Cross Cutting Themes

As the state’s leading talent activator, and a major talent attractor, Michigan State University must play a leading role in growing Michigan’s skilled workforce for the future. To grow the pipeline, we will build on our national leadership position in advancing access and persistence while also strengthening connections between an MSU education and employment opportunities in high-demand fields across the state and nation. By investing in areas of research strength and focusing on opportunities for partnership, we’ll attract new top research talent in key areas. Our comprehensive approach to growing talent broadly advances opportunity, excellence, innovation and impact in Michigan and beyond.

Michigan State is uniquely positioned to lead the future of medical education and health research through integration and collaboration. With a “One Team, One Health” vision, MSU is creating a university-wide platform connecting human, animal and environmental health that delivers actionable solutions in Michigan and beyond and champions cross-college collaboration to advance a unified approach to health. Through the creation of forward-thinking medical education and research programs in the coming years, we will address health care workforce shortages in both Michigan and the nation — and equip the next generation of providers to meet society’s unmet and evolving needs.

Michigan State will develop a comprehensive enrollment, aid and tuition strategy that ensures continued national leadership in providing access to a high-quality residential undergraduate education while also building on academic strengths to grow enrollment beyond undergraduate programs. This will include expanding existing graduate programs where there is unmet demand and creating new degree programs to meet student and employer needs in Michigan and nationwide. We will also identify ways to grow continuing education and nondegree offerings for learners seeking targeted skill building and professional development. In the graduate and nondegree space, we will extend beyond in-person modalities to build MSU’s online and hybrid capabilities to meet students where they are.

At Michigan State, we strive to create an inclusive community where all feel welcomed, safe and valued. This is work we do together — every community member, every day — and it supports the success of students, staff and faculty alike. From work to assess and improve culture to an institutional commitment to ethics, from investment in spaces for cultural connection and reflection to practicing civil discourse, the university is encouraging and empowering Spartans to come together to learn, grow and connect. This work also expands beyond the boundaries of campus to how we interact and work with surrounding communities and key partners to promote a thriving region.

MSU is committed to effective operations that best steward our limited resources and improve services provided to students, faculty and staff. Through the Operational Excellence initiative, launched in spring 2025 across administrative functions, we will redesign processes, improve use of technology and build the staff skills necessary to be a continuous improvement organization. As part of this effort, an Innovation Lab will reimagine a different set of university services each year, using best practices from across industries.