Message from the Interim Associate Provost

Laurie Van Egeren, Interim Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement

Exciting New Changes Coming to UOE

Dear Engaged Spartans and our partners in Michigan and around the world,

In the last remaining weeks before a new year approaches, we often find ourselves in quiet reflection – recalling great achievements and challenging obstacles, while looking forward to the opportunities a new year brings.

The upcoming year will see a period of transition in leadership in the Office of University Outreach and Engagement (UOE), as we welcome Dr. Kwesi Brookins as associate provost.

I am so appreciative for the opportunity to have served in this position for the past few years, and I'm immensely proud of the work UOE has accomplished. Thanks to the commitment of my dedicated, generous, and brilliant colleagues, we have been able to effectively fulfill the mission of UOE by facilitating engaged scholarship among faculty, staff, students, and community partners.

Some of UOE's notable achievements include:

• Repositioning pre-college programs designed to prepare underrepresented students for post-secondary education, creating the Office of College Access Initiatives.
• Initiating two university-wide advisory councils representing outreach and engagement interests in all academic colleges and public-facing units.
• Identifying and initiating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategies for the community engagement context for the UOE and MSU DEI plans.
• Contributing to national conversations on documenting and evaluating scholarship in promotion and tenure processes in social science, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), science communication, and innovation and entrepreneurship.

Together, we also led the university's COVID-19 response effort for community-based activities, ultimately engaging over 120 representatives from the university and broader community to provide guidance on practice and policies during the pandemic. Additionally, we developed a series of supports for grant development and implementation for the National Science Foundation's broader impacts criteria to integrate social impact into funded projects.

We're proud of the contributions to enhancing university-wide community-engaged work that UOE has advanced during these tumultuous years.

I look forward to continuing my work in UOE and supporting the exciting new opportunities that Dr. Brookins will bring through his extensive experience with community engagement and outreach initiatives. We appreciate all your experience and collaboration as we move forward together.

Laurie Van Egeren,

Interim Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement