Category: Fun & Resources

Learn about fun and/or interesting things to do around MSU or interesting bits of MSU trivia.

Hours of Operation for Eating at State this summer!

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MSU Culinary Services Ranks No. 24 in the Nation

Niche.com recently released its 2015 rankings for Best Campus Food, placing the Michigan State University Culinary Services dining program at No. 24 with an A+ score among traditional four-year colleges and universities in the United States. According to the rankings, Culinary Services—a department of the Division of Residential and Hospitality Services—is the top university dining services in Michigan.Eat at State graphic

The 2015 Eat at State summer hours of operation run through August 28 for the following locations:

Brody Square will be open Monday – Friday between 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.

The Vista at Shaw will be open Monday – Friday between 7 a.m. – 9 a.m., 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Riverwalk Market at Owen Hall will be open Monday – Friday between 7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. through August 20.

Sparty’s locations:

  • Administration Building (Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
  • Brody (Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. – 10 p.m., Saturday – Sunday Noon – 10 p.m.)
  • Communication Arts & Sciences, Engineering & Erickson: (Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.)
  • MSU Union (Monday – Friday 7 a.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday Noon – 10 p.m.)
  • International Center (Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
  • Main Library (Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.

The MSU Union Deli will be open Monday – Friday between 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The Crossroads Food Court at the International Center:

  • UP Pizzeria at Crossroads (Monday – Friday 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
  • Panda Express (Monday – Friday 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
  • Sparty’s (Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
  • Subway (Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m)
  • Woody’s (Monday – Friday 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

Eat at State ON-THE-GO is MSU’s own Food Truck service with two trucks in operation. Check out the Food Truck website for their Weekly Specials!

And Don’t forget the MSU Bakers! Deliveries are available Monday through Friday between 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.

You can view the Eat at State Dining Plan options here.

MSU Benefits Plus – Discounts and Programs

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A reminder to all MSU benefits-eligible faculty and staff, you have the opportunity to enroll in several voluntary employee-paid benefits programs through MSU Benefits Plus. The optional programs include Vision Insurance, Group Legal Services, Critical Illness Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance, Auto and Home Insurance, Pet Insurance and discount shopping.

Vision, legal and critical illness insurance have an annual open enrollment period during the fall of each year. That means you can only enroll at that time each year and once you enroll, you cannot change or cancel that enrollment until the next annual open enrollment period (unless you have a qualifying life event). Other programs, like auto, home, long-term care and pet insurances allow you to enroll at anytime throughout the year.MSUBenefitsPlus.com Screenshot

Discounts are available year-round on the MSU Benefits Plus website. These include discounts tied to MSU departments, local businesses and many other online shopping discounts.

Keep up on all of the discount information and programs that are available through the MSU Benefits Plus page. Sign in or create an account on www.MSUBenefitsPlus.com using your MSU ZPID number and password to view your benefits programs available to you.

Spring cleaning for your documents

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Every office has one: the person who saves every file they work on to their desktop as an icon. Not only does this slow response time for start-up, it puts you at risk of losing that data should your desktop machine fail. Instead, move files that you want to keep to your network file space, and if absolutely necessary, create a shortcut on your desktop to the network location. Storing your files on the network ensures that they are being backed up on a regular basis.Messy Desktop

Sort through your documents and archive or remove those you don’t need anymore. It can be scary, like opening a file cabinet that hasn’t been opened in months–or years–and is covered with dust. Do it, though. If you don’t, every time you search, the computer has to search through all those outdated files.

To make this easier in the future, give your folders and files meaningful names. If you save a document every month with updated data, keep the base name the same every month but append the date. For example: MonthlyStatusDATE.xls. If working on a project, develop a naming convention at the start and be consistent throughout the project. That way even if players change as the project progresses, everyone can still find the information they need.

Windows TrashcanAnd empty your trash! If you haven’t gone back to restore it within a few days or weeks, you probably never will.

Mother’s Day Madness!

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Mother’s Day is just around the corner, falling on Sunday, May 10 this year. While presents are always a thoughtful gesture, the most valuable gift that you can give to mom is your time! The East Lansing area offers an abundance of activities to enjoy while celebrating family.Pink tulips for mother's day

Mom’s Day Brunch, 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Kellogg Center

What better way to honor your mom than with a delectable, mouth-watering brunch? The Kellogg Center’s State Room restaurant will serve up a meal fit for a queen, so don’t hesitate to make a reservation.

Mother’s Day Golf Special, all day, Forest Akers Golf Course

If your mom enjoys being active, then Forest Akers has the perfect deal! Golf green fees and cart fees are free for moms all day. Take advantage of this discount on either course.

Public Tour, 1 p.m. or 3 p.m., Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum

Soak up a little culture by bringing mom to a free docent-led tour at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. Tours last 45 minutes and teach visitors about the structure of the building and the current exhibits.

Family Show, 4 p.m., Abrams Planetarium 

If relaxing under the stars is mom’s cup of tea, visit the Abrams Planetarium. The planetarium will be showing “Our Place in Space.”

Regardless of how you choose to spend the day, don’t forget to share your gratitude! Mothers deserve the world for all that they do.

Congratulations to the class of 2015!

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We would like to offer our congratulations and best wishes to all graduates in the class of 2015. Congratulations on your academic achievements that have led you to this very special and exciting time! We hope you follow in the footsteps of past graduates and find success in your careers as Michigan State University alumna! We wish you all the very best in your endeavors!Graduates from 2014 Commencement

We would especially like to thank those graduating students who have worked in HR this year.

  • Julia Breza will be graduating with an Economics degree.
  • Ryan Hasselbach will be graduating with a Communication degree.
  • Stephen Muer will be graduating with an Applied Engineering Sciences degree.
  • Cris Munoz will be graduating with a Media and Information degree.
  • Rebecca Tencza will be graduating with a Communications and Professional Writing degree.
  • Alex Webber will be graduating with a Human Resources Management degree.
  • Autumn Weidenhamer will be graduating with a Human Resources Management degree.
  • Alex Zuker will be graduating with a Civil Engineering degree.

Congratulations to all of these graduates and the class of 2015!

Spartan Youth Programs and Summer Camps

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Summer is quickly approaching, so you may want to check out the list of over 100 Spartan Youth Programs and summer camps for Pre-K through 12th graders. These programs offered by Michigan State University are great opportunities for children and young adults to take part in the Spartan experience and develop themselves academically. There are many 4-H camps available for all age groups, along with exciting creativity-driven camps that ignite children’s imaginations. There are also many different sporting camps, ranging from baseball and basketball to gymnastics, tennis, golf, football and hockey. Take a look at all the camps offered through Spartan Youth Programs and find one that your children would enjoy at: http://spartanyouth.msu.edu.Spartan Youth Programs graphic

A list of popular places to visit on campus can also be found below the list of programs, camps and activities.

Greater Lansing Walking and Bicycle Paths

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As the weather begins to warm up, remember that there are wonderful walking and bicycle paths in our region. In 2014, the Lansing River Trail was expanded to reach into South Lansing’s Holt and Mason districts. If you reside in the South Lansing area, remember to take advantage of the trails on a sunny day by biking this route which crosses Willoughby Road along Sycamore Creek. The trail leads you past the Hope Soccer Fields Complex where the trail joins the Aurelius Road bike lane at Jolly Road. Your trip continues north, passing near scenic Hawk Island County Park and going all the way to Fenner Nature Center and Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, where it joins up with what we know as the Lansing River Trail.Lansing River Trail Map

From there you can head either west to the Capitol and Old Town, or east to MSU and enjoy all the campus has to offer on a beautiful spring or summer day. Remember that there are some great MSU walking paths too!

Fresh, Local Produce from the MSU Student Organic Farm

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A smorgasbord of fresh produce grown by MSU’s Student Organic Farm.

MSU’s Student Organic Farm (SOF) invites MSU faculty and staff to become a part of its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program this summer. Participants of the program will receive weekly boxes of local, organic produce. These bountiful shares are designed to feed a family of four, or two prolific veggie lovers. The investment is just $755 for the entire summer, equaling $1.35 per person per day for a family of four. This fee serves double duty by paying for experiential agricultural education for undergraduates as well as the training of new farmers at MSU SOF. The program begins on June 15 and will commence on October 26. Summer Harvest Share pick up is on Mondays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Student Organic Farm located at 3291 College Rd., just south of Jolly.

The benefits of the CSA program are truly innumerable. Reap the following rewards with your membership:

  • Convenient access to eight to 12 delicious organic produce items from the farm for 20 weeks! You won’t find fresher, healthier or easier elsewhere.
  • The peace of mind of knowing your farm and farmer.
  • Access to the CSA U-Pick Garden.
  • The knowledge that your money will support Michigan’s next generation of organic farmers and passionate students.

For more information and to join the program, please email msufarm@msu.edu or call 517-230-7987 for details and membership documents. If you are interested in supporting the SOF sans commitment, feel free to take advantage of the weekly campus Farm Stand. The Farm Stand is located on Farm Lane, just north of Shaw Lane and just south of the Red Cedar and will be open every Thursday through October 29 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For additional information and to sign up for the Farm Stand e-newsletter, please visit http://www.msuorganicfarm.org/farm-stand.

April is the Month to Truly Go Green

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Earth Day will celebrate its 45th anniversary on Wednesday, April 22. In honor of this milestone, MSU will be hosting a wealth of events all month long. Most notably, President Lou Anna K. Simon will address the university in an annual conversation about the future of energy at MSU on Wednesday, April 8. Simon, along with a panel of distinguished experts, will discuss the strategic course of action set in place to position MSU as a leader in terms of energy infrastructure. The conversation begins at 10:15 a.m. Feel free to tune in via webcast or use #MSUEnergy to pose questions on Twitter.

This month, honor the earth!
This month, honor the earth!

Other events include observing live insects, garden shopping, a bicycle info session and an award ceremony. On April 15, the MSU Science Festival Open House will kick off its festivities at The Bug House. This is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the Department of Entymology. On April 18, the MSU Horticulture Club will hold a public plant sale with outstanding deals on perennials, herbs, grasses and more off of Bogue Street. Be green and invest in the environment! On Earth Day itself, MSU bikes will host a Bicycle Information Open House  at the MSU Main Library. Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to join to learn more about bicycling as a sustainable and viable transportation method within Greater Lansing. MSU Sustainability will also hold its 2nd Annual Earth Day Gala. The gala will serve as an award ceremony to honor members of the MSU community and the significant contributions made toward creating a more sustainable campus.

SPARTANS WILL. POWER Global Day of Service

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The third annual SPARTANS WILL. POWER Global Day of Service returns on Saturday, April 18, 2015, bringing together Spartan alumni, friends, students, faculty and staff from around the world to serve their local communities. In 2014, Spartans donated approximately 5,000 hours of service to their local communities through this initiative! Sign up for a volunteer opportunity on their website, which lists worldwide projects that are being hosted. The last day to register for the Global Day of Service is April 14. We hope that you’ll be part of this effort to magnify the power of the Spartan Nation for the benefit of our communities. Who will? SPARTANS WILL.Service Day Graphic

Promote the event using the hashtag #MSUServiceDay on social media!