MSU Today with Russ White

MSU serves all 83 counties across Michigan with programs and partnerships that support the state’s residents, bolster the economy and advance the common good. 

MSU’s outreach is extensive and supports these 83 counties with programs and partnerships that advance key industries, including agriculture and business—both big and small.

On this episode of MSU Today, Kwesi Brookins and Quentin Tyler talk about outreach, engagement and extension at Michigan State University. Brookins is vice provost for University Outreach and Engagement, and Tyler is director of MSU Extension.

Conversation Highlights:

(0:48) – The gentlemen describe their roles at MSU.

(2:48) – Why is it important that we engage with the public, and what’s the difference between outreach and extension?

(4:05) – Highlight some MSU Extension initiatives.

(6:45) – Highlight some initiatives from Outreach and Engagement.

(9:13) – What are some societal challenges and opportunities ahead?

Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.

As a leading global public research university, MSU generates knowledge and innovation that is crucial to grow Michigan's economy in automotive, engineering, health care and beyond, and to improve the health & well-being of our state and our citizens.

A top global public research university, MSU has built a research enterprise that reaches every part of Michigan, driving the state’s economy and contributing to a stronger, healthier present and future.

On this episode of MSU Today, three Spartan scholars explore the impact of MSU’s research on the state, country and world.

Jeff MacKeigan is senior advisor for the Office of Research and Innovation and professor in the College of Human Medicine. George Smith directs MSU AgBioResearch. John Verboncoeur is senior associate dean for research in the College of Engineering.

Conversation Highlights:

(1:11) – The gentlemen define their roles at MSU.

(2:38) – Why is conducting research important to MSU’s mission? 

(4:31) – Give us some examples of cool research happening in your area.

(9:16) – What are some of the societal challenges inspiring cutting-edge research?

(18:32) – What is the Smart Ag Initiative?

(22:10) – FRIB is a major contributor to MSU research.

(24:03) – George has another example of “transformational research” at MSU related to energy.

(29:47) – What is the Engineering and Digital Innovation Center?

(33:45) – Final thoughts on MSU research impact.

Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows. 

The presidential election is now behind us and Michigan played a crucial role in the election results. For MSU Today’s 2024 Election Spotlight Series, I’m talking with MSU researchers and experts who can discuss all things elections and politics. Each guest brings a unique perspective on research and work they are doing that relates to the 2024 election. 

To conclude this series, I’m joined by experts from MSU’s Department of Political Science to breakdown the presidential outcome and Michigan’s statewide election results. These guests include Matt Grossmann, director of MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) and professor of American Politics; Nura Sediqe, assistant professor and a core faculty member in the Muslim Studies Program; and Meghan Wilson, assistant professor of American Politics. 

Conversation Highlights:

(1:03) - Tell us about your research and how it related or connected to the election?

(2:28) – Meghan asks Matt how we got here. Is there hope for a less polarized world?

(3:55) – What were you watching heading into Election Night and what is your general reaction and explanation of the outcome?

(7:40) - How did Arab Americans and Muslim voters impact results in Michigan and nationally? Is their shift to the right permanent, or will they return to the Democratic Party?

(8:58) – How did Black voters impact results in Michigan and nationally?

(11:34) – Is the gender divide real and how did it impact the election?

(12:59) - The State House will now shift back to Republican control. What could this mean for Michigan the next two years?

(14:33) -To what do we attribute the rightward turn in this election?

(17:13) – Is splitting one’s ticket a trend that’s growing?

(18:22) – Do we need to beef up civics and media literacy instruction?

(22:25) – Do you think anyone who didn’t vote the top of the ticket or who voted for a third-party candidate regrets that vote?

(25:59) – How accurate were the polls?

(29:38) – What will you be reflecting on when you think about the 2024 election?

(33:33) – Are any voters regretting their vote?

(35:35) – Did you see any backlash to liberal urban governance?

Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.

Concrete is the second largest consumed material in the U.S., and its production is responsible for 8% to 10% of carbon dioxide emissions. Professor Qingxu “Bill” Jin and his PhD student, Antonio Ni, at Michigan State University have developed flexible self-healing concrete that produces heat, which could prove to be an environmentally friendly option for roads in terms of snow and ice removal.

Professor Jin says the self-healing concrete could revolutionize the concrete industry and further promote industrial decarbonization by using solid waste as a sustainable source. Jin is an assistant professor in the College of Engineering. In this podcast, two of Jin's other students, Diego and Nathan, discuss their contributions to bendable concrete technology, including efforts to utilize solid waste for low-carbon, flexible concrete.

Conversation Highlights:

(0:24) – Bill, Diego and Nathan introduce themselves.

(2:21) – Why is MSU the ideal place to do this research?

(6:15) – Bill highlights the accomplishments and credentials of Diego and Nathan.

(7:24) – Talk about the mission of your Resilient, Intelligent, Sustainable and Energy Efficient Infrastructure Materials Lab (RISE).

(10:50) – Diego and Nathan on when they first learned about flexible concrete and Bill’s work.

(12:43) – What are the benefits of flexible concrete?

(16:58) – How will flexible concrete improve the average citizen’s daily life?

(19:45) – What has surprised you so far about this research, and what are the next steps?

(23:45) – Diego and Nathan with more on their MSU experience.

(27:02) – What are some key takeaways from our conversation?

Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.

Dedicated to improving lives today and tomorrow, Michigan State University delivers extraordinary impact to individuals and communities across the state of Michigan through its academic and research excellence and its network of community engagement and outreach, made possible by the uncommon will of Spartans to pursue excellence and advance opportunity for the common good. 

MSU and its world-class faculty educate more Michigan students than any other university and many graduates stay in-state, where they propel innovation, improve their communities and change lives.

How does MSU’s talent pipeline contribute to a stronger Michigan?

Discussing that on this episode of MSU Today are Garth Motschenbacher, director of Employer Relations, College of Engineering; Gerica Lee, director of Pathway Programs, College of Osteopathic Medicine; Gail Richmond, director, Teacher Preparation Program and new Community Teachers Initiative; and Lyman Briggs College and College of Osteopathic Medicine alumna Brittany Ladson Garza, currently doing her residency in emergency medicine in Michigan.

Conversation Highlights:

(1:25) - Identify yourselves and talk about your roles at MSU, especially as your role relates to feeding the talent pipeline. 

(10:08) - What exactly is a talent pipeline?

(17:49) - Talk about some of the ways you and your college are feeding the talent pipeline.

(23:08) - What are both some challenges and opportunities ahead as we try to grow the talent pipeline?

Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.

If you are one of the tens of millions of Americans who loves football—and who simultaneously worries if it can be safely played—then Dr. David Kaufman’s book is must-read.

Like such classics as Paper Lion and A Fan’s Notes, We Need You in the Locker Room provides a fascinating, unique, and immensely readable perspective on a game we only think we know. As a neurologist assigned to work with the coaches and players, his time in the locker room and on the sidelines made him an intimate witness to the drama, teamwork, and courage of young athletes—and to the toll this violent game exacts on them. A intimate look into a championship season, this book is also

a smart, sensitive argument for how football can be preserved.

Conversation Highlights:

(0:27) – When did you come to MSU, and why were you attracted here?

(1:14) – Talk about your role as a neurologist.

(2:00) – When did you start focusing on concussions in football?

(2:36) – What is a concussion?

(2:57) – When and how did you become involved with the MSU football team?

(3:57) – What motivated you to write the book?

(5:36) – Who do you think should read the book?

(6:46) – Talk about the special relationship you developed with Coach Mark Dantonio.

(7:47) – What are facts about concussions do you want to reinforce and myths you want to dispel?

(8:41) – Would parents of student-athletes find your book interesting?

(10:24) – You’re donating all profits from the book to two MSU charities.

(10:54) – What do you hope readers take away from the book?

(12:18) – What is your role at MSU now?

Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.

Michigan native and Michigan State University alumnus Sam Klemet is co-executive director of the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association (DADA). The DADA represents nearly 300 domestic and import new car and truck dealerships in Southeast Michigan and oversees the Detroit Auto Show, which has had an economic impact of $8 billion over the last 25-plus years.

A career broadcaster and association management professional, Klemet joins the DADA team and will work alongside Rod Alberts, DADA and Detroit Auto Show Executive Director.  Alberts will remain in his position, co-directing with Klemet, through the 2025 Detroit Auto Show, Jan. 10-20.   

Klemet comes to the DADA from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, where he was President and CEO since 2021.  There, he led advocacy initiatives, continuing education and awards programs on behalf of 285-member commercial TV and radio stations and 30 public TV and radio stations.  In this role, he was also responsible for coordinating legislative initiatives in Washington D.C. and Lansing. (DetroitAutoShow.com)   

Conversation Highlights:

(0:23) – What’s your background, and why did you choose MSU for college?

(0:57) – How did your MSU experience impact you?

(2:26) – What were you doing as president and CEO of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB)?

(4:42) – What’s the mission of the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association (DADA)?

(6:41) – How did you go from the MAB to DADA?

(10:18) – What are you doing to evolve the Detroit Auto Show?

(12:32) – What are the challenges and opportunities ahead for your dealers?

(13:54) – What’s your overall advice for today’s students?

Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get yours shows.

Michael Sant’Ambrogio is the new dean of MSU College of Law, effective October 25, 2024.

The new dean talks about his and the college’s teaching and scholarship strengths. He tells why he wants to be dean of the college. And he shares goals for the college and discusses challenges and opportunities ahead.

Conversation Highlights:

(0:22) – How long have you been at MSU, and what first attracted you here?

(0:59) – What are your teaching and scholarship interests?

(1:40) – What are the college’s teaching and scholarship strengths?

(2:32) – Why do you want to be dean of the college?

(4:03) – What are some of your goals for the college?

(5:39) – What are challenges and opportunities along the way?

(7:38) – What’s the state of the law profession your graduates are entering?

(8:56) – What kind of student come to MSU Law? And why should those considering a career in law come to MSU?

Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.

Following his Sept. 29 investiture, Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., announced one of his first initiatives was to bring “MSU to Michigan,” and he did so by leading MSU’s inaugural Spartan Bus Tour. We set out from campus Monday morning October 21 from Kellogg Center.

(0:20) - President Guskiewicz opens the tour.

(1:14) - Our first stop was in Mount Pleasant to visit the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways. Eric Rodriguez is interim public relations director for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

(4:20) - The next stop on the tour was in Le Roy to visit M&R Pickling, an Amish-owned canning company founded in 2013. The company is a client of the MSU Product Center, which supports innovation and growth for those in food, agriculture and natural resource sectors. Then it was on to a stop at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, the largest National Guard training facility in the United States and the main training facility for the Michigan National Guard. At the stop, we met Michigan native Colonel Lucas J. Lanczy, the current commander of JMTC and got a brief welcome and history of the site to learn about the center’s economic and environmental impact in the region. 

(6:15) - We remained in Grayling for our next stop at a somewhat hidden MSU jewel, Camp Wa Wa Sum. Brandon Baswell is service manager with IPF Real Estate.

(8:13) - As we headed to Traverse City to spend the night, President G, as we affectionately called our leader on the tour, reflected on Day 1.

(11:40) - Day 2 of the tour began in Traverse City at the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center. The 137-acre Center was founded in 1979 by the area’s fruit growers who wanted a research center of their own — a place that could help with unique issues that come with growing fruit in a region unlike any other — so they turned to MSU. Nikki Rothwell is an MSU extension specialist and coordinator of the center.

(16:02) - After a group walk up part of the Sleepng Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Glen Arbor, we enjoyed lunch at Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club, a nationally renowned golf destination located on the shores of Lake Michigan, offering two championship golf courses. Founded in 1999, the golf club is built on the bluffs above the shore of Lake Michigan.  Arcadia Bluffs is routinely rated a top 50 course in the country. We heard a presentation from club representatives and alumni who graduated from MSU’s top turfgrass management program. Then it was on to Ludington State Park, a public recreation area located two miles north of Ludington, occupying 5,300 acres between the shores of Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake. Ethan Theuerkauf, an MSU assistant professor and coastal geomorphologist described his research that focuses on how and why coastal landscapes, such as beaches, barrier islands and wetlands change over time. 

As we boarded the bus in Ludington on our way to the Martinez Farm in Conklin, we learned more about MSU Migrant Student Services.

Day 2 of the tour ended with an evening reception at the Muskegon Museum of Art. Teresa Dunn, a Mexican American artist and MSU professor who has artwork on view in the museum joined the group and talked about her art.

(19:25) - Day 3 of the tour began with a stop at Muskegon High School to learn about current and future pre-college programs in teaching and osteopathic medicine. 

(23:24) - Next was a stop in Rockford to view PFAS remediation sites. MSU’s Center for PFAS Research, formed in 2020, is an interdisciplinary center that leads agricultural and natural resource PFAS research in Michigan and works with communities to create remediation strategies. 

(26:08) - Next, the Spartan Bus Tour headed to MSU’s Grand Rapids Innovation Park that anchors the “Medical Mile” in Grand Rapids. It includes the MSU Grand Rapids Research Center, Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building and Perrigo’s North American corporate headquarters. MSU’s College of Human Medicine has roots here as well, located in the nearby Secchia Center. 

Then it was off to visit Herman Miller, a subsidiary of MillerKnoll that produces office furniture, equipment and home furnishings.

(28:07) - As our extraordinary driver, Tina Martin from Dean Trailways, began taking us to Hickory Corners and a visit to the Kellogg Biological Station, KBS interim director Jeff Conner hopped on the bus to prepare us for our visit to this MSU jewel. The W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, or KBS, is MSU’s largest off-campus education complex and one of North America’s premier inland field stations. 

...

Katie Sullivan has type 1 diabetes and uses an insulin pump. She is also a health care professional. During the last daylight saving time, or DST, change, she accidentally shifted the settings on her pump from a.m. to p.m. and received an incorrect dose of insulin, which caused an unexpected increase in her blood glucose level.

Sullivan developed hyperglycemia because she was not getting enough insulin during the day. Fortunately, she caught the error before going to bed, when the altered insulin dose could have had damaging effects.

Sullivan, a nurse practitioner at the Michigan State University Health Care Endocrinology Clinic, shared her experience with colleagues Saleh Aldasouqi, professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the MSU College of Human Medicine who also practices at MSU Health Care, and Howard Teitelbaum, professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Together, they authored an article on the difficulties of DST, which was published in Clinical Diabetes, a journal of the American Diabetes Association.

Conversation Highlights:

(0:54) – Katie introduces herself.

(1:24) – Saleh introduces himself.

(2:20) – What’s potentially dangerous about daylight saving time and insulin pumps?

(4:54) – Katie, talk about how you discovered this issue.

(6:37) – What can happen to a diabetic who doesn’t have the correct time set on their pump?

(9:30) – What should people who use insulin pumps be careful of?

(11:59) – How many people in the country use insulin pumps?

Listen to “MSU Today with Russ White” on the radio and through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.