MSU educates more Michigan students than any other university and many graduates stay in-state, where they propel innovation, improve their communities and change lives.
Nov. 11, 2024
By Deon Foster, Daniel P Smith
After earning his degree from Michigan State University in 2008, Joe Luther politely fielded out-of-state job offers. But Luther, born and raised in South Lyon, Michigan, never entertained the idea of leaving his beloved home state.
“Michigan is where I wanted to be and where I wanted to make a difference,” Luther says.
Over the past 16 years with the Christman Company, a Grand Rapids-based construction management firm, Luther has helped build new public schools in Detroit, construct housing for the state’s veterans in Chesterfield Township and Grand Rapids and steer award-winning historic preservation projects, such as the Michigan Central Station in Detroit.
“I’ve been blessed to contribute to meaningful projects all over Michigan,” says Luther, now a senior vice president at Christman and general manager of the firm’s Detroit office.
Joe Luther has spent his career leading construction and restoration projects across Michigan. Photo courtesy The Christman Company.
Each year, MSU sends thousands of determined, talented professionals like Luther into the Michigan workforce, with many employed in high-demand Michigan industries, such as education, health care and automotive.
In fact, nearly 300,000 MSU graduates live in Michigan, where they help improve the state’s economy, vitality and quality of life through their professional endeavors. And the university, home to 52,000 students, including more than 37,000 students from Michigan, is preparing the next generation of leaders poised to make an impact in Michigan – and beyond.
Educating Michigan’s next generation of leaders
Of the 85,000 teachers in Michigan, more than one-third received their training at MSU, where the highly ranked College of Education is a significant talent pipeline for classrooms. Spartans are teaching the fundamentals in elementary schools; bringing literature, science and mathematics alive in high schools; guiding extracurricular teams and clubs; and leading schools and districts focused on student growth and success.
"Every day, Spartan educators exercise their commitment to making a difference,” says MSU College of Education Dean Jerlando F.L. Jackson.
MSU boasts a rich history of preparing teachers to help Michigan students imagine new realities, practice engaged citizenship and pursue ambitious plans. The college has five programs ranked No. 1 in the nation – with MSU graduate programs in elementary and secondary teacher education holding the top spot for 30 years, according to U.S. News & World Report.
English teacher Kelley Cusmano (pictured with her school’s principal, fellow MSU graduate Joshua Wrinkle) is the 2024 Michigan Teacher of Year. Nine Spartan educators have received the honor over the last 30 years. Courtesy photo.
Two-time Spartan alumna Kelley Cusmano was recently named the 2024-25 Michigan Teacher of the Year – the third consecutive Spartan to receive the prestigious honor. She credits MSU for providing “the confidence and preparation to work with diverse students and in diverse environments.”
“So many of us are helping to move Michigan and its students forward, which is incredibly energizing,” says Cusmano, now in her 16th year teaching high school English in Rochester Community Schools.
To further uplift the state, MSU is collaborating with policymakers and school districts to tackle teacher recruitment challenges and support job placement. The university recently redesigned its teacher preparation program, transitioning from a five-year to a four-year model to address teacher shortages in Michigan classrooms. It has also introduced novel pre-college programs in high-need urban areas, such as the Community Teachers cohort, which gives Grand Rapids high school students with a commitment to serve in Michigan an early start on their teaching careers.
Addressing Michigan’s health care needs
Highly regarded for its excellence in clinical training from the colleges of Human Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine and Nursing, MSU is leading statewide efforts to ensure the right care at the right time for all. More than 20,000 Spartans currently work in the health care field – and 60% of those MSU graduates practice in Michigan, from metro areas like Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids to many rural communities peppering the state.
With physician and nursing shortages plaguing Michigan, including an estimated 4.3 million Michigan residents living in areas with shortages for primary health care professionals, MSU has initiated new career pathways. Specifically, the university has forged partnerships to expand access to care and deliver training opportunities for students at campuses and clinical settings across the state.
Lauren Grasso, the first student accepted to MSU’s Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program, is ready to start her career practicing medicine in Michigan. Courtesy photo.
Over recent years, MSU has debuted a 27-month Physician Assistant Medicine Program, launched a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program and cultivated relationships with organizations like the Michigan Center for Rural Health to bring clinicians to Michigan’s highest-need areas. In fact, more than half of College of Osteopathic Medicine graduates work in underserved areas, which places MSU atop the U.S. News & World Report list of U.S. medical schools with the most graduates practicing in areas experiencing a health professional shortage.
Meanwhile, MSU’s Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program, or OMSP – which gives Spartan undergraduates an early chance to explore careers in osteopathic medicine – is energizing the next generation of doctors. Holt, Michigan, native and Lyman Briggs College graduate Lauren Grasso is among the OMSP medical students eager to turn her MSU training into a Michigan-based practice.
“I’m inspired to make a change in the place I’ve grown up,” says Grasso, adding that a recent training experience with a family physician in Frankenmuth, Michigan, ignited her interest in rural medicine.
Strengthening Michigan’s engineering muscle
Fueled by innovative faculty and dedicated partners in industry and government, MSU’s College of Engineering prepares its 7,100 students to join the technology sector which is key to continued economic development in Michigan.
Over the past five years, 58% of College of Engineering alumni have started their professional careers in Michigan. And Spartan engineers are hired by more than 500 companies, including prominent Michigan-based enterprises like General Motors, Ford and Rocket Companies.
Spartan graduate Dauan Hendley Jr. works as a battery development engineer at Nissan in Michigan. Automotive companies are the top employers of MSU College of Engineering graduates — General Motors and Ford have hired 250 Spartans in the last five years. Courtesy photo
After earning his electrical engineering degree in 2024, Detroit native Dauan Hendley Jr. followed his father and grandfather into Michigan’s automotive industry. Hendley is currently designing new and improved electric vehicles as a battery development engineer at Nissan.
"I'm excited to contribute to a new wave of automotive innovation in Michigan," Hendley says.
MSU continues to create learning opportunities that prepare students to solve modern engineering challenges. For example, Technology Engineering, a new undergraduate program integrating technology, computer science and engineering, recently launched to address the challenges presented in our interconnected world.
Given student demand and industry needs, the college expects to welcome 1,500 additional students interested in computer science, materials science, cybersecurity, data science and machine learning when the Engineering and Digital Innovation Center opens. The new space will offer innovative options for interdisciplinary teaching, research and industry collaboration.
"Bringing different disciplines under one roof reduces the barriers for conversations and helps us focus on working toward solutions that benefit society,” says Christina Chan, University Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. “It also supports collaboration among research, teaching and industry, which has significant impact on our workforce and economy."
Elevating Michigan
MSU has developed talent for Michigan for more than 165 years, fueled by its land-grant mission to educate students prepared to positively contribute to society.Industrious, enterprising and empowered by an education grounded in addressing real-world needs, MSU alumni impact industries and communities across Michigan.
Spartans are boosting quality of life, lifting the Michigan economy and propelling the state’s evolution with an earnest spirit and uncommon will.
“MSU graduates are highly marketable and could go anywhere,” says Eric Torng, associate dean of MSU’s Graduate School and associate chair for research and faculty development in the College of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering. “They stay because they want to be drivers of innovation and progress in Michigan.”
Creating a stronger Michigan
See how MSU is making a difference in every corner of our state.
