What Spartans make possible with uncommon will

One hundred and seventy years ago, Michigan State University revolutionized higher education by making it accessible to everyday people. Since then, Spartans everywhere have used their uncommon will to shape a far better world, elevating MSU to become a top global public research university and a beacon of excellence in Michigan and beyond. The future is counting on Spartans now, too.

Spartans and friends are invited to join the journey as MSU launches its most ambitious fundraising campaign to date, dedicated to advancing the ambitions the university has set to realize Spartans’ vast potential. MSU’s momentum to address the greatest challenges of today has not waned. With $1 billion raised so far from more than 120,000 donors, the university is positioned to make big things happen here on campus and accelerate positive change throughout the world in the years ahead.

In the words of MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., these initiatives will lead MSU toward its “true north,” driving the institution forward. With the comprehensive campaign slogan “Uncommon Will, Far Better World” to spur Spartans on, MSU turns its focus to the following three key ambitions.

Talent Activated: $2 billion for student scholarships and programmatic support

Ensuring strong backing for student success and programs is critical to advancing MSU’s commitment to attracting talent. “Michigan State University is unique in its ability to have a high acceptance rate along with a high graduation rate. This means that individuals throughout our campus actively collaborate to maximize our resources to promote student success,” says Dave Weatherspoon, vice provost of Enrollment and Academic Strategic Planning.

At MSU, many elements interact to make that goal — activating individual talent — happen, including in the recruitment and admissions process, during onboarding and registration, by reducing administrative barriers, and through providing timely student-focused solutions and financial assistance. These functions continually enhance MSU’s programs to support student achievement and institutional excellence, meeting students where they are. Beyond scholarships, the university is seeking private support for programs to transform the student experience and solidify MSU as the premier talent activator for Michigan and beyond. With a total 93% placement rate of bachelor’s degree graduates within six months of graduation and 64% of recent MSU graduates launching their careers in Michigan, MSU has already laid the groundwork to help Spartans address society’s greatest challenges.

MSU also invests in increasing its prominence in a competitive higher education space through supporting high-performing students with a transformative experience. The MSU Honors College provides “unique academic flexibility and freedom for students to pursue truly personalized programs of study,” says Glenn Chambers, interim dean of the Honors College, which is among the oldest in the nation. In August 2025, the grand reopening of Campbell Hall will mark a new chapter in that history. In the past decade, the Honors College has increased in size by nearly 30%, prompting capital investment to accommodate the growth. “The newly renovated space will cultivate a robust living-learning community for students,” adds Chambers, “providing additional opportunities for intellectual engagement and community development.” Scholarships, like the recently announced Joseph R. and Sarah L. Williams Scholarship, help to level the playing field by reducing financial barriers for top students. And there are many more that award qualifying candidates with the resources they need to learn, thrive and graduate.

Synergies Imagined: $1 billion for research and endowed professorships

In many areas, MSU thinks big about all it can accomplish, from health care to mobility to recruiting top faculty, making targeted investments to drive innovation. The grand challenges of our time won't be solved in silos and demand a cross-disciplinary approach — something MSU has done since day one. Take the fight against cancer, in which MSU historically has played an instrumental part by developing one of the most important cancer-fighting drugs in the world, cisplatin, in the mid-1960s. Today, many colleges at MSU play a role in that fight. Bundling their energies, the College of Osteopathic Medicine, the College of Human Medicine, the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Natural Science, Communication Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Music all have initiatives targeting cancer. From achieving breakthrough moments in therapy, managing pain and stress and delivering the profound healing power of music, this united effort demonstrates an incredible synergy.

Leaning into collaborative research, the new transdisciplinary initiative One Team, One Health provides an opportunity to create a unique institute of biomedical research, bringing multiple campus units together with medical and industry partners. “Cancer therapies should focus on the whole person,” say Kim Dodd and Joyce deJong, deans of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine, respectively. “It requires that we work together, leveraging our expertise and perspectives, to come up with novel, sustainable and impactful solutions.”

MSU's 5,200-acre campus is a live, connected ecosystem across 8.1 square miles of contiguous urban, suburban, industrial and rural zones. Photo by Michigan State University

In addition, MSU envisions one College of Medicine, a shared structure for the colleges of Human Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine. While continuing MSU’s trajectory in attracting top-tier medical students and faculty, the combined college would grow MSU’s impact while maintaining the identities and strengths of each medical degree. Under the banner of One Team, One Health, MSU’s health sciences strategy positions the university as a model for addressing complex health challenges through integration and collaboration.

Few things function as a metaphor for synergy like the connected network of a mobility ecosystem. With eight MSU colleges involved in mobility research and a campus that lends itself perfectly for the study of how people, vehicles and infrastructure interact, MSU is shaping the future of mobility firsthand. It’s also telling that MSU has been officially selected as a featured mobility testing asset by the state of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, a testament to the university’s continued efforts to drive the future of mobility. More than 50 researchers lead the charge in improving how autonomous and electric vehicles can solve various 21st-century challenges — from societal issues to safety and efficiency — and develop next-generation mobility technologies.

An institutional success that’s now in its 10th year, the Global Impact Initiative enters a second phase under Guskiewicz. Its aim to add 20 faculty positions spanning seven of MSU’s 17 degree-granting colleges by 2030 will “meet and exceed the goals of the MSU 2030 Strategic Plan,” says Doug Gage, vice president for Research and Innovation. “This renewed initiative will attract the best and brightest to MSU and complement our outstanding faculty as we strive for continued excellence.” The strategic plan's goal of reaching $1 billion in annual research expenditures by 2030 will be supported by recruiting for faculty positions in disciplines such as advanced physical science, precision health, plant resilience, autonomous vehicles and other fields.

Futures Built: $1 billion for capital projects and new programs

Activating talent, imagining synergies and more — all the work that furthers the mission of MSU — would be difficult to carry out without physical places and spaces where Spartans can come together to make it happen. Strategic support for capital projects and new programs is key to achieving MSU’s goals.

“The future of our state and the world begins here — on a campus designed for discovery, innovation and impact,” says MSU Board of Trustees Chair Kelly Tebay. “We must ensure that MSU remains at the forefront of education and research, preparing Spartans to seize the opportunities of tomorrow — whatever they may be. And building futures doesn’t just take vision; it takes all of us working together.”

The new Engineering and Digital Innovation Center will be one of those places on campus dedicated to creating capacity for more discovery and innovation. It will gather under one roof learning, teaching and research in fields like engineering, advanced manufacturing, materials science, computational and data science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and communications — directly supporting Michigan’s economic development efforts. Construction to break ground on the facility is slated for spring 2025.

Architectural rendering of the southwest facade of the Plant and Environmental Sciences Building. Rendering created by CannonDesign

The future Plant and Environmental Sciences Building also will bring together collaborative spaces with laboratories and facilities to support top researchers and students in plant and environmental sciences, ecology and regenerative agriculture. Construction at the heart of campus has begun and will include the demolition and adaptive reuse of the nearby Plant Biology Building.

Entering its second phase of renovations, the top-ranked School of Packaging — the first of its kind in the United States and the largest packaging program in the country — aims to attract additional faculty and graduate students in critical areas and expand industry partnerships. With its first phase completed in April 2023, following a fundraising campaign of more than $10 million, the remaining facility expansion plans will double the size of the building and significantly increase research capacity to the tune of $25 million.

Meanwhile, another first is taking shape in animal therapeutics. At the Veterinary Medical Center, a new state-of-the-art MRI system will place MSU at the forefront of clinical imaging. “The Philips MR 7700 is the first that Philips will have installed in a veterinary setting,” says Rebecca Linton, who manages the hospital’s radiology service. The tool will allow the hospital to take superior images of patients — from mice to wild cats to horses — and help maximize patient care and foster further innovation within veterinary medicine.

MSU’s bold vision for the future is fueled by the generosity and dedication of Spartans everywhere. “This campaign will propel Michigan State University to greater heights,” says Kim Tobin, vice president for University Advancement. “More, it will enable Spartans to do what they do best: leveraging their uncommon will to achieve impact for the common good — ultimately creating a far better world for us all.”