Tag: academic year

Beaumont Tower in the fall with trees in the foreground.

Welcome to a New Academic Year

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Christina Brogdon, Vice President of MSU Human Resources

Dear Spartan Colleagues,

I am pleased to welcome everyone to a new academic year. The fall semester always provides a sense of newness and hope. As we look forward to the new opportunities that lie ahead, we will undoubtedly reflect on the past and what we experienced together—successes and challenges, joys and tragedies. It’s important to remember that healing is not linear, nor is it quick, but I am grateful that we have each other for support through it all.

This fall, I am especially excited about HR’s opportunity to invest further in talent management, a key contributor in making MSU HR a thriving, transformative and engaged business unit implementing strategic people solutions with great care. The first is New Hire Orientation for support staff, with sessions starting this month. The innovative full-day program will transform how we welcome and support new employees at MSU. The program will cover essential topics such as employee benefits, payroll, information technology access, and RVSM. These sessions will foster a sense of belonging and empowerment while advancing MSU’s 2030 Strategic Plan in Staff Success and DEI.

I am also excited for HR’s new Director of Talent, Sherri Reese! This role is new to HR and was developed in response to the Strategic Plan’s objective for the university to become an employer of choice. Beginning October 1, Sherri will be responsible for the oversight, organization and implementation of strategic talent management initiatives related to recruitment, onboarding, consultation, and workforce planning. She will help lay the foundation for the future development of a robust Business Partner approach. Business partners will better support unit HR needs by collaborating and advising on all aspects of talent acquisition and management.

Thank you for your continued dedication and Spartan Will to the University, our students, and our land-grant mission. On behalf of Human Resources, I wish you a safe, healthy, and successful academic year in which you take advantage of fresh opportunities and new beginnings.

Go Green!

Christina Brogdon, PHR
Vice President of Human Resources

sparty statue in fall

HR Welcomes Colleagues and Students Back to Campus

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Dear Spartan Colleagues,  

We are pleased to welcome everyone to a new academic year. While some added safety measures, including indoor masking and vaccination, have been put in place to protect all of us, we expect a more typical fall semester for our students. Our university is a space for them to engage with peers and faculty for the best possible learning experience and development opportunities. In addition to our first-year students, some of our second-year students will be on campus for the first time—experiencing dorm life, taking in the beauty of the Red Cedar River, and attending exciting campus events. With these added safety measures, we can minimize the spread of COVID-19 and give these Spartans a great start to their academic year. More information regarding these safety measures, including the vaccine verification and exemption forms, can be found on the Together We Will site.

We all have spent the last year and a half navigating our daily lives, careers, education, families, and more during a global pandemic. If you are experiencing the effects of this challenging time, you are not alone. Many resources are available to us—the Wellbeing at Work guide, the Employee Assistance Program and more information can be found on this page of the Together We Will site. As always, and especially during this time, it is important to practice grace and empathy toward our colleagues, students, and visitors. The pandemic has greatly affected all of us in different ways. We are all doing our best—let’s continue to work through this together.  

On behalf of MSU Human Resources and Academic Human Resources, we want to thank each of you for your continued work and dedication to the University, our students, and our land-grant mission. These are challenging times, but Together We Will. We wish you a safe, healthy, and successful academic year. 

Go Green!  

Richard Fanning, J.D., SHRM-SCP 
Interim Associate Vice President and Director of the Office of Employee Relations 
MSU Human Resources 

N. Suzanne Lang, PhD 
Associate Provost and Associate Vice President 
Academic Human Resources 

HR Wishes Everyone a Safe Academic Year

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Dear fellow Spartan colleagues,

Normally at this time of year, we welcome many of our faculty members back to campus and wish everyone a successful academic year. The landscape of this year’s fall semester looks much different, as we find ourselves still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. 

For many of you, there will not be a return to campus this semester as you continue to work and teach remotely. Others of you have continued working in-person on campus or are preparing to return to a much different environment than the one you left, to campus with far fewer people than usual, wearing your masks and maintaining social distancing.

We continue to work closely with members of the HR Subcommittee of the Reopening Campus Taskforce to provide guidance to units and colleges as they work through their reopening plans. New questions and challenges arise daily, and while we are doing everything possible to address and anticipate these items, we need your feedback to help identify areas you have concerns over or gaps we need to focus on. You can submit your feedback here(anonymously if you wish). We also encourage you to continue to visit the Together We Will website for the latest information for you as a staff or faculty member and the MSU HR website for coronavirus information and resources for employees and departments.

As we continue to focus our efforts on how to ensure your health and safety-related to your work at MSU, it is also important for us to continue to move the University forward. The pandemic has revealed in greater measure areas where more work must be done; one of those areas is related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Both President Stanley and Provost Woodruff have identified DEI work as priorities in their leadership agendas. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the DEI Plan outlined on the President’s website, as well as Provost Woodruff’s letter of greeting to the campus community. 

On behalf of MSU Human Resources and Academic Human Resources, we want to thank each of you for your continued work and dedication to the University, our students, and our land-grant mission. These are challenging times, but Together We Will. We wish you a safe, healthy, and successful academic year.

Sincerely,

Sharon E. Butler
Associate Vice President
MSU Human Resources

N. Suzanne Lang, PhD
Interim Associate Provost and
Associate Vice President
Academic Human Resources

Welcome to the new academic year

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  • Head shot of Sharon Butler
    Sharon E. Butler
  • Terry Curry
    Theodore H. Curry II

On behalf of Academic Human Resources and MSU Human Resources, welcome to a new academic year at Michigan State University. There is no better season than the fall to represent the season of change MSU is in. Students begin to appear on campus once more; construction signs start to disappear, and the campus begins to turn into the vibrant and beautiful fall at MSU. This fall we’re also experiencing a change in leadership, with President Stanley officially taking office as of Aug. 1.

We’re very excited to have President Stanley leading the university, and we look forward to learning more about his vision for MSU in the days and months ahead. Your work and leadership are vital components of this new chapter in MSU’s story. Thank you for all you do for our students – whether it’s behind the scenes or face-to-face. Not all of you may interact with students on a regular basis, but each of you contributes to their success through the work you do every day.

Human Resources is here to help support you as you go about this important work. The HR Solutions Center is your main point of contact for questions regarding benefits or employment. This team is dedicated to customer service as their number one priority. You can reach them via phone, email, or in-person at 110 Nisbet Building.

You also can share feedback with Sharon at hrmail@msu.edu or Terry at ahr@msu.edu.

If you are a new faculty or academic staff member, we look forward to seeing you at Faculty Orientation on August 20.

Thank you for all you contribute to the continuing success of MSU and accept our best wishes for a successful academic year.

Sincerely,

Sharon E. Butler
Associate Vice President of MSU Human Resources

Theodore H. Curry II
Associate Provost & Associate Vice President for Academic Human Resources