From Spartan Roots to New Horizons: A Reflection on My Time at MSU

Since 2012, I’ve had the honor of working with some of the most dedicated, creative, and resilient educators I’ve ever known at Michigan State University.

As I transition into a new chapter—serving as the Director of Instructional Design and Digital Learning at Washtenaw Community College—I’m taking a moment to reflect on what this past decade has meant to me.

What I’m Grateful For

MSU gave me more than a job. It gave me a space to grow, experiment, and connect.

I’m especially thankful for the professional development opportunities that allowed me to:

• Present at national OLC conferences
• Help shape and co-lead forward-thinking conference formats like the Technology Test Kitchen and the Innovation Lab (and podcast)
• Co-create one of my favorite contributions: morning meditation sessions—small but meaningful spaces of reflection and peace during high-energy events

Projects That Shaped Me

Over the years, I’ve had the chance to collaborate on projects that stretched my thinking and enriched the lives of others:

• The Zombie Apocalypse Course, a playful but powerful model of scenario-based learning
• REAL Classroom Academy faculty workshops, focused on meaningful instructional spaces
• Faculty Learning Communities that fostered deep dialogue
• The creation and launch of The Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology
• Curriculum reinvention efforts with the College of Veterinary Medicine
• Supporting the STEM Building campaign, from visioning to design
• Helping stand up the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation, including our podcast-ready recording studio, the HushPod
• Collaborating on multiple Coursera courses that reached thousands
• Contributing to the growth of Open Educational Resources (OER) at MSU
• Participating in mentoring—on both sides of the table
• Advancing my own scholarship in the HALE PhD program (ABD and counting)

These opportunities allowed me to practice what I believe: that thoughtful design, grounded in real human needs, can change lives.

The Context We Navigated

All of this happened during a time of unprecedented institutional challenge. The complexity, turbulence, and heartbreak of these past years aren’t easy to put into words.

But what stays with me most is the resilience of the Spartan community—the way colleagues continued to show up, ask hard questions, and carry the work forward.

There is a real kind of brilliance here. Quiet. Grounded. Persistent.

That’s why I’ll always consider myself a Spartan, no matter where I go.

Looking Ahead

As I begin this new chapter at WCC, I’m eager to learn from a new group of educators—those equally committed to the work of teaching and learning.

I carry with me everything MSU has taught me:

• The value of curiosity
• The power of collective imagination
• And the belief that learning design is most alive when it is human-centered

There’s much still to do. And I’m grateful to keep doing it.

—Dave Goodrich