Page 24 - October 2023 FOCUS Magazine

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION
50 YEARS OF IMPACT AND PARTNERSHIPS

the health of the community. He cites the creation of
Spartan Imaging in the new Izzo Family Imaging Center
on campus, which Medrano says is the largest imaging
center in the region with the latest imaging technology.

Going forward, Medrano says
the relationship between McLaren
and MSU Health Sciences will
allow the university to recruit
higher quality candidates.

“It will provide them an
environment where they can StephenPlumbley/Tandem Studios
do their residency program in a
modern, efficient hospital with all Medrano
the normal specialty care that a
community hospital should have,” said Medrano. “The
quality of the students at MSU will be enhanced by the
ability to have modern facilities and modern technology In 2022, TechSmith opened its new corporate headquarters on
available to them.” land by the Research Foundation at MSU Spartan Village.

When TechSmith opened its new corporate
headquarters on the campus of Michigan State opportunities in many scientific areas. The Research
University in September of 2022, it marked a return to Foundation will continue to support MSU by helping
where the company began its journey 30 years ago. The realize the value of research and partnerships and
63,000 square-foot, two-story office building is located helping to bring new technologies and new innovations
on approximately five acres of land at the corner of into the world. The Research Foundation has come
South Crescent and Harrison Road, in East Lansing. alongside MSU Health Sciences in the Grand Rapids
market and is starting to do the same in the Detroit
The TechSmith building sits on property that is owned area, particularly in support of MSU’s relationship with
by MSU and leased to the MSU Research Foundation. The Henry Ford Health System.
MSU Research Foundation developed and owns the
building. TechSmith relies heavily on MSU students for its “I think we will also continue to build out a robust
talent and the proximity to MSU was ideal. innovation ecosystem in the Greater Lansing area,” said
Washburn. “We’ll see more and more startups and
TechSmith CEO Wendy Hamilton says that many large partnerships with existing companies and hospitals that
universities have leveraged tech parks and public/private want to come and work with the university.”
partnerships to fuel innovation as well as regional
economic growth in general. She also notes that many “When I see where we have come from since 2011,
tech firms right now are reconsidering their real estate when we had this idea that entrepreneurial activity
strategy and interested in satellite offices in locations was something we wanted to lean into, we have made
that are low-cost for commercial real estate while huge progress,” said Cowen. “We support dozens of
providing high value to the business. companies and we’ve invested millions of dollars. We
finished our first Red Cedar Opportunity Fund and
“The value in this case is talent,” opened a second one. We continue to support a lot of
said Hamilton. “Unemployment startup activity and branched out around the state.”
remains low and the fight for talent
is high. Tech firms who are located Cowen says he sees the Foundation continuing
near the campus have better to grow and support more companies, more jobs and
opportunities to recruit as well as growth in the Lansing area and around the University.
better opportunities for innovative He hopes that will have a positive effect on MSU faculty.
collaboration with all of MSU’s staff
and faculty.” “Compared to other universities, Michigan State still does
not get as much value from its own research dollars in
Hamilton
FUTURE VISION terms of the number of startups as a Stanford or M.I.T.
MSU is the second largest research institution in would,” said Cowen. “I am not trying to say we’ll become
Michigan. Washburn says MSU has a great number of those two universities, but I would like us to see where

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