Michigan State University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

The MSU Office of the Executive Vice President for Administration met several times with Meridian Township about the implementation of renewable energy generation, specifically solar power, in the township. The Associate Vice President for Administration was invited to speak at a public township board meeting on this topic, and also facilitated connections between the township and potential power purchase agreement partners.

MSU has been a key advocate in expanding the regional trail system in the mid-Michigan area. MSU publicly supported an extension of the Lansing River Trail, a multi-use regional trail that encourages sustainable transportation and recreation in the community. MSU worked with the City of Lansing to move this forward, granting an easement on MSU property for the trail extension. After a multi-year effort, the extended trail construction was completed in 2021. In addition, MSU has publicly supported the extension of the Lake Lansing Trail to MSU; this stretch was designated by the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance as a “priority trail”. MSU has been actively engaged with Meridian Township on this trail extension to facilitate students and employees being able to commute to campus using non-motorized transportation.

With thousands of students living off campus, move in/move out is a critical town-gown issue, particularly from the amount of waste that is generated during these key times of the year. MSU Government Relations, part of MSU's administration, engaged the City of East Lansing, City of Lansing, and Meridian Township to explore possible policy and programmatic solutions for off campus student residents that would result in improved sustainable practices (e.g., recycling, donation collections) and less waste headed to the landfill during these critical time periods. This advocacy work ceased at the start of the pandemic but has been identified as an issue to revisit in the future.

MSU participates in the Capital Area Sustainability Partnership (CASP), which is a regional collaboration network of governments, non-profits and academia dedicated to promoting best practices and enable policy changes that demonstrate environmental stewardship, economic vitality, and social responsibility. The Director of Sustainability and other staff and faculty members serve on various working groups of CASP, bringing technical expertise and guidance to public officials and commissioners that serve on CASP. Areas of focus include greenhouse gas reduction, renewable energy, energy efficiency, building standards, updating municipal codes and zoning for environmental outcomes, transportation, organic waste management, and regional composting.

MSU is a member of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council (MIEIBC) and participates regularly in the development of the policy recommendations on energy for the Governor and legislative representatives. The Director of Sustainability serves as the key member to the MIEIBC for MSU and participates in monthly policy development calls, providing comment on behalf of the university to the MIEIBC and sharing the policy development with the corresponding internal energy team for input as well. Policies have included: community solar (HB4715 Community Solar for LMI; HB4716 Community Solar), solar developments on farmland enrolled in the state's farmland preservation program (PA116); and climate change in state government, including the MI Healthy Climate planning process.

Executive Order 2020-182 established the Council on Climate Solutions for the State of Michigan to develop and oversee the development of the MI Healthy Climate Plan which sets the state on the path toward carbon neutrality. Lauren Cooper, director of MSU's Forest Carbon and Climate Program, was appointed by Governor Whitmer to serve as co-Chair of the Natural Working Lands Workgroup and Forest Products of the Council. The Director of Sustainability at MSU served on this workgroup, providing input on the workgroup’s final recommendations to the state’s Council on Climate Solutions.

MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) hosts its Public Policy Forums for legislators and their staff members, Capitol research staff, lobbyists, academic university administrators and researchers, and citizens. The Senior Vice President of Government Relations at MSU regularly attends the forums, which often focus on sustainability topics. Example sustainability topics include: Making Michigan Supply Chains Sustainable (March 2020), Managing Water Level Change in the Great Lakes (October 2019), Michigan's Response to PFAS (April 2019), and Oil Spills on Winter Lakes - Risk Perception, Detection, and Remediation (April 2019). http://ippsr.msu.edu/public-policy/public-policy-forums/past-forums-archive.

MSU Government Relations works directly with both state and federal legislators on policy that would be of importance to the University and its stakeholders (e.g., business and community). The primary role of Government Relations is to advocate on behalf of Michigan State University by building and promoting positive relationships with federal, state, and local policymakers and stakeholders. MSU Government Relations is part of MSU's administration and coordinates advocacy and policy endeavors for the administration. Senior Vice President for Government Relations, Kathy Wilber, is a direct report of President Stanley and coordinates on a regular basis with other top administrators related to policy and advocacy efforts of the university. Jacob Courville, Director for Federal Relations, covers university advocacy related to biomedical research, education, agriculture, energy, and the environment at the federal level. Government Relations has worked diligently with the Office of Senator Debbie Stabenow on the last two revisions to the Farm Bill. This was a significant policy direction for Michigan’s constituency as we are second only to California in the diversity of agricultural products. The Farm Bill is the nation's most significant legislation relating to U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. It has direct impacts on the livelihood of farmers, contains significant funding to support environmental and conservation stewardship practices, and also addresses food security for low-income families.

MSU AgBioResearch has engaged in federal advocacy, including support of Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young to serve as Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (https://www.aibs.org/assets/collections/news/letter-of-support-usda-under-secretary-ree-nominee.pdf) and support of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) that was established by the Farm Bill (https://www.entsoc.org/sites/default/files/files/Science-Policy/2018/FFAR-Support-Letter-to-FB-Conferees.pdf).

MSU President Stanley issued a statement in support of the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program:
https://president.msu.edu/communications/messages-statements/2020_statements/2020_06_18_DACA_decision_statement.html

MSU joined 58 other higher ed institutions in filing an amicus brief in support of Harvard and MIT’s motion for a preliminary injunction on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) directive that placed new restrictions on institutions of higher education and hundreds of thousands of international students studying in the United States: https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2020/nearly-60-colleges-and-universities-call-for-halt-of-federal-directive-impacting-international-students. MSU continued to advocate for international students, submitting a comment letter opposing a proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security changing the admission period structure for F, J and I non-immigrants: https://president.msu.edu/communications/messages-statements/2020_statements/2020-09-28-DHS-proposed-change.html.

John Verboncoeur, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the MSU College of Engineering, serves as an ex-officio member of the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee. The committee was established pursuant to Section 14(a)(2)(A) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act Public Law 92-463, and Section 101-6.1015, title 41 Code of Federal Regulations. The committee provides independent advice to the Director of the Office of Science (U.S. Department of Energy) on complex scientific and technological issues that arise in the planning, implementation, and management of the fusion energy sciences program. https://science.osti.gov/fes/fesac

MSU signed on as a signatory of the University Global Coalition, which is actively working in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network in support of advancing the targets outlined in the U.N.’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

MSU also signed on as an endorser of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment brought together by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastic Pact. The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment calls on governments to (1) Establish policies and mechanisms that provide dedicated and stable funding for collection and sorting, through fair industry contributions, such as EPR, without which recycling is unlikely to ever scale, and (2) Set a global direction and create an international framework for action, through the UN Environment Assembly, building on the vision for a circular economy for plastics. https://archive.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/resources/apply/global-commitment-progress-report/endorsers

MSU also plays a significant role in informing the policy development process by conducting research that supports and informs policy decisions as well as having multiple faculty that serve as subject matter experts on policy teams on a local, state, national and international groups. For example, the MSU Food Security Group (FSG) actively works with local partners to engage in policy analysis and advising, and building local capacity for the same on issues of food security and nutrition. A distinguishing feature of FSG’s work is its deep commitment to policy engagement at country and regional levels. This engagement ranges from researching the process of policy change, to bringing findings from its core research areas to bear on policy issues in a country. It conducts “demand-driven” studies requested by governments and facilitates processes of stakeholder engagement that are critical in generating consensus around needed policy and programmatic changes. FSG is regularly sought-out by global, continental, and regional organizations, including by the World Food Program, The Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, The International Fund for Agricultural Development, other UN organizations, The World Bank, The African Development Bank, The New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), the African Union, the Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes, and others. https://www.canr.msu.edu/fsg/index. MSU FSG coordinates the Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the University of Pretoria. The lab is one of the 24 labs that support Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s Global Hunger & Food Security Initiative. A main objective of the program is to foster credible, inclusive, transparent and sustainable policy processes at country level. The project strengthens national policy systems in their regional contexts, promotes dialogue among all stakeholders around critical policy issues and disseminates stories of successful innovations and best practices in policy capacity building. https://www.canr.msu.edu/fsp/about/