The year in photos: 2023

A blanket of snow covers campus, ushering in a new year with a blank slate on which Spartans can dream, innovate and make their marks. Photo by Nick Schrader.

Samuel Sottile started the year off with a prestigious honor: He was named the 18th Churchill Scholar from MSU. An Honors College graduate who majored in advanced mathematics in the College of Natural Science, Sottile helped place MSU in the top 10 nationally (tied for No. 7) and No. 1 in the Big Ten for Churchill Scholars. Photo by Tracy Henion.

Working with data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, MSU helped discover an Earth-sized exoplanet — a planet outside of our solar system. Even more amazing, the planet could be capable of supporting life as we know it. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Robert Hurt

MSU faculty Evangelyn Alocilja, Andrea Case, James Fairweather, William Lovis and Shin-Han Shiu were elected as 2022 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and honors researchers for achievements in science and society. Image by May Napora.

MSU is a place of community, growth and discovery — just a few of the many reasons we love it here and why we are proud to be Spartans. After the violence our campus experienced on Feb. 13, Spartans came together to support one another — and continue to do so — in ways big and small on this campus we call home. Photo by Nick Schrader.

They don’t call him Mr. March for nothing. Tom Izzo led the men’s basketball team to its 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament, where it reached the Sweet 16. This season, the team is celebrating 125 years of men’s basketball at MSU. Photo by Nick Schrader. 

Associate Professor David Ferguson became the first to receive an exercise physiology-related grant from NASCAR; his research studies heat exhaustion in race car drivers. Photo by Blythe White.

In April, university leadership broke ground on a first-of-its-kind 34,000-square-foot multicultural center northeast of the intersection of North Shaw and Farm lanes. Expected to be completed by the fall semester of 2024, the center will provide students with a place on campus that will foster cultural and intellectual curiosity and understanding in a supportive, welcoming environment. Photo by Nick Schrader.

Following a fundraising campaign that raised more than $10 million, MSU celebrated the opening of a newly renovated School of Packaging building in April. Housing the largest packaging program in the country, with over 600 undergraduate and graduate students, the renovation will help MSU remain a leader in the field. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

In May, over 9,500 Spartans celebrated commencement ceremonies across campus. Whether traveling near or far after earning their degrees, it’s comforting to know that everyone who shares an MSU experience remains forever a Spartan. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

One of the most exciting moments of an MSU commencement is the reveal of those few Spartans fortunate enough to participate in the Sparty Mascot Program. This year, Avery Tilley and Caeden Hunter strolled across the commencement stage in Sparty’s traditional shiny green boots. Photo by Nick Schrader.

For the 11th time in 12 years, WKAR was named Michigan Public Television Station of the Year by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. “I’m both humbled and honored to accept this award on behalf of the entire WKAR team,” said Shawn Turner, WKAR general manager. “This award represents the commitment that we all share to serving and supporting our communities.” Photo courtesy WKAR-MSU.

Roxy Sprowl was named the 13th Udall Scholar in MSU history, a prestigious honor that supports future leaders in environmental, tribal public policy and health care fields. Sprowl, now a senior in the Honors College, is majoring in social work in the College of Social Science with minors in race and ethnicity of the United States as well as American Indian and Indigenous studies. She is also a member of the Social Science Scholars Program, recipient of the STARR Charitable Foundation Scholarship and leader in the North American Indigenous Student Organization at MSU. Courtesy photo.

The Peace Corps sends Americans abroad to help address the most pressing needs of people around the world, and Spartans have long been a part of its important volunteer community — with more than 2,430 alumni serving abroad since the program’s founding in 1961. In fact, the Peace Corps ranked MSU No. 6 on its list of the top 25 volunteer-producing colleges and universities for the past 20 years. Photo courtesy International Studies and Programs.

It was a banner year for the university, as MSU hit a record $759.2 million in research and development expenditures for fiscal year 2022 — a $49 million increase over 2021, demonstrating strong progress toward achieving the strategic plan goal of $1 billion in research expenditures by 2030. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Led by Brooke Biermann’s 3-under-par score, MSU women’s golf won its first-ever NCAA Regional Championship. It was the latest achievement in a long list of accomplishments for five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, who has guided the team to 12 NCAA Championship appearances in 26 seasons. Photo by Brian Tirpak.

The Apple Developer Academy in Detroit recognized its second graduating cohort, which consisted of more than 160 students ranging in age from 18 to 70. The free 10-month program teaches critical business and app development skills and prepares students for careers in the growing app economy. It is a partnership between Apple and MSU and is supported by the Gilbert Family Foundation. Photo courtesy Gilbert Family Foundation.

Tom Izzo's impact on the MSU community extends beyond the basketball court. In July, after 18 months of construction, the Izzo Family Medical Center opened next to the McLaren Greater Lansing hospital in the University Health Park. The center houses MSU Health Care, the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, and McLaren Greater Lansing, featuring the most advanced diagnostic imaging facilities in the area.

After workers from MSU’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities team happened to encounter an impenetrable surface under the ground near West Circle Drive, they called the Campus Archaeology Program. It was the right decision, as it turned out they had unearthed the foundation of the first observatory on campus, constructed in 1881! The discovery gives insight into how scientific observation, as well as life on campus, has changed over the last 140-plus years. Photo by Nick Schrader.

The more the merrier: MSU’s fall enrollment topped 51,000 and broke the record for undergraduate numbers with nearly 40,400 students — enough Spartans to fill up the Breslin Student Events Center nearly three times! Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

For the second time in Spartan Marching Band history, two women led the way as drum majors. Samantha Barringer, who spent four years as a drum major, was joined by Lacy Jewell as the band entertained a rapt crowd on football Saturdays throughout the fall. Photo by Nick Schrader.

Throughout the early fall, the Beal Botanical Garden celebrated its 150th anniversary. As the oldest continuously operated university botanical garden in the United States, the Beal Botanical Garden offers Spartans many gifts — from beauty to knowledge to wellness. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

At MSU, the arts are all around you, offering inspiration, a sense of community, connection and collaboration. And in September, the university deepened its commitment to the arts by launching Arts MSU, a unifying presence for the arts on campus that spotlights diverse arts happening across campus through a cohesive mission, vision and brand. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

It’s a good time to be a Spartan. This year, MSU received its highest ranking yet in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 edition of Best Colleges, jumping 17 places to No. 60 — and No. 28 among public universities. MSU’s undergraduate supply chain management program ranked No. 1 for the 13th consecutive year. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

In September, a Spartan was tapped for a prestigious national position. Johannes Bauer, Quello Chair in Media and Information Policy and professor of media and information at MSU, was named the Federal Communications Commission’s chief economist. Photo courtesy of the FCC.

Success on the pitch: In October, the women’s soccer team won its second consecutive Big Ten Championship. The team also made history in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, advancing to the third round for the first time. Photo by Matthew Mitchell.

After taking the 2023 Big Ten Championship in October for the fourth time in five years, the women’s cross country team is starting to look a lot like a dynasty. Photo by David Stluka.

Spartan Stadium may look slightly different than it did when it first opened in 1923, but the atmosphere and energy of a fall football Saturday remains hard to beat. Photo by Nick Schrader.

National champs! MSU’s tennis duo Max Sheldon and Ozan Baris completed a historic run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Fall National Championships to win the double title, the first national championship in program history. Photo courtesy of the ITA.

In 1873, only 18 years after the institution was founded, MSU welcomed its first international students to campus. Now, 150 years later, MSU is celebrating the tens of thousands of international students and scholars from all around the globe who have contributed to the university’s excellence and impact. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff and President-elect Kevin Guskiewicz share a handshake in front of Cowles House. Guskiewicz, an accomplished neuroscientist, sports medicine researcher and academic leader, has been named the 22nd president of Michigan State University. The Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appoint Guskiewicz, the 12th chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, during a special board meeting on Dec. 8. He will begin his term on March 4, 2024. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

As 2023 comes to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on all the ways Spartans have come together this past year. Through times of triumph, challenge and even heartbreak, Spartans move forward — with intention and purpose — to support one other and become a part of something bigger. That’s what makes this community so special. With 2024 on the horizon, there’s no telling what Spartans, working together, will achieve. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.