As the end of the year approaches, Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon is reflecting on 2012 and looking ahead to 2013. She talked with WKAR’s Scott Pohl about the state of affairs at MSU.
They began with a look at projects that wrapped up on campus this year, starting with the opening of the Broad Art Museum.
Simon says the museum is a place you can go to often, adding that it challenges your feelings in a way that only art can do.
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While the opening of the Broad Art Museum has captured international headlines, Simon also points with pride to the completed expansion of Wells Hall. In her view, the expansion will have a major impact on the teaching of languages. She's also proud of the addition to the College of Nursing, completed earlier in 2012.
The MSU Union Building has also undergone major renovation work. Simon says a generation of students for whom the Union was never a destination, and its reinvigoration will help make it what she calls a neighborhood for the north side of campus.
In 2013, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams will remain a major agenda item. Preliminarily, indications from the congressional conference committee are positive, assuming the so-called "fiscal cliff" can be overcome. She's quick to praise Michigan's bipartisan congressional delegation for their support of FRIB.
