Members of the trip met the morning of Oct. 21 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center before they headed out on the bus tour. But first: A photo with Sparty to commemorate the journey. Photo by Garret Morgan.
The Spartan Bus Tour made its first official stop at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant. President Guskiewicz became the first MSU president to meet with a tribal chief on Anishinabe land to offer a living land acknowledgement. Here, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s Onion Creek Singers play a traditional drum song in front of members of the bus tour. Photo courtesy Michigan State University.
After visits to M&R Pickling, an Amish family-owned canning company in Le Roy, and Camp Grayling, the largest U.S. National Guard training facility in the United States, the tour made its final stop of the day at MSU’s Camp Wa Wa Sum, a 144-year-old classic log cabin conference and research center located on the Au Sable River. Photo by Nick Schrader.
Day 2, Oct. 22, began with a visit to the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center, a 137-acre site, which is one of 15 MSU research stations located throughout the state. Nikki Rothwell, who has been an MSU Extension specialist and coordinator of the center for more than 20 years, greeted the group. Photo courtesy Michigan State University.
After the research center, the group enjoyed visits at Sleeping Bear Dunes, Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club and Ludington State Park before the tour made its final stop at Martinez Farm, an apple orchard based in Conklin. Martinez Farm has partnered with MSU on programs like Great Lakes Latina/o Farmers Program and La Cosecha to address the challenges faced by farmworkers and farm owners. Photo by Nick Schrader.
The final day of the tour, Oct. 23, began with a stop at Muskegon Public Schools. There, along with MSU Trustee Brianna Scott, tour participants heard firsthand experiences from students about their participation in MSU precollege programs. Photo courtesy Michigan State University.
After visiting Muskegon Public Schools, the tour met with PFAS researcher and Assistant Professor Courtney Carignan in Rockford before stopping at the Grand Rapids Innovation Park along the “Medical Mile.” The park houses the MSU Grand Rapids Research Center, the Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building and Perrigo’s North American corporate headquarters. Photo by Garret Morgan.
The bus stopped at furniture maker MillerKnoll’s headquarters in Zeeland before making its final stop of the trip: W.K. Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners. There, participants heard from KBS Interim Director Jeff Conner about the station’s mission to take research and apply it to real human problems “like sustainable agriculture, conservation and restoration.” Photo by Derrick L. Turner.
After a busy, enriching three days of touring parts of Michigan and learning more about MSU’s impact on the state, the Spartan Bus Tour made its way back to the banks of the Red Cedar. Of the trip, President Guskiewicz said: “It was special, and we accomplished exactly what we set out to do. This was our first Spartan Bus Tour, and I believe everyone is going to get off this bus and become even more passionate ambassadors for MSU. My hope is that we can get even more of our Spartan community on this bus next year.” Photo by Garret Morgan.
