Tag: employees

April Events Round-Up

Published on by Abigail MillerLeave a comment

If you and your family are looking for events in April, you have come to the right place! April holds many opportunities on campus and in the Greater Lansing area for you to check out. Visit the links below to explore upcoming events and register if required.

Campus Events

April 4 – RCPD Annual Awards and Appreciation Reception:  Each year, the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities hosts an annual awards and appreciation reception to honor the outstanding achievements of scholarship recipients, exceptional faculty and staff, and generous donors supporting the RCPD mission.

April 5 – Family Day: CREATE: The First Saturday of the month means Family Day at the MSU Broad Art Museum, and this month, you and your family have the opportunity to celebrate young artists with hands-on and interactive fun for all. 

April 8 – 13 – Chicago: Chicago is a Broadway classic that has it all: a story of fame and fortune with unforgettable music and dance and a battle for the spotlight. With over 27 years on Broadway, 10,000+ performances, 6 Tony Awards, 2 Olivier Awards, and a Grammy, this show, appearing at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts, is not one to miss! 

April 12 – Museum Tour: Deep-Rooted with Beal Botanical Garden: Join Applied Ethnobotanist and Education Director of the Beal Botanical Gardens Maeve Bassett to learn about the social, historical, and political narratives within plants in the garden and artwork in the MSU Broad Art Collection. 

April 12-13 – The MSU Student Horticulture Association Annual Spring Show and Plant Sale: The Spring Show is the MSU Student Horticulture Association’s biggest event of the year! It’s a part indoor garden show and part plant sale, with a different theme every year. It’s perfect for plant lovers, those who are looking for cool garden ideas, or those who would like a small vacation from the cool grayness that is Michigan in early spring.

April 16 – Finals Flex Midday Movement: Stop by the MSU Main Library to wind down from the school year and de-stress. Bring a mat or a towel, and get ready for breathing, stretching, and mobilizing exercises. 

April 18 – Night at the Museum: Discover the journey of your food through hands-on art and science activities at the MSU Broad Art Museum! This event is partnered with themes presented in the Farmland exhibition and explores the questions of food knowledge, security, and justice against the background of MSU’s 170-year history in agricultural tradition. 

April 21 – Rest With Music: Visit the Abrams Planetarium for our once-a-month Rest with Music session. Music is powerful and can heal the mind, calm the body, and regenerate our mind, body, and spirit. Stop by for 40 minutes of healing, relaxation, and peacefulness for a small break from your busy work week.

April 24 – Take Your Child to Work Day: MSU employees are encouraged to bring their child or a special child in their life to work on Thursday, April 24th! Take Your Child to Work Day is open to all MSU faculty, staff, students, and community and highlights the university’s support for employees. MSU units and departments will have events aimed towards kids aged eight to sixteen, but all ages are welcome. Be sure to sign up and confirm your participation here. 

Learning Opportunities

Recurring Tuesdays – Grief and Loss Support Sessions: If you are a part of the Spartan community and have experienced the loss of a loved one, pet, friend, co-worker, neighbor, or other, we invite you to join us for an online MSU grief and loss support session. Via Zoom, learn some skills and strategies to help you move through your grief process with more ease. 

April 1, 8, 15, and 22 – Navigating Hard Times with Empathy and Self-Compassion: This Zoom session is here to help give you tips and tricks to show up for your coworkers with love and compassion in tough times. Learn what high-quality self-care can look like and how self-compassion can help our healing process. 

April 9 – 12 – 18th Annual Muslim Studies Program Conference:  Join the MSU Broad Art Museum, the MSU Muslim Studies Program, and the Association for Modern + Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey (AMCA) to learn more about solidarity and Arab American art histories at this three-day online webinar. 

April 10 and 24 – Deepening Your Essential Skills:  If you have completed a course by Spartan Resilience Education, you are eligible to continue learning at this webinar. Here, you can ask questions, raise topics, and build community with your peers. 

April 11 – Teaching and Learning with ADHD: Hosted by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the College of Natural Science, and the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation, this seminar teaches strategies for addressing the unique challenges of ADHD in academia.

April 16 and 17 – Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue: This course teaches techniques that allow you to learn how to understand different opinions, find mutual respect, and work openly through disagreements. You will also learn ways to help foster inclusivity, psychological safety, and inclusion in this two-day course. 

April 22 – Building Cohesive Teams: Learn methods crucial to building collaboration within a team and skills for influencing team performance at HR’s Building Cohesive Teams course. Discover strategies to establish positive day-to-day collaboration and team awareness and cultivate trustworthiness in the workplace. 

April 24 – Strategic Planning: Learn how to move from ideas to actions in the workplace and gain a foundational base for implementing strategic planning in a unit in this workshop.  

April 29 – Introduction to Gender, Names, and Pronouns:  Check out this course to learn more about how to practice gender inclusivity with students and staff at MSU. 

Greater Lansing Area Events

Throughout April – MSU Science Festival: Let your curiosity take flight at the 13th annual MSU Science Festival! Visit the official website to view the 200 plus events that will be held!

April 1, 2, 5, and 6 – Puppy Yoga: Join Canines for Change for an adorable Puppy Yoga session the first week of April! Support the mission to train service and facility dogs, connect with adorable puppies and move your body.

April 5 and 19 –  Contra and Square Dance: All dances are taught, and no partner is needed at the Contra and Square Dance class. Wear loose clothes and comfortable shoes, and be prepared to have a good time! Stop by for a quick and fun dance lesson!

Family-Friendly Events

April 11 – Sensory-Friendly Night at Harris Nature Center: Harris Nature Center invites families and those with sensory processing needs to a special after-hours evening event. Friendly staff will have the building open and exhibits altered to reduce sounds and lighting. The center will also provide a quiet room and have sensory kits on hand. 

April 19 – Easter Egg Hunt on the Capitol Lawn and Bunny Hop on the Square: Join Downtown Lansing for the 61st Annual Easter Egg Hunt on the Capitol Lawn and the Bunny Hop on the Square. From events like Egg Scramble to collecting candy and dancing, there is something for the whole family. Street parking is free in Downtown Lansing on Saturdays, and local businesses will be open and have a variety of deals and promotions during the event. 

April 19 – Butterfly Day: Come visit the Indoor 4-H Children’s Garden to celebrate another beautiful season of “Butterflies in the Garden.” Here, you will discover the incredible butterfly life-cycle, create butterfly gardens to take home, and more. 

April 27 – Kanin Wren’s Taylor Swift Experience: Visit Grewal Hall for a Swiftie party like no other! Immerse yourself in the world of Taylor Swift with live music, photo opportunities, and more for all ages. 

Farmers Markets

Recurring Saturdays – Holt Farmers Market: Visit the Delhi Township Fire Department for one of Michigan’s premiere indoor farmers markets. The Holt Farmers market serves as a space to support local farmers and food growers, local artisans, and provide locals the opportunity to purchase wholesome, locally produced foods. 

Every Other Saturday – Meridian Farmers Market: Visit the Meridian Farmers Market inside the Meridian Mall! The market vendors offer farm, food, and crafts, and a majority of the products sold are locally grown or made.

MSU Surplus Store

Published on by Abigail MillerLeave a comment

With the school year approaching fast, it’s the perfect time to check out the best-kept secret on campus, the MSU Surplus Store! You can visit online here or shop in person on Fridays from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The MSU Surplus Store and Recycling Center helps keep MSU green by innovating the community’s used materials. Last year, the center was able to divert 13 million pounds of material collected from the landfill. Michigan State University was recently ranked among the top 25 globally for sustainability in the Times Higher Education and there is no doubt the Surplus Store plays a large role in this accomplishment. 

The store also prides itself on its zero waste policy, meaning that if something is collected that cannot be resold, it is recycled for parts at the onsite recycling center. To learn more about the recycling center, visit their website here. 

The store sells a variety of products ranging from school supplies to bicycles to furniture, appliances and more. In addition to the store and website, the surplus store has an Amazon Storefront, eBay account and Etsy account. The Surplus Store holds many auctions on larger items such as lawn mowers and satellites. One of the most useful parts of these online resources are the textbooks, so if you are a student or have a student at home, check out these sites before buying your textbooks at full price somewhere else. You can visit the MSU Surplus Store at 468 Green Way, East Lansing. While in-person shopping is only open on Fridays, the store offers curbside pickup Monday through Friday. To shop or learn more about the store, visit msusurplusstore.com.

2020 Clerical-Technical Recognition Award Recipient

Published on by MSU Human Resources5 Comments

Congratulations to Erin Millikan, the recipient of this year’s Clerical-Technical Recognition Award!

The Clerical-Technical Award is sponsored by the Thomas and Concettina Gliozzo Endowment Fund and recognizes outstanding clerical-technical employees. Erin was selected as this year’s recipient for her extraordinary contributions as a Clerkship Resources Specialist in MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM) where she was responsible in supporting more than 600 third- and fourth-year medical students through a multiphase transition of the principle units within the college. Not only did her tireless work ethic make the transition possible, but her continued innovation has sparked positive change within the culture of the college.

Erin’s innovation as an administrator, respect for the campus community, and diligence in her daily work make her a tremendous asset to MSUCOM. She has been an anchor showing unwavering support to all students, staff and her vast network of college affiliates.

Erin showed her tremendous value to the college during the unforeseeable adversity brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. She served as the point of contact for hundreds of Spartans when the college was forced to stop all clinical rotations two months before the end of the school year. Her role as liaison between students and college leadership was essential to the completion of the degree conferral process for many.

Erin had this to say on what winning this award means to her:

“Winning this award is such a wonderful honor all on its own;, however, knowing that I have such an incredibly supportive team and community backing me on a daily basis is truly remarkable. I work with an exceptional group of students, staff and faculty;, they are my favorite part of the work I do. Being able to assist students and ensure they can meet their academic and career goals, is the most rewarding part of my responsibilities. To have those efforts recognized means so much and I am so humbled by the kind words and sentiments that were used to nominate me for this award. I have worked at MSU since I was a student at MSU and by far it has been the incredible people I have met throughout my journey, who have been the largest positive influence in my life. I have made some of the best connections I could ever ask for and I owe it all to the MSU community.”

Due to the ongoing public health situation, the university is unable to host the annual award ceremony to recognize Erin’s achievements in-person. A private, virtual event will be held to honor Erin. Join us in congratulating Erin in this achievement and thanking her for contributions to MSU!