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  • 9 reasons to love being a Spartan

    Aug. 28, 2026

    9 reasons to love being a Spartan

  • NIH awards multi-university team over $4M to improve women’s health

    Sept. 15, 2026

    NIH awards multi-university team over $4M to improve women’s health

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MSU Community Engagement

Oct. 24, 2025

Photo gallery: A journey through the UP showcases Spartan impact in action

By: Ebony Stith

From Iron Mountain to Marquette and beyond, Michigan State University Spartans have spent decades partnering with communities across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to advance health care, education, economic development and environmental stewardship. This fall, the Spartan Bus Tour shined a light on those enduring collaborations and their impact throughout the region.

From Oct. 19-21, President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., traveled with faculty and university leaders on a three-day route featuring more than a dozen stops across the UP and northern Michigan. The tour highlighted how MSU and its partners are working together to improve health outcomes, strengthen local industries and create opportunities for future generations.

Several children are seated around a blue table in a classroom, eating from white bowls filled with salad. An adult at the center of the table is serving food from a foil-covered container placed in a purple tray. The background shows a wooden door decorated with colorful paper hearts and drawings, a small red “STOP” sign, and shelves with stacked papers. Additional adults are standing near the counter behind the group.
Participants of the Spartan Bus Tour 2025 Regional Route Upper Peninsula pose in front of the bus.
20251019.GM-003.jpg
An aerial view of the Mackinac Bridge.
An aerial photo of the UP Health System Marquette Campus.
A large group of people pose for a photo in front of a colorful mural painted on a brick wall. The mural features bright red, orange, and yellow sections with an outlined figure and architectural elements, along with green trees and a blue waterfall on the left side. One person in the foreground holds up a smartphone to take a selfie with the group
A group of people standing in a hospital or clinic break room, listening to a person who is seated on the counter and holding papers. The room has wooden cabinets, medical supplies on the counter, and orange garland decorations. There is a metal rolling tray and various equipment visible in the background
Three people stand in a commercial kitchen area, posing for a photo while holding green and white Spartan helmet cutouts. Behind them is a colorful sign that reads “Torch Lake” with an illustration of a red boat on water and trees in the background. The countertop in front of them has bottles and cans, and shelves with kitchen supplies are visible in the background.
An aerial photo of the MSU Forestry Innovation Center during the Fall 2025 Spartan Bus Tour.
A person wearing an ash-gray hoodie and orange pants holds a metal container inside a facility with stainless steel equipment and wooden walls. The setting appears to be a production or processing area, with large machinery, pipes, and a countertop in the foreground. Other individuals stand nearby observing, and shelves with various items are visible in the background.
A large group of people pose for a photo in front of a white and green tour bus labeled “Spartan Bus Tour.” One person in the foreground holds up a smartphone to take a selfie with the group. The bus is parked on an asphalt lot surrounded by trees with autumn foliage, and a colorful wood figure is visible behind of the bus.
A group of people wearing bright yellow safety vests stand inside a large industrial building with a high metal ceiling and exposed beams. One person in the foreground, dressed in a tan hoodie and a black cap, gestures with one hand while speaking to the group. The background includes structural elements, fluorescent lights, and a whiteboard with notes, suggesting a tour or safety briefing in a warehouse or manufacturing facility.
Several people wearing bright yellow safety vests - including MSU men
Two people stand outdoors on a grassy area with autumn trees and houses in the background. Both are holding wooden trays filled with seeds or grains, appearing to demonstrate or sort them. One person wears a dark jacket and green cap with a Spartan logo, while the other wears a striped sweater. Nearby is a black chair and a bag on the ground.
A group of people stand near a wall with vertical wooden panels, posing for a selfie. One person in the foreground holds a smartphone at arm’s length to capture the photo. Visible behind the group is a large window with a view of a room containing a bed or examination table.
Group of people standing in front of a weathered white wooden building with a sign that reads ‘North Farm.’ They are posing outdoors on grass with fallen leaves, and one person is holding a large orange pumpkin. Hay bales, cornstalks, and additional pumpkins are arranged as decorations near the building
A person sits on a vintage snowmobile inside a museum filled with snowmobiles and related memorabilia. The individual grips the handlebars of a snowmobile arcade game, which has a white front panel and a blue control area. The background features multiple colorful snowmobiles, posters, and banners, including a prominent “Polaris” sign hanging from the ceiling. The setting is well-lit with fluorescent lights, and the floor is concrete.
A person writes on the side of a large white vehicle using a black marker. The vehicle has bold black lettering, and the writing appears to be a signature or message added to the surface. The scene is illuminated by a red light reflecting on the person’s hair and jacket, suggesting nearby vehicle lights or brake lights. The background includes part of another arm raised toward the vehicle.
Several children are seated around a blue table in a classroom, eating from white bowls filled with salad. An adult at the center of the table is serving food from a foil-covered container placed in a purple tray. The background shows a wooden door decorated with colorful paper hearts and drawings, a small red “STOP” sign, and shelves with stacked papers. Additional adults are standing near the counter behind the group.
Participants of the Spartan Bus Tour 2025 Regional Route Upper Peninsula pose in front of the bus.

A mindful-eating demonstration at Northwest Community Action Agency Head Start during the Spartan Bus Tour in fall 2025. Photo by Sydney Hawkins.

The MSU Spartan Bus Tour arrives on the shores of Lake Michigan in St. Ignace for a photo opportunity of the Mackinac Bridge. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

The Seul Choix Pointe Lighthouse at golden hour. The lighthouse is said to be one of the most haunted places in Michigan. Photo by Garret Morgan.

An aerial photo of the Mackinac Bridge as the bus from the fall 2025 Spartan Bus Tour drives over it. Photo by Garret Morgan.

UP Health System-Marquette is home to the MSU College of Human Medicine's Upper Peninsula Region campus. Approximately 20 third-and fourth-year medical students from MSU complete their clerkships in Marquette and in community hospitals and clinics throughout the Upper Peninsula. Photo by Garret Morgan.

MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., takes a selfie with the bus tour group in front of a mural in downtown Cadillac featuring long-time Cadillac Printing Company employee Marion Nye. The mural was created in partnership with MSU Extension's Michigan ArtShare project. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Daniel Conklin, vice president and chief operating officer of Kalkaska Memorial Health Center, speaks to a group during the Spartan Bus Tour's visit. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., with MSU alumni Chad Munger (right) and Tracy Hickman, the owners and founders of Mammoth Distilling. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

The MSU Forestry Innovation Center is a 1,745-acre AgBioResearch center in Escanaba focused on advancing research and innovation in areas including forest genetics, silviculture, biomass energy and non-timber forest products. Photo by Garret Morgan.

Tyler Tankersley, forest technician at the MSU Forestry Innovation Center, demonstrates how the center's evaporator is used to make maple syrup and other maple sugar products used in agritourism, the food and beverage industry and medicine. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz takes a selfie with the Spartan Bus Tour group and men's head basketball coach Tom Izzo at the Iron Mountain Iron Mine. Izzo, who is from Iron Mountain, surprised the bus tour at this stop. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

MSU Spartan Bus Tour participants learn how floors for the NCAA tournament and professional basketball courts are made during a visit to Connor Sports Flooring in Amasa. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo joined a tour of Connor Sports Flooring during the Spartan Bus Tour. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Matthew Anderson, professor in the Eli Broad College of Business, during a hands-on demonstration of wild rice processing at Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Joyce deJong, dean of the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, takes a selfie with (left to right) Stuart Johnson, community assistant dean for the MSU College of Human Medicine’s Upper Peninsula Campus; Andrea Wendling, senior associate dean for academic affairs in the MSU College of Human Medicine; and Supratik Rayamajhi, interim dean of the MSU College of Human Medicine. Photo by Derrick L. Turner

MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D. with the staff at the MSU Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Heidi Hennink-Kaminski, dean of the MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences, plays an arcade game during the Spartan Bus Tour's visit to the Top-of-the-Lake Snowmobile Museum. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Bethany Duyser, assistant director of the IMPART Alliance in the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, signs the bus at the Spartan Bus Tour's closing reception at Uncle John's Cider Mill. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

A mindful-eating demonstration at Northwest Community Action Agency Head Start during the Spartan Bus Tour in fall 2025. Photo by Sydney Hawkins.

The MSU Spartan Bus Tour arrives on the shores of Lake Michigan in St. Ignace for a photo opportunity of the Mackinac Bridge. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

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