At Tuesday’s State of the University address, President Lou Anna K. Simon showcased the work the university has done during the past 160 years — including the past year’s projects like MSU Neighborhoods initiative, the healthy campus initiative and the increased focus on student success.
On Tuesday afternoon, Wharton Center played host to MSU’s annual Awards Convocation, which recognized 10 faculty members for their contributions to education and research with William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Awards.
Simon also used the opportunity to acknowledge MSU Founders’ Day in part of her speech.
“That assures that we have the power of great language. the power of great ideas, the power of connection,” Simon said. “The way in which we can listen to others and co-create solutions. The way that we can be that place that has the courage to reach out and listen, to be that place that has the courage to find the ideas necessary for this to be the kind of dynamic and inclusive society we’d all like it to be.”
Although Simon recognizes MSU has become a model university throughout the years, she said it’s no time to rest.
“If everybody woke up every day and thought how you can make MSU a little bit better tomorrow than today, if all us got together (and) occasionally had those conversations where we said ‘Where’s that thing around the curve? Where’s that really big idea I’m going to be a part of?’” Simon said. “Because when people know us through one part of us, they know all of us. And that’s the power of having a half-million Spartans around the world. That’s the power of Michigan State.”
But while there are still improvements to be made, those honored Tuesday are made examples for the research and work they’ve done, truly embodying the phrase “Spartans Will,” Simon said.
“It’s a real privilege for me to be a part of this University for so long, to watch it grow and develop,” Simon said. “And I have a list of things I know it can be better at. Because I’m never satisfied ... If I’m satisfied, then we’re not going to be as great as we would be in the future. And that university that society would create, won’t be us and that would be a tragedy.”
