Give Back to Michigan

Are you a Michigan expatriate looking for a way to help out the Great Lake State? Then take this survey:

"This survey is designed to collect information about the most effective ways to engage Michigan community alumni, meaning individuals now living outside of Michigan who are interested in promoting, supporting and investing in Michigan’s future. The survey will take 5-10 minutes and the results will inform a co-learning initiative sponsored by the Michigan State University Center for Regional Economic Innovation (http://www.reicenter.org) that will be used to advance strategies for engaging alumni in tangible efforts that support Michigan’s economic progress, primarily through opportunities to invest in entrepreneurship and local community development."

Go here to take the survey.

MSU Medical Students Coming to Flint

Here's a little good news. The old Flint Journal building in downtown Flint will soon be home to an estimated 100 third- and fourth-year medical students from Michigan State University, along with MSU public health researchers.

Shaun Byron of Mlive reports: 

MSU's College of Human Medicine had announced plans in late 2011 to expand its medical education and public health programs in Flint, utilizing a $2.8 million grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

The property consists of 200,000 square feet of building space and more than 5 acres of land.

The lease includes about 40,000 square feet of office and teaching space in the building, according to a press statement from MSU officials.

MSU Medical Research Coming to Flint

Flint gets one step closer to being a college town. Beata Mostafavi of The Flint Journal reports:

Michigan State University’s medical school is joining downtown Flint, announcing plans to open a community campus in the heart of the city.

MSU’s College of Human Medicine will develop public health programs, recruit and house top public health researchers and provide office and classroom space for staff, faculty and students in a yet-to-be determined downtown location, according to plans MSU was set to publicly unveil today.

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will fund an initial grant of $2.8 million for the project that college officials say will allow Flint to join East Lansing and Grand Rapids as pillars of the college’s statewide footprint and hopefully help grow more local doctors.

Don Coleman Hospitalized

Flint Central High School and Michigan State football legend Don Coleman is hospitalized in Lansing. My mom remembers him as the friendliest hall monitor and an all-around great guy when she attended Central with him in the forties. He's also the first player to have his number retired at MSU.

Here's Don's bio from the MSU Athletic Department:

...when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, Coleman was primarily a standout swimmer and a trumpeter at Flint Central High School.

His mother had lost two sons at young ages and didn't want Coleman to play prep football. Finally, she gave the OK, but his junior season ended because of conflicts with an after-school job as a busboy at the Durant Hotel.

When he went out for the team again as a senior, Coleman's adjustment was mercurial. He was an immediate state champion and an All-Michigan selection at tackle. And with help from legendary broadcaster Bob Reynolds, Coleman became a must-get recruit for then Michigan State College assistant Duffy Daugherty.

By May 1952, as he prepared for graduation from MSC, Coleman had become arguably the greatest player in school history - pound-for-pound the best lineman in the country. His memberships in the College Football and Michigan Sports Halls of Fame are just two of his honors.

Don's wife, Geraldine, is also in the hospital recovering from surgery, so they could both use some words of encouragement. Please send your get-well wishes to Don and Geraldine at the following address:

424 McPherson Avenue
Lansing, MI
48915-1158

UM-Flint Worthy of MSU Scorn?

The concept of Flint as a college town must be getting some traction. The evidence? Spartan fans are debating if they should hate UM-Flint as much as UM-Ann Arbor.

Symbolic Loss

Photo courtesy of Kirthmon F. Dozier/Detroit Free Press

Last night's MSU loss to North Carolina was more than just a game, according to Dave Zirin at The Nation:

Something more substantial than a basketball contest was taking place. It was rooted not in the economic insecurity and hardship of one state, where unemployment is listed conservatively at 12 percent, but an entire country.

Michigan for most of the last two decades, was viewed and discussed as a remnant of this nation's past: high unemployment, an aging infrastructure and an auto industry whose best days had passed. Unless Michael Moore was pointing his camera in the state's direction, few noticed the rust. But now when looking at Michigan we don't see a nation's past but its present and maybe its future. The banks haven't been nationalized, but Flint sure has. We empathize because we sympathize. But as difficult as things are nationally, and as inspired as many have been about Michigan State's run, Detroit, still stands at the vanguard of pain.

No Happy Ending

It's probably best to just not discuss the Michigan State-North Carolina National Championship game, right? But I can't help myself...Why wasn't Suton getting the ball every time down the court for the Spartans?

Update: Now that it's Tuesday and I have some distance from the game, I should add — as a few readers have — that it was an amazing year for the Spartans. They dominated two great teams in Louisville and Connecticut and provided something positive during a pretty bad stretch for Michigan and the rest of the country. And Flint's Tom Herzog, a 7 footer, got a minute of playing time and a blocked shot.