Saturday, April 18, 2026

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News

MSU

Crunching the Numbers

MSU’s faculty salary and compensation numbers are lacking compared to its peers, raising questions about the university’s ability to recruit and retain talented faculty.

NEWS

Federal health exchange site raises questions

On Monday at midnight, officials were set to unveil the federal health insurance marketplace portion of the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, despite threats of a federal government shutdown that loomed throughout the week. Roughly 95 percent of MSU students report they already have health insurance, likely because of the ACA provision allowing them to stay on their parents’ plan until age 26, said Kathi Braunlich, communications manager for MSU Student Health Services.

MICHIGAN

Jury selection complete in McCowan trial

Witnesses are set to begin their testimonies Tuesday morning in the trial of Okemos resident Connor McCowan, who is accused of fatally stabbing MSU student Andrew Singler earlier this year. Jury selection concluded late Monday afternoon for the trial, which Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Clinton Canady III said could last up to two weeks.

MICHIGAN

Face time: East Lansing City Council candidate Ruth Beier

The East Lansing City Council will have new faces come the Nov. 5 election, and MSU alumna Ruth Beier thinks her economics background and financial know-how make her a good fit for the job. Beier, an economist for the Michigan Education Association and member of the city’s Downtown Development Authority, is running for one of two available four-year city council terms soon to be vacated by incumbents Kevin Beard and Vic Loomis. Beier sat down with The State News and answered questions about her candidacy.

MICHIGAN

Professor studies LGBT college experience

The experiences of students in MSU’s LGBTQ community are the subject of the latest phase in a study conducted by higher, adult and lifelong education professor Kristen Renn. Entitled the National Survey of LGBTQ Student Success, the study aims to examine the lives of LGBTQ students during their first year at university.

MSU

MSU plans eco-friendly events for Campus Sustainability Month

October is Campus Sustainability Month, and to celebrate, the Office of Campus Sustainability is planning a number of outreach activities. Activities include walking tours of the campus, student organic farm and Bailey GREENhouse, composting presentations, an open house at the MSU Recycling Center and craft workshops featuring recycled material from the MSU Surplus Store.

MSU

Campaign to bolster MSU running into problems

The mystery behind the “WTF MSU” campaign” that has been puzzling students for the past week was solved Friday after ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, announced its involvement after allegations of vandalism on campus.

MSU

Packaging students design winning whiskey bottle

Winning an in-house glass design competition has helped some MSU packaging students make industry connections and get a head start on their careers. The winning group of four MSU students beat out 70 other designs in a glass bottle design competition sponsored by the Glass Packaging Institute. Their design is a clear, 750 ml glass bottle with a pentagon body and a star-shaped shoulder that carries up around the bottle neck.

MSU

Beal Botanical Garden reaches 140th anniversary

“Keep squinting.” This was the motto of the late professor William Beal, who created the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden in 1873 as a way to get his students out of the lecture hall and into the natural world. “To him, the garden was a living laboratory,” garden curator and plant biology professor Frank Telewski said. “He wanted his students to be keen observers of their environment. He’d say, ‘Tell me what you see,’ over and over, and as the students gave answers, he kept pushing them. He just told them to keep squinting.” The Beal Garden turned 140 this year, and the garden’s history was honored Saturday with a small anniversary celebration featuring guided tours and cider and doughnuts.

MICHIGAN

New LGBTQ specialization celebrated by MSU community

Members of MSU’s LGBTQ community convened Friday afternoon in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, or RCAH, to celebrate the approval of MSU’s new specialization. The new specialization in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Sexuality Studies was approved over the summer, allowing students to enroll in the program this fall.

MICHIGAN

Researchers band birds to study effects of exotic plants

Students and faculty from MSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife raced to ?finish a bird catching project this weekend before the end of the season approached. The research project, headed by fisheries and wildlife ?assistant professor Jen Owen, is ?an effort to learn more about the impact of invasive plant species on bird health.

MICHIGAN

Wilder sexual assault case heads to circuit court

After appearing for a preliminary exam during which four alleged sexual assault victims testified, Oswald Scott Wilder Jr. will go to trial at Ingham County Circuit Court on Oct. 9, 54-B District Court Judge Andrea Larkin ruled Friday. Wilder, 26, is accused of initiating a string of sexual assaults that took place near campus earlier this year that occurred between March 30 and and May 16.