CONNECT WITH MSU MARK YOUR CALENDAR • Spooky Shabbat—October 26, 6 p.m. MSU Hillel gets haunted at a special Shabbat celebration. Reform and conservative services at 6 p.m. are followed by a free Halloween-themed dinner. RSVP to dirk@msuhillel.org . • Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers— November 4, 7 p.m. Wharton Center welcomes Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers for a night of bluegrass music and humor. For ticket information, visit whartoncenter.com . Gladners complete endowment for study abroad tin Israel When Al Gladner and Sharie Remeny stepped Miracle Mission as onto the MSU campus as freshmen, they came the trip of a from very different worlds. He grew up in rural New York, where the Jewish population numbered only three: Gladner and his parents. He knew little about MSU other than it was big and had great programs. She came from suburban Detroit and was a member of a large Jewish community and a longtime fan of all things Spartan green. lifetime. The Southfield couple realized that this travel experience was much like that of MSU students who Al and Sharie Gladner participate in study abroad programs. "We got a chance to visit and connect with people, • Screening of Footnote—November 8, 7:15 p.m. Footnote is a film about the expectations and pressures of academia and the rivalry between two Talmud scholars at Hebrew University who happen to be father and son. The screening is in 147 Communication Arts and Sciences Building. They both found MSU to be a welcoming place, same richness that they discovered. Recently, they • Israel Fest—November 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Join MSU Hillel for the eighth annual Israel Fest at the MSU Union Ballroom and enjoy Israeli food, music, giveaways, and more. of a study abroad endowment that had been made a commitment to complete the funding of a started by the Jewish Studies Program's former full of the diversity in both people and experiences that they craved. They also found each other, and Catch up on the latest from MSU msu.edu View Spartan Sagas spartansagas.msu.edu Watch MSUToday shows msutoday.msu.edu Explore giving opportunities givingto.msu.edu Learn more about alumni participation alumni.msu.edu MSU'S SUPPLY CHAIN SPECIALTY FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS RANKS NO. IN THE NATION FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW. U.S. News & World Report MSU's Jewish Studies Program Advisory Board. more than 50 years later, the couple is helping The Gladners had been giving generously to MSU ensure that MSU offers future generations the for a number of years, but completing the funding previously underfunded endowment that will help director, Steve Weiland, was an opportunity to students visit Israel through MSU study abroad. focus their giving. The Gladners met at an icebreaker at the MSU VISIT US ONLINE not just see the sights," says Al, who serves on "As we learned more about MSU's Jewish Studies Hillel Jewish Student Center, but it was Program, we wanted to do more," Al says. "It does coincidentally ending up in the same social a lot for MSU students and for MSU to have such dancing class that really broke the ice. Following an outstanding program!' their graduation in 1965—he in arts and letters and she in human ecology—the couple married and raised two daughters, who also became Spartans. Al, who earned a law degree from Wayne State University following a stint in the U.S. Army, spent most of his career in banking and real estate law. Today, the Gladners, who still enjoy dancing together, also like to travel and count their visit to Israel as part of the Jewish Federation's 2004 "Just like when we visited as part of the mission, the students in study abroad will be living there and experiencing Israeli life," Sharie says. "We are so proud and pleased with the direction that MSU is going," she adds. "Jewish studies has a lot of exposure and is an excellent way for Jewish students to learn about their heritage and, just as important, for people who are not Jewish to learn. We are pleased to help in any way we can." 0 MSU, The MasterCard Foundation partner on $500 million African scholars program With 50-plus years of engagement in Africa, Michigan State University will partner with The MasterCard Foundation on its $500 million education initiative, The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program, to provide talented, yet financially disadvantaged youth—especially those from Africa—with access to high-quality education. MSU is the only institution in Michigan—and the Midwest—to join the Program, which is part of a global network of institutions. The university will receive $45 million in funding from the Foundation to support 185 Scholars throughout the nine-year Program, which includes 100 four-year undergraduates and 85 master's- degree students. MSU will host the most Scholars among the six U.S. partner institutions and welcomed the first cohort of Scholars this fall with four graduate and two undergraduate students. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Your comments are welcome: write to Michigan State University, 408 West Circle Drive, Room 302, East Lansing, MI 48824 or call (517) 355-7505. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. "Michigan State and The MasterCard Foundation both recognize that Africa is approaching an important inflection point," says MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. "Africa now hosts seven of the world's 10 fastest- growing national economies and is the world's youngest continent demographically. That offers remarkable potential for innovation, and the Scholars Program will add leverage by building Africa's educational capacity." Scholars at MSU will build experiences, values, and competencies that are critical to success in the global economy, enabling them to give back to their communities and home countries. 0