While you were out: Summer at MSU 

If your out-of-office reply got a workout this summer, you weren’t the only one. MSU packed a lot into the months between commencement and move-in, from new leadership appointments and record giving to major investments, ongoing construction, bad weather and even a little World Cup turfgrass.

A summer of change — and continuity

Early in the summer, President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., reaffirmed his commitment to MSU. In a message to the community, he thanked Spartans and emphasized stability, transparency and collaboration.

Elsewhere in university leadership, Athletic Director J Batt departed for the University of Kentucky and Dan Bartholomae was named his successor in mid-August. Bartholomae, previously athletic director at Western Michigan University, began Aug. 31.

Big investments in MSU’s future

It was a remarkable time for philanthropy. MSU closed the most successful fundraising year in university history, with 63,616 donors contributing more than $736 million, which is a 94% increase from the previous year. The support spans scholarships, research, student success, health, athletics, the arts and other priorities as MSU advances its $4 billion comprehensive campaign.

Meanwhile, MSU trustees approved a $3.8 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2026–27, and the university’s redesigned budget model entered a shadow year July 1, allowing colleges to see how the proposed model will affect their funding prior to implementation.

And beginning Aug. 9, MSU increased its minimum wage to $15 an hour for student, temporary and on-call employees.

The research wheels kept turning

Summer research news stretched from the turf beneath World Cup players’ feet to the tiniest petri dishes in our laboratories.

MSU turfgrass researchers helped prepare consistent natural-grass playing surfaces for the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s 16 stadiums across the United States, Canada and Mexico, leveraging expertise dating back to the 1994 World Cup.

The university also opened its newly renovated $35 million Plant Science Research Greenhouses, invested more than $500,000 in 18 faculty-led AI-Ready Spartans projects, celebrated the Department of Energy’s renewal of a 60-year MSU partnership and launched the Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center as an integrated research, clinical and community enterprise.

In August, MSU announced another major research win: a $30 million National Science Foundation grant to lead an eight-university center focused on understanding and controlling turbulence, with potential applications in energy, transportation, aerospace, weather forecasting and health.

Campus was abuzz

If you returned and thought campus looked different, well, you were right.

The Farm Lane reconstruction project moved closer to completion following a $22 million overhaul of utilities, roadways and connections supporting the new Plant and Environmental Sciences Building. The walkway around The Spartan statue received a zhuzh, while MSU’s power plant got a full makeover after the installation of a massive new generator and combustion turbine engine to support future campus energy needs.

Not every summer event was planned. This year’s dog days cooked up several heatwaves that scorched campus, plus the Red Cedar overflowed (yet again) and an angry Fourth of July weekend storm blew down trees and power lines, which caused outages across campus and the state. However, workers quickly cleared roads and restored power to keep MSU operating.

The summer also heralded several sustainability wins. MSU ranked No. 2 in the United States in the 2026 Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Rankings, while energy improvements at the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory reduced energy use by 22% and greenhouse gas emissions by 19%.

Spartans continued to excel

More than 160 faculty members earned promotions, tenure or reappointments. MSU professors Xuefei Ren and Lara Shipley were named Guggenheim Fellows. Historian Nwando Achebe was elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

MSU President Emerita Teresa K. Woodruff was elected to both the Royal Society and the American Philosophical Society, recognizing her groundbreaking work in reproductive biology and fertility preservation. She founded the field of oncofertility and continues to lead research aimed at improving fertility options for cancer patients.

The summer also brought moments of reflection as MSU mourned the loss of several notable Spartans. Among them was longtime College of Osteopathic Medicine faculty member and civil rights leader William G. Anderson, who died Aug. 16 and whose legacy includes founding the “Slavery to Freedom” lecture series.

And then, the students returned to campus

By late August, staff were gearing up for the annual migration as thousands of excited students rolled into residence halls and classrooms for the 2026–27 academic year. After a summer of change, investment and preparation, campus was once again buzzing with the energy of a new semester.