Jade Mitchell is a professor and associate chair of biosystems and agricultural engineering in the College of Engineering. After traveling with the Spartan Bus Tour through Flint, Saginaw and Bay City, she shared these remarks at the closing reception on May 7.
There’s something powerful about stepping away from our daily routines and learning together — on a bus, in communities and in conversation. This experience reminded me how valuable it is to slow down long enough to truly see the people, stories and partnerships that surround our institution every day.
This year, I’ve had the opportunity to think more deeply about institutions through the Big Ten Academic Leadership Program; how they function, how they lead, how they are perceived and how they show up in the world. I’ve been reflecting not just on what we do as faculty and administrators, but on how our work contributes to something much larger than ourselves. One thing I have learned this year is that institutions are remembered less for what they say about themselves and more for how people experience them. Leadership is not only about vision and strategy (my favorite part going into the program), but about relationships and trust.
This bus tour felt like the perfect culmination of that learning. It took ideas that can sometimes feel abstract — leadership, engagement, impact, responsibility — and made them tangible. We didn’t just talk about our role as a university. We saw it.
At the UAW Sitdowners Monument Park site and through the reflections shared by Mama Claire, I was reminded that every generation needs people willing to meet the moment. We reflected on how what may seem like a single act of courage can ripple outward for generations — creating opportunities for work, home ownership, education, and stability, including for children who would one day become Spartans themselves. What stood out to me most was the realization that universities like MSU are deeply connected to broader stories of social progress and opportunity. It reminded me that leadership requires courage, intentionality and a willingness to act even when the long-term impact is not yet visible. This was certainly evident at the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health today.
The Freedom School experience was rich across all the senses — the stories, the sounds, the movement, the history and the emotion. I learned the phrase, “I am because you are, and you are because I am,” and that idea of connection and shared humanity stayed with me throughout the bus tour. It made me think about our university community — that even when we have not known each other long, or may never fully know each other’s journeys, we are still connected through the communities and institution we build together. It reminded me that none of us succeeds alone.
At the Flint African American Quilters Guild, I was struck by the power of sustained partnership and invitation. Mrs. Collins shared that after the initial connection with MSU was made, “We were invited, and we went and we learned and we grew.” I thought that was such a simple but profound statement. Growth began with invitation, but it continued because people chose to show up, engage and build something together. It reminded me that universities can create transformational impact when they approach communities with openness, reciprocity and a genuine desire to learn alongside them.
I also saw this mission come alive through the partnerships described between AgBioResearch and the sugar beet and dry bean industries — a true two-way relationship in which the university and industry continually strengthen, inform and reinforce one another in service of innovation, agriculture and community impact. And somewhere along the way, I apparently also had a mini photoshoot with farm equipment, which, for a professor in agricultural engineering, may actually count as professional development.
Similarly, we learned about partnerships between MSU and the other school down the road through Sea Grant, their external partnerships with the state agencies, schools and community groups. The sturgeon itself felt like a representative metaphor for well-established institutions like ours — described as a gentle giant, resilient, adaptive, resourceful and changing over long periods of time — part of an identity for a region, but only through public engagement and commitment can it survive.
At the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, I saw another side of the university’s impact — one rooted in tradition, hospitality and lived values. After lunch, I was desperately searching for coffee and had run out of time at the gift shop. I jokingly asked Zak of Zak and Mac’s Chocolate Haus if I could buy coffee at the fudge shop, and he explained they didn’t actually sell coffee — but that the family and employees made coffee for themselves in the back. A few minutes later, he returned with a fresh cup he had made for me during the tour. It was such a small gesture, but honestly one of the moments I will remember most because it reflected something deeper: hospitality extended beyond expectation.
Across all of these experiences, a common thread emerged: people choosing to invest in one another. Whether through activism, education, hospitality, creativity, research partnerships or community engagement, I saw examples of individuals and institutions intentionally creating belonging, opportunity and impact.
As a land-grant institution, MSU is grounded in the idea that knowledge should not simply be generated but applied to improve quality of life. This trip brought that mission to life in a way that is difficult to fully understand from campus alone. I was especially struck by how often MSU was described not simply as a university, but as part of families, communities, identities, traditions and aspirations. That kind of trust and connection is built over time through consistency, values and showing up with purpose.
One of the biggest lessons I will carry forward from this year — and especially from this trip — is the importance of moving with purpose, grounded in our values. The idea of leadership being about alignment between what we say we value and how we show up for people and communities. Moments matter. Invitations matter. Small interactions matter. And often the most meaningful forms of leadership happen in ways that may seem ordinary at the time.
As we return to campus, I hope we continue asking ourselves: How are we showing up? Who are we reaching? And how can we lead with greater intention and impact?
Because what we saw on this trip is not separate from who we are — it is who we are at our best. Thank you.
