2015 | Volume 10

Awards and Honors

Michigan State University has earned the 2015 Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. MSU's application was commended for documenting the nature and extent of engagement activities, including the alignment among campus mission, culture, leadership, resources, and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement. It is the second time MSU has earned the important designation. In 2006 MSU was one of the first universities to receive the distinction as a "community-engaged university." The New England Resource Center for Higher Education serves as the Foundation's administrative partner for managing and administering the Community Engagement Classification process. The current classification expires in 2025, and reclassification will again be available prior to that time by providing evidence of how MSU community engagement has become deeper, more pervasive, better integrated, and sustained.

The Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement received several awards at MSU's Department of Student Life Leadership Awards ceremony in April:

  • Alternative Spartan Breaks was awarded both the Outstanding Service Organization Award and the Civic Responsibility Program Award. Tina Houghton is the program's advisor.
  • YouVote, a collaborative effort of CSLCE, the MSU Community Liaison's Office, the Associated Students of MSU, and the City of East Lansing, was given the Silver Civic Responsibility Award. Marc Hunsaker and K. C. Keyton are the YouVote coordinators.
  • Adam Kogelschatz, student president of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, was given the Silver Leader of the Year Award. Christie Schichtel is the program's advisor.

Mike BrandMike Brand, executive director of MSU's Wharton Center for Performing Arts, was honored at the 2015 Broadway League Conference in New York City with the Samuel J. L'Hommedieu Award, the highest award that can be given to an executive of a performing arts center affiliated with touring Broadway. The award was given for excellence in management and leadership. Brand oversees planning and programming a diverse season of entertainment in four venues: the Cobb Great Hall, Pasant Theatre, MSU Concert Auditorium, and Fairchild Theatre. He has nearly 35 years of performing arts experience as a performer, teacher and presenter. Prior to his appointment at Wharton Center, Brand served as a regional vice president for Clear Channel Entertainment. His performing credits include 16 seasons performing trumpet with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as regular engagements with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. He has also held artist-in-residence contracts with Carleton College and St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Julie CrowgeyJulie Crowgey, event coordinator for University Outreach and Engagement, was named Up-and-Coming Meeting Professional and inducted into the Michigan Meetings + Events magazine's Hall of Fame at its annual awards recognition in May 2015. MSU was also named Best College/University Venue, marking the fourth consecutive year MSU has been recognized with the honor. Awardees are elected by popular vote through the magazine's website. Crowgey organizes and supports planning, logistics and budget details for events with audiences ranging from several to thousands, including the annual MSU Science Festival. She is also the treasurer of the MSU chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and editorial assistant for the Infant Mental Health Journal. She is a member of the Michigan Chapter of Meeting Professionals International and serves as its education director.

Nicole DiMicheleNicole DiMichele, 2015 graduate from the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities who was featured in The Engaged Scholar Magazine, Vol. 9 ("Developing Critical Literacy," p. 18), received the Commitment to Service Award from Michigan Campus Compact. The award recognizes up to two students per member campus in Michigan for either the breadth or depth of their community involvement or service experiences. Only 31 students received the award this year.

Burton BargerstockThe Michigan State University chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (ΦΚΦ) has received recognition from the Society for its outstanding commitment to honor and excellence. The recognition was awarded for academic year 2014-2015. Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Burton A. Bargerstock, director of UOE's National Collaborative for the Study of University Engagement and of its Communication and Information Technology Department, is the ΦΚΦ chapter president for MSU.

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