans know how high-performing Residential and Hospitality Services and Infrastructure Planning and Facilities are, and the efforts of these departments haven’t gone unnoticed outside the MSU community, either. RHS and IPF received some well-deserved recognition this summer from outside organizations.

RHS was selected for the Presidential Service Award by the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International. RHS was recognized for its neighborhood concept, excellent culinary facilities and contributions to the advancement of the ACUHO-I.

At the beginning of this summer, IPF’s Emergency Response and Business Continuity Program received the Effective and Innovative Practices Award from APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities. The award recognizes programs and processes that enhance service delivery, lower costs, increase productivity, improve customer service, generate revenue or otherwise benefit the educational institution.

Thank you, RHS and IPF, for your dedication to MSU’s continuous advancement!

Many of the current employees at MSU also graduated from the university. For these employees and friends of the university, the MSU Alumni Association provides a variety of benefits, discounts and services, as well as a valuable way to connect with and stay updated on the work of Spartans all around the world.

The Alumni Association benefits more than just its members. The organization hosts and organizes a multitude of events that enhance the Spartan experience, such as Homecoming and Senior Week, and promote positive change, such as the Global Day of Service. Anyone is free to read the Alumni Association Magazine, published quarterly, online, with issues dating back to 1992. Livestreams, available for anyone to watch, of the Health4U Recipe for Health Cooking series are also provided by the Alumni Association.

In addition, the association’s Alumni LENS program offers various career training opportunities for members and friends of the university. These include online classes about management, writing, marketing and more, leadership retreats and the free Spartan Insights webinars.

Thank you to everyone that works with the Alumni Association for promoting the success of the thousands of Spartans in East Lansing and around the world!

Their work often goes unnoticed, but it is evident every day when faculty, staff and students enter campus buildings to begin the day.

Custodial Services workers clean restrooms, classrooms, conference rooms, libraries, laboratories and more. They empty your trash can, mop or vacuum the floor you walk on and disinfect the door handles and light switches you touch. Each building has a crew that comes in during off hours to prepare the building for the next day.

Thank you, Custodial Services, for your constant upkeep of the numerous buildings on campus!

For Spartan undergraduates, nothing is more valuable than the guidance and support MSU faculty and staff provide throughout their college experiences. Everyone has a story about someone who lent them an invaluable helping hand along the way; these Spartans share just a few of those experiences.

Students do so much more than attend classes and study at MSU. They are an integral part of MSU’s work force, from assisting with research, interning, making and serving food, providing guided campus tours and much more, all while balancing academics, clubs and other responsibilities.

Thank you student employees, for contributing your time and talents to the university! Your efforts aid in maintaining daily, ongoing operations and help advance the university in its future endeavors.

We would also like to congratulate all graduating MSU students. You might be leaving the university, but you’ll always be a Spartan. Good luck!

MSU is a leading research institution, especially when it comes to sustainability. MSU Sustainability represents the collective efforts of Spartans, including students, alumni, faculty and staff, to learn more about the environment and how to preserve it. Thank you, MSU Sustainability and Be Spartan Green for your never-ending efforts to promote awareness about environmental concerns and MSU’s work to research and formulate solutions to environmental challenges. And of course, thank you for encouraging all Spartans to establish eco-friendly habits, such as recycling, reducing energy usage and buying local food, in their everyday lives. These daily efforts, multiplied thousands of times over, amount to an extraordinary environmental effect!

In addition, MSU Sustainability has worked especially hard to celebrate Earth Month this April by educating and engaging with Spartans and community members with videos, Community ReUse Days, and additional events.

Thank you, MSU Sustainability, for keeping Spartans proud of MSU’s environmental initiatives and for helping us to go green every day!

We might have thought we’d escape with an easy winter this year, but Mother Nature is always prepared to throw us a friendly reminder: this is still Michigan. Fortunately for everyone at Michigan State, the recent onslaughts of snowfall have been no match for Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, and that deserves a hearty thank you from Human Resources and the rest of the MSU community! We admire your dedication to keeping our roads and sidewalks safe. We also are always thankful for the alerts and warnings that go out to keep our community informed, the work you do to keep our campus beautiful year-round, and the construction you are a part of that is constantly improving our campus. Quite frankly, we are glad for all that you do!

The IPF road crews’ willingness and commitment to be up before the sun and clear the danger from our paths is not something everyone can do, and we appreciate you for it. Thank you Infrastructure Planning and Facilities!

In an age in which almost all information is published and accessed online, it is essential that everyone can interact with web pages. Unfortunately, those with disabilities are often excluded from critical online information because of inaccessible websites or documents.

MSU has taken the initiative to ensure that all university digital content is accessible so all students, faculty, staff and members of the MSU community share equal opportunity in receiving and interacting with it. Digital Content and Accessibility, a part of MSU Information Technology, works to accomplish this goal. This team of staff and students, along with the cross-department Web Accessibility Working Group and the ADA Coordinator, all work together to provide an abundance of resources and tutorials that MSU faculty and staff can use to ensure that the new content they are creating is accessible and existing inaccessible content can be altered to uphold accessibility standards.

Every department at MSU has a different audience, structure, and digital content for their website. This is why each department is developing a five-year plan to best prioritize the order in which content is made fully accessible. Digital Content and Accessibility is here to help MSU staff throughout this process.

Learn more about accessibility, resources, tutorials, templates and policies at webaccess.msu.edu. You can also email webaccess@msu.edu.

Thank you, MSU IT, WAWG, and the ADA Coordinator, for helping MSU become a model for accessibility!

Abrams Planetarium has been entertaining and educating audiences for more than 50 years. From school field trips to midday relaxation hours, this MSU destination never fails to delight its visitors. Abrams Planetarium uses its state-of-the-art Digistar projector not only for incredible astronomical shows, but also family shows, the homecoming Spartan Spectacular, ambient mood settings and much more.

The planetarium goes the extra mile to serve faculty and staff at MSU.  In partnership with Health4U, it hosts Relaxing Under the Stars, The Healing Power of Guided Imagery and the monthly live concert series Rest with Music. All events occur from noon to 1 p.m. on weekdays for employees to unwind in the middle of their workdays.

Thank you, Abrams Planetarium, for going to astronomical heights to serve the MSU community!