http://statenews.com Steve Smith was watching the MSU football team take on Central Michigan on Saturday from his personal luxury box at Spartan Stadium when third-year MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant walked in and began to chat with him. en-us Gryphon 2.2.3b-tsn (woodward)/Foundry5 Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:51:14 -0400 webmaster@statenews.com http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/43705 As Smith, many other Spartan grads give back to improve the University in a variety of aspects, from academic to extra curricular activities. Not all of us have the income that Smith has, but we certainly can find resources, here and there, to give back and make our Alma Mater better. There is a direct correlation between alumni and other donations and the quality of the institutions. Fortunately, MSU has been able to develop that sense of philanthropy among its graduates and friends, but still the history of philanthropy at MSU is not long enough to have a culture of giving back to the University. Times are tough, and so are for students and faculty leaving the University having to allocate limited resources instead of continuing developing early programs. We can make the difference and give MSU the advantage while taking the burden off students and faculty and letting them focus on academics. Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:51:14 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/43705