Facilitators in Government Relations advocate for MSU and higher education

<p>“We are advocates for the university,” says Wilbur. “We have a federal operation in Washington DC. Those two or three people work with Congress and the administration and the various departments and agencies. In Michigan, Katie and I work the state legislature. That's where we receive our largest sum of money on an annual basis for operational dollars to run the university. But it's not just budgetary. We respond and react to legislation that's introduced that could impact anybody on this campus. There are a lot of interesting voices that we have to make sure we hear from.</p><p>“We are very engaged in our local community, too. We have a community representative who works with the cities of Lansing and East Lansing and Meridian Township, the Lansing Regional Chamber, and groups like LEAP (Lansing Economic Area Partnership) and CAPCOG (Capital Area Council of Governments). Then we have our <a href="https://mispartanimpact.msu.edu">Spartan Advocate program</a>, which really has been a very significant grassroots effort to allow us to have other people advocate with us. People know what Katie is going to say when they see her darken their door. They know what I'm going to say. They know what Sarah's going to say in Washington DC. It can be more impactful if you have an advocate who is calling or writing in from Roscommon, Michigan, for example, who understands the value of other voices being heard to legislators and policymakers about the impact MSU has on the entire state. That's a very key effort led by Jeremy Reuter. He's doing a great job. We have about 3,000 advocates, but we're always trying to grow that number.”</p><p>“<a href="https://govrelations.msu.edu">Government Relations</a> isn’t the most visible office at the university,” adds John. “Sometimes people don't know we exist. Or if they do, they're maybe a little confused about what we do. We are indeed advocates for the overall mission of the university, but we also can help facilitate relationships. If you need help finding the proper contac