Module 1: The Engaged Scholar: MSU's Land-Grant Mission - Page 5

The Land-Grant Tradition Today

Michigan State University has held true to its land-grant ideals over the years.

MSU is a university focused on the values of quality, inclusiveness, and connectivity, reframing the values of 1855 to address the challenges of today. The land-grant college of 1855 focused on farming in an agrarian economy. The land-grant university of the 21st century is a university engaged with the myriad problems of society both here in Michigan and around the world.

Adapted from "What It Means To Be A Land-Grant University" by Bill R. Beekman, '89. Beekman is a former senior consultant to MSU's vice president for finance and operations and secretary to the Board of Trustees, executive assistant to the president, and consultant to MSU's vice president. MSU Alumni Magazine 2005 S-150.

Example of MSU Students' Engagement Project

MSU Undergraduate Course WRA 135: Public Life in America

This course unites intellectual content, writing instruction and community-based service-learning. Some of the projects students have worked on include:

  • Writing a brochure for the Refugee Development Center in Lansing
  • Writing a newsletter for a local racehorse rescue organization
  • Researching and writing policy briefs on issues involving health, the environment, technology, and social policy
  • Compiling the briefs mentioned above into a handbook called Generation Y Speaks Out: Public Policy Perspectives through Service-Learning
  • Presenting the handbook Generation Y Speaks Out: Public Policy Perspectives through Service-Learning to Michigan legislators in a public forum