Michigan State University

College of Osteopathic Medicine

Messages from the Committee Chair

October 11, 2024

Dear MSUCOM Community,

I’d like to take a moment to provide an update on the strategic planning process for COM. Since the beginning of this initiative, we have made significant progress and continue to build momentum towards shaping a plan that reflects the needs and aspirations of our college community.

Here’s a summary of the key milestones to date:

  • February & March 2024: Research firms were explored and AAL Consultants were selected to guide our strategic planning efforts.
  • April 2024: A Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC) was formed, following a call for nominations. The committee held its initial meeting on April 29 and launched the process in alignment with the MSU 2030 Strategic Plan Initiatives & Accomplishments Reporting.
  • May 2024: AAL consultants conducted a half-day retreat with the SPSC in East Lansing, including a discussion led by Provost Jeitschko, who emphasized COM’s vital role in advancing MSU’s mission. Key university and external stakeholders met with AAL to further shape our vision, and a comprehensive survey was distributed to gather SWOT and Four Frames Analyses.
  • June - July 2024: We launched a community-wide survey to gather insights, receiving a strong response of 242 submissions. Focus groups and follow-up discussions began to take shape, contributing valuable input to the strategic planning process.
  • August 2024: On-campus interviews were conducted with key MSU and external leaders and AAL received a summary of the raw data from the SPSC survey.
  • September 2024: The DEI committee shared important insights during a virtual retreat. Working groups have been created to further refine the findings, with meetings to be completed by October 31, 2024. Then, the first draft of the plan will be produced.
  • Upcoming November 2024: Focus groups will be formed shortly and will meet in mid-November to review the draft, bringing together various voices from the community to ensure the strategic plan is inclusive and aligned with our shared goals.

Please see the MSUCOM strategic plan webpage where past communications are posted to keep everyone informed. More updates to come! I encourage you to stay engaged as we move forward together.

Thank you for your ongoing support and participation in this critical process.

Go green!

Katherine M. Ruger, Ed.D. (she/her)
Senior Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives
Executive Chief of Staff
Associate Professor, Psychiatry

August 12, 2024

On behalf of Dean deJong, thank you for participating in the survey to help the Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC) understand our collective ideas and priorities for MSUCOM’s future!

The survey data is currently being reviewed by the SPSC and our consulting team from the Academy for Advancing Leadership (AAL). AAL is also completing interviews with 15 key leaders who are external to the college, including President Kevin Guskiewicz, to gather additional data.

Following these meetings, the SPSC will meet with our DEI committee leaders to review the latest goals and objectives together, and then begin drafting the strategic plan. The first draft will guide focus group discussions, allowing us to gather valuable feedback on our goals and objectives from a variety of perspectives. Stay tuned for more details on the focus groups!

Thank you again for your dedication to advancing the mission and vision of MSUCOM. These are exciting times for the college!

Go green!

Katherine M. Ruger, MA, EdD (she/her)
Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives
Executive Chief of Staff
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry

July 15, 2024

Dear MSUCOM Community,

We are extending your opportunity to participate in the strategic planning survey that will shape the future of our college. We have had several members of the COMmunity take the survey and hope to have all you participate. The Academy for Advancing Leadership (AAL) is conducting this survey to gather valuable insights from the MSUCOM community, which will be instrumental in developing our strategic plan.

I encourage you to read the original message from Dr. Ruger and participate in the survey.

As you know, strategic planning is a critical process that helps us define our vision, mission, and goals. Your input is essential to ensure that our strategic plan reflects the collective aspirations and needs of our entire community. This survey is a common tool used in such planning efforts and is designed to be quick and easy to complete, taking less than 10 minutes of your time.

I want to once again assure you that your individual responses will be completely anonymous and cannot be traced back to you. AAL will combine all anonymous responses and report them as a group to the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Your candid feedback is crucial, and we want you to feel comfortable sharing your thoughts openly.

Please complete the survey by 5 p.m. ET, Friday, July 19, 2024. You can access the survey using the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JDQD5PV

If you encounter any issues while taking the survey, please do not hesitate to contact George Weinstein, AAL Vice President, at gweinstein@aalgroup.org.

Again, your participation is key to creating our shared vision and to our collective success. Together, we can ensure that MSUCOM continues to thrive and lead in osteopathic medicine.

Thank you for your dedication to advancing the mission and vision of MSUCOM.

Go green!

Warm regards,

Joyce L. deJong, D.O.
Dean and Professor
Michigan State University
College of Osteopathic Medicine

July 8, 2024

Dear MSUCOM Community,

We are providing a final reminder to participate in the strategic planning survey that will shape the future of our college. The Academy for Advancing Leadership (AAL) is conducting this survey to gather valuable insights from the MSUCOM community, which will be instrumental in developing our strategic plan.

I encourage you to read the original message from Dr. Ruger and participate in the survey.

As you know, strategic planning is a critical process that helps us define our vision, mission, and goals. Your input is essential to ensure that our strategic plan reflects the collective aspirations and needs of our entire community. This survey is a common tool used in such planning efforts and is designed to be quick and easy to complete, taking less than 10 minutes of your time.

I want to once again assure you that your individual responses will be completely anonymous and cannot be traced back to you. AAL will combine all anonymous responses and report them as a group to the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Your candid feedback is crucial, and we want you to feel comfortable sharing your thoughts openly.

Please complete the survey by 5 p.m. ET, Friday, July 12, 2024. You can access the survey using the following link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JDQD5PV

If you encounter any issues while taking the survey, please do not hesitate to contact George Weinstein, AAL Vice President, at gweinstein@aalgroup.org.

Again, your participation is key to creating our shared vision and to our collective success.

Together, we can ensure that MSUCOM continues to thrive and lead in osteopathic medicine.

Thank you for your dedication to advancing the mission and vision of MSUCOM.

Go green!

Sincerely,

Joyce deJong, D.O. (she/her)
Dean

June 21, 2024

Dear MSUCOM Community,

In follow-up to Dr. Ruger’s May 16 email to the community (attached for your review), I am writing to personally encourage each of you to participate in the strategic planning survey that will shape the future of our college. The Academy for Advancing Leadership (AAL) is conducting this survey to gather valuable insights from the MSUCOM community, which will be instrumental in developing our strategic plan.

As you know, strategic planning is a critical process that helps us define our vision, mission, and goals. Your input is essential to ensure that our strategic plan reflects the collective aspirations and needs of our entire community. This survey is a common tool used in such planning efforts and is designed to be quick and easy to complete, taking less than 10 minutes of your time.

I want to assure you that your individual responses will be completely anonymous and cannot be traced back to you. AAL will combine all anonymous responses and report them as a group to the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Your candid feedback is crucial, and we want you to feel comfortable sharing your thoughts openly.

Please complete the survey by July 12, 2024, at 5 pm Eastern. You can access the survey using the following link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JDQD5PV

If you encounter any issues while taking the survey, please do not hesitate to contact George Weinstein, AAL Vice President, at gweinstein@aalgroup.org.

Your participation is key to creating our shared vision and to our collective success. Together, we can ensure that MSUCOM continues to thrive and lead in osteopathic medicine.

Thank you for your dedication to advancing the mission and vision of MSUCOM.

Go green!

Sincerely,

Joyce deJong, D.O. (she/her)
Dean

May 16, 2024

Dear MSUCOM Community,

On Monday, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC) participated in an initial retreat to begin the strategic planning process with our consulting team from the Academy for Advancing Leadership (AAL). The agenda included a discussion about strategic planning in general, results from an osteopathic-oriented environmental scan, and a presentation of data collected from the members of the SPSC in advance of the meeting. Interim Provost Jeitschko visited us during the retreat and emphasized the college’s important role in the University and expressed his enthusiasm and support for our strategic planning process. He also encouraged us to consider the broad resources available to us from across the university as we articulate our vision and goals for MSUCOM.

From there, the SPSC discussed the college’s vision, mission, and values, and several overarching goals that were generated based on an initial SWOT analysis of the college. These ideas will be including in an upcoming survey that will invite your comments, feedback, and additions. As Interim Provost Jeitschko shared on Monday, “knowledge creation is a team production.”  Your voice is key to creating our shared vision and to our collective success. Please do participate in the upcoming survey and help make an impact on the direction of our college.

AAL will also interview key university and external stakeholders to better understand their thoughts and how they may help advance the vision of the college. From there, focus groups will be formed to gather feedback on emerging strategic issues identified by the survey and interviews.

Our communications team will be launching an MSUCOM Strategic Planning webpage where regular updates will be shared. In the meantime, and as chair of the SPSC, I will communicate via email after each step/phase in the process.

Should you have any questions along the way, please feel free to contact me or another member of our SPSC.

  • Michael Burry, DO
  • Maksymilian Chruszcz, PhD
  • Joyce deJong, DO
  • Amara Ezeamama, PhD
  • Stephanie Jalaba, PA
  • Ali Jenner, MS
  • David Kaufman, DO
  • Kimberly Lamacchia
  • Rebecca Malouin, PhD
  • Alex Matisse, OMSI
  • Aaron Pahl, CPA
  • Katherine Ruger, EdD
  • Mark Schury, DO
  • Arpon Shahed, DO
  • Abby Struble, OMSIII
  • John Taylor, PhD
  • Sarah Tilden, PhD
  • Kirsten Waarala, DO

This is an exciting time for the college and on behalf of Dean deJong, thank you all for your dedication to advancing the mission and vision of MSUCOM.

Go green!

Katherine M. Ruger, MA, EdD (she/her)
Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives
Executive Chief of Staff
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry