Spring Semester 2026 Welcome

Jan. 12, 2026

Dear Faculty and Academic Staff,

Happy 2026! I hope you enjoyed a restorative winter break. It has been wonderful to connect with many of you during fall semester as part of my university-wide listening and learning tour, which continues into spring semester. I am excited to meet more of you in the next few months!

As we begin the new year and semester together, I would like to share a few reminders and updates relevant to faculty and academic staff.

MSU Policies for Faculty and Academic Staff
As I shared in my fall semester welcome message, the Important University Policies for Faculty and Academic Staff document provides information regarding university policies related to teaching, research, and employment at MSU. It is a helpful document pertaining to the ongoing work of faculty and academic staff and a useful resource to reference throughout the academic year.

Thank you for reacquainting yourself with and adhering to the full scope of MSU’s Final Examination Policy. Please note that any deviation from the final examination schedule must be approved by the Office of the Registrar based on the recommendation of the appropriate assistant/associate dean of the college responsible for the course offering.

Academic Calendar and Religious Observance Policy
The Office of the Registrar’s Academic Calendar webpage highlights important dates for staff, faculty, and students enrolled in Full Session courses. Links to the academic calendars for our professional schools may be found in the right-hand navigation of the webpage.

Please be mindful of the university’s Religious Observance Policy and encourage your students to proactively engage with you in making appropriate accommodations if requested.

Syllabus Resources
Creating Your Syllabus: Strategies, Resources, and Best Practices provides a collection of resources from the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation and other contributors on iTeach at MSU Commons. Resources included serve as developmental tools, while highlighting/prompting the creation of a syllabus as a fluid, recursive, and reflective process.

Commemorating Feb. 13
Most classes will not be held, nor will exams or assignments be due, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. The university will remain open and all regular business functions will continue to support students, faculty, staff, and our community.

A commemoration planning committee, made up of students, faculty, and staff and led by the Office for Resource and Support Coordination, began meeting in the fall with the goal of providing appropriate space and time for members of the campus community to honor those we lost, those injured, and all impacted by the violence that occurred three years ago. Plans are underway for a day of service, hosted by University Outreach and Engagement, and supportive resources will be made widely available. Details regarding the plans for the day will be available on Spartans Together later this month.

Below are resources and guidance to help leaders and educators as the commemoration day approaches:

Winter Weather Safety and Resources
Please bookmark the Office of the Executive Vice President’s Winter Weather Safety website, which provides winter safety tips, guidance on navigating weather conditions, and information about operational changes during severe weather events. Changes to university operations are only made under defined circumstances; cold weather, by itself, does not warrant class cancellations or operational changes.

During an emergency, the university may decide to move to modified operations. Modified operations means there is an official temporary suspension or delay of university operations due to severe weather, major utility failure, or other unusual circumstances which may endanger students and/or employees. The Modified Operations Policy webpage provides additional information, including a series of FAQs. You may also wish to review the full Winter Weather Preparedness and Campus Operations email EVPA Vennie Gore and I sent on Dec. 4, 2025.

Undergraduate Learning Goals Project
You should have received a survey email on Jan. 8 from the Undergraduate Learning Goals Project team. This initiative aims to create a set of holistic, integrated learning goals that embody MSU’s identity as a global land-grant institution. These goals will align with the university’s Student Success Strategy and support the State of Michigan’s priorities for degree completion, workforce readiness, and educational equity.

I encourage you to complete the survey. Your insights are critical to ensuring that the revised learning goals reflect the strengths, priorities, and aspirations of our academic community.

General Education Modernization
Progress continues on the initial learning phase of our Modernization of General Education project, which had a productive fall semester. This is a curricular initiative, owned by the faculty and deeply informed by student feedback. The goal of the General Education Council is to develop a modern, innovative, inclusive, and global curriculum, preparing students for future success in careers and jobs that we cannot even imagine today.

Please stay connected with the project’s timeline and news and updates as work moves forward. You may share a comment, question, or suggestion – or request a conversation with project leadership – via their submission form.

Ethics Week 2026
As MSU Ethics Week returns for its second year, I encourage everyone to visit the Ethics Week website for upcoming details, and to hold time during Feb. 16-20 to engage in the week’s activities.

Ethics Week strives to actively involve students, staff, faculty, and community members in meaningful ethics conversations, encouraging campus-wide engagement with contemporary moral challenges. The week will be dedicated to exploring various aspects of ethics, focusing on issues that resonate with our current societal context. Additional details and registration information will be shared on the Ethics Week website as they become available.

In support of this spirit of curiosity and ethical inquiry, I am excited to share that the Ethics Institute launched its inaugural Ethics Institute Research Fellows Grant Program in fall 2025 and has announced the inaugural cohort of Ethics Research Fellows. This program provides essential seed funding for MSU researchers tackling complex ethical questions. We are proud to continue this momentum with a second round of funding for spring 2026.

We look forward to seeing you this February as we come together to celebrate our community’s work and engage in these vital conversations.

One Team
The more I listen to and learn from all of you, the more deeply impressed I become by the depth and breadth of MSU’s unique strengths and opportunities. Our collective contributions as one team continue to keep us on course and true to MSU’s core mission, founding values, and bold aspirations. Your curiosity, innovation, and commitment to your scholarship and our students all contribute to our success – and all are appreciated and valued.

Best wishes for a fulfilling spring semester!

Warmly,
Laura Lee McIntyre, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor
Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education