She talks about the importance of ongoing fundraising efforts and about MSU’s Office of Biobased Technologies. President Simon talks about the pivotal role that science and technology play in the development of a new economy for Michigan and the United States. And she assesses the state of the world that MSU’s class of 2008 is entering.

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 20:37 - 11.8 mb mp3

The Demos project covers the three eras of Spartan/Aggie Football; MAC, MSC, and MSU. Over 124 years of football highlights are revealed, including many items never seen before by Spartan fans.

“It’s an illustrative history of the Michigan State football program,” says Con Demos. “It’s about 600 pages and includes 1,900 illustrations.”

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 17:33 - 10.1 mb mp3

Zemke talks about the team and its goals. He tells of the team’s 2007 visit with Jay Leno and fills us in on the team’s involvement this year with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the program Race for a Cause.

And from a student perspective he describes how Spartan Engineers are “built better.”

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 10:37 - 6.1 mb mp3

Shinksy talks about his time as an orphan and about how that impacted his life - including he and his wife Cindy’s founding of Ciudad De Los Ninos De Matamoros (”The City of Children”), an orphanage in Matamoros, Mexico.

He reflects on his time at MSU and how it shaped the man he is. And he talks about the important issues facing the education of our children. “Education needs to transition into a new society,” says Shinsky.

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 21:11 - 12.1 mb mp3

Jain describes biometrics and how they’re used in our everyday lives. He talks about the challenges in using face recognition technology to identify people. And he describes a new system he’s developed whereby tattoos can be matched to people in databases.

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 13:17 - 7.6 mb mp3

He talks about how accounting and the teaching of accounting have changed over the years, mainly due to advances in technology. He says students overall “have changed some and not changed in other ways.”

He discusses his research interest - financial management of credit unions. And he explains the difference between a bank and a credit union.

Sollenberger talks about the challenges and opportunities facing accounting and accounting education in the years ahead.

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 25:24 - 14.5 mb mp3

Truscott talks about the ever-changing landscape in media and public relations. He reflects on his time as the nation’s youngest then longest-serving press secretary for a sitting governor. Truscott discusses the reasons behind the recent opening of his firm’s Grand Rapids office. And he shares his views on the country’s presidential race and on Kwame Kilpatrick’s troubles in the Detroit mayor’s office.

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 17:11 - 9.8 mb mp3

Her performance credits are impressive, having sung with The Count Basie Band, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Clark Terry, Mark Murphy, Milt Hinton, Curtis Fuller, and Edgar Winter, among others. Sunny’s latest CD release is a duo project featuring Los Angeles based pianist Tom Garvin entitled A Gentle Time – When Sunny Meets Tom.

MSU’s Jazz Studies area presents a CD release concert featuring Wilkinson and Garvin on April 11, 2008 at the MSU College of Music Auditorium.

Sunny performs regularly at jazz festivals and clubs across the country and is assistant professor of vocal jazz at MSU.

Sunny talks about the inspiration for A Gentle Time. She discusses her teaching role at MSU and says jazz is alive and well in the world today!

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 20:56 - 12 mb mp3

Rumba Sinfonica is a 30-minute sound travelogue exploring the full possibilities of a Cuban band and orchestra playing together and fusing the urban rhythms of past and present Cuban music with the sophisticated sounds of the classical symphony orchestra.

“It’s a coming together of two worlds that rarely come together,” says Lorenz. “The styles are very rich on their own, and they’re much richer together.”

Lorenz talks about his inspiration for the piece and about his relationship with Gomez and Tiempo Libre. He talks about what attendees of the performance can expect and describes how audiences and musicians have responded to the piece.

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 21:06 - 12.1 mb mp3

The interactive game is called Zon/New Chengo. Creator Yong Zhao, University Distinguished Professor of educational psychology and educational technology, says the game is both educational and engaging.

“There is a general increase and demand for more opportunities to learn about Chinese culture and language,” said Zhao, a Chinese native. “This game offers a vicarious, virtual experience of China.”

As executive director of MSU’s Confucius Institute, which is based in the College of Education, Zhao and his staff work to meet the ever-increasing demand for Chinese education in the United States.

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 14:35 - 8.4 mb mp3