MSU Today with Russ White

State of the State is the monthly round up of policy and research for the state of Michigan from Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR). Matt Grossmann and Arnold Weinfeld from IPPSR are joined by economist Charley Ballard to discuss the latest in politics and the economy. 

Gongwer News Service President for Michigan Operations Zach Gorchow joins the group to assess the homestretch of the 2024 general election.

Conversation Highlights:

(1:08) – How is the economy doing? And what about the massive federal debt?

(4:15) – What do you expect to happen with the expiring Trump tax cuts next year?

(6:05) – We don’t seem to be hearing as much about taxes this election season. And what do you make of Trump’s tariff proposals?

(10:57) – How is the race for the Senate and House looking nationally?

(13:17) – How is the election looking in Michigan?

(17:58) – Where are the candidates who can garner some crossover votes?

(21:00) – What does your crystal ball tell you about some of the close races in Traverse City and Marquette?

(26:35) – What about the Congressional races to succeed Elissa Slotkin and Dale Kildee?

(32:31) – How do you see the Slotkin/Rogers Senate race shaping up?

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

Tom Izzo is entering his 30th year as head coach of the Spartans men’s basketball team. On October 17, he addressed the media and student journalists to preview the 2024/25 season and talk about the state of college basketball.

Conversation Highlights:

(0:00) – Opening comments. Reflections on trip to Tom’s alma mater Northern Michigan University.

(4:48) – Are you looking back or forward as you begin your 30th year as head coach? What’s the balance?

(7:12) – How is leadership developing on the team?

(8:52) – How are roles developing on the team?

(10:23) – How will conference realignment impact basketball. And are you OK with football being the king in most athletic departments?

(14:12) – How is Jase Richardson progressing?

(16:49) – Is anyone on the roster developing into your go-to scorer in crunch time?

(18:42) – Do you have a starting line-up in mind yet?

(20:43) – More on leadership development.

(22:10) – What keeps your engine driving for you?

(24:45) – Talk about Frankie Fidler’s game.

(26:51) – How do you support your players’ mental health?

(30:55) – Is there anyone on the roster you think might surprise us? Maybe someone underrated?

(32:46) – Talk about turnovers.

(35:03) – Talk about rebounding.

(36:37) – How has the Covid era impacted the game?

(41:14) – Talk about how putting your team together is like putting together a puzzle. 

(43:21) - Talk about Jaxon Kohler’s development.

(44:56) – What’s the update on Gehrig Normand and how is Xavier Booker’s game developing?

(47:56) – How have you changed as a coach over 30 years? 

(49:34) - Do you coach different generations differently?

(53:01) – What qualities do you look for in players you recruit?

(55:47) – Talk about how important former players are to your team. And what do you expect from your current players when they become alumni?

(59:20) – How is Coen Carr’s game developing?

(1:01:38) – Closing remarks.

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 right around the corner and Michigan is going to play 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’re doing that relates to the 2024 Election.

For today’s episode, we are not talking with faculty. Instead, we have guests joining us who are playing active roles in getting out the vote around campus and the greater Lansing community. We are joined Marie Wicks, city clerk of East Lansing, Shawn Turner, general manager of WKAR and Renee Brown, executive director of MSU’s Center for Community Engaged Learning and co-director of MSUvote. Su Webster is co-director of MSUVote and director of Community and Student Relations.

Conversation Highlights:

(1:09) – What is WKAR’s role in the election?

(1:53) – Describe your role as East Lansing city clerk.

(2:32) – Tell us about your roles at MSU.

(4:27) – What is MSUVote?

(5:38) – How is East Lansing engaging residents about voting? And what can you tell us about Michigan’s new voting laws?

(9:40) – What should we know about voting at WKAR this year?

(12:30) – Remind us about registering and voting in precincts across the state.

(13:59) – Are there any MSUVote events coming up?

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 right around the corner and Michigan is going to play 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’re doing that relates to the 2024 Election.

Monique Mitchell Turner is a professor and chair of the MSU Department of Communication. She studies the role that emotion plays in persuasion. She has been researching anger since the 1990s, with emphasis on whether appeals to anger can work for politicians and activists and how it affects what we think and pay attention to. 

Conversation Highlights:

(0:57) – What’s your background, and what attracted you to the deanship of the Department of Communication?

(2:35) – What’s the history and mission of the Department of Communication?

(4:13) – What are your research interests?

(5:42) – Talk about the dominant force that anger can be in driving judgments and decision making, particularly as it relates to the election.

(8:40) – Candidates for office understand that fear and anger can motivate voters, right?

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

Eric Hegg is the new dean of Michigan State University’s College of Natural Science.

Hegg talks about his background and career at MSU, and he describes research and curriculum strengths of the college. He tells why he wants to be dean and shares some short- and long-term goals for the college. He discusses how the natural sciences can play a role in better outcomes for society’s problems, and he talks about challenges and opportunities ahead for higher education.

Conversation Highlights:

(0:18) – What’s your background, and how long have you been at MSU?

(0:53) – Talk about some of the research and curriculum strengths of the college.

(4:01) – Why do you want to be dean of the college?

(8:31) – What are some of your short- and long-term goals for the college?

(12:32) – How can the natural sciences help solve some of society’s problems?

(14:46) – What are some of the challenges and opportunities ahead for the college, MSU and higher education?

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

As the 2024 recipient of the Betty Jean Jones Award, Ann Folino White, associate professor of theatre studies at Michigan State University, joins the ranks of a select group of scholars honored by this prestigious national award for excellence in teaching and mentorship in theatre.

Presented by the American Theatre and Drama Society, or ATDS, an international body of scholars dedicated to the study of theatre, performance, and drama across the Americas, the Betty Jean Jones Award signifies the profound influence Folino White has made on her students, colleagues, and the broader academic and theatre communities.

The honor is more than just a recognition of her accomplishments – it is a validation of her lifelong commitment to inclusivity, impactful mentorship, and the study of theatre.

Conversation Highlights:

(1:05) - Congratulations! Tell us about ATDS and this award. 

(2:29) – Tell us about your background and Spartan pedigree.

(3:50) - Your work is distinguished by your commitment to dismantling the narratives that have long dominated theatre education. Why and how did you overhaul the theatre curriculum?

(8:08) - You’re based in the Theatre Department, but you’re involved all over campus. Talk about your role as chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on Disabilities Issues at MSU and the cool progress at Spartan Stadium you played a role in.

(11:48) - Why do you love teaching and mentoring and promoting curiosity and collaboration?

(14:59) - Talk about the book you’re working on about Actors’ Equity Association, the union that represents professional actors in the United States. What is Actors’ Equity and how does the book explore acting as work and unionized labor, a concept you believe is often misunderstood and ignored.

(19:42) - How have you seen students change over the 15+ years you’ve been teaching at MSU?

(22:11) - What challenges and opportunities await your students in whatever field the enter, and what are those facing current actors around the world?

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 right around the corner and Michigan is going to play 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’re doing that relates to the 2024 Election.

Mark Brandt is an associate professor in the MSU Department of Psychology. He is a social and personality psychologist. He leads the Belief Systems Lab to understand ideological and moral beliefs and why people adopt the belief systems they hold. 

Elizabeth Dorrance Hall is an associate professor of communication and director of the MSU Family Communication and Relationships Lab. Her research focuses on communication processes in close relationships, especially in the context of family.

Conversation Highlights:

(1:10) – Describe your backgrounds. How long have you been at MSU, and what attracted you here?

(2:33) – Most Americans don’t follow politics that closely, but that can change with an election on the way. What are the implications?

(3:45) – Why are so many people reluctant to change their mind when presented with new information?

(6:00) - Political conversations with family members can be tricky at best and disastrous at worst. What are some of your tips for successfully navigating these conversations?

(8:04) – Tell me more about the mission of the Family Communication and Relationships Lab.

(8:40) – Tell me more about the mission of the Belief Systems Lab.

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

In 2026, Michigan State University will play a major role in one of the biggest sporting events in the world by teaming up with The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA.  

The FIFA World Cup 26 tournament will be held from June 8 to July 3. MSU will be supplying the turfgrass that will be installed in 16 cities spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico (involving different climates and elevations) for 104 game play matches. 

For over 70 years, MSU’s world-renowned turfgrass program, housed in MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, has been a leader in turfgrass research. The portable turfgrass system that John “Trey” Rogers, professor of turfgrass research at MSU, and his team developed for the 1994 World Cup games proved that turfgrass could be grown indoors and be installed and removed from a venue. This system has become the industry standard for using turfgrass in stadiums across the country and around the world. 

Rogers is partnering with John Sorochan, a Distinguished Professor of Turfgrass Science and Management at the University of Tennessee. Sorochan was a graduate student of Rogers’ and worked on the World Cup project in 1994. Now, Rogers and Sorochan are co-principal investigators for the 2026 competition. 

Conversation Highlights:

(0:59) – Trey, how long have you been at MSU, and what first attracted you here?

(1:32) – John, what first attracted you to MSU?

(1:59) – Talk about the history and evolving mission of MSU’s turfgrass program.

(3:40) – What makes MSU’s turfgrass program so good, and what are some of the program’s research strengths?

(7:55) – Talk about the 2026 project and how it compares to the 1994 project.

(13:32) – What are some of the challenges in growing grass in these different regions of North America?

(15:50) – What happens between now and 2026?

(18:09) – The students working on the project are getting an incredible experience.

(20:40) – What are some of the ways you test the grass? What is the fLEX?

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 right around the corner and Michigan is going to play 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’re doing that relates to the 2024 Election.

For this episode, my guests are Richard Sadler, associate professor in the Departments of Public Health and Family Medicine at the College of Human Medicine and Thomas (Wally) Wojciechowski, assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice at the College of Social Science. Together, they discuss their recent research on Michigan’s voter purge rates and patterns and the impact on different communities.

Conversation Highlights:

(1:01) – Describe your roles at MSU.

(2:21) - How did you get connected and involved together on this project, especially your connections to public health and justice?

(3:25) - What is voting purging, and why is it a process that must be discussed? 

(4:21) - What are forms of voting purging?

(5:54) - Discuss the process and provide an overview of the research method.

(8:43) - How does voting purging disproportionality target minority and lower income communities? 

(10:14) - How do you strike the balance between updating voter rolls and not targeting minority communities?

(12:10) - What further research and actions do you recommend to states and elections officials to increase voter access?

(13:59) – Are you planning to update your work with more recent data?

(17:17) – What about the connection between voting purging and public health?

(20:31) – What recommendations do you have to improve the process?

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

The investiture of Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D. was held on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in the Cobb Great Hall at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts.

Presidential investitures are typically held in a leader’s first year in office to publicly and formally “vest” them with the authority of the office and acknowledge, introduce and celebrate the new leader. Investitures also represent continuity, connecting universities’ present with their past and allowing new leaders an opportunity to express their vision for the institution’s future.

President Guskiewicz elaborates on topics he discussed and initiatives he announced during his address. 

Conversation Highlights:

(0:20) – Welcome back to MSU Today, President Guskiewicz. How was the investiture?

(1:46) – Reflect on your almost seven months leading MSU. Has anything surprised you?

(2:57) – What are the main themes you wanted to present in your address?

(4:55) – What are some “true north” ways to make MSU the state university for the future?

(6:13) – What do you mean by “proudly inclusive talent activator?”

(7:30) – MSU is educating students for jobs that don’t exist yet.

(8:38) – You reaffirmed MSU’s commitment to DEI.

(9:46) – Why do you love fundraising, and why is it important for MSU’s future?

(10:55) – What’s the importance of “one team?”

(11:48) – “We’re a humble university that needs to toot its own horn more.”

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