MSU President Stanley’s October 26, 2021, Spartan Community Letter

<p>Russ, it's always a pleasure to be with you. And it's a very exciting weekend we have coming up. I was traveling out of state in Washington, D.C. the past couple of days and the first thing everyone wanted to talk to me about was the game. I didn't need to say more than that, just the game. People are excited about it. If you look at statistics, I can't remember the exact number, but roughly we have played Michigan let's say more than 100 times, and only four times have we both been ranked in the Top 10. The last time was 1964. This is really going to be a game that people are going to remember. And I hope it lives up to all our expectations and of course ends with a Spartan victory.</p><p>Russ White:</p><p><br>And sir, while we compete fiercely with Michigan on the fields and the courts, we cooperate with them through our <a href="https://urcmich.org">University Research Corridor</a> arrangement, which Wayne States is in too. We work together a lot for the betterment of the state and frankly the world.</p><p><a href="https://president.msu.edu">Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D.</a>:</p><p><br>That's absolutely correct. And I think we really put differences aside that exist on the athletic field. And we work together on a lot on scientific collaborations. And there have been a lot of discussions about managing during difficult times like COVID 19. How do we do that? Both Mark and I were panelists in a meeting that dealt with this. And I think it's a great opportunity at multiple levels. I know the provost speaks to the provost at Michigan. We're in the same state. We have several of the same challenges and can talk to them about what they're doing and learn best practices from each other. I think it’s incredibly important and people might not believe it, but we do that.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/russgrnnwhite">Russ White</a>:</p><p><br>You couldn't travel much during the pandemic, but lately you made a couple of trips, one to Detroit and one to Grand Rapids, where you really got to experience MSU’s