Join us on Thursday, September 24 from 4:30 - 6:30 pm for an eveining of art, networking, and civic conversation. Cash bar and appetizers will be available.
Opened in 2012, the 46,000-square-foot museum was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and named in honor of Eli and Edythe Broad, longtime supporters of the university and advocates for the arts who provided the lead gift of $28 million.
In 1931 MSU’s Art Department was created, but it was not until 1959 that that the Kresge Art Gallery—later Museum—opened. The Kresge Art Center, which is still the home of the Department of Art, Art History & Design and the majority of the MSU Broad Art Museum’s collection storage, sits on the north bank of the Red Cedar, just east of Farm Lane. From the beginning the Kresge brought together the university community and the arts community of Greater Lansing. However, while the museum contained some gallery space, it was regarded as inadequately small for the size of the collection, even as new galleries were added in later years.
In 1999, an independent community committee spearheaded by David and Ruth Greenbaum began discussing the need for a new facility in response to this lack of exhibition space. They worked closely with the Friends of Kresge board of trustees and museum director Dr. Susan Bandes with the goal of raising the profile of the cause for a Better Art Museum.
BAM, as the group came to be known, was not only successful in illustrating their case to the MSU administration, but also in raising regional awareness, identifying potential donors, and raising money. This grassroots effort created the foundation and paved the way for what is now the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.
Former MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon then invited MSU alumnus Eli Broad and his wife Edythe, prominent philanthropists and prolific art collectors, to see if they were interested in this project. The Broads proposed building a brand new, freestanding art museum on the university campus. Ultimately the site of the MSU Broad Art Museum was chosen: Between Grand River Avenue and East Circle Drive, near Farm Lane, a space visible to both the campus and the community.
The MSU Broad Art Museum is proud to acknowledge its history and lasting connection with the many people who ensured that an art museum was a vital part of the MSU and Greater Lansing community.
DowntownLansing Inc is having its annual Big Red Ball on Saturday, November 21, and they are looking for volunteers to help with the event. DLI’s mission is to “strengthen and nurture the culture, health, and sustainability of our downtown district.” Shifts on November 21 include event setup 2:30-5:30 pm, various shifts during the event from 5:30-10:00 pm, and event tear down and cleanup from 9:30-11:30 pm. More information can be found here: https://signup.com/go/GpgGkpd.
This is a test of the emergency editarian system. The editarians of your area in voluntary cooperation with the FCC, RI, SOS and other authorities have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of Rotary news. If this had been an actual situation involving Rotary news, a real editarian would have instructed you as to where to tune in your area for news and official information. This concludes this test of the Emergency Rotarian System.
There I was, minding my own business, trying to make a fresh start and they pulled me back in. Yes, I did attend Rotary today. No, I didn’t take notes. This will be a cognitive recall test that only a President could pass. President Susan Angel called us to order. We had an invocation. It was awesome and not too churchy (as you know, I kinda tune out churchy). We sang a patriotic song. Hari rocked it out on the piano for us and from a distance, I could hear the angelic voice of Mark Hooper carrying the rest of us in song. Amazingly no guests, wait a minute, yes, there was one guest, and then another, a new hire from past Prez. Lisa Smith’s office who has made it to 3 meetings. We all know what that means. Free lunch is over, pony up! Then, with little fanfare, Terry Terry took to the podium and introduced us to special music. Blues. Not ordinary blues. Harmonica blues. This guy had a 10 pack of harmonicas and switched keys 3 times and nailed it each time. Back up was by a percussive guitar player who stole the show. The singer’s car was towed while he was singing for us. Dang it if that ain’t what the blues is all about. “I sang a song. Ba da da boom. They towed my car. Ba da da boom. Ain’t got not ride. Ba da da boom. I’m so sad inside.
On to the main event. A speaker from Cooley Law School whose name is in last week’s Rotogram, talked to us about getting arrested, convicted, jailed and how much work it is for the clinic at Cooley to get you out after a wrongful conviction. How do wrongful convictions happen? DNA evidence? Faulty eye witness testimony? Shoddy police work? Junk science? Ineffective assistance of counsel? Check the box for all of the above or a combination thereof. Students at Cooley with the guidance of their professors have examined cases, evidence, sought out new evidence, spoke with witnesses and generally turn the case inside out to see if justice was done or not. It is an eye opening experience for law students to feel the weight of a client’s problem on their shoulders. It was eye opening for Rotarians to see that Cooley had roughly 10 convictions overturned which results in a convict being able to change his name to an exoneree. The story doesn’t end there. Imagine having spent 10 years in prison for a crime you didn’t commit. What would that feel like to you? What would you miss in those years. One of the exonerees was in prison for more than 30 years. There were a ton of questions. Great, enlightening presentation. With the fear of a wrongful conviction tattooed on our collective brains, we all walked out, in single file, stopped at every stop sign. Looked both ways. Used our blinkers and basically didn’t violate a single rule all the way home for fear of being apprehended, convicted and wrongfully jailed.
Thank you Kevin Schumacher for "coming back". His email is: schumacher@glassenrhead.com
on Thursday, September 24 from 4:30 - 6:30 pm for an eveining of art, networking, and civic conversation. Cash bar and appetizers will be available.
DowntownLansing Inc is having its annual Big Red Ball on Saturday, November 21, and they are looking for volunteers to help with the event. DLI’s mission is to “strengthen and nurture the culture, health, and sustainability of our downtown district.” Shifts on November 21 include event setup 2:30-5:30 pm, various shifts during the event from 5:30-10:00 pm, and event tear down and cleanup from 9:30-11:30 pm. More information can be found here: 
this system to keep you informed in the event of Rotary news. If this had been an actual situation involving Rotary news, a real editarian would have instructed you as to where to tune in your area for news and official information. This concludes this test of the Emergency Rotarian System.