Owen McCarthy

Inside MSU, the response to Trump is about "threading a needle" 🧵🧵🧵

Tariffs, tensions cloud outlook for fireworks sellers, shows, next year President Donald Trump's levies on imports may have limited impact this year but are causing concern about 250th anniversary celebrations.

Tariffs, tensions cloud outlook for fireworks sellers, shows, next year

My latest, via @detroitnews.com
www.detroitnews.com/story/busine...

Federal agencies prodding MSU on DEI, general counsel email says - The State News The agencies' direct prodding of MSU represents an extension of the increasingly far lengths being taken by the Trump administration to curb DEI programs across all sectors.

Federal agencies have begun “requesting certification” that MSU doesn’t operate DEI programs as a condition of receiving federal funding, according to an internal email from MSU’s general counsel.

statenews.com/article/2025...

MSU professor who called 2020 election ‘crooked’ to be top FCC lawyer - The State News Adam Candeub, an MSU law professor, has been open about his support for Trump and his willingness to serve under another Trump administration. Private emails obtained by The State News through a publi...

The MSU law professor who wrote a chapter of Project 2025 will be the FCC’s top lawyer.

I got ahold of emails showing his alignment with the president.

He said there was “no insurrection,” a “crooked election,” and that “the indictment is bullshit.”
statenews.com/article/2025...

MSU doubles down on DEI defense amid Trump administration hostility - The State News While celebrations of DEI programs are not uncommon at Michigan State University board meetings, various references to them at the board's recent meeting underscored the university's commitment to DEI...

At its board meeting last week, MSU doubled down on its DEI defense amid Trump administration hostility.

Read this report and the rest of our board meeting coverage over on statenews.com
statenews.com/article/2025...

MSU board chair has high hopes for divestment committee, despite criticism - The State News Tebay said she hopes the committee, in the long-run, will help the institution’s fiduciaries better account for the feelings of the campus overall toward the ethical and social implications of their i...

MSU board chair has high hopes for divestment committee, despite criticism

statenews.com/article/2025...

MSU sets $3 billion fundraising goal for upcoming capital campaign - The State News The lofty fundraising goal signals an ambitious signature initiative early in the tenure of MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz and comes at a pivotal point in the institution's history.

Michigan State plans to raise upwards of $3 billion in its upcoming fundraising push — a goal that dwarfs that of any other capital campaign in the university's history.

Full story here:
statenews.com/article/2025...

Scholar allegedly plagiarized by MSU dean says he wasn't consulted during exonerating review - The State News The revelation raises questions among experts about the veracity of the university review, which the president recently used to defend Jackson’s post atop one of the university’s highest ranked and we...

A scholar allegedly plagiarized by Jerlando Jackson says he was never consulted for MSU's internal review that exonerated the College of Ed dean.

That revelation raised questions among experts about the veracity of that review.

My latest:
statenews.com/article/2025...

MSU postpones 'Future of DEI policy' panel days after Trump signed anti-DEI order - The State News Michigan State University had a panel discussion scheduled for next week on the "Future of DEI Policy at MSU." An executive order signed by President Donald Trump Monday ending DEI in the federal gove...

Michigan State University had a panel discussion scheduled for next week on the "Future of DEI Policy at MSU."

An executive order signed by President Donald Trump Monday ending DEI in the federal government appears to have changed those plans.
statenews.com/article/2025...

MSU: Dean accused of plagiarism, targeted by DEI opponents, 'exonerated' - The State News Months ago, an MSU dean was accused of plagiarism and implicated in a conservative media crusade against DEI scholarship. Now, MSU has "exonerated" the dean of wrongdoing, and condemned "racist" and "...

NEW: Months ago, an MSU dean was accused of plagiarism and implicated in a conservative media crusade against DEI scholarship.

Now, MSU has "exonerated" the dean of wrongdoing, and condemned "racist" and "despicable" attacks against him.
statenews.com/article/2025...

MSU investigated Larry Nassar in 1999 over gymnast blood testing - The State News The previously unreported tale greatly challenges a narrative surrounding Nassar’s years of unchecked sexual abuse.

This bizarre new story may make you rethink a narrative surrounding Larry Nassar's years of unchecked abuse.

My latest, with @owenmccarthyjrn.bsky.social
statenews.com/article/2024...

MSU investigated Larry Nassar in 1999 over gymnast blood testing - The State News The previously unreported tale greatly challenges a narrative surrounding Nassar’s years of unchecked sexual abuse.

Michigan State University investigated Larry Nassar in 1999 for a series of blood tests he conducted on young USA Gymnasts at his campus office.

Read the bizarre and previously unreported story here:
statenews.com/article/2024...

MSU planning strategic fundraising push following years of turbulence - The State News The last time MSU launched a major fundraising campaign was 2014, before it had weathered the host of perception-shaping incidents that have come to define the university’s difficult decade. Now, in a...

SCOOP: MSU is preparing for the public launch of a major fundraising push “in the coming months.”

The school’s last campaign launched in 2014, before a host of perception-shaping incidents that have defined the university’s difficult decade.
statenews.com/article/2024...

Former grad student says pesticides in MSU research gave her cancer, court records show - The State News A former MSU graduate student intends to seek damages from the university, claiming that her recent cancer diagnosis was caused by the university’s failure to protect her from exposure to "hazardous p...

A former grad student is alleging her exposure to pesticides during the course of field research at MSU gave her cancer.

She intends to seek damages from MSU in connection to the allegations.

For The State News:
statenews.com/article/2024...