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May 2021Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic AfairsCONGRATULATORY LETTERCongratulations to you and your families onthe successful completion of your studies andthe conferral of your degrees.As Michigan State University students, youhave been part of our vibrant community ofscholars, united by the values and goals weshare to make a positive diference in theworld. While you are now preparing to embarkon your next adventure, it is my hope that youremain active members of our community,that you engage with our worldwide alumninetwork, and that you come back often tovisit campus in the years to come. In much thesame way that you are all lifelong learners, youare also lifelong Spartans.At this time, and at this great university, whereyour physical health and intellectual healthhave formed the basis for every decisionMSU has made this academic year, we hopeour deliberate actions to enable your abilityto graduate this year have allowed you tocontinue on the path toward whatever excitingfuture follows this auspicious day. We alsohope that the resilience you have built and theways you have navigated decisions that werenot your own become strengths of characteryou carry with you long into the future. Iknow the world is going to need you, and Ilook forward to learning of your extraordinaryachievements and world-changingaccomplishments.As you and your families celebrate yoursuccess at Michigan State University, I wish youthe very best in your personal and professionalpursuits. As our newest graduates, you areabundantly equipped to tackle the seeminglyintractable problems of our day. We are allcounting on you to become the thoughtleaders and doers of the 21st century!With my very best wishes for your onwardjourney,Teresa K. Woodruf, Ph.D.Provost and Executive Vice President forAcademic AfairsMichigan State University9COMMENCEMENT SPRING 2021DEAR GRADUATES:

May 2021Executive Vice President for Health SciencesCONGRATULATORY LETTERDEAR FRIENDS:Congratulation health college graduates!Today represents a truly special day. Inmaking it to today, you dug deep when youfelt you had little left to give. You kept thefaith in the presence of enormous obstacles.You invariably got back up after being knockeddown. You worked while others played. Takea moment, and realize the magnitude of whattoday represents. Today, we celebrate with youand for you.For family and friends of our graduates, thankyou in partnering with us; it is an immeasurablejoy seeing potential, commitment, and drivecome together to accomplish the goal ofattaining a degree. You have encouraged,hoped, and hugged to help our graduatesreach their goal. Your eforts will make adiference in the lives of many .manifest in thework that your graduate will provide for thosein need.For the faculty and the staf, accept my deepgratitude observing that your eforts haveresulted in graduating a truly extraordinarygroup of individuals. Our graduates are wellprepared, they care deeply, they will make adiference in the lives of many.COMMENCEMENT SPRING 202110Graduates, you have transformed your hopesand dreams into an extraordinary achievement.Your best has brought you to this day. Youjoin the Spartan community of those preparedand committed to serving others. Therewill be times where the challenges seeminsurmountable. Know that we are here tosupport you in your journey forward. Asa two-time Spartan graduate, I have beenstrengthened throughout my career by theMSU values, insights, friends and mentorsI attained. Know that we are always here.Together, everything is possible.Peace and Grace to All of You.Norman J. Beauchamp, MD MHSExecutive Vice President for Health SciencesMichigan State University

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITYFrom its beginnings on the site where BeaumontTower now stands, the East Lansing campus hasgrown from 677 to 5,200 acres, and from threeto 545 buildings. Today, nearly 20,000 acres areused throughout Michigan for agricultural andnatural resources research and for education.MSU has more than 50,000 students from all83 counties in Michigan, all 50 states, and morethan 130 other countries. There are more thanone-half million Spartan alumni living aroundthe globe.Since its agricultural beginnings, MSU has grownto 17 degree-granting colleges ofering morethan 200 programs of study, including graduateand graduate professional education. TheHonors College attracts academically talentedscholars and enables these students to pursueindividualized, enriched programs of study.Research and other grants total nearly 600million in 2014–15. The top federal fundingagencies include the U.S. Department of Energy(DOE), the National Science Foundation, the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, U.S.Agency for International Development, the U.S.Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Departmentof Education, and the U.S. Department ofDefense. Other externally funded researchprograms include the MSU–U.S. DOE, PlantResearch Laboratory, the Center for AdvancingMicrobial Risk Assessment, the Great LakesBioenergy Research Center, the Energy andAutomotive Research Laboratory Centers,the Composite Vehicle Research Center, theU.S.–China Center for Research on EducationalExcellence, the Center for Advanced Study ofInternational Development, and the Center forInternational Business Education and Research.The National Superconducting CyclotronLaboratory is the premier rare isotope researchfacility in the nation. In December 2008, theU.S. DOE selected MSU to design and establishthe Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB).The proposed 730 million facility will bringtogether an international community ofleading scientists. Their work will help unlockthe mysteries of the universe and promotebreakthrough applications for medicine,security, and industry.MSU Extension reaches into all 83 counties inMichigan to provide practical, university-basedknowledge. The AgBioResearch encompassesthe research of more than 300 scientists in anetwork of 13 research centers across the state.Their work ranges from agricultural production,alternative energy and biofuel production,food safety and environmental stewardship tochildhood obesity, community development, andthe quality of life of Michigan youth and families.University Outreach and Engagement connectsfaculty with external audiences and constituenciesto address community issues through researchand collaboration. MSU Global extends academicand professional degree and certifcate programsto of-campus learners.MSU is a national leader in education abroadamong U.S. public universities with more than275 programs on all continents in more than 60countries. Nearly 3,000 MSU students participatein education abroad each year.Michigan State University is a memberof the Association of American Universities,the Association of Public and Land-grantUniversities, the American Council on Education,the American Council of Learned Societies, theCouncil of Graduate Schools, and the Big TenAcademic Alliance (formerly the Committeeon Institutional Cooperation).11COMMENCEMENT SPRING 2021Michigan State University, founded in 1855, isa leader in realizing the ideal of democratizingeducation and knowledge. Ofcially named theAgricultural College of the State of Michigan,it became the model for all land-grantinstitutions established by the Morrill Act,passed by Congress in 1862. The research andknowledge developed at land-grant institutionsprovides practical solutions that make adiference in the lives of individuals and incommunities. Now, as a major public researchuniversity with global reach, Michigan StateUniversity continues this tradition with itscommitment to advancing knowledge andtransforming lives across the state, the region,and around the world.

CEREMONY LYRICSTHE STAR SPANGLED BANNERO, say, can you seeby the dawn’s early light,What so proudly we hailedat the twilight’s last gleaming,Whose broad stripes and bright stars,through the perilous fght,O’er the ramparts we watched,were so gallantly streaming?And the rockets’ red glare,the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof through the nightthat our fag was still there.O, say, does thatstar-spangled banner yet wave,O’er the land of the free,and the home of the brave.AMERICA THE BEAUTIFULO beautiful for spacious skies,For amber waves of grain,For purple mountain majestiesAbove the fruited plain!America! America!God shed his grace on theeAnd crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea!When from these scenes we wander,and twilight shadows fade,Our mem’ry still will linger,where light and shadows played;In the evening oft we’ll gather,and pledge our faith anew,Sing our love for Alma Mater,and thy praises, MSU.MSU FIGHT SONG**On the banks of the Red Cedar,is a school that’s known to all;Its specialty is winning,and those Spartans play good ball;Spartan teams are never beaten,all through the game they fght;Fight for the only colors,Green and White.Go right thru’ for MSU,watch the points keep growing.Spartan teams are bound to win,they’re fghting with a vim.RAH! RAH! RAH!See their team is weakening,we’re going to win this game.Fight! Fight! Rah! Team, Fight!Victory for MSU.ALMA MATER*M.S.U., We love thy shadows,when twilight silence falls,Flushing deep and softly paling,o’er ivy-covered halls.Beneath the pines we’ll gather,to give our faith so true,Sing our love for Alma Mater,and thy praises, M.S.U.COMMENCEMENT SPRING 202112*The lyrics of Alma Mater were written by Bernard Traynor (MSC Athletic Department, 1925–1927). The melody isbased on Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. It was not until March 30, 1949, after a vote by the students, that thepopular song on campus known as the MSU Shadows was fnally adopted as the ofcial Alma Mater.**Lyrics by Francis Irvin Lankey (MSU Engineering, 1916).

UNIVERSITY MACEHistorically, the mace is a symbol of authoritydating from medieval times when knights carriedthem during processions with their kings. As thetradition grew, the mace became a ceremonialsymbol of peaceful leadership, and maces wereembellished with jewels and metals. Today, auniversity’s mace is carried before the presidentor chancellor and platform-party dignitaries atcommencement, inaugural, and other academicceremonial processions.The Michigan State University mace, 42 inchesin length, includes important institutionalsymbols in its fnial, crown, and shaft. Thefnial depicts the circular University seal, whichincludes an image of “Old College Hall.” Thisoak-carved seal derives from an 1869 StateBoard of Agriculture (now, Board of Trustees)authorization for a woodcut to be used asthe frontispiece of the college academiccatalog. College Hall, built in 1856, was thefrst instructional building erected in the UnitedStates for the teaching of scientifc agriculture.When it collapsed in 1918, John Beaumont (classof 1882) provided funds to erect BeaumontTower in 1928 at the same location. Thetower stands as a symbol of Michigan State’sbeginnings as the frst land-grant collegededicated to teaching “agriculture and themechanic arts” with a “liberal and practicalcurriculum.”The mace’s crown is trimmed with a maplesamara and acorn pattern carved from walnut,a pattern drawn from the “Michigan StateCollege” limestone relief at the Abbot Roadand other campus entrances. An image ofBeaumont Tower lies in the crown’s oak center.Below the crown is the cylindrical shaft, whosealternating, horizontal oak and walnut bandsdescend to a brass tip. Its oak is purported tobe “Beaumont oak,” that is, from one of theoriginal saplings surrounding College Hall. Itswalnut is from a tree removed to clear landfor the Wharton Center for Performing Artsin 1982.In its soaring verticality, Beaumont Towercontinues to inspire the MSU community andis an appropriate symbol for the MSU mace. AsPresident Robert S. Shaw (1928–1941) statedat the tower’s dedication, it has served as “aunifying factor” to remind us, even throughour individual activities, of the overall missionof Michigan State University to inspire us by“appealing to many of the better things inus” and to encourage us to “live up to higherstandards, scholastically, socially, morally,and spiritually in all of our afairs.”13COMMENCEMENT SPRING 2021Michigan State University is pleased to includethe University mace in commencementceremonies. The introduction of the mace,at the 2005 Founders’ Day celebration andinauguration of MSU’s twentieth president,serves to commemorate the sesquicentennialcelebration. The University, founded in 1855,celebrated its 150th birthday in 2005. Themace was designed by University Relationsand produced by Physical Plant staf.

ACADEMIC ATTIREIn 1895, the Intercollegiate Commission, a groupof leading American educators, introduced anacademic costume code which by design ofgowns and hoods would indicate the variousdegrees, and which by colors would identify thevarious faculties.Three types of gowns are indicated by the code.Those worn by the bachelors have long, pointedsleeves. Those worn by masters have long,closed sleeves with the arc of a circle near thebottom. Doctoral gowns are faced with velvet.The sleeves are full, round, and open with threebars of velvet on each sleeve. The velvet facingof the bars on the sleeves may be black or thesame color as the binding of the hood.COMMENCEMENT SPRING 2021MaizeRussetResidential College inthe Arts and HumanitiesWhiteCollege of Arts and LettersFine ArtsPhilosophyWhiteBrownDark BlueThe Eli BroadCollege of BusinessDrabCollege of CommunicationArts and SciencesJournalismSpeechHoods are made of material identicalwith the gown and are lined in the ofcialacademic color of the institution conferringthe degree (e.g., green and white for MSU).If the institution has more than one color, thechevron is used to introduce the second color.Colored velvet or velveteen binds the hoodsand indicates the department of faculty towhich the degree pertains.College of EducationThe color of the velvet of the hood is distinctiveof the subject to which the degree pertains. Forexample, the trimming for the degree of Masterof Science in Agriculture should be maize,representing agriculture, rather than goldenyellow, representing science. Generally, thecode for the velvet of the hood is the same aslisted for tassels.College of MusicAt Michigan State University, it is customaryto identify the candidates graduating fromthe diferent areas of study by tassels ofthe ofcial color as established by theIntercollegiate Code. Candidates graduatingfrom the Honors College wear a white stolewith the initials “HC.” Candidates graduating“With Honor” or “With High Honor” wear agold braid.14College of Agricultureand Natural ResourcesForestry, PackagingPeacock BlueCrimsonSilver GrayLight BlueCollege of EngineeringOrangeCollege of Human MedicinePublic HealthGreenSalmon PinkJames Madison CollegeCitronCollege of LawPurpleLyman Briggs CollegeCollege of Natural ScienceGolden YellowPinkGolden YellowCollege of NursingCollege of Osteopathic MedicineCollege of Social ScienceEconomicsCollege of Veterinary MedicineApricotGreenCitronCopperDark Gray

BACCALAUREATE DEGREES 25 undergraduate programs ranked in thetop 20 nationally by U.S. News & WorldReport, including six No. 1-ranked programs Places 38th among the 303 U.S. universitiesranked in Washington Monthly’s 2017College Guide and Rankings Times Higher Education of London todayranked MSU #83 in its 2017 World UniversityRankings, an 18-place improvement over2016. This puts MSU in the top 8 percent of1,102 universities assessed around the world. Ranks seventh in the nation for study abroadparticipationPhoto above: "Sparty" standing proud while spring blossoms.GRADUATES / CANDIDATES15

GRADUATES / CANDIDATES16BACCALAUREATE DEGREESHONORSThe University acknowledges candidates forthe bachelor’s degree who will graduate asAcademic Scholars (A), from the Honors College(H), With Honor (*), or With High Honor (**).Academic Scholars completed a two-year honorsprogram including at least four honors-calibercourses. Honors College graduates are academically talented students who have participated inrigorous, highly individualized programs of study,including at least eight honors-caliber courses.Graduation Honors: the current minimumgrade point average for seniors graduatingWith Honor is 3.79 and those graduating WithHigh Honor is 3.94 (which is approximately 20percent of graduating seniors who have earnedthe highest grade point averages). Recognitionof graduation honors in the commencementprogram is based on the grade point average ofall work at MSU completed prior to the openingof the semester of graduation. To be eligible forgraduation honors, transfer students must earna minimum of 50 semester credits at MSU.BOARD OF TRUSTEES AWARDSQuentin J. AbbottRachel C. AlcornTaylor L. ArnoldSarah R. BassettMatthew J. BilletteBrooke L. BogerAngelica P. CabatuChristina E. CarolanMatthew R. CedermanTzu-Ching ChenMatthew R. ChiavettaCaroline H. ChuahMatthew W. ChymyckLauren N. CichockiPaul W. Clancy IIIMatthew P. CorsiNina R. DarwichNoah K. DeanErin E. DebonoEmma F. DesterOlivia N. DinkinsAshley N. DunnWilliam D. EckerleSophia S. EpsteinSarah L. ErnoShelby D. FennAlison P. FererAidan M. FoxRyan G. FreemireKatarina M. GensonKole A. GilbertKelly R. GilbertsonJustin G. GoldieAmanda C. GorrJohn B. GoveSamantha L. GregoireLindsay A. GuareRobert J. GustkeAleah J. HahnMorgan S. HamSimrah N. HamidAlysse A. HanpeterEmily R. HawkerAlexander J. HazeltonNicole M. HeftyKatlyn L. HempIsabel P. HersheyJacob E. HieberNathan R. HollowayAlexander P. HughesMarissa A. ImmelNathan JacksonJacob J. JensenJasmine N. JordanHamza KaakarliErin P. KayeElijah T. KellerGabriella A. KelschBledsoeSavanna K. KnollSamantha R. KowalczykMatthew J. KowalskiLauren E. LancasterJenna R. LargentNicole R. LasichEthan J. LauLauren H. LeeHope L. LewisVirginia Z. LindbergAmanda T. LingAnnika L. LinzmeierEthan J. LochAnthony C. LuongoAnuj A. MalaviaKatherine E. MartinekCharlotte N. MaywormMadison R. McWethyAurora I. MlsnaOlivia R. MobleyMadeleine M. MotlochAnthony L. MrockoAdeline G. NelsonLuke C. NoahMadison J. NoomSpencer NovickAbigail W. OtwellLissa M. PereiraSanabriaSophia A. PerrelliShelby A. PetersenDanielle N. PetrasAmanda N. PiotrowskiMorgan R. PorterChristopher A. ReevesEmma B. RhodesAlexa L. RichardsonJoseph P. RiordanJacob N. RoachRenee E. RogowskiMax D. SandlerMitchell T. SelinMichael R. ShadaXinning ShanAshleigh N. SimmondsMaysa C. SitarElisha M. SmithMadeline T. SmithMatthew R. SmithStephanie P. SowersZachary N. SpodekTaylor M. SpurgeonHessCatrina StephanBrenna C. StotlemeyerHannah E. StriebelBrent W. StrongAbigail R. StrubleCaroline J. SzaboMia A. TavianShane D. TazziaEmily C. TenniswoodRachel N. TevereEllory R. ThillAmanda J. TornoMy N. TranTaylor M. UnrathKathryn E. Van HaarenChloe J. VanSickleMary C. VondraChristina T. VuAndrew L. WaackBenjamin

land-grant university. On this—and other markers—is a band of alternating samara and acorns derived from maple and oak trees commonly found on campus. This pattern is repeated on the University Mace (see page 13). Inside Cover: Pattern of alternating samara and acorns. Michigan State University photos provided by University Communications.