Last but not least: Inaugural Spartan Bus Tour concludes with a visit to Kellogg Biological Station

Michigan State University’s first-ever Spartan Bus Tour kicked off on Monday, Oct. 21, for a three-day, whirlwind tour of MSU locations throughout Michigan’s western Lower Peninsula. The goal of the tour was to build community connections and strengthen MSU’s commitment to education, research, outreach and extension.

The W.K. Kellogg Biological Station was the tour group’s final stop, on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 23. After a brief stop at the KBS Academic Campus on the shore of Gull Lake, the group traveled to the KBS Long-term Agroecosystem Research, or LTAR, site, where they sat on straw bales near some LTAR agricultural research plots, enjoyed refreshments on a beautiful autumn day, and heard about some of the impactful work undertaken at KBS.

KBS speakers

Alisha Shah speaks to the group from the inaugural Spartan Bus Tour, who are sitting on straw bales in the foreground, at the KBS Long-term Agroecosystem Research site.

Jeff Conner, KBS interim director and professor in the Department of Plant Biology and in the Ecology, Evolution & Behavior Program
Christine Sprunger, KBS interim associate director and assistant professor in the Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences
Phil Robertson, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, and director of the KBS LTAR
Tayler Ulbrich, KBS LTAR associate director for engagement
Nick Haddad, professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and in the Ecology, Evolution & Behavior Program, and co-lead for the KBS Long-term Ecological Research program, or LTER
Liz Schultheis, KBS LTER education and outreach coordinator
Alisha Shah (pictured), assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and in the Ecology, Evolution & Behavior Program
Misty Klotz, KBS education and outreach coordinator

‘Very special’

MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz said of the Bus Tour, “It was special, and we accomplished exactly what we set out to do.

“This was our first Spartan Bus Tour, and I believe everyone who got off of that bus will become even more passionate ambassadors for MSU.”

In talking with Russ White of WKAR, MSU’s public media station, he said of KBS, “This last stop here at the Kellogg Biological Station was amazing…I want to come back tomorrow.”

He laughed and continued, “But what a beautiful setting…with the sun shining down on the farmland, talking to several of our researchers and scientists that are game-changers for the agricultural community, those that help to inform the farmers and those that care about the environment and climate change. It was very special.”