‘Coming to Michigan feels a bit like coming home:’ MSU names new VP of university advancement

MSU announced Kim Tobin will be the next vice president of university advancement, in a press release on Tuesday.

Tobin will take over for Marti K.S. Heil, who is retiring after 33 years at the university.

In her new role, Tobin will oversee university development efforts as well as the work of the MSU Alumni Office.

She will lead a team of more than 300 people through planning and executing the institution’s next comprehensive capital campaign.

Tobin is currently serving the same role as Colorado State University, or CSU.
At CSU, Tobin oversees a 160-member team and leads development efforts, campaign initiatives and alumni and donor relations.

During her time at the university, she led two successful comprehensive campaigns.

The most recent, which concluded in 2020, was a $1 billion campaign and exceeded its goal 651 days early with the support of more than 140,000 donors. CSU had its most successful fundraising year to date in 2021 with Tobin’s help.

Before starting at CSU, Tobin served in various development roles at Lakehead University and the University of Toronto.

How Biden’s deputy press secretary went from green-and-white to White House 

Life starts early for those who work at the White House, and for Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher.

The former MSU student was appointed to the White House press team in March 2021, and since then, he’s spent most of his days fielding questions from reporters and sorting out all of the “noise” — there’s so much information out there, he said, that the job can feel like a 24/7 endeavor.

And, in case you were wondering, yes –there are moments like the ones in political TV shows.

“There’s definitely some ‘Veep’ moments from time to time,” Meagher said. “There’s a lot of moments in ‘The West Wing’ where you sit there and think, ‘I think there was a ‘West Wing’ episode about this exact same thing,’ and it’s funny to kind of be triggered by that.”

As someone who has worked both as a reporter and in political communications, Meagher’s No. 1 piece of advice is to be curious and pick up the phone.

MSU community shows support for Ukraine at ‘Spartans Stand With Ukraine’ rally

Tuesday evening, dozens of demonstrators met at Demonstration Hall Field to show support for Ukraine at the “Spartans Stand With Ukraine” rally, organized by the MSU Ukrainian Students Organization.

Ukrainian flags and handmade signs were held up throughout the crowd, blending into blue and yellow clothes meant to symbolize the Ukrainian national colors.

A line of speakers, most of whom have direct ties to the country, took turns telling their stories and giving their perspective on the conflict.

After every speech, the chant “Slava Ukraini” was yelled out by the crowd — a phrase that translates to “Glory to Ukraine.”

Law student Andrew Haftkowycz told the story of his grandparents’ escape from Ukraine 77 years ago, and emphasized the need to support all oppressed groups.

Senior Mason Harvath-Gerrans, who is studying Russian, began his speech by listing the names of families who had lost their homes during the Russian military’s attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Monday.

He said that these kinds of losses are found all over Ukraine.

Based on original reporting by Maddy Warren, Raenu Charles and Drew Goretzka. Script by Shakyra Mabone.