An Update From Vennie

Well, I would say “Happy Spring” but I can’t be completely sure it’s here. We go from 45 degrees to 80 and humid over Memorial Day weekend and overnight it’s back down to 32 degrees and we’re covering our plants to save them from the frost. Is this really normal here in Michigan?!

It’s hard for me to believe that I am closing in on one year (August 13) since joining the Spartan family. As I look back I am proud of what we have accomplished. This is such a marvelous place. We set out to establish a “Good-To-Great” culture for the Division of Housing & Food Services, which resulted in new values and this notion that we all come to work every day with a common goal of Delivering Outstanding Spartan Experiences. We’ve started valuable dialogues between all staff about what this means to each of us and how we can be accountable to each other and our customers.

Are there still questions? Absolutely. We’re still going through organizational change, which naturally opens the door to uncertainty. Yet, if we focus on our purpose of Delivering Outstanding Spartan Experiences — if we remain committed to each other — if we remember that the journey is as important as the destination, we’ll arrive successfully at our destination together.

For the past several months, our strategic planning process has been on an accelerated schedule as we prepare to present our findings and preliminary thoughts to the Board of Trustees in late July.

We’ve completed more than 50 focus groups with students, parents, faculty, staff, administrators and others. We’ve surveyed a broad sample of the University community. Our consultants have researched market conditions and the competitive climate and we’ve begun to develop demand scenarios and financial models. Dozens of Divisional staff have participated in strategic planning work sessions, including wonderfully collaborative sessions with Residence Life staff, that are really helping us start to establish the framework for a New Spartan Experience.

We’ve held additional town hall meetings that have been well-attended and brought about some great discussion. And in the middle of it all, at our Employee Recognition Event, we took some time to simply get together and celebrate you…the staff of the Division of Housing & Food Services.

We have been very busy and we have accomplished much. Yet, as many of you have heard me say, the strategic planning process — as difficult as it may seem — is really the easy part. Once the plan is finalized, then it will really be time to roll up our sleeves and do the hard work. Be assured, if we stick together, it is this hard work that will position this Division and Michigan State University for sustainable, long-term success.

In August, I will celebrate my first year as a Spartan. I want to thank you all for making it an enjoyable, memorable and successful year. I look forward to working along side you for many more to come.

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