Campus Convening on Climate Change; Our Planet, Our Food, and Our People
Overview
The MSU community is invited to participate in a campus convening on the impacts of climate change on our world, our food, and our people. Michigan State is uniquely positioned to approach this topic from several disciplinary angles, and all faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend and provide input.
The MSU Strategic Plan 2030 outlines several research thrusts. This is the first meeting in a series around climate change and more series will be scheduled on additional research priorities. The full-day event will be highly interactive as attendees will participate in facilitated break out sessions with a goal of identifying short- and long-term projects and developing a robust plan for moving forward.
Why Attend?
Contribute to the development of a roadmap to advance a major initiative around climate change:
- Be a catalyst for programs in climate change and its application to adaptation and mitigation, and meet others who are interested and engaged in research, education, and outreach in climate change.
- Participate in breakout sessions that will inform MSU’s strategic plan for climate change research, education, and outreach
- Nurture an understanding of scientific, social, and political challenges created by our changing climate and advance new cross-disciplinary collaborations that bring together science, humanities, technology, and society to develop relevant and actionable systems to address it.
- Identify the unique strengths and values that will help position MSU as a world leader in this critical area.
Themes
As this is a complex problem, creative solutions will only come from diverse views. The following listings are a possible way to organize around themes for group work, but are certainly not final. Attendees may select three areas of interest and breakout groups will be formed after event registration closes.
- Plant and animal production systems
- Supply chains, economics, policy, distribution, loss and waste
- Justice, ethics, culture, arts and humanities
- Education, communications, outreach/extension
- Nutrition and health
- Student engagement and campus sustainability
- International
Tentative Agenda:
Morning:
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 8:30 | Registration in the Entrance Lobby and refreshments in the Atrium |
| 9:00 | Opening remarks: President Stanley, Provost Woodruff and VP Gage, Amphitheater A170 |
| 9:30 | Instructions for the day, objectives, and other introductory comments |
| 10:00 | Break |
| 10:15 | Breakout Session I (issues and capacity), Level B Breakout Rooms B108 – B132 |
| 11:45 | End morning session |
| Noon | Lunch in the Atrium |
Afternoon:
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1:00 | Breakout Session II (aspirations and challenges/needs), Lower-Level Breakout Rooms |
| 2:45 | Break |
| 2:15 | Reports from the Breakout Groups, reconvene in Amphitheater A170 |
| 3:15 | Open discussion in response to the activities of the day, moderator AVP Doug Buhler |
| 3:45 | Closing remarks by VP Gage and Provost Woodruff |
| 4:15 | Adjourn formal session |
| 4:30 | Networking reception, Four Seasons Lounge |
Breakout Room Assignments
Note: Virtual teams will be automatically moved into online breakout rooms.
Names tags are color coded to indicate breakout group assignments.
- Rooms for each group are as follows in Level B:
- Purple – B108/B110
- Red – B113/B121
- Orange – B122/B124
- Black – B127/B128
- Green – B129/B130
- Yellow – B131/B132
- Main Session (opening and closing reports/remarks) – Amphitheater A170
- Reception—Four Seasons Loung